If you click, you’ll see that this comic features Space Hitler with his Alien Allies. Mike gave me a stupidly good deal on a beaten copy tonight at the shop. I may just get the damned thing framed, I love it so very much.

Gosh, between this and Emo Hitler, I think I should point out that I bought the Eisner biography and a Kirby Masterworks edition and occasionally have a beer with a real live Jewish person, wherein we sometimes manage to work in a comment or two concerning the fuhrer’s pure fuckheadedness.

(Overcompensating? Maybe?)

DC Comic Characters To Be Featured on US Stamps in 2006.

�Our 2006 program commemorates a wide range of diverse American icons with something that will appeal to everyone,” Postmaster General John E. Potter said in announcing the planned designs. One touch of reality though � the new stamps of 2006 will cost 39 cents, as the postal rate increases on January 8th.

The Post Office�s plans call for a set of 20 stamps featuring DC Comics characters. From the release, the list includes: �Superman, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man, Batman, Green Arrow and many more.�

According to the August issue of Linn’s Stamp News, Aquaman, Hawkman, and Supergirl will also be featured. The heroes will reportedly be on two stamps, showcasing different poses. Linn’s also reported that the stamps would be released in conjunction with a major comic convention, most likely indicating the San Diego Comic-Con, July 20-23rd (although some sources are claiming they will have stamps in stock on September 1st, 2006). Again, according to Stamp News Marvel heroes will be featured on a series of stamps in 2007.

To do a set like this and not take the opportunity to feature the brighter stars of the DC Universe is a crime against man and nature.

Rolling Stone Is Going 3-D for No. 1,000

Rolling Stone, which produced the best magazine cover of the last 40 years, as judged by its peers, is already working on its cover for May 2006.

The date may seem far away, even for a business noted for its long lead times. But that month is special in Rolling Stone’s history: the magazine’s 1,000th issue.

For the occasion, Wenner Media is planning what appears to be a first for the magazine: a cover in 3-D.

Because you know what always helps the sales of your ailing periodical publication? Fancy covers.

It worked so well for the comics industry, after all.

DC Comics

SEP050244 JLA CLASSIFIED #14 $2.99

J’onn totally owns in this issue. You’ll know what I mean when you read it.

SEP050295 OCEAN TP $14.99

Warren Ellis went back in and added several captions and dialogue exchanges to the last chapter in this book because as it stood, it didn’t really convey his intent clearly. I’ve got to say that I admire the effort to correct a mistake that actually did frustrate a few people in service to the overall story. Good call.

Image

SEP051691 FELL #3 $1.99

How much more by Ellis do I need to be reading, anyway?

I think it’s neat that the crankiest Brit since George is working with two series – this and Desolation Jones that swim in roughly the same waters while managing to do completely different things. Its those two books that make Jack Cross seem like a sore thumb as that series moves on, thanks to the art.

SEP051692 FERRO CITY #4 $2.99

Yup, sticking until the end with this one, as it may be flawed but the mystery keeps me guessing just enough while prociding me with lots of awesome art.

JUN051793 NEGATIVE BURN SUMMER SPECIAL 2005 $9.95

Marvel

SEP051937 GIANT SIZE INVADERS #2 $4.99

I could just point you to the solicitation, which reads as follows:

Captain America, the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch � together again, in a brand-new story written by the legendary Roy Thomas! Plus: The greatest super heroes of World War II unite to battle the Axis powers in INVADERS #1-2 (August-October 1975); the Sub-Mariner takes on the Torpedo Boat Terror, from ALL-WINNERS COMICS #1 (Summer 1941); the Human Torch gets caught in the Carnival of Death, from ALL-WINNERS COMICS #2 (Fall 1941); and Captain America cracks the Strange Case of the Malay Idol, also from ALL-WINNERS #2.
96 PGS./T+ SUGGESTED FOR TEENS AND UP …$4.99

However, I am not that sort of person, who says that such a fine collection of reprints indicates something guaranteed to provide me with my Nazi slaughter that I have come to demand in my modern comics. Instead, I’m going to remind you that the name of the comic is Giant Sized Invaders and show you the cover, which took the name way, way too literally:

SEP051947 SENTRY #3 (OF 8) $2.99

Look, I may not care what happens in a Sentry comic that’s not drawn by Jae “Jae Lee” Lee, but Jenkins and John Romita Jr made sure the frist four pages of this comic contain an absolutely essential scene for people who like The Hulk and Dogs. As a present to you, the loyal reader, here’s the Hulk and The Sentry’s superpowered dog being cuter than…

…aw, hell, anything else on the planet:

Other Companies

AUG053253 MIDDLEMAN #4 (OF 4) $2.95

Are you buying this? You should be buying this. There will be a trade soon and you can buy that and then you’ll be like me, saying it’s excellent and annoying people that visit your website.

Wait, I’m annoying for many, many other reasons, including the fact that I’m half-watching American Ninja in Spanish when in reality I don’t speak Spanish – I just want to watch some ninjas.

Really, outside of Wimbledon Green, which I seem to have been waiting on forever and last week’s Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Volume 9, which was delayed for some reason, it’s not that big a week for me. I’m sure something will sneak in, like the titular ninja in this fine motion picture.

Damn Ian. Damn him to hell.

“But, Kevin! What did Ian Brill, much beloved Comics Blogger do to you?”

I’ll tell you – he linked to Johnny Ryan’s online shop, letting us know that Comic Book Holocaust #2 was now on sale. This started a buying binge that ended up with me buying a piece of original art from Ryan, the cartoonist I hate to love because he makes me feel so dirty. For the sake of surprise (and a future blog entry, let’s be honest,) I’m waiting until it arrives to reveal what my choice for original, framed art on the cheap to the world, but in the meantime, here’s one of the very close runners-up in the competition for my dollars.

