Comics and More

Black Knight (Volume 1) Kai Tsurugi Black Knight is a yaoi manga published by Blu Manga a few years ago.  I flipped through it at a used bookstore and couldn't resist purchasing it.  Yaoi manga are a sort of guilty pleasure for me.  This particular work follows Chris, a young prince who's a real pretty boy, and who has been sent to a training academy by his father, where he learns to fight alongside commoners.  One of the trainers, Zeke, looks out for him and eventually the two begin a romantic relationship, despite the difficulties it presents.  Zeke is the black knight that the title is named for, and is destined to become Chris' guardsman with the high honor of Black Knight.  For a title pretty heavy on action, the action scenes aren't executed very well.  It's sort of hard to tell what's going on and where people are in relation to each other.  What Tsurugi does well is flush out the relationship between Chris and Zeke.  A few supporting characters stand

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... Ghost Projekt (Volume 1) HC - From Oni Press comes this supernatural spy thriller by Joe Harris, Steve Rolston and Dean Trippe, surrounding a mysterious weapon from the Cold War that has been stolen, and the agents who try to uncover just what danger it poses. Other Noteworthy Releases Abyss: Family Issues #1 (of 4) Ayn Rand's Anthem GN Chronicles of Kull (Volume 4): Blood of Kings & Other Stories TP Crossed: Psychopath #1 (of 6) Eerie Archives (Volume 6) HC Freakangels (Volume 5) GN The Hunger of Seven Squat Bears HC John Carpenter of Mars: Warloard of Mars TP Justice League: The Rise and Fall HC Little Lulu: Giant Size (Volume 3) TP Nemesis HC Thor: Godstorm HC Thor: The Quest For Odin HC True Blood: Tainted Love #1 Seven Soldiers of Victory (Volume 2) HC Spawn Origins (Volume 3) HC

Fairy Tail (Volume 1) Hiro Mashima From the creator of Rave Master comes a story of a magical world of wizards.  Lucy, a loud, happy-go-lucky girl, wants to join a club that has the most powerful wizards in its ranks, Fairy Tail.  Even if Fairy Tail is always getting into trouble with the council for overdoing it, who doesn't want to be among its members?  Lucy has the ability to open gateways with magical keys, and makes contracts with the celestial beings on the other side of those gates to aid her when in times of need.  It's a powerful ability that she puts to the test several times in this first book, and there's limitless potential for future celestial beings as she acquires new keys.  While traveling to a small town to see what their magic shop has in terms of keys, she meets Natsu, a guy with a huge appetite, who dispels a charm that another wizard uses on the women in the area.  They have kind of a love-hate relationship that eventually lands them together as t

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... Captain America by Jack Kirby Omnibus HC - Collecting Jack Kirby's run with Captain America and Falcon, the omnibus edition of this material contains over 550 pages of Jack Kirby goodness. Other Noteworthy Releases Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet TP Bayou (Volume 2) TP Finder (Volume 1): Voice GN Formic Wars: Burning Earth #1 (of 7) Hawkeye: Blind Spot #1 (of 4) Johnny Red (Volume 1): Falcon's First Flight HC Morning Glories (Volume 1): For a Better Future TP Noche Roja HC Silver Surfer #1 (of 5) Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years (Volume 8) HC True Blood (Volume 1): All Together Now HC Young Justice #1

Wading through the phone book that is Previews Catalogue to dig out the good stuff...here are some items of note that I thought were worth pointing out or that I'm just plain excited about, shipping to comic shops in April... Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse (Volume 1): Race To Death Valley HC - One of the most exciting announcements of the year, the first of a massive reprint project debuts this month in the form of Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse comic strip. Herc #1 & #2 - Hells yeah! I was bummed out when Incredible Hercules concluded, so it's nice to see a new ongoing rolling out this month from Greg Pak, Fred van Lente and Georges Jeanty. Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne (Volume 1) TP - Finally. Onward Towards Out Noble Deaths GN - More manga from Drawn & Quarterly, this one by important Gekiga creator Shigeru Mizuki. Congress of the Animals HC - Hot on the heels of Weathercraft comes another full-length graphic novel from Jim Woodring, featuri

Ben Hatke Ben Hatke's Zita the Space Girl , from First Second Books , is an all-ages fantasy starring a brave girl who leaps through a portal after her friend has been abducted, unaware of the consequences of her actions or where it will lead her.  It turns out that Zita is transported across the universe to a strange world full of a variety of creatures, and it just so happens that everyone is trying to get off of the planet just as she arrives, because a meteor is about to hit that will destroy it along with whomever is left behind.  There's a mad scramble on the surface for passage off-world, but Zita is more concerned with finding her friend.  Very quickly on this odd little planet, Zita makes friends who help her on her quest, a quest that will eventually hold the fate of the entire world in its balance.  Among her newfound friends are a giant mouse who speaks through a collar around its neck that produces words on paper for her to read, a machine that was created solely

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #1 (of 6) - The second mini-series following popular undercover spy Cinderella from Vertigo's Fables , debuts this week.  I really enjoyed the first series, although I was still pretty surprised when the collection topped the graphic novel charts when it was released.  I'm glad Chrissie Zullo is back on covers, as she created some memorable ones the first time around.  Written by Chris Roberson, illustrated by Shawn McManus. Other Noteworthy Releases Acts of Vengeance Omnibus HC Amnesia Labyrinth (Volume 1) Atlantis Attacks Omnibus HC Captain America Lives Omnibus HC Creepy Archives (Volume 9) HC Femina and Fauna: The Art of Camilla D'Errico HC Flash: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues HC Hack/Slash Ongoing #1 Li'l Depressed Boy #1 Love and Capes: Ever After #1 Marvelman Classic (Volume 2) HC Namor: The First Mutant (Volume 1) TP Namor Visi

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Volume 1) Hiroshi Shiibashi This new shonen manga follows Rikuo Nura, who lives in a house filled with yokai, creatures from Japanese myth who come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Yokai are known for terrorizing humans, and while many yokai are evil and are slave to their instincts to devour children, etc, some are just harmless pranksters, like most of the variety that live in Nura's house.  Nura's grandfather commands the Nura Clan, and is responsible for protecting and watching out for the yokai in the area.  As his grandson, Nura, who is one quarter yokai, is expected to take on the title of "the third," the next leader of the Nura Clan.  Nura, however, is reluctant to accept this responsibility.  He learned at a young age that people fear and despise yokai and he doesn't want any part of that, even though he loves the household he's grown up in.  Nura is also very human and unsuited for the role before him, at least unt

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow! Cursed Pirate Girl TP - Finally, Jeremy Bastian's work is collected, after a few delays.  I've been looking forward to this one for awhile now, reinforced by his beautiful contribution to the Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard anthology, which blew me away (a page from the Mouse Guard contribution, as well as an illustration from Cursed Pirate Girl are below). Other Noteworthy Releases Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne HC Darkwing Duck Classics (Volume 1) TP Dr. Strange: From the Marvel Vault #1 High School of the Dead (Volume 1) Ivy HC Jim Butcher's Dresden Files: Storm Front (Volume 2) HC Little Lulu (Volume 26): Feud and Other Stories TP Lynd Ward: Six Novels In Woodcuts Slipcase Scenes From an Impending Marriage HC The Stand: No Man's Land #1 Superman: War of the Supermen HC Uncle Scrooge #400