Comics and More

This is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Wonder Woman (Volume 1): Blood HC - One of the best things to come out of DC's New 52 is this fantastic run on Wonder Woman , who has rarely been written well in the past.  Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang find the perfect balance of superheroic action and bloody mythology for Diana in this first collection of their run. Other Noteworthy Releases Baltimore (Volume 2): The Curse Bells HC Batman: Death By Design HC Channel Zero: The Complete Collection TP Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse HC Empowered (Volume 7) TP Fables Deluxe Edition (Volume 5) HC The Graphic Cannon (Volume 1): From the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liaisons TP Green Arrow (Volume 1): The Midas Touch TP Grim Leaper #1 (of 4) Kick-Ass 2 HC Monsieur Jean: The Singles Theory HC The Moon Moth GN Peyo: The Life & Work of a Marvellous Storyteller SC Ravagers #1 Starman Omnibus (Volume 1) TP ...

For this week's Manga Monday , I wanted to point you toward a youtube video of Patrick Markfort talking about 20th Century Boys , and creator Naoki Urasawa in general.  Patrick Markfort is the co-host of the Comics-and-More Podcast , and he has begun posting his own videos pretty frequently.  It's good stuff, so check it out !

Jeff Lemire & Mikel Janin I wasn't a fan of the original launch of DC's New 52 title  Justice League Dark , written by Peter Mulligan, but I like the idea of this book, so with Jeff Lemire coming on board as writer, and him writing some excellent books for DC, like Animal Man and Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. , I thought I would check out what he planned to do to steer this title into new territory.  Mikel Janis is still on art, but while his panels were a little unfocused and hard to follow in his initial issue, he does a good job of making the action flow better in this new incarnation of the team.  His art style is well-suited for the book and I hope he continues to grow with the title.  Jeff Lemire's new team consists of John Contantine, Deadman, Zatanna, the vampire Andrew Bennett, and the shapeshifter Black Orchid.  For all intents and purposes, this is like a new book.  There are a few references to Mulligan's initial run, ...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Makeshift Miracle (Book One): Girl From Nowhere HC - This new full-color graphic novel from UDON makes its way from webcomic to print, boasting beautiful illustrations in a coming-of-age fantasy. Other Noteworthy Releases Absolute Batman: Dark Victory HC Adventures Into the Unknown Archives (Volume 1) HC Batman Incorporated #1 Best of Sonic the Hedgehog HC Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight Library Edition (Vol. 1) HC Comic Book History of Comics GN Godzilla #1 Golden Age Western Comics HC Interiorae TP Justice League Dark #9 Mind Mgmt #1 Resident Alien #1 Savage Hawkman #9 Showcase Presents: Sea Devils (Volume 1) TP Steve Ditko Archives (Volume 3): Mysterious Traveler HC Stormwatch (Volume 1): The Dark Side TP Uncanny X-Force: Otherworld HC Youngblood #71

Young Miss Holmes: Casebook 1-2 Kaoru Shintani It's been awhile, but Manga Monday is back!  This week, I'm talking about Seven Seas release Young Miss Holmes , which in Japan, goes by the title Christie: High Tension .  Young Miss Holmes is a title that immediately gets the concept of the manga across, however.  This book follows Christie, the niece of famed detective Sherlock Holmes.  In these adventures, we get to know this rambunctious ten-year-old who has inherited her uncle's intellect and knack for solving cases.  Already, she's bored with her studies, and it seems that the only thing that really holds her interest is when she's in the middle of a new mystery.  Young Miss Holmes takes place in a Victorian setting, with a retro art style that suits the story really well.  The art of the pages is rather detailed, with nice cartooning demonstrated by Shintani.  Christie is a very likable character who it's hard not to like; her enthusiasm i...

Here are the books that caught my eye in Previews Catalogue , for books shipping to comic shops in June... Fantagraphics EC Reprint Line - Two offerings become available through Fantagraphics' new line of EC reprints, focusing on the artists of the classic tales.  "Came the Dawn" and Other Stories from Wally Wood, and "Corpse of the Imjini" and Other Stories from Harvey Kurtzman. Fatima: The Blood Spinners #1 - A new series from Gilbert Hernandez ( Love & Rockets) featuring zombies?  Yes, please! The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III: Century #3: 2009 - Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill bring the League into current time! Dark Avengers #175 - They're baaack!  Thunderbolts become Dark Avengers this month, featuring your favorite Avengers to hate. Before Watchmen - The debut issues in several mini-series featuring characters from Alan Moore's Watchmen come out this month, including Minutemen #1, Silk Spectre #1, Comedian #1 and Nite Ow...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow. Are You My Mother? HC - One of the most anticipated graphic novels of the year is Alison Bechdel's follow-up to her hugely-successful and acclaimed Fun Home , this book focusing on her mother, whereas Fun Home was about her father. Other Noteworthy Releases B.P.R.D.: Hell On Earth - The Devil's Engine #1 (of 3) Catwoman (Volume 1): The Game TP The Coldest City HC The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy (Volume 13) HC Eerie Archives (Volume 10) HC Flowers of Evil (Volume 1) Green Lantern (Volume 1): Sinestro HC Hardcore #1 Kamen HC Moon Knight by Bendis & Maleev (Volume 2) HC New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis (Volume 3) HC New Mutants Classic (Volume 7) TP Walt Kelly: The Life & Art of the Creator of Pogo HC

