Read The Uniques #1 for FREE!

The Uniques is a great independent Superhero comic that I discovered last year. The creators just made the digital version of the first issue free! Go check it out, you might dig it.

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.

December 2007 Comic Previews Picks

That time again. This month isn't blowing my socks off, but there are a few good looking things:

BUSHI TALES #3 – awesome cover and amesome deal at DCBS (free sketch); online earlier issues at Webcomicnation.
COMICS NOW #2 – Second issue of new mag from Comic Geek Speak crew; can't wait for this.
CRIMINAL 2 #1 – I have the first trade, and pre-ordered the second; this is a new format for the series, so I’ll check it out to see what floppy extras I’ll be missing by collecting the trades of this.
GOBLIN CHRONICLES CVR A #1 – The previews look really fun; this looks like a very entertaining series, with great art to boot; sign me up.
HONEY & CLOVER GN VOL 01 – New (not really new) Tokyopop romance series; I’ll give it a looks since I usually like these things.
KICK ASS #1 – Don’t really get this, but I love JRjr
NANA TP VOL 09 - Yay! New issue of a great series.
NARCOPOLIS WRAP CVR #1 – This sounds good, not sure. More info here.
ORDER TP VOL 01 NEXT RIGHT THING – I liked #1, and the series gets good reviews, so I’m tempted by this.
PUNISHER FORCE OF NATURE – I have a soft spot for the Punisher, so might give this a go.
RASL #1 – New Jeff Smith book; a given
SHARK-MAN #2 - Loved the last printing of this, and this is 50% new I think
SMUGGLING SPIRITS BOOK 01 (OF 2) – The preview looked good, very Sin City esq. The story was good as well, about a world where spirits exist but only kids (a kid?) can see them, or something like that.
X-FORCE #1 – Well, I collected Marvel back around the first X-Force #1 days, and I love Wolfbane, so I’ll check it out.
COMPLETE LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE HC VOL 01 - I’m interested in this, but can’t seem to find any decent previews. Might pass for now.
MOURNING STAR – This has been out for a while, and one day I’ll get it. Preview.
TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD v1: I’ve read a few single issues of this, and can’t say I’m in love with it or anything, but this is a nice priced collection, so it’s tempting.

November 2007 Comic Previews Picks

Kind of lackluster this month, but here are my picks:

Pick of the month:

THEREFORE REPENT: At first I wasn’t interested in the concept, until I checked out the preview on comicspace.”Chicago after The Rapture, the righteous have floated into the sky, life goes on for the immoral majority.” Chicago post-end of world, great art, I’m there. Note: There was an error in Previews, the cover price will be $14.99 us, not $24.99!


BIG PLANS #3: Personal comic about a guy who when to the academy awards; could be good.
HACK SLASH HC VOL 01 OMNIBUS: I dunno, for some reason I’m interested in this. The one issue I read was OK, but lacked depth. But, given that this is the comic version of a slasher movie (but smarter), maybe that’s par for the course.
HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF NOWHERE #1 (OF 4): Preview looked good.
HULK #1: Red Hulk, grr.
INDESTRUCTIBLE SC: Punk rock comics by Christy road
MY BRAIN HURTS: Liz Baille mini-comic collected. Check out the great interview with her on Indie Spinner Rack.
MYTH TOLD TALES #1 MYTH CONGENIALITY: Mmm, not sure, I liked the books long ago, and the WARP series, so I might have to check this out.
ROD ESPINOSA PRINCE OF HEROES #1 (OF 3): Art looks great, might be worth a look.
SPAWN #178: Amnesiac vampire, sounded interesting. I recently read a more current issue of Spawn and I have to say they are working with an interesting concept there now.
TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE #1 (OF 6): The art on this in previews looked great. The preview pages are online as well. Teen titans were one of those things I was always familiar with, but never really checked out, what with my being a Marvel kid and all.
WASTELAND #14: Another one shot. This is probably my favorite new series. The first trade was great, and the first standalone was sensational. I'm assuming this one won't be collected, much like the first standalone, thus the need for the floppy. I'm glad, this is one comic worth getting monthly. And Joe Infurnari art, cool! Tides me over until the next volume of Borrowed Time comes out. First Carla Speed McNeil, now Infurnari, nice. The regular artist, Christopher Mitten is great as well, really atmospheric. Floppy pick of the month for sure.
YOUNGBLOOD #1: Heh, I'll bite; why I dunno.
SPIRIT #14: Aragones, Evainier, Ploog, OK.
APPLICANT SC: At first I wasn't interested enough to get this; actually, I was interested, but didn't think it would be worth the $. Then I realized this was a $4 comic, not a book, thus eliminating the cost barrier. Now I look forward to this glimpse into the past, although I still think it is a weird concept, printing old employee applications, including hr comments that reflect the era. Worth the $ though, I'm sure. Probably more than a few out-loud-laugh moments.

