Dark Horse

JUL050036 CHOSEN TP (RES) (MR) $9.95

Looking for clichéd, heavy-handed religious metaphor that’s very very easy on the eyes and has a few decent moments? Step right up!

AUG050080 STAR WARS X-WING ROGUE LEADER #2 (OF 3) $2.99

I really, really, really enjoyed the first issue. This is because I am a sad, sad man holding on to the last vestige of his childhood like it’s a tattered old blanket and I’m a hobo.

DC Comics / Associated

SEP050292 DESOLATION JONES #4 (MR) $2.99

There is a lot of very blue dialogue in this one, so maybe you shouldn’t read this if you are too sensitive.

SEP050242 JONAH HEX #1 $2.99

Yee-haw, bitches! (If he stopped picking at that, it’d be all better by now!

AUG058343 SEVEN SOLDIERS KLARION THE WITCH BOY #4 $2.99
SEP050259 SEVEN SOLDIERS THE BULLETEER #1 (OF 4) $2.99

I guess some shops get Klarion late. I can’t wait to see what Bulleteer does, as I really like things featuring bullets and women in silver bodysuits.

I am a simple sort.

SEP050243 SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX VOL 1 TP $16.99

Again: Yee-haw, bitches!

SEP050303 SMAX TP $12.99

The Top Ten spinoff that I was very surprised with, as I am not a fan of fantasy by a long shot, but Moore did a really good job playing with and mocking the tropes of the genre without going into the stupid. Imagine that, Alan Moore being a good writer.

AUG050270 WINTER MEN #3 (OF 8) (MR) $2.99

I am quite sure this is not getting any real sales action. That depresses me as it’s ten times smarter than almost everything else DC’s putting out.

Image

JUN051839 NECROMANCER 9.6 CGC GRADED SGN #1 $59.99

Eat my fuck.

Marvel

SEP051948 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE HULK $2.99
SEP051999 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE POWER UNIMAGINABLE TP $19.99

Seriously, Marvel: No. One. Cares. About. Captain. Universe.

SEP052008 ESSENTIAL MARVEL TWO IN ONE VOL 1 TP $16.99

The love I have for this series is completely stupid. I mean, Ben Grimm + X smack shit around. That’s a perfect goddamn formula right there. Even when it’s not a good comic, it’s an enjoyable one. Can’t say that about most comics now, can you?

Other Companies

SEP052702 REX LIBRIS #2 $2.95

Finally! I so adored the first issue of this.

AUG053111 ROCKETO #3 $2.99

I could just look at this comic all day long. So pretty. Thankfully, the story meets it pretty handily, so far.

APR052876 STRAY BULLETS #40 (MR) $3.50

He’s manages to put this out close to on time as well as doing that Punisher / Daredevil crossover. Someone get John Byrne to explain how someone who is not John Byrne manages to do such an amazing feat, as apparently nobody else in comics is able to be as productive as John Byrne, hero.

Kind of a short list this week (I’ve probably missed like $200 worth of crap, just like last time around,) so have a picture of a kid in my neighborhood enjoying the holiday:

See the rest here.

Obey. The. Cunard.

Obey. The. Cunard.
Originally uploaded by BeaucoupKevin.

Ed is huge in NYC.

I’m the goddamn Batman.

I’m the goddamn Bathound.
Originally uploaded by lesleyworld.

Woof.

Part two of Kevin Looks At Previews And Gets Cranky!

Image
The house that Jim, Todd, Erik, and Mark built sees its long-solicited, never-delivered 10th Anniversary Circle Jerk Celebrating Shitty Comics finally come out, or so they promise. Of much greater note is the first Gødland collection, which I have promised to give a fair shake after Ian flame-mailed me. (That may be a bit of a fib. I think, in fact, it was a well-worded suggestion that I give it a fair shake. Still, I like the idea of formenting some kind of dissent in the ranks.)

I have yet to meet anybody that likes Body Bags, but I’m fairly sure that the new special is going to fly off the shelves and into the longboxes of repressed fanboys who like to pretend that the female character is of legal age while reaching for the Vaseline and sock.

Holy shit, that Ant cover Graeme posted a while back really is a mind-bogglingly bad piece of “art,” isn’t it? I’m sure Mario Gully’s a great guy, but Jesus, my eyes have just gotten over Ugly Supergirl, people. Don’t make me regret actually bothering to take care of my vision with glasses!

