Comics Guide: March 13-19, 2023

DARK HORSE COMICS

MASTERS OF UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE #2 (OF 4)

SPY SUPERB #3 (OF 3)

STAR WARS: HIGH REPUBLIC ADVENTURES #3 (OF 8)

WHITE SAVIOR #3 (OF 4)

 

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

DARKWING DUCK #3

DRACULINA: BLOOD SIMPLE #2

MADBALLS VS GARBAGE PAIL KIDS SLIME AGAIN #2

 

DC COMICS

ADAM STRANGE: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS DELUXE EDITION HC

  • Collects Adam Strange (1990) #1-3, JLA #20-21, and Adam Strange (2004) #1-8.
  • I may have read some of these, but couldn't tell you what they were about. What I do remember is that after Alan Moore's revelation in Saga of the Swamp Thing — that Strange was just a stud for a civilization where men had gone sterile, and Sardath was inventing defeatable dangers for Strange to save them from, so he'd be lionized as a "hero" and not suspect what was going on — other writers wrote some things I found dreadful. Maybe it was in these books that those things happened.
  • I'm half-tempted to get this book to refresh my memory. But only half.

BATGIRLS #16

  • Heads up, Batgirls fans!

BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES #9

BATMAN & THE JOKER: THE DEADLY DUO — ENEMY OF MY ENEMY EDITION

  • Collects Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1-3

BATMAN INCORPORATED #6

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE #3 (OF 7)

BRUCE WAYNE: NOT SUPER TP

  • Middle school GN

DANGER STREET #4 (OF 12)

  • Great cover!

DEATHSTROKE INC. VOL 2: YEAR ONE HC

JSA BY GEOFF JOHNS BOOK 5 TP

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #3 (OF 12)

LAZARUS PLANET: REVENGE OF THE GODS #1 (OF 4)

Story: G. Willow Wilson, Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad | Art: Cian Tormey, Alitha Martinez | Cover: Guillem March | $4.99

After the events of Lazarus Planet, the gods of the Multiverse have decided to take down the heroes they once called champions and the world they've sworn to protect. For years the gods sat idle atop their mountains as their legends faded into obscurity along with their bodies. Now is their time to remind the selfish mortals of their existence and take back the world with something more powerful than belief ... fear. Only the brave heroes Wonder Woman and Shazam stand in their way, but will their combined powers be enough?

Wait, this isn't over yet? Lazarus Planet Omega was, like, two miniseries ago!

LOONEY TUNES #271

MULTIVERSITY: HARLEY SCREWS UP THE DCU #1 (OF 6)

Story: Frank Tieri | Art: Logan Faerber | Cover: Amanda Conner | $4.99

Harley's back in Coney for a long-overdue reunion with old friends, old haunts, and ... an old time machine? You heard right! A mysterious benefactor has left Harley a time machine, and after giving it about a half second of thought, she decides to take it for a joyride. What could go wrong, right? Funny you should ask. Turns out a quick trip through time can screw up a few things ... namely, the entire DC Universe!

SUPERMAN: LOST #1 (OF 10)

Story: Christopher Priest | Art: Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz | $4.99

SUPERMAN'S ODYSSEY OF SOLITUDE! After Superman is called away on a routine Justice League mission, Lois Lane awakens to find a complete stranger standing in her living room. The Man of Steel, home much sooner than expected, reveals he has, in fact, been lost in space for 20 years. Nothing and no one seem familiar to him anymore, and the timeless bond between them has been severed ... or has it? Can love conquer all? Superman's 85th anniversary celebration continues with this all new blockbuster 10-issue series from the creators of the Eisner-nominated Deathstroke series!

  • I mentioned once before that I've always found it implausible that Superman and Co. could always find their way home no matter where they were in space. The given reasons never convinced me. Maybe Christopher Priest had some similar questions, and is going to explore them here. My inner 12-year-old can only hope!

WILDCATS #5

 

IDW PUBLISHING

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: RAVENLOFT ORPHAN OF AGONY ISLE TP

GLORK PATROL VOL 3: GLORK PATROL AND MAGIC ROBOT HC

KILL LOCK: ARTISAN WRAITH TP

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG IDW COLLECTION VOL 3 HC

STAR TREK #5

STAR TREK: DEFIANT #1

IDW proudly launches Star Trek: Defiant, an ongoing series that sees fan-favorite Worf assembling a hand-picked crew to face a galaxy-spanning threat.

Described as The Dirty Dozen meets Star Trek, the dark and edgy Defiant series is helmed by two creators with significant comic book clout: Chris Cantwell, writer of such blockbuster projects as Iron Man, Namor and Star Wars: Obi-Wan; and Ángel Unzueta, artist on Iron Man, Star Wars: Poe Dameron and The Flash.

In Defiant, someone is killing the gods…but while Benjamin Sisko and the U.S.S. Theseus have been facing the threats in the higher cosmos, very real casualties are growing on lower ground. The true enemy is a man, not a god, and Worf of House Martok has put together his own crew aboard the U.S.S. Defiant in the hopes of defeating the dangerous messiah behind a genocidal cult. Pulling from all eras of Star Trek canon to create something wholly unique and unexpected, Star Trek: Defiant unites some of the strongest personalities in the franchise — including Spock, B’Elanna, Lore and more — on a mission with very little guarantee of success!

“Ever since I made my dad take me to my first Star Trek convention when I was 10, I have been waiting for this moment,” says Cantwell. “When Heather Antos, Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly reached out to me about writing the first book to spin out of their flagship Star Trek title, I wanted the quality to match my massive wells of enthusiasm; I knew this book needed to be undeniably Star Trek first and foremost, but also something new and complex that would have readers leaning forward as they engaged with a more unexpected journey to the stars. Whereas the new Star Trek book carries forward the grand tradition of Starfleet’s saga of discovery and exploration, Defiant immediately sets out to break the rules of the Federation and go on a fugitive run from Starfleet with a cast of Trek’s best iconoclastic heroes and ne’er-do-wells, each of them straddling worlds in their identities and calibrations in their moral compasses as they embark on a high-stakes galactic manhunt … the Prime Directive be damned.”

