Previews #332 is out, and that means it's time to see what's going on! You know you love it!



Always remember: Travis's words are blue, mine are black.

Dark Horse:

Check out the full solicits here!

Black Hammer by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston is back on the schedule on page 46. I guess Ormston had some health problems, I think, and that caused this to be delayed? Anyway, I'm glad it's back - it sounds neat, and if it's back, I guess that means he's not having health problems anymore!

I believe Ormston's health was the issue. I too assume he's better if this is back on, so yay! He drew The Eaters by Milligan, right? That's a nice Mignola/Giffen/"dark" Kirby look to the art, too!

Hey, page 48 gives us the first issue (of 10) of Bounty, the new book by Kurtis Wiebe. 10 issues if he doesn't decide to end it before that, that is! BURN! Also, grrr! on "exclusive bonus story and other special content"!

Does Wiebe not finish stories? I would say that's a good burn if I knew the circumstances!

He just announced that he's putting Rat Queens on hold, and apparently also put Peter Panzerfaust on hold a few issues from the end.

John Layman is writing Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens (page 52). That should be fun.

Also, Mooneyham is a good artist, so this actually should be a really well done big stupid crossover book! Heh! I'll get the trade.

Margaret Atwood is writing a graphic novel (Angel Catbird on page 54)? That seems strange. Good for her!

I had the chance to get a couple Atwood books that were for sale at the library and I passed, and it looks like someone else got them. So I have not read anything by her yet. Heard good things, though! I may get this because Johnnie Christmas did a great job with Sheltered with Ed Brisson a while back.

Page 55 has Troll Bridge, a Neil Gaiman story adapted by Colleen Doran. I'm pretty sure this was originally in an issue of A Distant Soil (25, I think), but was in B&W. I'll have to pull that out and take a look, see if I want to go for this. It's got the same trade dress as Beasts of Burden, though!

Ethan Young did Nanjing: The Burning City last year, which was very good, and now he has a sci-fi series, The Battles of Bridget Lee, on page 58. Very cool. As a completely unrelated aside, I've known three Bridgets in my life: the first was the sister of a girl I knew in junior high, and she cut my hair once because she was practicing to be a stylist and I had a serious crush on her; the other was a cheerleader in high school who I liked even though none of my friends did because they thought she was stuck-up (I didn't think she was, but maybe she was?); and my daughter's lawyer, who's awesome. Therefore I think Bridget is a cool name.

I think I've only known the one, but she's rather significant. Known her her entire life. Even though I was only 2 and a half, I figured I'd carry her home when we left the hospital with her, apparently. Yeah, I'm talking about my sister!

Also, is this the new Give Me Liberty? Heh.

Page 60 has what will probably be the last big Usagi Yojimbo Saga trades for awhile, since this collects up until quite recent issues. I've gotten all of these (volume 6 just came out this week), but of course have yet to delve into them. Why do I do this to myself?!

Yeah, I have all the Usagi Yojimbo Saga books, too, and like you, I haven't read them yet!

Page 61 has Groo: Fray of the Gods 1 of 12, and I will be getting this in singles, as Groo am funny.

Groo, unfortunately, is not very funny. It's one joke! I mean, yeah, it's a decent joke, but still. ONE JOKE!!!!!

Yeah, but we've gotten through, what, 10 months of this column and Groo's got one more joke than we do!

Page 63 -- argh, see, Dept. H 4 has "content exclusive to the single issues"! Why you gotta play me like that, Dark Horse?!

Mind Mgmt had "content exclusive to the single issues" as well. In the end, I'm not sure it was so very necessary, so I'm not sure if it will be that necessary for Dept. H either. The first issue was pretty cool, though.

Dear Creature is being re-printed as a hardcover (page 64), in case you missed it. It's a fun monster story/romance, and Jonathan Case's art is lovely.

I did miss this before. Did DH originally release it, or did he self-publish?

I'm not sure if Dear Creature was originally from Dark Horse. My copy is buried in a box somewhere, as we're cleaning the house so we can sell it (we've outgrown our house, so we're looking for a bigger one in the area). Good times!

The first 3 Hellboy Library Editions are offered on page 80, for people like me who missed them the first time around.

DC:

Here are the full solicits!

Tony Daniel is drawing Justice League (page 83). A lot of people in comics, it seems, fail upward.

Sick burn, man! I actually appreciated his stuff on GMozz's Batrun a bit more after Dread Lord wrote a bit in praise of his work. Still not a favorite, but I lost the reflexive hate-on for his stuff!

Oh, and they're calling him a "master storyteller." Man, I can't even.

Now you're being mean!

Even dumber, Superman is now a new member of the team? WHA?

I think that's "Earth-2 Superman" - the one from Superman: Lois and Clark, maybe? So that's why no one knows him. Even though they know, you know, Superman, and this is the same dude, except ... older? Shit, I don't know.

Yeah, probably, which just shows that this Rebirth wasn't thought out either.

Ok, how is Hal Jordan the last Green Lantern when TWO of them are on Justice League AND the Green LANTERNS title has already started before these issues? WTH? (page 84-85)

There are two Green Lanterns on the cover of the issue that has that solicit. Plus, the book is called "Hal Jordan and the GREEN LANTERN CORPS"!!!!! Unless he's OMAC, "corps" implies more than one. Of course, now we must have OMAC as a Green Lantern, because why the hell not?