More Amazing Joy Buzzards means I will sleep more soundly in January, knowing that the greatest rock band of all time is out there, protecting us all from the baddies.

I get the feeling Spawn is going to show up in Case Files: Sam & Twitch #25. I’m not terribly happy about that, as the two title characters are about the only Spawn-related things I like.

OK, so there were those kinda ginchy Samurai Spawn action figures, but don’t hold that against me.

Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith’s well-received experiment Fell continues apace, with an interrogation-room scene taking up the whole of this issue. I think the solicitation gives away far too much, so I am saying no more other than: buy this. Just buy an issue. Any issue. You don’t need #1, really.

Grounded wraps up, which makes me sort of sad. I hope these creators collaborate again real soon. Alternately, Paul Azaceta can become my new Drawing Monkey. I would like a drawing monkey to draw my insipid, braindead ideas. I should solicit for one.

Top Cow gets a single nod from me with the third issue of Down, but I’d like to know who thought up the copy here: “Award-winning WARREN ELLIS does violent crime drama!” It’s nothing new, except maybe to the average Top Cow reader, who I suspect wouldn’t venture outside of their niche to check out, say, Frank Ironwine or, indeed, Fell. Maybe they’re smarter than they look over there. Ellis still isn’t mentioning it at all on his website or on the BAD SIGNAL, I note.

Marvel
I must have been a little tipsy when I noted up my copy of their solications, because it’s got more Post-It notes than the White House’s copy of that indictment Fitzgerald’s office handed down this week. Let’s see if I can make any goddamn sense of this mess, OK?

Marvel really loves to hype more than produce for-real comics, it appears. A table of contents, a “Marvel Ratings” breakdown in case your 65-year-old mother is worried about what you might be reading in her basement – I’m sorry, “The Darkkeep” – and a page of “The Pulse” telling you the new number ones, new story arcs, guest appearances, and “Can’t Miss Moments” that seem really quite missable for me, excluding the Daredevil finale.

Anyhoo, Ultimate Extinction starts, with Brandon Peterson doing the art over Ellis’s script concerning Gah Lak Tus coming by for a spot of tea and a bit of planetary destruction. The last issue of Ultimate Secret had a few great bits, but the long pause between the two halves of the series made me sort of lose any sense of urgency. I’ll get the trade for that, of course, as Ellis Has Made Me His He-Bitch. The art for Ultimate Extinction looks serviceable, and I really hope the bald chick presented is Moondragon. Sorry. ULTIMATE Moondragon.

Blah blah blah Ultimate Marvel Gold Fucking Standard blahblahbloah oh, Kirkman’s going Ultimate Phoenix Saga, that’ll be nice for some people, blah blah blah. They’re doing a TPB of this year’s Annuals, which will be nice, though. I only read the Ultimates and Ultimate Spider-Man annuals and while the former was predictable, it had Steve Dillon art and the latter was the best script I’ve seen from Bendis in years.

I am not dignifiying that late-ass Kevin Smith Spider-Man thing with any more than a sigh.

What’s this? An X-Statix book? With Dead Girl and Doctor Strange? I dunno who Nick Dragotta is, but I’m pretty sure that with Allred inking him, I’ll be OK.

Daughters Of The Dragon seems to come out of left field, but the return of Misty Knight is something I’m not opposed to at all. If it gets good buzz from Trusted Sources, I will probably pick it up.

All-New Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe A To Z? About damned time, huh? This month also marks the release of Essential Handbook Of The Marvel Universe, which may be twenty years out of date, but I’m sure I’ll get it just to settle stupid arguments with Chris at The ISB.

Oh, not by referring to it, but by beating the living crap out of him with it when he’s right.

Marvel Milestones does a nod to Nextwave with a book collecting a Machine Man story by Jack along with some Bloodstone-related things. Oh, and speaking of Chris at The ISB and Nextwave, he does a nice writeup on the solicitation right here. I think Stuart Immonen’s new style is fan-fucking-tastic and seeing he and Ellis make with the ha-ha explodo is probably going to be a real treat for me unless, like, the comic comes with a free kick to my man-sack.

Astonishing X-Men Saga. Twelve issues condensed into 48 pages. Gee, you think Whedon might pad his X-Stories a little bit? Maybe?

If Ed Brubaker were writing Mythos: X-Men, I might be interested, but the cashed-in-all-his-chips alredy Paul Jenkins means I stay away. I’m sorry, but it does look really pretty.

