FREE COMIC BOOK DAY BOOKS
There are five FCBD books listed this week -- two from Dark Horse, three from IDW -- although I don't know why. Is it just for show? Are they distributing this week, and again on May 7? DH lists a price of "free," but IDW lists the "PI" price, which means price is set by the retailer. (Hopefully, it's "free," but who knows?) Anyway, here they are, with what PR I have in hand.
FCBD 2016 DARK HORSE SERENITY/HELLBOY/ALIENS
Writers: MIKE MIGNOLA & VARIOUS
Art: TRISTAN JONES & VARIOUS
Cover: SEAN COOKE
Hellboy! Aliens! Serenity!
What makes a trip to your local comic shop even better? Free copies of your favorite Dark Horse titles for Free Comic Book Day 2016!
Need a reason to pick up Dark Horse Comics’ 2016 Free Comic Book Day offering?
Here’s three!
• An unforgettable lesson from Hellboy’s past is shared by the world’s greatest paranormal investigator!
• A peek into the Aliens: Defiance series reveals an original tale of terror!
• From the world of Joss Whedon, an update on the crew of the Serenity, following the film and the 2014 smash-hit series Leaves on the Wind!
2016 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Aliens film, and now there’s a new xenomorph tale of terror! Brian Wood (The Massive, Rebels, Demo) and Tristan Jones (Ghostbusters, TMNT) tell a story linked to the highly anticipated new series Aliens: Defiance, which hits stands April 27.
Comics legends Mike Mignola (Frankenstein Underground, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.) and Richard Corben (Hellboy: House of the Living Dead, Rat God, Edgar Allan Poe’s Spirits of the Dead) team up for a brand-new Hellboy story set in 1954.
And Chris Roberson (Aliens: Fire and Stone, Hellboy) pens an all-new chapter in Joss Whedon’s Serenity ’verse, illustrated by Stephen Byrne.
Dark Horse offers up the best of the very best for next year’s Free Comic Book Day, taking place exclusively at your local comic shop on May 7, 2015.
FCBD 2016 DARK HORSE ALL AGES KORRA TRAIN DRAGON PVZ
What makes a trip to your local comic shop even better? Free copies of your favorite Dark Horse titles for Free Comic Book Day 2016!
Avatars, dragons and zombies, oh my! What could be friendlier for all ages than original tales from some of the most popular titles around? For Free Comic Book Day 2016, take a journey with the Avatar from The Legend of Korra, the dragon riders from How to Train Your Dragon, and the fun-dead of Plants vs. Zombies.
Dark Horse Comics’ Silver comic will feature all-new stories for readers of all ages that make great entry points to new worlds.
• Michael Dante DiMartino, cocreator of the animated series The Legend of Korra, writes the comics prelude to the all-new graphic novel program!
• Acclaimed film writer, director, and producer Dean DeBlois cowrites an all-new How to Train Your Dragon adventure just for comics!
• Eisner Award–winning writer Paul Tobin delivers another hilarious tale from the smash-hit series Plants vs. Zombies!
This promises to be Dark Horse’s biggest Free Comic Book Day yet, with two free comics, each packed with three separate stories. Dark Horse’s Gold offering was announced last week and will feature Aliens, Joss Whedon’s Serenity, and Mike Mignola’s Hellboy.
Dark Horse offers up the best of the very best for next year’s Free Comic Book Day, taking place exclusively at your local comic shop on May 7, 2015.
FCBD 2016 MARCH TRILOGY SAMPLER
Writers: JOHN LEWIS, ANDREW AYDIN
Art/Cover: NATE POWELL
Rating: Teen
Top Shelf celebrates Free Comic Book Day with 32 pages of excerpts from March Book One, Book Two, and Book Three (coming summer 2016). The first graphic novel from a sitting member of Congress, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and American icon. John Lewis rose from humble beginnings to become a national leader of the civil rights movement. This is his story, from an Alabama farm to the March on Washington and beyond, co-written by Andrew Aydin and brought to astonishing life by Nate Powell in a graphic novel trilogy.
FCBD 2016 ROM #0
Writers: CHRISTOS N. GAGE, CHRIS RYALL
Art: DAVID MESSINA, PAOLO VILLANELLI
Cover: ZACH HOWARD
Teen
Rom the Space Knight began life as one of the first LED-driven action figures in the late 1970s, then went on to much more acclaim as a comic book hero. Now, removed from comics for over three decades, the character is being given new life in Rom the Space Knight, an all-new comic book series from IDW Publishing.
Rom the Space Knight #0 will make its debut on the first Saturday in May as IDW’s “Gold” offering for Free Comic Book Day. The annual FCBD event sees thousands upon thousands of comics from all publishers given away for free at participating comic shops. The comic will be co-written by IDW Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall and acclaimed comic-book/TV writer Christos Gage. Art on Rom #0 will be handled by David Messina, who will also be sharing artistic duties on the ongoing Rom series. The cover art for Rom #0 is by the Wild Blue Yonder team of Zach Howard and Nelson Daniel.
“It’s no hyperbole for me to say that launching a new Rom comic is one of the things we’ve most wanted to make happen for fans,” said Chris Ryall. “I know this because I’m one of them. The character has been absent from comics for too long and we can’t wait to introduce this all-new version to the world.”
Rom the Space Knight tells the story of Rom, a member of the benevolent Solstar Order and greatest of the Space Knights, interstellar soldiers in a centuries-old war with the Dire Wraiths. The Wraiths are a race of alien invaders who’ve destroyed many planets and infiltrated Earth for nefarious purposes.
Rom the Space Knight #0 will feature an introductory 10-page story of Rom’s arrival on Earth, an incident that sets up an ongoing Rom series launching in July 2016.
“Many people have only heard of Rom but that’s it,” continued Ryall. “And those that do know of his past iteration might have some preconceived notion of what this series will be. And while we can promise that the DNA of the character as established with the original toy remains intact, there will be surprises galore as people experience a new universe built entirely around Rom and company.”
As an added bonus, the issue will contain additional content including character sketches, creator interviews and a glimpse of things to come. This debut represents a major launch for IDW and Hasbro next year, and this special first story will be free throughout the universe next May!
FCBD 2016 STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE #0
Writer: GEORGIA BALL
Art/Cover: AMY MEBBERSON
All Ages
Strawberry Shortcake returns to comics! It's a berry special re-introduction to Strawberry Shortcake and all her pals and -- maybe -- a certain not-so-nice purple someone as well?!
DARK HORSE COMICS
HARROW COUNTY #11
Writer: CULLEN BUNN
Art/Cover: TYLER CROOK
FC, 32 pages, $3.99, Ongoing
An infestation of insidious serpents has warped the minds of Bernice’s neighbors. Turning to the mysterious Lovey Belfont for aid, Bernice soon learns the dark history surrounding the land on which the Holler rests.
• Featuring special backup stories exclusive to the single issues!
• Soon to be a TV show on the SyFy channel!
Have I mentioned I love this series?
This issue is the second of a two-parter that expands the role of Emmy's friend Bernice. As usual, the creepiness factor is high, the art is attractive and the execution and pacing are pitch perfect. Plus, evil snakes!
If I haven't sold you, take a look at the collection below:
HARROW COUNTY VOL 2: TWICE TOLD (TPB)
Writer: CULLEN BUNN
Art/Cover: TYLER CROOK
FC, 120 pages, $14.99, TP, 7” x 10”
After uncovering Harrow County’s twisted history and her bizarre connection to its populace, Emmy forges a profound new relationship with the land and its creatures—but a familiar and sinister presence lurking just over the county lines seeks to wreak havoc on Emmy’s new harmony. Collects Harrow County #5-8.
“Genuinely creepy, fun, and suspenseful.”—Jason Latour (Southern Bastards)
HELLBOY IN MEXICO (TPB)
Writer/Art/Cover: MIKE MIGNOLA
Art: RICHARD CORBEN, MICK MCMAHON, FÁBIO MOON, GABRIEL BÁ
Cover: DAVE STEWART
FC, 152 pages, $19.99, TP, 7” x 10”
In 1956, Hellboy caravans across Mexico—vampire hunting with luchadores, finding the Aztec gods, fighting evil turkeys and Frankenstein’s monster, and drinking way too much tequila, in the strangest collection of his adventures yet.
Collects “Hellboy versus the Aztec Mummy,” “Hellboy Gets Married,” and “The Coffin Man 2: The Rematch” from Dark Horse Presents, “The Coffin Man” from Hellboy 20th Anniversary Sampler, Hellboy in Mexico, and Hellboy: House of the Living Dead.
I think I've read some of these stories before, but I sure didn't mind reading them again.
The back story of this collection is that Mignola did a throwaway bit about Hellboy having a lost weekend in Mexico that lasted, like, five months. He never intended to do anything with that -- Hellboy being drunk and missing for five months doesn't really need explaining -- but then a story presented itself, and then all of a sudden the whole story needed to be told. Which Mignola did, over time, in a variety of stories by a variety of artists, all collected here.
For such a haphazard start, these stories hold together pretty well. Like all Mignola Hellboy stories, they're a mixture of action, whimsy, horror and the downright peculiar. As to art, Corben is a standout, of course, but the rest of the crew hold up their end, without aping either Mignola or Corben.
All in all, it's a delightful book, and pretty much stands alone outside of Hellboy continuity -- a good book for those uninterested in the overarching Hellboy saga.
