TOP PUBLISHERS
MARVEL COMICS
KAHHORI: RESHAPER OF WORLDS #1 (One-Shot, $4.99): Perhaps it's a character flaw, but when a character has a bad origin, that baggage makes me dislike the character for years. I'm still not happy with Hellcat, for example, who became a Captain America-level hand-to-hand combatant in Avengers #143 by virtue of being a former cheerleader who put on a costume (Avengers #143). And that was in 1976!
Such is the case with this character, whose origin was the entirety of What If ...? season 2, episode 6. It wasn't an especially riveting story -- I found myself accurately guessing all the story beats leading up to a foregone conclusion. Secondly, all the Mohawks were beautiful, kind-hearted and gentle, whereas all the white people were ugly, cruel and violent. As I keep saying, a political diatribe isn't entertaining, no matter the politics. Finally, the character ends up with ill-defined, plot-driven powers that mainly consist of throwing pretty lights (and, mysteriously, super-speed).
It was a tedious watch. My wife instantly declared it the worst episode of the series.
And, oh look, the What If ...? creators have tagged along for the comic book: writer Ryan Little and Marvel Studios artist Todd Harris. They're obviously intending to make this character as big a deal as possible. (I assume that, unlike work-for-hire artists, they have skin in the game and have dollar signs in their eyes.) They're joined by Indigenous writers Arihhonni “Honni” David and Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, which is fair play. But I'll probably still have an instinctive aversion wherever Kohhani appears.
Which is in Hell's Kitchen in this issue, by the way. So, despite their absence on the cover, Daredevil, Echo and Moon Knight will appear. They'll all face something from Sky World, where Kohhani got her powers. No doubt she'll throw a lot of light at it.
MSH SECRET WARS #11 FACSIMILE EDITION ($4.99): If you're collecting these, one more to go.
NEGASONIC TEENAGE WARHEAD #1 (One-Shot, $6.99): Collects five issues of Infinity Comics. NTW is on the run from the Time Variance Authority for a crime she has yet to commit, and has to go into the future to kiss her future girlfriend. For reasons. Yes, Deadpool is involved, which would probably be the highlight for me, since I don't find sullen teenagers like NTW amusing or entertaining. (Of course, that was the movie version. Maybe the comics version is more fun.)
ROM: THE ORIGINAL MARVEL YEARS OMNIBUS VOL 3 HC ($125.00): Get it while you can.
ULTIMATES #6 ($4.99) has a variant cover that is the second part of a six-part polyptych. The first part was last week in ULTIMATE X-MEN #8, but I didn't get the press release in time. The other parts can be found in ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #11, ULTIMATE UNIVERSE: ONE YEAR IN #1, ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER #11 and ULTIMATE WOLVERINE #1.
DC COMICS
ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1 ($4.99) by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. The last of the Absolute Trinity has arrived. Look! He has sparkly boots! And belt! And arm-thingies!
BATGIRL #1 ($3.99): Cassandra and her mom, Lady Shiva, team up to fight some assassins, which sends Cain on a "jaw-dropping, martial-arts filled adventure in her quest for truth and justice ... and revenge?!" She is the most interesting of the Bat-Fam outside of the big guy himself, so this might be good.
DC FINEST: BATMAN YEAR ONE & TWO TP ($39.99): Collects BATMAN #404-414, BATMAN ANNUAL #11 and DETECTIVE COMICS #571-581. Batman #404-407 is "Batman: Year One," which was very good, and Detective Comics #575–578 is "Batman: Year Two," which was not. I don't remember what the other issues were about.
DC FINEST: SUPERMAN -- THE FIRST SUPERHERO TP ($39.99): Collects Action Comics #1-25, Superman #1-5, and New York World's Fair #1, which is every Superman appearance from June 1938 to June 1940. Earlier reports said the book included "Kryptonite No More," but the current solicitation doesn't mention that story.
GREEN ARROW 2024 ANNUAL #1 (ONE-SHOT, $5.99): "An epilogue issue to the last year of Green Arrow" by Joshua Williamson, who wrote the last year of Green Arrow.
GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW: HARD-TRAVELING HEROES OMNIBUS HC ($125.00): This book has some stories I never thought I'd see reprinted.