October 2007 Comic Previews Picks

Here are my picks for the Oct 2007 issue of Previews. Pretty good month, some solid releases.

ANT UNLEASHED #1: I liked the Image run of Ant (although I’m painfully behind in my reading), so I’ll check this one out. Disappointed that Mario Gully is only writing this, and not drawing; hopefully he’ll draw some issues in the future.
BATLASH #1: Sergio Aragones and John Severin western. Apparently created by Sergio in 1968, with a short run.
BLACK HOLE SC: Softcover release of this highly regarded Charles Burns book. This takes place in the 70’s and is about STDs that result in weird deformities. I read one issue of the floppy and it was quite amazing. Really took me to the 70’s and drew me into the situation taking place. Can’t wait to read this.
BLACK METAL VOL 1 GN: I passed on this the first time it was solicited, and Chuck BB had sold out of his copies at the Chicago con before I saw him, so I’ll get it now.
BLUE PILLS GN: Good hype on this as well; euro love story, supposedly quite memorable and emotional.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #33: New Cap I think.
CRIMINAL TP VOL 02 LAWLESS: Loved V1, so I’m looking forward to this next volume in this crime tale. The story arc is supposed to be as good, or better than the first.
DEADLY BELOVED MS TREE MMPB NOVEL: Yay! I am a big Ms. Tree fan, so I’m looking forward to this new incarnation.
END LEAGUE #1: What is this? Oh yeah, “A thematic merging of The Lord of the Rings and Watchmen” wow, big words, them. Superheroes on a quest to find Thor’s hammer in a world overrun by evil. I’ll check it out.
FANTASTIC FOUR ISLA DE LA MUERTE #1: Tom Beland of True Story Swear to God. I was never really turned on by TSSTG, but I like it when alt people do super tales.
INFINITE HORIZON #1: Phil Noto can draw like mad, but sometimes his art seems stiff to me. Course, that’s just based on a couple of comics of his I read with not-so-hot writing.
NANA TP VOL 08: New Nana! I love this title; Manga about a girl named Nana who moves to Tokyo and becomes friends with a rock singer, also named Nana. Two live action movies have come out in Japan (SE’s available on DVD!) and I think an anime series to come.
NEXT ISSUE PROJECT #1: New Image series where they take old abandoned comic characters, and use them in new stories.
NORTH WIND #1(Res): I ordered this before, but it was cancelled. Thanks Boom. Post-apocalyptic ice world tale. I’ll have to think about this more.
NORTHLANDERS #1: New Brian Wood story about Vikings. I’m not too hip to Wood, but I have liked what I read. And I like seeing his studio in Comics Foundry mag.
NOVA TP VOL 01 ANNIHILATION CONQUEST: Good hype; I’ve never read.
RED MASS FOR MARS #1: New Jonathan Hickman book that he’s writing but not reading; I mean drawing. I assume he’ll read it.
SAND CHRONICLES GN VOL 01: New shojo manga book from Tokyopop, yay! Good reviews on this one; can’t wait.
SOME NEW KIND OF SLAUGHTER #1: I was iffy on this one until I checked out the creator’s blog; now I can’t wait. Re-imagining and re-examining old flood stories\myths. I think they are starting with Uncle Noah building himself an Ark. On the blog, there are a bunch of posts that are discussions between the writer and artist regarding the book, and what it should contain. I love it when people use the web to share such awesomeness. Check it out: http://captionbox.net/snksblog
SUPERPOWERS #0: New Alex Ross super book. So cheap how can you pass?
WASTELAND TP BOOK 02 SHADES OF GOD: Ok, I still have to read V1, but I’m sure it’s great. #1 was great. I believe this doesn’t contain the Carla Speed McNeil issue, but that’s ok; I’m sure everyone already has that one, since it *was* drawn by Carla Speed McNeil! Kind of funny, I got that issue because of the artist, and later read a post from someone online saying they *didn’t* get it because of the unknown art. Hah! Fools!

Septembe 2007 Comic Previews Picks

Pick of the month:
COMICS NOW #1: New mag from the Comic Geek Speak podcast guys. If this is anything like their show it should be great.

