Drooling Superman! Everyone loves Drooling Superman! Luckily, he shows up in Previews #307, which also has comics in it!
There's a new Witchfinder series on page 40, for which I will wait for the trade. The writers are Kim Newman and Maura McHugh. Who the heck are Kim Newman and Maura McHugh? Newman is a "horror fiction legend," according to the solicits. I guess I don't read the right things, because I've never heard of him. Of course, the list of people I've never heard of is quite long, so there's that. (18 June)
For the solicitation of Lobster Johnson: Get the Lobster #5 (page 43), Dark Horse played "Greg Hatcher Bingo": "The Lobster engages in a firefight with a madman in a biplane on top of a zeppelin!" Hatcher already loves this comic! (4 June)
Page 44: "The Goon is back!" How many times has The Goon come back, anyway? Sheesh. (25 June)
The Guns of Shadow Valley (page 45) might feature "superhuman gunmen" and "ghostly warriors," which makes me cringe just a little, but it still sounds pretty cool - a supernatural western is always fun - and the art is gorgeous. I'm tempted! (13 August)
I don't know if Skyman volume 1 is any good, but it's offered on page 54. It's Joshua Hale Fialkov and Manuel Garcia, so I'm sure it's pretty decent, but other than that, I don't know much about it. Has anyone been getting it? (6 August)
David Lapham's Juice Squeezers gets a trade on page 59. I read the short story in Dark Horse Presents, which was okay, although nothing too great. I imagine the collected edition will be a bit better. (6 August)
I don't have any interest in the new Emily and the Strangers series on page 60, but I do like Cat Farris's art. So ... yeah. (25 June)
Why is Steve the Pirate on the cover of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #6 (page 65)? Is it some kind of homage, since, because, well, you know? (25 June)
I've never been that interested in Elfquest, but as it comes to an end, it's nice that Dark Horse is making it available, in the form of The Complete Elfquest volume 1 on page 70. Twenty issues for 25 bucks isn't bad at all. (6 August)
Eye of Newt by Michael Hague (page 71) looks very nice. I'm not as sure about the description - it sounds like fairly standard fantasy stuff - but it still looks very keen! (18 June)
I really ought to get The Ring of the Nibelung by P. Craig Russell and Lovern Kindzierski that shows up on page 72. I mean, I know it's amazing-looking, but I've probably gotten old enough to appreciate the story more. (6 August)
On page 84, we find Infinity Man and the Forever People by ... wait for it ... Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen. The last time these two teamed up on a Kirby comic, we got 8 issues of O.M.A.C. Will this last any longer? I doubt it, but who knows. Why does DiDio insist on trying to be a writer? Has anyone ever liked anything he's ever written? I mean, I know the snooty people on the Internet hate him, but even in the real world, where Brett Booth comics outsell Jae Lee comics, people don't seem to like DiDio's writing. Even if nobody is going to gently take him aside and have an intervention, you'd think he'd look at the sales figures and realize it himself! Or maybe he just believes that the reading public doesn't understand his genius. Beats me. (11 June)
One of the reasons I don't love solicitations is because they often spoil events. I don't care about events, but I imagine some people do, and at least Marvel does those annoying blacked-out solicitations occasionally (which apparently makes it difficult for retailers to order them, but I dismiss that, because if you're ordering Avengers, don't you already know how many to order?), while DC forges ahead. So Justice League #32 (page 85) begins with the solicitations telling us that Lex Luthor is now one of the "world's greatest heroes," thanks to, I imagine the events of Forever Evil (which is now delayed - wait, a David Finch book is delayed?!?!?!?). It doesn't quite spoil everything in Forever Evil, but if I were reading that, I'd probably be the kind of person who reads Justice League, and I'd be a bit miffed that DC spoiled it for me. What's up with that, DC? (18 June)
Hey, it's Sexy Lobo on the cover of Justice League United #2 (page 88)! How many Loboes are there in the DCnU, anyway? (11 June)
On page 97, we get Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger #20, guest-starring the Spectre. Is the Spectre Jim Corrigan in the DCnU? That would suck, but it wouldn't surprise me. What's the story, people who read more DC comics than I do? (4 June)
