Too Much Awesome: More comics in March

Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth

Dark Horse

Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 (of 3) - I didn't pick up a copy of the collection that came out recently, but the webcomic is always a lot of fun. For those who don't know, this is the work of 29-year-old artist Ethan Nicolle and his five-year-old brother Malachai. There's a good interview with Ethan on iFanbook, where he talks about the creative process. This mini-series is the result of a full month of playtime between the two brothers, during which the storyline emerged. Ethan wrote all three issues based on his brother's ideas before he started drawing it. I'm guessing this will result in more cohesive story than the webcomic, which tends to move all over the place, as you would expect anything coming from the mind of a five-year-old to do.

IDW

Genius, Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth - There was a bit of a controversy recently when a writer for the A.V. Club fabricated a review of this book and it was posted on the website... before the book was even completed! The writer was fired and the A.V. Club issued an apology, emphasizing that the publisher had absolutely nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, this biography of the artist expanded until it couldn't be contained in a single volume. This book will detail his life story and work through the early 1960s, with a second volume expected for October.

Image

Butcher Baker: The Righteous Maker #1 - The cover is outrageous and the three-page preview is hilariously covered with big red CENSORED boxes. It's a pretty good marketing stunt, but the real reason I'm looking forward to this is that it's written by Joe Casey.

Halcyon #5 (of 5) - The first four issues of this were solicited as an ongoing. Now, unexpectedly and without explanation, it's been changed to a mini-series. I don't understand how that works. Does it have anything to do with sales? Only two issues have come out, so you'd think they'd give it a bit more of a chance. Or did the creators just lose interest? I just wish there were a little more transparency when these kinds of changes happen. I find it rather insulting that they just announce this as the "MINISERIES CONCLUSION," as if nobody would notice that what it really is is a prematurely cancelled ongoing.


I'm also going to pick up Infinite Vacations #3 and Orc Stain #8.

Avatar

Caligula #1 - David Lapham writing a comic about Caligula for Avatar? I don't think I'm going to buy this, but somehow it makes perfect sense.

Boom!

Hellraiser #1 - This is apparently "Clive Barker's long-awaited return to tell a new chapter in the series' official continuity." This might be worth a look, though I think I'm going to pass.

Soldier Zero #6 - Paul Cornell's last issue, with Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning sharing writing duties with him before taking over next month. I'm still not sure if my interest in this new series is going to be maintained long enough to make it past the first story arc, but the change of writers makes me want to stick around for a few more issues to see where it goes. (Not that I dislike Paul Cornell. I just wasn't completely sold on this yet, but a different creative team means I need to re-evaluate it. I guess.)

Stan Lee's two other new series, The Traveler and Starborn, also continue.

Fantagraphics

The Comics Journal #301 - This is a massive new 600-page format for this long-lived periodical, filled with "criticism, interviews, debate, commentary and history to inspire love from the comics cognoscenti and scorn from the philistines." I'm tempted to get it just because of that hilariously pretentious description. The only thing I'm worried about is that I already have a hard time keeping up with the multiple blogs about comics that I follow. Adding 600 pages of reading material to that just sounds completely overwhelming. But tempting.

12-Gauge

Magus #4 - The main reason why I bought the first issue of this was Rebekah Isaacs' art, so I was a bit worried when I saw that a different artist was listed in the solicitations for this issue. However, writer Jon Price has apparently confirmed that she is still on the book and that there was a mistake in the solicitation text.

Marvel - addendum

Finally, earlier this month when I looked at Marvel's solicitationss, I somehow completely missed out on this amazing cover by Mike Mignola:

It's a variant for the first issue of Annihilators #1 (of 4), written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. As with most Marvel solicitations, I can't really make sense of the blurb. But, man, that's a nice cover.

Too Much Awesome: Comics in January

Time to look at the January 2011 solicitations, as listed in Previews #266.

DARK HORSE

Hmm, there's not a single book from Dark Horse I'm interested in this month.

DC

The DC solicitations start with a bunch of random one-shots, none of which look all that interesting to me. Depending on whether or not Krul's Teen Titans gone south by then, I might check out the Wonder Girl one-shot that ties into it, otherwise I think I'm going to pass on all of these.

The new anthology mini-series Weird Worlds features "a kind-hearted monster called Garbageman." I think that speaks for itself, but you can read more about that wonderful creation in this interview with Aaron Lopresti, who will be writing and drawing that story.