ACTION PHILOSOPHERS VOL 3 GIANT SIZED THING TP: Awesome! Last one. Funny and educational.
APOCALYPSE NERD #6: P. Bagge = automatic buy
ASTRONAUT DAD VOL 1 GN: Looks great. 
DARKNESS FIRST LOOK *Special Discount*: Not sure about this, ‘first looks’ are usually lame.
ENGINEER #1 *Special Discount*: ASP, art looks great. Previews available online.
MICE TEMPLAR #2: Loved the first issue.
MISERICORDIA #1(M) *Special Discount*: ASP, looks great.
OTHER SIDE O/T MIRROR VOL 1 GN (M) *Special Discount*: Jo Chen, about people with issues, looks good.
PAX ROMANA #1 *Special Discount*: Hickman, no brainer.
RESURRECTION (M) *Special Discount*: Post-apocalyptic tale, my cup o tea,
SPIKE TV RED LOTUS MARK O/T WARRIOR SP : Probably lame, but I like MMA.
TOTEM #1 *Special Discount*: I like Mario Gully, and this looks nice.
WONTON SOUP GN (M)(Res): Looks great! Very Brandon Graham esq.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT #1: Simonson writing, cheap.
WORMWOOD ONE SHOT: Might be time to check this one out.
DAN BRERETONS NOCTURNALS VOL 1 REG ED HC (Res): Oversized Brereton art, count me in!
MISADVENTURES OF CLARK & JEFFERSON #1 *Special Discount*: Cowboys and aliens; could be good.

August 2007 Comic Previews Picks

Super month this time around, so many must gets it’s like Christmas!

APOCALYPSE NERD #5: Yay, the latest in this new series from Peter Bagge, of Hate fame. I’ll pretty much get any Bagge book, and this post-apocalptic tale is great.

AWESOME INDIE SPINNER RACK ANTHOLOGY VOL 1 TP: Indie Spinner Rack is a very entertainint comic podcast that I listen to on accasion, and always enjoy. This is an anothology they have been putting together for a while. Some top notch indie talent on this one; I can’t wait to read it.

DYNAMO 5 VOL 1 POST NUCLEAR FAMILY TP: Cheap ($10) trade of the first 5 issues. I read the first issue and thought it was excellent. Thanks for the cheap eats Image.

HATE ANNUAL #7: Wow, 2 P. Bagge comics in the same previews! When It rains it pours! As an old school Hate fan, this is of course a must get.

MULTIPLE WARHEADS #2: Brandon Graham’s latest effort. I haven’t read the first issue yet, but it is one gorgeous looking package. Brandon is another must get for me.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUICIDE SQUAD VOL 1 TP: I’ve never read an issue of Suicide Squad, but is appears to get rave reviews all around. I’ll do my catching up via this cheap collection.

WET MOON VOL 3 GN: Seriously? New Peter Bagge, Brandon Graham, and Ross Campbell all in one month? What did I do to deserve this? Needless to say, if Ross makes it, I get it. Go read Abandoned if you haven’t; or the first 2 volumes in this alt romance tale. Previews at http://www.greenoblivion.com/comics.html

That’s the musts, here are the others I’m contemplating:

3 MINUTE SKETCHBOOK TP: Collection of 3 minute con sketches. I’m intrigued.

ATOMIC ROBO #1; NEOZOIC #1: New titles from a new publisher, the latter appeals to me more. Their third title got so-so reviews.

CRAWL SPACE XXXOMBIES #1: More zombie tales from Tony Moore and friends.

PROOF #1: Bigfoot joins the FBI to help search for other mysterious creatures. What’s with all these mythical creature comics? Perapanaughts, The Engimas, now this. I checked out a preview and it seemed pretty solid.

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN VOL 1 TP: Cheap Conan trade. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Conan so this would be a good way to check it out. Especially for the Barry Windsor-Smith stuff,

Finder GN’s: All of the Finder trades are being re-released, so here’s your chance. Finder is a great series, I am missing a few that I need to pick up to complete my run.

July 2007 Comic Previews Picks

I’m not blown away this month, which is good for the check book.

COMIC FOUNDRY MAGAZINE VOL 1 #1: If I remember the story correct, this mag was initially rejected by Diamond, but got picked up after they lowered their price a bit, and stirred it up a bit online. I’ll check it out.

DIGITAL WEBBING PRESENTS #35: part 2 of 2 of the Enigmas. Don’t know much more than that, but since I ordered pt 1, I should get pt 2 as well. I’m looking forward to reading this.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST ANNUAL #1: Brubaker, Fraction, Chaykin, Brereton… hard to say no to that combo.

