So the wheel turns back around, and a fresh catalog of Previews arrives on my doorstep. Issue #292 is here!
Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá are writing and drawing the latest B.P.R.D. series, Vampire, which is offered on page 44. So you know it will be good, although that's pretty much par for the course when it comes to B.P.R.D. (27 March)
Peter Bergting has a new graphic novel on page 54 called Domovoi (well, I assume it's new, but someone can tell me otherwise if it's not). It's a story of myths coming alive and weird things roaming the night - you know, as they do - and Bergting is a pretty good creator, so I might have to check this out. (15 May)
Mike Mignola and John Arcudi have Sledgehammer 44 on page 58, which Dark Horse is saying is "Mignola's version of Iron Man!" It takes place in World War II and features artwork by Jason Latour, so I'm sure it will be good! (13 March)
Gabriel Hardman co-writes (with Corinna Bechko) and draws the new Star Wars: Legacy - Prisoner of the Floating World on page 69. Bechko and Hardman did a fine job on Planet of the Apes, and Hardman's art is always nice to see, so this might be something to check out. Read those Star Wars comics before Marvel takes them over and ignores them! (20 March)
I've been thinking for years about getting into Lone Wolf and Cub, and now Dark Horse is releasing it in Omnibus format on page 79, so I'm in! Whoo-hoo! (22 May)
David Finch is signing his covers with his Twitter handle these days (page 88)? I don't know what to think about that. (13 March)
Batgirl #18 is offered on page 108 with "guest writer" Ray Fawkes's story. Are these issues still coming out now that DC has bizarrely rehired Gail Simone? Is she just going to take a two-issue break? THESE QUESTIONS KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT!!!!! (13 March)
I'm really not sure if I'm going to keep going with Batwoman starting with issue #18 (page 109). I've liked the story, but do I like it enough to keep reading when I know Williams won't be back on art? So many decisions!!!! (20 March)
Jim Zub is writing Birds of Prey (page 111). Good for him, but that's an odd (but very cool) choice by DC. (20 March)
I really like this cover (page 116):
That's all I have to say about Green Lantern: The New Guardians #18. But there it is! (20 March)
Nice loafers, John:
Sigh. (Page 118, 13 March)
You know, after the clusterfuck of last month's post, I'm really trying to be positive and ignore the negative, but DC makes it so hard, what with Captain K'Rot and all (page 127):
The New DC: There's no stopping us now! (13 March)
Dial H gets a trade on page 139, and I will pick it up. Yes, I'm a horrible person for trade-waiting, but that's just the way it is! (17 April)
The first twelve issues of The Authority get collected in one giant hardcover on page 142. These are good, solid, superhero comics, and well worth a read if you haven't already. (15 May)
On the next page (143), there's a hardcover for $25 collecting all of Eduardo Risso's Batman work. I already have all of this except Gotham Knights #8, so I'll be skipping this, but that's a pretty cool deal, and the stories - all by Azzarello - are pretty good. (29 May)
Archie Goodwin's Batman stuff is collected on page 144. This includes the awesome Manhunter back-up story with Walt Simonson, and it's probably worth the $40 just for that, but it also has a lot of other cool stuff. (8 May)
The trade of Punk Rock Jesus is offered on page 151. I've read mixed reviews about this, but of course I'm getting it, if only to gaze at Sean Murphy's art in black and white. (3 April)
Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits gets a new printing ... with extra issues not in the first trade (page 154). It's nice that DC is finally collecting the issues just prior to Ennis taking over the book, but that's still kind of a dick move. (24 April)
The Complete Zaucer of Zilk shows up on page 166 for 7 bucks, and I encourage anyone who missed it to pick it right up. It's pretty wild.
Steve Niles has a new Mystery Society Special on page 182. Of course, Fiona Staples has moved on, but this is still a pretty cool story, so this might be something to check out.
The latest Love and Capes trade is out on page 185. This is a very fun series, and I'm looking forward to reading it.
IDW is reprinting A Wizard's Tale by Kury Busiek and David T. Wenzel on page 186. This is a pretty good story, although I'm not sure it's worth 20 bucks. But it's quite charming, if you find it cheaper elsewhere.
The Strange World of Your Dreams is by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ... which should be enough to entice you, but considering it's about dream theory, I think I will have to pick this up. Man, comics are weird and awesome.