John Layman, hero to children, gives me what I want: Giant Fuckoff Robots Wrecking Shit. I don’t care if Sentinel Squad O*N*E is connected to Decimation, I am going to be checking that out, especially as Lopresti seems to really enjoy said Giant Fuckoff Robots.

X-Men: The 198. Uh. Yeah, see, that worked once with The 1400, guys, but it looks really clumsy when you named a series that. And what the fuck is this X-Men: The End – Men And X-Men shit? Does Claremont have photos of Joey Q and a mongoloid hooker or something?

Before the trades, a browser of Marvel Previews comes across two statues: Doom On The Crapper and Super Masked Buggery Logan. Neither of these are any damned good, even if Wolverine’s man-pelt is quite stunning.

Now, about the trades: Marvel Visionaries: Roy Thomas? I don’t think of Roy as a visionary, per se, even if I adore a lot of his late Sixties and early Seventies material. Roy was very good with making readers realize the value of older characters and using them in respectful, if not necessarily exciting ways. Still, he kept the boat together until the madness that was Englehart and Gerber took over, so he deserves some tribute.

David Lapham’s Daredevil vs Punisher has been a surprisingly fun read, as it’s a well-done pastiche of the early Eighties version of both heroes, owing no small amount to Miller. I think I’ll pick up the trade as I’ve been reading the issues and then putting them back, making me a bad comics fan.

MARVEL. NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT CAPTAIN UNIVERSE. Seriously. Stop it.

Marvel Knights 4: Impossible Things Happen Every Day is going to be good. I know this is going to be good as Roberto Aguiree-Sacasa’s take on the characters has proven to be surprisingly good, even if it does that whole “less weirdness, more drama” thing that would normally sour me to this sort of thing. This also features an issue that Ed Cunard made me read and maybe it made me all mushy because it was about Reed and Sue’s romance. Shut up.

Essential Goddamn Godzilla? Look, if it involves the Big G fucking up the Helicarrier for issues at a time, it’s got me. I’ve read a few of these issues and while it’s not brainy or anything, I think it’s a fairly successful Media Tie In comic as it integrates our favorite kaiju with the Marvel Universe pretty effectively.

Oh, and Essential Avengers Volume 5. That’ll do nicely to wrap this thing up with, won’t it? I love me some old-school Avengers action, I do.

Indies are going to wait until tomorrow, as my Palm is telling me that my battery is low and I am not working on this at home, where the sweet siren call of Mocking Others On IM keeps me from focusing on the task at hand.

Introduction
So, this is part one of “Kevin Sits Down With The November, 2005 Previews and Marvel Previews Volumes And Gabs About Them A Lot Mega-Special.” You’ll note that I didn’t include Adult Previews, but even I have my limits. We’re going to do this in order of publisher or ads, with Marvel getting shoehorned in despite their insistence on their own volume. If you’d like, you could probably sit down with your very own copy of Previews and read along with this entry. As you open it and ignore the ads on the first page and dodge the mastubatory “editor’s note,” you’ll see an ad.

Fenickx deserves special note for buying an ad very early into the proceedings, apparently just to show that their new title, Archaic, looks exactly like Spawn. Best of luck, guys, but I don’t think that’s an effective strategy, especially with a name that sounds best in the original Klingon.

Dark Horse
A new issue of The Amazing Adventures Of The Escapist, this time featuring a glorious Bolland cover featuring Luna Moth. I can’t imagine my not being interested in this, especially since Chaykin contributes to our titular heroine’s story and Phil Winslade does arting on a 70′s period piece.

Those new Nexus and Tarzan hardcovers sure are swell, aren’t they? Too bad they’re fifty fucking American dollars. I can’t imagine spending that on these books, even with the quite-lovely contents. Softcovers, $25 or so. It worked for those Star Wars trades, didn’t it?

Hey, a novel about the Predator. Who needs that? Nobody!

The Goon Volume 4: Virtue And The Grim Consequences Thereof is worth the $16.95 asking price just for that title, but I’m quite sure that it will live up to that on the inside as well. Powell’s stock has grown a bit this past year with that hardcover that told the Goon’s origin, the Marvel Monsters Group work, and his taking over cover chores on Swamp Thing, so I suspect his back catalog’s sales are ticking upward. Good, says me. Very good.

More BPRD-related hottness, of course. I’ve got to say that even with the relentless marketing of Hellboy, the quality level has not fallen much at all with his universe in my mind. Expanded a bit, yes, but almost always a great read.