Emo Hitler.
Emo Hitler.
Emo Hitler.
Hi, Sterling! I stole this from you!

He’s not charging shipping for any orders over $20 for a little while, so now can be your chance to save, save, save!

Now, in the Press-Releases-As-News Category, we have this gem:
Archie Comics and The Veronicas Reach Agreement; The Veronicas Join With Archie Comics for a Wide Range of Cross-Promotional Opportunities

“As soon as the meeting began, we wanted to find a way to make it all work. Not only are Jessica and Lisa highly talented singers and performers, they are very much like Riverdale’s own Veronica Lodge — smart, savvy and very classy! We are delighted to forge an association with The Veronicas that will allow for exciting joint promotional activities that will enhance the continued growth of The Veronicas and further underscore the pivotal role Veronica Lodge plays in the world-renowned Archie brand,” said Michael Silberkleit and Richard Goldwater, co-publishers of Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

I’m so glad the Aussie teen-pop duo and the publishing company were able to find some sort of synergistic arrangement that would allow them both to maximize their potential earnings. This fills me with glee, I tell you.

Coming up in a while, after I get home from work and have a beverage: this week’s list.

Neil Kleid sent out an email to just about every comics blogger on the planet last night reminding them that this month, NBM is offering his new graphic novel Brownsville through Previews. As I just finished reviewing the Diamond catalog, I felt immediately began rubbing the egg off my face and vowed to tell everyone about it.

So, guys. Click that link. Find out more. Kleid’s a talented writer and a fine human being. I think that between this work (with artist Jake Allen) and Joe Kubert’s Jew Gangster, the whole “Judaism And Crime” genre in comics probably has itself sewn up.

Kevin Picks Apart The December Previews
Part Three: Indies, etc.

This is it – the long-promised grand finale to my tiptoing through Diamond Comics Distributor’s Catalog That They Charge People For, Previews for the mont of December, which means that the products within should be on your local shop’ shelves come February. Considering that Hibbs just did some math on this past week’s invoice and figured out that forty percent of their delivery was late, this is what we call a laudable goal.

Comics
First of all, there’s a nice big ad that caught my eye from the fine folks at TwoMorrows Publishing and I figured I should point out Modern Masters Volume 6: Arthur Adams to David Campbell, who has declared his ardor for Adams’s work in the past and would most likely impale himself on his Rodimus Prime statue if he missed the chance to spend money on a work that celebrated this particular artist’s work.

AC Comics
Femforce is at issue 135. Jesus, talk about sticking to your plans, huh?

AiT / Planet Lar
They just want to remind you that they gave you Brian Wood through a full-page ad and a friendly-enough add saying that all of his (quite good) comics that they’ve published are available for your purchase.

Alias Comics
Maybe if these guys spent less time and money laying out ugly double-page ad spreads and focused on not screwing over their creators, I’d not mock them so much.

I’m just saying, is all.

Amaze Ink / Slave Labor
Considering that these guys are publishing three of my favorite black and white comics and Paris, Rex Libris, and Emo Boy all have issues coming out in February, they get a special gold star. If I could bake, I would bake them cookies.

Archaia Studios Press
These cats have a comic called Mouse Guard coming out and it looks to be quite lovely. Whether or not I’m going to fall completely for he idea of a swords-and-sorcery epic featuring rodents is in the air, but the preview by creator David Peterson is one of the loveliest things I’ve seen in a while.

Avatar
I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a more shameless, vulgar display of tits and violence in my life. God bless them for being so upfront about their limited offerings. Sadly, Broadsword Comics with its Tarot is just a couple of pages later, which sort of diminishes their impact.

Bongo Comics
Did you know that the Simpsons-related comics outsell just about everything else in Europe? There’s probably a reason for that. Disclaimer: Yadda yadda friends that work there yadda yadda.

Boom! Studios
Ross Richie: please send me a freebie of that War Of The Worlds comic ASAP. I’m very very curious to see if it manages to reinvigorate that property in the same way that you’ve managed to make me really enjoy zombie stories and Giant Monster

(BTW: the second and final issue of Giant Monster made me laugh out loud at least three times. Excellent work by all parties, especially with the Giant Nazi Robot.)

Dynamite Entertainment
Q&A with Q&P?

F U.

We don’t need Painkiller Jane back on the shelves, at least not without Garth Ennis making her and the Punisher do the hot fuck, ok? Yes, you’ve got a movie coming out through Sci-Fi, but they also put out Mansquito.

PS> Please, for the love of Pete, lay off the variant covers for everything you put out. Did your business plan to investors include a one-in-ten Adam Hughes variant for one of the guys in the boardroom?

Fantagraphics
While I like Tony Millionaire’s work quite a lot, I dunno if I’m going to spend $20 on Billy Hazlenuts. It does look lovely, though. In fact, outside of The Comics Journal and the two Johnny Ryan projects (I know, Chris. I know,) there’s not a heck of a lot here for me here. Huh.

Gemstone
The new Overstreet Price Guide is coming out, so all of the people who come by Comicazi wanting to know what their comics are worth can feel their hopes dashed against the rocks anew! Excellent.

IDW
Again with the “Ask Your Retailer” jazz, wherein people that have a fetishistic attachment to giant robots and variant covers can pester their friendly purveryor of graphic literature to order more than usual of, say, Transformers: Toejam or whatever. I really doubt this works at all with a property that’s wheezing a bit now

However, they do one things that’s well worth notice for people who aren’t enamored by boomboxes that become giant mechanical monstrosities or Peter David: a new Brian Wood book about the pure capitalist, neocon wet dream future called Supermarket. The solicitation starts off with a Wu-Tang reference and that’s when they had me.

