September 2008 Previews comic picks

Kind of a slow month, but some good stufF:

2008 Comic Geek Speak Listener Anthology – I’m a big CGS fan (comicgeekspeak podcast), so I suppose these greatly.
DARKNESS TP VOL 01 ACCURSED – I enjoyed the couple of issues of this that I read, plus this is super cheap! Easy pick.
GOBLIN CHRONICLES TP VOL 01 – I enjoyed this fun little series about a goblin kid charged with saving the world, along with 3 other kids of various species. Nice art. 
GREATEST AMERICAN HERO #1 (OF 6) – Oh yeah.
HALO & SPROCKET TP VOL 02 NATURAL CREATURES – Loved the first trade, definitely check it out if you see it, read the first few pages and you’ll be hooked. This is about a robot and an angel living with a female human, and the different ways they view the world. Fun discussions between the 3.
HEADLOCKED TRYOUT #2 (OF 3) – Haven’t got #1 yet, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy this based on the original one-shot.
HULK #8 – Art Adams, woo!
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #27 SIGHTINGS – Milestone!
OZ WONDERLAND CHRONICLES JACK & CAT TALES #1 – I’m an Oz sucker, and loved the special, so I’m all in with this series.
SANDMAN DREAM HUNTERS #1 (OF 4) – I’m probably get the trade if this is any good, Sandman was my favorite series back when it was coming out.
SRG PRESENTS WOLVES OF ODIN ONE SHOT – Vikings vs. Werewolves, with awesome looking art.
FARSCAPE #1 – I was going to trade wait, but I love Farscape, so I’ll get it now.
GAUZE #1 – About a killer presuming a girl, this intrigues me enough to check it out.

King City V2

So with the shakeup at Tokyopop, it looks like King City v2 might not get printed by them. If that does not happen, someone else better bring it out. v1 was my favorite book of 2007, and I can't wait to hold v2 (which, acc to Brandon, will be even bigger that planned.) 

In the meantime, Brandon has put the first 12 pages online; yay!!!! But seriously, I need this thing in my hands! 

Actually, I also need to buy another copy of v1 since my copy is worn from over reading :)

And one down note

One down note to the Tokyopop hardcovers -- because of issues between Ross Campbell and Tokyopop, Ross' series Abandoned won't be going any further, which means no V2 or 3, and no nice big oversized hardcover full of Ross' great art and story.  :(

July 2008 Comic Previews Picks

Wow, this month is too amazing. I’m way over budget, but there isn’t much I can cut! 4 Hardcovers, ak!

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG FIRST IMPRESSIONS HC – This was my favorite Valiant series, I’ve been hoping this would be coming out soon. Gotta love BWS.
COMIC FOUNDRY MAGAZINE FALL 2008 
CROGANS VENGEANCE GN – Chris Schweizer is a regular on the Indie Spinner Rack forum, and this looks great. Chris has a real fun style. Preview
DARK IVORY #4 (OF 4) – I’m digging this one a lot.
DRAMACON ULTIMATE ED HC – Ah! Another must get Tokyopop HC! What are they trying to do to me? Dramacon is a must get, even though I have the trades. It’s about a young girl in artists alley at an Anime convention, selling her mini-comic. It really captures what it’s like being at a con. It starts at her 1st year (and her 1st con experience), and each volume is a consecutive year. Comics, insider jokes, and of course romance; hence the title. I’m a sucker for manga romance, so that and geek culture and there’s no getting me back. Can’t wait.
GLAMOURPUSS #3
GREATEST HITS #1 (OF 6) – This looks awesome.
LAGOON HC – Lilli Carre! I loves Tales of Woodsman Pete, so this is a no brainer.
PUNK ROCK & TRAILER PARKS GN – By Derf. I loved his Dahlmer book, and I love punk rock, so there you go.
RASL #3 – Love this too.
ROBERTS #2 (OF 2) – Worth a shot I guess.
SECRET SIX #1 
TEZUKAS BLACK JACK PX HC VOL 01 – Love me some Tezuka! Preview
TOKEN – JOELLE JONES!!!!!! Must get. Joelle’s art is all kinds of awesome. There’s a pre-grey toned preview on her blog
WASTELAND #20 – Another stand alone I think.
INDIE SPOTLIGHT THE MAXX AF – Heh. Ok, maybe I could cut this.
WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #7 – Golden art? Ok!
OMEGA THE UNKNOWN PREM HC – Yay! Been hoping for a nice HC. Too bad it’s not oversized.
BONE HALLOWEEN MINI COMIC BUNDLE 2008 – I’m so excited to share the love this Halloween!
COWA! HALLOWEEN MINI COMIC BUNDLE 2008 – And one for the younger kiddies.

July Previews Picks

Some good stuff this month; 3 oversized Hardcovers!

