On The Shelves: 1/18/06
Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month!
My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/18/06. 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]
AFTER HOURS
7 Days To Fame #2 (Of 3), $3.99
One of several comics I owe a review of, the first issue was…interesting.
AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS)
Vaistron #3, $2.95
Robot porn and so much more from the same sick bastard who writes GI Joe: Sigma Six!
ANTARCTIC PRESS
Gold Digger #71, $2.99
Bought the Color Remix last week and it wasn’t bad, especially considering it’s 15-year old material. Not pull list material, necessarily, but not bad.
AVATAR PRESS INC
Brian Pulidos Medieval Lady Death Fierce Cvr #6, $5.99
Warren Ellis Apparat Vol 1 TPB, $12.99
If I were a budding serial killer looking for an angle, I’d totally go after the guys buying all the Lady Death crap Avatar puts out. OTOH, I really liked Quit City and…um, one of the other Apparat one-shots I can’t recall at the moment, so I’ll be picking up the TPB.
DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan #24, $2.99
Penny Arcade Vol 1 Attack Of The Bacon Robots TPB, $12.95
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who picked up the $.25 Penny Arcade a while back and was unimpressed. And yet, it seems to have a big, rabid following, many of whom seem to acknowledge the preview wasn’t the best introduction. So what happened? How do you blow that kind of opportunity?
DC COMICS
All Star Superman #2, $2.99
Batgirl #72, $2.50
Ex Machina #17, $2.99
Infinite Crisis #4 (Of 7), $3.99
Losers #31, $2.99
Sgt Rock The Prophecy #1 (Of 6), $2.99
Testament #2, $2.99
In the next day or two, I’ll have some CBC Quickees posted, including a handful of Grant Morrison TPBs which will serve to explain why I can’t be bothered with his ASS. (Ha! All the Morrisonians just cringed at that horrible pun. Kinda like my reaction to the subway pirates.) Only one more issue of The Losers after this one. Testament #1 was really intriguing and I’m anxious to see if it can fulfill its potential.
DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite 2nd Ptg #3, $2.95
A 2nd printing of the 3rd issue, after #7 just came out and a TPB on the way? Interesting.
IMAGE COMICS
Girls #9, $2.99
Someone raised an interesting point about my annoyance over Silver Bullet’s recent advertising, suggesting ads for Girls that’ve run on Buzzscope in the past had similar potential to offend, or at least play down to the comics geek stereotype. I can’t disagree, and as someone who criticized the first couple of issues of the series itself for its one-dimensional characters and cliché-ridden dialogue, I cringe every time that big ad of theirs pops up. However, the difference, IMO, is that it’s the Lunas’ using their own images to advertise their own product, not co-opting someone else’s for commercial use and tacking on a cheesy tagline. Subtle, perhaps, but there is a difference.
LUDOVICO TECHNIQUE
Living In Infamy #2 (Of 4), $2.95
One of several comics I owe a review of, the first issue was…interesting.
MARVEL COMICS
Iron Man The Inevitable #2 (Of 6), $2.99
New Mangaverse #1 (Of 5), $2.99
X-Factor 2nd Ptg Var #1, $2.99
X-Statix Presents Dead Girl #1 (Of 5), $2.99
Has the world gone mad? Iron Man; Manga, Marvel-style; a random X-book; and a variant cover, all on my pull list!?!?! I’m killing comics!
NARWAIN PUBLISHING
Jenna #2 (Of 3), $3.95
Picked up Touch #1 on a lark last week, curious about this new publisher. That particular cat’s dead, and there’s no future satisfaction in store for it.
TOKYOPOP
Manga Magazine Takuhai #3 (Of 4), AR
Are they selling this now, too? I better still get my free copy, and it better show up in my mailbox by tomorrow.
Magazines
Back Issue #14, $6.95
Comics Buyers Guide Apr 2006 #1615, $5.99
Lo Fi Dec 2005 Vol 2 #3 Cvr A, $5.95
Circulation 101: What’s one of the best ways to lose a potential (or lapsed) subscriber? Offer a trial subscription and let two issues go by without sending them their first one. Each copy of CBG I’ve left on the shelves since I placed my trial subscription a while back has reinforced my decision that I didn’t need a Wizard substitute, same way I didn’t need Wizard. Lo Fi had a chance to fill that position, too, and blew it badly.
Discover more from As in guillotine...
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I thought you liked Manhattan Guardian? What happened?
Longest. Word verification. Ever.
Not me. Hadn’t read it prior to the TPB, and wasn’t impressed with the first two issues therein. Starting to understand GM’s rep for big ideas not always translating into strong stories, though. Wait until I post my blasphemy tomorrow. Just finished writing it up. 🙂
And yet, it seems to have a big, rabid following, many of whom seem to acknowledge the preview wasn’t the best introduction. So what happened? How do you blow that kind of opportunity?
I do not know, and I won’t be buying the TPB. I’m a huge fan of theirs, and that quarter comic was a terrible introduction. The jokes are now damn old, and Gabe’s art has …. wow. You can’t believe it’s the same person.
This will sell well to the mad PA fans, but won;t draw new readers.