Oh fuck yeah OMAC GL!



Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque are working on Batgirl (page 87). Dang, that will be awesome.

Hmm, that actually does sound interesting. I still have to catch up with the current run, though ...

Yeah, damn you, DC, just when I thought I was out ... I may just trade wait this and the Batgirl and BoP stuff on page 86.

Page 88-89: Why does Nightwing need a new mentor?

Because everything Batman taught him was WRONG!!!!! I like how he's "stuck" with a new mentor, as if he's in elementary school or something. He could just, you know, quit being Nightwing and go make babies with Starfire or something!

Page 90: The Hellblazer: Rebirth. Hmm.

Yeah, John Constantine needs to go away for a while. He doesn't NEED an ongoing, after all. In fact, a lot of DC and Marvel characters could use a break.

Page 91: Red Hood and the Outlaws will add Bizarro and Artemis? What the Ugh?

Gene Luen Yang is writing New Super-Man, which DC might as well call "Chinese Super-Man" (92). I'll probably wait for the trade of this, but I'm certainly rooting for it, because I love this idea and I always hope that the "diversity" attempts by the Big Two will actually stick.

This one hasn't struck me as particularly interesting yet, but maybe it'll be better than it sounds to me? I may go for the trade down the road.



Page 102: What's the point of shipping twice a month if you're going to run 2 different story arcs in Wonder Woman? Just do 2 titles, dammit! It's Wonder friggin' Woman! She can support 2 titles!

I'm sure that the Wonder Woman stories will converge at some point, which is why they're doing it this way.

Batman '66 Meets The Avengers (page 112) sounds pretty neat, but I'm worried about Matthew Dow Smith on art. He's a perfectly good artist, but he doesn't seem to have the style for a "swingin' 60s" kind of story - he uses heavy lines and a lot of black. I will get the trade of this, but I hope it works out well.

I am currently too lazy to look, but I totally called this one back when the Man From UNCLE crossover started, didn't I? DIDN'T I?!? This will be awesome in trade. I can't remember, is this Matthew Smith the one who drew Day of Judgment and draws people with no pupils?

I think it is? The Comic Book Database says so, so it must be true!

So very soon after Grant Morrison gives us an origin of Wonder Woman, now we're getting Jill Thompson's origin of Wonder Woman (page 114)? Look, I'm not going to pass up a Jill Thompson Wonder Woman graphic novel, because I'm not insane, but maybe DC could have said that they wanted a Wonder Woman story without an origin? Just maybe? Sheesh, DC.

One of the problems with Wonder Woman as a whole. They keep focusing on the origin, apparently because they can't figure out anything else to do with her. I'm hoping her GN is better than what her hubby did with WW ...

Also, I take you to task for your "not insane" comment. heh!

Why are you taking me to task for my "not insane" comment? Do you think people who pass up a Jill Thompson Wonder Woman graphic novel actually are in full charge of their mental faculties? 'Coz I don't.

Not that part. The part about YOU being not insane!

It's great that Steve Pugh is getting (presumably) some beaucoup straight cash for drawing The Flintstones (page 116), but that's just wrong. Still not as wrong as Scooby Apocalypse, but damn.

If this does deal with an "animals as slaves" theme like Bleeding Cool mentioned, it might be interesting. But overall ... eh. Weird.

I realized that if they put glasses on Fred Flintstone, he'd totally look like you, man! It's true!

Let's let the readers decide!





Yeah, I don't see it.

Never change, Wacky Raceland (page 119). I honestly cannot wait for this horrible thing.

Wow, that cover. Stay classy, DC!



I haven't decided yet if I'll get the Batman '66 Meets the Man from U.N.C.L.E. HC on page 125. It's not much more than the singles for an HC, but do I want to wait to see if the trade will be a little less? I don't know!

Batman: The Golden Age volume 1 (page 126) collects 'Tec #27-45, Batman #1-3, and New York World's Fair Comics #1, all of which I already have from when DC published these as Batman Archives. These are brilliant comics, and everyone should buy this if they don't already own these.

I hope we get purple glove Batman! I think I've read a fair amount of these, but don't own them, so if this is a decent price, I'll probably go for it!

Oh, yeah, 25 bucks for all this. I'm in!

I wasn't too impressed with the first issue of Omega Men, but then everyone started loving it, so now that DC has the entire 12 issues in one nice trade (for only 25 bucks on page 131), I might have to pick it up.

Yeah, everyone who started going on to you about how good it was piqued my interest as well, so I might spring for this. I assume it also includes the preview story from whatever the hell Convergence issue it was previewed in.

The 1980s Wonder Woman gets a new trade on page 137, with the first 14 issues collected. This is a pretty good series, if you're interested.

I didn't spring for the Omni of Perez's run, but I might go for this trade. I think I have the first issue of this, but dunno if I have anything else.

The New Romancer trade is on page 143. Despite it getting truncated, I'll probably get this.

I'll be getting it, yes. I'm curious how well it reads because it was truncated. I wonder if Shelley Bond was the editor and gave Milligan an indication that she was probably on her way out, and that's why he took The Discipline to Image, or if this getting truncated was his indication to look elsewhere.

Page 144 has the first trade of Lucifer, which I'm interested in because it's got a good creative team in Holly Black and Lee Garbett, and a good price. Definitely maybe!

