Is Travis back? Find out below! (Hint: This is far later than I would have liked, so odds are good it's because of Travis!!!!!)

Before we begin, I'd like to apologize for the lack of images in this post. It's 10 o'clock at night, I'm flying to Portland in the morning, and I just don't have time to get pictures into this. I'm really sorry! You're just going to have to check out the solicits yourselves!



Dark Horse:

Check out the full solicits here!

Travis: Page 34 has Call of Duty written by Larry Hama. As I understand it, Larry Hama don't want none unless it's got guns hon! *Wa-ch!* (Ugh, that was a reach for a "Baby Got Back" reference!) (4 November)

Page 43 has Hellboy fighting Rawhead Rex, which, as I understand from reading Clive Barker, is a giant walking penis monster. Hellboy is fighting a penis monster. I hope he doesn't lose because he gets cocky! [Editor: I apologize. Travis has been dipped in Gravy Train and thrown to a pack of rabid voles for that.] (25 November)

Greg: On page 44, Joe Golem: Occult Detective by Mignola and Golden might be pretty good. I'm so much a sucker for detective comics, and especially "weird" detective comics! (4 November)

Travis: I'm really leaning towards getting the EC Archives Panic volume 1 on 50. It's one of the few EC books that I don't see offered constantly, and I want to see how the MAD "ripoff" compared to the original. The Kurtzman MADs are so good! (27 January)

New Itty Bitty Hellboy mini on page 51. I should probably get around to reading the first one first, though, huh? So far behind! (25 November)

Page 53 has the second volume of Groo: Friends and Foes. It's a good group of stories if you like Groo, and a good intro if you don't know him. I wonder if you might want to wait for an omni of this whole series, though, because these trades a bit pricey! (27 January)

Greg: Volume 3 of Dog Mendonça and Pizzaboy is on page 55. I got volume 1 but not volume 2. I wonder why I didn't. Volume 1 was decent enough!

Travis: I read the one shot that reprinted a few DHP stories, and I think it was ok. If they ever do an omni, I'd probably go for it! (20 January)

Greg: I was thinking about getting the trade of Midnight Society on page 58, but I think I'll ask if anyone has read it. It sounded neat.

Travis: It did sound neat. I think the art probably elevates it as well, as Drew Johnson draws well. (20 January)

Greg: Greg Pak and Mirko Colak's Kingsway West, about a Chinese gunslinger in a magical American Old West, sounds neat (page 61). I don't love Colak's work, but it's not bad.

Travis: Sounded more like Kingsway EAST OF West! HA!!! No, it does sound neat, and I'll probably get the trade.

I know you're a heathen and haven't come to love Los Bros Hernandez yet, so no wonder you didn't mention Girl Crazy on page 62. Beto's stories are always fun, but this is 18 bucks for 88 pages. It's ok from the chapter I read in an old DHP, but I doubt it's quite worth that, even as much as I like Beto.

Greg: Yeah, I'm a heathen. I just don't dig the Hernandez guys. Sorry! (6 January)

Travis: Empowered always sounds fun, but I never know how much I need to know to read the one shots and stuff. Pew! Pew! Pew! (page 63) looks cool, but I doubt it's necessarily the best "jumping-on" point. (25 November)

DC:

All the solicits are here!

Greg: Okay, the elephant in the room is Dark Knight III (page 71). You know, I would rather Miller draw this than write this. His writing these days is ... suspect, at best, while his art is still pretty cool. I like Kubert, but his art isn't enough to get me to read this when Miller and the overrated Azzarello are writing it. It's a tough call. The whole package sounds really keen, though, which is another point in its favor!

Travis: Dear DC, Please don't exploit Frank Miller just to put more cash into your coffers. He's a sick old dying man and this seems like it might be his last hurrah. DKSA was bad enough, because while I loved it, it split fans and the Dick Grayson stuff was terrible. Don't sully both Miller's legacy and your own with tripe like this. What's next, V For Vendetta 2: More Vendetta? (Oh, shit, I just gave them an idea ...)

And really, "the epic ending you never saw coming is here because you demanded it!"? That's something you say to a killer robot to screw up its logic circuits by trying to parse WTF that means. Oh DC, why must you do this to me?

What's worse is I know I'll look at it in the store. I'll read the trade eventually. Hell, I may even buy the singles and/or the HCs! But I won't feel good about myself afterwards. Oy.

Greg: I love that solicit. I know what they mean, but it's still beautifully twisted phraseology. (25 November)

Superman: American Alien (page 72) sounds pretty keen (although at 4 bucks a pop, I'll wait for the trade). Just the artists sound awesome. I haven't seen Chronicle, but Max Landis's new movie, American Ultra, sounds godawful. So there's that.