DC's stealth policy of increasing their prices continues, as Superman #32 is 4 dollars for a regular-sized comic (page 101). I know it's Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr., but that's still dirty pool by DC. Anyway, despite not being a Johns fan at all, I might give this a look. The cognitive dissonance of Romita drawing Superman might make me check it out! (25 June)
As I've often noted, if you happen to see Emanuela Lupacchino's artwork, it's probably on a comic I don't want to read. To wit: Supergirl #32 (page 104), with blood-vomiting Kara doing her thing. Dang it, Emanuela Lupacchino - draw something I want to read!!!! (18 June)
The cover of Red Hood and the Outlaws #32 (page 115): BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!! (18 June)
Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet (page 121) has the potential to be the biggest train wreck we've seen in a while. Let's hope DC and Dynamite both let Kevin Smith do whatever he wants instead of, you know, actually editing him, because I don't think the dude can control himself when it comes to lowest common denominator writing. Come on, DC/Dynamite, ignore Smith and let him go nuts! The comic will suck, but it will be massively entertaining! (4 June)
DC is celebrating Batman's 75th anniversary, even though none of their characters existed prior to September 2011. On page 126, we get the two big hardcover collections with famous Batman and Joker stories throughout history. I don't care about any of that - they look like good collections from the issues - but I am very intrigued by the fact that DC lists them as "Retrosolicits." What the flying crap does that mean? I can't even begin to figure it out. Seriously - what the hell? (16 July)
The God of All Comics' final Action Comics trade is offered on page 131. I guess I'll have to sit down and read the entire thing once it shows up. (23 July)
On page 132, we get the long-awaited Cinder and Ashe trade. Cinder and Ashe, DC? Really? I mean, of course I'm going to get it - it's José Luis García-López artwork - but this just reinforces my idea that DC and Marvel have a giant wall on which they put the names of every comic they've ever published and then they blindfold an intern and let that person throw a dart at the board and whichever one it hits gets collected. Motherfucking Cinder and Ashe. (2 July)
There's a new Tiny Titans mini-series on page 136. Tiny Titans was fun, and it's nice that DC is bringing it back. (4 June)
The second (and last) trade of Li'l Gotham shows up on page 137. While I never absolutely loved this series, it's still a pretty neat bunch of stories. Some are really awesome, of course, and this is 6 issues for 13 bucks, which ain't bad. (30 July)
DC gets around to collecting the beginning of Jamie Delano's weird Animal Man run on page 141. This is notable for being one of Steve Pugh's really early works, and it's a bizarre horror story that will seem very familiar to anyone who read Jeff Lemire's run on the title (well, at least the early issues, the only ones I've read). (9 July)
Good for Jeff Parker, writing the new Angry Bird Comics on page 160. I don't think I'll be checking it out, but good for him!
Harlan Ellison's script for The City on the Edge of Forever gets adapted on page 163. It's J. K. Woodward on art, which should make it look nice, and I guess people have raved about this for years, so if you've never read it and want to, here's a chance!
Louise Simonson is writing Cartoon Network: Super Secret Crisis War! (page 167), which I guess is a team-up of various Cartoon Network characters. It seems kind of weird, but hey, I'm sure Simonson and artist Derek Charm are enjoying themselves!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Heroes Collection features 8 of the "micro-series" IDW put out over the past few years, and it sounds pretty neat. It has art by Andy Kuhn, Valerio Schiti, Ross Campbell, and Marley Zarcone, among others, so it will look pretty neat, too!
If you skipped the single issues or the two trades, you can get a fancy hardcover of Mars Attacks by John Layman and John McCrea on page 172. This series was a lot more fun than I expected it to be, and of course it looked fantastic.
Chuck Dixon is relaunching Winterworld on page 173, with art by Jackson Guice. The original Winterworld was pretty good, so I might have to check this out.