The famous "Hard-Traveling Heroes" stories by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams in Green Lantern (second series) #76-87 and #89 have been reprinted many times. (Don't worry about Green Lantern #88; it was a reprint collection.) But few younger than me have had the opportunity to see where Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Black Canary went next. Because it was a really surprising place: a backup series in The Flash comics.
It began in September 1972, which was a critical time for DC Comics and its readers. That month the entire line went from 52 pages for 25 cents (with mostly Golden Age reprints in the back, which I adored) to 36 pages for 20 cents. You didn't have to be a math genius to figure out you were suddenly paying more for less. Worse, The Flash went bi-monthly! That was scary, because in those days "bi-monthly" meant "soon to be canceled."
But that didn't happen. The Flash regained its monthly status a long three years later with issue #233, May 1975. And in the meantime, Green Lantern #89 continued right on into the back of The Flash #217, still by Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano. Both The Flash and Green Lantern were in the same editorial office (Julius Schwartz), so in retrospect it's not that big a mystery -- obviously, Schwartz felt the Green Lantern IP too valuable to let lapse, and found a logical home for it. (More logical than, say, Batman.) And the first three episodes in The Flash may very well have been the planned contents of Green Lantern #90, for all I know.
The Emerald Gladiator's backup strip ran in #217-221, #223-224, #226-228, #230-231, #233-234, #237-238, #240-243 and #245-246. If you're wondering about the missing issues, it's because they contained full-length Flash/Green Lantern team-ups (#222, #225, #235) or were reprint collections with both Flash and Green Lantern reprints (#229, #232). Or, there was no explanation at all (#236, #239, #244). Without an Internet, mysteries in the Bronze Age remained mysteries!
While Denny O'Neil kept writing the strip, Neal Adams gave way to Dick Giordano with issue #220. Which wasn't a big deal visually, since their styles were alike, and he had been inking Adams anyway. But Green Arrow and Black Canary disappeared from the strip. (It would have been pretty crowded, especially as page counts continued to contract.) Then Giordano was replaced by Dick Dillin as penciller, but continued as inker, so visually the strip remained consistent. The big change came with The Flash #237, when a newcomer named Mike Grell took over the pencils. Grell was doing his best Neal Adams imitation, but it was still jarring after Dillin/Giordano. And Green Lantern began spending most of his time in space, and adopted a new sidekick, a tiny, mute, purple-and-orange space starfish named "Itty" that rode around on GL's shoulder. I am not kidding, but I wish I were. These were not especially good stories.
Dick Dillin provided the pencils for the last two Green Lantern strips in The Flash (#245-246), which were only seven pages long. (The lead feature was down to 10.) So it was a relief to the young Captain when the Emerald Gladiator left the back pages of that title in January 1977, so that Flash could have decent story length. Besides, GL already had a new gig: Green Lantern re-launched in August of the previous year, continuing with O'Neil/Grell, and picking up the numbering of the previous series with #90. (Which explains why Grell didn't draw the last two back-ups in Flash -- he was busy drawing Hal Jordan elsewhere.)
This has been another exciting episode of "Strange Adventures in Collecting Comics."
Also in this ominibus:
- World's Finest Comics #201 (Green Lantern/Superman team-up, Mar 71)
- World's Finest Comics #210 (Green Arrow/Superman team-up, Ollie thinks Big Blue faked the adventure to talk him out of running for Star City mayor, Mar 72)
- DC Special Series #1 (O'Neil/Joe Staton Green Lantern story, Sep 77)
- DC Super-Stars #17 (Green Arrow Secret Origin, O'Neil/Grell, Nov-Dec 77)
- Green Lantern (second series) #90-123 (of 205; O'Neil throughout; Grell, then Alex Saviuk, then Don Heck on pencils; Aug-Sep 77-Dec 79)
- World's Finest Comics #255 ("Nothing But A Man," Green Arrow runs for mayor, Feb-Mar 79)
- DC Retroactive: Green Lantern -- The '70s #1 (O'Neil/Grell, Sep 2011)
- Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super-Spectacular #1 (Aug 2020)
JSA #1 ($3.99): Yay, a new JSA title, and with Jeff Lemire writing! And with Jay Garrick and Alan Scott, without whom it's not the JSA! Glad to see the Hawks, Doctor Fate, Wildcat and (an) Hourman, too. Although I confess to a wistful sadness that there's no Wonder Woman. She was part of the All-American Trinity back in the '40s, and I miss that image of her striding along with Jay and Alan.