Travis: Yeah, this sounds terrible, really. With the nuDC version of Superman, who the hell knows what stories of his youth really matter anyway? This just bugs me. I'll probably read the trade when it eventually gets to my local libraries. Because the artists are amazing. Write better stuff for these artists, comics writers! (11 November)

Greg: Wasn't Batman: Europa (page 73) solicited before the great 2011 reboot? Holy cow, that thing is late.

Travis: I thought it was solicited back in, like, '09. I almost thought an issue came out, even. But Jim Lee isn't even doing the whole damn thing, and he's drawing off layouts by Camuncoli. What took so long? Plus, the story sounds dull anyway. Not worthy of a decent artist like Lee or Camuncoli. (18 November)

Greg: In Justice League United (page 78), Jeff Parker teams up the League with Sergeant Rock, Enemy Ace, the Creature Commandos and OMAC. Because why the hell not?

Travis: Parker needs to bring all these characters into Batman '66 as well. I'm probably going to go for the trade on JLU for this arc. Sounds good! (11 November)

Greg: I like that Doctor Fate #6 (page 83) doesn't have a Looney Tunes variant, probably because the regular cover already looks like one.

Travis: Nice one. The Looney Tunes variants are great, though. Justice League on 76, Aquaman on 78, Black Canary on 79, Cyborg on 80, Flash on 84, Green Arrow on 85, Starfire on 92, Wonder Woman on 96, Superman on 100, and the DKR homage on Batman/Superman on 98 might be the coolest! I wish they'd done a Constantine one, though!

Greg: In Sensation Comics #16 (page 91), Wonder Woman fights the Echidna. Everyone knows what an echidna is, right? It's not very threatening.

Travis: Well, she does take the Echidna's side in the end. So maybe she realizes! (4 November)

Page 95 features K'Rot and other characters from Threshold in Telos #2. Too bad those versions sucked. (11 November)

Page 96: I'm not a big Finch fan, nor a fan of the new WW costume, but I gotta say I like that cover. Finch is rocking it a la Brereton!

Greg: You mean the one where there's a big "V" right where her vagina is? Yeah, that one is ... well, it's something! (18 November)

Jonathan Case is drawing a Catwoman story in Batman '66 #29 (page 108). Whenever Case draws Batman '66, it's great issue, so if you get any of them, get this one!

Travis: I've been buying all along, but finally caught up reading from where I got behind on it. It's such a good series, you should be getting it all the time, but Case and Dean Haspiel are on this ish, so definitely buy it, folks! (18 November)

Greg: The Phantom Stranger and the Spectre are teaming up with Scooby-Doo and the gang (page 118). Holy crap, that has to be a must-read.

Travis: Oh, I've been getting this series, and it's been great. You forgot about Deadman too! [Editor: So I did. Whoops!] I'm stoked. Sholly Fisch was the best part of the GMozz Action run! (4 November)

Greg: The Trinity Deluxe Edition (page 119) might be a cool comic to pick up, although 30 bucks is a bit steep. It's a good story with phenomenal Matt Wagner art, but I imagine you can find the individual issues for less money.

Travis: I've read the trade at the library. It was decent from what I remember, but nothing I'd shell out 30 bucks for. (13 January)

Greg: I don't think I own The Doom That Came to Gotham (page 120), but there's a trade of it. Mignola writes it, so I imagine it's pretty keen, and I've always like Troy Nixey's art and wished he did more work. So I might have to pick this up, or at least check out if I, you know, own it.

Travis: Took 'em damn long enough! Dread Lord had a post about it not being collected a while back, so hopefully that pushed DC to put this out finally. It's Mignola! Nixey is damn good from what I've seen, and I think he's a movie director now. Comics don't pay well enough! (16 December)

They already resolicited the Neal Adams Bat-Omni from last month (page 121). WTH happened, DC? (24 February)

Greg: That's a bit weird.

Garth Ennis and John McCrea's Demon run gets collected (page 122)! Yay!!!!!

Travis: I'm in. Howcum issue 41 isn't in there? Did Ennis not do that one? Was this portion of the run from before the zero issue? That was good, from what I remember!

Greg: Ennis and McCrea didn't do issue #41 of The Demon. An inventory story, maybe? Hence it not being collected.

