I can almost get past the cover of Previews #330 without bursting into laughter, but it's really difficult! Let's check it out!



As always, I'm in basic black, Travis is in fancy blue. That's just how he rolls!

Dark Horse:

All the solicits are here!

Cool, Beasts of Burden is back (page 51)! I saw Evan Dorkin forgot to put into the solicit a co-writing credit for this one for his wife Sarah Dyer. Oops! I may have to get the relisted HC of the original BoB stuff, because that's good comics!

Dyer is listed on-line, BTW.

Well, I was waiting for the trade of The Steam Man, and here it is on page 54. I like Joe R. Lansdale and Piotr Kowalski, and steampunk robots and vampires and stuff should be wacky fun.

Even more was I waiting for the trade of Mystery Girl, and here that is on page 55. Paul Tobin is really good, and I think Alberto Alburquerque was on Letter 44, and that had decent art.

Yeah, I may get Steam Man, but I'm definitely getting Mystery Girl. And as far as I know, Alburquerque (spell your name right, sir!) is still the artist on Letter 44. Don't use the past tense, man!

Yeah, I noticed that when I got to the back of the book. I just assumed that he wasn't still on it because I didn't figure he had the time to do both!

Thanks to my wife, who's a few years older than I am and whose parents watched more television than mine, whenever I see "Mystery Girl" I'm reminded of "Mystery Date" and I start singing the theme song. Man, has it ever not sucked to be a girl?

I'm a bit wary of this Nexus Omnibus volume 7 on page 55, because it looks like a lot of it is supplemental comics, not Nexus proper. But it's got enough of the Nexus proper that it may be essential. AUGH! I may go for this if only because the stuff collected is probably really hard to find.

Because I am a sucker, I'm getting the Nexus Omnibus. I have the first six, so why stop now!!!!!

So I guess Gene Ha is finally freed from servitude at DC, as he has Mae #1 offered on page 56. I like his stuff, mostly, but I'll probably trade wait this one.

I like how Ha basically knows he's not going to be able to keep up, so there's already notes about "shorts" by other creators. Self-awareness is awesome!

Whew, that's expensive on page 60, 100 bucks for the Mister X Modern Age limited HC. Only 500 copies, all signed, though. I like the concept enough, but what I've read of the newer Mister X just doesn't do it for me. I need to look into the Brides of Mister X book reoffered here, though.

I'm assuming the trade of Past Aways on page 62 collects the entire 9 issue series and the DHP preview story, although it's a maddeningly vague listing. It's a pretty good deal if that's the case, 20 bucks for the whole shebang. I liked the preview story enough that I may go for this book.

Even though it doesn't say it, I imagine it has to be the complete series. I mean, it's 256 pages, which seems about right for 9 issues plus a short story.

Hmm. I liked the Dream Gang chapters in DHP enough (although I haven't read them all in one go, so I'm not sure how the whole thing reads), but I don't know. If you aren't a McCarthy fan, I don't think this will draw you in. New artwork and remastered lettering, though? Wuzzat mean? Trying to sucker me into buying it even though I have all the chapters?

Wandering Island is offered on page 70, where a young woman who operates an air delivery service has an undelivered parcel set to go to an island that doesn't exist. Ooh! I am not at all swayed by the fact that she apparently has a severe distaste for shirts. Heh.

Also noted, page 77 has a ton of cool relists of books by women. If you're like me and don't own Adventures of Superhero Girl, Alabaster, Finder, Grindhouse, or Scary Godmother yet, your wallet will be groaning after you look at this page!

DC:

Check out the solicits here!

Scooby Apocalypse (page 80). Scooby. Fucking. Apocalypse. WTF? Giffen must have lost a bet with DiDio. An early or late April Fools. No? And I hate that Shaggy so fucking much. SO. FUCKING. MUCH!

Yeah, I hate literally everything about Scooby Apocalypse. Everyone involved in this, down to the person who runs the machine that staples this together, should be ashamed of themselves.

Hey! Don't dis the people who run the stitcher/trimmer! They have no say in what gets printed!



However, Future Quest (page 81), with all the other Hanna-Barbera characters, might be a good one. Not good enough to get in singles, mind you, but worth getting the trade.

I'll probably get a trade of Future Quest. Parker and Shaner make good comics.



Tyler Kirkham is credited on art for two comics this month (Deathstroke on page 90 and Batman/Superman on page 105). That's two comics too many!

Aw, burn!

Good lord, those 52 homage variant covers are so pointless. It's like they're trolling the Dread Lord, trying to get him to feature them in his Cover Homage streak. The only amusing one is page 115's Catwoman one, where she's all zipped up now!



I guess Lobo is going to be in the last issue of Superman: American Alien, on page 111. CBR is reviewing this series well, from what I've seen. I'll have to see what the price on the trade will be.

I know I used this joke last month, but on pages 118-119, Harley Quinn faces Red Tool (who looks like some guy who just got his own movie) and Harley Sinn. The Conner-Palmiotti household owns a rhyming dictionary, we get it!

The Scooby Doo I want to read is on page 126, in Scooby Doo Team Up 16, with Shazam, the Monster Society of Evil, and Tawky muthafukkin' Tawny, dammit! This series is so good!

It'd be nice if they included info about what stories are in page 129's Batman: Arkham - Killer Croc book. If the one Joker's Asylum issue, written by Mike Raicht is included (and really, how many good Croc stories are there? It's got to be in there!), we get to see Croc wear a stripey shirt. So much fun!