The Tula Lotay covers first enticed me, but I was intrigued by the concept of Slash & Burn, an ex-arsonist firefighter. Oh, NOW it was a miniseries, DC?

Page 148 features the 2 Little Endless Storybook HCs that Jill Thompson did, so if you're like me and missed them, you can reorder them. Might I also recommend the 2 trades of Scooby Doo Team Up, for those of you who like good comics?

Page 153: Man, that Batgirl of Burnside dee-loox action figure looks neato.

Page 154: Is his Lex Luthor hair actually that terrible in the movie?

Yeah, that Lex Luthor statue looks very much like Jesse Eisenberg in the movie. I didn't see it, of course, but there's this thing called Google that lets you see images of him in the movie. You should try it - it's pretty neat.

Yeah, but I didn't really WANT to see him, because that figure's "hair" was disturbing enough on a doll. On a real dude ...



Page 156: that B&W Robin statue a la Quitely looks like it captures the character well.

IDW:

It's the full solicits!

IDW is publishing a new ROM comic on page 158. Wouldn't it be nice if the ROM comic was a rom-com? I'll ... I'll see myself out.

Like I'm going to be offended by that pun? Actually, I saw on someone's The Twitter that somebody has a meme or tumblr that inserts ROM into the movie posters of rom-coms. Amusing!

Holy crap, a P. Craig Russell ROM cover?! DAMN! Did he do work on the Marvel series? Of course, that cover isn't available in the "complete" cover box set on page 159, proving that words don't mean what they used to.

Yeah, what's up with IDW offering a complete cover box set but not have all the covers? That's just weird.



Page 160: Transformers MTMTE 55 says that four terrible words gave the Decepticons their name. I assume those words are "Hands off my dipstick".

The Deviations trade is on page 172. I got Kelly's Ghostbusters one, and it was pretty good. That young lady knows how to write a comic, I reckon.

I got Kelly's Ghostbusters one, but surprise, I haven't read it yet! I'm sure it's awesome, though!

Jem and the Holograms gets a giant hardcover trade on page 172 for 50 bucks. It includes the first 10 issues and the three specials, so it's a pretty good value! Plus, it's a fine comic book, so there's that.

I have all these issues, love what I've read of it, and would even consider getting this version. But I will probably have to resist!

Also, to be clear, it's an oversize book and that art deserves to be seen BIG! Great stuff from everyone involved!

That Jem ROM cover on page 173 is probably the best one they show of the ROM covers.



Gutter Magic gets a trade on page 178. I read the entire series this week, and it's quite good. It's frustrating that this is more money than getting the single issues, but IDW sucks that way, I guess.

Well, I wouldn't say sucks, but it's frustrating, like I think I said last month, that now that I play the active trade waiting game, companies are starting to vary their trade prices more. Damn those companies for trying to make money! If I'd voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary, would he have fixed this?

Troy Little is pretty good, so his Angora Napkin Cuddle Core collected edition about a punk rock girl band (? I guess) sounds cute and probably worth it. Also it includes a DVD of the pilot episode of the cartoon!

Seems a bit pricey for a 48 pager, but the Mickey's Craziest Adventures HC on page 186 sounds fun, and it's written by Lewis Trondheim, who is good!

Page 188 Snake Tales HC. I just came for the phallic symbols!



Alack Sinner is offered on page 189. I've heard good things about this, so I guess it's time to get it!

I love Keith Giffen's art too, so I'm in. (I'm naughty!)

Damn, I really want the Bill Sienkiewicz New Mutants thing on page 190. I mean, really, really badly. It's going to be mucho bucks, though, so I might have to resist. But damn.

I'm interested enough to ask my guy, at least, but I probably will pass because I think I have all of the Billy the Sink NM run. I'll have to check. What was it, 18-34? Somewhere around there? I'll have to search out the Unlimited issue when I back issue dive on FCBD.

(Speaking of asking my guy, I asked about those sweet Batman '66 surfing figures in last month's book. After his markup, it would have been $400! I think that was for the set, but I'm not positive. Like I told Hatcher in an email, who hinted about them for his b-day, I like him, but not that much!)

Top Shelf has Love Addict on page 192, the new book by Koren Shadmi. Shadmi hasn't done a great comic yet, but his comics are so weird that I just love reading them. This one sounds bizarre, as usual - a person joins an addictive dating app - and so I hope it's nifty!

It sounded like it was supposed to be autobiographical. I might go for this, depends on what else is around.

Ooh, page 193 features Dirty Duck HC by Bobby London. Great Krazy Kat looking stuff in one big book. Gary Groth must be wetting himself over losing this! HA!

Image:

The full solicits reside here!

Bryan Lee O'Malley writes (but doesn't draw) Snotgirl on page 196, which intrigues simply because of the name. I know you're intrigued by the cover!

If it's Snotgirl, is it Boy? Wah wah wah! I will definitely get the trade, and once I look at the cover I may get the singles!

Oh yes, me likee both covers! It actually does sound intriguing. Kinda like the show Selfie with less Karen Gillan and more snot. Also, green haired girls, ah!



Throwaways on page 198 sounds cool, with MK-ULTRA conspiracy theory stuff, and trying to escape violent pasts and stuff. Why do I know the name Caitlin Kittredge? I saw she's on that Sons of Anarchy guy's comic, but where else do I know her?!

