April 2007 Previews Pick Correction

Oops, totally forgot one comic, which also happens to be my actual pick of the month... It didn't appear on the list I was working off of since I actually ordered this on Amazon a few months ago, when it first showed up.

So, without further ado, my top pick of the month, is of course...

SPENT HC!

This reprints issues 11-14 of my favorite comic book, Peepshow, by Joe Matt!

April 2007 Previews Picks

Comics picks for Previews comics for April, shipping in June.

Pick of the Month:

MARVEL ILLUSTRATED TREASURE ISLAND #1: Hah! Have to make this sucker my pick of the month! Why? Two reasons: one, I’m a big Mario Gully fan, and two, I’ve been mildly obsessed with the idea of a Treasure Island comic ever since seeing Crumb. Let’s hope Mario throws in some Charles Crumb style art as a tribute!

The rest:

AMELIA RULES #18: I’ve never read this, nor do I have much of an idea what it is like, but the story, about kids adjusting to having their fathers go off to war, sounds like it could be quite memorable.

BIFF BAM POW #1(Res): New Evan Dorkin book. I didn’t really like the last issue of Dork, but I’m a long time Dorkin fan, so I’ll give him another shot. I think this is an actual story as opposed to strips, so it should be more of my thing.

BLACK SUMMER #0: New Warren Ellis series about a superhero who decides the president of da USA is evil and kills him. I’m intrigued.

HERO BY NIGHT #4: Last issue of the series.

HULK PLANET HULK HC: OK, here’s my HC, but 40$? And some non-Planet Hulk issues, why, I dunno. I’ll probably still get it though since its 50% off at DCBS, and I think the story is a great concept.

LAST CALL VOL 1 GN: Some kids get trapped on a ghost train, “an inter-dimensional soul carrier”. Sounds great and the art looks awesome. http://www.vasilislolos.com/

LEGION OF MONSTERS SATANA: Jonathan Hickman backup story. I love the Nightly News and am wildly interested to see Hickman’s take on a Marvel story. http://www.pronea.com/

MYSTIC ARCANA MAGIK: One, I’m an old school New Mutants fan. Two, I’m an old school Louise Simonson fan. Sold!

NORTH WIND #1: Me loves me some post apocalyptic stories!

SPIRIT #7: Baker is awesome, Simonson is awesome.

SUPERIOR SHOWCASE #2: #1 was great, so I’m in. One of the best indie anthologies I know of. Definitely my fav.

TICK COMIC CON EXTRAVAGANZA #1: A new Tick is cause for celebration, especially when it's done by rising star Sean Wang (who has done the Tick in the past).

WORLD WAR HULK #1: Hulk coming back and kicking ass, might need to check it out.

AVIARY: Don’t know much about this, but the previews I looked at online looked good.

CLUBBING: Next Minx title, this time by Andi Watson and Josh Howard. Preview looked good. Still don't know if these are any good for us old men (us old men who like Ai Yazawa.)

ESCALATOR GN: Since I loved King City, I have to get this earlier Brandon Graham book.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE 17 COMICS FROM AN UNPLEASANT AGE TP: Joe Matt story, dunno if it’s new.

THREE PARADOXES GN: Paul Hornschemeier’s last book, Mother Come Home was great, so I’m sure this is as well. Wonderful art.

In other news, I can't believe GPS lost! Oh well.

King City

So every once in a while a comic book is more of an experience than a good read, and I recently read once such tome. The book is King City, by Brandon Graham, an OEL manga from Tokyopop.

First off, I'm not sure why these 'original English language' books Tokyopop is putting out are called manga -- in the case of King City, and my favorite book from last year "The Abandoned", the only thing these really have in common with manga is the format. No distortions, no Japan, no nothing. So I'm not sure why they're called manga, but I sure do like them! Go Tokyopop! (Even though you cut off all the pages on "The Abandoned", and aren't going to print any more issues of it.)

As for King City, I came very close to not ordering this, in fact, it wasn't even on my original list, so I must have added it at the last minute. And thank goodness for that. I think I was initially going to pass due to the art, which ironically, is now what I like best about it. Initially, the art looked too graphitti-esque for me, but, upon reading it, realized there was much more to it than that. The art is very dynamic and really helps tell the story. Some of the sequences were so beautiful I found myself staring at them and re-reading them several times.

The story is great as well, Brandon has created a strange universe that does not feel 'out-there' when you read it, rather, it reads as completely normal for the inhabitants of that world. My favorite concept in the book is the drug 'Chalk', but there are so many original concepts in the book that I could have easily chosen any number of others.

And of course the cat; the cat rules.

Thanks Brandon, can't wait for the next issue.

Linky