Comics and More

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... Justice League #1 - The book that kicks off DC's relaunch of their entire DC Universe line, from the superstar team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, arrives this week.  Beginning with next week's podcast, Patrick and I will be devoting a month of podcasts to DC's new books each week.  Justice League #1  will be part of week one's podcast, with next week's new releases (including  Action Comics #1 ).  So watch for it! Other Noteworthy Releases Angel & Faith #1 Annhilators HC Any Empire HC Clockwork Girl HC Creepy Presents Bernie Wrightson HC Drifters (Volume 1) Eden: It's An Endless World! (Volume 13) Green River Killer: A True Detective Story HC Infestation (Volume 2) TP The Last Dragon HC New Teen Titans Omnibus (Volume 1) HC The Steve Ditko Omnibus (Volume 1): Starring Shade, the Changing Man HC Thunderbolts By Ellis and Deodato Ultimate Collection TP Ulti...

Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths Shigeru Mizuki This World War II manga from legendary cartoonist Shigeru Mizuki follows a troop of the Imperial Army stationed in the South Pacific.  It begins with illustrating the everyday life of a soldier in the battle field, the waiting and wondering, and the constant threat of enemy fire, not to mention the natural dangers of animals and disease.  There's cruelty from commanding officers, there's unfairness towards the rookies, bonding over stupid pranks, and plenty of humor.  It is sort of an odd mix here to blend humor in with this dark material, but it helps to lift it from being bogged down in too depressing material.  Mizuki also chose to draw the troops in a cartoony style that contrasts with the dangerous, realistic surroundings.  I liked that.  He kind of depicts these troops as goofy, but it makes them more lovable and more human, I suppose.  There are a lot of characters, however, and only a few t...

This week on the Comics-and-More Podcast , Patrick Markfort and I review two new releases from Fantagraphics' line of Franco-Belgian comics. Reviewed: Sibyl-Anne vs. Ratticus Raymond Macherot Gil Jordan, Private Detective: Murder By High Tide Maurice Tillieux Part One: Part Two: For further reading: The Littlest Pirate King David B. Toys In the Basement Stephane Blanquet

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow!! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 - Very exciting!!  A new ongoing Ninja Turtles series is definitely something to celebrate, especially as series co-creator Kevin Eastman is co-writing and doing layouts for the new title! Other Noteworthy Releases Archie Americana (Volume 1): The 40's HC Big Questions HC Blackjacked & Pistol Whipped: Crime Does Not Pay Primer The Comics Journal #301 Esperanza: A Love & Rockets Book SC FF by Jonathan Hickman (Volume 1) HC Infinite Kung Fu GN Knuckles the Echidna Archives (Volume 1) TP Malinky Robot: Collected Stories & Other Bits TP Marineman: A Matter of Life and Depth TP Milton Caniff's Male Call HC Pin-Up Art of Humorama GN Serenity (Volume 2): Better Days & Other Stories HC Spider-Man: The Next Chapter (Volume 1) TP Superman Beyond #0 Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1

Cage of Eden (Volume 1) Yoshinobu Yamada Akira and his classmates' plane crash lands on a deserted island after a class trip in this new title from Kodansha Comics .  Creator Yoshinobu Yamada sets this title up pretty nicely, with the major players all interacting in a normal setting on the plane to give readers an idea of their relationships with one another, and a little bit about their backgrounds, which may or may not come into play in the volumes to come.  There's also plenty of fan service in this part, as the teenagers prove all too eagerly to be a cast of voyeurs, having recorded their female classmates in bikinis during their trip, and ogling over the final product.  And that's not the end of the fan service throughout this book.  There's also a good amount of violence, so boy readers are really getting what they want with this book.  Anyways, something odd happens to the plane they are on and they crash land, Akira waking up alone without so mu...

Here are the highlights of books that I'm excited about, or think may get overlooked, in Previews Catologue for October... Walt Disney's Donald Duck in "Lost In the Andes" by Carl Barks - Carl Barks' beloved duck comics are finally being collected, beginning with this hardcover. Everything (Volume 1): Comics From 1978-1981 HC - The first collection in an effort to bring all of Lynda Barry's works together (including Ernie Pook's Comeek ). Princess Knight (Volume 1) GN - Finally!!!  Osamu Tezuka's pioneering shojo manga is reprinted for American audiences. The Annotated Sandman (Volume 1) HC - A panel-by-panel in-depth look at Neil Gaiman's acclaimed series, wih an introduction and notes by Leslie S. Klinger. Also available this month, a look at another important comic in Metamaus: A Look Inside a Modern Classic, Maus HC . X-Men Regenesis #1 - This one-shot will show us just who is following who in the new X-Men titles launching in the ...