Kyle Baker Publishing
Kyle Baker Publishing’s primary creaor of note, Kyle Baker, offers a collection of the first two issues of his brilliantly drawn, wordless Nat Turner as well as a very reasonably priced, full-color collection of The Bakers, a book that made my tiny, brittle heart glow like E.T’s.

Oni Press
Bryan Lee O’Malley’s (much, much) better half, Hope Larson, has an original graphic novel, called Gray Horses. While it looks like it won’t exactly be my kind of thing, her work is well worth pointing out because she’s very good at what she does, that one.

Pantheon Books
OK, so they’re doing a cinemanga/photonovel take on A Scanner Darkly, using cells from the upcoming animated feaure. I was just reading the latest issue The Comics Journal and therein, it was revealed that Comics’ Favorite Curmudgeon, Harvey Pekar, is actually writing an adaptation. Huh.

Speakeasy
Another series of full-page, single-and-triple title ads whose copy reproduces the smaller solicitation exactly.. You’d think they’d try to get some original content for these, maybe feauring a brief Q&A with the creators or something. Anyway, another issue of Super Crazy TNT Blast and that’s about it for me unless I hea good things about other titles they’re putting out.

Super Real Graphics
In case your thirst for reality TV superhero stories wasn’t slaked by Wildguard, here’s a series whose sophomore issue comes out this month about, er, superhero reality TV. I keep getting reminded of my Boy Band Superhero Group idea of a few years ago and how I shoulda struck while the iron was hot. I just finished reading the first issue at the shop and it’s…nt very good. I mean, any comic that tries to convince me that there’s a major cable network in Beaverton, Oregon just isn’t going to be able give me the small amount of versimillitude I need.

Tokyopop
Jesus, they must be making money hand over fist to be able to do consistently massive ad buys in Previews Anyway, a lot of stuff I have absolutely no interest in excluding that second Samurai Champloo manga.

Top Shelf
Is that a new book by Max Estes, whose Hello Again I purchased at MoCCA and really enjoyed, that I spy with my little eye? Yes, yes it is! This time, we get Coffee And Donuts: A Junkyard Cats Comedy and as I apparently charmed Estes enough for him to give me a free minicomic preview, I can endorse it heartily. Funny animal humor that never once goes into the too-cute territory while still maintaining a very likeable tone.

Udon
Fucking Corey Lewis. Another issue of Rival Schools featuring his writing and art..

Goddamn it.

Viper Comics
Only one offering from this particular company this month, but it’s a good one: the second issue of the second miniseries for The Middle Man, which I’ll probably be endorsing in my grave.

Zenescope Entertainment Inc
They are putting out. A comic book. Based on the movie. Final Destination. Here’s a spoiler: everybody who’s not the protagonist or his attractive girlfriend dies.

Magazines And Books
I’m going to be buying my first issue of Alter Ego in a long, long time with their spotlight on Superman that issue 56 will have. I love stories of the creative teams that worked on that book with those twin editorial titans of Schwartz and Weisinger, so it’ll be a rel treat for me to get my paws on this.

There’s a British magazine called Nude that seems like something I would like. Previous issues have pieces on Dan Clowes, The Sex Pistols, and The Lost Art Of Home Taping. I may just order one on a whim, even with the $8.95 price. Do any of my UK correspondants have an opinion about this particular periodical?

A Hellblazer novel by John Shirley? Huh. I may just order it for Alice, who likes John Constantine in a non-platonic manner. Just call me an enabler.

You know, I can tell you one secret that all of these “How To Draw…” books seem to miss. Go take some anatomy and perspective classes. Then you can learn how to distort and embellish the human form for fun and profit.

Harry N. Abrams, a “real” publisher, is entering the graphic novel field with Mom’s Cancer winner of an Eisner for online comics. A very reasonable $12 gets you a well-told, only slightly maudlin book about creator Briant Fies’s mother’s battle with the title disease. There’s also a book about The Cinema Of George Lucas that has a very handsome picture of its title character, but it’s $50, so no.

Yes, I am that nerdy. I also want to check out the freaking Outbound Flight novel set in Lucas’s most famous universe, as it’s Timothy Zahn returning to that one story element that he came up with that wasn’t explored to death. I’m waiting for paperback, though, as $27 is just too much to indulge my declining-but-occasionally vigorous Star Wars interest.

There’s a JSA novel coming out, written by Kupperberg and Johns. It’s a hardcover, priced at $22.95, but if you’ve spent $18 on a trade that you’ve read over a long lunch, then isn’t that a value bargain, even without pictures?

Other Crap
I want like ten of the t-shirts featured in this Previews. That mades me sad. However, I am glad to point out to certain parties that there’s now a WHIZ Broadcasting t-shirt available. These Captain Marvel afficianados know who they are.

Re: that Pasilades Toys Labyrinth figure feauring the Goblin King AKA David Bowie in strange, poofy clothing. No. We don’t need that.

Sterling already talked about the horror that is the Aliens Deluxe Pewter Chess Set, so I shan’t. God almighty, that’s tacky.

There are a lot of action figures for girls featured in anime and video games where they have to beat up other girls. That’s a funny thing, that.

Over in the Posters, Prints, and What Have You section, there’s a $750 Alex Ross giclee that I swear to god is just a really fancy Photoshop or Illustrator job put on expensive paper. That last dime, he’s going to squeeze the fucker until it’s even thinner, isn’t he?

