On the Shelves: 5/17/06

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My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 5/17/06. 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]

Talent is really good. Jeremiah Harm, not so much. I reviewed both in my latest Pull List Propaganda column.

DARK HORSE COMICS
Bettie Page Poker Set (AA), $74.99
Conan #28, $2.99

Holy cow! Dark Horse comes up with some of the most random merchandise! *** A week that includes an issue of Conan is always a good one.

DC COMICS
52 Week #2, $2.50
All Star Batman And Robin Variant Cover #4, $2.99
Batman Year One Hundred #4 (Of 4), $5.99
Man-Bat #2 (Of 5), $2.99
Robin #150, $2.99
Shadowpact #1, $2.99

Despite my unenthusiastic review of the first issue, I’ll probably give 52 another couple of weeks before I drop it. I want it to be good, I just don’t have the confidence that they can pull it off. *** Finally, another issue of ASBARTBW! If not for that “I’m the goddamn Batman!” line in the second issue, this would have probably fallen off my radar by now. As it is, I barely remember what’s going on with the story. *** I resisted Paul Pope’s Year One Hundred mini at first, as much because of the price as an aversion to the hype surrounding him and it. It’s been a entertaining read so far, though not anywhere near the WOW!! project some have claimed it to be. *** What the hell is wrong with Bruce Jones? He seemed like a nice enough guy when I saw him on a panel at Wizard World Philadelphia last year. But after flipping through his first couple of issues of Nightwing, and being rather bored with Man-Bat #1, I have to wonder if he’s blackmailing somebody over at DC. Blech! *** Robin OYL saw a nice little bump in sales, but as much as I like Adam Beechen’s work so far, it’s kind of hard to see how much he’ll be able to do with the character considering his significant presence in Teen Titans and the current Batman/Detective Comics crossover. Figure he has to clear any major plot points through Geoff Johns first, and will likely have to address his little science experiment at some point, which doesn’t bode well. Of course, I’d be happy if he went with a Tim Drake, Detective angle and simply avoided any direct references to current DCU continuity. *** Three things have me interested in Shadowpact: an intriguing cast; Fables; and their presence in the latest Vs. expansion. Guess which one was the most influential?

IDW PUBLISHING
Fallen Angel IDW #5 (Of 5), $3.99

The first IDW arc wraps up and finds me officially a fan. If DC ever collects the first volume, or lets IDW do it, I’ll definitely pick it up.

IMAGE COMICS
Fear Agent #4, $2.99
Fell #5, $1.99

Finally! I still find it amusing how some people over at Image got offended by my referencing their history of late-shipping titles in a review a while back, complaining that the past shouldn’t be held against them. What about the present then?

MARVEL COMICS
Captain America #18, $2.99
Haunt Of Horror Edgar Allan Poe #1 (Of 3), $3.99
Moon Knight #2, $2.99

A light week from the House of Ideas, but a good one with Ed Brubaker’s Captain America looking like a potential pick of the week. He’s had the Midas touch since he joined Marvel, even making the X-Men interesting for me with his just completed Deadly Genesis mini. I still think his best work is on more grounded characters like Cap and Daredevil, though, and am not anticipating adding another X-title to my pull list anytime soon. *** Speaking of grounded, Charlie Huston’s take on Moon Knight is shaping up to be even rougher and grittier than his novels, which is a bit of a surprise. Originally slated as a Marvel Knights mini-series, now that it’s an ongoing in the mainstream MU, I wonder if he’ll have to pull up on the reins a bit? I hope not. *** The Poe mini completely slipped under my radar, but the solicit for it sounds really interesting. I’m guessing this is ultimately destined for a trade collection and mainstream bookstores, but I think I’ll be jumping on it now!

TITAN PUBLISHING
Comic Creators On X Men SC, $17.95

Titan has published some really good interview books in the past, and this one looks like another winner, featuring Stan Lee, Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson and Grant Morrison, among others, musing about everyone’s favorite group of mutants.

Written by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is the Chief Content Officer for LibraryPass, and former publisher & marketing director for Writer’s Digest. Previously, he was also project lead for the Panorama Project; director, content strategy & audience development for Library Journal & School Library Journal; and founding director of programming & business development for the original Digital Book World.

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