“To be part of this amazing new Star Trek universe is a big challenge, and I love big challenges,” says Unzueta. “It will be very exciting to show how far our crew can go to save the universe, how many rules they can break just to make things right, how ‘badass’ these guys can be when compared to the more clean-cut crew of the Theseus from the ongoing series. Also, I’m working with a great writer, friend, and partner from our Iron Man days, and with my favorite editor, who is pushing me to the stars once again. I am so excited and ready to make this book a new experience for the Trek audience!”

“Just when you thought Star Trek comics couldn’t get any bigger, we’re continuing to boldly explore new frontiers,” says Senior Editor Heather Antos. “Between the flagship title and Defiant, it’s safe to say that we have comics’ biggest Trek fans — Lanzing, Kelly, Cantwell, Rosanas and Unzueta themselves — crafting what is going to be Star Trek’s biggest and boldest interconnected comics story ever. And this is only just the beginning!”

Star Trek: Defiant #1 will include covers by series artist Ángel Unzueta, Malachi Ward, Declan Shalvey, David Aja and Daniel Warren Johnson.

  • When Star Trek: The Next Generation was on, I used to make fun of the fact that big, tough Worf was always the first guy taken out in combat. I learned later that this was not an accident, and had a name: "Worf Syndrome." 
  • Worf Syndrome is when the writer wants to show how scary the new bad guy is, by easily taking out the biggest gun the good guys have. In the case of ST:TNG, the biggest gun was Worf. Ergo, he would be slapped down straightaway every time they faced a new threat, or the bridge got invaded. It got to be a joke among the cast and crew, and hence, got assigned a name. Evidently, Michael Dorn used to complain about it.
  • Well, here Worf gets his own series, and they can't take the series star out of every issue with Worf Syndrome! Maybe our favorite Klingon will finally get to show off his moves.

STAR TREK RESURGENCE #5

TMNT ARMAGEDDON GAME #6

TMNT LAST RONIN LOST YEARS #2

IMAGE COMICS

ALL AGAINST ALL #4 (OF 5)

ART BRUT #4 (OF 4)

BLACK CLOAK #3

FORGED #1 

Multiple Eisner, Harvey, and GLAAD Award winning writer Greg Rucka (The Old Guard, Stumptown) teams with writer Eric Trautmann (The Old Guard: Tales Through Time) and bestselling artist Mike Henderson (Nailbiter) to embark on an over-the-top pulp adventure in the upcoming series, Forged. Filled to the brim with violence and Conan-inspired science fiction, this new story will kick off in March 2023 from Image Comics. 

“Eric Trautmann and I have been chasing this story for years now, driven by the desire to tell an over-the-top story space opera/pulp mash-up," said Rucka in an exclusive on the announcement at Popverse. "We had it all in our heads, but it wasn’t until Mike came aboard and added his secret sauce that we could pin it down and make it finally happen. His storytelling is glorious, and with Nolan’s inspired colors and Ariana’s deft touch with the lettering, we finally have a package we’re excited to share. This is meant to be fun, front to back, that’s been our goal since we started.”

Trautmann added: "We started batting ideas around for Forged what feels like a thousand years ago, so it's extremely gratifying to see it now. Mike's special alchemy has led to what we think is a hell of a fun project, full of pedal-to-the-floor action, exotic locations, and extremely explodey violence…fun for the whole family."

Set in the 11th Millennium of the rule of the Eternal Empress, Forged follows a squad of planet-smashing super-soldiers who find their routine mission to be anything but. These are the Forged. They take no prisoners. 

"There are some ideas you put everything else on hold for and when I heard what Greg and Eric had had brewing for so long in Forged, I knew it was one of them," said Henderson. "When I knew Nolan and Ariana had also come aboard to help make it what it's become, I knew it for sure. It's been so much fun to build this universe in the orbit of their idea that I hope I pass that fun on to everyone who reads it. If nothing else, I hope they hear heavy metal riffs shredding over every page."

GUNSLINGER SPAWN #18

HEXWARE #4 (OF 6)

I HATE FAIRYLAND #5

IMAGE 30TH ANNIVERSARY ANTHOLOGY #11

KAYA #6

LAST BARBARIANS #2

LASTMAN BOOK TWO TP

Today Skybound revealed an extended new look at the second thrilling installment of the Lastman series from the powerhouse team of Balak, Michaël Sanlaville and Bastien Vivès. Lastman Book Two, containing volumes 3 + 4 of the original French series, arrives in stores in March 2023. 

Skybound’s editions of Lastman collect the action-packed series as a complete set in English for the first time, featuring full color pages to open each volume that will be followed by striking black and white pages. Each of the six books features all-new remastered translations and backmatter including additional series art.

“Picking up right where the last book left off, Lastman Book Two kickstarts the adventure by taking us into entirely unknown territory!” said Amanda LaFranco, Editor at Skybound. “Introducing all-new characters and all-new places, you really begin to get a sense of Lastman's unique fantasy world in Book Two, and just how special this series really is. It is imagination turned up to eleven! Whatever you thought you were expecting, you’re not prepared for where things go from here.” 

Against all odds, Adrian Velba has won the Valley of Kings tournament ... but has been betrayed by his partner, Richard Aldana! Now the hunt is on, as Adrian and his mother Marianne must travel through the Rift into unknown lands to find Richard ... and will soon discover that nothing is as they expected.

Skybound’s complete series remastering of the critically acclaimed fight comic began with the now-available Lastman Book One, which contains volumes 1 + 2 of the original French series and a new foreword by Robert Kirkman. The recently announced Lastman Book Three, collecting volumes 5 + 6 of the original French series, will follow the Book Two release in July 2023, and Lastman Book Four, collecting volumes 7 + 8 of the original French series, will be available in November 2023. 

  • If you don't know what this is, it's a French series that evidently impressed the heck out of Robert Kirkman. Since Kirkman has his own publishing gig, he's publishing it in the U.S. It doesn't look like my kind of thing, but Kirkman literally gushes about it. This is Book Two of Three.