JSA #1
LITTLE BATMAN MONTH ONE #1 (OF 4, $4.99): Taking place after the events of Merry Little Batman, because evidently this is a whole separate continuity now. (Note Batman #404 homage cover.)
IMAGE COMICS
ASCENDER COMPENDIUM TP ($29.99): Collects all 18 issues. I didn't read Descender, and this is more or less a sequel, so I probably won't read this one, either. The preview's nice.
LES MORT 13 GIANT-SYZE SPECIAL (ONE-SHOT, $5.99): appears to be a collection of weird stories by Ashley Wood (X-Men, Judge Dredd) and T.P. Louise (Lore, World War Robot), all set on a mysterious island named Southport, "between the coasts of somewhere and nowhere, on an island where the visitors are many but the inhabitants are few. Return tickets are issued but the return journeys are rarely ever taken. Some suspect that this hunk of rock sits upon the giant skull of a forgotten God, once lost to the dark waters that encircle the island. To reside in this place is to be engaged in a silent game of chess with something that you’re not even sure is there. Strangely, people still covet passage to this windy little isle, known for its ancient ruins. They belong to an unnamed Goddess and the long-forgotten cult that once worshipped her there. Local legend says that, even though she is long departed, the influence of the Goddess still remains, even if only in the shadows." I do like the art.
MIRKA ANDOLFO’S SWEET PAPRIKA: OPEN FOR BUSINESS #1 ($3.99): A gay romance spinning out of Sweet Paprika, by creators other than Mirka Andolfo, despite the tite. I didn't read any of the host series, which is about demons and angels getting it on, and won't be reading this. But here some creator words:
"As a writer keen on getting folks excited about my work and that of my collaborators, I've been known to engage in hyperbole. But even so, without hesitation, I've never had a blast working on a book like I have with Sweet Paprika: Open for Business—it's my favorite book to write, every month," writer Steve Orlando (Scarlet Witch, Marauders, Commanders in Crisis) said. "And not just that — I've never synched with a collaborator like I do with Emilio (Pilliu, X-Men: The Wedding Special). He's subletted my brain and is elevating every single panel beyond my wildest dreams! Open for Business is raw, it's real, it's provocative, but most of all—it's fun! It's my first office comedy, and I've never loved working with a cast as much as this one! I can't wait for you to meet them!"
Pilliu added: "I hope I do not sound pretentious, but Sweet Paprika: Open For Business is like it was tailor-made for me. The excesses, the romantic parts, the serious ones, the comic scenes, and the spicy ones. ... it's all perfect, and it's all that I love to draw. I don't think it happens often in an artist's life to work on something and feel totally comfortable!"
"When Steve proposed that we follow up on the story he and Emilio had done for Sweet Paprika: Black White & Pink #1, we didn't think twice," said Andolfo. "The more I read this comic, the more I think I'm a little envious because I would have liked to have done it myself. ... It’s amazing, deep (no pun intended), funny, 100% Paprika-style. And Emilio is a fantastic artist and colorist. The Arancia team and I are lucky to have such great creators on board, and I can't wait for fans to read the story because I'm sure they will have as much fun as I'm having!"
THE WALKING DEAD DLX #100 (MR, $4.99)
DARK HORSE
CTHULHU CAT GN (136 pages, 5.75” x 8.25”, $14.99): A Japanese high school student takes home what he thinks is a cat abandoned in a cardboard box. It's an odd cat -- it has tentacles where its whiskers should be, there was ancient script written on the box and its friends are feline versions of Elder Gods like Hastur, Yog-Sothoth and Nyarlathotep. It's like "Garfield" and "The Call of Cthuhu" had a baby that occasionally wants to eat you. If you're a fan of cats, manga and Lovecraft, you could do worse.
FML #1 (OF 8, $4.99): As noted here relentlessly, I'm not into coming-of-age stories. Or teenagers. Or high school stories. Or coming-of-age high school stories starring teenagers. Guess what FML is?
For all that, though, I confess it's very well done. Interesting, even. The teenagers are all very different and well-defined. The premise isn't Riverdale; it's a Portland with a wildfire threatening, school shooter drills and metal garage bands. Snarky, goofball cynicism is really the only sane response, and our star Riley and his friends get some pretty slick dialogue in that direction.
