(along with the occasional
pan) for the titles coming out
August 30, 2006.
DC Comics
MAY060143 ALL STAR SUPERMAN #5 $2.99
Like fine wine, this title takes a little extra time to reach its maximum flavor. That’s why the print run is stored in oak barrels. Also: Frank Quitely draws super-slow, but real pretty-like.
JUN060243 BOYS #2 (MR) $2.99
Oh, I like this comic. Sure, it’s Ennis doing his usual tropes, but it’s a terrible amount of fun for those who, like me, either want their superheroes pop and absurdist or brutally beaten within an inch of their life.
MAY060165 GREEN LANTERN GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD TP $19.99
What probably occurs in this trade: Hal gets hit in the head by something yellow, Denny O’Neil lectures the reader, using John Stewart as an avatar, Guy performs some acts of dicketry, and Kyle whines and minces until I manage to break the fourth wall from this side and beat the crap out of him.
JUN060165 SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN VOL 1 TP $16.99
For the price of about half the cost of a reader’s copy of one of my precious 80 Page Giants from the 60s, I can get a massive chunk of goofy Batman action in monochrome - a fine bargain. I probably won’t stop buying those 80 pagers, though. I love the house ads, letter columns, and silly gag strips far too much to stop now.
JUL060226 SNAKES ON A PLANE #1 (OF 2) (MR) $2.99
Maybe this will be like the Superman Returns adaptation, giving the readers all new scenes that feature, you know, snakes on a plane. Biting people.
JUN060215 SOLO #12 $4.99
Brendan McCarthy, the most hallucinogenic of 2000AD artists, gets to send this series out in style. You can check out Mark Kardwell’s interview with him here.
JUN060217 TRIALS OF SHAZAM #1 (OF 12) $2.99
DC, I want a simple answer: why do I have this moribund, fairly awful series instead of that long-discussed Jeff Smith book that certainly promises less child abuse and blood sacrifice and much, much more wonder and joy?
Also: I really liked Winick’s First Thunder series, detailing Captain Marvel and Superman’s first meeting. You should have kept that tone.
A copy of Trials Of Shazam #1 was provided by DC Comics for the purposes of review.
Marvel
JUN062031 ESSENTIAL PUNISHER VOL 1 TP NEW PTG $16.99
I hate to say this, but I rather enjoy the early Punisher stories for what they were. Dude shows up, dude kills people that need killing, dude goes away. Why is it only Garth Ennis seems to realize the joy this can derive?
JUN062004 JACK KIRBYS GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS #2 $2.99
I wonder if this series serves as some sort of apology to Jack’s family for screwing them out of royalties since the dark ages?
JUN062006 NEXTWAVE AGENTS OF HATE VOL 1 THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT PREM HC $19.99
God help me, I think I ordered this out of loyalty to the title. There is something clearly wrong with me and I need to be put down like a rabid dog. A fat one. With glasses
Other Companies
JUN062954 AP HOW TO DRAW HENTAI ADVANCED INTERCOURSE #1 (A) $4.95
I hate puns and loathe Hentai in general. Why am I so delighted by the name of this book, then?
MAY063027 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #1 $2.99
Issue 0 pained me. Yet here I am, waiting for the next issue. A sucker, me.
JUN063145 ROTTING IN DIRTVILLE GN (MR) $13.95
Buy this graphic novel so that Rick Spears can afford to eat.
Thank you.
JUN062818 URSA MINORS #2 $2.95
I like Neil Kleid a lot, but man…this one’s a mess. The art is not jiving with the script at all - I spent most of the last issue slightly confused, wondering if there was a CO2 leak in my house.
MAY062981 X ISLE #2 (OF 5) $2.99
I am not saying to buy this because it’s a damned fine bit of sci-fi. I am not going to mention that the scripting is tight and the art is dead good. I’m saying that you should buy this so you can enjoy an all-new Nitroglycerin strip by Birdie and myself.
MAY063375 ZOOM SUIT #4 (OF 4) $2.95
I’m sorry, but this comic is dire. I gave the first two issues a try (you can read the PDF of issue one here) and found the art uneven, apparently forced to bend in new and unusual ways to match the alternately overwrought and goofy script that tries desperately to capture the weird alchemy Bendis frequently manages on Ultimate Spider-Man and ends up coming off exactly like what it is: a horribly written also-ran.
Why am I picking on this book? Because, hell, someone’s got to disagree with some amazingly underinformed person at Newsarama who says it’s “easily the indy comic of the year” and the Silver Bullet reviewer who said #2 “Come on John, do something wrong with this series so we�ll have something to complain about!” My theory is that these writers were either given large cash payoffs or that I’m completely out of touch with the fanboy market and their overwhelming desire to have badly-constructed reference-filled “nostalgia” shoved down their throat. I suspect Column B.
Oh, speaking of, I forgot to review Justice League of America #1. I’ll do it in three bullet points, making it easier for everyone.
- No matter how hard DC tries, I can not give a damn about Red Tornado, or as I like to call him: “The Emo-er Vision.”
- I think that in first issue a comic called Justice League Of America, there should be more action from the big three than just sitting around a coffee table, picking names out of a hat. This is doubly true since there was an Issue 0 featuring the same three characters sitting around a coffee table, talking about old times.
- See the first item. I fucking hate Red Tornado outside of the rather excellent Super Powers toy.
A copy of Justice League Of America #1 was provided by DC Comics for the purposes of review.