LITTLE MONSTERS #11

MONARCH #2

NEMESIS RELOADED #3 (OF 5)

NO/ONE #1

Superstar writers Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black, Nightwing), Brian Buccellato (Chicken Devil, Detective Comics), and rising star artist Geraldo Borges (Nightwing) bring fans a “true crime”-style superhero drama in the upcoming, NO/ONE. This all-new 10-issue comic book maxiseries will join Radiant Black, Rogue Sun, Radiant Red, The Dead Lucky, Radiant Pink, Inferno Girl Red and C.O.W.L. in the expanding shared Massive-Verse from Image Comics in March 2023.

This new comic features some unique twists — its story will be expanded upon with an original monthly companion podcast titled, WHO IS NO/ONE, which will star Rachael Leigh Cook (She's All That) and Patton Oswalt (Minor Threats, Marvel's M.O.D.O.K.) as Pittsburgh Ledger reporters Julia Paige and Teddy Barstow. Higgins' "Black Market Narrative" will produce the audio series with Higgins in the director’s chair, esteemed sound supervisor Matthew E. Taylor (Star Trek: Discovery, Mythic Quest, Barry) to supervise, C.O.W.L. co-creator and Black Market Narrative editor, Alec Siegel, to sound edit, Emmy-award winning composer Kristopher Carter (Batman Beyond, Spectacular Spider-Man) to score the audio series, and there will be mixing in Dolby Atmos for spatial audio on supported platforms. NO/ONE colorist and esteemed poster artist Mark Englert will create exclusive episode posters each month, which will also be released as a line of "podcast variant" covers.

The world of NO/ONE will also feature an interactive, alternate reality game (ARG) narrative across in-universe social media accounts, websites, and other audio/visual elements (fans should be sure to follow: @000no_one, @TheDropPL, and subscribe to: http://the-drop.info, http://edgenews.info).

The Richard Roe murders shocked the city of Pittsburgh. In the months since, the killings have sparked a dangerous political movement, copycat killers, and a masked vigilante who’s still determined to hold the powerful accountable. Not a symbol. Not a hero. They could be anyone. They’re NO/ONE.

“In 2011, I quit my job as a sound editor to write Batman, Nightwing and Deathstroke for DC Comics. Now, 12 years later, I could not be more excited to return to old roots for my next series in the Massive-Verse,” said Higgins in an exclusive on the announcement at io9. “Brian, Geraldo and I — along with a host of wonderful collaborators — will be exploring the issues of our times across the mediums of our times, the news, political, and entertainment cycles that dominate so much of our lives. This is our ultra-contemporary take on an urban vigilante. Similar to Radiant Black, we’re excited to push the boundaries on what a modern superhero experience can be."

Buccellato added: “I’m excited for people to get a chance to dive into our cross-media comic experience because NO/ONE is not just a grounded superhero crime story. I've worked in comics for close to 30 years and I can safely say that this series is unlike anything I've been a part of before. The world building, allegory and multimedia experience bring a new level of immersion to not only superheroes but the very ideas of accountability and vigilantism within modern society."

"I've been very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with my childhood heroes, characters like Batman and Wolverine, for almost 20 years," said Borges. "But now, I have a chance to build something from scratch and tell a modern, original story with Kyle and Brian. NO/ONE is both a true crime story, with a great mystery, as well as something much more. I´m pushing my art in a direction I've never done before in comics — I have no words to describe how excited I am for people to see what we've built."

  • Looks interesting.

NOCTERRA #12

REVOLVERS VOL 1 TP

SEVEN SONS TP

TIME BEFORE TIME #21

WALKING DEAD DLX #59

 

MARVEL COMICS

ALIENS EPIC COLLECTION ORIGINAL YEARS VOL 1 TP

ALIENS ORIGINAL YEARS OMNIBUS VOL 4 HC

AVENGERS FOREVER #15

Story: Jason Aaron | Art/Cover: Aaron Kuder

In AVENGERS FOREVER #15, the greatest battle in the history of the Multiverse continues to defy expectations as Avengers from throughout time and space, including countless different versions of Captain America and Iron Man and the God of Thunder, unite on the battlefield. Yet somehow, it all comes down to one Starbrand and one Ghost Rider, who unfortunately are the only Avengers whose powers don’t seem to be working.

AVENGERS WAR ACROSS TIME #3

BISHOP WAR COLLEGE #2

CAPTAIN AMERICA SYMBOL OF TRUTH #11

CAPTAIN MARVEL #47

DEADPOOL BY KELLY THOMPSON TP

GOLD GOBLIN #5 (OF 5)

HELLCAT #1 (OF 5)

Story: Christopher Cantwell | Art: Alex Lins | Cover: Pere Pérez

Christopher Cantwell’s recently acclaimed run of Iron Man set the character of Hellcat on an exciting new path and now, the Eisner-nominated writer will continue his transformative take on Patsy Walker in an all-new solo series! Kicking off in March, HELLCAT will be a five-issue saga written by Cantwell and drawn by Alex Lins, a rising star known for his work on New Mutants and Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood. The events of Iron Man saw Patsy confront the darkest moments of her past and now she’s ready to step up as one of Marvel’s A-List super heroes! Hellcat’s upcoming saga will embrace the character’s rich and unique comic book history including her fascinating ties to the supernatural and her infamous relationship with Daimon Hellstrom. Framed for murder, Hellcat finds herself investigating an action-packed mystery where she’ll cross paths with the fan-favorite character Sleepwalker!

Patsy is back on the West Coast, living in a house haunted by the ghost of her mother! When someone close to Patsy’s inner circle is murdered, Hellcat becomes the prime suspect! Now Patsy must prove her innocence and evade both the police and the supernatural threat of the Sleepwalkers. To add to the perils she faces, her demonic ex Daimon Hellstrom shows up and that’s never a good thing. 

“It’s been so rewarding to go even deeper with Hellcat in this new miniseries, and work so closely with Alex Lins on this book,” Cantwell said. “I feel like Patsy was a great voice of conscience and groundedness in Iron Man, but we also hinted at some internal struggles and lingering darkness within her, which we explored even more in our Iron Man/Hellcat Annual issue this summer. But now, I think we’re really harnessing the full power of her character in her own story, and finally unifying all these disparate pieces of her Marvel history — from her since-retconned cheery teenage years, to her time in the romance genre, to her ground-level heroing and vigilante days, to her more supernatural exploits — into one cohesive and definitive HELLCAT tale. This book is first and foremost a noir murder mystery — it’s got grit and doesn’t pull punches — and this is Patsy looking into the darkness she’s struggled with throughout her entire life in order to see how much of it still remains in her soul."

