It's almost Christmas, so what better thing to do than treat yourself by pre-ordering comics from Previews #315! Whoo-hoo!

Dark Horse:

The full solicitations are here!

As long-time readers of this here blog might recall, I'm not a big fan of The Goon, mainly because I don't like Eric Powell's writing (which is a shame, because his art is exquisite). But there's a new mini-series on page 32, The Goon: Once Upon a Hard Time, which is apparently "climactic" with "major consequences" for the cast. That should be fun! (4 February)

I'm also not the biggest fan of Richard Corben's writing, but his art is pretty groovy, plus I don't dislike his writing as much as I do Powell's, so I might get Rat God, a mini-series on page 33. Of course, the trade might be cheaper!!! (4 February)

Witchfinder volume 3 shows up on page 35. As usual, the Hellboy-verse comics are pretty strong, so I'll be picking up this trade! (15 April)

I saw a little of the art of Girlfiend (page 38) in Portland in September, and if you like the Pander Brothers, you'll probably like this. Yes, it's about vampires, but it's a love story! Isn't that adorable? (1 April)

Rafael Albuquerque fires up Ei8ht (page 43), a mini-series about a dude trapped in another dimension (it's co-written by Mike Johnson, by the way). Doesn't that just suck? I am totally in the bag for Albuquerque, so I'll be checking this out. (18 February)

If you waited for the trade of Prometheus: Fire and Stone, it's on page 44 for $15. It's been pretty good so far - Paul Tobin can write creepy pretty well, and of course Juan Ferreyra's art is amazing. And you don't have to read the other series in this little crossover to enjoy it, either, which is nice. (8 April)

Dean Motter has Mister X: Razed on page 52. Motter's work on Mister X is always interesting, even though I haven't read it all. I'm not sure if I'll get this in single issues or as a trade, but it does look neat. (25 February)

Dark Horse Presents has a "200th" issue on page 55 (it's #7 of the latest iteration), with 80 pages for 5 dollars. Can you afford to pass it up? There are so many good creators I can't even list one of them for fear I'll leave too many out!!! (18 February)

Bandette volume 2 is on page 56. I'm sure you all bought volume 1, so buying this should be a no-brainer, but I just wanted to let you know. If you didn't buy volume 1 ... well, that's just a shame, isn't it? Get them both and enjoy the fun story by Paul Tobin and the excellent art by Colleen Coover! (15 April)

There's a second volume of Polar on page 57, which is neat. Victor Santos's web comic is absolutely gorgeous, although the story was just okay. Still, I might get volume 2 anyway, because it really does have stunning artwork! (15 April)

It's been a while since I read Pistolwhip, Matt Kindt's first comic (he drew it, that is - Jason Hall wrote it), but I remember that it was pretty good. A new printing, in color, for 28 bucks (336 pages), is not a bad deal, especially as it's in hardcover and features a story from Dark Horse Maverick that I've never read. I'm not sure if I'll get it, because I already own it, but if you haven't read it yet, this is a pretty cool package. (15 April)

Get your Groo vs. Conan trade paperback on page 60! You know you want it!!! (1 April) (Which is kind of perfect, isn't it?)

DC:

Full solicits here!

I'm not sure why I'm fascinated that Jim Lee is drawing the Nazi issue of Multiversity (page 74). Is it because of his "perfect" people that seem like representations of the Aryan ideal? Maybe. Should be neat. (18 February)

Is that supposed to be Aquaman's mother on that cover (page 78)? She's back from the dead, and she's a MILF! Why does she look so young? Comics are weird, yo. (25 February)

Hey, who would have guessed that the "living embodiment of time" (in Justice League Dark, page 82) would be a hot chick? I mean, that's unprecedented!!!! (25 February)

Wait, you mean moving Arkham Asylum to Wayne Manor wasn't a good idea? In Arkham Manor #5 (page 105), "the insanity" of the manor "floods the streets of Gotham City"? The hell you say!!!! (25 February)*

* I should point out that the first two issues of this series have been pretty good. Still.

On page 131, Lee Bermejo's new series, Suiciders, gets offered. It's a post-apocalyptic world in which gladiators in "New Angeles" fight each other to provide entertainment for the masses. Yeah, it doesn't sound all that unique, but who knows what Bermejo will do with it? (25 February)

Page 136 has The Filth Deluxe Edition for 30 dollars. The Filth is not a good comic, despite being written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Chris Weston, but mediocre Morrison is still fairly interesting, so you could do a lot worse than get this. But it's just not that good, unfortunately. (8 April)

IDW:

All the solicitations are here!