Batman: Europa is a new mini-series based on a story by Brian Azzarello and Matteo Casali, with painted art by "many of the industry's top talents. This first issue is by Jim Lee, and if that cover is any indication, it's going to be really, really ugly. Not interested.

I'll probably be getting the new issues of Batman Inc, Batman and Robin, Knight and Squire, Red Robin, Birds of Prey, Action Comics, Superboy, The Flash, Adventure Comics, Legion of Super-Heroes and Teen Titans, all of which are on my regular pull list at the moment.

Superman/Batman #80 is the conclusion of a two-part story by Chris Roberson and Jesus Merino, taking place in the 853rd century, and I'm looking forward to that as well.

In the collected editions section, I noticed that the first collection of Paul Cornell's Action Comics run is going to be titled Superman: The Black Ring. Now why would they put "Superman" in the title when the character is not even featured in the story? I know, I know, the answer is probably just that his name sells better than Lex Luthor's, but that seems really disingenuous, even by DC's low standards. Is it possible that Superman does make an appearance at the end of the story Cornell has planned? I'm also confused by the fact that there's no "volume 1" attached to the title, since that collection only includes issues #890-895 and the story will not have concluded by then. Very weird.

Notice a bunch of Wildstorm titles at the end of the DC Comics section. Mostly these are mini-series that haven't yet concluded, but it's nice to see a seamless transition into DC's main imprint instead of a bunch of abrupt cancellations.

VERTIGO

Daytripper gets a trade paperback collection. I bought all the single issues, so I won't be getting this, but I highly recommend this beautiful story by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon.

I'm going to be picking up the new issues of Northlanders and Sweet Tooth. It seems like there are fewer and fewer Vertigo books of interest. I hope they're going to announce some new titles soon.

IDW

I'm not going to get sucked into this Infestation mega crossover event, featuring zombies across IDW's various licensed properties (Star Trek, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Ghostbusters), but I'll admit it's a pretty clever marketing stunt. Of course, it would maybe have a bit more impact if we hadn't seen major zombie crossover events at DC and Marvel recently. Coupled with the surge in popularity of Kirkman's Walking Dead due to the new TV series, I'd expect most people to be really sick of zombies by January. I'm pretty sure I will be.

I bought the first issue of Steve Niles and Kelley Jones' Edge of Doom mini-series this month and didn't think much of it, so I'm dropping this one.

There's a trade paperback of something called Off-Road, written and drawn by Sean Murphy. I'm assuming this was previously released as a mini-series, although the solicitation doesn't say. It's the first time I notice this title, but I'm probably going to look into it, since I really love Murphy's art.

IMAGE

I dropped Morning Glories after issue #3. I don't understand where all the positive reviews are coming from, as I found both the art and the writing to be mediocre.

And yet, here I am looking at Nick Spencer's new series, The Infinite Vacation, thinking it looks pretty cool. Art is by Christian Ward and it looks a lot more up my alley than Joe Eisma's work in Morning Glories. I'm intrigued, if not completely sold on this one.

And depending on how I like the first issues of Halcyon and Marineman (coming out in November and December, respectively), I may or may not continue reading them in January.

MARVEL

I will be getting the new issues of Avengers: Children's Crusade, Secret Avengers, and Thor. I think that's it. I dropped Avengers Academy because it hasn't been very good (and the last issue, to put it politely, sucked cock) and I'm not really tempted by anything else at the moment. Which is not a bad thing, considering my budget is already stretched thin as it is.

There's a Magneto one-shot written by Howard Chaykin and pencilled by "TBD." Awesome.

ICON

Casanova continues, with Fabio Moon taking over art duties from Gabriel Ba. They're both amazing artists, so that's cool.

I'll also be getting Mark Millar and Leinil Yu's Superior, unless something goes horribly wrong in issue #2 or #3.

BOOM!

By January, all three of Stan Lee's new series will have launched: Soldier Zero, Starborn and The Traveler. I read the first issue of Soldier Zero this week and I'm currently working on a review of it. I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to continue reading it or check out those other two books when they launch, but for now I'll just say these are worth keeping an eye on.

RED 5

I have Atomic Robo and the Deadly Art of Science #3 on my pull  list.

12 GAUGE

I'm picking up the first issue of Magus in December. Depending on whether or not that's any good, I may or may not pick up the second issue in January. The premise is interesting.

And that's all for January, folks.

October solicitations (Previews #263) – part one

Today I bought my first issue of Previews, the August issue with solicitations for October releases. I've been flipping through it all evening. Here are a few comments.