Faith Erin Hicks Friends With Boys is a new graphic novel from Faith Erin Hicks, creator of the webcomic Demonology 101 and the graphic novel Zombies Calling .  I've never read anything from her before, but she fits in well with the First Second Books crowd, with a gentle story for the young adult crowd, with a little supernatural element thrown in for good measure.  The story follows Maggie, who's going to high school for the first time after being home schooled by her mother her whole life.  Her three brothers (two of whom are twins) all went to public school for high school, so it's nothing new for the family, except that this comes off of their mother leaving the family.  Maggie blames herself for some things she said to her, adding more drama to the tale as Maggie falls in with two outcasts from school, and watches her popular brothers strut around the school.  Maggie also has a ghost that follows her around that doesn't speak, and while she would r...

This is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Nonnonba GN -  The big graphic novel release of the week.  Nonnonba is the "definitive" work of Shigeru Mizuki, the manga creator behind last year's Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths . Other Noteworthy Releases Archie's Sunday Finest HC Atomic Robo (Volume 6): The Ghost of Station X TP Avengers Academy: Second Semester HC Baby's In Black HC Batman (Volume 1): The Court of Owls HC Essential Black Panther (Volume 1) TP FLCL Omnibus GN Frankenstein: Alive, Alive! #1 Justice League International (Volume 1): Signal Masters TP Marvel Zombies: Destroy #1 (of 5) Spider-Man: Season One HC Takio #1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics #1 Trio #1

This week, on the Comics-and-More Podcast , Patrick Markfort and I review a title that I've been wanting to read for awhile now, Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force . Reviewed: Uncanny X-Force (Volume 1): The Apocalypse Solution Rick Remender & Jerome Opena Uncanny X-Force (Volume 2): Deathlok Nation Rick Remender, Esad Ribic & Rafael Albuquerque Uncanny X-Force (Volume 3): The Dark Angel Saga (Book One) Rick Remender, Billy Tan & Mark Brooks Uncanny X-Force (Volume 4): The Dark Angel Saga (Book Two) Rick Remender, Jerome Opena & Robbi Rodriguez Part One: Part Two: For further reading: Secret Avengers #21.1, 22-25 Rick Remender & Gabriel Hardman Uncanny X-Force #19-22 Rick Remender & Greg Tocchini Venom by Rick Remender (Volume 1) Rick Remender, Tony Moore & Tom Fowler Age of Apocalypse #1 David Lapham & Roberto De La Torre

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops today... Fallen Words GN -  A new manga from Yoshihiro Tatsumi is always cause for celebration.  This collects eight "moral comedies" adapted from oral tradition, from the Edo-era Japanese storytelling form rakugo . Other Noteworthy Releases Animal Man (Volume 1): The Hunt TP Avengers: Kree/Skrull War HC Avengers: X-Sanction HC Dial H #1 Earth Two #1 Epic Kill #1 Exiled #1 Fury MAX #1 Garfield #1 G.I. Combat #1 Hulk: Return of the Monster HC Justice League (Volume 1): Origin HC Kiki de Montparnasse GN Mind the Gap #1 Skeleton Key Color Special One-Shot The Spider #1 Spirit World HC Tanpopo Collection (Volume 1) HC Teen Boat GN Worlds' Finest #1

