Can you handle a Previews preview on a weekday instead of a weekend? You're going to have to deal with it!!!!
Gail Simone is writing Tomb Raider (page 32). I'm not sure it's possible for me to have less interest in this, but I guess this is a thing, and I'm nothing if not comprehensive, so there it is! (26 February)
Dan Jolley and Jamal Igle are doing a new Terminator mini-series, Enemy of My Enemy (page 36). Once again, I'm not that terribly interested in this, but that's not a bad creative team. (19 February)
I have no idea what The Atomic Legion (page 38) is - Mike Richardson writes a story about old heroes who live in a secluded North Pole fortress and what they do when their benefactor is kidnapped - but it sounds wacky, and Bruce Zick is a good artist, so I might give it a chance. It's 30 bucks, though, so maybe Dark Horse will do a softcover version down the line? (30 April)
Tommy Lee Edwards, Noah Smith, and Dan McDaid are doing Vandroid, which is supposed to be about a movie from 1984 that was tragically lost and is now being "resurrected" in comic book form. The movie never existed, though, so I'm wondering why they're doing all the hoopla about it. I mean, it's clever, but not that clever. Still, that's not a bad creative team, although I'm not sure if Edwards is a decent writer or not when he's not drawing the book. (26 February)
Over on page 51, Brain Boy gets a trade. The story from Dark Horse Presents was pretty good, and Fred van Lente, Freddie Williams II, and R. B. Silva are a good team, so I'm might have to pick this one up. (16 April)
The Black Beetle: Necrologue #4 gets solicited on page 53. I don't mean to be snide, but the first issue is already at least 5 weeks late (I haven't checked to see if it's coming out this week), so shouldn't Dark Horse worry about getting the book going before they continue soliciting it? (26 February)
I'll probably get The White Suits (page 60) in trade, but it's probably going to be a good book. The few stories in DHP were pretty good, and the hook is intriguing - guys in white suits killing gangsters and the good guys looking for them - and more Toby Cypress art in our lives is always a good thing. (19 February)
There's yet another Lobster Johnson mini-series on page 61 - Get the Lobster. Tonci Zonjic is drawing it, so it will look good, but that just gives me an excuse to wonder where Where Is Jake Ellis? is. Remember that series? (5 February)
I've never heard of Someplace Strange by Ann Nocenti and John Bolton, but it's getting a new edition on page 70. According to the solicits, it's "a surrealist, new wave Alice in Wonderland!" Oh, okay then. I bet it looks great, and Nocenti from the 1980s is, from what I've heard, better than Nocenti of the 2010s, so if anyone has read this, sound off about it! (30 April)
Art Baltazar and Franco's Itty Bitty Hellboy gets a trade on page 73. Much like their Tiny Titans, this is amusing, but it's aimed squarely at kids. The trade is only 10 bucks, though, which is a pretty good price for five issues. (16 April)
The Metal Men show up in Justice League #28 (page 81), and it's pretty sad that the first thing I thought of was "At least Geoff Johns can't brutally kill them, or if he does, they can just get reassembled." Damn you, DC, for making that be my first thought! (19 February)
I'm really intrigued by Lois Lane #1 (page 103), even though it seems to be tied into Superman continuity. I don't know Bennett's writing (she's done some stuff for DC, but I haven't read it), but the solicit sounds interesting, and I give Emanuella Lupacchino's art a look even if I'm not terribly interested in the comic. It's a one-shot, so let's hope Bennett tells a complete story! (26 February)
That's such a weird-ass cover for Swamp Thing #28 (page 122):
It seems so ... off. A sword-wielding fantasy-looking babe skewering our hero? Just ... weird. (5 February)
In the Vertigo world, Rob Williams and Simon Coleby show up with The Royals: Masters of War (page 137), in which the royal family of England has superpowers but hasn't done anything to stop the Nazi blitz because of an old truce - but Prince Henry is having none of it! This could be intriguing, although I'm going to wait for the trade and see what the reviews say. We shall see! (12 February)
There's a new hardcover edition of Daytripper, the tremendous mini-series by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon, on page 142. I don't think it's ever been offered in hardcover before. It's 35 bucks, which is a bit pricey (the series was 10 issues, so it's not ridiculous, but still a bit spendy), but it is a wonderful series with gorgeous art, so there's that. (16 April)
DC continues to offer trades at pretty good value, as Death on page 142 contains both mini-series, plus a bunch of extras, giving us 320 pages for 20 bucks. They're good pages, too - both mini-series are pretty good, and the extra stuff is solid, too. If you don't have them, give this a look! (19 March)
Man, there's a Jack Kirby New Gods Artist's Edition on page 157. I'd have to sell one of my kids to a Somali warlord to afford that. Hmmm, I wonder ...