That's very odd that they don't tell us what stories are in the Killer Croc collection. I assume, with Gerry Conway's name attached, the early stories, when he was just a crime boss, will be included. Those should be fun!

Ooh baby, another cool Silver Age collection with the Flash (I just got the JLA one not long ago, and it's a lot of fun so far). I'm definitely in! (page 129)

Yeah, I'll probably get the Flash Silver Age book. Lots of fun comics, good price. Win-win!

I trade waited All-Star Section 8, so here it is for me on page 130. I'm in! (I won't get spoiled on nothing from Hitman, will I? I've read a good deal of that series but not quite all of it yet.)

All Star Section Eight begins with Sixpack where Hitman left off, so if you want to know what happened to Sixpack in the original comic, that's a spoiler. Other than that, I don't think it's that necessary to read Hitman, although you really should.

Tales of the Batman by Alan Brennert HC on page 130 should be damn good. From what I hear, he bats (haha!) 1.000 with his comics writing. I'm probably in for this!

The Alan Brennert collection is worth it just for the reprint of Holy Terror, which was a nifty comic.



Page 131 has the third volume of Justice League United, and I may go for it, as it is the arc that featured those sweet Tony Harris covers.

Ooh, I should probably get the New Frontier collection on page 131, shouldn't I?

Don't you already own New Frontier?

Surprisingly, I don't.

Well, you should.

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 1-12 is offered in a trade on page 131. I think I have most of that. I wonder if it includes all the stuff that was polybagged with issue 1.

Feel free to thank me, folks, if you wanted 52 collected again (page 132). I just got the last issue I was missing of it in January. You're welcome! What other series do you folks want collected, so that I can find the last singles of it I need? Since obviously they know what I buy and plan trades accordingly!!!

Hey, that happened to me with Peter David's Supergirl!

If you don't have Prez, or the rest of the stuff offered here, the collection offered on page 133 should be awesome. The original series is so wacky! And the Sandman issue is great (natch!), as is the Brubaker/Shanower Vertigo Visions story. I can't remember the parts from DKSA or Multiversity, though. I guess this is a good sign for them continuing that new series. Too bad they couldn't spell the co-creator's name right, though. (It's Grandenetti!)

That Prez collection is weird. But probably worth checking out. And why can't DC spell Grandenetti correctly?!?!?

That new issue of Astro City (page 137) is so Ditko-y!



I was waiting for the trade on Clean Room, another of those cool Vertigo titles (page 139). Sounds creepy good from Gail Simone, and it's 6 issues for 15 bucks!

The second and final trade of Flinch is offered on page 140. I'm not sure if I have much of the stuff in this one, but I'm sure it's good stuff.

Page 142 has the trade of Jacked, and I'm torn on it. It sounded like a typical "realistic" superhero book, so I wasn't thrilled from that perspective, but it does have John Higgins art, and he's really good.

Also on 142 is the first of what appears to be a new series of trades collecting Northlanders (conveniently coinciding with Wood's new Image book about Vikings, huh?). I believe you really dug the book. Is it worth me getting?

If you're getting Northlanders, this is the one to get. The first arc (issues #1-8) and the third (issues #11-16) are excellent, but the rest is good, too. Inexplicably, DC isn't putting issue #20, which is a sequel to issues #1-8, in this collection. Fuck the heck, DC?

They can't get everything right. Or sometimes, anything! But I thought you liked at least part of this series!

The final batch of issues of the original Vertigo title, Swamp Thing, are collected in Trial By Fire on page 143. I think I need the book before this, but I did actually like what I've read of Millar's ST run.

Millar's Swamp Thing is great, and it's nice that DC put out a second collection of it.

Actually, I think this is the third. There was one that collected the first batch (including the GMozz co-written issues) called The Root of All Evil, then Darker Genesis, offered again on page 146, collected the River Run stories and so forth. Good stuff, from what I have.

Whoops, you're right. That makes much more sense!

Also on page 143 is Sandman Mystery Theatre book 1 trade. This one has the first 12 issues. Isn't this, like, the third or fourth different way they've collected this series? And each time it peters out before they collect the whole thing, doesn't it? I thought the first 4 issues were in one early trade, then the first 8 were collected ... I'm glad they still have faith in the series though, man!

Hmm, was Sheriff of Babylon (page 144) listed as a 12 issue series before?

I thought Sheriff of Babylon was originally a 12-issue series that got downgraded to 6. Now it's back to 12? But maybe I'm thinking of something different. Vertigo keeps fucking with the length of these stories!!!!!

Yeah, I can't keep track. New Romancer was supposed to be 12, then downgraded to 6, I know that. At least they're publishing all of them, not like Insurgent, which they cancelled with issue 3 out of a planned 6. I'm still angry several years later! In other Vertigo news, the collection of Egypt got cancelled, according to the Previews site. I'll have to get the set from one of my local shops!

IDW:

All the solicits you could want!

Man, lots of Back to the Future and TMNT stuff on the first few pages. I guess it does well for them?

I don't get it myself. I was amused by the BTTF Dice game on page 156 telling us if we play we have to decide when to "put the peddle to the metal". Argh!

You read the solicits too closely. Those don't make me angry because I don't read them!

Also on page 158, TMNT meet up with Carmelo Anthony in a special. HAHAHA! It's like Space Jam on paper!