Finally, in the Overpriced DVDs portion that closes the catalog, there’s a Flash: The Complete Series DVD set solicited. At this moment, bootleggers in the convention circuit are all muttering at the enormity of their misforture with a single word: “SHIT!” Between this and the rumored JLU season sets, this means they’ll have to continue to flog the same never-released-for-a-reason crap. Poor bastards.

Aaaaaaand that’s it. As I did last time, here’s the playlist for this bit of writing, which will tell you what Mother Box seems to really enjoy lately.

1. “Sexy Boy” // Air
2. “Stop Time” // MC Chris
3. “Octopus’s Garden” // The Beatles
4. “I’m Alive” // Stretch and Vern
5. “A New Career In A New Town” // David Bowie
6. “Home” (Orb Sweet Sin And Salvation Mix) // Pop Will Eat Itself
7. “We Have Arrived” (Aphex Twin QQT Remix) // Mescalinum United
8. “U Don’t Danse 2 Tekno Anymore” // Alabama 3
9. “Unhappy Birthday” // The Smiths
10. “Speed Me Towards Death” (Instrumental) // Rob Dougan
11. “Who Needs Love Like That?” (Live on the Chorus Tour) // Erasure
12. “Rollercoaster” (King Britt Scuba Remix) // Everything But The Girl
13. “Come” // The Kleptones
14. “Dirty Epic” (Dirty Mix) // Underworld
15. “Nothing” (Rock Mix by Headcleaner) // Depeche Mode

The Second Part Of Kevin Reads And Picks Apart
The Latest Previews For Stuff Hitting
Shelves In February: Image and Marvel

Image
Despite the taint that Bendis’s overscheduling himself has placed on so much of his work, despite the fact that it’s drawn by Angel Medina, despite the fact that it’s got a cover by Greg Capullo, Sam And Twitch: The Brian Michael Bendis Collection Volume 1 is highly recommended. Previously collected in black and white, these issues turned Sam and Twitch from being characters I knew nothing about into fully formed, “real” people for me. It’s $25 and pretty much worth it.

How to you guarantee that Kevin Church buys your collection> You name it Put The Book Back On The Shelf: A Belle And Sebastian Anthology. Featuring a lot of talent – favorites that pop out include Ian Carney, Jonathan Edwards, Rick Spears, Rob G, and Andi Watson, this uses the Scottish popsters back catalogue as the basis for visual stories. As long as nobody does a take on “The Chalet Lines” featuring superheroes, they’re sure to do OK by me.

Now, back to back, we get the first Rocketo collection and the SOCOM: Seal Team 7 graphic novel. As Rocketo’s individual issues came out through Speakeasy and Seal Team 7 was originally supposed to be printed by AiT/Planet Lar, this is sort of interesting. Rocketo, I’m not surprised by. We’ve heard that Speakeasy has had a few bumps in their road, with some titles falling off the vine as they gain new ones, but Seal Team 7′s change interests me. Did they miss a deadline? Was it just decided to not be a good fit for AiT? Did Larry Young stab one of them in an alley? Either way, it still looks to be quality work featuring SEALs against Atlantis. What else do you want in your military comics?

Ant #6? See below

Fell keeps on coming on, with another dose of comics goodness at $2. I can’t wait to see Matt Fraction’s book using this same format.

I have the creeping feeling Ian’s right about how much I’ll like Godland and I will probably add the series to my subscription after the trade comes out. Stupid Ian being right. I hates the Ian, precious! I hates him!

I think I’m the only person on the planet who is not charmed by Invincible. I’ve read the trades, thought it was competent, but I seem to be lacking in the nerve that this comic has stroked for so many people. When people get slobbery over it around me, I guess it’s like my falling over myself concerning a really clever sample or jazz solo while standing in a room full of people who really like Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I think the cover to PvP #24 is pretty subtle, which I appreciate as a contrast to the usual tone this title and strip takes.

Top Cow? There’s the final issue of Ellis’s Down, which had its debut this week. I thought it was competent and engaging, if a little creaky. The script’s yons old at this point, so maybe I’m comparing this to Fell and Desolation Jones unfairly, but I didn’t know I was going to read a Grand Theft Auto comic.

Marvel
OK, let’s open up this completely separate for no reason at all that I can fathom magazine and see what’s the haps, shall we?

The single Ultimate title I plan on reading in February is Ultimate Extinction #2, because I like Warren Ellis’s comic book writing. I think he is a good comic book writer and what he brings to superhero fiction is appreciated by me. The end.

I swear, this makes me think that Pantene or John Mitchell Studios own some stock in Marvel:

Confidential to “The Shadow”: You’re right!
Greg Land does draw better women than Gene Ha.
I just didn’t know that Thor had become transgendered
in the Ultimate Universe.

The first Brubaker/Lark issue of Daredevil comes out I’m pretty confident they’ll do just fine, even if I worry that Marvel may be taking their exclusive signing with Brubaker and end up turning him into the new Bendis. He’s got five books in four titles coming out in February and I can just see Marvel wanting more.

Speaking of overworked-by-Marvel, we get a new Fury series by Garth Ennis. Fury: Peacemaker focuses on his pre-SHIELD career of blowing Nazi Shit Up Real Good for Uncle Sam.

Following up on January’s Astonishing X-Men Saga, wherein 12 issues of Nerd God Joss Whedon’s scripting gets condensed into 48 pages, Supreme Power gets compacted into Saga Of Squadron Supreme. You’d think somebody would look at these sorts of things and go “You know, maybe we need to put a little more story into our comics.

Yeah, another Franklin Richards comic, which is basically Calvin and H.E.R.B.I.E., but I am not complaining. Kristin is a fan of Franklin, so I’ll be buying it to remind her why she sticks with me.