I AM A HERO OMNIBUS VOL 1 (TPB)
Writer/Art/Cover: KENGO HANAZAWA
B&W, 512 pages, $19.99, TPB, 5 1/8” x 7 1/4”
Kengo Hanazawa’s award-winning zombie-survival manga I Am a Hero begins at Dark Horse in early 2016. This nail-biting page-turner is sure to leave readers on the edge of their seats!
This realistically drawn international bestseller takes us from initial small battles for survival to a huge body-horror epidemic that threatens all of humanity. Each Dark Horse omnibus volume will collect two of the original Japanese books.
The zombie apocalypse has never been more surreal. A mentally unhinged manga artist witnesses the beginning of a zombie outbreak in Tokyo, and he’s certain of only two things: he’s destined to be the city’s hero, and he possesses something very rare in Japan—an actual firearm!
Contains I Am a Hero Japanese volumes 1 and 2.
Winner of the esteemed Shogakukan Manga Award!
Praise for I Am a Hero:
“It has the slow buildup of a psychological horror manga, but when the zombies hit, they hit hard, and the manga accelerates into volumes-long fight-or-flight sequences that seem like they’ll never stop.”—Jason Thompson (Manga: The Complete Guide)
“The level of story telling put here is one of the best in the industry, well-done and just far ahead from the rest.”—Deremoe
“Probably the greatest zombie manga ever.”—Jason Thompson (Manga: The Complete Guide),
Evidently this story is going to get much bigger as it proceeds, but I had a great time with this volume, which focuses on the granular: Namely, socially maladroit nerd Hideo Suzuki as he bumbles through a typical couple of days, which happens to be the beginning of a zombie apocalypse.
Strangely, even though Hideo is so awkward, he does have a girlfriend. (To be fair, she's got some problems of her own, such as a drinking problem and anger issues.) But when she gets infected and Kengo comes to her "rescue," It results in a set piece that is alternately terrifying and hilarious and goes on and on and on -- which just adds to the hilarity and the suspense.
The same is true for the cold open, where Hideo goes through the childish rituals he needs to get through the night -- his paranoia is off the scale -- and we meet his hallucinations, some sort of chibi yes man and his supervisor, whose giant head is watching through the door, hiding under the bed, etc. Yes, Hideo is a psychological mess. It's funny and pathetic at the same time, which sets the tone for the whole story. (And the supervisor will become important later in the book.)
The art style is photo-realistic, while the story is sort-of slice of life, albeit on a day unlike any other. I suppose it's inevitable that the story will grow -- the ZA is worldwide -- but I could stand to read a lot more of this angle on the zombie apocalypse.
Recommended!
HOUSE OF PENANCE #1 (OF 6)
Writer: PETER TOMASI
Art/Cover: IAN BERTRAM
Colors: DAVE STEWART
FC, 32 pages, $3.99, Miniseries
IT’S NOT JUST THE HOUSE THAT’S HAUNTED ...
Dark Horse Comics is set to publish a historical tale of horror from New York Times best-selling author Peter Tomasi (Batman and Robin, Green Lantern) and artist Ian Bertram (Bowery Boys).
House of Penance is a horrific take on the true story of the Winchester haunted house and one woman’s mission to wash away the blood curse of the Winchester rifle that threatens to claim her own life and soul.
The Winchester house is famous for its original owner’s bizarre compulsion to incorporate in it a multitude of architectural curiosities. But as the bereaved Sarah Winchester’s workers toil on stairways to nothing and doors to nowhere, a mysterious stranger arrives ... and he could make Sarah’s demons all too real.
"The journey that Sarah makes while building the house is intense and scary, and all the horrible things that put her there are going to be revealed during the course of the six issues along with the story of Peck, the gunfighter who goes looking for absolution under the strangest roof he could ever stumble upon," said Peter Tomasi in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly.
In this House of Leaves meets Blood Meridian tale of how fortune brings misfortune, a grim and determined woman oversees the construction of a house twenty-four hours a day for twenty years with a simple motto: “keep busy building or get busy dying.”
Praise for Peter Tomasi’s House of Penance:
“Blending horror, history and fiction, House of Penance stands as a singular triumph. Tomasi and Bertram have crafted something truly special with this book.”—Scott Snyder (Wytches)
“House of Penance is Peter Tomasi’s finest work to date, a haunting, macabre experience that will stay with any thoughtful reader long after its conclusion. A fine tale well told, and highly recommended.”—Garth Ennis (Preacher)
“House of Penance is hypnotic, disturbing and mysterious in all the right ways.”—Jeff Lemire (Descender)
“House of Penance by Tomasi and Bertram is a terrifying delight. It’s like eating the world’s most delicious peach and finding a live tarantula inside. One of the best new books I’ve read in years.”—Gail Simone (Leaving Megalopolis)
“Peter Tomasi and Ian Bertram make you want to sleep with the lights on after reading this tale of horror and dread that wraps you around the throat and doesn’t let go.”—Geoff Johns (Justice League)
“Tomasi and Bertram have built something compelling and unsettling in House of Penance—it’s a nasty piece of work that gets me excited.”—Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets)
“Tomasi and Bertram. I couldn’t put it down!”—Mark Waid (Kingdom Come)
This issue, being the first, is mostly set-up. But it looks like Tomasi has a number of good ideas being set up, and I want to be on hand for the payoff. Plus, history! (Sort of.)
KING’S ROAD #3 (OF 3)
Writer: PETER HOGAN
Art/Cover: STAZ JOHNSON
Colors: DOUGLAS A. SIROIS
FC, 32 pages, $3.99, Miniseries
The conclusion to the first King’s Road story arc! On the run after being ambushed by the witch Malicia’s army of monsters, Don and his family search for a secret doorway into the magical land of Avalon. As Malicia moves to put an end to Don’s royal clan, an old family friend comes to the rescue!
Fantasy and action from writer Peter Hogan (Resident Alien)!
I was going to skip this issue, as there was a lot of other stuff to read this week, which pushed this series to the middle of the to-read pile. King's Road is a decent read, but the premise is overly familiar, and it hasn't quite risen above that yet.
But then I noticed it was the last issue -- this story is apparently going to be told in a series of miniseries -- which means the entire first story arc takes place on Earth. That was a pretty good decision, as we've all seen a ton of fantasy realms (from which all the principal characters derive) and staying on Earth keeps the "rules" familiar. Once we get to the fantasy realm for the inevitable Return of the King (which I'm guessing will actually be the teenage daughter), the laws of physics, magic, and so forth will have to be established, and I'm glad we didn't have that burden for the first story.
I don't mean to slight King's Road, as for what it is it's very well done. I just can't shake the feeling of deja vu.
NEAL ADAMS' BLOOD (TPB)
Writer/Art/Cover: NEAL ADAMS
Colors: MOOSE BAUMANN
Inks: ERICA SCHULTZ
FC, 96 pages, $14.99, TPB, 7" x 10"
NEAL ADAMS' UNSTOPPABLE HERO!
From the mind of comics legend Neal Adams! Jorge Maslow, the one-man army known as Blood, must rescue his friend from a criminal syndicate tied to the Knights Templar. With unfathomable power coursing through his veins, Blood wages an ancient war on the mean streets! Collects stories from Dark Horse Presents and features an incredible animated 3-D lenticular cover.
• Not just 3-D, not just animated...Neal Adams has created the first animated 3-D cover in comics, using lenticular lenses. Blood spins and fires as his blood symbiont shoots from his body toward the reader.
• Check out a preview of the Blood motion comic at NealAdams.com!
If you're a fan of Adams' current work, where every panel is a climax and every sentence ends in an exclamation point, then you'll likely enjoy this.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: CAMPUS APOCALYPSE OMNIBUS (TPB)
Writer/Art/Cover: MINGMING
B&W, 712 pages, $24.99, TPB, 5 1/8" x 7 1/4"
Shinji Ikari’s parents are gone, and he lives with his legal guardian, Ryoji Kaji, while attending the elite private NERV Academy.But no one ever told Shinji about the school’s many secrets ... or that he’d find his fellow students Kaworu, Rei, and Asuka out on the streets late at night—fighting with sword, spear and whip against an enemy that looks very human, but that Kaworu insists are beings called the Angels! Collects the entire four-volume Campus Apocalypse story in one omnibus.
• Omnibus contains bonus color pages.
• An elegant, shojo-influenced reinterpretation of the classic series.
First issue alert!
I didn't have time to read an omnibus for this Guide -- as if! -- so I have no guidance to offer. The solicit says that it's based on a "classic series," so maybe the Baron can do the guiding.
DC COMICS
DC Entertainment June Previews Catalog
Last month at WonderCon, hundreds of fans in person and hundreds of thousands of fans online were among the first to hear the news about DC Entertainment’s line wide DC Universe: Rebirth publishing initiative, introduction of the new creative teams, exclusive talent signings, new titles and more. DC Entertainment is now giving fans the chance to choose which titles they’ll be picking up in June by making available their June Previews solicits catalog as a magazine, available for free at comic book stores nationwide.
This 96-page full color magazine features details on DC Comics Rebirth titles, as well as June Vertigo titles, new products from DC Collectibles on sale in September and new original graphic novels like Teen Titans Earth One Vol. 2 (on sale August 10), in addition to DC and Vertigo collected editions scheduled for July. In contrast to the digital version of the catalog, this physical version will include bonus behind-the-scenes details on DC Universe: Rebirth, including a foreword/introduction from DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer and Rebirth “architect” Geoff Johns, details on his DC Universe: Rebirth Special (on sale May 25), Rebirth title roundups and interviews with the artists and writers that will help Geoff re-shape the DC Universe and usher in a new age of epic superhero storytelling.