“The first project I did with Chris was Moon Knight: Black, White and Blood and I quickly realized that he was that amazing kid in the playground that not only has the best ideas, but also the ones that invite everyone in to play with his toys,” Lins added. “He writes in such a visual way that opens things up for artists to contribute and feel part of the process. His stories are well paced, clever, and BIG on imagery so as an artist, you can’t ask for much more! From deeply broken character scenes to Hellcat fighting up some unsung super villains, this series has it all. I sense I might get to draw that CREEPY little bunny from Iron Man/Hellcat Annual so that would be a highlight in my career.”

  • I've always wondered if they transformed Hellcat into a supernatural-aligned character simply because she had the word "hell" in her name. It always seemed an odd story direction to me for the bubbly Patsy Walker.
  • Here's a preview.

HULK #13

IMMORAL X-MEN #2 (OF 3)

Story: Kieron Gillen | Art: Andrea Di Vito : Cover: Leinil Francis Yu

IMMORAL X-MEN #2 will put the “Die” in Diamond Age! Hail the Pax Krakoa! Or perish! But to this hell age is born a hero. Say hello (again) to Rasputin IV...but what can one good chimera do in a universe of sin? The first century of Sinister’s plan has come to an end … and whether it’s better or worse may depend on the symbol on your forehead.

MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #4

MMW UNCANNY X-MEN VOL 15 HC

MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #4 (OF 5)

RED GOBLIN #2

SECRET INVASION #5 (OF 5)

STAR WARS: LEGENDS EPIC COLLECTION OLD REPUBLIC VOL 5 TP

STAR WARS: LEGENDS THE REBELLION OMNIBUS VOL 1 HC

STAR WARS: YODA #5

VARIANTS TP

WOLVERINE #31

THE X-CELLENT #1 (OF 5)

Story: Peter Milligan | Art/Cover: Michael Allred & Laura Allred

This last year saw the long-awaited return of Peter Milligan, Michael Allred, and Laura Allred’s X-STATIX saga in X-CELLENT, and Marvel Comics is thrilled to announce that there’s more to come this March! The trio of comic superstars will reunite for even more mutant celebrity exploits in the pages of a five-issue sequel series, THE X-CELLENT. The series will continue the offbeat, thrilling adventures of X-STATIX and further explore their newly-introduced supervillain counterparts known as the X-CELLENT.

A breakout hit of the 2000s, X-STATIX stunned fans with its dark wit and unique take on Marvel superheroics. More timely and relevant than ever, fans can once again visit this fascinating and strange corner of the Marvel Universe and all its fan-favorite characters including U-Go Girl, Zeitgeist, Doop and more!

Your favorite celebrity supervillains are back! Zeitgeist is still on a mission to achieve social media godhood, no matter who he has to kill! But the spotlight won’t be big enough when the next generation of the X-Statix drop in!

“There are few finer feelings in comics than teaming up again with Mike Allred and creating THE X-CELLENT, the latest chapter of the strange mutant journey that began with X-STATIX!” Milligan said.

"Playing with Peter Milligan and our beloved Marvel Mutant creations is always pure comic book bliss!” Allred added. “And this next arc of THE X-CELLENT really kicks everything up to ELEVEN!"

  • I really enjoyed the original series, but that was a satire. It's probably supposed to still be a satire, but now it feels like just another superhero book, only with shallow and unlikable characters. I guess if you stretch a satire out long enough, it becomes what it's making fun of.
  • Here's a preview.

X-MEN RED BY AL EWING VOL 2 TP

 

MORE COMICS

AGENT OF WORLDE #4 (OF 4)

A LA BRAVA LATINA SUPERHERO TEAM VOL 1 TP

ALIEN: ENEMY OF MY ENEMY HC (NOVEL)

ANCIENT ENEMIES: THE DJINNI #1

Story: Kevin VanHook, Dan DiDio | Art: Jose Luis, Jonas Trindade | Cover: Danilo Beyruth, Joe Prado | Frank Miller Presents | $3.99

Spinning out from the pages of ANCIENT ENEMIES, we spotlight THE DJINNI, a mysterious half-human / half-alien creature born from the wreckage of a crashed spaceship. This book reveals his secret origin as he struggles with his alien birthright and his mission to kill an opponent he never met. Written by Kevin Van Hook (co-creator of Bloodshot) and art by Jose Luis (Superman/Batman & Suicide Squad).

  • Has anybody tried any of these Frank Miller books? Curious to hear an impression.

ANIMAL CROSSING NEW HORIZONS VOL 4 GN

BATPIG VOL 3: GO PIG OR GO HOME GN

BEA WOLF GN

BEHOLD BEHEMOTH #4

BEOWULF #1 (OF 6)

  • From some company named Comicsburgh, which has one other title (The Edge). Neither look ready for prime time to me, but YMMV.

BETTY & VERONICA JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #312

Script: Ian Flynn  | Art: Pat and Tim Kennedy, Steven Butler | Inks: Bob Smith, Jim Amash | Colors: Glenn Whitmore | Letters: Jack Morelli | Cover: Dan Parent, Rosario “Tito” Peña  | 192 pages | $9.99 U.S.

TWO BRAND NEW STORIES! First, in “Real Horse Power,” Betty and Veronica are on Lodge’s ranch. The newly hired manager, Nevada Jones, is a bit much — does Mr. Jones really need to wear the mask? But when the horses spook and stampede, he’s immediately chasing them down. Betty joins the chase and helps to lasso the wild stallions!

Then, in “The Foxy New Kid,” Kevin asks Veronica to help him out with an important request. The new kid — Shinji — is really cool but also mysterious. He can’t get a read on him. But when the two of them decide to just confront him, he’s nowhere to be found. Instead, they get ambushed by Ghost Fox. Why are they after Shinji? Who hired them? What’s their scheme?