Caitlin Kittredge wrote Coffin Hill for Vertigo.

Ah, that's probably it! That was pretty good, the first trade.

Brandon Thomas is a cool guy who's a good writer, so I'm interested in Horizon (page 200), in which a young girl has to defend her planet against an invasion ... from Earth. Duh-duh-dummmmmm!!!!

Ooh, great concept! I'm not sure I've read any of Thomas's stuff yet, but I'll definitely get the trade of this. Preview art looks cool, too. Ah, blue girls!



Page 202 has The Hunt from Colin Lorimer, who I believe did Harvest, which was a pretty good mini. I'll probably just wait for the trade, cuz that's what I do anymore, but it sounds spooky scary with dreams and reality colliding!

Wasn't Mechanism the book that Heavy Metal was going to do? Raff Ienco was decent on Epic Kill, so I'll probably give this a shot in trade (page 204).

Yes, Mechanism is the book Heavy Metal was going to do. Glad to see it found a new home, because I would like to read it!

Spawn Kills Everyone (page 208). Shouldn't McFarlane have hired Garth Ennis for this?

I bet people might have cared if this had come out 20 years ago. McFarlane ain't hiring other writers after the Angela debacle, man!

He'd lose the rights to this superdeformed version of Spawn and then Ennis would sell it to DC so that Dogwelder could weld a dog to its face!

Oh, yay, The Fuse is back on page 211! I didn't read the last issue or 2 of the last arc (no spoilers!) but this is one of the few books I've actually read this year! Great stuff!

That's Billy Dee Williams on the cover of Jupiter's Legacy v2 #2, isn't it? Where's his Colt 45? (page 225)



Billy Dee is hawking Colt 45s again, by the way:

Just to keep everyone updated, Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses is STILL going with #17! And it doesn't say this is the end of an arc! (page 231)

Page 235 has the trade of the Astronauts in Trouble 11 issue series that Image has been putting out the past year. I have an older trade of AiT, but I'm not sure how much of that is in this. However, this being 11 issues for 20 bucks, and iirc I liked AiT before, I'll probably get this!

CBLDF Presents Liberty TP is offered on page 236, and while I probably have most of the annuals this reprints, I don't think I have them all. So I may be going for this, and hell, it's for a good cause!

Cry Havoc TP 1 is offered on page 237, and it's one of those 10 bucks for 6 issues ones. Yay cheapness! I mean, yeah, they had me at "lesbian werewolf", but still, it sounded good anyway!

Did you get any of the Mirror series? The trade is offered on page 238, and it sounded interesting to me, and looked pretty, but it's probably one that will be lower down on my list/early to get cut.

I did not get Mirror. It just didn't sound very interesting.

Over on page 240, Hawaiian Dick: Screaming Black Thunder gets collected for the first time. All of the Hawaiian Dick stories are worth reading - they're not great, just solidly entertaining - and this is one of them!

I have the first mini, but I need to see if I should get the first trade. Probably ought to get this and the second trade, if I can swing it! If not, I hope they reoffer it all when the Aloha mini gets collected.

Page 240 also features Bitch Planet TP 2. If I had read TP 1, I could comment further!

Page 241 has a couple of good ones. I've fallen behind on Revival (NO!) but what I did read was really good. Catch up on this page! Also, the second trade of Nowhere Men is offered. The first arc was dang good, so I can't imagine this one being awful. And -- it's finally here! The trade of Prophet: Earth War! After the singles got delayed so damn long, I decided to trade wait, so here it is!

Page 242 features what I believe is the final trade of Roche Limit, with the first 2 also reoffered. I was interested, but never heard much about it. Any good, anyone?

Roche Limit is pretty good. I'm curious to read all three trades together once this one drops.

Sunstone volume 5 is on page 243. I mention this only because I finally got volume 1! Yay me! I liked it, too, so my blind purchases of volumes 2-4 weren't in vain!

I likee volume 1 and what I've flipped through of the others (boy, do I likee!), so this one is a definite for me.



I'm probably getting Starve v2 just to complete the series, even though (say it with me!) I haven't read v1 yet.

I'm also curious about that Spawn Compendium TP 1. It features the first 49 issues, so ergo ipso facto and other Latin I'm not entirely sure I understand, it features Angela, right? Is it ok for Toddy to reprint any issues with her? This also includes Tony Daniel art! YAY! Even better, though, if it actually includes 10, that's the Dave Sim written issue featuring Cerebus. Which was partially in B&W already, so the contrast just isn't there ...

Did you get the Image+ magazine? Pretty good stuff, for what could have been all puff piece stuff.

I did not get the Image+ magazine. I just didn't care that much!

Fun Facts from the mag:

Kirby made more money from Phantom Force, the book he did for Image, than anything else he did! (so sayeth Brandon Graham!)

I have now seen a picture of Jordie Bellaire, even though I say pfft! to colorists! (HA! J/K, of course!)

The Snyder/Lemire book A.D.: After Death looks great, but maybe editors aren't all bad, as they might have pointed out that it would have been unlikely that a Nintendo gaming system would have been a prize in the US in late '81/early '82 (unless it has deep meaning about how memory tricks us, man!).

Two of the comics stories feature women passing out.

Undoubtedly I will "forget" to return this mag with the rest of the Previews books, because I'm a bad person.

Marvel:

Take a look at the solicits here!

