On the Shelves: 3/29/06
Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month.
Man, I was a little pissy last week, yes? Nothing a strong week of comics couldn’t cure, though! American Way, Robin, Supermarket, Scatterbrain, Captain America, Iron Man: The Inevitable, Next Wave, X-Factor…it was like comics’ own Best Week Ever!
Here’s my weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 3/29/06. 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]
Femforce #135, $6.95
Who reads this? I don’t think I’ve ever noticed it (or any other AC Comics titles) on the Diamond Top 300 list, and yet it’s up to issue #135!??! Checked out their web site, and they strike me as targeting a very niche audience, successfully apparently.
ARCANA STUDIO
Jovas Harvest #3 (Of 3), $3.50
Finally! The first two issues were rather intriguing, so I’m really looking forward to how it all comes together. As Arcana seems to have slowly embraced T&A-driven marketing with my first love, Ezra, I’m glad they’re balancing it with titles like this. Speaking of Ezra, I never did receive the TPB I ordered a while back.
BOOM! STUDIOS
Zombie Tales The Dead #1, $6.99
Got a review copy of this sitting on the to-read pile, but at a glance, $6.99 is kind of steep for a b&w zombie anthology. (EDIT: My bad! It’s not b&w, it’s in color. Check ou the preview.) As for Boom!, according to the cancellation list for April, it looks like they have their first (?) casualty, as the third issue of their Steve Niles-penned mini-series, In The Blood, is noted as “Cancelled By Publisher”. The 2nd issue is noted as “Lateness”. This cryptic thread on Steve Niles’ forum suggests there might have been a bit of behind-the-scenes trouble. Considering the difficulty new publishers face these days, and their relative high-profile, Boom! probably has one of the most unfortunate taglines I can think of: Watch Us Explode!
DC COMICS
Blue Beetle #1, $2.99
JLA Classified #19, $2.99
Warlord #2, $2.99
While the preview didn’t exactly wow me, and I’ve never been a fan of the character, I’ll probably check Blue Beetle out because I’ve always been a fan of teen superheroes learning how to use their powers. Worked for me with Son of Vulcan, so hopefully this will be good, too. Of course, Giffen’s track record recently hasn’t been so great — Defenders, Planetary Brigade, Jeremiah Harm — though I am intrigued by I Luv Halloween. Am I the only one who thought Warlord #1 felt more like a #0 issue that should have only cost $0.25? Not impressed at all, Mr. Jones.
DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
Forgotten Realms Dark Elf Trilogy Vol 2 Exile TPB, $14.95
I’m lovin’ it!
DRAWN & QUARTERLY
Or Else #4, $5.95
I’ve liked the little bit I’ve seen so far of Huizenga’s work, as Or Else #1 and Ganges #1 were both solid reads. His artwork is clean and crisp, and his storytelling is subtly poetic in the way much of it is open to interpretation. That said, I’d rather read a larger collection of his work than these smaller appetizers.
IDW PUBLISHING
Fallen Angel Idw #4 (Of 5), $3.99
Still says “(of 5)”, though IDW’s solicits for July include #7 and say that it’s a standalone issue, which means back-to-back standalone issues after the first arc. Be interesting to see how that affects sales.
IMAGE COMICS
Ant Vol 1 Reality Bites TPB, $12.99
Ballad Of Sleeping Beauty TPB, $21.95
Godland #9, $2.99
Hysteria One Man Gang #2 (Of 4), $2.99
Sea Of Red Vol 2 No Quarter TPB, $11.99
Strange Girl #7, $2.99
There was an interesting announcement yesterday that Rex Mundi was moving from Image to Dark Horse this summer, after issue #18. Image Central, still plagued by late shipping, doesn’t have very many titles that have broken into double-digit issues so this is a rather remarkable move, especially considering their reputation as the publisher for creator-owned work. The answer may be buried at the end of the announcement: “A Rex Mundi feature film is in the works through Dark Horse Entertainment.” The siren call of Hollywood is a strong one.
