On The Shelves: 8/9/06

Read GOOD Comics, not just the ones you’re used to! Try something new EVERY month.

Before I take my first look at this week’s list and write a single comment, I should point out the extreme level of disinterest I’m feeling towards comics these days. Like the cynical old man on the porch who hasn’t heard a good song in decades, here’s my weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 8/9/06. The full shipping is list available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

This is a good comic book.

ARCANA STUDIO
10th Muse Ezra #1, $3.95

What do you do when a character you like teams up with one you have no interest in? I skipped the Blacklight/Bomb Queen team-up over the same dilemma.

DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan & The Songs Of The Dead #2 (Of 5), $2.99

Conan always treats me well.

DC COMICS
Firestorm The Nuclear Man #28, $2.99
Martian Manhunter #1 (Of 8), $2.99

Firestorm is the little comic that could. Nothing flashy; simply gets the job done. Which, of course, is a death wish in the direct market these days. *** Apparently DC hit off some prominent bloggers with review copies of Martian Manhunter #1, presumably to counter the negative buzz from his ugly redesign and not-so-hot Brave New World preview. Optimists take it as a sign of DC taking the blogiverse seriously. I say it’s a sign of desperation. Unless, of course, it was one of the creators behind it, then I at least applaud the willingness to stump for a work-for-hire project. Desperation still, but laudable.

MARVEL COMICS
Incredible Hulk #97, $2.99

Yay, “Planet Hulk”! Fun comics rule.

About Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez works in publishing by day, world domination by night. Over the years he’s lived in Staten Island and South Beach Miami; served in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, US Army, and Dennis Kucinich’s ‘04 Presidential Campaign; won poetry slams, founded a reading series, co-authored a book of poetry, and self-published another; prefers Pumpkin and India Pale Ales, Buffalo Trace and Four Roses Bourbons, and Dona Paula Shiraz Malbec. He’s a devout Mets fan from the Bronx now living in New Jersey, and has a beautiful wife and two amazing kids.

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