So Hulk's going to die in Civil War II #3, right (page 2)? I mean, it kind of makes perfect sense. Oh, wait, I don't give a shit.

Originally the rumor was She-Hulk was gonna die. With all the damn copies they've done of the original Hulk, who cares anymore? It's going to be so divisive, up until the character is brought back in a few years ...

Page 7 and page 15 show that Aaron Kuder is damn good. Glad he's getting at least cover work now that DC Rebirth apparently has no place for him. Also, really nice dude!



I love that the cover of International Iron Man #5 (page 31) shows Tony in a state of undress with a woman seducing him while the solicitation tells us it's all about the true identity of his parents. All I can think of is, "His mom is seducing him? Double You Tee Eff?" Why is this cover on this comic?!?!?!?

She's asking him if his name is Calvin Klein. That is a very non-appropriate cover. "Mrs. Stark, are you trying to seduce me? But why, mom?"



The concept of the series still sounds really stupid, but that cover for Vote Loki 2 (page 62) is pretty silly funny.



I suppose I should point out that three different comics (All-New X-Men, Extraordinary X-Men, and Uncanny X-Men, pages 70-72) are marked as "Apocalypse Wars Conclusion!" Sigh.

Well, they probably head fake at least twice, so they can't tell us exactly which one is the conclusion!

I refuse to acknowledge the pun in the Poe Dameron solicit (page 81). I just want to punch whoever wrote it.

Ugh! Poe is us! (I tried to outdo them!)

Page 83 -- Han Solo is totally going to ..."have relations" with the dude bent over his table, isn't he? ISN'T HE?!?!?!

Jesus, how many different ways are they going to repackage Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and related stuff? A hardcover with the first new series and about half of the GLA book that they offered last month. Damn you, Marvel! (page 88)

However, if you haven't gotten Ms. Marvel yet, the omnibus offered on the same page might be worth it. 20+ comics for 75 bucks is ... eh, but they are really good comics!

The Hatcher-bait of the month is the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu omnibus on page 89. Man oh man, that looks neato! He's probably got all the mags and could tell us exactly what's in each issue, though!



I suppose if you like that Star Wars stuff, the Heroes for a New Hope HC on page 94 is probably a decent deal, with Leia, Lando, and Chewie minis collected for 50 bucks.

I'm probably going for the Spider-Man/Deadpool trade on page 97, as it sounds like it could be goofy fun! The Mercs for the Money trade on 99 might also be big dumb fun, too.

Man, they got TWO trades out of the Guardians of Infinity series? (page 100-101)

Well, dammit, why is there a trade of the first SIX issues of the Spidey book (page 102) when the Treasury Edition of the first FIVE issues was offered two months back? WTH, Marvel?!

Man oh man, alla them Epic Collections offered on pages 106-109! Why can't I be independently wealthy? Any ladies out there want to be my Sugar Mama? Heh!

Hey, the Thor Epic one is the stuff that led them to put Simonson on the book! So it must be ... I guess. (page 110)

Machine Man by Kirby and Ditko on page 111 might be interesting. I think I own one issue of the series, for some oddball reason.

Well, he was first introduced in the 2001 comic, wasn't he? So this isn't even the entire Machine Man by Kirby and Ditko. Plus, it's '80s Ditko, so ... 40 damn bucks for this. Jeez. Say what you want about DC, but a trade like this from them would probably be about 10 bucks less.

Page 112 features another exercise in irony, with Guardians of the Galaxy Classic: In the Year 3000 TP 1, which is the issues of the '90s book after Valentino left. "Classic" is not a word to associate with this run. But what the what?! Colleen Doran did some of the art? DAMN! I need to find that issue!

That Mockingbird trade on page 113 sounds like a fun grab bag of '70s Marvel stuff. Pricey, though.

Yuck, my disgust for Marvel and their Civil War Cash-Grab is bleeding into their trades. I'm just not that excited about much they have coming out this month. Blah.

All right, let's check out the back of the book!

Acme Ink gives us the RNR Bio of NOFX, on page 257. I like that band, but the Faith No More/Mr. Bungle comic done by the same company was ... not great.

Action Lab has the Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman trade on page 261. This is a pretty good comic, and it's nice that it's finally been collected. It's Bigfoot on Mars! How can you skip it?!?!?

I don't believe I will! I've been waiting since you first posted about it, so I'm glad it's coming out!

Action Lab also has Sleigher on page 264, who is a heavy metal Santa. Which sounds cooler than it probably will turn out to be!

Aftershock offers some trades on page 268 with Superzero and Replica. I have literally not seen a single issue from this company or seen any press about any of their titles. So I have no idea if they're any good or not. But I'll probably get these trades!

Even better, those are 6 and 5 issues (respectively) for 10 bucks each! Superzero sounds goofy good, with a girl trying to become a superhero, written by Conner and Palmiotti, and Replica sounded like fun SF with multiple versions of the same dude, and Paul Jenkins is a pretty good writer and Andy Clarke a good artist. I'm in! Also from Aftershock on page 266 is Captain Kid, by Waid and Peyer (so it will be awesome), a story of a middle aged dude that can turn into a teen hero, and on 267 is Lifespanners, which sounds like Strikeforce Morituri meets manga mech, by Tim Seeley and EGOs artist Gus Storms. I will definitely pick up those trades down the road!