I *HEART* Marvel looks to be another experiment along the lines of the Marvel Monster Group stuff, but the only creators I really noted were Tom Beland on Web of Romance and Tim Fish doing My Mutant Heart. Since Fish is only doing 1/3 of his book, I probably won’t bite, but Tom Beland, that’s nice.

Marvel Milestones: Dragon Lord, Speedball, and The Man In The Sky. Ditko art with scripts by Wolfman, Lee, himself, Stern, and DeFalco. Cover by Miller. I just bought it twice, along with this.

One romance book that should crack me up a bit is Marvel Romance Redux: But He Said He Loved Me. This five issue mini features romance comics from the likes of Kirby, Buscema, and Colon as remixed by Giffen, Palmiotti, Last Kiss‘s John Lustig, and Roger Landridge. As there’s also a trade paperback called Marvel Romance featuring old love comics solicited in the back of this book, that’s what we call synergy.

Just to remind you people that I really like Warren Ellis and his comics, here’s the cover to NextWave #2 again. God, that looks just about perfect to me.

I think this is because I am a simple man with simple needs and wants.

I wish I could work up anything resembling not-apathy for the Sable and Fortune, but it’s not happening.

Now we hit the dry spot of this particular catalog. Through the Decimation-related books to the merchandise, only Layman’s book about Giant Fuckoff Robots and the Dead Girl miniseries appeal to me as singles. As far as product goes, Sterling talks about the Galactus Minimate for me, so go read his stuff if you’ve not already.

Now, to the trades. The presence of a Secret War hardcover indicates that Marvel plans to actually end this miniseries sometime soon, so that might make some people happy. While I’m speaking of hardcovers, the prestige treatment for the mostly-very-enjoyable Marvel Monsters Group stories seems a bit odd, but it’s a (again, mostly) fine collection from talent that I quite like so latecomers shouldn’t balk at it too badly.

Sgt Fury And His Howling Commandos gets a Masterworks volume. The sound you just heard was a certain cat in Brooklyn exploding with joy. I’m sure he’s got those issues already, but some of us don’t, so this will be nice. Still wondering why we’ve not gotten an Essentials of this material, though.

I’m quite sure that Operation: Galactic Storm is a pretty missable storyline, but seeing how it’s an Avengers Trade Paperback Collecting Big Giant 80s Stuff, I’ll have to buy it. At first, $30 seemed steep, but the first volume collects 12 issues across a number of titles, so I’m sure it’s carrying a decent Convenience Fee.

Essential Moon Knight? Check and…oh, what’s this? Essential Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Volume 2, which features the one of the first appearances of my homeboy Swarm? Mate. Damn it.

You win this time, Marvel.

I’m taking all the indie publishers tomorrow, so stick around for that if you buy stuff about people who don’t fly around in colorful bondage gear and shoot rays out of their eyes. That’s right, we’re going to be talking about comics featuring Batman¹. Stick around.

Kevin Reads The New Previews
Part The First: Dark Horse and DC

Here we go again, with me sitting down with Previews and some caffeinated beverages and probably not a small amount of spite deep in my belly. This is what I found interesting in the December issue of Previews, for products that will be hitting store shelves in February. This is not intended to be a complete overview, merely a quick guide for people who share similar tastes to my own.

Dark Horse
While I’m not necessarily a fan of Richard Corben’s work, I’ll be picking up his collaboration with Mike Mignola on Hellboy: Makoma or A Tale Told By A Mummy In The New York City Explorer’s Club On August 16, 1993 because I’m pretty stupid for Hellboy and the preview page actually looks really nice. In announcements news, it looks like Lee Bermejo’s not going to be doing the art on the next arc – it’ll be Duncan Fegredo, according to this announcement at Darkhorse.com.

Paul Chadwick’s Concrete reprints carry on with the Killer Smile trade paperback. I just read the second trade in the series, Depths last week and it’s amazing how gracefully the material has aged. Concrete was my first “alternative” comic and I’m glad to see it’s getting another chance on bookshelves, even if the digest format cramps Chadwick’s art quite a bit.

If it weren’t $49.95, I would order the Kellogg’s Coco The Monkey statuette in a heartbeat. I’ve had a few Coco-related items around the house and really like his design. I’m sure other people have noticed how schwag is starting to dominate the Dark Horse listings. You’ll have Star Wars and Conan comics, a few other things, then 7 pages of tchotskes and doodads before you get to relist material (which includes further product, like a talking Ouija Board.)

DC, Johnny DC, Wildstorm, Vertigo, and DC Direct

First, there’s DCU “proper.”

OK, I wasn’t completely sold on Batman: Year One Hundred because, frankly, I’m not completely behind Paul Pope. I thought his One Trick Rip Off was more concept than execution and while others praised Heavy Liquid and 100%, I was left with the feeling that Pope’s much more impressed by his work than anyone in his audience. This attitude changed when I saw the gorgeous preview pages (click here to see the PDF from the DC site) for Batman: Year One Hundred, which are packed with eye-catching, energetic art, which actually seems inspired by his writing for once. It’s 4 prestige-format issues at $6 a pop, which means I may just read in the shop and wait for the collection, but for once I’m anticipating something from him.

Who did I piss off so badly for them to wrap up this particularly smelly fish with such gorgeous newspaper? I tried reading a few issues from this due to people going bugfuck over it in close proximity to me, but the last thing I want is another story about Batman being a dick. OK, that’s a lie. The last thing I want is a box of Avian Flu flavored fried chicken.

Gotham Central sees its last issue, with yet another story about Montoya getting shit upon from on high. What is it that Rucka has against females in the Bat Universe, anyway? Apparently, this is coming back in some form or another with Streets Of Gotham during OYL, so there’s a bit of balm on that particular wound.

