Let’s Talk About Previews (April 2008, Part 01)
Comments Off | Posted: March 31st, 2008 | Filed under: UncategorizedDark Horse
Fear Agent #22 – Man, I must be the only person on this planet that thinks this series is terribly overrated because Dark Horse is giving them a damn month of love with special discounts, a promotional push on MySpace, and contests. It honestly baffles me, it does, because while I like Tony Moore’s art an awful lot and Rick Remender strikes me as a more-than-decent guy, this is like a photocopy of a photocopy of a description of Flash Gordon and that ilk.
Herbie Archive Volume 1 – A complete list of comics I’ve wanted to see come back in print more than this: Miracleman (or Marvelman, if you prefer) and Sugar and Spike. I’m fiercely happy about this, I really am.
Help Is On The Way: A Collection of Basic Instructions – Another webcomic project from Dark Horse, eh? I’ve not actually heard of this one, so let’s go check…
…OK, so that’s one I won’t be buying, but it certainly should appeal to the sort of people that pin comic strips up in their cubicles, just like the solicitation says!
Lobster Johnson Volume 1: The Iron Prometheus – I’ve sort of fallen behind with Hellboy-related materials of late and I’ve not missed them very much. Hrm. Maybe I like Lobster Johnson enough to bring the beat back? Dare I hope?
Luke Skywalker, Last Hope For The Galaxy – From Tatooine to Dark Empire – This is a $100 slipcased hardcover that collects “the best” stories featuring Anakin’s bastard son, from the first issue of Marvel’s run (that’d be the movie adaptation) to “the final days of the Dark Empire,” which I think refers the second Dark Empire miniseries, a comic so astoundingly retarded that just thinking the name made my IQ drop by three points. To be fair, it’s 800 pages and probably a fine presentation, but still…who’s going to buy this that doesn’t have all the stories already?
Oh, right, grandparents that remember that the kids like that movie with Debbie Reynolds’s daughter in it.
Dilbert PVC Set – So, you’ve got something that to go with all those Basic Instructions strips that you’re going to cut out and put in your cubicle. Aren’t you zany and shit?
The Classic Spirit Statue – Why is it that every 3-D representation of Will Eisner’s work ends up looking like something kitbashed in a Panamanian garage?
DC Comics And Related Imprints
DCUniverse
Trinity – Kurt Busiek will have to work some sort of strange magic to make me want to read a comic featuring a Superman with that haircut.
Seriously, look at that shit. Clark hit up Supercuts instead of going to Floyd’s?
Final Crisis #2 – Sure, I was going to buy it anyway, but lines like “Meet Japan’s number one pop culture heroes, the Super Young Team and their languid leader, Most Excellent Superbat! Join legendary wrestler Sonny Sumo and super escape artist Mister Miracle as they team to face the offspring of the Anti-Life Equation!” make me actually pretty fucking excited about the whole thing.
Batman #678 – The third part of “Batman R.I.P.” and another month of people asking me “Are they really going to kill Batman?” when they see me in the shop. Yes, of course they are, just as they’re hyping The Dark Knight in the theater. It’s like Marvel’s recent treatment of Iron Man, taken to the next level.
(No, they are not really going to kill Batman. Shut the hell up and go to the clue shop to see if they’re having a sale so you can buy a couple.)
All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder #11 – I love how generic these solicitations are, as if they’re saying “No, we really have no fucking clue what he’s going to do next, either. Miller’s crazy. He’s got knives, man! Knives!“
Robin/Spoiler Special #1 – OH THANK GOD SPOILER IS BACK THIS MEANS MY MONTHS-LONG EMBARGO AGAINST DC CAN END
Batman Confidential #19 – How to get me to buy an issue of this utterly unremarkable series: get Kevin Maguire to draw it.
Action Comics #866 – Well, shit. That looks interesting, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s just the very nice Gary Frank art distracting me from my usual suspicions. I’m fretting here, because I…I might actually start buying Geoff Johns superhero comics.
Manhunter #31 – OK, usually, I’m not one to buy a series in singles to “show my support” when I’ve been buying it in trade paperback, but the return Manhunter makes me want to do just that, especially with Michael Gaydos providing the art.
Batman: Going Sane Trade Paperback – My first thought: “What an odd trade paperback to put out,” which came just before my second one: “Oh, right, Batman movie. Duh. You idiot.”
The Brave And The Bold Volume 2: The Book of Destiny Hardcover – I…uh. My name is Kevin Church and I really, really enjoyed the first volume of this. More than I should have. Enough to buy the second hardcover with no reservations. And…uh. I’m not a big Mark Waid fan, nor do I really care for George Perez.
God, this feels dirty. Stop staring at me. Please. Please.
JLA Volume 1 Deluxe Edition Hardcover – The Pro: Morrison writing the JLA, which was a very good thing, indeed, given the treatment it deserves. The Con: Howard Porter’s art made bigger. I have no idea if I’m ordering this or not.
Showcase Presents Hawkman Volume 2 and Showcase Presents The House Of Secrets Volume 1 – More black and white volumes for the bathroom.
Oh, like you don’t keep yours there.
Wildstorm
Chuck #1 – Oh, this is what you get Jeremy Haun and Phil Noto to work on? Man. Look, I’ll write a damn comic for them in which sexy sirens have to fight sexier she-spies in a world where clothing doesn’t exist, people. For cheap!
The Authority: Prime Trade Paperback – My fondness for Ellis’s Stormwatch material meant I liked the first few issues of this, but I completely forgot to keep reading it, which isn’t what I’d call a ringing endorsement. I dunno if it’s worth buying in paperback, but reading some other sucker’s copy would be OK, I bet.
Midnighter #20 – This is the final issue, making it the Wildstorm title with the longest continuous run in…forever.
Minx
New York Four – I’m a sucker for Wood and Kelly’s work together, and the fact this takes place in my favorite city doesn’t hurt one bit. (Now, about that last issue of Local…)
Vertigo
Army@Love Volume 2: Generation Pwned Trade Paperback – While I normally wince at attempts to be relevant, the use of video game lingo in conjunction with this broad, broad satire on the current unpleasantness is dead-on.
DMZ Volume 5: The Hidden War Trade Paperback – This is collection of done-in-one stories by Wood and associates is not the strongest sequence in the series, but they’re still a cut above most of Vertigo’s output.
The Young Liars #4 – I was talking to McKelvie about this series the other day and I managed to codify why I liked the first issue very much: it’s a very 70s piece of work. In fact, it would have likely benefitted very much by actually being set in that decade as it’s a bit staled for modern youth culture, but I’m willing to give David Lapham a lot of rope.
CMX
Does anyone read this stuff?
DC Direct
Wow, there’s a lot of Batman stuff, huh?
Superman/Batman Series 6 Action FIgures – That Despero figure? Yeah, I might have to break my Kirby-figures-only rules for that. That’s freakin’ awesome.
OK, that’s enough for now. Tomorrow, we’ll do Image and Marvel and then devote Wednesday to the indies. Good? Good.