Travis: I looked it up, and it was a story by Kevin Altieri, who I believe was an animator for Batman the Animated Series? He did a Gen13 movie at one point, I think. Weird that they published his issue 1 issue into the Ennis/McCrea run! (23 December)

The fourth volume of Grell's Green Arrow is offered on 123, and this one includes the Constantine appearance that the Dread Lord featured recently. (30 December)

I'm wondering if the Justice League United first trade (page 124) is worth getting. I kind of like that team (both of characters and creators), but I'm not sure how I feel about Canadians encroaching on decent American comic books! (16 December)

Greg: The second Suicide Squad trade is finally solicited (page 126). Will DC actually continue the trades on this title now?!?!?

Travis: Were the covers switched for these trades? The first one featured a cover from the Nightshade Odyssey, and this one ... I guess it's the JLI issue? Anyway, the only problem I have is that I think I have all these issues. Otherwise I'd get it! (9 December) [Editor: Yeah, they switched the covers. Of course, neither of them might be the final one.]

Is Superman: Secret Identity (page 126) worth the 30 bucks for the deluxe edition? I mean, it's Busiek and Immonen, so probably yeah, but still ...

Greg: Secret Identity is quite good, but 30 dollars? Man, that's a lot. I'm sure you can find it for cheaper elsewhere.

Travis: Yeah, that's what I figured. I'll search around. (27 January)

Page 127 has a couple cool DC Comics Presents books, with a reprint of the Lois and Clark Wedding, which was decent, and a Teen Titans reprint book with Haney stories and art by Premiani and Cardy. I don't have enough by those guys. Premiani is a big influence on Allred, I know. (4 and 18 November)

Greg: All of the new Vertigo titles on pages 129-132 - Jacked, Red Thorn, Slash & Burn, and Unfollow - sound intriguing, but I'm more amazed by the number of them. Last month there were three, and now four? What's going on over at Vertigo? They're all $3.99, so I won't be getting them, but still, that's a big push of new books.

Travis: I assume that with the move west and the loss of Will Dennis, Vertigo was all akimbo for awhile, but probably got pushed to get more titles to, y'know, make it worth keeping the imprint alive. I'll go for trades, because only Slash & Burn and Unfollow really intrigue me. Tula Lotay's cover for Slash & Burn is, of course, awesome, and a firefighter who might be a firestarter is so ironic! Unfollow could be a cool "we're all connected thing" with a twist. Jacked sounds like just another "real world superhero" yawnfest, but the art by Higgins is bound to be awesome. Red Thorn sounds to me like something where they're saying to themselves "Oh please, let this be another Fables or Sandman and not another Greek Street! Please!"

How was the Strange Sports Stories mini that came out recently? I remember reviews of at least an ish or 2 from you, but how'd you like it overall? The trade is on page 136.

Greg: Both Vertigo anthologies - Strange Sports Stories and CMYK - are good for what they are. Some of the stories are really neat, the art is generally excellent, and the trades are good value. I think each CMYK issue was 8 dollars, and the SSS ones were, I think, 5 bucks each. So the trades are pretty good for what you get!

Travis: Alright! [sic] That will play into my final decision. Once I actually do the math on this stuff! (16 December)

Greg: I bought the first issue of Flinch back when it launched, but none of the others. So I'll probably have to get the trade of the first 8 issues (page 136). Cool horror by great artists!

Travis: Oh man, it's great stuff. I have to see what issues I do have. How good was issue 1? Jim Lee at his most Moebius, I think Quitely was in there, and Corben. Issue 3, I think, has an amazing creepy story by Ennis and Dwyer that was a nightmare Ennis actually had about the Titanic, as I understand it. And it's just a ton of great creators! Well worth it if you don't have it!

Greg: iZombie gets an Omnibus that collects the entire run for $75 (page 136). I don't think I'll get this, but that's not bad.

Travis: I have several of the issues of iZombie so I won't get the omni, but I like Roberson and Allred. I even watched ep 1 of the TV show, and it was ok. Poor Roberson, the ad for his appearance at CincyCon (which was a cool old style "novelties" ad in some comics recently) only listed his work for hire stuff (or DC co-branded stuff, I suppose). (2 December)

IDW:

The full solicits are here!

Greg: I know the final issue of The Infinite Loop hasn't shipped yet, but the trade is offered on page 159, and so far, it's been pretty good. The story is interesting, and the art is amazing. Plus, it's cheaper than the single issues!

Travis: Oh good. I decided to trade wait because of the variant covers, I think, but I heard exciting things about this (i.e., girl on girl exciting). I'm in!

I wish I knew more about Graham Ingels, because that Artist's Edition of his stuff (page 171) is probably cool.

Page 172 has, yay!, the new Alex Robinson book, Our Expanding Universe. His stuff is great. Even a one off goofy thing like Lower Regions was fun. But Box Office Poison and Tricked are two fine GNs, and Too Cool To Be Forgotten is a fine meditation on the passage of time and dealing with your past. I'd say he's basically batting 1.000. If you don't go for these re-offered books, perhaps you'll check out the Top Shelf site and see if they're still having their September web sale. I sure hope so!