As usual, I'm puzzled by IDW's publications, as I can't imagine why anyone would want to by Orphan Black #1 on page 150. Now, I dig the television show as much as the next person, but I just don't get the appeal of reading a comic based on a television series. But I guess IDW has had success with the model, and it's there for you to pre-order, so have at it!

Steranko Nick Fury and Captain America Artist's Edition, page 152. Collecting Strange Tales #163-168, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1-3 and 5, and Captain America #110-111 and 113. Damn it, IDW, you're killing me here!!!!

Graham Nolan co-writes and draws Joe Frankenstein with Chuck Dixon on page 154. I'll probably wait for the trade, but that's a nice creative team on a book about a dude who discovers he's the Frankenstein heir.

G.I. Joe volume 1: The Fall of G.I Joe is offered on page 165. As usual with IDW trades, it's slightly more expensive than the single issues ($18 to $16), but so far, this has been a pretty cool series in which Cobra is an international peacekeeping force and the Joes are either working in secret or for other companies. It's fairly complex, but quite gripping.

On page 180, you can get the complete Star Slammers for $50, which includes the stuff Walt Simonson did for his college thesis - "published here for the first time." That's handy.

IDW's partnership with Monkeybrain yields Anti-Hero, Jay Faerber's latest foray into the world of superheroes. It's about a "lowly henchman" who stumbles upon a superhero's secret identity and blackmails him. But how far can both men go?!?!?!? Sounds neat, and I trust Faerber, so I'm in!

Secret Agent X-9 by Dashiell Hammett and Alex Raymond shows up on page 182 for $50. That has to be a bargain, doesn't it?!?!?

Image:

Solicitations? Yes please!

Do I even need to read anything about Nameless (page 186) except that it's by the God of All Comics and Chris Burnham? No, no I do not. (4 February)

Speaking of Jay Faerber, he and Brian Joines have a new series, Secret Identities (page 194), about a group of heroes who invite a new one to join them ... but he's a mole!!!!! No, not an actual mole (although how awesome would that be?), but a mole like the ones that CTU seemed to have every month or so. You know, the bad kind. (18 February)

Ales Kot's latest wacky comic, The Surface, shows up on page 196. You know I'll give it a try! (25 February)

Joe Kelly's and Adrian Sibar's old Vertigo series, Bang! Tango, gets collected on page 205. I never read this, so can anyone tell me if it's any good? (11 February)

The Fade Out gets its first trade on page 206. So far, it's been ... okay. Nothing too great, but not too bad, either. I'm still feeling it out. But the trade is there! (25 February)

Roche Limit is one of Image's $10-trades, which is always pretty neat. This comic sounds like the kind of thing that needs to be read in trade, so I've been waiting for it. (25 February)

So is Trees ending with issue #8 or not? On page 209, the first trade collects issues #1-5, which makes absolutely no sense if it's only eight issues long. What's the deal here? (11 February)

Speaking of the ending of Warren Ellis books, Supreme: Blue Rose wraps up on page 232. I don't know how it's going to end, but it's been pretty keen so far! (18 February)

Marvel:

All the solicitations you need!

I don't have much interest in Darth Vader #1, even if Kieron Gillen is writing it, but I guess if you're going to do a comic where the main character never shows his face and is encased in armor, you get Salvador Larroca. Well done, Marvel! (11 February)

So Marvel is doing this "Black Vortex" thing, where the X-Men team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to fight the ultimate evil blah blah blah (although the bad guy is named ... Mr. Knife? is that right? seriously?), and I guess there aren't any editors at Marvel who remember that the absolute worst X-Men stories are the ones where they go into space. The only one that was even remotely good was the one where Phoenix saves the universe, but even that wasn't that good. PLEASE STOP SENDING THE X-MEN INTO SPACE!!!!! Thankyew.

Now that Gwen Stacy is back from the dead and starring in ... Spider-Gwen (ugh) (page 16), I'm so waiting for Uncle Ben to come back. In fact, Joey Q should pay me one million dollars to write it, because the backlash will be so intense and I just won't give a shit. YOU KNOW IT'S COMING!!!! (25 February)

Miracleman #15 is on page 44. This is the famous one, folks. It's still unnerving, even after 30 years of comics trying to one-up. Plus, the art is stunning. Just so you know. (4 February)

So is Daredevil #13 (page 51) the actual last issue? It says Waid and Samnee are "begin[ning] the climactic final chapter" of the run, but that could last a few issues, couldn't it? And why again did they reboot this when they were only going to do another year of the run anyway? And why has the first trade of this "run" come out already when the final trade of the previous "run" hasn't? These questions needs answers, Marvel!!!! (25 February)

Well, Elektra got cancelled with issue #11. It's not that I saw it coming, but it's not terribly surprising, either. (25 February)

I have no interest in reading yet another Ultron retread story, so the fact that Marvel is releasing Avengers: Rage of Ultron as a standalone graphic novel doesn't interest me (despite being glad they're committed to the graphic novel format, it seems), but godDAMN does Jerome Opeña's artwork look awesome. Must ... resist ... brilliant ... artwork ... (1 April)

That's right, it's time for the back of the book. Try to contain your excitement!!!!