AIR #1 - New Vertigo series, gonna check it out since Vertigo rarely disappoints.

BOYS CLUB #1 – Not sure how to describe this one, but it looked interesting, and got some good reviews. Teenage monsters Andy, Brett, Landwolf, and Pepe are always 'drinkin', stinkin', and never thinkin'.' These four best friends spend their day-to-day lives together playing Nintendo, eating pizza, and having the occasional psychedelic metamorphosis.

GOLLY #1 – Phil Hester book with Satan working at a sideshow. I picked this the first time is was solicited… hope it comes out this time!

I LUV HALLOWEEN ULTIMATE TWISTED ED – Oversized (for a manga) HC of this very strange Keith Giffen, Ben Roman series. Now in color, which should be good, judging from Ben’s color are on Cryptics. 

INVINCIBLE HC VOL 04 ULTIMATE COLL – Love these.

LOCAL HC – Was waiting for this collection. The HC is oversized, and has a bunch of extras, so I’ll get it in this format.

NANA TP VOL 12 – Yay!

ROBERTS #1 (OF 2) – Gonna try this one, since the preview in Previews looked good. The Boston Strangler and the Zodiac Killer are alive and well, living amongst the old and dying of The Shady Lane Retirement Center.

RUNAWAYS 3 #1 – Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos. Sold!

SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE SEASON 2 #1 – Terry Moore and t Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts). Sold!

TERRY MOORES ECHO TP VOL 01 SILVER RAIN – Terry Moore and Terry Moore. Sold! I can’t wait for this one!

VICTORIAN HORRORS OF OLD MAUCH CHUNK #1 – Seems interesting this one, about a PA town.

X-MEN ORIGINS JEAN GREY – Sean McKeever, and awesome looking art.

May Previews Pick

Brutal previews this month! With out a doubt the best in a long time. I’m going to be way above my limit on this one, there are just too many good things coming out. And the Top Shelf blog called this a very weak month! Hah!

AMERICAN FLAGG DEFINITIVE COLL HC 1 – Howard Chaykin’s seminal work finally re-released in HC. This has been on the horizon for years, and I glad it’s finally getting released.
AMERICAS BEST COMICS PRIMER TP – A cheap trade of I think 5 Americas Best Comics #1’s. Why not?
ATHENA VOLTAIRE TP VOL 02 FLIGHT O/T FALCON – The second Athena trade. Oft compared to Indiana Jones. I’ve only read a couple of issues, so I’m looking forward to reading the whole story.
BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #1 – A Shazam comic for kids. Looks fun.
CONTRACT #1 (OF 3) – Sci-Fi story with an interesting premise.
HALO & SPROCKET TP VOL 02 NATURAL CREATURES – I loved the first H&S trade – it’s about a girl who lives with an angel and a robot. Very smart and very funny.
I KILL GIANTS #1 (OF 7) – A girl with a Norse hammer who claims she kills giants. Awesome looking art.
MINI MARVELS TP VOL 01 ROCK PAPER SCISSORS DIGEST – Always dug these, especially the Civil War ones, which I’m not sure if they are included in this.
NOCTURNALS CARNIVAL OF BEASTS (ONE SHOT) – Me loves me some Nocturnals, new HC this winter I think.
PERRY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP ALMANACK HC – One of the best web comics.
PILOT SEASON THE CORE #1 – Jonathan Hickman – sold!
RUNNERS BIG SNOW JOB #2 – New Runners series continues.
SPAWN NEO NOIR TP – I dunno, I read one of this storyline and liked it. Good hype as well.
TITANIUM RAIN #1 (OF 12) – Yay! New Kat and Josh series! I loved Utopiates and this one looks to be even better. Check out the art on their site.
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN HC - New Alex Robinson story about a guy who goes back in time to HS. Ultimate concept, I love it.
UNIVERSAL WAR ONE #1 (OF 6) – Another Marvel EU comic. Need to check it out.
ZOT TP VOL 01 COMP BLACK & WHITE STORIES 1987 TO 1991 – Ah, Zot. I have some of the trades, but this appears to be a nicer version.