A statue of Groo. I just wanted to point that out.

DC Comics
“Mainline” DCU Books
All-Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder Oh My God They’re Just Now On Issue 4 What The Hell Is Going On At DC? is re-solicited. I can’t imagine that Frank Miller’s late with his minimal scripts that I, for one, find to be a screaming riot. Cut and paste, cut and paste, cut and paste, add slapping. Jim Lee’s got to be taking his time because he knows he’s got DC’s testicles rest smack-dab in the middle of his palm. I mean, who else is going to take over the Ross Andru role in the marketing department since Lee’s gone and gotten his versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman slapped on official merchandise, the website, and just about ever piece of advertising that’s hitting the mass media?

It’s really wrong that I think the cover to Catwoman #51 is dead hot, isn’t it? I should talk to a doctor. A special doctor who deals with fanboy lust.

Gotham Central #39 seems to indicate that Jim Corrigan really is a bit of a bastard and Bad Things Are Going To Happen To Renee. Look, guys, Montoya’s had enough shit shoveled her way in this title. Can’t we pick on someone else for once, like Driver? I’ve never been that fond of him anyway…

Oh, hey, they’re doing Superman Chronicles to match up with the Batman Chronicles. Excellent – I think it’s silly for the Archives featuring these characters to cost as much as they do, especially as they’ll sell and sell and sell.

The George Perez cover to Infinite Crisis #4 couldn’t be more retro shy of sticking a 75-cent price tag an including the “old” DC bullet on the damned thing.

Showcase Presents: Green Arrow! Oh, that’ll be nice. To those people complaining that these are not in color: his name is goddamn Green Arrow. You know what color his costume is, OK? You can pretty much fudge the rest. C’mon, you know that you’re going to buy it, especially as it includes the Kirby material that got reprinted a few years ago and then forgotten, don’t you?

DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore shows that Warner Brothers’s comics publishing division has been listening to the DVD division. All you need to do to sell something again is slap a new cover on it and throw in extras. An expanded version of Across The Universe, this includes Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow and The Killing Joke, two perennial sellers that I rather hope they won’t stop publishing. I’m sure they will, though. I just expect the worst anymore, I suppose.

JLA Classified gets Gail Simone writing, which is nice, but the real treat is getting to see Jose Luis Garcia=Lopez and Klaus Janson make the pretty pictures together. The preview pages in this look spectacular, they do.

Seven Soldiers Of Victory Volume 1 is a trade that collects the issues in publication date, which seems very wrong-headed. I mean, why give me a bunch of half-complete stories instead of two or three complete ones? Hell, it might allow the reader who gets the entire series in trade, years from now, to uncover secrets that us mere monthly buyers can’t imagine lie in store. We also see some Frankenstein on Mars action in the saga, as well as another issue of Mister Miracle.

Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy. Six issues of Joe Kubert writing and drawing Easy Company and their leader? I don’t think you could keep me away from this with a pack of bears hopped up on crystal meth. In Tangental Crossover Potential Territory, we have DC reminding us that one of his sons is doing a cover for Hawkman in the two-page spread heralding this work. Um.

Johnny DC
Hey, Geoff Johns may have killed the Freedom Fighters in Infinite Crisis #1, but Beechen and Barberi are making sure they don’t stay forgotten with another issue of Justice League Unlimited that will, barring extraordinary circumstances, not suck one damn bit.

A very small 13-year-old girl must live inside of me, because I am sorely tempted to get that Puffy AmiYumi comic. I know, I know.

Wildstorm
Gee, since Desolation Jones #4 comes out next week (I read the preview today at the shop – it was spectacular.), it seems that there’s a long, long wait ahead until #5, which comes out January 11. I know the series is bimonthly, but impatience happens to lurk just below the surface when it comes to stuff that I really, really, really like.

Planetary has its second Absolute hardcover taken care of with its 24th issue. I am very curious to see if it pays off in the end.

Vertigo
The Exterminators seems to be a riff on the Repo Man theme of mential work becoming epic with the right attitude. I’m seriously curious, as Tony Moore’s art, when not slapped on the overrated The Walking Dead, appeals and while I’ve never heard of Simon Oliver before, the preview sure is nice.

DMZ #3. Brian Wood. If you like his stuff, you’ll buy it, won’t you? I’m sort of worried this might fall to Fallen Angel syndrome, by being something that sells at awesome levels for an indie book, but doesn’t make DC’s Corporate Accounting Department happy at all.