ESSEX COUNTY VOL 2 GHOST STORIES: Part 2 of the trilogy about a young boy and an ex-hockey player. I’m part way through part 1 now, and it’s good so far.

MICE TEMPLAR #1: Looking forward to this. Looks different, yet similar in theme to Mouse Guard.

NANA VOL 7 TP: Yay, vol 7 of one of my favs.

NIGHTLY NEWS VOL 1 TP: I read #1 and it was one of the most unique comics I ever read. Amazing looking stuff. The story itself was a bit heavy; I’ll read #1 again before ordering.

PRIMORDIA #1: Another new ASP book, Looks great.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAL MEN VOL 1 TP: I love the concept of the Metal Men, and can’t wait to read these classic tales.

SUBURBAN GLAMOUR #1: I had no interest in the artist’s last project, Phonogram, but the art I the previews for this one is blowing me away.

BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR #13: Almost missed this one, thanks to Pipeline Podcast for mentioning it! Notable due to the writers: Brian Posehn, Patton Oswalt, and Thomas Lennon. Comedy gold, really. A Zach Galifianakis story would have been nice as well, but he’s a comic hater. Go Comedians of Comedy (and Reno 911)!

Injury Comics #1: Getting this for this story: “May draws punk artist Jeff Wilson's tender story of his junior-high attempt to score his first joint and listen to some heavy metal.“ Preview here.

And in the break the bank category ($150.00 each), two things I will not be getting now, but will attempt to pick up in the future:

TINTIN HARDCOVER BOXED SET: This new hardcover box set contains all twenty-four of Hergé's stories of Tintin and Snowy in eight volumes in a lavishly designed collection. Wowza, Tintin art is beautiful, and the documentary on creator Hergé was exceptional.

COMPLETELY MAD DON MARTIN HC: This deluxe, two-volume, slipcased special edition includes every single work of Don Martin published in MAD Magazine (1957 to 1987), including a selection of his original sketches and notes, and rare photographs. Yikes. I was a minor fan of Mad, but always loved Don Martin’s stuff. I’d love this.

TiVo love

After several years of valiant service, the hard drive on our Tivo finally crapped out last week, after several weeks of funkiness. I took the main drive out (I added a 2nd drive soon after purchasing it), ran a diagnostic, and confirmed that there were several disk errors. Bummer. Several days later, a nice new 500Gb drive (up from our current 160Gb) showed up, and I proceeded to download the software needed to rip the data from the old drives and onto the new one. I kicked the process off, and it failed immediately, reporting disk errors. No duh. So I took the next step, and did a low-level copy of the data from the main disk to another. This succeeded, only losing about 1700kb due to errors. Unfortunately, some of those k’s must have been important k’s, because the copy could not be backed up, nor would it boot up in the Tivo unit. After several days of trying every last thing I could think of, I finally gave up, ordered Instantcake, and configured the 500Gb drive with a fresh clean image. So now we have Tivo again, much more space, but no old recordings. We’ll live. The only thing I have left to say at this point is how, and why, do you people out there without Tivo do it? Watching regular TV for 2 weeks was like torture! There was nothing on, I couldn’t rewind to catch stuff I missed, and I didn’t know when anything was on. It was horrible. Who wants to flip around the dial and have to settle on some garbage you couldn’t care less about? Ridiculous. I love you, me Tivo. 

TV on Comics

So it appears the new trend is continuing cancelled TV shows in comic form... Cool!
 
Last season, two of the shows my wife and I watch were cancelled: Jericho, which I was lukewarm on, and Veronica Mars, which I loved.

Both were cancelled, but recently one was renewed due to fan support, and the other seems to be headed to the graphic arts medium.

I'm glad both have been given a second change, but unfortunately the one that is best suited to comics is going to be returning to TV, and the one best suited for TV is headed to comics. Bummer.

Jericho, while an interesting story, moved too slow for TV, and could have used better writers. It's post-apocalyptic story would have been perfect for a long, on-going comic, where one good writer could have explored the new world at a nice pace, for an indefinite amount of time; kind of like Walking Dead is doing.  From the start I thought it would have made a better comic than TV show.

One of the strengths of Veronica Mars, on the other hand, was the great cast. The stories were good, but the actors really made the series a big winner.

But no, now we have each playing to their weaker elements, rather than two home runs (OK, Veronica Mars wasn't a ratings home run, but it was a fun show) we have two doubles that might get stretched into triples. (OK, I don't really care about baseball, so there was probably a better analogy there.)

Oh well. I'm still glad both are continuing in some form, and I can't wait to read the Veronica Mars series; it might even force my wife to read a comic!