April Previews Comic Picks

BIZARRE NEW WORLD TP VOL 01 FLYING MAN DISCOVERED – Yay! I’ve been waiting for this. Loved the first issue.
COMIC FOUNDRY MAGAZINE SUMMER 2008
COMICS NOW #3
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #0 – Cheap, why not?
CONTRACT #0 – Ditto.
HACK SLASH SERIES #13 GRAHAM CVR B – Brandon Graham cover!!!!!!!!!!!
KYLE BAKER NAT TURNER SC – I like Kyle, but typically don’t like wordless stuff.
MADAME XANADU #1 – Always up for a new Vertigo series.
NANA TP VOL 11 – Keep ‘em coming.
NEW YORK FOUR – Brian Wood be good. I know it's for the teens, but that never seems to stop me.
PUNISHER MAX LITTLE BLACK BOOK – On the fench on this one. The writer gets good hype so I’ll probably bite.
RED MASS FOR MARS #1 (OF 4): Just got around to reading Pax Romana #1 and loved it. I can’t wait to see what’s next from Hickman.
SKAAR SON OF HULK #1 – Why not?
SPARKS #1 (OF 8) – Gotta support the Hero.
STATION #1 (OF 5) – I thought this sounded interesting the first time it was solicited.
STRAW MEN #1 – Sounds interesting.
SUPERIOR SHOWCASE #3 – Love this series.
SUPERMAN #677 – Uh, oh, cause of Robinson writing this.
SWORD TP VOL 01 – Not sure about this, I liked the first issue, and I’ve always been curous about Luna Bros stuff.
WAR HEROES #1 – Near concept. Military recruits given Superpowers.
WOLVERINE #66 – Neat concept. Future Wolverine tale. Art looks nice too.
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY HC #18 - Thinking about this, although I’d rather have the next Rusty Brown story.
FREDDIE & ME GN COMING OF AGE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY – Pick of the month! I love Mike’s stuff. See Superior Showcase #1.

March 2008 Comic Previews Picks

March 2008 Preview Picks. Nice selection this month, going to be hard to stay at my limit, shucks ;)

ANGEL REVELATIONS #1 (OF 5) – I’m a fan of Angel back from my X-Factor days, so this origin series definitely interests me.
BATMAN GOTHAM AFTER MIDNITE #1 – Will probably get this, Steve Niles and Kelley Jones art, which looks rad.
BODY COUNT SC – Trade of the Image TMNT series by Eastman and Biz; not sure, I’ve been meaning to check this out. Plus I think it’s oversized.
DEAN KOONTZS FRANKENSTEIN VOL 01 #1 (OF 5) PRODIGAL SON – I used to read Koontz books back in college, so I don’t think I can pass this up.
IN ODD WE TRUST GN – Ditto this. One of these is written by Koontz as well. Nice.
DEMO TP – Read one issue of this and liked it; was waiting for the collection.
HOUSE OF MYSTERY #1 – Love new Vertigo stuff.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 – Iron Man + Fraction, I’ll bite.
JOHNNY DYNAMITE TP – New print of Max Allen Collins and Terry Beatty trade; I guess this doesn’t have the red ink that the original series had.
JUDENHASS GN – New Dave Sim book on the holocaust. No brainer.
PROOF TP VOL 01 GOATSUCKER – I wasn’t blown away by the first issues, but I’m interested in seeing where this went. Pretty cheap, so why not. I think I was just put off bit by the first one, since I am a skeptic and don’t believe in this monsters stuff. But, I can suspend my disbelief when if comes to fiction, and since the “monsters are real?” stuff was in the back matter, that most likely won’t be in the trade I should enjoy this more. Hm, liking the trade because it does not have back matter, heh.
RUNNERS BIG SNOW JOB #1 (OF 6) – New Runners series, this time in color! Great! I really liked the first series, and color really suits this stuff, from what I’ve seen. Can’t wait.
SKYSCRAPERS O/T MIDWEST HC – Yes, wasn’t expecting this, and a nice HC even, great!
UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE TP -
This blew everyone away, so I have to get this.
USAGI YOJIMBO TP VOL 22 TOMOES STORY – I sporadically get the Usagi trades, but I’ll definitely pick this one up due to the inclusion of the Usagi Yojimbo Color Specials #1-3, which, as no one knows, contain Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy stories! I loved their special in the 80’s, and I’ve been meaning to pick up the color specials for this reason. One of the Usagi issues in this has been called the best Usagi story ever, so this should be a good package.
WOLVERINE AMAZING IMMORTAL MAN BLOODY TALES – Written by David Lapham, not sure on this yet. Still need to read his last Wolverine tale.
X-MEN ORIGIN COLOSSUS – Ah, Colossus, another favorite. Gimme!

Punisher sketch

While it's true I'm mostly and indie guy, I have a love for some super heros from my youth.  One such love is for the Punisher, based on the Zeck covers, and the amazing Janson run.

So now, whenever I get a sketch, I typically like to get the Punisher.

Recently DCBS has been offering, or rather, artists have been offering, through DCBS, free sketchs with the purchase of some items. A while back, one such item was the new Horrorwood trade by  BRANDON TERRELL & BRENT SCHOONOVER. I asked Brent for a Punisher, and got a doozy.

Thanks Brent, can't wait to read the trade (actually trades, since I haven't had a chance to read Astronaut Dad yet.)

Feb 2008 Comic Previews Picks

Time again for my comic pick from the Feb issue of Previews (and time again for a post apprarantly, since this is all I seem to be able to post these days).