  • I kinda like how Archie is reviving some of its more obscure MLJ-era characters — not with a Huge All-New Line of new books, but sprinkling stories in the regular Archie books. That's not only closer to their origins (most of them only appeared in anthologies) but it doesn't set up a Huge All-New Line collapse.

BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR CHRONICLES 50TH ANNIV #2

BILLIONAIRE ISLAND: CULT OF DOGS #5 (OF 6)

Story: Mark Russell | Art/Cover: Steve Pugh | $4.99

The search for the World’s Richest Dog continues in the series that’s “crammed with well observed and well executed satire” (Comicon.com). Writer Mark Russell (Second Coming) and artist Steve Pugh (The Flintstones) barrel toward a world-shaking conclusion!

  • I don't know why Ahoy dropped this preview in the penultimate issue of a miniseries. But I know there are Ahoy fans on the board, so here ya go!

BROOKLYN’S LAST SECRET TP

BRZRKR (BERZERKER) #12 (OF 12)

  • With this series over, how will I  know how to pronounce Brzrkr without Diamond's phonetic parenthetical? Sob!

BUNGO STRAY DOGS WAN VOL 4 GN

BY THE HORNS: DARK EARTH #7

CALL OF THE NIGHT VOL 11 GN

CATEGORY ZERO CONFLICT #4 (OF 5)

CAULDRON OF HORROR #1

Story: Mark G. Heike | Art: Mark G. Heike, Dave Matsuoka | Cover: Mark & Stephanie Heike | AC Comics | $5.95

All original weird horror anthology from AC featuring a trio of stories: A winged demon pursues a victim across windswept moors in "One Of These Days," a mysterious idol transforms a lady archeologist in "Statue Got Me High" and new fatherhood overwhelms in "Baby Boomer." All three stories are written by Mark Heike; "'Statue" and "'Boomer" are illustrated by him as well. "One of These Days" is penciled By Dave Matsuoka and inked by Heike.

  • I don't remember AC doing any other original books. Is this a first? It's OK by me, because I'm always glad to see another horror anthology.
  • That cover looks Adam Hughes-y to me, but it's not a direct swipe that I know of. 

CENTER SEAT: 55 YEARS OF TREK — THE UNAUTHORIZED HISTORY OF STAR TREK

CHEAP TRICKS #4 (OF 8)

COLIN KAEPERNICK: CHANGE THE GAME

  • Is this guy still playing football? He sure paid a huge price for daring to have an opinion.

COSMIC ADVENTURES OF ASTRID & STELLA: STAR STRUCK GN

CRYPTID CLUB VOL 2: NESSIE SITUATION GN

DAN PARSONS' JADE VAMPYRE #1

Story/Art: Dan Parson | American Mythology | Mature | $3.99

Monster Master Dan Parsons delivers his stark grey tone creature feature — Jade Vampyre — in a single glorious issue!  The story originally serialized in American Mythology Monsters is told the way it was meant to be read, in a single horrifying sitting.  Dr. Jade Jones is a dedicated scientist sworn to find a cure for a rare blood disease that has afflicted her family for generations. When her own son develops a severe case of the disease, Jade does the unthinkable and injects herself with a highly dangerous experimental vaccine. Jade's motives are noble, but she is killed by the experimental vaccine. Her lifeless form is entombed in her family crypt on the outskirts of New Orleans, only to arise a week later as a full-fledged vampire, complete with all of the unique characteristic qualities of that dread creature of the night! This issue comes with three covers — Main Cover Dan Parsons, Vamp Variant by Buz Hasson & Ken Haeser, & a 350 copy limited edition Black & White collector's cover also by Parsons.

  • I don't mind a new vampire mythology, but it leans a little too heavily on Morbius' origin for my taste.

DEAR BODY TP

DINOSAUR SANCTUARY VOL 2 GN

DRAGONS BETROTHED VOL 1 GN

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: LEGEND OF DRIZZT VISUAL DICTIONARY

  • I assume this exists because of the movie.

EMO GIRL #4

ETERNUS #3

EVITA: THE LIFE AND WORK OF EVA PERÓN GN

Hector Germán Oesterheld, Alberto Breccia, Enrique Breccia | Fantagraphics | 72 pages | $19.99

In a sequel to their spellbinding, experimental graphic biography of Che Guevara, Hector Germán Oesterheld and the Breccias chronicle the eventful life of Eva Perón.

In 1952, the death of Evita, "The Spiritual Leader of the Nation," at the age of 33, devastated the Argentine people — children, the poor and women — that she had tirelessly advocated for as the First Lady. She has since become an international icon, inspiring many works such as Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's 1976 Broadway musical, Evita.

Published in 1970, writer Hector Germán Oesterheld and the father-and-son illustration team of Alberto and Enrique Breccia intended Evita: The Life and Work of Eva Perón to be the follow-up to the successful and controversial 1969 graphic biography Life of Che. But the script was taken away from him and depoliticized by another writer. In 2002, a restored, revised and updated version of Evita, featuring Oesterheld's original script, which takes a uniquely symbolic approach to her life and career, was finally published in Argentina. Here, it is in English for the first time.

Evita: The Life and Work of Eva Perón is part of the The Alberto Breccia Library series.

FAMILY TIME #4

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S COLLECTION VOL 2: FAZBEAR FRIGHTS GN

FLAVOR GIRLS HC

  • Actually for kids, despite the porny-sounding name.

FLY ME TO THE MOON VOL 16 GN

FOREVER MAPS GN NEW PTG

FRANK FRAZETTA DEATH DEALER #10

  • This painting appears to be named "Neanderthal."

FRANK MILLER’S PANDORA #3

GIRL WITH SANPAKU EYES VOL 4 GN

GOLDEN SPARKLE: GREAT CLERIC VOL 2 GN

GUARDIANS OF HORSA VOL 2: NAYSAYERS GN

HARROWER #2

HELCK VOL 2 GN

HIDDEN SYSTEMS GN

HOOPS GN

HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #13

HOUSE ON FIRE TP

Story/Art: Matt Battaglia | Living the Line | $16.00

Is she sick, or is it the world itself? House on Fire, the debut graphic novel by writer/artist Matt Battaglia, teases out the difference in a personal-political cruise through a fallen world, where fear is rational and obedience your only refuge. Battaglia depicts the near-future landscape of House on Fire with wild two-color brushwork reminiscent of the great Paul Pope, and a minimalist writing style that evokes and questions rather than lectures.