So there's the X-Files stuff on page 161, which is just an excuse for me to ask if you watched the latest 6-episode mini-series. Man, it was terrible. I mean, the were-monster one was okay until Basil Exposition showed up in the cemetery, and I liked Mulder's mushroom trip more, it seems, than a lot of people, but the rest of it was awful. Are people still writing the "people will kill everyone in the world except the 'elite' to save the world?" plot? I like Lauren Ambrose, but she was terrible. And did they really end on a cliffhanger? And nobody cares about Scully and Mulder's son!!!!

I never watched the original - I've seen some of them, including "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'," but I was never really into it. But man, if this is the quality of the show going forward, Fox needs to kill it, despite the ratings. Or make sure Chris Carter comes nowhere near it, because he wrote the first and last episodes, and he obviously has no familiarity with the English language. I mean, dang.

Surprisingly, I never got into X-Files. Other than that one part of the pilot. Heh. I'm familiar to a degree with the show and the mythology, but I just don't care enough to try to catch up at this point.

Ariel Olivetti is drawing Brutal Nature on page 166. At least I know to avoid it!

I just realized, Ariel Olivetti is probably a pen name, right? Ariel is almost the name of the one typeface, and Olivetti was an old typewriter brand, right? Heh.

Well, your theory about Olivetti makes sense, but if it's true, it's not on Wikipedia, which is of course the only true source on the Internet!

Woo-hoo! The bs I came up with off the top of my head sounds plausible!

Jackson Guice is drawing William Gibson's Archangel on page 167. I assume this is a one-shot, as it's 40 pages for $4.99. It sounds all right - I might have to check it out.

I don't see where he could world build that much in just 40 pages. I saw a couple other books (one of the BTTF ones, I know) that were up to $4.99. I suspect they're slowly edging up to that for ongoings, adding in a few extra pages to "make it worth our while." I like what I've read of Gibson, so I'll probably go for this in what I presume will be a trade. I'm just surprised that Marvel's cool with him writing Warren Worthington for IDW!



Sounds like those of us who like The Fuse may like Satellite Falling on page 169.

For the Transformers nerds, the first 50 issues of the Marvel series are offered in one big ass book on page 171.

Wow, if it wasn't a retailer incentive, I'd totally want the glow in the dark Shaky Kane cover for Mars Attacks Occupation 3 on page 174.



I think I have them all, but I'd like to point out the Hero Comics Hero Initiative Benefit Book on page 176. Good stories and art (including a Chew short) for a great cause, helping comics creators in need.

I don't get it. First Hip Hop Family Tree, now Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (page 177) is presented in book form first, THEN offered as a regular comic book series. So weird!

Atomic Robo and the Ring of Fire is offered in a trade on page 178. It is, not surprisingly, very good.

I may wait until it is put into one of the big collections that IDW has been putting out.

Pointing out one of the signs of Kelly taking over the world, with Jem and the Holograms 15 on page 180. More to come later in the book!

Disney Magic Kingdom Comics 1 of 2 is offered on page 182, and I'm interested, because I think I have some of the old stories like this in the old Disney digests. Nostalgia!

Page 189's Jekyll Island Chronicles book one sounds interesting, with the vacation island of the one percent between World Wars as the focus, along with diesel punk/clockwork stuff. Can they resist the urge to include Tesla in this book, though?!

No, no they won't.

Since it's rich folks, they'll either show that The Man suppressed his ideas because they were too cool, or that they used his ideas and had to suppress his stuff so that it didn't fall into the wrong hands!

I bet Simon will tell us why we're provincial Americans for not mentioning the Adventures of Dieter Lumpen on page 190. Or Cigarette Girl on page 189.

Also on page 190 is a collection of Ashley Wood art, which is pricey but probably good if you're a fan. Where's my Automatic Kafka trade, DC?

Image:

Take a look at the solicits here!

Page 194: Kaare Andrews is going by Kaare KYLE Andrews now? Huh. That's all I have to say about Renato Jones: The One %.

Sounds to me like the kind of thing a one percenter would use for his name. HA! Interesting concept, but the previews art is murky, and the "dude" is annoying as hell. Supposed to be, yeah, but it's lazy storytelling right from the start. Still, I may go for the trade.

3 Floyds: Alpha King (page 198) is about ... a home-brewed beer that attracts creatures from another dimension? Sure, okay.

This looks dumb. I think Heavy Metal was going to be publishing it, but apparently Erik Larsen or Jim Valentino lost a bet.



In "hey, that's a miniseries now?" news, Saints (page 219) is a 10 issue long series, apparently.

Black Jack Ketchum is offered in trade on page 228. I've read the first two issues, and it's pretty good. A nifty weird Western.

Yeah, it sounded neat, so I may go for it.

You were wondering about the Dark Corridor trade that collected issues #1-6. Well, it looks like that's not going to happen, as issues #1-7 get collected on page 230. 15 bucks is a good price for it, and it's a cool comic.

I'm puzzled as to how that got screwed up like that, because I believe that there was no gap between the solicits of issue 6 and the trade, then issue 7 and this resolicit. Did Tommaso realize last minute he needed another issue? But yeah, I'll be reordering this.

Emma Rios has a trade called I.D. on page 232, with body transplants. Sounds neat, and her art is good.

The Emma Rios story is in Island, if you've been getting that. I assume you haven't, because you didn't know, but that's just in case people have bought Island and didn't realize that story was the same one!

Well, I've been getting Island, I just haven't been reading it. It would have been nice for them to mention that in the solicit!



Mythic gets a trade on page 233. No, the 8th issue isn't out yet, but this is still a hoot. Issue #7 came out last week, and it was pretty terrific.

