May 3: The Rundown.

Dark Horse

MAR060045 BPRD UNIVERSAL MACHINE #2 (OF 5) $2.99
JAN060076 CONCRETE THE HUMAN DILEMMA TP (MR) $12.95

You’re getting these or you’re not. I justify nothing to you anymore, readers! nothing.

DC Comics
Look, kids! Three trades of awesome:

JAN060305 BIZARRO WORLD SC $19.99
JAN060290 GOTHAM CENTRAL VOL 3 UNRESOLVED TARGETS TP $14.99
FEB060336 SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE VOL 4 THE SCORPION TP (MR) $12.99

These are awesome trades. Kneel before them, puny Hu-Mon. Otter Prime Commands it!

FEB061757 ROCKETO JOURNEY TO THE HIDDEN SEA #7 $3.99

I’ve got to actually read the Rocketo trade from a few weeks to catch the last couple of issues, don’t I? Dammit…

DEC051752 SAM & TWITCH BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS COLLECTION VOL 1 TP (MR) $24.95

I’ve praised the Bendis Sam And Twitch material for eons now. This is where he first worked with Maleev and I think it’s about his best work that’s not Jinx or Alias. Only problem is that this story is drawn by Angel Medina. So it’s like it’s drawn by Todd McFarlane’s younger, possibly crippled brother.

Marvel

MAR062063 FURY PEACEMAKER #4 (OF 6) $3.50

The previous issue just came out two weeks ago. WTF, Marvel?

MAR062104 MARVEL ROMANCE REDUX I SHOULD HAVE BEEN A BLONDE $2.99

I read this at the shop on Sunday. It was pretty funny stuff, but Peter David’s story went on way, way too long. There’s no need for 16 pages of remixed Patsy Walker. Really.

MAR062151 PUNISHER MAX VOL 5 THE SLAVERS TP (MR) $15.99

Ennis + Punisher + Horrible Things Happening To Slave Traders = Essential.

Other Companies

FEB062849 MOUSE GUARD #2 $3.50

Adored the first, after picking it up at a con for a slightly jacked-up price. I’m buying future issues for sure.

JAN063165 REVOLUTION ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #4 (OF 6) $3.95

Wow, an indie publisher putting out comics on time and everything! That’s totally, like, awesome. Especially with the whole “monkeys slaughter people” vibe.

MAR062907 REX LIBRIS #4 $2.95

I’m sure this will be a star-spanning, titanic tussle that will rock the very world of Rex Libris, superhero librarian.

MAR063008 RICH JOHNSTONS HOLED UP #3 (OF 3) (RES) (MR) $3.50

Wow, this is…late.

JAN062927 WAR OF THE WORLDS SECOND WAVE #2 $2.99

I liked the first issue well enough, even if I think the art should be a bit tighter.

Oh, and Dave Campbell, pal of mine?

A Review In Search Of A Book.

How does one approach a book like the one sitting next to me? The author, Eddie Campbell, has never made it easy for anyone, least of all himself and by writing a book about Eddie Campbell without making it an autobiography, he may well have trumped his future self. The work in question, The Fate Of The Artist, is an insanely well-constructed graphic novel that explores the Campbell-shaped hole left in the lives of his family after he disappears.

The book, frankly, looks a mess at first sight. Campbell’s use of various techniques – photo comics, exacting pastiches of early-to-mid 20th century strips, prose passages, and his “normal” style of borderless, watercolored – seems to be the sort of coke-fueled nightmare that Bill Sienkiewicz would dream up when trying to best that upstart Dave McKean. However, much like Ornette Coleman’s creation of free jazz, Campbell’s seemingly-random application of different things soon establishes its own rhythm and creates a cohesive literary whole that surprisingly readable and oftentimes very, very funny.

I’ve known Campbell�s work as an comics creator with a high level of craft in his work, but The Fate Of The Artist is a leap forward that’s as drastic as I’ve seen an established and respected comics artist take in long time, maybe since Miller’s first Sin City story. Going forward, doing something like a Bacchus story will probably feel like guesting on The Family Circus for The Author.

The Fate Of The Artist comes out this week and you can see preview pages here.

Another Sensational She-Hulk #50 Page.

No points for guessing who it’s by, but if you’ve got the book this is based on, you’re probably a very, very bad human being.

And I like you more for that.