For some reason or another, the streeting-on-March-8th Superman: The Daily Planet is advanced-solicited and it looks to be just the sort of thing I like: old, surreal, goofy Superman stories from across the range of the Superman family of books. Add in a cover by Kevin Nowlan and you’ve sold me a copy already!

For some reason, there’s a “Spotlight On” Infinite Crisis #5. In case, you know, nobody noticed there was a giant crossover in the works. We’re going to watch Old Superman confront Current Superman with his fists, which may be kind of fun. I’m reading IC at my shop and I’ve got this to say: it’s exactly not my kind of comic (I was never much of a fan of the original Crisis,) but it’s very well done.

Another Alex Ross cover featuring His Pals And Gals dressed in Spandex Fetishwear? This must mean that there’s another Greatest Stories Ever Told coming out! This time, it features the JLA and covers a broad range of material. Let’s quote directly from the source material this time, shall we?

Included here are JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #19, #77, #122, #166-168, JUSTICE LEAGUE #1, JLA SECRET FILES #1, JLA #61, and the 3-page origin from JLA #200, pencilled by George P�rez!

While part of me would like some more of the early material, this seems to be a decent compromise, with the possible exception of JLA #61, which seems to be an almost random pull from the Kelly run with ugly Doug Mahnke art. (Boy, he did good with this week’s Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein, though!)

Without any comment at all other than “Old Superman Fucks With The Gentleman Ghost,” here’s the cover to JSA #82, a Levitz/Perez joint:

Despite what Spencer said, I did not, in fact, touch myself over the cover to the second issue of Sgt Rock: The Prophecy, but it is really cute. DC needs to print some more of those Combat Tales books, which I suspect may have been a bit of a dud despite ardent cries from many bloggers and older fans.

If I were more of a fan of Scott Hampton, I’d be thrilled that he gets his own issue of Solo. Too bad I’m not, huh?

Two Seven Soliders titles, Bulleteer and Frankenstein, come out in February and if you’re buying ‘em, you’re buying ‘em.

Johnny DC
This imprint may actually get two or three purchases from me on this month, thanks to an animed-up Doom Patrol appearance in Teen Titans Go and the freaking Space Cabby appearing in the JLU comic. We’re also getting more Superman Adventures reprints, which includes the rather excellent first appearance of Supergirl in these comics as written by Dorkin and Dyer.

Wildstorm
At first, The American Way looks like another deconstructionist take on superheroes, but this time the hook is a lot sharper for me, as it’s written by John Ridley whose Authority: Human On The Inside was the last book featuring that team I actually enjoyed. I’m certainly going to give the first issue a try and see how it goes from there.

Howard Chaykin’s rude, loud, and obnoxious City of Tomorrow gets collected, so those of you who failed to realize how awesome it was the first time around can make it up to him.

Planetary starts to move a little closer to its end with issue 25, focusing on The Four. Ellis recently posted about 26 on his BAD SIGNAL mailing list and he’s got this very satisfied “tone” that comes across.

Vertigo
Kid Eternity gets a collection – about damned time! This is Morrison’s take on the Golden Age character with art by Duncan Fegredo and while it’s rough around the edges and feels a little cliche now, I remember being amazed at it in 1991.

I kinda gave up on Y: The Last Man a while back, but I’ll be damned if this solicitation doesn’t tempt me dearly:

This special stand-alone issue explores the past, present and future of Ampersand, the long-lost pet of the last man on earth. How did this male monkey end up with Yorick Brown, and where has the animal been since he was kidnapped by a mysterious Japanese assassin? Questions, answers � and of course, monkeys � abound!

The cover sketch in Previews is a hoot and I wish they’d have it up on the DC site.

DC Direct
Oh, you fuckers. You went and made New Frontier action figures.

You fuckers.

You fucking fuckers.

Thankfully, they’re not on sale until July 5, so maybe I can sell some plasma or something to be able to afford them.

The New Frontier poster’s a cinch at $8, but I’d have to get it framed, and lordy I have too much to frame already.

That’s it for the first two companies that make with the funnybooks. Tomorrow, I’ll be covering Image and Marvel and then on Saturday, the more indie-slanted companies get their turn. Thanks for making it this far and have a good holiday!

The last couple of years, I’ve made posts about giving thanks.

What do I have to give thanks for this year? Everything, I suppose. I’m blessed with a loving (and really hot) companion who puts up with my quirks (although telling me I couldn’t talk about comics for the rest of the evening last night kinda torqued me off.) I also want to say I’ve got some of the best friends on the planet that are always there if I stumble into murky territory.

That’s it. Short and sweet. I’m sure I’ll write about today’s comic books tonight or tomorrow, but this post was also made as a way to remind you – the valuable readers and commentors – that I appreciate you all and hope that I can keep things going so you’re entertained.

OK, not all of you, but most of you. Some of guys you are just plain asshats.

You can view Diamond’s unedited, complete shipping list here.

OCT050003 MARVEL PREVIEWS DECEMBER 2005 PI
OCT050006 PREVIEWS ADULT VOL XV #12 PI
OCT050001 PREVIEWS VOL XV #12 PI
OCT050004 PREVIEWS VOL XV CONSUMER ORDER FORM #12 PI

So, I plan on doing another epic, huge, mondo, three-part review of Previews instead of doing the solicits as they run. I may even get around to doing it this holiday weekend, as I shan’t be away to anywhere or engorging my already corpulent form with turkey.

No promises, but it’s on my list.