I really should read the first issue of Loveless to find out if I like it, shouldn’t I? I mean, I like 100 Bullets an awful lot and as far as Azzarello goes, seeing him stick to meanness is more rewarding than watching him flail and twitch over a Superman script.

DC Direct
Ow, my fucking eyes:

That’s just uncalled for.

OK, that’s it for tonight. Tomorrow, Image and Marvel and hopefully a few indies!

Mandela Launches Series of Comic Books

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Former President Nelson Mandela launched the first edition Friday of a series of comic books about his life aimed at encouraging young South Africans to read.

“You know you are really famous when becoming a comic character,” the 87-year-old anti-apartheid icon joked at his Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.

Clicking on that link gives you more. Thanks To Karen.

But wait, what’s the response from my pal Josh, who is online right now?

JoshInVegas: I can’t wait ’til he fights the Red Skull.
JoshInVegas: With his secret weapon: Winnie.

Sure, you could get Spider-Man or Spider-Girl or Captain America or The Hulk or Mister Fantastic to show up to teach kids about how to, I dunno, say no to drugs being pandered by a bully, but after watching the promotional video for the Marvel Characters Appearance Program, I’ve decided that only one person can scare the shit out of today’s youth appropriately: Elektra! Just think, she could use a sai to slit the throat of a criminal sort while extolling the virtues of eating your vegetables. I know I’d pay attention after blood splattered the first two rows!

I normally don’t go and say “HEY LOOK AT THIS THING ON THE INTERNET THAT IS USING COMICS AND STUFF,” but since this Medicine City actually covers a topic I’m pretty interested in, it’s not the worst click you’ll do all week. (Note: somebody at the Consumers Union sent this to me blindly. I normally don’t condone that sort of thing, but good causes get special treatment.)

This probably will be. Shockingly, it’s fairly worksafe, even if there’s a Village People song and a dude in tight pants.

My Unofficial Internet Kid Sister, Sophie, is about to read Watchmen for the first time. I can’t wait to get her feedback.

Brief Notes Concerning Comics From Yesterday That I Read.

Andi Watson and Simon Ganes create a really unique piece of work with the first issue of Paris. Watson’s assured scriping gives relative newcomer (at least to American comics) Ganes enough room to breathe while guiding him along perfectly. Thick, funky black lines and a slightly flat look accentuate the story’s examination of classical art and its studies as a metaphor for a young person’s life.

Speaking of Watson, his Little Star is a delightful little book, lacking in pomp and explosions, but full of insight into family. This latest issue made me a little misty in an odd way – I think it showed me the joy of having a kid without being as schmaltzy as anything else I’ve read has.

The Defenders did feature the action I so desired, plus a plot that actually went from A to B fairly effectively inside of the issue, allowing us to meet Evil And/Or Altered Mirror UniverseRenditions Of Our Favorite Heroes. There’s a fairly subtle tribute to Bill Everett in the reveal of Namor’s all-human counterpart that I greatly appreciated.

Superf*ckers, the sophomore issue? As good as the first, a little cheaper, and the cursing in it is like Christmas Morning for my inner 12 year old.

Another week in October, another quite-good Marvel Monster Group comic, this time centering around Monsters On The Prowl. We get to see The Thing and The Hulk in fine comic form thanks to Steve Niles’s deft scripting and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Duncan Fegrado have so much fun on the page.

Ferro City gets some major plot action with this second issue, with Smithe and Weston running around with The Medusa Key, trying to get to the bottom of a whole bucket of mysteries. There’s some great scenes that tie in nicely, but I do wish that the hardboiled lead could stop talking like Ed Brubaker’s Slam Bradley after a night of Philip Marlowe and absinthe, at least for a page or two. I know, I know, it’s Armstrong having fun and he even picks at this a bit in the script, but still – it’s exhaustive and distracting after a while.

The last page of Daredevil means that Bendis gets free passage this month. Even while doing the Previews review, I will bite my tongue and let him flit past me unsullied. It’s that fucking good. About time the guy whose work I first liked back in Jinx and the underrated Sam And Twitch reeled his cute bald Jewish head again.

Jack Cross. Ellis writes some stupidly fun action sequences in this and Erksine’s art kills them deader than Abe Vigo…what?

He’s still alive?

Shit, man.