Page 173 has the Kevin Eastman Exhibition Collection, which I mention mostly because if that's the original TMNT sketch, wow! I don't know that I'm a big enough Eastman fan to buy this, but his art has a charm to it.

Page 176 has the new HC of Weird Love, which is a lot of fun if you haven't been getting it. [Editor: Of course I've been getting it!] Also has issue 10, which appears to go up to 4.99 with this issue. Considering that you get about 40 pages of goofy mid-Golden/Silver Age romance fun, it's still a pretty good deal. There's also a collection of Don Heck's pre-Code horror stories [on page 176]. I don't know enough of his work to say whether this might be worth it.

Page 177 has the Haunted Horror Pre-Code Cover Coloring book. So goofy! It would be nice to see these covers in B & W, and I do have some crayons!

Greg: The Miami Vice trade on page 178 is interesting. It's Joe Casey craziness mixed with Jim Mahfood craziness, which amps up the craziness to the nth degree. Seriously, it's nuts.

Travis: I was interested in the Miami Vice book. I'm just young enough that the show didn't have any real impact on me, but I do like that Frank Zappa was on an episode. I may go for this, cuz I like Casey and Mahfood.

Also on 178 is yet another Andre The Giant comics bio. Why is he having a moment lately? I think it was a book by Box Brown in the last year or so about him too. Weird.

Greg: The Drones trade is on page 179. This is another wacky comic - I haven't re-read it, so I don't know how well the insane final issue brings everything together, but it's certainly a very interesting comic.

Travis: I was trade waiting this too. Sounds a bit like Veitch's Army@Love, but a bit better. Granted, that probably isn't that hard ...

Image:

It's all the solicits you need!

Greg: Jason Aaron and R. M. Guera team up again for The Goddamned (page 182), about life before Noah's Flood. I'm sure it will be fine, but I'm waiting for the trade. I have to stop getting so many single issues!!!!!

Travis: Yeah, I got soooooo far behind on Scalped. I read up to about #31, then didn't read it again until right before the last issue came out. Even though I bought all of them in between. 2 and a half years! Gah! And that's not even the worst title I've done that with, I think! But it was so good, and worth bingeing on there just before the end. I'm going to trade wait, though, for the same reason as you. (11 November)

Greg: Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (page 186) might be pretty good (and the first issue is 66 pages for 5 bucks, which is a great deal), but I'm not sure if I'm a fan of Takeda. I mean, her art is like porcelain, isn't it? It's beautiful, but can it tell a story?

Travis: Actually, based on the samples here, it tells the story fairly well. Lookit that dude's face in the last panel shown. So shocked! I'm going to tradewait and see what reviews Simon links for us. (4 November)

Citizen Jack on 190 has a great concept, with a demon behind the campaign of a presidential candidate, but I haven't liked anything by Humphries since Higher Earth. And that squandered its premise. Oh well.

Wow, on page 192, Billy the Sink is going all Kyle Baker there on Jupiter's Circle volume 2 #1, huh?

I was in anyway, but Tula Lotay and a cover by Babs Tarr seals the deal that I will be getting the Thought Bubble Anthology (page 193) again this year. There aren't any really meaty stories here, but there are cool creators, spotlights on up and comers, and the proceeds go to children's charities. Are you some kind of monster that you won't buy this to help children?! Monster! (4 November) [Editor: I get it every year!]

Greg: Limbo (page 198) looks and sounds pretty cool, although of course it has an "80s VHS visual aesthetic." Sigh. But come on - a "surreal neo-noir series" with an amnesiac detective? Come on!

Travis: That's "neon-noir," actually. [Editor: D'oh!] Looks great, and I loves me some cassettes. Should this be set in San Hannibal, though? Will PJ sue? HA! (11 November)

Well, the conclusion of the first (?) part of Nameless is on 201. Maybe we'll find out WTF is going on in that. (11 November)

Page 208 has Millar and Albuquerque on Huck, which sounds like it spins off that issue of Astro City: Local Heroes that you wrote a letter about.