Kill Shakespeare: The Mask of Night fires up on page 175. These mini-series are quite good, so if you've missed them, here's a chance to check it out!
Well, this is weird. IDW is releasing G.I. Joe: Silent Interlude, which is basically the old silent issue from the Marvel series. They've expanded it a bit to include original layouts and other such stuff, so it's 88 pages, then they slapped a $20-price tag on it. That seems excessive. I mean, I guess it's a classic, but still.
Starstruck Treasury Edition is on page 183, and I'm not sure what the deal is with it. It's not labeled as volume 1 or anything, but it's only 72 pages long. That's not enough for the entire epic! It's a cool comic, and it's a big format so Michael Kaluta's art will look amazing, I'm sure, but I'm still puzzled about it.
If you've never read Thom Zahler's Love and Capes, you can remedy that with The Complete Collection on page 185. It's 50 bucks, but it does collect 24 issues and has 676 pages, so there's that. It's a really fun series about superhero romance, so if you have missed it, you should check it out (plus, Our Dread Lord and Master's book shows up in it, which is neat).
Tom Beland has Chicacabra on page 187. It's the story of a Puerto Rican high schooler who happens to be a chupacabra. Of course she is! I'll have to check this out.
So, yeah, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie launch The Wicked and the Divine on page 201. 'Roided-up bears drunk on honey wine couldn't keep me away from that sucker. (18 June)
Red City on page 204 sounds like a hard-boiled noir detective story ... set on Mars. Daniel Corey is a pretty good writer, so I might have to give this a look. (11 June)
Ted McKeever has been doing some very weird (and very good) comics recently, and The Superannuated Man (page 206) sounds like yet another one, in which the world has been taken over by "advanced and mutated animals," but one old man still hangs on in a small seaside town. Yeah, another McKeever gem! (4 June)
That's Because You're a Robot, a one-shot about two cops, one of whom is a robot, but they don't know which one, shows up on page 211. I don't know the writer - he writes for Veep, which is a big plus - but it's drawn by Shaky Kane, which means it's going to look amazing. (11 June)
Dead Body Road gets a trade on page 213, in case you're interested. I'm not sure if this is any good, but Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera are both talented, so I might have to give this a look. (25 June)
The final volume of Gødland shows up on page 213, which is nice. However, it's more important that on page 214, the long out-of-print first Celestial Edition comes back, which is very cool. I already own the single issues, of course, but the second Celestial Edition (which is also offered again) has a ton of cool extra stuff, and I assume the first one does too. Good for Casey and Scioli, getting it back into print like that! (4 June)
I've been hearing good things about A Voice in the Dark, so I'll get the trade on page 215. I don't know if it's enough to save the book, but I'll do my part, I suppose. (11 June)
As I noted above, with Marvel events, they tend to keep details close to the vest, but on pages 8-9, at least they give creative teams for the various "Original Sin" tie-ins. What cracks me up is that Original Sin itself is eight issues, while on page 9, we get Original SinS #1-2 (the plural is important!) and Original Sin #3.1, .2, .3, and .4. So the mini-series event might be eight issues, but by God, Marvel is going to milk it until its teats are raw and dry!