But he’s limping along, right, feeling The Grim Reaper close in?

Awesome. It’s still a good metaphor, then.

Speaking of Ellis, his JLA Classified is a nice ball of superhero fun, reminding me strongly of a particularly excellent JLU episode. My favorite exchange of the week’s comics was in here, actually:

THE FLASH is scooping up BATMAN so they may both infiltrate the Big Bad Enemy using superspeed.

Batman: I can’t ride on your back?

The Flash: Your legs would fall outside the Speed Force and would probably be turn off.

Batman: This will be fine.

Sure, it’s an Ellis All-Star Ideas story with tesseracts, memes, and Alien Weapons Of Great Power, but I’m enjoying it more than, say, anything else featuring Dudes In Capes that DC is putting out monthly of late. I think it’s because it’s delivering a decent all-ages story without pandering to anyone in particular. Go figure, just like I like my superhero books!

Oh, and speaking of fun without actually bringing up Ellis at all, boy that new Solo is a bit of pop-art madness, isn’t it? Sure, the “Batman A-Go-Go” story was heavy-handed metaphor, but it was pretty and fun despite itself. My favorite part, unsurprisingly, was the Fourth World two-pager that I mentioned in this week’s shockingly incomplete rundown of the list.

The Authority: The Magnificent Kevin continues to pay homage to me and I certainly do appreciate it. It says a lot for the power Ennis seems to have in the industry where he can write an SAS or IRA story set in his beloved homeland any time he wants and in whatever book. Thankfully, I like these sorts of things, so everybody in this two-person relationship is quite happy.

Do you like zombies? I really don’t, but Zombie Tales: Oblivion continues to work the genre with the same aplomb that the first ZT volume displayed, allowing me to see some relative comics newcomers (John Rogers, aka The Kung Fu Monkey, who saw his comics debut in the debut book) work with seasoned, grizzled vets like Mark “Two-Fisted” Waid and Keith “Snakekiller” Giffen. Not a duffer in the bunch, and seeing Mark Badger do the drawing thing again made my tiny heart stretch a little bit, which caused a great deal of coughing as the rust that surrounds it from disuse burns like a bitch.

BPRD: The Black Flame. Was that mean Commander Haimo getting a massage with incense and oil? Golly. I’m surprised we didn’t see George Takei leave the room discreetly.

I kid about Mr. Takei, by the way. I’m very glad to see someone of his age, from that time, make a public statement that couldn’t have been easy at all. I’ve suspected for a while, but I figured it was an open secret, much like Chris Claremont’s S&M fascination, which I’d had no idea existed until McKelvie told me late one night, scarring me forever.

Burglar Bill gives us Paul Grist, man of good comics. That’s all I need to say, really. Quality artwork, great ear for dialogue, and an utterly British sensibility.

To be read: Night Fisher by R Kikuo Johnson. The first few pages were utterly grabsome and showed a strong, strong voice that I really liked. I’m sure it’ll get some reviewage.

Some notes, semi-random:

• Help Hulk Help A Kitty!!! It’s a little heartbreaking, but I bet that if all my thugs throw a couple of bones into the till, we can get that kittycat up and running again and not have to worry about Hulk freaking the fuck out, tearing up Greenwich Village, and moaning about how nobody loves the kitties like they should.
• Sunset City by Rob Osborne? W o w. Seriously underestimated how much impact it would have with me, as it was about the olden folks and all. This reminded me of a really good Jim Jarmusch movie, with humor that adds to the pathos without ever making the whole affair seem cheap. I think I may go into it more later, but as I already owe you guys a big writeup about Runaways and a piece about decompression in comics versus things like Deadwood, let’s just assume that it’s essential reading for people who like natural, human drama instead of dodgy spandex magazine attempts to be “serious.”
• I named my iPod Mother Box. Yes, I am a total dork.

File Under: Real Conversations I Have Had With My Friend Ryan.

RyanNYC: nati’s specs have swastikas on them.
RyanNYC: actually, i think they’re just the versace symbol, but they looks like swasis to me. ice-encrusted swasis.
BeaucoupKevin: BLING SWASTIKAS.
RyanNYC: word
BeaucoupKevin: HITLER IN THE HIZZY.
BeaucoupKevin: YO YO YO! ON THE NEXT CRIBS, ADOLF H SHOWS YOU WHAT IS UP WIT DAT BIG PIZZA OVEN.
RyanNYC: when he rolls up to schindler’s, he’s on the A list.
BeaucoupKevin: The VIP lounge is strickly A-R-Y-A-NIZZLE.
RyanNYC: for shizzle, mein fuhrizzle.