I highly recommend this trade to anyone. Fun stuff. I'm a bit sad there's no "volume 1" attached to this, which makes me believe there wasn't the audience to keep doing this, which is a shame. Buy the trade, folks!

In the letters page of Mythic #7, Hester writes about the next arc, so I guess it's not going away. Huzzah! (If true, of course.)

Yay! It's a book that's a lot of fun.

I'll mention the trade of Plutona on page 235. I've only read the first issue, but it was decent.

Farel Dalrymple's Pop Gun War is on page 236. I really like Dalrymple's art, but I'm not as in love with his writing. I'll still probably get this.

Looking it up, I guess this is a reissued version of a book from 2003 that collected the first 5 issues of PGW. I think I first encountered Dalrymple on Caper, and thought he was pretty good. I'll probably get this.

Image continues to trawl the depths of old Vertigo books, as Ennis and Higgins's Pride and Joy gets a collection on page 237. I'll probably get this, unless people who have read it warn me away!

This is a Higgins book I may buy this month! How did Vertigo let any Ennis books get away, let alone this and Bloody Mary (and I think I saw Adventures of the Rifle Brigade is getting reprinted, either by Image or Avatar)?

I was waiting for this trade, so I'll be getting the new Ed Brisson book, The Violent, 10 bucks for 5 issues on page 238. His other Image books are reoffered, and while I haven't gotten to The Mantle yet, the others are all fine comics, Sheltered especially.

Frank Cho Apes and Babes on page 239! Yay! Those are a few of my favorite things!

The second trade of No Mercy is offered on page 240. Guess I should read the first one and see if I want this!

Yeah, I dropped No Mercy after the first four issues. It just wasn't doing it for me. So you probably should read it before getting this one! :)

Hmm. Yeah, I just have to dig it out. You got it in singles though, right? Maybe it'll read better in trade!

Marvel:

Dive into the full solicits here!

Blah blah blah lots of #1s that everyone will get followed by #2s that nobody will get. How can Marvel be so smart (so far) with their movies but so dumb with their comics? Is it because the movies are still relatively new, so people are willing to forgive the clusterfuck that was, say, Avengers 2? I mean, really, Marvel. More #1s? Really?

Maybe that's why Sharon Carter looks so haggard on the cover. Egads! But a girl writing Punisher (page 4)? That's cray-cray! Although not as crazy as the notion that Thunderbolts (page 6) needs a title again. It's the "wth can we do with Winter Soldier, he's in the damn movies!" syndrome.



Page 10: Civil War II. BWAH-HA-HA-HA!!!!!! Oh, man. "From the creative team that brought you House of M and Siege." Aren't those widely considered the two worst event comics Marvel has done in the past 15 years? I mean, I didn't read them, but that seems to be the consensus (although I'd be stunned if they're worse than Fear Itself). CIVIL FUCKING WAR II, people! GET EXCITED FOR ANOTHER REHASH!!!!!!

House of M I thought was relatively well received. I think I read the main series, and it wasn't too bad, until the "No More Mutants". Siege was bad, yeah. Shulkie looks extra tousled or something on Coipel's cover.

Kelly Thompson and Ben Caldwell on A-Force is pretty cool (page 17) - Kelly's been sharing Caldwell's pencil drawings of the various characters on Facebook, and they're neat-o - but not for $3.99. I'll wait for the trade!

Let me state for the record that when Kelly is our Grand Overlord, I will have (probably) bought this in singles. He's the heathen, not I! Is Shulkie aware that she is not an archer character, though? (Number 2 in the Kelly taking over the world count for this month's Previews)

How many people can you identify on the cover of Silver Surfer #5 (page 46)? I can see Kirby and Lee, and ... Zach Galifianakis? Maybe? Yeah, I suck.

Oh, it's on, mofo! I'll assume you mean the dude in the blue hoodie in the upper left is Galifuckdoyouspellhisname, and go clockwise from there. Not sure who the couple with the dogs are. Skipping a few more ... I think the dude with the glasses and sideburns is Jamie Rich. The woman with the glasses, coffee, and yellow top might be Diana Schutz? And she's right above Axel Alonso, who is a couple over to the left from Kevin Smith. Holy crap, that's Jim Lee in the hat! Moebius is the older dude in the glasses and receding hairline. The bald dude with the squint and cool orange beard is Art Adams, I think. Joey Q at the feet of Dawn. Tom Brevoort at the bottom in the hat. I think the handsome dude to the left and up one from Brevoort is Paul Pope. Jann Jones (is that her name?) and James Robinson to the left of Pope, maybe? Lower left corner is Jeff Smith. Lady in the black top with Allred's sig is Shelley (I think the second e is in there!) Bond, and perhaps the dude with the glasses to the right of her may be Philip Bond, I'm not sure. Guy in between them is Michael Zulli. Above Shelley is Frank Cho or Bryan Lee O'Malley, I'm not sure, and above that guy is of course Frank Miller. Up some more, the winking dude in the hat to the left of Surfer's arm as we look at him is Darwyn Cooke. Stan and Jack up a bit from them. Is the bald dude above Stan Erik Larsen? Most of the rest are people I should know, I think!

Dang, you're pretty good with the people on Silver Surfer. I should have known more of them, if I had bothered to look more closely, like Rich and Miller. That can't be Joey Q, though, because he's not wearing a backward baseball cap!

HA! Well, some of them are guesses (educated ones, mind you, but still guesses). But I've actually met Art Adams and Darwyn Cooke, so they were pretty easy to spot. I think when I first looked at the cover, I noticed the Paul Pope looking dude, and then started seeing a lot of the rest. With Stan, Jack, and Moebius, I thought it might people associated with the Surfer, but most of the rest of those people don't seem to be associated with him. So I'm not sure why some of these people are on the cover!