Pretty good month, although deceptive. At first glance not a lot, but man it adds up quick!

Pick of the Month:

WATER BABY – Finally!!! This was supposed to come out last year, but kept getting delayed. What is this? It’s Ross Campbell’s new book, for Minx. New Ross Campbell is always a cause for celebration. See Wet Moon, and the awesome zombie tale, Abandoned.

Zee rest:

FABLES TP VOL 10 THE GOOD PRINCE – Need to catch up on reading these, but no doubt worth getting.
GLAMOURPUSS #1 – Dave Sims return to comics (besides Following Cerebus); I enjoy Following Cerebus, and am interested in seeing what this new book is about - hard to tell from the solicitations and website; could go many different ways, knowing Sim.
GNOME ONE SHOT – Preview at http://www.superrealgraphics.com; looks interesting, and is a cheap 1 shot. Free sketch thru DBCS!
GOBLIN CHRONICLES #3 (OF 3) – Completing the series
GREEN LANTERN TALES OF THE SINESTRO CORPS HC – Not sure on this one; might wait for the SC, or Absolute, or something.
GUNPLAY GN – Winner of Comic Book Challenge, preview was solicited last month; might wait until I read that. I think this was originally going to be a mini-series, interesting that they went straight for the trade. Actually, this is close to my preferred way of doing it – gimme a cheap preview, so I can check it out, then the trade. I’d rather the solicitation for the trade come out after the preview is released, but I understand the back to back releases for the stores.
INJURY COMICS #2 – Liked the first issue, from the pot story to Heracles, nice stuff.
NANA TP VOL 10 – Always happy to see another volume of this.
NOVA #12– The return of Warlock from New Mutants! I LOVE Warlock! Yay!
PUNISHER PREM HC CIRCLE OF BLOOD – This series first came out back when I was first starting to really get into comics. This was THE series to get, what with the awesome Zeck covers (which also became the Posters to get); I’m thrilled to be able to own this in a nice HC.
SAND CHRONICLES GN VOL 02 – Still need to read V1.
SUPERMAN WORLD OF KRYPTON TP – Haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere. This collects the Byrne WOK mini-series, which I liked, and some WOK backup stories. Not sure about this one.
THOREAU AT WALDEN SC – John Porcellino book about Thoreau writing Walden, I think with all quotes from Walden. I like Thoreau, and I’ve been meaning to check out Porcellino, so I’ll probably get this.
X-O MANOWAR BIRTH HC – I’m pretty much guaranteed to get all of these Valiant HC’s, since I was a big fan. But where’s the Archer and Armstrong? Come on guys! Oh, and glad to hear the legal stuff regarding Valiant has been resolved.

January 2008 Comic Previews Picks

My picks for this month:

COLLECTED AND THEN ONE DAY GN VOL 01 – Heard Ryan Claytor mentioned on ISR before; checked out his web site, looks like some good auto-bio comics, which I like.
COMIC BOOK COMICS #1 – New comic by the team who did Action Philosophers, this time the topic is comic books; can’t wait!
COMIC FOUNDRY MAGAZINE VOL 1 SPRING #2 – I liked the first issue, even though the “sound-bite” format got a bit tiresome after a while, so I’m looking forward to this one, and to check out their new format.
DARK IVORY #1 – New Lisner comic. I’ve always liked his work, mostly for the art.
DEAD SPACE #1 – New comic from Antony something, of Wasteland fame.
GUNPLAY #1 – Won the Comic Book Challenge this year. This was the one I voted for, due to the interesting concept. A guy gets a gun and has to kill one person a day or
HOLMES GN – Fear and Loathing take on Sherlock Holmes, too awesome.
NORTH WORLD GN VOL 01 – Hip D&D tales. Dug what I read of the comic online – a young hipster guy who gets hires to kill things (e.g. entities) for $.
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #17 – Chakin art.
SCREAMLAND #1 – Turns out the movie monsters are real, and losing work due to CGI. What will they do now? Sounds fun, and the art looks good.
SHARK-MAN #3 - #3 yay! Pete on The Stack said #1 sucked – he’s wrong.
SMUGGLING SPIRITS GN BOOK 02 (OF 2) - #1 was just solicieted last month, so this is quick (why not wait until #1 has shipped, or put both in 1 vol?) but I have faith, since the preview was great.
TERRY MOORES ECHO #1 – Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise) new book. A no brainer.
YOUNG LIARS #1 – New David Latham (Stray Bullets) book; SB was great so here’s hoping.
PS238 TP VOL 05 EXTRATERRESTRIAL CREDIT – One of my new fav’s; school for kids with super power. This is just a great book, funny, interesting, smart, just great.
MOUSE GUARD TP FALL 1152 – I liked the first volume of this a lot and this seems to be more of the same. Great art, and great story telling.