Because then, the bear would be like all “RARR!” and the wallpaper would be like “OH NOS! I AM SHREDDED!11!!” and…

…oh, forget it.

After looking at the pile of comics that came home with me, plus getting a misty look in my eyes at the prospect of getting to read the new Complete Peanuts volume that I left at the shop to pick up this weekend with Real Cash Money, I’ve got this to say:

Will be doing reviews tomorrow, most likely. Tonight, it is for the reading!

So, Shane’s decided to pummel our senses with a series of old toy ads, right? And in there, my favorite ad of all time with the best tagline ever can be found.

Click here to view it and make sure you have your sound on.

“The Falcon – that great BLACK super-hero.”

They work him in after the “Super-Gals,” of course. Man, where was Rosa Parks for that?

I was just mourning the loss of Fanboy Rampage, so I give you these fine links, which have nothing to do with comics message boards, but Graeme was braver and stronger than I could ever be, bar a hefty injection of Super Soldier Serum:

IRS fuckhead versus asshole comic shop owner!

An Internal Revenue Service agent accused of stealing comic books from a Las Vegas store was previously suspected of swiping other books from the store without paying, the store’s owner testified in court Monday.

“I’d been watching him for months, actually,” said Steven Riddle, owner of Velvet Underground Comics, 4241 W. Charleston Blvd.
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“I knew he had been hiding comic books (and) taking them out of the store,” Riddle said.

Riddle made the allegations Monday during a contentious preliminary hearing for IRS agent Bert Lott in Las Vegas Justice Court. Authorities arrested Lott on a burglary count after they said he took 14 comic books from Riddle’s store near Arville Street without paying in July.

Tempers flared during the proceedings in the courtroom of Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis.

Just minutes into the hearing, defense attorney Bill Terry asked Lippis to remove a Review-Journal photographer from her courtroom and to confiscate the film in the photographer’s camera. Terry argued that permission to allow photos in the courtroom had not been formally granted.

Lippis denied both requests.

Later, Terry repeatedly raised his voice in questioning Riddle, asking whether the store owner keeps records necessary for tax purposes.

Riddle, visibly shaken, said Terry “is trying to upset me.”

Then, Riddle got on the judge’s nerves because he continued to talk through attorneys’ objections. He also did not directly answer a number of questions from Terry. An exasperated Lippis finally delayed the hearing a week

Thanks to Kristin, who is a very nice girl that I like a lot.

Belle and Sebastian get a comic!

The British band Belle and Sebastian’s leader, Stuart Murdoch, is a longtime comics fan, and plenty of cartoonists return his affection. Early next year, as the band releases its next album, Image will publish Put the Book Back On the Shelf: A Belle and Sebastian Anthology, a collection of short comics stories, in color and black�and white, adapted from the band’s older lyrics.

It’ll be drawn by several dozen cartoonists, including Andi Watson, Leela Corman, Laurenn McCubbin (who designed the cover) and eight of the artists from the Flight anthologies. “There’s a pretty wide range of material,”says Image editor Eric Stephenson. “Some of the artists have done straight interpretations, others have more surrealistic takes on the songs, and a few use the lyrics as a counterpoint to what’s going on in the panels.” Stephenson’s talking to songwriter Stephen Duffy about a similar future volume.

Thanks to the PW Comics email newsletter for this bit of joy! If you like bits of joy, you can sign up for it for free by visiting this page.

Questionable eBay auctions for movie posters!

V is for Vendetta
27 x 40 SIGNED POSTER by
Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea, Tim Pigott Smith, Alan Moore, Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, & Joel Silver

Thanks to Rich Johnston.

What could be better than Frank Miller’s Daredevil?

Howzabout Alan Moore parodying Frank Miller’s Daredevil?

Click to read the entire story.

Courtesy of some person or another on LiveJournal, where
I swear to God, I was just there for the drinks, not the company, ok? I’ve
not betrayed you, sweet comics blogger community.