Then there's the twist, which I won't spoil. Suffice to say, the kids jokingly try a spell they find in an old zine which, we see in the final panel, works. Since the zine is about Riley's Mom when she was in a metal garage band, that raises some questions about Mom, too. I may not be into coming of age, but I'm curious enough that I'll check out the next issue and see if I'm hooked for good.
“David and I have been talking about doing something creator-owned together since Captain Marvel, but it took years for the stars and our schedules to properly align,” said writer Kelly Sue DeConnick (Bitch Planet, Pretty Deadly, Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons). “Now that we’re here though, it almost feels planned — like we needed exactly as long as it took us to grow and change, both as artists and as people, so that we could come back together for this big swing.
“FML is a challenging book — stylistically and in tone — and I’m not sure we could have pulled it off five years ago, honestly. But here we are — and I’m so proud of and impressed by the work put in by everyone involved. [Artist] David [López] (Captain Marvel, Black Hand and the Iron Head) is drawing like he’s got something to prove, [colorist] Cris [Cowles] (Helen of Wyndhorn, Bitch Planet, Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons) is pulling disparate styles together seamlessly, tying them together with her palette and Clayton of course, our ace and secret weapon, works his subtle magic on lettering to make sure you hear everything in your head exactly the way it was intended. McCubbin developed this terrific logo that evolves with each issue, and I don’t even know where to start with how supportive and inspiring Daniel Chabon’s editorial team has been. They’ve given us exactly what we needed at every step along the way.
“For my part, FML feels of a piece with Pretty Deadly and Bitch Planet; it’s as personal as the former and as satirical and of-the-moment as the latter.”
THE GOON: A BUNCH OF OLD CRAP OMNIBUS VOL 1 TP ($34.99): If you're not familiar with Eric Powell (Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?), you should be. His artwork is like a combination of your favorite EC artists, with a dash of Will Eisner, and a hint of Mike Mignola. His writing combines crime noir, horror, bad puns and a twisted sense of humor.
The Goon was Powell's breakout book, about a hugely muscled, freakishly ugly enforcer for a mysterious mob boss in a slum in an unnamed city. It's no ordinary city; the zombies live (if that's the right word) down on Lonely Street, vampires are commonplace, Goon's tracker is a cowardly werewolf and Goon's sidekick Franky inexplicably has cartoon circles where his eyes should be. He's got magicians with names like Evets and Egroeg, which is only mysterious if you're not familiar with Mxyzptlk.There's a lot of gore and ultra-violence, but somehow it's all in good fun as The Goon protects his neighborhood. Which he should; he's collecting protection money, after all.
This volume collects the first four Goon miniseries: The Goon: Rough Stuff, The Goon: Nothing But Misery, The Goon: My Murderous Childhood and The Goon: Heaps of Ruination. It includes stories about Goon battling the Zombie Priest, the Bog Lurker, G-Men and other dangers in the present, and also an origin story and another story about Goon's early years. Plus, there's a Hellboy crossover.
The early work is a little rough, but not bad. And you can see Powell improving almost by the page; somewhere in the second story you realize he's a perfectly polished professional. If you've never read any Goon -- and I had only read bits and pieces -- this is a good place to start.
LIVING HELL #1 ($4.99) does a lot of world-building pretty painlessly, and the art is good, too.
Jerome is a demon disguised as a mortal. He can't use his powers -- which seem to involve manipulation of phobias -- or he will draw the notice of "shepherds," whose job it is to return escapees like him back to Hell. His wife is a conspiracy theorist who is slowly going off her rocker. His daughter is the typical enthusiastic, wide-eyed, perfectly behaved wunderkind found only in fiction.
The twist comes when Jerome is discovered by a shepherd. What happens next is the crux of the series, and I won't spoil it for you. By happening at the end, though, it means this entire issue is prologue for the real story, which begins next issue.
"Almost every mythology around the world has its own version of an underworld — a land of the dead, the embodiment of despair," writer/artist Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer Reborn, Wonder Woman, Catwoman) explains. "LIVING HELL explores the lengths we’ll go to transcend generational trauma and the prisons of our past. It's a story about family, the fantasy of a clean slate, and of course, cool monsters."
SPACE WESTERN COMICS TP (208 pages $24.99) collects Space Western Comics #40-45, which took its numbering from Cowboy Western Comics -- a title to which it returned with issue #46. In the intervening six issues, Walter Gibson (The Shadow) and his artists (John Belfi, Stan Campbell and Lou Morales) gave us "Spurs Jackson and his Space Vigilantes" battling "commies from Mars, Venusian spies, Meteor Men, moon bats, and of course, Hitler and his space Nazis."
