On The Shelves: 1/24/07

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

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/24/07. The full shipping list, as always, is 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]

Good news: Mouse Guard is a great read, and one of my Best of 2006! Bad news: The first mini-series ends with this issue. Good news: A hardcover collection, Mouse Guard Volume One: Fall 1152, is due out in April, including 12 pages of bonus material!

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS
Sonic Quest Death Egg Saga #1 (AA), $1.50
Sonic Quest Death Egg Saga #2 (AA), $1.50
Sonic Quest Death Egg Saga #3 (AA), $1.50
Sonic The Hedgehog #171, $2.25

When we were down in Virginia over the holidays, my son picked up a couple of Sonic digests and loved them. He’s been carrying them around with him in his bookbag ever since.

BOOM! STUDIOS
Ninja Tales #1, $6.99
Savage Brothers #3 (Of 3), $3.99
Tag #3 (Of 3), $3.99

Boom!’s anthology books have been hit and miss, as is to be expected, but Ninja Tales looks like it might be fun. Not sure about $6.99 worth of fun, though. *** Savage Brothers and Tag are two of Boom!’s better high concept, made-for-Hollywood releases, the latter of which has already been optioned and has a sequel launching next month.

DC COMICS
Connor Hawke Dragons Blood #3 (Of 6), $2.99
Helmet Of Fate Ibis The Invincible #1, $2.99
Robin #158, $2.99
Showcase Presents Brave & Bold Batman Teamups Vol 1, $16.99

Not many people are reading Connor Hawke, but it’s managed to generate a mini-controversy over Oliver Queen’s rape at the hands of Shado that offers some interesting grounds for debate. Probably not what DC had in mind when they gave it the greenlight it, I’d guess. *** Helmet of Fate: Detective Chimp did just enough to keep me interested last week, and having the mini-series (?) come out on a weekly basis was a smart move as I’m more likely to follow it all the way through.

IDW PUBLISHING
Fallen Angel Idw #12, $3.99

Finally caught up with the last three issues this past weekend and it is once again firmly entrenched on my pull list. $3.99 is a bit steep for each issue, but David offers up just enough character bits to keep me coming back. Fallen Angel #10 was one of the best single issues of 2006, quite possibly THE best.

MARVEL COMICS
All New Off Hb Marvel Univ A Z Update #1 (Of 4), $3.99
Criminal #4, $2.99
Heroes For Hire #6, $2.99
Moon Knight #7 CW, $2.99
X-Factor #15, $2.99

Damn OHOTMU! They roped me in for the full 12 issues and now there’s a 4-issue “update” I’m going to have to buy. My rationalization is that sometime in the near future I’m going to do a series of posts about some of the more peripheral players and come up with short pitches for each of them. *** Like Infinite Crisis before it, Civil War has claimed several victims, allowing me to pare down my pull list over the past six months. Heroes for Hire, which also loses Graymiotti to a DC exclusive as of this issue, is the most recent victim. *** Fresh off the heels of being reestablished in the MU, Moon Knight crossing over with Civil War does not excite me at all. *** Criminal and X-Factor, however, excite me quite me a bit!

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

This oddball black comedy/slasher mini comes to a satisfying conclusion. Jason Burns has issues. NOTE: The complete mini-series is part of our Massive Archaia, Viper & Spider-Man Giveaway.

VIRGIN COMICS LLC
Walk-In #2, $2.99

The first issue of Walk-In was satisfyingly weird, and I’m looking forward to more.

Magazines
Game Trade Magazine #84, AR

I want to track down a copy of Game Trade because I’m curious to see if there’s anything about the Vs. TCG in it. A retailer in Virginia mentioned the game had died in his shop as Upper Deck has been shifting their attention and resources to the World of Warcraft TCG, and the last few expansions have done little to excite me personally. Dan and I finally played a game a couple of weeks back, and while still fun, the spark had definitely faded a bit. It’ll be interesting to see if the Hellboy release does anything to help raise its profile again.

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.