The first issue of Mr. Peabody and Sherman came out last week, but IDW is already soliciting a trade! At 18 bucks, it's a bit expensive (and I think that's for only 4 issues, right?), but the first issue looked pretty keen. It's just another thing I have to ponder!
I haven't read Chuck Dixon's Airboy, but some of it gets collected in Airboy Archives volume 1 on page 183. Based on the artists, these are probably older stories, and it's 30 bucks for 300 pages, which for IDW is a pretty decent price. I'm intrigued, but not sure about this.
IDW has a Monkeybrain book on page 184: Mask of the Red Panda by Gregg Taylor and Dean Kotz. I like Kotz's artwork and I'm always a sucker for a good pulp adventure, but I don't think I know Taylor's work. Did anyone read this digitally and have an opinion on it?
Antony Johnston and Justin Greenwood's new series, The Fuse, gets offered on page 189. It's about a murder on an "orbiting energy platform," and if it's anything like Outland, I'm all over it. Even if it's not, Johnston is a good writer and Greenwood is not a great artist yet, but he's getting better, and his work looks better in color. So I have high hopes for this. (12 February)
Undertow (page 194) sounds interesting - an undersea dude who hates Atlantis explores the surface world looking for a way to live on land - and even though I don't know much about writer Steve Orlando, the art preview by Artyom Trakhanov looks incredible. I might have to get it just to stare at the pretty pictures. (19 February)
There's another Shaky Kane Elephantmen issue on page 218. Those are always a treat. Elephantmen has slipped far behind schedule, so I hope this comes out somewhat on time! (26 February)
As many people have noted, it's not the worst thing in the world for Marvel to start over with a #1 when they switch creative teams, but Wolverine #1 (page 2) takes it a bit far, as Paul Cornell is still writing the confounded thing. Ryan Stegman takes over on art, but given Marvel's shipping policy, he won't be able to draw it all, will he? This makes less sense than Marvel's usual renumbering policy, and that's saying something. (5 February)
Kelly Thompson's influence strikes again, as the descriptors for the Fantastic Four in the solicits for Fantastic Four #1 (page 4) are pretty funny, and thanks to the insightful Ms. Thompson, I noticed them: "brilliant" Mr. Fantastic (pretty standard), "ever-lovin'" Thing (also pretty standard), "hot-headed" Torch (also pretty standard), and ... "compassionate" Invisible Woman. Bwah-ha-ha-ha!!! Oh, Marvel. One step forward, two steps back. (26 February)
If you're going to feature a Muslim superhero, like Ms. Marvel #1 (page 6) does, it's a good idea to get G. Willow Wilson to write it. That being said, I CANNOT BELIEVE MARVEL WOULD KOWTOW TO THE POLITICALLY CORRECT, ANTI-AMERICAN CROWD LIKE THIS AND PUBLISH THIS SHIT INSTEAD OF ANOTHER GOOD, WHOLESOME SUPERHERO COMIC STARRING A WHITE MALE!!!! MY CONGRESSMAN WILL BE HEARING ABOUT THIS, OF THAT YOU CAN BE SURE!!!! (5 February)
Rick Remender and Roland Boschi doing a 1960s espionage tale with Bucky Barnes sounds pretty dang cool, even though I'll probably wait for the trade on The Winter Soldier: The Bitter March (page 14). Although the way Marvel prices trades, maybe not. (12 February)
Al Ewing might be a good choice to write the adventures of Loki: Agent of Asgard, and Lee Garbett can be a very good artist. This is also (amazingly) 3 dollars, so I might have to check it out. I have heard that Loki is going to be bi-curious in this book, though. HOW DARE MARVEL PUBLISH A COMIC STARRING A DEGENERATE PERVERT INSTEAD OF ANOTHER SUPERHERO COMIC STARRING A WHITE MALE WHO LIKES CHICKS WITH BIG BOOBS!!!! MY CONGRESSMAN WILL BE HEARING ABOUT THIS, OF THAT YOU CAN BE SURE!!!! (5 February)