My only regret is that it's not a hardback.
IDW PUBLISHING
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE COMPLETE LIBRARY VOL 9 HC (IDW, $49.99): Comics-strip collectors' alert!
MLP CLASSICS REIMAGINED: ODYSSEY #1 (IDW, $7.99): For the Bronies.
MORE COMICS
ALLEY OOP AND THE FIRE GODDESS GN (Manuscript Press, $19.99): Comic-strip collectors alert!
ALLEY OOP IN SPARTA GN (Manuscript Press, $19.99): Comic-strip collectors alert!
AUDREY HEPBURN GN (NBM, $24.99): A graphic biography of the actress.
BETTY & VERONICA JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #329 (Archie, $9.99)
Complete story:
COMICS REVUE PRESENTS OCTOBER 2024 (Manuscript Press, $19.95): Comic-strip collectors alert!
CONAN THE BARBARIAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACKSTONE #3 (Titan, OF 4, MR, $3.99)
DEATH COMES FOR THE TOYMAKER VOL 1 TP (Magma Comix, $19.99): A toymaker has a deal with Death, by which he provides information on children who might need to pass on in exchange for immortality. Yes, it's a dark version of Santa Claus and his naughty-or-nice list. The Toymaker seems to develop a conscience, though, so maybe it will have a happy ending.
DISNEY VILLAINS HADES HC/TP (Dynamite, $19.99/$13.99): If I were 10-12 years old, this would be awesome.
DUCK TALES #1 (Dynamite, $4.99): I doubt this has the ol' Carl Barks story zing, but the art sure looks nice.
EC CRUEL UNIVERSE #4 (Oni, OF 5, $4.99): Creators this issue include writers Matt Bors, Cecil Castellucci, Matt Kindt and Ben H. Winters, and artists Kano, Daniel Irizarri, Alison Sampson and others.
ESSENTIAL JUDGE DREDD: TOUR OF DUTY BOOK 2 TP (Rebellion / 2000AD, OF 7, $32.99): I bought the first 12 or so Dredd collections, and stopped reading after about Volume 6. It got kinda repetitive. Maybe "essential" is what I needed all along, rather than comprehensive. That runs counter to my instincts, but I haven't bought the last 10 or so collections, which is a strong indicator.
EXIT CITY #1 (Mad Cave, OF 4, $4.99) is the third title in the "Underworld" series, which includes Revolution 9 (which shipped Sept. 25) and Hour of the Wolf (see below). Each stands alone, but will cross over in something called "Endless Night" next year. This one is about two detectives who "must work together through a web of seedy criminals, genetic experiments, and a crooked government," while one of them is harboring a dangerous secret.
HOUR OF THE WOLF #1 (Mad Cave, OF 4, $4.99): Somebody named Owen Blackwood, whom I assume is some sort of famous occult detective in this universe, is called "across time" to destroy a haunted painting, but things gang agley. I don't know how this could possibly connect to Revolution 9 or Exit City (see above), but it's going to.
THE FADE #1 (BOOM, $4.99): Magical coming-of-age story. Seems too cartoony for me, but decide for yourself:
FEAST OF GREASE GN (Floating World, MR, $24.99) is the latest collection of psychedelic comics by cartoonist Chris Cajero Cilla. Looks dated to me -- I was around for the original 1960s and '70s underground comix -- but if you've never seen this kind of work before it might be fun. Here's an Instagram PREVIEW.
JOSIE ANNUAL SPECTACULAR (Archie, ONE-SHOT, $3.99)
Complete story:
KAHLIL GIBRAN: THE PROPHET GN (Interlink Publishing Group, $35.00): A graphic novel adapting Kahlil Gibran's prose poetry anthology The Prophet, one of the world's best-selling books. I couldn't find a preview, but here's a trailer.
KILLTOWN #1 (Keenspot Entertainment, OF 3, MR, $5.99) is a spinoff of Scout's Night of the Cadillacs. Killtown is a female-led gangster tale set in L.A.'s Koreatown.
KLAUS: THE LIFE & TIMES OF SANTA CLAUS TP (BOOM, $19.99): Collects Klaus and the Crying Snowman #1 and Klaus and the Life & Times of Joe Christmas #1 by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora. I've never read any of this, but Morrison's involvement is quite the incentive.