You know, as much as I hate Greg Land's art, he can do some things, but I can't think of a worse artist to draw an issue of Mighty Avengers (page 12) that is set in 1972. Holy crap, that should be a visual clusterfuck. (11 June)
Alan Davis writes and draws Savage Hulk #1 on page 14. Much like the X-Men, Marvel is running out of adjectives for the Hulk, and now they're just recycling ones. Next up (after 12 issues or so of this one, and they reboot it): The Irrepressible Hulk! Comics fans are smart, Marvel! They'll enjoy that one! (25 June)
Miracleman #7 is offered on page 17. I'm warning people about this, as this begins the brief period of the book when Chuck Austen was doing the artwork. If you think Alan Moore is a genius whose writing is so good it doesn't matter who's drawing his stuff, check back in with me after you've seen Chuck Austen drawing his scripts. Yikes. (4 June)
Marvel uses the word "penultimate" in the solicitations to Superior Foes of Spider-Man (they also use "it's" when they mean "its," because they live to make me crazy) - does that mean next issue is it? Or does Marvel not know what "penultimate" mean, either? (11 June)
We can laugh at Gina on Brooklyn 99 incorporating emoji into her actual conversation, but Marvel only looks at her and thinks, "Now there's someone who's ahead of her time!", as they're using emoticons in their solicitations, as for Loki #5, which claims that the "movie" (comic) is "rated :( for tears before bedtime." I have railed against the infantilization of society before, and this is a wonderful example of it. Yes, I'm angry. (Oh, and you all should really be watching Brooklyn 99, which is probably the funniest show on television right now.) (4 June)
Meanwhile, over on page 40, Hawkeye #21 gives us "The Finale, Part 1." Again, I assume this means what we all think it means, not some bait-and-switch by Marvel. I'm actually kind of happy about this. Hawkeye has been spinning its wheels for a while now, and the last two issues were pretty mediocre. (25 June)
On page 76, we find Marvel Famous Firsts: 75th Anniversary Masterworks Slipcase Set, which includes the first volumes of a bunch of Marvel Masterworks - 11 of them, to be exact - and can be yours for the low low price of $500. This sounds pretty awesome, actually, and as I don't own a lot of these - the Fantastic Four one is the only one, I think - I'd love to get it, but that's a bit rich for my blood. Looks neat, though. (3 September)
Speaking of Marvel Masterworks, on page 79 Not Brand Echh gets the treatment. That's one thing I bet many people thought would never show up in Marvel Masterworks! (3 June 2015 - wait, what?)
On page 84, you can get the Oz Omnibus, which collects every series Eric Shanower and Skottie Young did with the Oz stuff. I'm actually quite tempted by this, but it's $125, and I'm not sure if I'm that tempted. (3 September)
Jim Starlin is writing and drawing an original graphic novel about Thanos, The Infinity Revelation, on page 86. That's kind of nifty, isn't it? (6 August)
The 1970s Star-Lord stuff gets collected on page 104. I guess there's lots of cool stuff in here; I know there's a bunch of good creators, like Englehart, Claremont, Moench, Byrne, Infantino, Sienkiewicz, and Colan, among others. It's only 25 bucks for over 400 pages, so I might have to check it out. (9 July)
Ah, yes, it's time for the back of the book, where unnumbered treasures can be found!
I don't know the creators of The Last West from Alterna on page 255, but it sounds pretty neat: a "noir epic" in which the world's progress stopped "after the failure of the first test of the atomic bomb." Now one man - of course - can "jumpstart" progress, but at what price? AT WHAT PRICE?!?!?!?
Over on page 268, Garth Ennis and John McCrea resurrect Dicks for a new series for Avatar, in case you're interested. I've skimmed an issue or two in the past, and I've never been that keen to read more, but good for them!
I always have to point out when a new Fearless Dawn comic gets solicited, and there's one on page 278 from Asylum Press. If you've never seen a Steve Mannion comic, you really ought to treat yourself. They're insane.
Ballantine Books has Seconds, the latest from Bryan Lee O'Malley. As you might recall, I'm not a fan of Scott Pilgrim, but I do like O'Malley, so I'll have to check this out.
Cullen Bunn has a new series, The Empty Man, on page 283. It's about an unusual illness that, I guess, is far more sinister than it appears. Bunn's creator-owned stuff tends to be much better than his Marvel work, and Vanesa del Rey is a pretty good artist, so I'll probably check this out ... when it shows up in trade. Yes, I suck!
Meanwhile, on page 285, Eric Powell and Brian Churilla team up for Big Trouble in Little China #1. This has clusterfuck written all over it, to be honest. Powell's writing has never even been close to as good as his artwork, and part of the appeal of the movie is the cast, which took the rather (deliberately) hackneyed script and made it work. Powell doesn't have Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, and Victor Wong to work with, does he? I hope this will be good, but I fear it will traffic in nostalgia and little else.