Every Monday, we provide a list of products shipping for
the current week, which Kevin then disassembles with an
absurd level of hatred and disdain for this industry in something
he calls…

Previews/Diamond

SEP050003 MARVEL PREVIEWS NOVEMBER 2005 PI
SEP050006 PREVIEWS ADULT VOL XV #11 PI
SEP050001 PREVIEWS VOL XV #11 PI
SEP050004 PREVIEWS VOL XV CONSUMER ORDER FORM #11 PI

I’ve yet to do a solicits rundown. Maybe I’ll take home copies of all of this and do a massive post sometime soon.

I said maybe, so don’t get all excited.

Dark Horse

AUG050026 BPRD THE BLACK FLAME #3 (OF 6) $2.99

More of that Guy Davis goodness with the gang. I just read that Honor Among Punks collection of Baker Street and man, watching him grow as an artist in such a brief amount of time is just plain startling.

JUL050049 LITTLE LULU VOL 6 LETTERS TO SANTA TP $9.95

As a bad person who smothers kittens and steals from the poor, I’ve not purchased any of these yet. Anyone have a recommended volume?

DC Comics

AUG050263 AUTHORITY THE MAGNIFICIENT KEVIN #3 (OF 5) (MR) $2.99

I hope we get more musical numbers in this issue, and more from that villain who says something quite obscene as he dispenses pastries of death.

AUG050220 JLA CLASSIFIED #13 $2.50

Now that Ellis has done all of his “gathering of the heroes” and “cool explanation for the bad guy” stuff, I guess it’s time for quite a lot of crashing and thumping. Excellent.

AUG050279 LOVELESS #1 (MR) $2.99

As a newish fan of Deadwood, I’ve got to say that the preview of this showed that this will be a darn nice placeholder until that second season hits DVD.

AUG050232 SOLO #7 $4.99

That cover price? Worth it for the Mister Miracle story alone. Oh, how I loved that little two-pager.

Marvel

AUG051917 DEFENDERS #4 (OF 5) $2.99

OK, less of the Dormammu/Umar semi-incestual stuff and more of the Hulk Smashing and Strange Stranging stuff, please. Thanks!

AUG051891 ULTIMATE SECRET #4 (OF 4) $2.99

No, already? It’s only been a few weeks! Golly. (Man, Tom Raney is such a bad, bad experience after McNiven, isn’t he?)

Other Companies

SEP052850 HELLO GN (MR) $10.00

Not to be confused with Max “Handsome” Estes’s very own Hello, Again, which can get a good deal on if you visit the Top Shelf Fall Sale page before tomorrow! (This has been an ad for Top Shelf Productions, one of the very favorite indie publishers here at BeaucoupKevin Towers. Do you want your company to be mentioned in an appealing light? Contact our sales staff – beaucoupkevin@gmail.com to find out more!)

AUG053104 HERO AT LARGE #2 $2.99

Hey, I wondered when this was coming out, as I thought the first issue was pretty darn good.

AUG052653 PARIS #1 (OF 4) $2.95

This is the new series that Andi Watson is writing, featuring funky, chunky art by Simon Gane. It looks entirely up my alley, even if it’s kind of a chick drama thing. You can check out a preview here. (Another thing that looks entirely up my alley despite heavy chickitude is the new film Nine Lives, telling nine loosely-connected stories of women going through shit.

AUG053126 SAMURAI CHAMPLOO VOL 1 GN $9.99

This is an excellent anime, and I’m curious to see how the manga works without the soundtrack that makes the moving-pictures version so captivating for long stretches. The Cowboy Bebop comics are pretty OK, but without Yoko Kanno’s soundtrack, some of the pacing and funkitudinal bits are missing or truncated weirdly.

AUG052620 SUNSET CITY GN $9.95

Rob Osborne is a hero among men and he will make you care about the people inhabiting a retirement community where there’s something amiss.

AUG053230 SUPER F$$$$$S #2 (MR) $5.00

FUCK YEAH! Yes, it’s foulmouthed, obnoxious, and drawn by love ‘em or hate ‘em James The Kochalka so the audience is narrow, but I don’t care. I love it, love it, love it.

SEP052835 ZOMBIE TALES #1 (O/A) $6.99
JUN052859 ZOMBIE TALES OBLIVION #1 $6.99

Ross Richie says “Happy Halloween, bitches!”

Sort of a short list this time around. I’m getting a stack of indie stuff, but that’s kinda it. I’m sure those of you with your Crises and your Houses are much busier than I am, and that’s just fine. Just don’t whine to me when you’ve spent your last dime on something featuring Spandex Rape Action and I’m kicking back with a bottle of Pappy van Winkle’s 15-year Special Reserve.