If we don't mention it, Simon will, and I feel bad after someone commented that Simon's here to cover the indie stuff. I thought we were totally indie! Anyway, Alternative Comics offers, on page 274, Flashed, an anthology of flash fiction, edited by Josh Neufeld and Sari Wilson, who were Dean Haspiel's Keyhole collaborators, and Terra Flats 1, with romance and demons and vampires and stuff. Also, True Stories #2 by Derf.

American Gothic has a Gunsuits one shot on page 275. I better read the first trade, huh? This isn't done by the original creative team, however.

The Lost in Space comics are offered in HC already, 3 issues plus back matter for 22 bucks, which seems a bit pricey. It might be good, though!

American Mythology offers, on page 278, two books that have been offered before from other companies. Zombie Proof TP 1 has a zombie proofing survivalist proven right, and Days Missing has a great creative team (Hester, Hine, Edgington among the writers, Irving, Burnham, and Moder among the artists) and a neat concept of days that aren't in the historical record because they're TOO important!

Days Missing is a good comic. The creative teams are good, and they do a good job with the premise. The second series isn't quite as strong, but it's not bad, either.

Also, on page 279, this company gives us Werewolves vs Dinosaurs. Which is brilliant, isn't it?



Adam Hughes is writing and drawing Betty and Veronica on page 287? Wha-huh?!?!?!? How long will that last, and should I break down and get the first issue just because I love Hughes's art so much?!?!?!?

Man, I'm waiting for the trade just because I can't decide on one of the covers! They're all great! Probably the best collection of variants for one issue I've seen. 5 bucks says he won't get 4 issues out by the end of the year, though!



The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina gets a trade on page 288. Good for Archie!

I'm torn on this. I think I mentioned that the Sabrina issue of Afterlife With Archie left her fate ... not so good, so I'm not sure if I want to go for this. It probably looks great, though!

Steve Mannion has another Fearless Dawn comic from Asylum Press on page 291! Life is good when Fearless Dawn returns to our sad lives!!!!

All is right with the world! I hope he'll eventually be able to release the sketchbook and stuff that he had solicited a while back but cancelled.



Big Planet/Retrofit offers The Experts "GN" (it's 24 pages) from Sophie Franz, about underwater creatures that seem to cause memory loss and stuff with the people investigating them! Spooky!

From Black Mask Comics we get the Mayday trade by Curt Pires (page 306). I bought the single issues at Emerald City, so I might have a review up before everyone needs to pre-order, so you can see what's what!

Oh, please do. I want to know what you think, although I'll probably go for it regardless. Unless you say it really sucks. Then I probably won't.

James Asmus and Carlos Magno have Kong of Skull Island from Boom! on page 310. I will, of course, wait for the trade, because that's a good creative team.



It's pricey, but there's a Brian Stelfreeze art book on page 312. He am good.

Justin Jordan writes Sombra on page 313, which is about a DEA agent and the Mexican drug cartels. Topical! Jordan is not bad, so I might check this out. It's only four issues, so I'm torn about waiting for the trade, because it might be more expensive than the single issues!

Yeah, I can't tell anymore. Looks like Boom! is going for 20 dollar trades, so you might be better off in singles.

Page 328 has, from Canton Street Press, Blood is the Harvest replica edition, one of those neato anti-commie comics I've read about in Overstreet for years. It sounds so goofy!

Also on 328 from Cartoon Books is the Bone Coda 25th Anniversary Special, as well as the one volume edition SC offered again. Did I tell you before that I got a semi-damaged but still complete (the spine is VERY cracked about 1/3 of the way in) copy of the complete book for only a quarter? One of my best deals ever. I like the earlier, funnier stuff better, though!

Since you're always going on about Chapterhouse, I thought I'd point out that The Fourth Planet #2 is offered on page 330. I read the first issue and it was pretty keen - humans crash land on a planet where two warring species live, and while nothing much happens beyond that, it's a cool premise. And the art is neat. It's quarterly, though - ugh.

Yeah, I won't be getting the trade for ages, but I will get it! Also from Chapterhouse (thanks for the set up!), we've got All-New Classic (huh?) Captain Canuck TP 1, written by Ed Brisson. Also a novel called Comic Con Men, about a heist planned to steal rare comics. And Johnny Canuck Compendium HC, about an airman who punched Hitler thrice!

So on the ad for Coffin's Lady Death Damnation Game 1 on page 333, they cover up her cleavage on the "naughty" cover, but right across from that on 332, we see the cover sans "naughty" bar. And she's more dressed than on the Silvestri cover!

The "naughty" one on page 332 has been altered. Let's check them both out (with the caveat that I feel dirty showing Lady Death covers!):





Dynamite loves Hatcher. On page 338 we've got the first issue of The Lone Ranger/Green Hornet crossover (how do that work?), page 342 has a new Six Million Dollar Man mini, 346 has the original Shaft novel reprinted, and page 352 has Justice INC: The Avenger trade. They know a sucker when they find one! (HA!)

They also have the Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers trade (finally) on page 350. This is, as you might expect from Joe Casey, pretty bonkers, but it's also quite neat, and the art (by Nathan Fox and a bunch of others) is awesome.

Yeah, it's been so long, I forgot I wanted this damn thing, man! I'm in, because Casey and Fox are great, and GMozz does some art!