I GET THE FEELING THAT NOBUKUNI LIKES ME VOL 2 GN

ILLUSION WITCH VOL 1 TP

JOHN CARPENTER’S TALES OF SCI-FI: INTERFERENCE PATTERN TP

JUNCTION JONES AND THE CORDUROY CONSPIRACY #1

Script & Lettering: TC Pescatore | Art: locogonzales (Luciano Cruzado) | Covers: Patrick Sparrow, Ewan McLaughlin

Junction Jones is a bio-engineered laborer manufactured with the sole purpose of being worked to death in the seedy underbelly of Junction City, the opulent vacation nexus between Time, Space and Reality. Unfortunately, he was created with one fatal flaw: Sentience. To avoid being recycled or executed for the charge of lethargy, Jones scrapes out a living as a Private Investigator with his partner Mister Niblets, a 5th dimensional entity stuck in the wee body of a junkyard cat. Together, they illegally locate and salvage illicit organic matter that fall through gaps of reality and end up rotting in slummy alley ways. That is, until they are given an anonymous tip leading them to the decaying remains of a rare (?!) Earth hobo too hot to handle. To make matters worse, an army of undercover Junction Agents are there too — to cover up the dead body. Set up, framed and on the run, they must solve the mystery before the law finds them first. Their only clues? A soiled business card and a telegram from Earth, circa 1938. Our part-time private investigator and his fuzzy friend will be forced to survive the worst the multi-dimensional slums of Junction City have to throw at them, if they are to unravel the train-hopping mystery and live to tell the tale.

Creator Quotes:

TC Pescatore: "JUNCTION JONES AND THE CORDUROY CONSPIRACY began life as a surrealist pulp novella, a small exercise in understanding the great mythological history of an unknowable and lost America. Through the creation of tall tales and legends detailing the secret history of hobos I had hoped to grasp at and maybe find a piece of the wonder that comes from hearing the ghostly bellow of a distant freight train at night. After meeting Luciano all that changed. His vision, talent and intuitive understanding of the world of Junction propelled the project into new territories. Together we built a meta-textual graphic experience, an absurdist hard Sci-fi noir that not only spans Hobo and labor history in 20th century America but in a way Time, Space and all of Reality itself. Pages filled not only with brilliant comic artwork but retro advertisements, journals, records, zines, pamphlets, blog posts, and more, all in service of creating a fully immersive and mysterious world to enjoy. I'm incredibly grateful that SCOUT COMICS put their trust in our strange little project and I just know we found the perfect home for the misadventures of JUNCTION JONES."

Locogonzales (Luciano Cruzado): "I had a blast drawing this story! I mean, Tom is a true madman! And then I had another blast knowing we were going to be par of the Scout comic’s INSANE catalog. So, what else can one ask?  Oh yeah, read it!"

Reviews

“If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if Mickey Spillane and H.P. Lovecraft got together with Phillip K Dick and ingested copious amounts of illicit substances, stayed up for a few weeks and came up with a hard-boiled, who-done-it murder mystery science fiction story, well, I’ve got good news for you!  Junction Jones and The Corduroy Conspiracy has the answer you’ve been looking for!  Part horror, part science fiction, part noir — think Blade Runner meets LA Confidential meets Ghost in The Shell, with heavy doses of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York — drawing from innumerable things that have come before, and yet unlike quite anything you’ve ever read before, Junction Jones successfully does what so few other books can; it transports you to another world. A world, while not entirely unlike our own, is a twisted reflection fraught with untold dangers and corruption that goes to the very top. Join Jones, and his talking cat Nibs, as they attempt to unravel the Corduroy Conspiracy and don’t miss out on what’s sure to become an instant fan favorite with the new series coming from Scout Comics!” — Uncle Jerk Roman Rathert, JerkComic on Youtube

"Weird and super gross!" — Chris Burnham, Nameless, Batman Inc., CREEPSHOW, Die! Die! Die!

  • Sounds like a blend of a lot of things I like.

KAGEKI SHOJO VOL 8 GN

KATIE BLACK DRAGON #1

KILLCHELLA #4 (OF 4)

KIRURU KILL ME VOL 4 GN

KITARO: JAPAN’S CLASSIC MANGA COLLECTION GN

  • I become familiar with this character when, oddly, it narrated  Shigeru Mizuki's Showa series. That didn't inspire me to seek these original stories out, but they are sorta famous.

LINK AND HUD VOL 1: HEROES BY A HAIR GN

LITTLE RED RONIN #1 RONIN EDITION

MAO VOL 10 GN

MASHLE MAGIC & MUSCLES VOL 11 GN

METABARON BOOK 4: BASTARD & PROTOGUARDIANESS HC

MS DAVIS: A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY HC

Sybille Titeux De La Croix, Amazing Ameziane | Translator: Jenna Allen | Fantagraphics | 188 pages | $49.99

In this follow-up to their New York Times bestselling graphic biography of Muhammad Ali, the acclaimed French writer and artist duo tell the story of Black activist, professor, and prison abolitionist Angela Davis.

In Ms Davis, the acclaimed French cartooning duo tell a story of this seminal, revolutionary, 1970s icon through an accessible graphic novel narrative.

Born in 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama, Angela Davis' family fought in the civil rights movement against racial segregation enforced by the Ku Klux Klan. In 1968, she joined the Black Communist Party and traveled to Cuba, a journey which left its mark on her forever. In 1971, the FBI put Davis on their 10 Most Wanted List. They accused her of orchestrating a politically motivated Marin County courtroom gunfight because she owned the guns. She went to prison despite her protestations of innocence. The Black People in Defense of Angela Davis formed, and soon the entire world would know her story and demand her freedom. In 1972, she was found not guilty by an all-white jury. Since then, she has dedicated her life to the fight for justice.