I know Gwenpool is just a joke anyway, but wtf is with that position her body is in on the zero issue cover (page 54)? So weird!

Maybe Gwenpool is about to make a bowel movement?

(biting tongue) I'll let the readers make their own "the Gwenpool title IS a bowel movement" jokes here.



The notion of the poorly translated English version of Deadpool Masacre 1 (page 76) is almost enough to make me want to get it. But not enough.

Hey, look, Bendis is still writing Scarlet (pages 92-93)! What do you know about that? Did you know it's the "most controversial and best-reviewed comic book on the stands today"? It must be true - Marvel's solicit writer says so!

Speaking of Bendis, that Crime Noir Omnibus on page 95 is probably worth it, even at $125. I have ... some of these stories, and I might get it. They're very good hard-boiled crime stories from before Bendis became the God of all Marvel.

I swear there were more issues of Jinx, because it ran some issues at Caliber and some at Image. But I'm not sure. I do know Bendis cast himself as a character! This is something I'm considering, though! (Also, someday I will have to write a piece about how Caliber was really the most important publisher of the '90s! Think about it and you will know that IT IS TRUE!)

For $75 you can get the Ditko Doctor Strange run on page 107. I'm quite sure I'm going to get this, as everyone says it's awesome.

Yes, I will probably go for this myself, as I love Ditko.

There's a second Shang-Chi omnibus on page 108 for $125. The first one still hasn't come out, which is annoying, but I'll still probably get this!

I might just wait until it gets to the Gene Day stuff before I get any of these.

Lots and lots of trades that I'll probably get, but I am looking forward to Hellcat (page 121), which looks really neat.

Yeah, that's one that I almost definitely want.

Page 111's Spidey All New Marvel Treasury Edition should be cool, with Nick Bradshaw's cool art in large size.

I was hoist by my own petard in dropping Squirrel Girl before the Howard the Duck crossover. Now I have to get the HTD trades to catch up (page 114)! Damn you, Marvel!

I may go for this new collection of the new Captain Marvel book from 2012 on page 117. Although I did hear the art was rough to look at.

Sorta interested in Squadron Supreme on page 118, but it sounds too kill-y to me.

I'll probably get Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (page 119), because I have an unholy love for Devil Dinosaur!



I'd consider the Red Wolf trade more if it wasn't 20 bucks (page 122). But I'm pretty sure I'll go for the same priced Howling Commandos of SHIELD book on page 123. I'm so weird!

I also have to get Ms. Marvel in trade on page 129, as I dropped it with the understanding with myself that I would get the trades. It's a blood pact that I must keep!

Part of why I dropped Deadpool by Posehn and Duggan was that Dracula's Gauntlet tied in to the main series, but the HC was super pricey. This trade (page 132) is still kinda pricey, but I may go for it and then catch up with that main DP series.

Until not that long ago, I was not even aware of the Lapham Daredevil vs. Punisher mini reprinted on page 136. Thanks to the Dread Lord, I am now aware and I want it!

Is NYX worth getting (page 137)? Even though half naked young Christina Ricci with claws on the cover makes me think skeevy thoughts?

I've never read NYX, so I can't say. Perhaps some commenters can chime in!

Carnage Classic is on page 139. Can anything with Carnage really be called "classic"? I mean, way to stretch the definition, Marvel.

Dammit, you stole my joke! The only thing that might be worth reading is Mind Bomb, an early Warren Ellis Marvel book. Otherwise, it's fucking Carnage.

Let's get to the back of the book!

Rachel Rising (Abstract Studio) comes to an end on page 254. That means it won't be long before the entire thing is collected in one giant trade, which is how I read Echo and how I plan on reading this, damn it!

I have a few of the early issues (and should sell them for mad cash, yo!), but I too will wait for a big trade.

You're getting Talk Dirty to Me on page 256, right (AdHouse Books)? You're kind of creepy, right? I'm just mad it's not a biographical comic about the band Poison. That would rule!



Hey, I resemble that remark! It's like you're every woman I've ever met! This is just getting me back for that comment on the cat book post that Dread Lord did, isn't it? Just because you claim to be handsomer than the Dread Lord and I ask you what it's like to live in a house without mirrors, you call me creepy! I see what it's like! I am interested in this book, because I'm amazed that women like sexy time stuff. As to your other comment ... Unskinny BOPBOPBOPBOP nooooooooo!!!!!!! not this again!!!!! DAMN YOU, BURGAS, it's stuck in my head!!!! What's been going on in that head of yours!!!!

Stray gets a trade on page 258 from Action Lab. Did you get this? It sounds kind of neat, but I don't know if it's any good!

I did not get this, but it does sound neat. I'm pretty sure this is a relist, btw.

Super Human Resources gets a new trade on page 261. I've read some of this, and it's pretty funny, so I'll probably get this.

That was first out ages ago, wasn't it? I remember reading about it way back, I think. It did sound good.

Since it's just a buck, I'll probably be getting the Aftershock Genesis #1 book (page 264), since the new Paul Jenkins book is previewed here and it "won't be printed or seen anywhere else". Also, I love preview books.

You know what superhero stories are good for? Telling stories about family drama and reconnecting with estranged children, right? The Deadbeat (Alterna) on page 270 sounds interesting, but does it really need a superhero in it to tell the story of a man trying to reconcile with his daughter?