Written by Johns with art by Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Phil Jimenez and Gary Frank, the DC Universe: Rebirth Special gives readers 80 pages of a mystery surrounding the current DC Universe for only $2.99, and will set the table for a complete re-launch of character-specific Rebirth titles, followed by new issue #1’s featuring the heroes and villains that make up this new universe. Beginning in June, 17 titles will ship twice monthly, with an additional 14 titles shipping monthly, all at a new, lower price of $2.99. Throughout the summer and into October, additional titles will get the Rebirth treatment – a Rebirth one-shot, followed by a new issue #1.
More details on DC Universe: Rebirth Special, along with the new title lineup and creative teams can be found by checking out the recording of the live stream from WonderCon, available at the DC Entertainment YouTube channel, or on the DC All Access app, available at the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
This appears to be a one-off, with the DC solicitations returning to the interior of Previews next month.
BATMAN: EUROPA (HC)
Written by MATTEO CASALI and BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, JIM LEE, DIEGO LATORRE and GERALD PAREL
Cover by JIM LEE
144 pg, FC, $22.99 US
The long-awaited 4-issue miniseries is collected in a new hardcover! The impossible has happened and Batman is on the verge of being taken down by an enemy he cannot defeat: a virus for which there is no cure! And the only hope for his salvation is The Joker! Who infected Batman, what does the Clown Prince of Crime know, and how will the Dark Knight get that information? Together, the enemies crisscross Europe, desperate to find answers before time runs out.
I had to swallow a couple of bitter pills to read this: 1) Batman teaming up with The Joker, which I cannot buy under any circumstance, especially after Jason Todd, and 2) the homoeroticism that has been de rigeur in every Batman/Joker story since The Dark Knight Returns. (I am starting to get really tired of that book.)
But once those pills were swallowed, it was a good read. If nothing else, it's deliberately a travelogue of Europe, with chapters taking place in Berlin, Prague, Paris and Rome with historical tidbits for each that are thematically consistent with the story. That was interesting, no lie, with the price we pay being that Europa's structure is both strict and obvious, with the adventure in each city forced to be exactly 20 pages long. It's a story in a straitjacket, but it's a familiar jacket and one we accept going in.
Another negative is that the Big Mystery Reveal was kinda bland. But the point of a story is the journey, not the destination, right? And Batman-Joker is always entertaining. The homoerotic bits are mostly subtextual, which is where I prefer them if we have to have them (and apparently we do), so some of the antics and dialogue are LOL. Nothing we haven't seen before, but until Batman stories escape the straitjacket of Dark Knight Returns, we're not going to.
Doesn't sound like I enjoyed Europa all that much, does it? Well, I did, and it's mostly due to the art. Jim Lee did parts, and Giuseppe Camuncoli and Gerald Parel hold their own against DC's superstar with their contributions. All in all, very pretty.
Batman: Europa was announced at least a decade ago, and it is a conspicuously an early 'oughts Batman story. If you enjoyed the early days of Jim Lee's tenure at DC, then this is for you.
HARLEY QUINN AND HER GANG OF HARLEYS #1
Written by FRANK TIERI and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by MAURICET
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
1:25 Variant cover by MAURICET
32 pg, FC, 1 of 6, $3.99 US • RATED T+
This issue will ship with two covers.
Straight from the pages of HARLEY QUINN comes the story of her strange new army of assistants, the Gang of Harleys! In this new miniseries, they’ve been on the job for just a few months, and the Gang is ready to stand up and show what they can do without Harley … and they just might have to, because Harley’s been kidnapped! The Gang’s homes, their loved ones—they’re all in danger from a strange new villain with a very personal grudge against Harley!
I was looking forward to this book, so when DC offered a review copy, I jumped at it. Harley is becoming a superstar, so each new title should be an event.
Sadly, this is not. It apparently spins out of Harley Quinn proper, and felt like a contractual obligation more than a joy. The first two pages are descriptions of Harley's gang, a collection of cliches that regular Harley readers will already know, and was tedious even for this non-Harley reader. Shouldn't a first issue open with a bang? Meeting Jewish Harley, Hispanic Harley, Black Harley, Guy Harley -- none of whom have personality traits other than the stereotypes of their ethnic/gender background -- and the like was like being forced to take my medicine.
A disappointing start would be forgotten if the story that followed was worth the tedium to get there ... but I did remember it, didn't I? Sadly, the story -- by two of my favorites, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner -- was a transparent ruse with no particular justification and I found myself counting pages to the end.
Well, maybe the second issue will be better.
SLASH & BURN #6
Written by SI SPENCER
Art by MAX DUNBAR and ANDE PARKS
Cover by TULA LOTAY
32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS • FINAL ISSUE
While Rosheen recovers in a hospital bed, there’s a literal change of perspective as Mayor Brand reminisces on the fate of the Sparky Club while doing his best to exercise control over Detective Morrow’s prying—but what’s the detective’s secret?
See why Fanboy Nation called SLASH & BURN the “best new series of 2015.”
Oddly, DC offered this issue for review as well, even though it's the final issue of a miniseries. Even odder, I enjoyed it, despite not having read the first five issues.
In fact, reading the last issue made me wish I had. The art was cool and clean, and the story -- mostly reveals at this stage -- made it feel like there were some high-octane mysteries running through the series, mostly hidden identities and double crosses. And our heroine is not altogether right in the head, a pyromaniac at the least and at most ... ? Also, a (made-up?) nursery rhyme about "Matchstick Man" as the story's spine must have added a creepy factor. Yep, this was a series tailor-made for me, and now I've been spoiled!
But for those of you who haven't been spoiled, I'm sure the inevitable TPB will satisfy.
IDW PUBLISHING
HOT DAMN #1 (of 4)
Writer: RYAN FERRIER
Art/Cover: VALENTIN RAMON
Subscription Variant: VALENTIN RAMON
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
The masterminds of D4VE reunite with HOT DAMN, and they’re taking you straight to Hell. Hard living catches up to Teddy, and eternal damnation awaits—but it’s nothing like the good book tells you. Hell is a therapy session you can never leave …
From the same creative team that brought you the smash-hit D4VE!
So a guy goes to hell and instead of an eternity of torment it's a black comedy. That's a good premise if the writer can keep up the morbid humor.
PIRATE PENGUIN VS NINJA CHICKEN (BOOK 2): ESCAPE FROM SKULL-FRAGMENT ISLAND!
Writer/Art/Cover: RAY FRIESEN
HC • FC • $14.99 • 112 pages • 6.5” x 8.5”
Set phasers for maximum silly: Ray Friesen, the non-stop sugar rush called by Booklist “a manic blend of mayhem and adventure,” is back for more! When Pirate Penguin and Ninja Chicken stumble across a mystical lost sword, a rip-roaring aquatic adventure ensues, with appearances by cousin Privateer Puffin, the terrifying Pirate Queen, and two unforgettable "mermaids." PLUS: our heroes get trapped in a Swedish furniture store, and a dozen more wacky short stories!
What th-? Well, IDW sent me a press release (which was little more than the solicitation), so here you go.
STAR TREK: THE CLASSIC UK COMICS, VOL. 1
Writer/Art: HARRY LINDFIELD, JIM BAIKIE, MIKE NOBLE
Cover: HARRY F. LINDFIELD
HC • PC • $49.99 • 244 pages • 8.5” x 11”
In 1969, six months before the Star Trek TV series premiered in England, British comics readers were introduced to the characters in an original comic-book series. The stories were serialized, generally 2 to 3 pages at a time, in 257 weekly magazines spanning five years and 37 storylines. These extremely rare comics have never been published in the United States.
Star Trek fans will quickly note that the comics were not written with strict adherence to Star Trek's core concepts. But it's precisely that "offness" that makes them so eminently readable and deserving of a proper reprinting. They're unique in the annals of Star Trek and fans have gone without them for far too long.
Published in the U.S. for the first time!
I had no idea there was any UK Star Trek, much less "classic" Star Trek. And the solicit notes "Star Trek fans will quickly note that the comics were not written with strict adherence to Star Trek's core concepts." So will it be like the Gold Key Star Trek comics? I learned to love those aberrations over the years, so maybe I'll love this, too.
WYNONNA EARP: STRANGE INHERITANCE (TPB)
Writer: BEAU SMITH
Art: JOYCE CHIN & VARIOUS
Cover: LORA INNES
$29.99
Wynonna Earp, descendent of the famous lawman, follows in Wyatt's shoes, but with one difference: she brings the unnatural to justice! Redneck, trailer trash, drug-running vampires, bounty-hunting biker werewolves, immortal desperadoes, an ancient mummy hitman and the Egyptian Mafia: these are the kinds of perpetrators that covert U.S. Marshal Wynonna Earp hunts down on a regular basis. Collects all of the early tales including the original mini-series, plus "Home on the Strange," "Blood is the Harvest," and "The Yeti Wars."
This book collects all the Wynonna Earp stories published before the current series. That current series owes a lot to the new TV show, which changes the character's status quo significantly, so these stories are probably the only "classic" Wynonna there will ever be. If you enjoy the show, or Beau Smith in general, this is probably a must-have. (NOTE: This is a re-release. If you have it already, you don't have to get it again!)