Dark Horse

DEC040034 BMW FILMS THE HIRE #4 (OF 6) $2.99

This lost my interest pretty quickly with the six-month gap between issues 2 and 3. I think I’m stuck with the remainder of the series, which I’m sure I’ll eBay sell in the future during the upcoming purge.

DC Comics

SEP050290 AUTHORITY THE MAGNIFICIENT KEVIN #4 (OF 5) (MR) $2.99

This issue sees Ennis go very, very dark with fairly disturbing revelations about the ruthlessness of the Wildstorm universe’s version of the British government. To make up for this bit of quite smart and heartbreaking writing, he had Carlos Ezquerra draw a roomful of retarded people dressed as superheroes, filthy in their own waste.

One day, I want to find out what’s wrong with that man.

MAR050496 BATMAN MARIONETTE $295.00

Uh. Um. Uh. I hate marionettes and puppets, so this just enrages me into a gamma-powered bulk of muscle.

SEP050245 I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT THE JUSTICE LEAGUE TP $12.99

There’s some surprisingly effective moments buried in the same old schtick that has served Giffen and DeMatteis well, even if the Sue Dibny Pregnancy Joke was about as unfunny as could be, considering later events.

SEP050247 JACK CROSS #4 $2.50

Gary Erskine can stop making this series very hard for me to read now. It’s Warren Ellis writing about a pinko lefty anti-terrorist hard man! Surely we can get somebody who knows how to draw action properly.

SEP050313 LOVELESS #2 (MR) $2.99

#1 still sits in my bag from last month, unread. I am really not a good comics blogger, am I?

Don’t answer that.

SEP050260 SEVEN SOLDIERS FRANKENSTEIN #1 (OF 4) $2.99

This shoulda come out at Halloween, darn it.

AUG050234 SEVEN SOLDIERS ZATANNA #4 (OF 4) $2.99

And the Anti-Promethea wraps up! It’s been just long enough between issues that I’m sort of vague on what’s happened previously.

Image

SEP051682 AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS VOL 2 #2 $2.99

The first issue rocked so hard, I had to buy new drywall. One assumes the rockage will continue as stopping the rock is generally acknowledged to be a futile effort at best.

SEP051737 DOWN #1 (OF 4) $2.99

Ellis hasn’t talked about this one very much, since it laid dormant for as long as it did. I would imagine that he and Mark Millar both are a little miffed at Tony Harris for managing to go monthly with Ex Machina while abandoning their projects midway through.

Marvel

SEP051919 DAREDEVIL #79 $2.99

There’s at least 18 pages of Daredevil kicking ass properly in this issue, which will serve as a great relief to people like Chris, who seems to think that kicking people in the head is more important than anything else aside from eating and breathing.

SEP051934 NICK FURYS HOWLING COMMANDOS #1 DIRECTORS CUT $3.99

This needed a director’s cut as much as Alien vs Predator did. I don’t much mind Giffen’s scripting, but man – the art literally hurt my eyes, it was so blindly dense with no focus.

SEP052006 PUNISHER MAX VOL 4 UP IS DOWN AND BLACK IS WHITE TP (MR) $14.99

While Ennis has sort of left the black humor behind with his MAX Punisher series, it’s still surprisingly compelling. I think Mother Russia is one of the best “straight” Punisher stories I’ve read, even if it was lacking in the people-being-fed-to-bears motif I found so charming in the first volume.

Other Companies

SEP053053 OFF ROAD GN $11.95

As an experiment, Oni put a massive chunk of this online and seems to have garnered praise from a wide number of reviewers. Whether this results in real-world sales is of some interest to me, as I constantly run into people who buy comics and only surf on certain message boards, rarely if ever venturing into the blogosphere.

SEP052909 PALOOKAVILLE #18 (MR) $4.95

It’s unfair of me to wait for the trade for this, isn’t it? I mean, I know it could use the issue-to-issue boost, but reading Seth’s work chapter-by-chapter leaves me unsatisfied. Ah, well. I wonder when my copy of Wimbledon Green is going to come from Diamond. Asshats.

To make up for my babbling on and on, here’s an interview with Marcos Perez, who does the downright amazing Carl Is The Awesome, which I can’t thank Shawn Hoke enough for reviewing a while back and making sure I was intrigued. Do you want to be awesome? Buy the comics and buttons. (I just ordered 5-8 and the second Carl button to make sure I was as awesome as possible.)

If you’re looking for The Weekly List, well…I’ll just quote the Diamond site:

Shipping Lists currently unavailable. Please try again later.

I could go with the upcoming list, but it’s unstable, at best.

Check back tomorrow. I’ll get around to it ASAP.

To make up for the lack of a list, here’s a picture of a baby beaver:

Ka-BOOM! is “A Dictionary of Comicbook Words on Historical Principles”

Based on the Latest Conclusions of the Most Dubious Wordologists & Comprising Many Hundreds of New Words which Modern Literature, Science & Philosophy have Neglected to Acknowledge as True, Proper & Useful Terms & Which Have Never Before Been Published in Any Lexicon.”

Pretentious and quite funny. Courtesy of Metafilter.

(Don’t look at me about the wording on that opening sentence. That’s directly from their damn site.)

Sears Wishbook, 1979.

Somebody’s gone and scanned the entire “important” section from the 1979 Sears Wishbook. Some great chunks of memory were unlodged when I started flipping through it, especially around this section on. Man, I really want that Hulk van.