MY NAME IS ZERO VOL 2 GN (Titan, MR, $12.99)
OBSCURE CITIES: THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN NEMO HC (Alaxis Press, $35.00): Alaxis says this is the 40th anniversary of the first book in the "Les Cités Obscures" series, and I have no reason to doubt them, as I do not live in France. Or is it Belgium? No matter! In this one, Captain Nemo is transported around the globe in a combination of an octopus and his old submarine, a combo dubbed the Nauti-Octopus, which is a pun in English, but I don't know if it's one in French. Or Belgian.
ODB ODDITIES: DISCORD & B SIDES — LYRICAL RUCKUS IN THE CITY GN (Oni, 112 pages, $24.99): The five boroughs of New York City are re-imagined through the music of Ol' Dirty Bastard, a co-founder of Wu-Tang Clan. What does that mean? I have no idea. But there's also "exclusive limited-run action figures, 7" vinyl and merchandise manufactured in collaboration with Super 7" available.
Don't expect anything from ODB, since he's been dead for a decade. Contributors include Troy-Jeffrey Allen (Chuck D’s Apocalypse 91: Revolution Never Sleeps), Paris Alleyne (Miles Morales: Spider-Man), David Brame (MediSIN), Dojo Gubser (Rot8ion), Jay Hero (Green Lantern), Maan House (Bloodborne), Mike Del Mundo (Avengers), Jason Pierre (CW’s In the Dark), Ike Reed & David Gorden (Rampage Jackson’s Big Brawl), Chris Robinson (Vince Staples’ Limbo Beach), Regine Sawyer (Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Last 52), Damion Scott (Batgirl), Felipe Sobreiro (“Weird Al” Yankovic’s The Illustrated Al), Ronald Wimberly (Prince of Cats), and more.
I'm an old white guy who stopped caring about pop music in 1980, so this isn't my jam, which is probably an out-of-touch reference in itself. But if you're into whatever genre Wu-Tang Clan falls into, this might be your jam. Or however These Kids Today phrase it.
“I am thrilled to bring ODB to life in this incredibly powerful graphic novel. ODB: Oddities, Discord and B-Sides — Lyrical Ruckus in the City combines the essence of my husband like I’ve never seen before. He was and is an inspiration to my family, children, and fans across the world,” said Icelene Jones, ODB’s wife and administrator of the Estate of ODB. “It's been such a pleasure to see this book come to life with our incredibly talented partners at Four Screens and Oni Press.”
“Collaborating with our immensely creative partners at Lion Forge and Oni Press to develop a brand new graphic novel has been mind blowing! Thanks to the steadfast support of our partners at the Estate of ODB, we have merged the five personas of ODB with the five boroughs of New York to create the ultimate hip-hop universe,” said Four Screens CEO Messiah Jacobs. “ODB: Oddities, Discord and B-Sides — Lyrical Ruckus in the City pays homage to The Culture. It has been an honor to work with each and every writer and artist on this project. We’re bringing the ruckus with this one.”
OFFICIAL SEA OF THIEVES COLORING BOOK TP (Titan, 80 pages, B&W, $14.99)
Replies
ONE FOR SORROW #1 (DSTLRY, MR, $8.99)
The first, I imagine, is based on Madame Blavatksy. The third is probably a female version of Sherlock Holmes, but there could be another historical figure with which I'm not familiar. (Titan's Minky Woodcock is a similar character, and could be derived from the same source.) The second? I have no idea. But given that the first two have antecedents, the third one probably does, too.
I have to wonder, though: Since Jack the Ripper was active in London from 1888 to 1891 and never caught, why do the 1900 Municipal Police think this is a new serial killer? Sure, the M.O. is different, but since they never found out squat about Jack, for all they know Magpie could be the same guy. I would think it their first assumption. I mean, being clueless and all.
RED SONJA: DEATH AND THE DEVIL #3 (OF 4)
ROME ETERNAL #1 (Magma Comix, $3.99): I never understood why they kept calling it the Roman Empire after Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium in 330 C.E. You'd think they'd want to take Rome back just because of embarrassment. But no, the "eternal" city was abandoned to Goths, Ostogoths, Vandals and other riff-raff, while the "Roman" Empire was headquartered in today's Turkey.
