On The Shelves: 11/29/06

Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly, semi-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 11/29/06 follows. 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]

ARCANA STUDIO
Outlaw Scorn 3030 AD #1 (Of 6), $3.95

It’s been a while since I’ve picked up something from Arcana, but they still get automatic flip-through status on the basis of past successes like Ezra, 100 Girls, Jova’s Harvest and El Arsenal.

BLATANT COMICS
Dead Sonja She Zombie With A Sword #1, $3.99
Dead Sonja She Zombie With A Sword Dead Sexy Ed #1, $9.99
Dead Sonja She Zombie With A Sword Zombie Bloodbath Ed #1, $3.99

Love the publisher’s name, and the “Dead Sexy Ed” is a clever bit of marketing for the Platinum Maxim audience.

BOOM! STUDIOS
Talent #4 (Of 4), $3.99

Looking forward to seeing how tightly this wraps up, and whether or not the movie deal affects its execution any.

DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan & The Songs Of The Dead #5 (Of 5), $2.99
Dark Horse Book Of Monsters HC, $15.95
Star Wars Legacy #6, $2.99

The Book of the Dead was an excellent read, so I’ll definitely have to check out Monsters. Legacy has been a most pleasant surprise, almost tempting me into checking out some of the other Star Wars-related titles. Still waiting for someone to do a Riddick comic, though.

DC COMICS
…

Wow…not a single DC title of interest this week! One Year Later has been a wash for me, resulting in my dropping almost every ongoing series I was reading pre-Infinite Crisis while adding a few new titles to my pull list.

EVIL TWIN COMICS
Action Philosophers Vol 1 Giant Sized Thing TPB (AA), $6.95

I believe this is a re-offering on the collected version of the first three issues. Get it if you missed it the first two times!

HERO STREET PRESS LLC
Hero Street #1, $2.50
Perfect Storm #1, $2.99

It’s Wednesday, so this must be another new comics publisher! Seriously, though, when it comes to books of any type, I’m of the opinion that there’s no such thing as too many publishers and applaud everyone who takes a shot at it, self-publishers and micro-publishers included. I don’t believe that superheroes need to be left to the Big Two and the occasional effort from Image, either, as there are plenty of underexplored angles and untold stories that work perfectly well with the spandex set. That said, if you’re going to jump into publishing, look before you leap and come correct. HeroStreet Press‘ web site is a perfect example of how to not make the best first impression, with limited information on their titles and an early indication of an inability to meet deadlines (ie: the newspaper).

IDW PUBLISHING
Zombies Vs Robots #1 (Of 2), $3.99

One of those concepts so stupid it might actually be good. I’ll be sure to check out the trade.

IMAGE COMICS
Emissary #6, $3.50
You’re Not The DM Of Me T/S LG, $16.99

Noticed on the Image boards a week or two ago that Emissary was in danger of cancellation due to low sales. Haven’t checked it out since the decent-but-not-compelling first issue, but I wonder how much the early change in writers affected it. [UPDATE: “…unfortunately sales dropped precipitously between issues 1 and 2 (by well over half). So, while the folks who are reading seem loyal, there just does not seem to be enough support for the book to keep it going past issue #6.” —Jim Valentino]

MARKOSIA
Done To Death #5, $3.50

I liked the first issue but seem to have fallen behind during my hiatus as I’m missing #s 2 and 3. Hopefully Midtown has them stashed somewhere.

MARVEL COMICS
Captain America #24 CW, $2.99
Immortal Iron Fist #1, $2.99
Powers #21, $2.95

Brubaker and Fraction on Iron Fist is verrrrrry tempting… I think it might be time to finally cut Powers. My interest has waned during my hiatus and the last two issues have sunk to the bottom of my to-read pile.

VIPER COMICS
Dummys Guide To Danger #3 (Of 4), $3.25

An entertaining, over-the-top gory read, it continues Viper’s streak of quirky titles.

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.