DARK HORSE

I guess Jim Shooter is really popular or something. He's writing three series for Dark Horse now. I've read the previews of two of them from that Free Comic Book Day comic and they sucked. No reason to check out the third one.

Beasts of Burden/Hellboy. I've very excited about this. I just bought the hardcover Beasts of Burden collection by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, and it is a thing of beauty. They join forces here with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola for a one-shot crossover. (October 27)

I'm mildly amused that there is a Dethklok mini-series coming out, although I'm not really a big enough fan to check this out. (October 6)

I don't really know anything about Fear Agent, but those giant alien creatures on the cover of issue #31 look an awful lot like Metroids. Apparently this is the final arc of the series, so I might have to check out some earlier issues. (October 27)

The Classic Comics Archives Volume 1: White Indian, by Frank Frazetta, looks like an amazing collection. However, I disagree that it is being offered "in an affordable hardcover format." 50 bucks for 200 pages is not exactly what I call a bargain. I'd love to read this, but I can't afford it. Maybe they'll get a copy at the library. (December 1)

DC COMICS

Teen Titans #88. It's so tempting to give this series another chance. I like a lot of the characters on the team (especially Conner and Bart) and this issue is described as a "perfect jumping-on point" with a "new direction" and a "new creative team." And part of that team is Nicola Scott, who is a fine artist. The weak link, though, is writer J.T. Krul. After the dead cat incident and the erectile dysfunction in Rise of Arsenal, I don't think I can take a chance on this guy. And especially not on a 4$ book. (October 27)

All the Brightest Day and Green Lantern stuff looks kind of interesting, especially when the solicitations keep hinting at some big mystery unfolding across all the different titles. I just can't afford to follow that many books, so I opted to skip pretty much all of them.

The Flash #7. Art by Scott Kolins!? WTF? Where's Francis Manapul? I hope he's back next month, because he's the main reason I'm reading this title. (Scott Kolins is okay, though.) (October 13)

Of all the Bruce Wayne – The Road Home one shots, I think I'm only going to pick up the ones written by Fabian Nicieza, because there's a good chance they'll tie into his run on Red Robin. That means three issues for me: Batman & Robin, Red Robin (both October 6) and Ra's Al Ghul (October 27). I'm still on the fence about the Oracle one-shot (also October 27), which written by Marc Andreyko. I'm surprised Gail Simone is not writing that one.

Batman: The Return. Written by Grant Morrison, with interior art by David Finch, and setting up the "new status quo," this is the issue that's going to determine whether or not I continue reading Batman books in November. It all depends on this. (October 27)

I'm willing to bet that the first issue of Knight and Squire, written by Paul Cornell, is going to be better and more fun than any of the Bat titles in October. (October 13)

I hate that DC insists on putting a "#1" on all their one-shots. It makes it really impossible to differentiate between actual one-shots and beginnings of new series. Is Batman: Hidden Treasures (note the plural) going to be a recurring Batman title unearthing various "lost" stories from over the years? How many lost stories are there anyway? I think it's hilarious that DC is hyping this as a "legendary" lost Bernie Wrightson story that's being published "at long last," when the reaction from every blogger I follow was, "Oh, I didn't know there was a lot story." Me, I don't even know who Bernie Wrightson is, so that shows how much I know. But everyone seems excited enough about this, so I'll probably at least give it a glance when it's out in the store. You get 56 pages for 5 bucks, and that includes a reprinted story from Swamp Thing #7. (October 6)

The cover for Red Hood: Lost Days #5, by Billy Tucci, is truly horrendous. Ugh! I'm waiting for the trade on this one anyway. (October 6)

All signs point to Superman #704 (October 13) being about child abuse. BARF! Action Comics is the only Superman comics you should be reading right now, and Superman's not even in it. Issue #894 feature Death, from Sandman, and a Jimmy Olsen back-up feature! (October 27)

Felipe Massafera is without a doubt the worst cover artist currently working for DC. Where did they find this guy? I guess Alex Ross wasn't available, so they decided to hire this second-rate plagiarist instead. (It's not like I'm even a fan of Alex Ross's art to begin with.) Massafera shows up on the covers of the Superman: Last Family of Krypton mini-series (October 6) and of the JLA/99 crossover (October 27), and both covers are enough of a turn-off for me not to bother even looking at what's inside. Yes, people do judge books by their covers.