More interesting Image info in the aformentioned cancellation list, as both Ant #7 and Sea of Red #11 are listed as “Cancelled by Publisher”. While Sea of Red wasn’t a great seller, Ant was burning up the charts, compared to most Image titles, at least, with each of the first three issues announced as “sold out”. Ant #6 is noted as “Will Resolicit”, and Ant #4 just came out earlier this month, four months after #3, so I wonder what’s going on there.
MARVEL COMICS
Captain America 65th Anniversary Special, $3.99
New Avengers Illuminati Special, $3.99
Spider-Man & Arana Special, $3.99
X-Men Deadly Genesis #5 (Of 6), $3.50
X-Statix Presents Dead Girl #3 (Of 5), $2.99
Lot of one-shots and mini-series this week. Seems to be the smarter way to go for the Big Two to keep their slate full while not committing to embarassing disasters like Howling Commandos.
NARWAIN PUBLISHING
Horrorama Vol 3 GN, $12.90
Jenna #3 (Of 3), $3.95
Jenna And Ninja High School #1 (Of 3), $3.49
Anybody reading anything from Narwain? I’ve flipped through a few and bought one — Touch, I think; lousy, too movie pitch-ish — and haven’t been impressed. Their website is terribly designed, too, with no clear way to see a list of their titles. They do have a fancy animated page listing their artists, though…but there’s no links to what they’re working on.
NBM
North Country GN, $13.95
Didn’t North Country come out already; like, a while ago? I mean, I have a copy and I’m pretty sure I bought it myself. Solid, if unremarkable, BTW.
NEW RADIO COMICS
Last Island GN, $6.00
Hey, Alex, I did receive my copy; thanks! Solid read, not quite as good as Something So Familiar, but still a recommended read. Plan to cover it when I kick off my review column at PCS, hopefully next month.
ONI PRESS INC.
Sharknife Vol 1 GN, $9.95
I didn’t love the Free Comic Book Day preview of this last year, but our interview with Corey Lewis last week intrigued me enough to check it out. If it’s got half the energy he seems to have, it should be a fun read.
SUPER REAL GRAPHICS
Super Real #2, $3.25
Another comic that’s buried in my to-review pile, it was an entertaining spin on reality TV with a lot of potential. Enough, at least, that I’ll pick up the second issue.
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS
Surrogates #5 (Of 5), $2.95
Yay! Can finally read this one straight through, as it was a bit too dense for serialization.
VIPER COMICS
Middleman Vol 2 #2 Winnebago Interrogation Contingency, $2.95
First issue was fun, I’ll stick with it.
*NOTE: Just an FYI that my Pick of the Week is usually made blindly, like most of my comments in this weekly post, though they’re always based on something specific, whether an interview, preview or, on rare occasions, something I’ve actually gotten a hold of ahead of time. Caveat emptor!
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If it’s got half the energy he seems to have, it should be a fun read.
Oh … it does.
I liked it a lot. My only real issue with the book was the digest size. His linework can be confusing – lots of detail at an even weight – and the small size made it more so. Also, the digest size doesn’t really cater to the powerful double-splash-pages that he really excels at.
But … I liked it, nitpicking aside.
Just give up on Blogger’s image system. It’s much easier to use either Imageshack or Flickr for images.
guy, alex cahill here. i appreciate the nod. glad you liked the book. what’s the best address for me to get you at in the future? i wanna keep in touch.
“SUPER REAL GRAPHICS
Super Real #2, $3.25
Another comic that’s buried in my to-review pile, it was an entertaining spin on reality TV with a lot of potential. Enough, at least, that I’ll pick up the second issue.”
Woo hoo… you read it, and it somewhat converted you. Good news!
(and there’s really a somewhat nice pull quote in that short little blurb… 8)
Hope you like the direction we’re headed with number 2… issue 3 really gets crazy.