East of West gets solicited on page 192. It's another Hickman book, and it's illustrated by Nick Dragotta, and it's a "Sci-Fi Western." I'll try pretty much anything Hickman writes for Image, so of course I'm down with this. (27 March)
Jim McCann and Janet Lee reunite for Lost Vegas, a heist comic. Who doesn't love heist comics???? (6 March)
Sex is offered on page 201. I will try not to make awful puns (well, deliberately - you really can't avoid it with that name), but I will try to count the number of bad puns we see when this book ships. It's Joe Casey, so of course I'm buying it, but Piotr Kowalski is a pretty good artist, too. (6 March)
I like that Savage Skullkickers not only gives us a new adjective in the hopes that people will confuse it with a certain Marvel book, but the cover even homages that comic! Jim Zub isn't a dummy! (27 March)
There's a new Chew Omnivore Edition on page 207, if you happen to read Chew that way (and you do read Chew, right?). You'll note that the giant hardcover collected edition of issues #21-30 is scheduled the week before issue #33 comes out, yet DC can't be bothered to ship first softcover volumes of some of their titles until issue #18 is out. Sigh. (13 March)
Paul Cornell and Alan Davis on Wolverine is a smart move (page 12). Well done, Marvel! (13 March)
Was John Cassaday always supposed to be just the artist on the first five issues of Uncanny Avengers? Issue #6 (page 15) tells us that "new regular artist" Daniel Acuña takes over. I don't care either way, but I just thought I'd mention it. (6 March)
Young Avengers #3 promises "the fakest ID in history" (page 23). Well, won't that be interesting. (27 March)
I don't know if Fearless Defenders #2 is any good, but hot damn! I love that Mark Brooks cover (page 41):
Who doesn't want a Dani Moonstar action figure? (6 March)
Speaking of cool covers, Dave Bullock's kicks ass (page 53):
Do I want to know why regular Marvel U. Nick Fury is now Ultimate U. Nick Fury? Probably not, right? (6 March)
If you haven't gotten around to reading Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's Wolverine mini-series yet, Marvel has a nice new hardcover for $25 on page 92. It also includes Uncanny X-Men #172-73, which are two of the best issues that Claremont wrote in that series. So that's nice. (5 June)
And, if you want to read that mini-series along with a crapload of other Wolverine stuff, you can pick up Wolverine: The Adamantium Collection on page 95 for the low, low price of ... $200. Holy shit! Honestly, if you really break it down, that's not a bad price for all you get, but there's still some sticker shock there. Lots of cool stories in here, and others that I'm sure are pretty neat (as I haven't read them all). I mean, can you really get too much Wolverine? I THINK NOT! (5 June)
I might have to pick up Doom 2099: The Complete Collection by Warren Ellis on page 110, although I find it humorous that not all of it was actually written by Ellis. Still, $40 for 16 issues of wackiness seems pretty good. (27 March)
Yes, it's time once again to venture into the back of the book. That's where all the good stuff is!
SLG offers Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane again, although I missed it the first time around. Anyone want to weigh in on its quality? Both creators are quite good, so I might have to pick this up.
I've been reading some good stuff about the New Crusaders, and on page 258, Archie has the trade: New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes. I mean, I'm sure it's a standard superhero story, but when those are well done, that's a very good thing!
Over on page 277, Boom! has Orphans #1, a mini-series about kids trained to be super-spies. Yes, it sounds a bit ridiculous, but Michael Alan Nelson is a pretty good writer and Scott Godlewski is a fine artist, so this might be something keen to check out.
Mark Waid is writing Green Hornet from Dynamite on page 293. They've even given it to him (it's Mark Waid's Green Hornet, thank you very much)! I assume this comic is just wishful thinking by Dynamite, as we all know that Mark Waid hates print comics and doesn't write them anymore because he wants everything to go digital so he can single-handedly drive comic book stores out of business!!!!
Fantagraphics has some interesting stuff on page 314. First up is The Secret History of Marvel Comics, which is about Marvel's non-comics output of the 1930s. Then Cathy Malkasian has Wake Up, Percy Gloom, a sequel to the first Percy Gloom book. And Kim Deitch brings us The Amazing, Enlightening and Absolutely True Adventures of Katherine Whaley, his "first original full-length graphic novel." All of these sound pretty neat!
Mariner Books offers Are You My Mother? in softcover on page 319. I wasn't as taken with this as I was with Fun Home, but it's not bad. For $16, it's a good deal!
I didn't love The Broadcast, but it also wasn't terrible, so the fact that Eric Hobbs and Noel Tuazon are back with Family Ties, a drama about an Alaskan crime boss the mirrors King Lear, is good news! NBM has it on page 320.
Oni has a new series on page 324 called Helheim. It's a horror story set in Viking times, which is not a bad hook. But more importantly, it's written by Cullen Bunn and drawn by Joëlle Jones, so of course I'm going to buy it! (6 March)
A few years ago, I bought the first issue of Channel Evil by Alan Grant and Shane Oakley, and then never saw the rest of the mini-series. I think it was published only digitally, but now Renegade Arts Entertainment has the trade, and I'll have to give it a look. The first issue was pretty good, so I'd like to see what's what!
I believe it was Travis Pelkie who mentioned Razorjack recently, and Titan Books has the entire thing in a nice hardcover on page 336. Is this as utterly bizarre as it sounds?
Valiant has the first trade of Archer & Armstrong on page 344. I shall purchase this. (6 March)
Well, that's all for this month. Sound off in the comments if you spot something cool. That's what we're here for, after all - to find groovy comics for everyone!