Greg: Wait, what? I wrote a letter? That's unpossible! I'm still on my Mark Millar boycott, so I won't be getting this, but Mark Millar writing a special needs character makes me really, really nervous, especially as he's already done it. (18 November)

Travis: Page 212 has the return of Pretty Deadly, which surprisingly turned out better than most of the crap that Fraction was putting out that year. HA! (18 November)

Page 215/227 has the Spawn Resurrection trade out. I'm reluctant because of the shenanigans with Brian Wood being on, then off, the book, but I have a soft spot for crappy 90s comics. (18 November)

Page 216/220 has Ringside, a comic about wrasslin'. Looks neat, but I'll probably trade wait to see if it's Glory Joe Keatinge (way good) or Morbius Joe Keatinge (pardon the pun, suckkkkkkkkk!) (25 November)

Postal volume 2 is on 220, and the FBI Dossier is on 202/206. I haven't read volume 1 yet, but Matt Hawkins does good comics. He's leaving the book soon, I guess, but it's a neat premise of a criminal sanctuary town shattered by someone finding out that criminals are there. Or something. I must read it! (25 November)

Sons of the Devil volume 1 is on 221/226, and 5 issues plus a bonus story for 10 bucks seems too good to pass up. Especially since the lead guy's name is Travis! And there's SATAN!!! (25 November)

Page 224/204 has Double D book 1, written by the dude from Art Brut, whose one album I liked (forgot the name of it though). They paraphrased Vonnegut's Timequake: "You were sick, now you're bett-uh, there's work to be done". I may go for it, although just from the preview I want to give the kid a swirly. And come on, that title is just begging for me to mock it, right?! (11 November)

And page 228/207 has volume 1 of Wolf by Kot and Taylor. For 10 bucks, I figure it's worth checking out again. The guy who did one of the finest comics of the last several years (Change) has to have SOME other trick up his sleeve, right? (11 November)

Marvel:

Hey! it's the full solicits!

Travis: I did like the All-New, All-Different Avengers FCBD book, but not enough to get these [the first two issues of the new series; page 4]. I'm tired just typing the title! (11 and 25 November)

Greg: Spider-Woman is pregnant (page 12). I'm morbidly curious how Dennis Hopeless will write an exciting story with her being pregnant. I imagine in issue #2 she'll somehow give birth and be back to fighting shape in the course of a page or two.

Travis: They should put her in the Manara pose like this. Someone left a baby in her! It actually sounds interesting, because Ben Urich and Porcupine are apparently trying to curtail her superheroing, and she doesn't want to let them. But there's gotta be some recognition that a pregnant woman isn't quite able to superhero the same way as a non-pregnant one. This actually would be a good storyline to have in reserve so that if some lady playing Spider-Woman (or some other female hero) gets pregnant while making the movie, they can incorporate elements of this story into that. (18 November)

Greg: Page 18: Venom: Space Knight. Yep.

Travis: At first I said oy too, but then I thought it sounds kinda neat. I know you're just mad because it's Ariel Olivetti art. HA!

Greg: I have no idea if it will suck (although with Olivetti art, it's halfway there!), I just find it hilarious that they're desperate to get Venom in a comic. How many iterations has he had now? (25 November)

Shawn Crystal is drawing Illuminati (page 22), which is about villains trying to win for a change. Because they never actually try to win, you know. Anyway, Crystal's work on Arkham Manor was a lot different (and better) than his earlier work, so it's cool that he got another gig so soon. (11 November)

Hey, look, it's totally not gay in any way, nope not at all Hercules (page 26). There's nothing bisexual at all about dudes getting oiled up and hanging out shirtless with other dudes, which Hercules, I'm sure, has never done ever! Axel Alonso says so!!!!! (4 November)

Travis: The hydra heads are snaky things that once you finish one off, another 2 pop up in place. In other words, it's like a party at Elton John's house! (This joke stolen from Craig Ferguson, whose show was stolen by Tubby McNoLaughs.) (Wow, that was cruel.)

Greg: I have no idea what any of those words put together in that order mean.

That's great that they're making X-23 the "real" Wolverine (Marvel loves the character so much they never actually gave her a superhero name!), but why is Marvel still yanking our chain about Logan? They know he's coming back. We know he's coming back. Why are they being coy with Laura and "Old Man Logan" in this brave new world? Also: Laura's claws will never not look stupid. (page 28)

Travis: And I was trying to stop commenting like this, but c'mon. Wolverine's got boobs now! To me, it's more like, why does she have a story that's at all compelling, and the answer is, well, she doesn't. Dull! (11 November)

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur on 30 sounds like it will be fun. I'm not getting it in singles, but I'll definitely pick up the trade. I got the Kirby run of Devil Dinosaur for 50 cents a pop years ago. It's so fun!