Devil's Due/1First tempts me on page 356, with the Badger trade (he fights Putin, dammit!) and the Witchfinder General trade, which sounded like a fun story with history and the occult. Their trades are pricey at 22 bucks for 5 issues, though!

I'm not all that intrigued by Dover's Boys of Sheriff Street on page 361 (even though I liked the Magician's Wife by the same writer), but I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the team on The Puma Blues on their Eisner nomination, as well as to wish Drew Ford (friend of Flippin'!) good luck on his new venture, It's Alive (obviously devoted to Ramones comics, I believe).

Page 367 has a couple of books from Epicenter Comics. Dylan Dog: Mater Morbi, although I thought DH was putting out those books in the States, and Slate: the Last American Superhero GN 1, which has the mystery of why he disappeared!



Fantagraphics on page 368 has Neat Stuff. No, the collection of the comic of that name that Peter Bagge did! GCD says this was 15 issues, so 60 bucks for a 2 HC set with new art and annotations is probably a good deal, although "that costs more than heroin!" (nod to the book for the cognoscenti!)

Also on 368, Hip Hop Family Tree 12 features a flexi disc with hip hop. FLEXI-DISC!!!

And on 369, Beto gives us Garden of Flesh, his retelling of the Adam and Eve story in such a way that the website of that name might feature it!

I wish I'd read more of it yet, but Shadow Tiger TP 1 is offered from Graphic India on page 376, from Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan. Decent superhero stuff from what I did read of it!

Page 383 has The Paybacks from Heavy Metal. Well. No wonder the trade from DH suddenly went from 10 bucks to 13 bucks! I'll have to read that and see if I want to get more!

Yeah, I saw that. I couldn't believe it was the same series, because the trade from Dark Horse just came out. But I guess it is!

It's 50 bucks, but Hermes has The Complete Jim Aparo Charlton Phantom hardcover on page 383, and I am mighty tempted. MIGHTY TEMPTED, I SAY!!!!

That is tempting. That's totally Hatcher-bait, too!



Also on 383 from Humanoids is Milo Manara's Gullivera deluxe HC, a sexytime retelling of Gulliver's Travels. Should I assume that Lilliputians end up in certain holes?

Jet City features 3 neato series starting this month on page 386 (and it'll probably be cheaper to get them in singles than in trade!). The Chronos Files: Time Trial 1 is one of them time travel stories I can't resist. Cirque American: Girl Over Paris 1 has MING DOYLE ART HELL YEAH! And Reliquary: Mayhem and Magic 1 has crime and magic colliding, and Dennis Calero is on art. Since a couple of these books feature female leads, could we call any one of them a Jet City Woman? (I know that was a reach but I DO NOT CARE!)

How long have you been wanting to make that joke? Since the publisher launched, I'd wager.

On page 389, we've got Kingpin Books from Portugal. Solomon: Royal Edition HC is a bit pricey but features an Elephantmen artist, Carlos Pedro, and it's about a cat. Osvaldo Medina gives us Kong the King HC, a silent version of King Kong, to go with that Boom! title!

Page 392 has Ready for Pop from Knockabout, where a swingin' '60s pop star has been shrunk before a TV appearance. Sounds interesting.

Page 393, Kodansha gives us the first of 2 volumes of Queen Emeraldas, which features Captain Harlock that the manga kids all seem to like. Or not, I dunno. Sounds intriguing, because the artist influenced Daft Punk!

Also on 393 is I Am Space Dandy one shot, which WTH! I got confused last month with the one called just Space Dandy, so I'll probably just give up on this one!

I don't know if Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood's Miami Vice story has been collected yet, but it's on page 394 from Lion Forge, and it's worth a look, as it's only 13 dollars. Much like Captain Victory, this is also bonkers, and Mahfood's art is terrific.

I'm not sure if it actually came out, but it was offered from IDW as a 20 dollar trade. I pity the fool that bought that version! (Ummm, yeah, I know that's not the same show ...) I'm also intrigued by the Saved by the Bell book, because of the Chynna Clugston Flores art, and that's just 13 bucks for 256 pages!

Same page, from Literati Press, we've got Heathen GN 1, where a Viking woman is trying to defeat Odin. Sounds neat, and that cover looks cool.

Yeah, that seems up my alley, but I'm still not sure. Why can't anything be one-and-done anymore?!?!?

On page 396, Magnetic features Warship Jolly Roger GN, where a military man who took the fall for his commanders breaks out of prison and commandeers his old spaceship, and becomes a pirate. Sounds neat and looks pretty good.



Also from Magnetic (and Darby Pop) is The Living Finger TP, about a living finger. Creepy!

Microcosm gives us 2 interesting ones on 398, with Sounds of Your Name, a collection of early and new stuff by Nate Powell, and Threadbare, some comics journalism about the links between fashion and human trafficking. That includes some Leela Corman art, so it's got to be good.

Also on 398 from Mike Wolfer Entertainment is a new Widow mini, Progeny, with Karl Moline art. I think he did Buffy related stuff?

Yeah, Moline did quite a lot of Buffy work, as well as a lot of other stuff - he's a veteran of comics. Widow is one of those books that is pretty terrible (it's true!) but it retains some charm because Wolfer did it all himself. I like Moline's art, but without Wolfer drawing it, this becomes much less attractive ... and it wasn't a good comic to begin with.