So on page 62, there's an OGN by Mark Waid, James Robinson, and Gabrielle Dell'Otto? It's Spider-Man: Family Business, and it's a bit expensive at 25 dollars for 112 pages, but Dell'Otto's painted work looks wonderful, and it's Waid and Robinson, after all. I love when Marvel does original graphic novels, because even more than DC's, they just seem so weird. What's the over/under for how long Dell'Otto has been working on this? Three years? (2 April)
There's the first trade of Superior Foes of Spider-Man on page 112 (and it's only 17 bucks for 6 issues, which is stunning for Marvel). I've heard lots of good things about this series, so I'm looking forward to this. (26 February)
Speaking of good price points, Daredevil: Dark Nights is 20 bucks for 8 issues. I don't know if this is any good (I know the Lee Weeks story looked amazing, but I don't know if the rest is decent), but I'm still probably getting this. (12 March)
Yes, we're past Marvel, which means it's time for the back of the book! Whoo-hoo!
On page 248, SLG offers Sanctuary volume 1 by Stephen Coughlin. I have reviewed this on this very blog, and it's pretty darned good. If that sways you at all, that is.
I'm not that interested in the 28 Days Later Omnibus from Boom! on page 282, but it's pretty neat that they're publishing it. It's 24 issues for 40 bucks, which isn't a bad deal.
Okko volume 4: The Cycle of Fire is offered on page 285. This is a pretty neat samurai/fantasy series. I should re-read the whole thing before this comes out, because I assume it's the last one.
Greg Pak and Mirko Colak fire up Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Dynamite, because why not? The interior art looks pretty cool, and Pak is a decent writer, so I might have to check this out when it shows up. (5 February)
Gail Simone's Red Sonja gets a trade on page 300. This has looked pretty good, and the trade is 20 bucks for 6 issues, but I don't know if the story is any good. Is anyone reading it? (12 February)
I wonder if Dynamite is committed to collecting the entire late 1980s DC run of The Shadow, because they have The Shadow Master Series volume 1 on page 303. This is the first 6 issues by Andy Helfer and Bill Sienkiewicz, and it's pretty cool. I know the series got a bit weird as it went on, and I'd love it if it got collected so I wouldn't have to trawl through the back issues boxes. (26 February)
Fantagraphics offers Cannon by Wallace Wood on page 323. Shouldn't we call him "Wally"? It seems like everyone does, except Fantagraphics. Anyway, this sounds like a very cool strip from the 1960s, and I'm sure Greg Hatcher can tell us all how excellent it is.
Humanoids has Cape Horn, a story about characters in Tierra del Fuego at the end of the 1800s. This sounds like my kind of comic, although it's 40 dollars, so I'm not super sure about picking it up.
Joshua Fialkov and Joe Infurnari bring us The Bunker on page 332 from Oni. That's a good creative team, and the story - about a group of friends who find a strange bunker with hints about their future - sounds pretty keen. This was a digital comic, so I guess some people have already read it, but it's new to me! (5 February)
The trade of Atomic Robo and the Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur shows up on page 340 from Red 5 Comics. I'd take this with a grain of salt, as the schedule for the single issues has stalled a bit, but if you get Atomic Robo in trade, there it is!
Top Shelf offers The Bojeffries Saga on page 346. I've read a tiny bit of this, and I'm always interested in Alan Moore's work, so this is a no-brainer for me. Good for Top Shelf!
Well, that's about all we have this month. Alan Moore is a good place to finish, isn't it? I hope you have fun going through the solicits, and as always, let me know if there's anything I might have missed that you think deserves mentioning. We're all friends here!