The graphic biography also includes illustrated educational supplementary material that adds historical context about the various political organizations and programs referred to in the book, such as COINTELPRO, an illegal FBI program dedicated to destroying U.S. political groups it deemed "subversive."

"A highly accessible look into the life of a revolutionary icon." — Booklist

"Angela Davis shines through these brilliantly illustrated pages, which reveal her innocence, the cruelty of society, the maliciousness of the FBI, and the horrors of capitalism." — Valeurs

"A stirring tribute to an icon and the fight against racism." — La Rimbambulle

MY BROTHER’S BLOOD MACHINE #4 (OF 6)

MY HERO ACADEMIA TEAM-UP MISSIONS VOL 3 GN

NOWHERE MAN #1 (OF 10)

OJJA WOJJA GNPANDORA PERFECT TP

PARKER GIRLS VOL 1: DEAD QUIET TP

  • Heads up, Terry Moore fans!

PEEPEE POOPOO #69 ONE-SHOT

  • Oh, come on. There should have been a Peepee No. 1, and a Poopoo No. 2. If you're going to do puerile toilet humor, do it right!

POKEMON TRAINERS MINI EXPLORATION GUIDE TO JOHTO

POPULARMMOS PRESENTS INTO OVERWORLD GN

QUESTED #4

RAGNA CRIMSON VOL 8

ROCK & ROLL HELL #1 (OF 1)

Story: Sam Romesburg, Ben Roberts | Art/Cover: Gregorio Di Angilla | Sumerian Comics | $19.99

Comes shrink wrapped with a cassette tape soundtrack including songs created by members of the comic creative team and other talented musicians. Cassette tape includes all of the bells and whistles (J-Card, pad print, Black cassette, etc...) Strictly limited to 500 units.

  • What is this cassette thing you speak of?

SCORN: ART OF THE GAME HC

SHERLOCK: SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA PART TWO TP

Story: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat | Art/Cover: Jay | Titan Manga | B&W | $12.99

Adapting the episodes of the smash-hit TV series starring worldwide superstars Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit).

Fresh from confronting Moriarty in the end of The Great Game, Sherlock Holmesand John Watson are called to save the royal family from blackmail at the hands of Irene Adler, a dominatrix known as "The Woman". Adler pulls Sherlock into a complex web of mysteries involving the CIA and the MoD, with secrets that could threaten international security and topple the monarchy.

  • I'm not really attracted to the idea of manga Sherlock Holmes, but I'm glad it exists.
  • Here's a preview.

SHUDDER #10

SQUISHED GN

STAR WARS: INSIDER #217

STRAY SHEEP #2 (OF 5)

SUGAR AND OTHER STORIES ONE-SHOT

Story/Art: Joy San | Silver Sprocket

A devoted yet amoral creature ensures a girl's blood sugar stays up. A gory ritual creates a charming woman's perfect smile. A neglected and overworked wife is slowly subsumed by violent fantasies. In this collection of short horror comics, cartoonist Joy San masterfully explores the ways in which we contort and control ourselves, balancing the bloody and brutal with unexpected levity.

  • What th--!?

TROJAN #3 (OF 4)

VAN HELSING: ANNUAL: SINS OF THE FATHER

VERY BRITISH AFFAIR: BEST CLASSIC ROMANCE COMICS HC

Story/Art: Various | Cover: Angel Badia Camps | Rebellion / 2000AD | $55.00

Rebellion is proud to present the finest romance comics in British history in one spectacular volume! Curated by Eisner-nominated historian and artist David Roach, A Very British Affair charts the stratospheric rise of romance comics in postwar Britain with a selection of the greatest romance comics ever printed in the UK. Featuring an eclectic mix of artists from Spain, Italy, and the UK, this collection unearths the sensual art and emotional writing which delighted generations of comics reader. Featuring over 50 comics stories, many of which have never been reprinted before.

  • Honestly, this looks so awful I'm tempted to get it. 
  • I'm not picking on the Brits — U.S. romance comics were pretty awful, too, especially as they tried to get "hip" in the 1960s and '70s. Some are so bad they're good, which is why I'm tempted.

WINTER EMBER #0

WORLD OF ANDONG AGIMAT GN

MYSTERY OF TALISMAN YAKUZA LOVER VOL 8 GN

VAMPIRE SLAYER (BUFFY) #12

YORHA PEARL HARBOR DESCENT RECORD NIER AUTOMATA VOL 2 GN

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  • Aw, come on! Batgirls and Justice Society of America are out this week!

    I liked the Kitaro stuff, but then, I like Miyuki's stuff, generally.

    What I've seen of the Sherlock manga was OK.

    Jeff of Earth-J said:

    Another lackluster week.

    *SIGH*

  • Yeah, I noted five (possibly six) I'm going to buy; that's above par these days.

    I guess the fact I didn't have anything to add to Cap's remarks led me to that conclusion. 

  • I only read the first issues of the new JSA titles, Bob (New Golden Age, Stargirl and the Lost Children, Justice Society of America), and that was enough to decide me on getting collections when they arrive. Because I love me some Justice Society. If they'd publish the Geoff Johns two series in HC, I'd snatch them up. I've already forgotten how Johns fixed Hawkman's continuity.

    But can you tell me in advance if they're changing the history a lot? They seem to like to do that when they periodically revive the JSA, which annoys me.

    I'm aware they're inserting some characters. (A Red Lantern? Really? And Alan Scott didn't think to mention this to Hal Jordan?) But I hope not a lot of them. The more retro-inserted characters that nobody's heard of, the greater the strain on my suspension of disbelief.  

    Are they changing the order of the characters' debuts from when they arrived in the comics? In The New 52, they decided to make Wonder Woman the first superhero, which apparently went over like lead balloon filled with neutron stars. I assume that Superman and Batman are still excised so that they're not 100 years old, which saddens me, but I've gotten used to the idea. Spectre, Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Sandy the Golden Boy (now Sandman) and Wildcat all have plausible reasons to age slowly, age not at all or be reincarnated. Their 1940s origins and continuity could remain intact.

    Black Canary has already died and been replaced with her daughter (should at least be great grand-daughter by now, which DC could fix with a word balloon), so her 1940s-1950s continuity doesn't need to change. Ditto Sandman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Starman, Crimson Avenger, Red Tornado, Atom and Mr. Terrific, who have all died and been replaced with legacy characters. So leave their histories alone, DC!