Greg: Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare, as writers (Reeder's art is terrific!), do not inspire much confidence in me, unfortunately. (25 November)

Travis: I hate the "point one" numbering, like Amazing Spider-Man 1.1 (page 35), but I honestly was just wondering before this Previews came out where Simone Bianchi was. Apparently drawing comics I don't care about! (11 November)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is fun, and this solicit cover for issue #2 (page 40) shows why. I'm very digging this book! (25 November)

On page 42, Ms. Marvel's new #1 is $4.99, with the regular series presumably at $3.99? Well, Marvel, thanks, because you got me to write off a book I'm getting in singles! (18 November)

Vision is so creepy on page 46, with his Vision family! (4 November)

Greg: So Marvel is still clinging to The Ultimates as a title, are they? (page 48) I like Al Ewing, but why do writers always want to write a story about "ending the threat of Galactus ... forever"? I mean, it will all come down to "Galactus performs a crucial task and cosmic balance blah blah blah" and we'll all move on. Come on, Al Ewing!

Travis: Yeah, but it'll be EPIC!!! (11 November)

Page 61 has the Secret Wars Too parody book, with plenty of fun creators (Sergio Aragones!) I'm in for it! (18 November)

Blade: Undead by Daylight on page 90 looks like it might be decent, if Marv Wolfman gets some cash his way. (4 November)

I might go for the Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows book (page 105). It also includes the Secret Wars: Secret Love one shot that was pretty good stuff. (16 December)

Page 110 has M.O.D.O.K.: Assassin, which looks interesting art-wise.

Greg: Yeah, Amilcar Pinna does really nice work on the book. I'm not a huge fan of Chris Yost, but I might check it out anyway. (16 December)

Travis: Page 111 has Weirdworld, which both looks and I hear reads nice. I may be in! (16 December)

I've heard good things about Spider-Gwen on 115, so I may check out the trade. (25 November)

If you're a Star Wars nerd and love "What If?"-type stories, check out Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: Infinities on page 121. It's also got that adaptation of the original script. (16 December)

All right, it's time for the back of the book!

Greg: I probably won't get Will Eisner: Champion of the Graphic Novel (Abrams Comicarts, page 244), because it's 40 bucks and I'd rather read Eisner's comics than read about him, but that's a cool project!

Travis: They have another cool one, too. Derf gives us the behind the scenes story of where our garbage goes with Trashed. I'll probably see if one of my libraries gets the Eisner book in, because 40 bucks is a decent chunk of change. But damn, that's got to be a cool book.

Page 244 also gives us Abstract's Collected SIP Kids trade. I kind of wanted to get these issues as they came out, so I'm glad they're collected. Terry Moore's more cartoony stuff is fun and Strangers In Paradise is one of the great comics of the 90s (even if it tended to meander there for awhile).

Page 248 has Action Lab with a new crossover ("The largest creator owned crossover that the Publishing world has ever seen"? Hmm. I thought "War of the Independents" might beat that out, but I don't know if that thing ever got finished, so screw them, yeah, Action Lab takes it!) series with a lot of their characters. Actionverse #0 is tempting, plus a couple of the books of these characters are reoffered here as well. I really should get Molly Danger, shouldn't I? [Editor: Yes, you should.] As much as I like a crossover like this, I'm afraid there's no good way to do it to serve the best overall interests of the characters and the creators. Either the character (and creator) gets caught up in the crossover and neglects their regular series, or the character is reduced to a cameo in the crossover and then who cares? But I may still go for this as I have a soft spot for indies and their crossovers!

Also from Action Lab, on page 250 there's Just Another Sheep, with art from JD Faith. I liked what I've seen from Faith enough that I'll go for at least the trade, and the concept of a superpowered teen looking for his origins in '69 and encountering war protesters is pretty interesting.

Again with a neat sounding book, Action Lab! On page 252 we have Tomboy, with a teen girl vigilante, and the art looks good. It sounds a little similar to A Voice in the Dark. I say that mostly because I want to lament that there's no more A Voice in the Dark!

Greg: I was waiting for the trade of Gunsuits from American Gothic Press (page 256), and there it is for 15 dollars. A Paul Tobin/PJ Holden book can't be bad, can it?

SLG has Contraband on page 258, which is about a dude documenting a group who film violent acts, presumably to call attention to them. He is tasked with finding an activist who wants to destroy the group, and complications ensue! I have a vague feeling that this was offered before, but I don't feel like finding it in my backlog of pre-orders right now. But it sounds neat, and if it was offered before, I imagine I already ordered it!

Travis: They offer this every few months, actually. It never makes my final list, but it should because Phil Elliott is decent. This should cross over with Hacktivist.

I'm not getting it (waiting for the library to get it again), but I have read the first 2 volumes of Barry Deutsch's Hereville books (from Amulet Books on page 259) about a young monster-fighting Orthodox Jewish girl, and they were quite good. I'd recommend them.