You know, I mis-read this at first, thinking that the daughter came back to life, not back into his life. That would have been a different story, I guess! Well, I can see using a superhero as a metaphor for a distant father tied up in his work, so I don't think it's a bad idea. Is that price right, 6.95 for a 112 page book? That's a good deal! I might get this just because of that!

Vile from Alternative Comics on page 270 is a "one-man anthology," and in this issue, we get a story about a survivor of a space battle and what happens when he crash lands on a strange planet. Fun!

I liked Enemy Mine, too. HA! I'm interested.



Paul Tobin's Bornhome gets a trade on page 272 from American Gothic Press. It's a sci-fi story about some dude trapped on an abandoned planet. Wait a minute, didn't I just write about something like that?!?!?

I'm probably in on this, because Tobin is good. Jeff Johnson is pretty good too, I think.

American Mythology is really trying to push Eagle Resurgent by Neil Vokes (page 277). I like what I've seen of his stuff, and it's cool that he's able to bring back a book he did so long ago. I may go for this.

Page 282 gives us Arcade Publishing's James Joyce: Portrait of a Dubliner graphic bio. I've tried reading different Joyce works with varying degrees of success. "river run past Eve and Adam's ..."

Afterlife with Archie and Sabrina are back on page 282 from Archie Comics, in case you've been missing them.

It's been so long I've forgotten. I liked what I read of AwA, but decided to trade wait for v2. That may have been a mistake ... I was put off by AwA's issue with Sabrina where

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Spoiler Alert!

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she's offered up to Cthulhu as a "bride". Basically, an off page tentacle rape. I may still get the trades of these books, though.

Avatar offers a limited HC of the first 4 issues of Providence on page 290. It's limited to 6666 copies, because SATAN! I may go for this, because I love Beardy, and this does sound interesting. It IS the Watchmen of horror, after all!

Cinema Purgatorio (also from Avatar) on page 292 sounds interesting. It's an anthology featuring Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill, Garth Ennis, Kieron Gillen, Christos Gage, and others, and while I'm always a bit leery of Moore and Ennis when they write for Avatar, I'll probably check this out.

None of the story synopses here really grab me (other than the Moore/O'Neill stuff - apparently they've got at least one more LOEG story in them, also!), but I will probably get this to support an interesting anthology idea. I did flip through Code Pru and saw a dumb looking "shock" thing that Ennis did in there, but I may have to see if my shop still has those 2 issues. If not, I'll have to get the 2 issue connecting cover set seen here on page 293, since they're a prelude to the continuing Code Pru story in this anthology.

Black Mask offers Toe Tag Riot v1 on page 298, where punks that have become zombies and eat brains of racists and misogynists. Probably a lot of easy obvious gags of overly lefty stuff that will put me off, but it may be amusing.

Blue Juice offers more Accelerators on page 300, and I applaud them for switching to full series numbering (this one is issue 11, not "Accelerators: Relativity #1"). The first 2 trades are offered here as well, and I liked the first volume quite well, but (what a surprise!) I haven't read Momentum yet.

Boom! (full solicits here!) gives us the Pink Ranger in a series of her own (page 304), co-written by our pal Kelly (#3 in the "Kelly takes over comics this month" count!).

Simon Spurrier writes Weavers on page 306, which sounds pretty cool - a crime family has power because supernatural spiders live inside them, giving them great power, and a new member has his own plans for them. The art samples on page 307 look cool, too, so I'll probably get this trade whenever Boom! gets around to doing a trade.

Wow, it's nice that Marvel is letting Boom do a Spider-Verse story. HA! This does look cool. I too will probably the trade when it's offered in ... 2018, probably?

The Black Dahlia gets a comic adaptation on page 308, adapted by David Fincher and Matz, so it should be pretty keen. We shall see.

Hmm, I forgot that the movie was by De Palma. I wonder how/why Fincher is involved. It's a strange case, from what I know of it, and I'm sure Ellroy did great work with it. I'm intrigued, but will probably wait to see if a library gets it or something. Completely unrelated, I highly enjoy the ASMR audio and video of Dahlia Daintily (here's the soundcloud, with youtube links there - it gives me the head tinglies!). Hey, it's my unnecessary and indulgent plug of the month!

Page 311 has several interesting collections, like Irredeemable, Crimson, The Woods, and most interesting, Dead Letters v3, which apparently is the first print edition of issues 9-12. Were they digital only? Was Boom cool enough to let them finish out the story even though they didn't print the singles of those issues? Did you get anything of DL? I got the first trade and it was ok, so I may look into this.

I got both trades, and they were pretty good. I, too, might have to get this, but they did not release these issues in print, so I assume they were digital only.

While I get Lumberjanes in trade, I will probably get the "Don't Axe, Don't Tale 2016 Special" offered on page 315, because it is #4 in the "Kelly takes over comics" books for this month. I think that's all of them!

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[We interrupt this Previews post so Travis can interview the woman who's taking over comics, Ms. Kelly Thompson. Yes, Travis is bizarre. You're just going to have to deal with it. Travis noticed a post on Bleeding Cool - here's the link - where Kelly was referred to as the "Doctor Doom of comics" (it was not a compliment), and so she is answering these questions as Doctor Doom. If you don't like it, I had nothing to do with it. If you do, it was all my idea!!!!]

1. When you are the Comics Overlord (like Doom!), will you show mercy on those who have only bought your books in trade?

DOOM KNOWS NOT THE MEANING OF MERCY!