    I'm not adverse to any changes at all. I just get irritated by pointless ones for the sake of change, or ones that invalidate something important about the character.

    I actually entertain, in my head canon, the idea that most of the minor 1940s characters at all comics publishers had one or two adventures before being killed, but they got famous long enough for the in-world publishers to start publishing comics about them that went on forever.

    That is to say, in my head the Earth-Two National Comics heard about "Blackhawks" in a newsreel and started publishing Blackhawk comics, not knowing anything about them, but just inventing stuff that was exciting. They made up "Janos Prohaska" and Stanislaus and Chop-Chop and Blackhawk Island and Lady Shark and all that, and continued making up adventures for this made-up group long after the war that likely killed them all, whoever they were.

    And part of this conceit is that whenever a short-lived character disappeared in the comics, he died in the real world (or was already dead), and it became public enough that their strips were canceled. Marvel used this idea once with the Phantom Bullet, who had exactly one adventure in 1940s Mystic Comics, where it was "revealed" decades later in The Marvels Project that he had been killed immediately after his first published adventure. So characters like Red Bee, Neon the Unknown and all the other short-lived characters got dead really fast! And probably deservedly so!

    But I don't expect that idea to ever be adopted, nor do I really want it to!

  • They haven't made any major changes, yt.  I'm thinking we won't see what the changes are until the series are over.

    Captain Comics said:

    I only read the first issues of the new JSA titles, Bob (New Golden Age, Stargirl and the Lost Children, Justice Society of America), and that was enough to decide me on getting collections when they arrive. Because I love me some Justice Society. If they'd publish the Geoff Johns two series in HC, I'd snatch them up. I've already forgotten how Johns fixed Hawkman's continuity.

    But can you tell me in advance if they're changing the history a lot? They seem to like to do that when they periodically revive the JSA, which annoys me.

    I'm aware they're inserting some characters. (A Red Lantern? Really? And Alan Scott didn't think to mention this to Hal Jordan?) But I hope not a lot of them. The more retro-inserted characters that nobody's heard of, the greater the strain on my suspension of disbelief.  

    Are they changing the order of the characters' debuts from when they arrived in the comics? In The New 52, they decided to make Wonder Woman the first superhero, which apparently went over like lead balloon filled with neutron stars. I assume that Superman and Batman are still excised so that they're not 100 years old, which saddens me, but I've gotten used to the idea. Spectre, Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Sandy the Golden Boy (now Sandman) and Wildcat all have plausible reasons to age slowly, age not at all or be reincarnated. Their 1940s origins and continuity could remain intact.

    Black Canary has already died and been replaced with her daughter (should at least be great grand-daughter by now, which DC could fix with a word balloon), so her 1940s-1950s continuity doesn't need to change. Ditto Sandman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Starman, Crimson Avenger, Red Tornado, Atom and Mr. Terrific, who have all died and been replaced with legacy characters. So leave their histories alone, DC!

    I'm not adverse to any changes at all. I just get irritated by pointless ones for the sake of change, or ones that invalidate something important about the character.

    I actually entertain, in my head canon, the idea that most of the minor 1940s characters at all comics publishers had one or two adventures before being killed, but they got famous long enough for the in-world publishers to start publishing comics about them that went on forever.

    That is to say, in my head the Earth-Two National Comics heard about "Blackhawks" in a newsreel and started publishing Blackhawk comics, not knowing anything about them, but just inventing stuff that was exciting. They made up "Janos Prohaska" and Stanislaus and Chop-Chop and Blackhawk Island and Lady Shark and all that, and continued making up adventures for this made-up group long after the war that likely killed them all, whoever they were.

    And part of this conceit is that whenever a short-lived character disappeared in the comics, he died in the real world (or was already dead), and it became public enough that their strips were canceled. Marvel used this idea once with the Phantom Bullet, who had exactly one adventure in 1940s Mystic Comics, where it was "revealed" decades later in The Marvels Project that he had been killed immediately after his first published adventure. So characters like Red Bee, Neon the Unknown and all the other short-lived characters got dead really fast! And probably deservedly so!

    But I don't expect that idea to ever be adopted, nor do I really want it to!



  • The Baron said:

    They haven't made any major changes, yt.  I'm thinking we won't see what the changes are until the series are over.

    Good to hear!

  • THE X-CELLENT #1 (OF 5) - I really enjoyed the original series, but that was a satire. It's probably supposed to still be a satire, but now it feels like just another superhero book, only with shallow and unlikable characters. I guess if you stretch a satire out long enough, it becomes what it's making fun of.

    I'm right there with ya, Cap. I thought that last series was so bad, plus it stopped mid-story to go on hiatus for a year?

    Has anybody tried any of these Frank Miller books? Curious to hear an impression. - I read the first issue of Ancient Enemies a few months back while at my LCS. It was fine, but nothing great either.

    Is this guy still playing football? He sure paid a huge price for daring to have an opinion. - If his team had been good that last year he started he probably would have stayed in the league. He was 3 years removed from his last winning record, and right or not that falls at the feet of the QB. His stats weren't terrible, but not great either.

  • Regarding the Adam Strange Collection: the 1990 series is a sequel of sorts to the Swamp Thing plots. Adam does not come out of it looking too admirable.  The JLA issues are an attempt at making him usable again. 

    The 2004 series is a team-up sort of book featuring various other space-oriented DC characters and leads to that same crossover which had Donna Troy come back to life. It seems to be well-liked enough, but not to end as such; it simply dives into the crossover.

    X-Cellent may have taken a sabbatical due to continuity with Doctor Strange, but I am just guessing.

  • "Continuity"? What's that?

  • I've started to think the important part of continuity was keeping what mattered in-story, instead of taking the explanations out-of-story. Crisis forced a lot of DC continuity out-of-story. Readers couldn't go to the old comics to see what had happened anymore.

  • Interesting.

    I don't know why I labeled this week's offerings "Lackluster." Both my current favorite Marvel titles and my current favorite DC title ship this week. I've deleted that post. 

This reply was deleted.