There's a new Rogues! mini-series on page 251 from Amigo Comics. These series have been quite good, so I have hopes for the next one!

Duane Swierczynski is a pretty hard-boiled crime writer, and Michael Gaydos is always interesting, so the fact that they've hooked up for Black Hood from Dark Circle Comics on page 256 is keen. I'm always torn about stuff like this, because I'm sure it will be a pretty good read, but I'm also sure it will be much better in trade. Should I wait for the trade even though there's a chance it won't get collected? Oh, the decisions!!!!

If you were waiting for the trade of Caliban, Avatar has it on page 267. Everyone loves Garth Ennis Space Horror, right?

Hey, Lady Mechanika is back on page 276 from Benitez Productions! Remember when this first came out and everyone in the world knew it would take decades to come out? Don't you love being right every once in a while?

Boom! has some stuff. Let's take a look!

Cluster, from Ed Brisson and Damian Couceiro (page 279), sounds nifty - Earth needs soldiers to defend off-world colonies, uses criminals, criminals discover a dark secret about the exploration. Brisson tends to write really bleak comics, so this might be pretty keen.

Ryan Ferrier and Devaki Neogi's Curb Stomp (page 283) is a story of a gang war in which all the gang members are chicks. That doesn't sound manipulative of comics-reading nerds at all! The artwork looks pretty cool, though.

Over in the Archaia section, we find Plunder (page 287), which puts Somali pirates on a Chinese ship that happens to be the site of a massacre. Yeah, that can't be good.

Two things about Red Sonja #100 on page 312 from Dynamite: First, wow, Red Sonja has reached 100 issues. Second, Dynamite has had the license for 10 years? That's amazing. (18 February)

Dynamite also has the Doc Savage Omnibus on page 320. This collects the entire eight issues and the annual, and while the story isn't bad, it's worth it for the art of Bilquis Evely, who, if there's any justice in the world, will soon be drawing a DC comic I don't want to read! She's just that good! (11 February)

On page 336, Fantagraphics has its usual assortment of stuff, including Love and Rockets: New Stories No. 7, which if you're a fan of the Hernandez brothers, I guess you'd want to know about. So there!

Legendary has Harvester #1 on page 346, which is about some supernatural dude fighting unruly bikers. Hey, I didn't call them unruly - the solicitation did! Anyway, Brandon Seifert writes this, and he's pretty good as well as being a heck of a nice guy, and Eric Battle draws it. Man, I haven't seen Eric Battle's name in years. I wonder what he's been doing. Something, I assume.

Jamie S. Rich is a sucker for romances, so on page 358 we find Ares & Aphrodite, a new graphic novel by him and Megan Levens from Oni. Like a lot of romantic comedies, it sounds painful on the surface - there's a bet between an attractive divorce lawyer and a cute wedding planner (no points for guessing which is the male and which is the female) and there's a wedding to plan, confound it! Yes, it sounds fluffy, but Rich really good at writing romances, and Levens is a pretty good artist, so I'm checking this out. (15 April)

Dylan Meconis has been writing some of PvP for a while, which is probably why Toonhound, Scott Kurtz's publishing company, is offering her work on page 376. You should buy everything Meconis does, of course, but if you can only buy one thing ... beats me. Bite Me! is a farce starring vampires in Revolutionary France, and it's hilarious; Family Man is ongoing (so the volume offered here ends without a resolution) about a university teacher in 18th-century Germany ... and there are werewolves; Outfoxed is a chilling fairy tale. Still, you might as well just get them all. It won't kill you!

Valiant offers Divinity on page 384 by Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine. It's about a Soviet astronaut who returns from a deep-space mission with weird powers that make everyone thinks he's a god. I don't like Kindt's writing as much when he's not drawing, but I do like Hairsine, and as this is a four-issue mini-series, he'll probably be able to stick around for the entire time. It sounds neat.

Meredith Finch is writing Little Mermaid for Zenescope on page 404. And you thought she wasn't qualified to writer Wonder Woman! I bet you feel foolish now.

That's a good image with which to end, I think. Remember - that copy of Previews isn't going to jump into your hands! Demand it today, at least at cost from your retailer, if not gratis! It will pay itself back many times over!