2. Will there be any mercy for those who do not buy your books at all?

DOOM STILL KNOWS NOT THE MEANING OF MERCY!

3. Do we get extra mercy if we've been buying them in singles? (I need to know, I'm getting Jem in singles, and I'm leaning towards adding A-Force and getting the Lumberjanes special, but I will probably trade wait the Pink Ranger book, sorry!)

THOSE WHO BUY SINGLES AND TRADES WILL INDEED BASK IN THE GLORY THAT IS DOOM!

TRADEWAITING IS FOR COWARDS AND FOOLS!

4. Is there more Jem from IDW after issue 16, as I've seen Sophie say on the Twitter that she won't be on the book after that (if I understood her right, anyway)?

JEM, LIKE DOOM, WILL ENDURE!

5. Is A-Force 5 from Marvel a good jumping on point, a book that we can read easily without having read the first 4 issues (because I have been trade waiting that so far)?

A-FORCE #5 IS EXCELLENCE AND MAGNIFICENCE. BUT SO ARE A-FORCE #1 - 4. CHOOSE WISELY.

6. In the Pink Ranger series from Boom, will there be any references to Felicity?

FELICITY SHOULD NEVER CUT HER HAIR OR DATE DOUCHES WITH THE SAME HAIRCUT. THIS IS DOOM'S FIRST, LAST, AND ONLY OPINION ON "FELICITY."

7. If I only have the first 3 trades of Lumberjanes, will I be able to follow your tale in the Lumberjanes: Don't Axe, Don't Tale 2016 Special, also from Boom?

DOOM BELIEVES SHORTS USUALLY STAND ON THEIR OWN QUITE NICELY.

8. Have I annoyed you yet with the "Kelly is like Doom" thing?

YOU WILL KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE ANNOYED DOOM.

Congrats on all the comics you're doing, and thanks for your time on this.

[We now return to your regular programming.]

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My unholy love of Canadia [note, I spelled it that way on purpose!] may sway me to buy the Chapterhouse Archives Northguard 1 on page 322 from Chapterhouse. I've always wondered if Gabriel Morrisette is related to Alanis!

Sweet Jesus, Coffin Comics is offering the Lady Death Naughty limited edition artbook as a 48 page HC for 40 fuckin' dollars (page 324)! I can get much more in the way of stroke books for that kind of money. Hell, I could probably get a hooker for that!

Comfort and Adam offer us The Uniques v1 HC on page 324, which is about teen superheroes in '96. Sounds interesting. Glad that that Defiant book The Good Guys finally got remade! HA!

I see from page 325 that Comfort and Adam did the comic Rainbow in the Dark, which is a Dio bio, I believe. ;)

Also on page 325 is Conundrum Press, with the 20x20: 20 Years of Conundrum Press, with 20 creators contributing to this compilation. Also is a book called Blackbird, with anarchist skateboarding zinesters in a future where publishing zines is a crime. HAHAHA, like they'd bother to ban publishing in the future! Print is dead, dammit!

Dynamite collects ALL of those "King Features" mini-series they put out a while ago in one big trade on page 329 - 50 bucks for 496 pages, which is a pretty good value, considering there are 20 issues, and they were each 4 dollars a pop. I'll probably plunk down the dough for this.

I may get this as well. I picked up issues 2-4 of the Jungle Jim series from my local shop for cheap (reasoning that I could eventually get #1 elsewhere), but this sounded cool, a la Seven Soldiers, and I like most of these characters, at least in theory. On page 326 we get the first issue of a new Kings Quest series (wasn't that a Sierra game?) with the same set of characters, and I'll eventually get that trade, because Dan McDaid is good. That Chris Eliopoulos cover is super cute, though!



Page 338 gives us the trade of Masks 2, which I was waiting for, sort of. I liked the concept of Masks more than the actual first miniseries, but it still intrigues me. Cullen Bunn is pretty good, so I'm thinking I may go for this.

Devil's Due/First has The Drude by Omaha Perez, who's an interesting creator, on page 346. It's a story about a slacker who gets menaced by aliens, which might sound like Major Bummer, but that's been gone for a while, so why not have that as a concept?

Yeah, this sounds pretty cool. I know I've heard the name, but don't think I've read anything by Perez.

Right below it is Necessary Monsters 2 by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Sean Azzopardi. I was wondering what happened to Goodbrey, and here he is! He's a very clever writer, and the first book of this was good, so I'm on board for the sequel!

I didn't get the first book, and I wish the first one was reoffered here.

Also from DD/1st (on page 347) is Squarriors, with v2 #1 newly offered and the trade of v1 is reoffered as well.

David Hahn's Private Beach gets collected on page 351 from Dover. I've never heard of this, but I like Hahn, so I'll pick it up!

I actually have the original trade that Slave Labor put out, but with a new conclusion, I may have to go for this! I have to dig out the copy I have and take a look!

Fantagraphics (page 358) has what should be the last Peanuts collection (filled out with the complete Li'l Folks, from the beginning of Schulz's career), but apparently there's one more collection of ... something ... coming. I do love those strips where Rerun became an "underground cartoonist"!

Also from Fanta is Barnaby v3 (and 1 and 2 reoffered), which is whimsically delightful, and Noah Van Sciver's stuff (page 359). Dread Lord picked Fante Bukowski as his favorite of 2015, I believe!

First Second has, on page 360, the new Lucy Knisley book, Something New, about her DIY wedding. And her book Relish is reoffered on page 362. I haven't read more than excerpts of her stuff, but I think you've featured her before.