IMAGE COMICS
BLACK ROAD #1
Writer: BRIAN WOOD
Art: GARRY BROWN & DAVE McCAIG
Cover: GARRY BROWN
32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99
Meet Magnus the Black, neither clean nor sober, neither Christian nor Pagan, but a man true to his word. When a ranking official under his care is brutally murdered, he's prepared to hunt the killers to the frozen tip of Norway, religious war be damned.
Northlanders creator BRIAN WOOD returns to the Viking genre along with artist GARRY BROWN (The Massive, Catwoman) and DAVE McCAIG (Batman, American Vampire) in this all-new series.
“With Northlanders I went strictly historical,” said Wood. “But here we’re creating this almost heightened take on the Viking times, where Christian conversion was more like a military occupation, with churches dotting the landscape like green zones and there’s this highway of death heading forever northwards. ... this is the Black Road. Anything, and everything, can happen on the cold road north.”
Wood first described Magnus The Black at Image Expo, calling him “a creaky fellow who suffers the boot of daily life but shows his steel where and when it counts.” But Wood later added onto the character’s description: “[He’s] a skeptic of the highest sort but operating with a very strong personal moral code. He’s suffered tremendously in his life, but keeps moving forward, keeps pushing on like an inexorable force of nature.”
“It's been a thrill to work on the book,” said Brown. “Drawing the environments and characters has been really rewarding. Plus working with Brian on a grim Viking book has been excellent. I'm excited for it to hit the stands.”
Brian Wood returns to the Viking era he enthralled me with in Northlanders -- and that's all I need to know. It's Vikings! What's not to like?
BLOOD STAIN VOL 1 (OGN)
Writer/Art/Cover: LINDA SEJIC
128 PAGES / FC / M / $14.99
Mad science at its finest. Chemistry major Elliot Torres has been unable to keep a steady job and eventually accepts one by a rumored mad scientist Dr. Vlad Stein. Humorous hijinks ensue as their collaboration becomes epic.
I love the Sejics' art -- husband and wife draw alike -- and this is obviously a humorous take on Frankenstein, which you have to expect if you name your child "Vladimir Stein." Seriously.
DRIFTER #10
Writer: IVAN BRANDON
Art/Cover A: NIC KLEIN
Cover B: GORAN PARLOV
32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50
NEW STORY ARC
Abram Pollux returns to Ghost Town, determined to even the score. But the rules have changed. New alliances are drawn, old friends become new foes, and each step closer to the truth brings Pollux that much closer to hell.Writer Ivan Brandon (Wolverine, Men of War) and artist Nic Klein (Captain America, Thor) will launch a new story arc in their ongoing dark sci-fi series DRIFTER this April.
Previously in DRIFTER, Abram Pollux barely survived a crash landing on Ouro, a lawless backwater planet, only to end up on the wrong end of a bullet. What started as a struggle for survival quickly became a journey to the very edges of what it means to be human, as Pollux searched for answers among the ruins of this forgotten world. When he crossed the grey line to the dark side of planet Ouro—where humanity has no place—mysteries began to unravel.
In DRIFTER #10, Abram Pollux returns to Ghost Town, determined to even the score. But the rules have changed. New alliances are drawn, old friends become new foes, and each step closer to the truth brings Pollux that much closer to hell.
"All the dread that's been building over the last year, it's taken physical form,” said Brandon. “Ghost Town's about to burn."
Image wants to alert us to a new story arc in Drifter. Here you go!
JUPITER'S CIRCLE VOL 2 #5 (of 6)
Story by: MARK MILLAR
Art by: WILFREDO TORRES
Cover by: BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Variant Cover By: FRANK QUITELY
Mature/$3.50
The team tries to heal old wounds, only to discover a betrayal far worse than they imagined.
Jupiter's Circle alert! We're all reading this book, aren't we?
This series plays off Silver Age expectations, so when Skyfox rejoined the team last issue I predicted it would not go well -- at least not as well as it would have been in the Silver Age, where all would have been forgiven and forgotten. From the cover above, it seems like my prediction is coming to fruition.
Now that I think about it, we've already seen all these characters in the modern day, so I guess we know how this will all turn out. I don't remember much from the first series -- I was just learning these characters' names, after all -- so it will bear a re-read after I finish this one.
MARVEL COMICS
AVENGERS STAND-OFF TIE-INS
AGENTS OF SHIELD #4
Writer: MARC GUGGENHEIM
Art: GERMAN PERALTA
Cover by MIKE NORTON
32 PGS / Rated T+ / $3.99
• The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. take on the New Avengers!
• Plus, the world’s craziest Wolverine cameo continues!
• Check out the book that everyone has been raving about!
I didn't realize Songbird was back. Is she with one of the Avengers groups, and is that group a reiteration of the old Thunderbolts?
ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS #8
Writer: MARK WAID
Art: ADAM KUBERT
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Civil War Variant by MIKE MAYHEW
32 PGS / Rated T+ / $3.99
Trapped in Pleasant Hill, the Avengers can’t tell the heroes from the villains -- and, worse, they don’t even recognize each other! How can the Avengers act like a team when they have no memory of one another?
ILLUMINATI #6
Writer: JOSH WILLIAMSON
Art: MIKE HENDERSON
Cover by RILEY ROSSMO
32 PGS / Rated T+ / $3.99
• S.H.I.E.L.D. has trapped Absorbing Man in a new prison and only the Hood and Titania can save him…
• But does he want to be saved?!
SPIDER-GWEN #7
Writer: JASON LATOUR
Art: BENGAL
Cover by YASMINE PUTRI
Variant Cover by ROBBI RODRIGUEZ
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Connecting Variant Cover B by J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
Civil War Variant by TBA
32 PGS / Rated T / $3.99
SPIDER-WOMEN, PART 2!
• Trapped in Earth-65, Spider-Gwen, Jessica Drew and Spider-Woman search for a way to get Jessica home.
• Along the way, Jessica gets a tour of Gwen’s life and meets THE MARY JANES!
The Mary Janes are evidently a band. How about that.
CAPTAIN AMERICA 75th ANNIVERSARY MAGAZINE
Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS
CAPTAIN AMERICA 75TH ANNIVERSARY MAGAZINE 1 BYRNE COVER (SPECIAL EDITION, $9.99)
CAPTAIN AMERICA 75TH ANNIVERSARY MAGAZINE 1 KIRBY COVER (SPECIAL EDITION, $9.99)
CAPTAIN AMERICA 75TH ANNIVERSARY MAGAZINE 1 ROSS COVER (SPECIAL EDITION, $9.99)
96 PGS / All Ages / $0.00
Celebrate the birthday of a living legend with an All-New, All-Different, ALL-FREE commemoration of 75 years of Captain America! From fans’ first impression of Steve Rogers socking evil in the jaw, to Sam Wilson wielding the shield today, this magazine has it all — bringing you fully up to date with Cap’s comics and films! From a guide to the firmest friends and fiercest foes of Cap’s storied history, to an in-depth look at his timeless costume, to features focusing on some of the finest creators ever to write or draw the Sentinel of Liberty — including John Romita Sr., Mark Gruenwald, Mark Waid and the King himself, Jack Kirby! Do your patriotic duty and take home this FREE slice of red, white and blue. Happy birthday, Captain — we salute you!
A free, 96-page magazine? I guess Marvel is shooting for the movie crowd.
MOON KNIGHT #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art & Cover by GREG SMALLWOOD
Variant Cover by MARCO RUDY
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Hip-Hop Variant by RICARDO LOPEZ ORTIZ
40 PGS / Rated T+ / $4.99
There’s a bad moon rising in the Marvel Universe. Prepare for a Moon Knight adventure unlike any you’ve ever seen before as blockbuster creators Jeff Lemire (Extraordinary X-Men) and Greg Smallwood (Moon Knight) take you deep into the recesses of Marc Spector’s mind! Today, Marvel is pleased to present your new look inside MOON KNIGHT #1 – the brand-new ongoing series debuting in April!
For years, Marc Spector has defended New York City as the masked vigilante Moon Knight. Calling upon the powers of the ancient Egyptian God Khonshu, he has kept the city safe from street gangs and supernatural forces alike. Or has he? Waking up in an insane asylum will shake anyone’s confidence. But it can’t be true, can it? His mind is full of identities and he no longer knows which is real. His thoughts are clouded and he has no idea what to believe. If he calls to Khonshu, he believes he will receive an answer. But is this a sign he still clings to his sanity, or has it slipped from him completely?
Something is wrong with Marc Spector. Will Moon Knight be his salvation? Or will it ultimately be his undoing? Find out as Lemire and Smallwood take you on a head trip through the psyche of a super hero this April in MOON KNIGHT #1!
STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art & Cover by TONY HARRIS
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Red Arm Spotlight Variant by TONY HARRIS
Variant Covers by REILLY BROWN and TODD NAUCK
Movie Photo Variant and Blank Variant Also Available
40 PGS / One-Shot / Rated T+ / $4.99
Experience a very special one-shot: an exciting new chapter in the Star Wars saga
Marvel is pleased to announce STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3P0 #1, launching as part of Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens! Reuniting acclaimed & award-winning creators James Robinson and Tony Harris for the first time in nearly two decades, follow everyone’s favorite protocol droid on a solo adventure leading up to his appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
Plus, the burning question will be answered here: How did C-3P0 get that red arm?!
STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1 is the only place to learn the shocking truth behind how C-3PO lost his original arm – and the exciting origins of how he gained a new one!
“That’s a really exciting part of doing this story,” says writer James Robinson. “I saw a photo of C-3PO with his red arm the other day and I thought ‘Wow, I’m the writer who gets to explain that’.”
You may be fluent in over six million forms of communication … but this book is a must have in any language! Don’t miss the exciting origin of C-3PO’s crimson appendage this December, only in STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1!
Star Wars © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
Text and illustrations for Star Wars are © 2015 Lucasfilm Ltd.
My excitement over Star Wars was squelched by the second trilogy, but perhaps your sensawunda is still intact. In which case, you probably really care how C-3PO got that red arm.
THANOS: THE INFINITY FINALE OGN (HC)
Written by JIM STARLIN
Penciled by RON LIM
Cover by JIM STARLIN
116 PGS / Rated T+ / $24.99
After REVELATION and RELATIVITY comes a grand Finale to Jim Starlin’s new Infinity trilogy! Desperate times called for mad measures. Facing checkmate in his latest grand game of cosmic chess, Thanos took himself off the board — violently. Yet, for the paramour of Death, oblivion is so often temporary. Now the Titan is back — but the galaxy has been ravaged in his absence. Annihilus, lord of the Negative Zone, is harnessing the godlike power of Adam Warlock to wage genocide across the universe. Only a handful of heroes, and one or two villains, still stand. Will those few that remain choose between two evils and ally themselves with Thanos? Even that might not be enough to avert the total annihilation of everything there is. And this time, the obliteration of all time and space may truly be the end …
I know a certain denizen of Earth-J who probably has this on his pull list already. We expect a review, Jeff!
THE UNBELIEVABLE GWENPOOL #1
Written by CHRISTOPHER HASTINGS
Art & Cover by GURIHIRU
Variant Covers by FRANCISO HERRERA, STACEY LEE, CAMERON STEWART and SKOTTIE YOUNG
Hip-Hop Variant by WOO DAE SHIM
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
40 PGS / Rated T / $4.99
Wait, really? Yes, really! 2015’s overnight sensation is slicing and dicing her way into hearts and minds as well as her very own ongoing series! Hold on and hang tight world, because she’s THE UNBELIEVABLE GWENPOOL – and her first issue is coming at you this April from writer Christopher Hastings and artist Gurihiru!
Gwen Poole used to be a comic book reader just like you … until one day she woke up INSIDE the Marvel Universe. Now all the characters she read about are real! But they can’t be really real, can they? This has got to be some kind of dream or something, right? Well you know what that means – NO CONSEQUENCES! First order of business, get a costume and start fighting crime. Why? Because that’s what everyone who has a solo series does!
“The series is a lot about her believing she’s in a fictional world with no consequences,” says series writer Christopher Hastings, speaking with Entertainment Weekly. “She’s seen everyone come back to life at some point, and it sort of seems like she’s living in a video game. And then the book is going to be the universe fighting back at that. Like, ‘you can’t really get away with everything’ is kind of the struggle there.”
“Ms. Poole basically thinks she’s been transported into a video game,” says writer Christopher Hastings, in an interview with Marvel.com. “It’s a world where hundreds of super-powered citizens shoot each other with eyeball lasers and grenades that are painted to look like pumpkins for some reason all the time. But the series will be about showing her that no, she’s not completely right. There are consequences to her actions. ”
No power. No responsibility. No rules. No limits. The Marvel Universe has a new player, and she’ll shoot and stab her way through anyone and everyone. Could she truly be Marvel’s least role-modely and least responsible character to date? She can if she tries! Find out this April as this marvelous mercenary makes her explosive entrance in THE UNBELIEVABLE GWENPOOL #1!
I'm glad to see Gwenpool isn't an exact copy of Harley Quinn, although that's clearly what they're shooting for here. Even better, this character's premise -- a fan dropped into the superhero world -- is something I expect we've all daydreamed about. Given that Gwenpool might simply be insane can't be overlooked, but either way it's probably going to be a hoot when she meets up with our teeth-gritted, clenched-jaw set and blithely informs them that no one dies forever.
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A&A: THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #2
Written by RAFER ROBERTS
Art by DAVID LAFUENTE
Cover A by DAVID LAFUENTE
Cover B by KANO
Cover C by MONICA GALLAGHER
Variant Cover by RAFER ROBERTS
Variant Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
B&W Sketch Variant by DAVID LAFUENTE
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+
Valiant is proud to present A&A: THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #2 – the next head-shaking chapter of 2016’s newest blockbuster series from red-hot writer Rafer Roberts (Plastic Farm, Shutter) and superstar artist David Lafuente (Ultimate Spider-Man)!
“IN THE BAG” continues here as Valiant’s greatest mis-adventurers do the unthinkable and hit rock bottom … inside Armstrong’s bottomless satchel!
"[A&A: THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG is] insane and weird and trippy. When David came aboard, not only did he draw all the madness I had written, but he added to it," writer Rafer Roberts told Multiversity Comics. "There’s a splash page where we see an overview of the world inside the bag that I described as a Home Depot designed by MC Escher and stretching into infinity. He exceeded my expectations by a mile. Every strange creature, whether it be the goblins who keep everything organized inside the bag, or the trash golems made up of thousands of years worth of Armstrong’s garbage, looks amazing and way crazier than I ever imagined."
After following Armstrong into the depths of his infinite satchel in a search for booze, Archer and his partner, history’s most inebriated immortal, have found themselves prisoners of … uh … what’s this villain’s name again? Armstrong may not be able to remember what their captor, Bacchus, is all about, but he sure is upset by the memories tied to a rare bottle of whiskey. What secret is about to come roaring out of the past to haunt him? And is Archer doomed to the repeat Armstrong’s tragic mistakes? Plus: It’s a day in the life of Valiant’s new breakout character of 2016 – hey kids, get ready for DAVEY THE MACKEREL!
Archer and Armstrong’s only shot at salvation (and sobriety) rests in Mary-Maria! But will Archer’s step-sister/oldest flame (ew) rescue the dynamic-ish duo … or turn Armstrong’s satchel and its infinite treasures over to the Sisters of Perpetual Darkness?
Safety is not guaranteed when Rafer Roberts and David Lafuente pull the ripcord on Valiant’s latest monthly smash ‘em up! Trash talk, wanton destruction, and passionate bromance await … only inside A&A: THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #2 – featuring covers by David Lafuente (Patsy Walker: Hellcat), Kano (Gotham Central), Monica Gallagher (Gods & Undergrads), Rafer Roberts (Nightmare the Rat), and Phil Jimenez (Infinite Crisis)!
“✮✮✮✮✮ … A madcap romp through the anything-can-happen playground of comic books.” – Comicosity
“✮✮✮✮½ … There is a ton of fun to be had with A&A: THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG … Rafer Roberts is putting character and emotions first for this debut.” – Newsarama
“✮✮✮✮½ … [An] entirely unique …[and] amazingly fun comic with a surprising amount of heart.” – Unleash the Fanboy
“✮✮✮✮½… [A] must-read book … This duo is strong and definitely worth following.” – ComicWow!
“✮✮✮✮½… A wonderfully absurd start that only gets better… A strong and endlessly entertaining debut.”– IGN
“✮✮✮✮ … Smile inducing and poignant… If you want a book that screams wacky and fun, [A&A] hits that mark…” – Multiversity Comics
“A delight … Lafuente’s wonderfully madcap storytelling syncs perfectly to Roberts’ scripting.” – ComicsAlliance
“[A&A: THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG] is the perfect book for your pull-list.” – Uproxx
I'm really looking forward to this book!
ACTIONVERSE FEATURING THE F1RST HERO #1
Writer: ANTHONY RUTTGAIZER
Art: MARCO RENNA
Color: FRED C. STRESING
Covers: LEE MODER/FRED C. STRESING (REGULAR COVER), RON FRENZ/MARC DEERING/ROSS CAMPBELL/DAVID BEDNARSKI (CONNECTING VARIANT COVER)
32 pgs / A / FC / $3.99 (reg), $4.99 (var)
The Actionverse starts HERE! What happened to the second Malice from FRACTURE? Where has he been and what has he been doing? Worlds collide as a new menace named CASCADE tangles with Jake Roth of THE F1RST HERO! Variant limited to 1,500 copies.
Action Lab Entertainment’s biggest collaborative effort to date, ACTIONVERSE, is finally here. Very few independent companies have attempted a crossover of this scope successfully. With ACTIONVERSE, Action Lab Entertainment once again proves they don’t just break the rules, they break the mold by having five separate creator owned series collaborate into a single story. A spin on the old school style of interdimensional crossovers like CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and SECRET WARS, ACTIONVERSE will be a launch pad for an entire roster of new characters and concepts debuting in 2016 and beyond.
The crossover can be enjoyed not just by fans, who finally get to see characters from the Action Lab’s creator-owned universe come face-to-face for the first time, but to newcomers as well. There’s a hero for everyone in this story, from Molly Danger, a young girl stranded on Earth away from her alien home world, to Virtue, a superhero whose moral compass is broken. The event has compelling moments and a sharp sense of humor.