Also on 398 from Moonstone is The Black Bat and the Purple Scar: Faces of Fear novel, with art by Rob Davis, who did Dai Kamikaze and Straw Men, both books I'd buy trades of!

I haven't read it yet (surprised? if you are, you're slower than I am!), but the second book of The Only Living Boy by Gallaher and Ellis is offered on page 411 (with the first reoffered on page 412!), from Papercutz.

Yeah, I haven't read volume 1 either. When I'm turning into Travis, it's time to re-examine my life.

I've got 2000AD on the brain, because I just got a bunch of them at a con 2 weeks ago, and on page 413 we've got the 2000AD Summer Sci-Fi Special 2016, with Brendan McCarthy on Judge Dredd, among other neat creators. We've also got Judge Dredd: the Cursed Earth Saga Uncensored, which I believe was censored due to fast food parodies, so it's amazing it's being reprinted! And then there's a book called Monster, which features writing from some Alan Moore fella. Monsters in the attic!

I saw all of those and was interested in all of them. Sigh. I don't often buy 2000AD collections, but when I do, I go a bit nuts!

Once Our Land on page 416 from Scout Comics sounds interesting. I'm weary of post-apocalyptic tales, but this is a post-apocalyptic tale set in 1830s Germany, which already makes it intriguing. I'll have to think about it.

Yeah, I thought that would appeal to you. And it's only 2 issues, so it's not a huge cash outlay! I think I'll probably get it!



Noted: Evil Dead 2: Revenge of Dracula from Space Goat Publishing has a sweet variant cover by Kelley Jones (page 418).

Should I not trust that T Pub's Twisted Light GN is REALLY lighter fare than the Twisted Dark stuff? I may get this to try Neil Gibson's stuff, though! (page 419)

I read the first story in the book, and while it wasn't exactly unicorns and rainbows, it was definitely lighter. It's more humorous and ironic, without as much horror. So there you have it.

Also on 419 from Square Fish is Level Up, which was written by Gene Luen Yang and is quite good.

For the Doctor Who geeks, there's a new crossover event this summer from Titan called Supremacy of the Cybermen. Sounds fun. (page 436)

I'm obliged to mention the Best of B.C. HC on page 441, because Johnny Hart came from my area!

Titan has Johnny Red, the Garth Ennis war comic, in trade on page 441. They had me at "Garth Ennis war comic," frankly.

Also at 20 bucks for 8 issues, for me. Good deal!

TwoMorrows gives us Back Issue 91, the jerks issue, with a sweet Guy Gardner One Punch! cover, but even better, there's a feature on the Heckler! YEAH! (page 448)

The Heckler is not a jerk, though. Unless he's a jerk ... to evil!

There's a big to-do about Frank Cho's cover homaging THAT Spider-Woman cover by Manara, for the Street Fighter Legends: Cammy 1 for Udon, but just look at that regular cover! They even call it a STORY cover! So the story is that she can do a full split upside down? (page 452)



On page 453, we get a sweet Kingdom Come homage cover for Street Fighter Unlimited 8. Nice work!

I may get the Faith trade on page 455 from Valiant, since it is 10 bucks for 4 issues. I can't resist them!

Page 466 from Vertical, there's Immortal Hounds GN 1, where there's a world where everyone is immortal, and that it's led to the loss of love, and the people who choose to feel again. Might be neat.

I also hope the second Nichijou volume comes out before the deadline, so I can decide if I want to continue. I was less than impressed with the first one.

Have you gotten Monster from Viz, on page 470? It sounds interesting, where a man has tried to wipe out all traces of himself but fails.

Monster is pretty good, although it goes on a bit too long. I reviewed it a while back, when I had time to review manga. The description in this month's catalog sounds very little like the book, frankly. Weird.

Page 486 has The Osamu Tezuka Story, a comics bio of the God of Manga. I may get this, as I'd like to find out more about him.

Mark Crilley of Akiko fame gives us The Drawing Lesson on page 490, a comic book art instructional. Might be neat.

Cass R. Sunstein has written a book about Star Wars? Life is weird, man! (page 493)

If I bought t-shirts, I'd get the sweet DKR lightning bolt one on 509.

Page 513 -- Don't blame me, I voted for Cobra Commander. HA!

Man, the Avengers actors should sue over those noses on the plushes on page 538. Especially the fair lady ScarJo!

Aw, man, I've got a Penguin from the Super Powers set with one of his legs busted off. My nostalgia is not so strong that I'd pay 90 bucks for a new one, though! (page 540)

We'll end with a WTH. WTH?! Goat Simulator. With Velcro tongue. At least it's not goat STIMULATOR! (page 563) WTH!!!???!!!



So that's the way it is with this month's Previews. If you look over at the categories section of the front page, you'll see that there are 120 entries in this one. Yes, this is the end of the tenth year that I've been going through the Previews catalog! My first one was June of 2006, and I've been doing it ever since. I'd like to thank everyone for reading along with me - comics that actually come out might suck, but there's nothing like the hope of as-yet-unpublished comics! Thanks to all the commenters, too, especially Simon, who apparently has way too much time on his hands! And thanks to Travis Pelkie, who's been helping me out for a while now. He dominates these posts mainly because I let him, so I hope he continues to pitch in, even if he never actually reads comics. What's up with that? We'll be back next month for the beginning of Year Eleven (we're like the French Revolution around here), and in the meantime, I hope you enjoy your monthly journey through Previews!