The most interesting bit to me, after the Micronauts, Buck Rogers and Star Wars toys was this image, of Elastic Mego Superman fighting it out with Mattel Godzilla. It’s like Mattel Godzilla wants to break up with Elastic Mego Superman and Kal-El’s just not having it…

I have an absolutely serious question for you – did ravepop act The Shamen predict Infinite Crisis with their 1995 release Axis Mutatis? Before you give me that look of complete disbelief and inform me that I’m High On The Dope for thinking a fairly naff dance record recorded a decade ago could possibly reflect current events in the DCU, please read on, starting with this excerpt from album opener “Destination Eschaton”:

Pilgrim, take heart
There’s a strange attraction giving strong acceleration
See the light, enter the light, become the light and shine
Like the star you know you are
Be ready for the storm
As confusion ushers in a time of chaos
But up out of turbulence
A better order surely will emerge
Synergy and harmony and wisdom will come, in time terrestrial

Onward and forever on – Destination Eschaton
Nowhere to hide nowhere to run
From Alpha into Omega
Onward and forever on – Destination Eschaton
nowhere to hide nowhere to run
From Alpha into Omega

Pilgrim, take heart
There’s a strange attraction giving strong acceleration
See the light, enter the light, become the light and shine
Like the star you know you are

And on across the Rubicon
So imminentize thy Eschaton unto Ragnarock or Nemeton
And beyond in the name of Adam Kadmon, you move on
Ego gone as one
Transformation to solarisation
Towards the final confrontation
Eschaton is thy Destination

The general theme is there, certainly – rushing towards an end point with no hope of escape and a “better order” awaiting the listener and their universe. But what catches my attention is all the references being dropped – Ragnarok is, of course, the end of the world in Norse mythology and Nemeton is a “sacred groove” – an area of magic and strangeness that crops up in Northern European mythology. Adam Kadmon is the Kabballah’s primal man – I don’t think it’s too hard to imagine that it could be referring to the Superman of Earth-2, the antecedent to all the superheroes.

Who is the pilgrim mentioned there? Is it the reader or somebody else entirely, perhaps the current DCU Superman? That’s open to debate, but I believe that the overall theme of acceptance of the future, of change indicates that they’re speaking directly to the audience – saying that after the transformation, this Crisis, a new tomorrow will be there to greet us.

There’s more evidence that Mr C and his partner Colin Angus saw some sort of future in their drug-soaked, radiophonic studio sessions. “MK2A” speaks overtly of astronomical distances (think of Donna Troy’s journey to the center of the universe), but the subtext seems to refer to dreams unrealized and lives never fulfilled:

Images from limitless Horizons
The presence of the past is now observed
Projected from the furthest suns to find me
As the earth makes circles through the sky
Distant seem the stars
Yet how close we are
Mauna Kea to Andromeda
Kahauna did you dream
Of otherworlds unseen
Mauna Kea to Andromeda
Mauna Kea to Andromeda

The band’s use of Hawaiian imagery in this track seems odd but when combined with other cultures mentioned on the rest of the album, a new theme emerges – a cohesive universe is right there, if we’re willing to work for it. This recurring element has haunted the DC universe since the first Crisis series – think of The Kingdom and Zero Hour and appears to be coming to a head with Infinite Crisis. Is this the final event that will lead to a promised unity?

Finally, I’m going to point out “Heal (The Separation)” – another example of multilayered lyricism.

Tide and time will shape the changes
That many moons will see bestowed
Stronger than we can imagine
Stranger than we can suppose
We have to heal the separation

We need to know the hour is right
For us to heal the deep divide
And I can feel the affirmation
So real the revelation
To heal the separation

The emotional strife that brought Infinite Crisis forward is blatantly mentioned there, but again we see that the theme of multiple worlds, of having to figure out what works and what doesn’t in order to save everyone is laid bare.

What’s interesting is that on the predecesser to Axis Mutatis – Boss Drum – The Shamen dip into strictly Morrison territory with MDMA becoming a jovial character who visits the listener and takes them into a world of strange wonderment in “Ebeneezer Goode” and Terence McKenna popping up to delivery a typically bizarre and engaging rant in “Re:Evolution”:

Shamanism is not a religion, it’s a set of techniques, and the principal technique is the use of psychedelic plants. What psychedelics do is they dissolve boundaries, and in the presence of dissolved boundaries, one cannot continue to close one’s eyes to the ruination of the earth, the poisoning of the seas, and the consequences of two thousand years of unchallenged dominator culture, based on monotheism, hatred of nature, suppression of the female, and so forth and so on. So, what shamans have to do is act as exemplars, by making this cosmic journey to the domain of the Gaian ideas, and then bringing them back in the form of art to the struggle to save the world. The planet has a kind of intelligence, that it can actually open a channel of communication with an individual human being. The message that nature sends is, transform your language through a synergy between electronic culture and the psychedelic imagination, a synergy between dance and idea, a synergy between understanding and intuition, and dissolve the boundaries that your culture has sanctioned between you, to become part of this Gaian supermind, I mean I think it’s fairly profound, it’s fairly apocalyptic. History is ending. I mean, we are to be the generation that witnesses the revelation of the purpose of the cosmos. History is the shock wave of the eschaton. History is the shock wave of eschatology, and what this means for those of us who will live through this transition into hyperspace, is that we will be privileged to see the greatest release of compressed change probably since the birth of the universe. The twentieth century is the shudder that announces the approaching cataracts of time over which our species and the destiny of this planet is about to be swept.

It’s quite mind-boggling that this particularly aggravating dance act, which started out as a kind of PWEI-meets-The-The sort of thing somehow transmogrified into prescient scholars of comics madness, particularly in relation to alternate universes. The connections have always been there, waiting for somebody to discover them and I feel fortunate to have had the skills in synthesis and analysis required to put forth the concepts laid down here. Whether the duo did this intentionally or were guided by some unknown, invisible force is probably going to be the debate that rages throughout comics fandom for a long time coming.

Or not. It’s just The Goddamn Shamen.