Designed as a point of entry for each concept, every ACTIONVERSE issue is a “#1”. The first three issues include:
ACTIONVERSE FEATURING THE F1RST HERO #1 is by creator/writer Anthony Ruttgaizer (F1RST HERO) with art by newcomer Marco Renna, Lee Moder/Fred C. Stresing (regular cover). The fate of the second Malice from FRACTURE (Volume One) is discovered here.
ACTIONVERSE FEATURING MOLLY DANGER #1 is written and drawn by Jamal Igle (SUPERGIRL / THE TERMINATOR / ACTIONVERSE #0), Cover by Igle and Ross Hughes. Jake Roth, after being forced by the second Malice to transport to our universe’s Canada, meets Molly Danger. Virtue (from FRACTURE) also makes an appearance.
ACTIONVERSE FEATURING FRACTURE #1 is written by Shawn Gabborin (FRACTURE, PUPPET MASTER) with artwork and cover by Chad Cicconi (FRACTURE). Virtue from FRACTURE makes some waves in Midnight Tiger’s hometown of Apollo Bay and takes on the Guild of Pain.
ACTIONVERSE is a six-issue weekly mini-series, ACTIONVERSE FEATURING THE F1RST HERO #1 is set to ship on April 13, ACTIONVERSE FEATURING MOLLY DANGER #1 is set to ship on April 20 and ACTIONVERSE FEATURING FRACTURE #1 is set to ship April 27. There will be a connecting variant cover for each issue by comics legend Ron Frenz (THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, THE MIGHTY THOR/ SPIDER-GIRL), Mark Deering Ross Campbell and David Bednarski.
I can't say I'm a fan of any of these characters -- of all of them, I've read only a single issue of the character in the dog suit -- so I may read this series just to become acquainted with Action Lab's super-characters. Which, of course, is why books like these are published. Mission accomplished, guys!
Six variant covers from the crossover are interconnected:
Writer: MICHAEL HORAN
Art: BONG DAZO
Cover: TIM YATES
$3.99
At the height of Victoria's reign, a scientific expedition to Mars has vanished and the daring rescue mission is now a race against time and space. When control is wrested from fellow scientists and given to a heroic crew of Her Majesty' Navy, can the two groups work together to save the men of the first voyage? A young naval officer is thrust into command during a desperate battle in the skies above the Mediterranean. In his hands lies the fate of not only his ship and crew, but dozens of innocent lives. Will he accomplish the mission? Or doom them all? Jules Verne meets Star Trek in Aether and Empire, a tale of adventure, mystery and terror!
Does this qualify as steampunk? It's alternate history at the very least, with space travel coming about during the Victorian era. If it has a Jules Verne feel I might very well enjoy it.
Writer/Art/Cover: REINHARD KLEIST
B&W, $22.95/£14.99, 170x240, 152 pages
Author: REINHARD KLEIST
The image of Samia Yusuf Omar running for last place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will forever be imprinted in the minds of all who saw it: The lean Somalian, wearing knee-length leggings and a baggy T-shirt, came in seconds behind her competitors. What the cheering crowd couldn't know then was what it took to get there.
In 2008, 17-year-old Samia Yusuf Omar stood alongside some of the fastest women in the world on the start line of the Olympic 200m. Four years later, she boarded a refugee boat to Europe, risking her life on the waters of the Mediterranean. An Olympic Dream tells the remarkable story of Omar’s attempt to compete at the London Games in 2012. Picturing her life in Mogadishu, a city ravaged by conflict where the female athlete faces discrimination and abuse, Reinhard Kleist reveals the challenges she faced both as a sportsperson and as a woman. In doing so, he shows why Omar, like so many others, would choose to flee. Following Omar’s journey through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya to its tragic conclusion, An Olympic Dream is a forceful statement on Europe‘s response to the refugee crisis. But it is also a moving account of a remarkable life.
Sounds interesting, if for no other reason than I've never heard of this person, despite having a biography that's apparently worth knowing.
BLADE BUNNY #1
Writer: ERIC KIMBALL
Art: ERWIN
$3.99
The Hare: a ninja assassin whispered about with fear in the darkest corners, a killer known for ruthlessness and cunning ... is not in this comic. Meet Bunny, a pretty ninja girl who likes rainbows, dancing and eviscerating bad people when they blink. Hmm, maybe this comic is about The Hare after all.
The website for this character -- WWW.BLADEBUNNY.COM -- has an entire series available to read, which I did. The premise is that Blade Bunny is a typically lethal, one-man-army type character who can take out whole mobs of ninjas and samurai and gangster muscle without breathing hard. We've seen a lot of that, so this one has a twist -- and the twist is that she talks, and perhaps thinks, like a six-year-old girl. So chatter about how much she likes candy is juxtaposed with throat slicing for presumably humorous effect.
A lot of that can go a long way, but to be honest, it was a nice change of pace from the usual grim-n-gritty samurai/ninja business.
BURNE HOGARTH'S TARZAN VOL 3: TARZAN VERSUS THE NAZIS
Writer: DON GARDEN
Art: BURNE HOGARTH
$39.95
Following on from Tarzan in the City of Gold and Tarzan Versus the Barbarians, Tarzan Versus the Nazis is the third of four exclusive volumes authorized by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate, collecting the entire run of the legendary Tarzan comic strip by one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Burne Hogarth (with Don Garden).
Tarzan. Hogarth. Nazis. See you there!
CAPE HORN (GN)
Writer: CHRISTIAN PERRISSIN
Art/Cover: ENEA RIBOLDI
Mature/$19.95
Tierra del Fuego, at the beginning of the 20th century. A vast and desolate land only frequented by gold diggers, English missionaries, Chilean and Argentine military, and ancient native tribes. In this unique world, where the Andean mountains plunge into the Pacific Ocean, several characters with tormented fates will cross paths and clash, on their journey to Cape Horn.
Rob Schmidt talks about this over on our Facebook page. I generally like history-related books, and know precisely zip about Cape Horn, so I might enjoy it just for that.
CAVEWOMAN: RAPTORELLA #2
Writer/Art/Cover A: DEVON MASSEY
Cover B: BUDD ROOT
Cover C: STEVE MANNION
$3.99
Meriem is being hunted through a strange jungle land by a beautiful and mysterious hunter. Can Meriem defeat this mistress of the Cretaceous world and make it back alive to Marshville? It's kill or be killed in Raptorella part 2, "Blood Moon."
I don't have anything to say about this book, but thought some Legionnaires might enjoy the covers.
Pervs.
CLUSTERF**K (TPB)
Writer: JON PARRISH
Art: DIEGO TORO
Cover: KOTE CARVAJAL
Mature/$14.99
After defeating an evil wizard, two private investigators suddenly find themselves being pursued by werewolves, vampires, and worst of all -- government agents! Luckily, Karl can transform into a powerful demon and Jim can transform into a giant ... pain in the butt. Will they survive the night? And more importantly, will they get paid?
The title alone is a turn-off -- not because I'm a prude, but because swearing shows a lack of imagination.
DEADEYE: BEGUN IN BLOOD (GN)
Writer: ADRIAN F. WASSEL
Art: NATHAN C. GOODEN
$20, Full color, 128 pages, Mature Audiences
A land of undiscovered riches, beauty ... and violence. A land born of myth. The American frontier. As the bounty hunter, Deadeye, tracks the gang responsible for his nightmarish past, he discovers a far worse set of villains lurking in the uncharted territory. Criminals from a distant planet, imprisoned on Earth. Scripted by ADRIAN F. WASSEL with breathtaking watercolors by NATHAN C. GOODEN-creators of THE GIFTED, a 2014 Indie Fab Award Finalist for Best Graphic Novel-comes the opening chapter of DEADEYE, a series about the cruel price of redemption.
I started to read this twice, but found my old eyes had trouble reading the colored print in colored boxes over painted art. It was such a chore I gave up on page one both times.
If you have younger eyes, let me know if you liked it.
DISNEY ALICE IN WONDERLAND CINESTORY COLLECTED EDITION (HC)
Writer/Art: Disney
$49.99
For 65 years, Disney's Alice in Wonderland has enchanted audiences of all ages. Collectors and fans will love this special collector's edition cinestory featuring screen captures from the 1951 animated film and a graphic-novel-style retelling of the beloved story. In this unforgettable and magical adventure follow Alice down the rabbit hole and into the weird and marvelous world of Wonderland, where she meets the Cheshire Cat, takes tea with the Mad Hatter, and plays a game of croquet with the Queen of Hearts. This special edition is available in hardcover and softcover from Joe Books during the 65th anniversary year of the Disney animated film.
It's astonishing how much Alice in Wonderland material there is in comics. It may be the most-adapted-to-comics property ever.
DOCTOR WHO: THE NINTH DOCTOR #1
Writer: CAVAN SCOTT
Art: ADRIANA MELO
Cover A: SHEA STANDEFER
Cover B: PHOTO
Cover C: ADRIANA MELO
Cover D: QUESTION NO. 6
Cover E: BLAIR SHEDD
Cover F: BLANK SKETCH
SC / 32 pages / $3.99
The Ninth Doctor is BACK – and this time he's ONGOING! In Part 1 of 'DOCTORMANIA', the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack uncover a mysterious video. Tracking down its source could help Jack uncover why his mind was wiped – but the first step takes the Doctor to a planet where he is, inexplicably, a celebrity!
Titan Comics and BBC Worldwide are pleased to announce the ongoing Ninth Doctor comic series.