Greg: I probably won't buy Antarctic's Rochelle, the Teen Cockroach trade on page 260, but I do love that a comic called Rochelle, the Teen Cockroach exists. So much to unpack with that title!

Travis: I haven't seen anyone talking about Astronaut Ink's New Zodiax by Joe St Pierre, but the first trade is on 268. I think I saw issue #1, or maybe looked at an online preview. It was perfectly decent '90s looking art, and the zodiac concept isn't bad. I haven't outright eliminated it from my list yet! Plus, a Hembeck pinup!

If you're the kind of sicko who gets off on torture and perversion, there's a new Ennis 2-shot of Crossed and plenty of other Crossed stuff offered from Avatar on 272-277. Wait, I resemble that remark!

I forget, did you get all of the first arc of Benitez Productions's Lady Mechanika? The trade is offered on 280. I have 0 and 1, and they were ... okay. Did it get any better?

Greg: I only got issue #0 of Lady Mechanika. I did not return!

Travis: Ah, thought you had #1 as well. Yeah, I didn't think too much of it, but I guess I liked it a bit better than you. Not, y'know, buy the trade like it, but still ...

Greg: I might have to get the trades of Space Riders and We Can Never Go Home from Black Mask Comics on page 280. The first is about a space crew dealing "harsh justice to the scum of the galaxy while searching for the hidden truths of the universe," which sounds groovy, while the second is about two teens in a heap of trouble in backwoods America. Teens deserve it, man!

Boom! has Klaus, Grant Morrison's take on Santa, on page 287. Sexy Santa, I must add. Morrison just continues to get weirder. I'm buying this, of course, but it still fills me with some trepidation.

Travis: Is it fucking April Fool's Day already? Really, GMozz? Santa Claus needs a fucking origin story? Did Boom! just throw money at him and say do whatever? Oy. I suppose I'm most pissed at Klaus because it means that GMozz hasn't watched the Rankin-Bass classic Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. Fred Astaire answered all our damn questions there, Grant!

I'm interested in that Last Sons of America mini (page 288). It sounds like it could be a good fast paced thriller with bioterror keeping 'muricans sterile and us needing to adopt (and even kidnap) furriners. Neato!

Greg: Lumberjanes is getting a hardcover of the first 8 issues, which is a complete story so it's about damned time. It's 40 dollars, which is a bit spendy, but there's an extra short story from a Boom! anthology. It's neat, but I do hope Boom! will bring out a softcover version.

Oh, screw you, Boom! It took you over a fucking year to get the first 4-issue trade out, and then when you JUST SOLICITED volume 2 LAST MONTH, you come out with this next? Dammit! I'd have gotten this and passed my copy of volume 1 on to someone else to get them reading it (hell, I might have even donated it to the library!). Grrrrrrr.

Did you get Deep State? I can't remember. What'd you think? Volume 2 is available on page 293.

Greg: Deep State volume 1 was pretty good. Good enough that I'm getting the second volume.

Travis: That will play into my decision. I think volume 2 is the final volume, didn't this get cancelled?

Greg: Yes, it did.

Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard volume 3 is on page 293. This is always a wonderful series, and this is no exception.

Everything about the two-page solicit for Webwitch (pages 300-301 from Boundless) is amazing, even though there's no way in hell I'm buying the book. Okay, there's an un-amazing part: Al Rio is dead? He killed himself back in 2012 at the age of 49? That's too bad. I was never a fan, but still.

Travis: Oh, come on! I've been trying to avoid making certain types of commentary, but how can I avoid it with Webwitch? It's like a sleazier Tarot! So dirty!

Greg: ComicMix is reprinting Grimjack in Omnibus volumes, collecting the Starslayer back-ups and issues #1-13 for 40 dollars (page 306). These are great comics, and it's nice that they're getting reprinted (I assume IDW's trades are out of print). If the "Munden's Bar" back-ups are included, I might have to get these, as IDW only did one trade of that. Yes, I'm a sucker. But let's hope more people have access to Grimjack now!

Travis: They also have Demons of Sherwood, which tells the story of Robin Hood after the fact. Sounds neat, especially with Bo Hampton art!

Greg: Warren Ellis is writing James Bond (Dynamite, page 309). I know he's not going to write it for long, but of course I'm buying this! I'm such a sucker.

Devil's Due/First has more stuff from the Fillbach brothers, as they reprint Captain Freebird on page 330. This is yet another beautiful book, and I remember it being a pretty insane story. Underneath that is Necessary Monsters, which is a pretty cool book about other-dimensional monsters who protect humanity. It's written by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, who really doesn't do enough comic book work.