Speaking of which, Supergirl and Damian are on the cover of Superman/Batman #77. Sold! (October 20)

Legion of Super-Heroes #6. This is the last issue of the first story arc, so it's also the issue that will determine whether or not I drop this title. I'm enjoying it so far, but I wouldn't mind being wowed by it a bit more. (October 20)

DCU Halloween Special 2010. According to the write-up, this is "the annual event I've been dying to read." And yet the art is still by "TBD." Get your shit together, DC! This is going to be just as rushed, thrown together and ultimately disappointing as all the 75th anniversary issues were in June. Only this time, I've learned my lesson and will be saving my money. This is a $5 book. (October 20)

Ragman: Suit of Souls. I was somewhat curious about this one-shot, but I'm not familiar with the creative team and I see that it's a regular-sized book selling for $4. Pass. (October 20)

The "DC Comics Presents" line confuses the hell out of me. Why do they all have "#1" attached to the titles if they are basically collections of previously released stories? When you see DC Comics Presents: Superman #1 (October 27), doesn't that make you think it's a reprint of Superman #1? It's not. It's actually a reprint of Superman #179-185 and Superman: Man of Steel #121. Okay... So that's, what, eight issues? And yet the book is only 96 pages. I know I'm not very good at math, but what the hell is going on here?

The other ones are all equally confusing. DC Comics presents: Brightest Day #1 (October 13) is not a reprint of Brightest Day #1. It's a collection of stories from Hawkman, Solo (?), DCU Holiday (??) and Strange Adventures. And the one that collects the Batman and Catwoman: Trail of the Gun mini-series is inexplicably named after the artist – DC Presents: Ethan Van Sciver #1 (October 13) – just to make sure that there is no logical patern or consistency to any of these titles. Whoever is the editor on these books needs to be fired.

Still, there are a few gems to be found here if you're willing to sort through the mess, such as the collection of Batman issues written by Ed Brubaker – DC Comics Presents: Batman #1 (October 20) – and the JLA: World Without Grown-Ups mini-series, here collected as DC Presents: Young Justice #1 (October 27).

Tomorrow, I'll take a look at the Wildstorm and Vertigo titles and then make may way through the rest of the catalogue.

Free Comic Book Day

I hit four stores on Free Comic Book Day and picked up 3 freebies and some dollar-bin comics. One of the stores we went to was so crowded that we just turned around and walked out without picking anything up. There seemed to be good traffic at all the stores, which is nice. Not as many kids as I would have expected, and nothing too crazy as far as festivities go. No balloons. No costumes. No cake. Oh well.

Doctor Solar/Magnus (Dark Horse)

This was the only free super-hero comic book I was interested in, since DC was offering some War of the Supermen issue and I still can't bring myself to really care about anything Marvel does. But in retrospect, I wish I'd picked up the Iron Man/Thor issue from Marvel instead. There's no way it could've been as bland and pointless as this was. Apparently Jim Shooter is some comic book legend who started selling stories to DC when he was only 14. That's impressive, but both of these stories were terrible.

Mouse Guard/Fraggle Rock (Archaia)

I don't really know anything about Mouse Guard, written and drawn by David Petersen, but I got it because the art was so beautiful. Apparently there are a couple of mini-series before this, and two more are launching in May and September. I might be curious enough to check some of these out. This short one-shot was pretty low on story, but the drawings really are amazing and make me want to read more. There's no dialogue, only narration, which makes this almost more of a storybook than a comic. I wonder if this is a technique that is used in all the Mouse Guard books, or if the other ones include speech bubbles.

I didn't read the Fraggle Rock side of the book. I skimmed through it and it seems like an alright book for kids, but it's a strange pairing, as Mouse Guard seems to be aimed at a completely different age group.

The Sixth Gun (Oni Press)

This is a complete first issue of a new series written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Brian Hurtt. It's definitely the more substantial of the free comics I got. It's a kind of supernatural western about a gun with mystical powers. It's a pretty good first issue and I enjoyed it. If I was more interested in the genre (or if I had unlimited funds) I would probably buy the next few issues to see where the story goes. I recommend you check it out if you're a fan of the genre, but for me, unfortunately, there's just too many other books I plan to spend my money on.

Hawk and Dove mini-series (DC Comics)

This wasn't free. I got this 5-part mini-series from the discounted dollar bin, meaning they were only about 75 cents per issue. I have no idea if it's going to be any good, but it wasn't much of an investment so I figured it was worth the risk. I'm interested in these characters because they're going to be featured in the new Birds of Prey series that Gail Simone is writing. I haven't read this yet, so I'll report back later.