Titan Comics’ hugely popular and critically acclaimed Doctor Who comics line launched the Ninth Doctor in a 5-part mini-series in 2015. Due to the overwhelming popularity of the Ninth Doctor, as played by Christopher Eccleston, the series will now join the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors as a monthly ongoing title.
The Ninth Doctor comic writer, Cavan Scott (Who-ology) will continue to work on the series and says, “It’s absolutely fantastic that the Ninth Doctor is returning for more adventures with Rose and Captain Jack. The new ongoing series kicks off a new era and a new mission for this much-loved TARDIS team. Along the way they’ll encounter old friends and foes as well as startling new faces. I’ve been blown away by the love for Doctor Number Nine that I’ve seen at comic cons and signings over the last year. It’s a real privilege to be continuing the Ninth Doctor’s story. It really is the trip of a lifetime.”
The first in the brand new Ninth Doctor ongoing story arc will hit shelves in April 2016, with interior art on the opening three-parter by Adriana Melo (Miss Marvel, Spiderman).
First issue alert!
I read this one, despite not being a huge Who fan and ... well, it was Whovian. I'll leave it to the experts to tell me if it's Whovian enough.
ERATHUNE #1
Writers: SEBASTIAN A. JONES, DARRELL MAY
Art/Cover: SHELDON MITCHELL
$3.99
Many years ago, Buxton Stonebeard was banished from his dwarven home amid a shower of blood. But his cursed axe demands a soul, and so the outcast must return. Accompanied by Skarlok, his unlikely Morkai ally, and Niobe, a budding hero, Buxton must save the town that condemned him.
Despite having a title that looks like a typo, this could be appealing to fans of Elric or Lord of the Rings, properties to which it owes some homage.
GOLDIE VANCE #1
Writer: HOPE LARSON
Art/Cover: BRITTNEY WILLIAMS
32 pages / FC / $3.99
What's to Love: From Nancy Drew to Veronica Mars, we really dig girl detectives! Hope Larson (A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel) and Brittney Williams (Patsy Walker, A.K.A Hellcat!) present the newest gal sleuth on the block with Goldie Vance, an exciting, whodunnit? adventure that mixes the fun of Eloise with the charm of Lumberjanes.
What It Is: In a timeless story, 16-year-old Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad, who manages the place. Her mom, who divorced her dad years ago, works as a live mermaid at a club downtown. Goldie has an insatiable curiosity, which explains her dream to one day become the hotel's in-house detective. When Charles, the current detective, encounters a case he can't crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help solving the mystery utilizing her smarts, random skills, and connections with the hotel staff and various folks in town.
A heroic tweenage girl? Shouldn't this be published by Action Lab?
HEARTTHROB #1
Writer: CHRISTOPHER SEBELA
Art/Cover: ROBERT WILSON
$3.99
A new series about bank heists and thieving hearts from writer Christopher Sebela (Welcome Back), artist Robert Wilson IV (Bitch Planet), and colorist Nick Filardi (Powers). Callie Boudreau hasn't been herself lately. After a lifetime sidelined by illness, she's rescued by a miracle cure in the form of heart transplant surgery, but the life she returns to doesn't fit her anymore. Besides the morally questionable job, the crappy boyfriend and the crippling hospital bills, Callie finds herself developing new tastes, unfamiliar urges and a mouth like a sailor. As she balances what she has to do with what she wants to do, a mystery man shows up to teach her that instead of waiting for her new life, she should go out and steal it.
I posted this only for the second cover, an homage to the Fleetwood Mac album "Rumors."
IRMINA (GN)
Writer/Art/Cover: BARBARA YELIN
288 pages, FC, £16.99/$24.95
In the mid-1930s, Irmina, an ambitious young German, travels to London. There she meets Howard Green, one of the first black students at Oxford. Like Irmina, Green is looking for an independent existence -- and a love affair blossoms between two outsiders. But the relationship comes to an abrupt end when Irmina, constrained by the political situation in Hitler's Germany, has to return to Berlin. Political events accelerate, and her letters to Howard are returned unopened. It will be 30 years until she receives another. Based on a true story, this moving and perceptive graphic novel conjures the oppressive atmosphere of wartime Germany and reflects on the passive complicity of its people with sympathy and intelligence.
Irmina is a moving and perceptive drama about the tension between integrity and social advancement, reflecting with compassion and intelligence on the complicity that results from choice, conscious or otherwise, to look away. It raises poignant questions about human attitudes towards suffering and
our response to violence.
Barbara Yelin weaves her family history into a broader narrative of Germany’s past and in doing so attempts to understand how one was shaped by the other. While keeping the emotional intensity of human relationships at the heart of the story, Yelin creates an atmospheric sense of place with her detailed depictions of London, Oxford, Berlin and Barbados.
Irmina was recently included in a list of recommended reading on National Socialism and the Holocaust by the Jewish Museum in Berlin. The afterword is written by Dr. Alexander Korb, senior lecturer at Leicester University and Director of the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
Trying to understand 1930s Germany is always impossible to resist.
JACKPOT #1
Writer: RAY FAWKES
Art: MARCO FAILLA
Cover: BRIAN STELFREEZE
$1.99
Meet the World's Greatest Con Artists on the eve of the greatest scam in human history -- ripping off the Gods themselves! The high-stakes, high-octane story of JACKPOT! begins here! Ray Fawkes, acclaimed creator of INTERSECT (writer of Gotham by Midnight and Batman: Eternal) teams up with Marco Failla (Spider-Man & the X-Men) to bring a new mind-bending, genre-busting monthly series from AfterShock!
First issue alert!
Posted because it has a preview.
MARY WEPT OVER THE FEET OF JESUS (HC)
Writer/Art/Cover: CHESTER BROWN
Hardcover • 280 pages • 4.3" x 7.5" • B&W • $24.95 USD/21.95 CAD
The iconoclastic and bestselling cartoonist of Paying for It: A comic-strip memoir about being a john returns with a polemical interpretation of the Bible that will be one of the most controversial and talked-about graphic novels of 2016. Mary Wept over the Feet of Jesus is the retelling in comics form of nine biblical stories that present Chester Brown’s fascinating and startling thesis about biblical representations of prostitution. Brown weaves a connecting line between Bathsheba, Ruth, Rahab, Tamar, Mary of Bethany, and the Virgin Mother and reassesses the Christian moral code by examining the cultural implications of the Bible’s representations of sex work.
MARY WEPT OVER THE FEET OF JESUS
Did Jesus approve of prostitution? Does God want us to obey him?
"The Bible is Chester Brown’s holy harlot. He plumbs the mysteries of her depths while she schools him in the ways of love. Like all of Chester’s work, this book is confounding, yet addictive, instantly re-readable, and expands with revelations in his hundred pages of notes. A work of passion, research, and elegant clarity. My new favorite."— Craig Thompson, author of Blankets
"Chester Brown is both God's and the devil's gift to the world."— David Henry Sterry, author of Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys
"Chester's work never fails to surprise and delight me. Since I always enjoy mythic and legendary tales of harlots, I knew I would like Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus, but I was pleased and impressed by the way he used all these stories to illustrate a larger theme about humanity's relationship to Divinity and the role my profession plays in that relationship. Chester shows that spirituality and sexuality, which are so often depicted in our culture as opposed to one another, are actually deeply intertwined."— Maggie McNeill, The Honest Courtesan
Mary Wept over the Feet of Jesus is a fitting follow-up to Brown’s sui generis graphic memoir Paying for It, which was reviewed twice in the New York Times and hailed by sex workers for Brown’s advocacy for the decriminalization and normalization of prostitution. Brown approaches the Bible as he did the life of Louis Riel, making these stories compellingly readable and utterly pertinent to a modern audience. In classic Chester Brown fashion, he provides extensive handwritten endnotes that delve into the biblical lore that informs Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus.
Here are the parts of the Bible you never hear about in church. Sounds fascinating!
NAMELESS VOL 1 (GN)
Writer/Art/Cover: FAITH ERIN HICKS
$14.99 (TPB), $21.99 (HC)
Every nation that invades the City gives it a new name. But before long, new invaders arrive and the City changes hands (and names) once again. The natives don't let themselves get caught up in the unending wars. To them, their home is the Nameless City, and those who try to name it are forever outsiders. Kaidu is one such outsider. He's a Dao born and bred -- a member of the latest occupying nation. Rat is a native of the Nameless City. At first, she hates Kai for everything he stands for, but his love of his new home may be the one thing that can bring these two unlikely friends together. Let's hope so, because the fate of the Nameless City rests in their hands. A
First Second is proud to present The Nameless City, a new trilogy from rising star Faith Erin Hicks in the tradition of Jeff Smith’s Bone and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Hicks has created a beautiful and intricate world inspired by Central Asia and the Silk Road in which the besieged inhabitants of an ancient city are desperate to learn the secrets of the perished civilization which carved the city out of living rock.
“I’m absolutely thrilled that First Second Books will be publishing The Nameless City. It’s a story that’s very close to my heart and something I’ve been working on for a few years. To see my comic sitting beside incredible books like Battling Boy, Delilah Dirk and Boxers & Saints means a tremendous amount. I’m a fan of First Second, both as a publisher who publishes great comics that I want to read, and also as a group of creative people who know how to bring out the best in a cartoonist. We’re going to make some really good comics together in the next few years,” says Faith Erin Hicks.