Greg Rucka & Marco Checchetto This is probably one of the first Punisher books that I've ever read.  Frank Castle was just never really a character that I was very interested in following.  But I really like Greg Rucka's work, so I thought I would give this a shot.  Greg Rucka is really known for his strong female characters ( Whiteout, Batwoman, Stumptown , etc.), so I thought that this was an interesting choice for him to write.  But then again, Rucka also worked on Gotham Central , and as this heavily features characters of a police department, it makes sense that he would enjoy writing something like this.  I like that Punisher is presented as a force of nature in this first issue.  There are few characters out there that seem so much larger than life, but Frank Castle definitely fits that bill, swooping in to "punish" people for their crimes, before disappearing into the night.  Like Batman, he's above the law.  A vigilante.  A kin...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... The Complete Peanuts (Volume 16): 1981-1982 HC - Fantagraphics continues their fantastic reprinting of the entirety of Charles Schulz' classic comic strip.  Also available this week, The Complete Peanuts Box Set: 1979-1982 . Other Noteworthy Releases 99 Days HC Amazing Agent Jennifer (Volume 1) BPRD: Hell on Earth (Volume 1): New World TP Fables Deluxe Edition (Volume 3) HC Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo Ultimate Collection (Book 2) TP Invincible Compendium (Volume 1) TP Little Lulu (Volume 28): Prize Winner and Other Stories TP Little Nothings (Volume 4): My Shadow In the Distance GN Mr. Murder Is Dead HC New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis (Volume 2) HC Secret Society of Super Villains HC Setting the Standard: Comics by Alex Toth 1952-1954 HC Star Wars: Kight Errant - Deluge #1 (of 5) The Stuff of Legend (Volume 3): The Jester's Tale #1 (of 4) Tales of the Batman: Ge...

This week sees the first Manga Monday Podcast !  Patrick Markfort ( Articulate Nerd ) and I focus this week's Comics-and-More Podcast on the first volume of Wandering Son . Reviewed: Wandering Son (Volume 1) Shimura Takako Part One: Part Two: For further reading: A Drunken Dream and Other Stories GN Moto Hagio

This week on the Comics-and-More Podcast, we review the first issue in two new series. Reviewed: Mystic #1 (of 4) G. Willow Wilson & David Lopez Rachel Rising #1 Terry Moore Part One: Part Two: For further reading: Mystic (Volume 1): Rite of Passage TP Ron Marz & Brandon Peterson Terry Moore's Echo Complete Edition SC Terry Moore

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow! Gunnerkrigg Court (Volume 3) GN - If you haven't gotten on board with Thomas Siddell's magical all-ages fantasy series, you're missing out!  This is the latest volume, sure to feature awesomeness! Other Noteworthy Releases Archie's Mad House (Volume 1) HC Bad Island GN Deltora Quest (Volume 1) Hulk Visionaries: Peter David (Volume 8) TP Infestation (Volume 1) TP Luz Sees the Light GN Magnus Robot Fighter (Volume 1) TP The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury GN Nipper (Volume 2): 1965-1966 HC Showcase Presents The Trial of the Flash TP Space Family Robinson Archives (Volume 1) HC Spider-Island: Cloak & Dagger #1 (of 3) Spy School GN Terry Moore's Echo Complete Edition SC War Goddess #0 X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda HC

Christos Gage & Juan Bobillo I haven't read Astonishing X-Men since Warren Ellis took it over after Joss Whedon's run, but some of the recent solicitations intrigued me.  Plus, I really like Christos Gage's recent work (like Avengers Academy ), so I thought I would give this storyarc a try.  Right now, there are alternating storylines in Astonishing X-Men .  Every other issue follows a different set of characters on a different mission.  The one that drew my attention was the one following the Brood.  The team tackling the Brood consists of my favorite X-Man, Kitty Pryde, as well as Colossus, Storm and Beast.  It starts out with Beast coming to the X-Men for help, as his girlfriend, Agent Brand, head of S.W.O.R.D., never came back from a mission from Pandora's Box, a space station that's a part of S.W.O.R.D., where they conduct riskier experiments with extraterrestrial beings.  Beast believes that she's still alive, and enlists the...

Doug TenNapel I wasn't a huge fan of Doug TenNapel's previous all-ages graphic novel, Ghostopolis , but I really liked his art and I saw a lot of potential for something great in that story, so I decided to give him another go with Bad Island , another all-ages fantasy.  I wasn't disappointed.  I really enjoyed this new book.  TenNapel illustrates this story with the same great cartoony style as his previous book, but couples it with a really neat story that had direction and moved along at a brisk pace without the meandering uninteresting parts that dragged Ghostopolis down.  It follows a family that's sort of disconnected, going on a boat trip that nobody is really eager to go on, except for the father, who really wants to bring his family together again during this vacation.  Things don't go as planned, however, as a storm causes them to wash up on an island in the middle of nowhere.  And the longer they stay on the island, the more strange ...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday!! Walter Simonson's The Mighty Thor Artist's Edition HC - Lots of great books come out this week, so it was harder than usual to narrow it down to just one obvious must-have, but I think IDW's new Artist's Edition series is really something to celebrate, and I hope it's successful.  Walter Simonson is certainly deserving of a book like this. Other Noteworthy Releases Avengers Academy (Volume 2): Real World HC Best of Archie Comics TP Caniff HC Jack Kirby Omnibus (Volume 1): Starring Green Arrow HC The Infinite #1 Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman HC Mystic #1 (of 4) Petrograd HC Pokemon: Black & White (Volume 1) Punisher #1 Rachel Rising #1 Rocket Raccoon: Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant HC Roger Langridge's Snarked! #0 Spider-Man Newspaper Strips (Volume 2) HC Steve Canyon: The Complete Comic Book Series (Volume 1) HC Strawberry Shortcake: Berry...