Six-Gun Gorilla gets a trade on page 289. I was skeptical about this when it was first announced, but apparently it's pretty good. We shall see!
Now that Archaia is part of Boom!, they're trying once again to get the last volume of The Secret History out, as it's offered on page 292. I'd really like to read the rest of the series, so maybe this time it will actually show up!
I bought the first issue of The Red Ten from ComixTribe and thought it was okay, but through a series of boring events, I never got another issue. Now there's a trade of the first five issues on page 307, and I'm wondering if I should get it or wait for the inevitable complete collection. It's a superhero version of And Then There Were None, by the way, which is a pretty neat idea.
Nancy Collins writes a new Vampirella series on page 309. I've never been a fan of Vampirella or, for that matter, Nancy Collins, but yeah, there it is. (4 June)
On page 320, Dynamite continues releasing The Shadow from the DC days, as volume 2 collects issues #7-13 by Helfer and Baker. I don't own these issues, so I'll probably have to pick this up. (18 June)
Doc Savage: The Curtis Magazine Era shows up on page 322, and if Greg Hatcher doesn't own this already, he'll be all over it. It's 50 bucks but it's over 500 pages, and it features stories by Doug Moench, John Buscema, Tony DeZuniga, and Ernie Chan. Cool stuff! (August)
Straczynski's Twilight Zone gets a trade on page 323. I guess people are a bit grumpy that this isn't a series of single issue stories, but a four-issue arc? Really? Anyway, I don't have any interest in this, but if you do, there's the trade! (11 June)
Harvey Kurtzman and John Severin's war stories get collected in Bomb Run on page 332. This is awfully tempting.
Underneath that, Fantagraphics offers a slipcase of four of their 1950s comics collections, including Al Williamson's 50 Girls 50, which is phenomenal (I assume the others are, too). It's $95, but given Fantagraphics' odd pricing policies (which were detailed in last month's Previews post), don't expect that to stay the same.
Nick Bertozzi has another nifty historical comic, Shackleton, on page 335 from First Second. Bertozzi is a good creator, and who doesn't love reading about Antarctic exploration? Commies, that's who!
How I Made the World is on page 341, and if this review didn't make you want to read this, then I just don't know what to do with you.
Margaret K. McElderry Books has a collection of Emily Carroll's comics in Through the Woods on page 345. Carroll creates some very good, very creepy comics, so this should be fun to check out.
Ted Naifeh has a new comic, the unfortunately-named Princess Ugg, on page 347. It sounds like the kind of thing Naifeh knocks out of the park - a school for high-school princesses, where the status quo is upset when a barbarian princess shows up - and I'm sure it will look great, but that name? Ugh. (4 June)
Ray Fawkes is back with another graphic novel called The People Inside. Much like One Soul, it appears it's a book that subverts normal narratives, this time with love stories. Fawkes is a very interesting creator, and I'm looking forward to this. (13 August)
On page 349, we find I Was the Cat by Paul Tobin and Benjamin Dewey. It's the story of a journalist who gets an offer to write the memoirs of a cat. Of course! You know this will be awesome! (6 August)
Titan is rolling out a big Doctor Who thing on page 367, with both The Tenth Doctor and The Eleventh Doctor showing up, with Nick Abadzis, Elena Casagrande, Al Ewing, Rob Williams, and Simon Fraser among the creators. If I cared about Doctor Who, I'd dig this!
Also on page 367, Alien Legion: Dead and Buried Omnibus shows up, with Chuck Dixon and Larry Stroman as the creative team. I don't know if this is any good, but it's nice that Titan is getting these trades out!
David Hitchcock is an interesting creator, so I'm kind of keen to read Springheeled Jack on page 368. It's about a dude hunting the creature, so we'll see what's up with that.
On page 368, Top Shelf collects the entire Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer epic for $25. This was a pretty good series, and the art is very good.
Well, that's weird. I thought there would be more, but suddenly, I reached the end of the catalog with nothing jumping out at me. So that's that for this month! Check out Previews for most of your comics needs, and have fun!