“Faith Erin Hicks is one of the most exciting cartoonists working today, and her work has raised the bar in comics for kids and teens. I’m so excited that First Second will be publishing her new series! With notes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain, and Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea, Faith has woven a world that is uniquely hers, and uniquely beautiful,” says :01 Senior Editor Calista Brill, who acquired the project.
Available in softcover and hardcover editions.
This doesn't look like anything that would appeal to me -- heroic children don't seem plausible -- but First Second has a great track record for high-quality material. Decisions, decisions.
PICTORIAL CONFESSIONS #1
Writer: DANA DUTCH
Art/Cover: MATT BAKER
36 pages / 7.25"x10.25" / $14.99
Pictorial Confessions #1 begins a series that ran 24 issues. Originally published by St. John in 1949, Pictorial Confessions (and the rest of the romance line) was known for its better plots and stellar Matt Baker artwork. Baker contributes three stories in this debut issue. A true pre-Code romance classic!
Canton Street Press' Flashback Replicas are exact reproductions of historically significant or key comic books from the 1940s and 1950s. Each page is fully restored with careful attention to line work and colors. All editorial and ad pages are included. It is just like reading it off the newsstand! Collect the entire series!
This ancient material, original published as cautionary tales or sob stories, has found a viable second-run market as humor. Thereby proving Marx's dictum, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." But if I'm going to spend $15, I'm going to buy a whole collection from PS Artbooks or IDW, not a single issue.
SABER RIDER & THE STAR SHERIFFS #2
Writer: MAIRGHREAD SCOTT
Art: SENDOL ARTS
32 pages / FC / $2.99
The Outriders have stolen a volatile piece of Star Sheriff tech, leaving Saber Rider and the bounty hunter Colt to form an uneasy alliance. Outriders expert April Eagle is on the scene, but is it already too late? The classic '80s animated series is back in this wild western/sci-fi mashup!
Manga-esque science fantasy with teenagers: Not my cup of tea. But they did send a preview for you to judge for yourself.
SAMURAI #2
Writer: JEAN-FRANÇOIS DI GIORGIO
Art/Cover A: FRÉDÉRIC GENÊT
Cover B: DAVID MACK
32 pages / FC / $3.99
Free of the 13th Prophet, Takeo has traveled to the Unnamed Island, where his skills as a swordsman, and as a man, are challenged. But he has the chance to learn the Bushido Way, and what it truly takes, and what it truly means, to be a Samurai.
Cover A has been designed by the overall artist of Samurai, Frédéric Genét and the Cover B variant features the incredible and distinctive watercolor work of David Mack (Fightclub 2, Daredevil, Jessica Jones opening credits).
Did I mention last issue how awesome the photo-realistic style artwork on this series is? I did? Well, it's worth repeating. Oh, and there's a story, too!
SOONER OR LATER (GN)
Writer: PETER MILLIGAN
Art/Cover: BRENDAN MCCARTHY
96 pages / FC / $17.99
1986. Thatcher's Britain. The financial "big bang" saw the rich get richer. riots erupt in prisons across the country. and Micky Swift is still on the dole! Disillusioned with his dour existence in dreary Camden, Micky's life is suddenly turned inside out, when he is plucked from the present and dragged into the 30th century as the property of one Mr. and Mrs. Katsbreath -- a case of mistaken identity. Unwanted, trapped in the future and still unemployable, If Micky wants to return home (time travel isn't cheap you know!), sooner or later he will need to find a job!
THIS VOLUME INCLUDES THE STORIES
• Sooner or Later 2000 AD (Progs 468 to 499)
• Swifty's Return 2000 AD (Progs 614-617)
• Sixty Hours that Shook the World 2000 AD (Prog 391)
• Bad Maxwell 2000 AD (Prog 402)
• Breathless 2000 AD (Prog 420)
• Interrogation - Identity Crisis (Meg 346)
•Brendan interview from (Meg 290)
PLUS!
• Creator Bios
• Cover Gallery
Who was Peter Milligan before he became the master of gender-benders he is today? This book should tell us.
STEINS;GATE VOL 3
Writer: NITROPLUS
Art/Cover: YOMI SARACHI
178pg, 5.75x8.75", B&W, Manga, $12.99 USD
The Future Gadgets team has invented a time machine and altered the past, but their actions have had disastrous consequences. There may be a way to fix the timeline, but not without sacrifices. How much is Okarin willing to risk to save everyone he cares about? Find out in the final volume of Steins;Gate!
Anime and game fans have already fallen in love with Steins;Gate, a wildly successful, critically-acclaimed science-fiction thriller that provides a fresh, unique spin on the oft-explored subject of time travel. Now, the Steins;Gate phenomenon is set to spread like wildfire into the world of manga with UDON Entertainment’s release of the first two volumes in the series, localized into English for Western audiences for the very first time!
Based on the original game, the Steins;Gate manga begins with a vital question: what do you get when you cross a microwave with a cell phone? A time machine, of course! Thanks to this wacky experiment, self-proclaimed mad scientist Hououin Kyouma and his Future Gadgets team now have the ability to send text messages into the past. But will this incredible power to alter the past be used for personal gain, to change the world, or for something much more sinister? The answers to these questions as well as the unpredictable consequences of time travel are explored in Steins;Gate, a gripping science-fiction adventure with a comedic edge.
While the Steins;Gate manga series serves as a fantastic entry point into this mixed-media juggernaut for newcomers, existing fans will no doubt enjoy it as a valuable refresher as they prepare for the shocking events to come in the upcoming game and anime sequel Steins;Gate Zero!
The first two volumes of Steins;Gate are available now in finer comic book shops, book stores, and online retailers.
What's with the oddball punctuation in the title? It infuses my copy editor soul with rage.
Other than that, I don't have much to say because I somehow missed the first two volumes. Maybe you didn't, so here's the third (and last).
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #6
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by JUAN JOSÉ RYP
Cover A by PHIL JIMENEZ
Cover B by JUAN JOSÉ RYP
Variant Cover by PERE PÉREZ
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+
“PRELUDE TO LABYRINTH” – PART 2!
As Gilad’s oldest enemy returns, the Eternal Warrior looks to the battles of the past to prepare for war in the present.
The year’s smash-hit new series prepares for a shocking new story arc here with the second chapter of a special, two-part prelude reintroducing one of the greatest villains of all time! Jump on board here as New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (BOOK OF DEATH) and blockbuster artist Juan José Ryp (NINJAK) pave the road to “LABYRINTH” with bone, blood and wrath!
You know, being wrathful all the time is bad for your heart, not just your social life. But it's bad for that, too.
Anyway, good series thus far.
XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS #1
Writer: GENEVIEVE VALENTINE
Art: ARIEL MEDEL
Cover: GREG LAND (50%), JENNY FRISON (50%)
$3.99 / Teen + / 32 pages
After the Twilight of the Gods, the world is precariously uncertain -- and Xena and Gabrielle have been missing from it for 25 years. Even without Livia, the power of Rome is growing: Caesar is determined to conquer by lies what he can't conquer by force, and the people at its edges know what's coming. (All roads lead to Rome, and Rome is hunting.) Xena and Gabrielle scramble to stop him before they have to wage war against a man they once called a friend. But along the way, Xena will have to confront her past against a rogue band of women warriors, and Gabrielle, whose secret visions are becoming prophecy, will have to protect Xena -- at any cost.
I didn't watch Xena (or Hercules) when they were on TV. If I want Wonder Woman or Red Sonja, I'll read the original, not a knockoff. But here she is back again in print, and I dutifully read the first issue. And, yes, it could easily have been a Red Sonja story.
Strangely, as the story opens Xena and Gabrielle have been in an ensorcelled asleep for 25 years and most of the gods are dead, which they had something to do with. Is that from the show?
Songbird is in the New Avengers, which is sort of a good-guy AIM run by Sunspot from the New Mutants. It's got Squirrel Girl in it!
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: CAMPUS APOCALYPSE OMNIBUS (TPB)
I read this when it came out in individual volumes. It's one of a number of "Elseworlds" type series that have been done in which the characters from NGE are shown in different situations in in different manga genres. In this one, they're in a Mysterious High School Where Half the Student Body Are Secretly Mystical Warriors, which I gather happens a lot in Japan. It's not a favorite, but it's not bad, either. I suspect that you'll get more out of it if you're familiar with the original NGE, which I am.
STEINS;GATE VOL 3
What's with the oddball punctuation in the title? It infuses my copy editor soul with rage.
Dunno. It could be deliberate, and making some obscure point, or it could be that someone didn't pay attention in English class
Other than that, I don't have much to say because I somehow missed the first two volumes. Maybe you didn't, so here's the third (and last).
I've heard good things about this. Since it's only three volumes long, maybe I'll take a look at it.
Did I....
...no.....
I must have read that wrong......
...is it left over from April Fool's Day...?
...really...?
Did I just read --- "ROM!" ??
More information here.
The strip at the top of the first and third images says the issue has a "first look" at Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy. Apparently this is an upcoming cross-company crossover.
The Byrne cover is from Captain America #250 and the Kirby one from Captain America #112.
Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1: I don't give a $#!t how C-3PO got that red arm, either (a throwaway piece of dialogue in the movie told me all I need to know about it), but what I do want to see is James Robinson reunited with Tony Harris for the first time since Starman. Hell, I'd buy it for the art alone.
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