I guess it's no stranger than the pope naming Charlemagne a Roman emperor in 800 (the Carolingian Empire was in France), or Otto I becoming head of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1806) which, as the joke goes, wasn't holy, wasn't Roman and wasn't an empire.
In this comic book, though, Rome never fell. Could be interesting.
RUNESCAPE: UNTOLD TALES OF THE GOD WARS #1 (Titan, MR, $4.99): Based on an MMORPG that I have never played (and never will). Everybody here probably knows more about it than I do, and might even be interested.
SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN: THE ORIGINAL YEARS OMNBUS VOL 2 GN (Titan MR, $150.00): Gil Kane Conan and Joe Jusko covers! That sure takes me back.
SHADOWMAN: SOUL EATERS #2 (Valiant, OF 4, $4.99): I didn't order issue #1 and didn't see a shelf copy at my LCS, so it looks like I won't be reading this one.
SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #0 (BOOM, $4.99): This is a prequel to the ongoing, which I apparently should be reading.
STARRING SONYA DEVEREAUX: COMBAT NURSE #1 (American Mythology, $4.99): This makes me laugh. The fictional scream queen Sonya Devereaux, billed as "America's 306th best actress," headlines various B-movies and TV shows in the form of comics. In this one, she's a sexy nurse fighting international terrorists who have taken the world's greatest brain surgeon hostage in her hospital. Because that's what sexy nurses do!
STAR WARS INSIDER PRESENTS THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY BOX SET HC (384 pages $69.99): It's "the making of."
VALIANT UNIVERSE HERO ORIGINS: NINJAK TP (Valiant, $24.99): As I've said before, if they manage a hardcover, I might be interested.
WOMAN & MAN+ HC (Clover Press, $49.99): is an autobiographical graphic novel from "comics archaeologist" Craig Yoe, done in his signature style, which Clover calls "Steranko meets Hieronymus Bosch by way of R. Crumb and Dali." Here's a preview, so you can judge for yourself.
WRONG EARTH: DEAD RINGERS #4 (Ahoy, OF 5, $3.99): Ahoy Comics alert!
DC FINEST: BATMAN YEAR ONE & TWO TP: Batman #404-407 is "Batman: Year One," which was very good, and Detective Comics #575–578 is "Batman: Year Two," which was not. I don't remember what the other issues were about.
Allow me to refresh your memory. For #408-414 (#416, actually) the titled was re-christend Batman: The New Adventures and gave the first impression of what the post-Crisis Batman would be like. #408 presented the post-Crisis origin of Jason Todd, no longer a circus performer, but rather a street urchin (who tried to boost the Batmobile's tires). I never cared much for Jason Todd's circus roots to begin with, so this direction was a a move in the right direction as far as I was concened. The next several stories were mediocre (IMO), the best of the lot being #410-411 which tied Jason Todd's story in with that of Two Face. Beyond this collection, #415 was a Millenium crossover (highly forgettable), but I really liked #416, which defined the Nightwing/Robin relationship in the post-Crisis universe. After that came "Ten Night of the Beast" by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo.
Detective Comics #571-581 is an odd choice of issues, seeing as how the Mike Barr/Alan Davis run is #569- #575. #572 is the 50th anniversary issue, but the entire Barr/Davis run has already been collected in its own hardcover, and that's definitely the way to go here. the reason "Batman: Year Two" is "not very good" is because Alan Davis did the art for only the first part; Todd McFarlane did parts two through four. I stopped buying Detective Comics with #578, so I cannot speak to the final three issues in the collection. However, #579 is the first issue by new penciler Norm Breyfogle, whose "Batman" work has been collected in two hardcovers (which I bought but have not yet read). Again, I would recommend those over the volume in question. If one were to buy the Barr/Bavis and Breyfogle collections, all one would be missing would be parts two through four of "Batman: Year Two" (and the actual conclusion, the Batman: Full Circle one-shot, is in the Barr/Davis collection).
SPACE WESTERN COMICS: My only regret is that it's not a hardback.
I pre-ordered this one. We are living the the "Golden Age of Comics."
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE COMPLETE LIBRARY VOL 9 HC: Comics-strip collectors' alert!
Yep, also a pre-order.
KLAUS: THE LIFE & TIMES OF SANTA CLAUS: I've never read any of this, but Morrison's involvement is quite the incentive.
I've read it. Not really my cuppa tea. YMMV.