Page 368 gives us, from Humanoids, Adam Sarlech: A Trilogy, by Frederic Bezian. It's a dark fantasy. Any Euro comics fans able to tell us how this is?

I have no idea what this Frontlines: Requiem book on page 370 from Jet City is about, but it's got Gary Erskine on art, and he's good. Military sci-fi, it says.

Kodansha gives us, on page 377, I Am Space Dandy v1. I've been in a manga mood lately, and this sounds like goofy fun, where an Elvis-y looking dude is finding and registering rare aliens across the galaxy. Could be fun!

Koyama Press has Night Air GN on page 378, about a boy adventurer on a heist with his robot, to steal an alloy in a haunted castle. Might be neat, although it's pricey at 12 bucks for 64 pages.

Legendary has Marc Guggenheim's and Freddie Williams II's The Infinite Adventures of Jonas Quantum (page 378), which is about the most intelligent man in history and the wacky hijinks he gets up to. I always worry about writing super-intelligent people, because if you're not as smart as they are, how can you do it? (This is why, even though Joey Q will soon beg me to write X-Men, I will never write Fantastic Four, because I'm not as smart as Reed is.)

I was waiting on the trade for this, and 15 bucks for, I think, 6 issues (maybe just 5) is a pretty good deal. It sounds a bit like the Chaykin book Forever Maelstrom to me, although not as goofy as that series got. Man, if you worry about not being able to write for people smarter than you, the only character you can write for is Odie from Garfield. BURN!!! The thing about Reed Richards any more, though, is that HE'S not as smart as it's claimed he is.



Is that Tower Chronicles trade on the same page the first part of that series? Wasn't there a mini or something before this stuff?

That Tower Chronicles trade was really bugging me. I assume it's the first part of the second series, which ran for 12 issues, but shame on Legendary for not telling us exactly what it collects!!!!

Klaw from Magnetic Press sounds interesting - the son of crime boss turns into a were-tiger when he gets angry, and all sorts of bad things come from it - so I'll probably check it out.

Yeah, that cover looks pretty neat, and the storyline sounds like it'll be fun. I might get this too.



Jason Pearson is drawing America from Overground Comics (page 390), which is about a superhero who loses her powers but becomes addicted to pain when she keeps superheroing. Sounds neat, and it's always nice to see Pearson's art.

Yeah, that's a big get for them. He's great. They've put out a lot of cool books, but nothing's in trade yet. Which is what I'm waiting for.



Page 392 and PS Artbooks give us the Absolute Best of Harvey Horrors v1, which has a bunch of neat horror stuff (that Haunted Horror is probably reprinting as well).

I have to point out that the people who missed the first 2 issues of Henchgirl can get them in a bumper edition on page 395 from Scout. Really good stuff! The new issue, #7, is out as well.

Also on 395, 2 interesting books from Selfmadehero. The Real Life of Agatha Christie (although it claims her disappearance was staged by her, which I think is not quite decided), whose real life is pretty interesting. And The Art Masters Series v3 about Munch. I hear it's a scream! (GROAN!)

I will put your Munch pun in the post. I'm not going to be happy about it, though.



Page 396 gives us Masamune-Kun's Revenge v1, from Seven Seas, where a guy who was bullied as a kid for being fat transforms himself and is unrecognizable to the girl who bullied him. Bets on the revenge turning into love!

I mentioned a few months back that that new book, Turncoat, would have to change its name because there already was a comic named that, and now T Pub is collecting it on page 413. It's about a superhero-killing assassin whose ex-wife is also a superhero-killing assassin, but do they know each that about each other? Anyway, sounds keen.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith in superhero drag! Sounds good, and I may get it myself.

Titan has Monika volume 1 on page 419, which is overpriced (16 bucks for 56 pages), but sounds really neat and features Guillem March's art, which I really like and don't get to see too often because he's doing crappy DC books. So I'm tempted.

I like his art, too, but yeah, that is overpriced. Also on that page is Man Plus in trade, which interested me, and the Michael Moorcock Library books.



For those of us who like to read about comics, TwoMorrows gives us a collection of Jack Kirby Collector on page 426, which includes the pencils to FF 49, the first Surfer! Cool.

Also on 426 is Jacob Bladders and the State of the Art, by Roman Muradov, from Uncivilized Books. A "Blakean vision of 1940s New York," whatever that indicates. Kind of retro futuristic, it sounds like. A bit pricey at 20 bucks for 64 pages, though. Maybe Simon will give us a preview link!

Yen Press gives us the Scumbag Loser omnibus on page 451, where a guy makes up a long distance girlfriend, who then transfers to his school. Except he knows she died 5 years ago. Sounds like it could be neat, and it's apparently all in this one book. I'm digging the manga lately!

Z2 gives us Legend 1 on page 453, where there's an apocalypse, most of humanity is gone, and domesticated animals now rule the earth. Could be neat ... in trade.

Aw, that's sweet, on page 462, there's a book of Harley Quinn's back story aimed at younger readers. Who are of course the best audience for a psycho character from a movie called Suicide Squad!

I do like the Skottie Young style statues of Iron Man and Thanos on page 520. Lookit Thanos's Death balloon! So cute!

That's all we have for this month's Previews. As always, I apologize for being so late with these - as I mentioned before, for some reason cutting and pasting things and then adding images makes typing this ridiculously slow, and it gets very frustrating. It doesn't happen on posts except when I import stuff from emails, so I'm sure how to fix it. But it really slows things down! Luckily, you have plenty of time yet to go through the catalog, so have fun with that!