25 bucks for 96 pages is a bit dear, but Donald Grant Publishing on page 334 has two collected strips ("Idyl" and "I'm Age") by Jeffrey Jones, which I'm sure are beautiful. I'm very tempted. (Is it okay to refer to her as "Jeffrey" before her transition? I really don't know the protocol in those cases.)

Travis: I think I've seen her referred to as Jeffrey Catherine Jones in later years. I'm torn, though. It says in the ad that a strip is missing, and it's kinda pricey. But it's Jeffrey Jones, and it's been praised by Neil Gaiman and Dave Sim says it's like, one of his favorite things ever, so I want it. I may just wait, though.

Fantagraphics on pages 340-341: I'd love the Winsor McCay book, but 95 bucks is too rich for my blood. It has dinosaur comics and King Kong! That new Mickey Mouse book sounds awesome - he's sent to "a dystopian future of robots and wicked warlords" and has to defeat them. The gift box set pairs The Tomorrow Wars with March of the Zombies - wow, Mickey is cooler than I thought! Ah, the final issue of Zap Comix is offered - 15 bucks for 80 pages of old guys doing underground comix sounds cool.

I like what Heavy Metal is doing on page 359. Hoax Hunters volume 3 (for 10 bucks) was a decent storyline. Reincarnate is from Michael Moreci, who's done good with Hoax Hunters, about a private investigator who can interact with his former lives. And there's also Three Floyds: Rise of the Alpha King, where Azzarello and Bisley do a comic based on a beer. Oh ... kay. If that's the sort of thing you like, you might like that!

Greg: Legendary has a new series from Steven Grant and Pete Woods called Cops for Criminals on page 367. Wrongly accused cop fights his own brand of justice blah blah blah, but Grant writes these kinds of books really well, and Woods is a fine artist, so this might be worth a look.

Travis: They also have a new Chris Roberson series, Black Bag. I'm in the bag (HA!) for Roberson ever since his break from DC, and stuff like the Monkeybrain comics and Edison Rex by him in particular make it well worth following him.

Cops for Criminals sounds pretty good. I'll probably trade wait. The Annihilator HC was friggin' great looking (even if Diamond seemed to have banged it up a bit when they shipped my copy. Pack your books better, Diamond!). The dude behind Legendary grew up in my area, too!

Greg: NBM has the second volume of Persia Blues, which I've been waiting on for a while! You can also get volume 1 on the same page, 374. It's a cool story about Iran and ancient Persia.

Travis: I thought you'd said good things about it. I'm going to consider it!

Greg: The trade of Old Wounds is offered on page 384 from Pop! Goes the Icon. I didn't review the last issue because I suck, but it ends kind of weakly - the mystery isn't really one, which I feared as I read the first two issues, because Lissau didn't have enough time to really give us a good one. It's not a bad comic, though, and Bivens does nice work on the art. It's 13 dollars, which is a tiny bit more than the single issues, but it does have some extra stuff, so there's that.

Travis: Yeah, I ... still ... haven't ... read ... issue #4. I know! I'm gonna try to catch up with stuff! But I read the first 3 issues, and yeah, there wasn't time for a good mystery, but there was some cool atmosphere and the art was decent. Covers were great!

Greg: There's a second Monsterology trade on page 386 from Renegade Arts Entertainment. The first one (which is re-offered) was pretty good, so it's nice that there's more to the story. More good PJ Holden art!

Tom will be so happy that Mage appears on page 389. Oh, wait, it's Mage, Inc. Sorry, Tom!

Travis: HA! You totally made him think it was Wagner's book for a minute. He's so crying now! HAHAHAHA TOM! Serves you right for being Canadian!

Greg: Titan has Johnny Red on page 408, which is written by Garth Ennis and is a war story, which means it will be good-to-great. Am I waiting for the trade? Yes I am.

Okay, so after a few years of NOT appearing in Previews, suddenly Ooku volume 11 is offered (Viz, page 427)? What the hell? I've been keeping up with this on Amazon, but I'm a few volumes behind. I love Ooku, but why hasn't it been in Previews for a few years? How dumb.

Travis: So ... is this Y the Last Manga?

Z2 has Carver: A Paris Story #1 on page 434, which sounds like fun 1920s action adventure, and even better, there's a variant cover and back up story by Paul Pope!

That's about it for this month, folks. Travis did point out that in the clothing section, someone put Grumpy Cat Sinestro on a T-shirt and he wondered if we should sue, since we obviously made Grumpy Cat Sinestro part of the zeitgeist! Again, I apologize for the tardiness of this post. Thanks for reading!