Here are the books that caught my eye in Previews Catalogue , for books shipping to comic shops in May... Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: "Only a Poor Old Man" HC - Carl Barks' classic Uncle Scrooge begins bing collected here! DC's New 52: Second Wave Titles - New titles replace the recently canceled ones in DC's New 52, including Earth Two #1 ( James Robinson & Nicola Scott) , Worlds' Finest #1 ( Paul Levitz, George Perez & Kevin Maguire ), Batman, Incorporated #1 ( Grant Morrison & Chris Burnham ), Dial H #1 ( China Mieville & Mateus Santolouco ), G.I. Combat #1 ( J.T. Krul, Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Ariel Olivetti & Dan Panosian) , and The Ravagers #1 ( Howard Mackie & Ian Churchill ). Cursed Pirate Girl (Volume 1) HC - My favorite comic from last year gets the deluxe treatment, thanks to Archaia.  A nice new hardcover edition of Jeremy Bastian's gorgeous comic is being released with a new epilogue.  If you missed ...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Folly: Consequences of Indiscretion GN - This is a collection of material that was originally self-published by the creator, Hans Rickheit, who topped my best-of-the-year list a few years back with The Squirrel Machine .  There should be some beautiful, and probably grotesquely beautiful, stuff in here. Other Noteworthy Releases Avengers vs. X-Men: VS #1 (of 6) Black Orchid HC Chew (Volume 5): Major League Chew TP Darkhawk Classic (Volume 1) TP Frazetta: Funny Stuff HC I'm Not a Plastic Bag HC Jerusalem: Chronicles From the Holy City HC Michael Turner's Soulfire Definitive Edition (Volume 1) TP Popeye (Volume 6): Me Lil Swee Pea HC Popeye #1 (of 4) Pterodactyl Hunters In the Gilded City One-Shot Showcase Presents: The Spectre (Volume 1) TP Stormwatch (Volume 1) HC Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Archie 100 Page Spectacular

In the first of what will most likely be several Jack Kirby podcasts, Patrick Markfort and I discuss Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's work on Fantastic Four and Thor . Reviewed: Fantastic Four #44-51 Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Thor #129-135 Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Part One: Part Two: Part Three: For further reading: Fantastic Four Omnibus (Volume 1) HC Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Fantastic Four Omnibus (Volume 2) HC Stan Lee & Jack Kirby The Mighty Thor Omnibus (Volume 1) HC Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Essential Thor (Volume 2) TP Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic book stores tomorrow... Harvey Pekar's Cleveland HC - Autobiographical sketches and glimpses of the city he lived in for most of his life, haunt this graphic novel from the late great Harvey Pekar Other Noteworthy Releases 3 Story: Secret Files of the Giant Man Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus (Volume 2) HC Archie Archives (Volume 5) HC Avengers: The Serpent Crown HC Cinderella: Fables Are Forever TP Hellcyon TP Katsuya Terada's The Monkey King (Volume 2) TP Krazy & Ignatz 1922-1924: At Last My Drim of Love Has Come True TP New Teen Titans Omnibus (Volume 2) HC Reset #1 (of 4) The Shadow #1 The Shark King GN Showcase Presents: All Star Squadron (Volume 1) TP Strangeways: The Thirsty TP The Survivalist Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro-Series: Leonardo Ultimate Comics: Avengers by Mark Millar Omnibus HC Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron (Volume 1) HC

Brian Michael Bendis, John Romita Jr. & Various Marvel's big crossover event of 2012 started with a bang last week when Avengers vs. X-Men #1 hit the stands, pitting the two big teams of the Marvel Universe against one another, promising battles between characters that fans will love to see.  The first act of this twelve issue mini-series was written by Bendis, but the overall story, which carries through various Avengers and X-Men titles, was laid out by Bendis, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman and Matt Fraction collectively.  There will also be a Vs. book that features some of the big fights that won't be seen in the main mini-series. So how was the first issue?  Really solid, I'd say.  I usually look forward to these events warily, and am usually disappointed by the first issue, while the crossover as a whole drags down the quality of a ton of titles in the Marvel U that are attached to it, but this is a pretty basic premise th...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Courtney Crumrin #1 - A new full-color Courtney Crumrin series is certainly cause for celebration! Creator Ted Naifeh returns to his beloved character, writing and illustrating this new series.  Also available this week, Courtney Crumrin (Volume 1): The Night Things Special Edition HC , a newly remastered, full-color edition of the first book in Ted Naifeh's fan-favorite series Other Noteworthy Releases Alabaster: Wolves #1 (of 5) America's Got Powers #1 (of 6) Avalon Chronicles (Volume 1) HC Batman Incorporated (Volume 1) HC Daredevil: Season One HC Dollhouse: Epitaphs TP Genetiks TM (Volume 1) HC Kitchen Sink Press: The First 25 Years Oz Treasury Edition Pete and Miriam GN Secret #1 Secret Service #1 (of 7) Severed HC Showcase Presents: The Losers (Volume 1) TP Stan Lee's Stripperella GN Unterzakhn GN Untold Tales of Spider-Man Omnibus HC

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Supreme #63 - Erik Larsen and Cory Hamscher adapt Alan Moore's final script of a never-before-seen Supreme comic, as a launching point for a regular series which Larsen will continue. Other Noteworthy Releases The Celestial Bibendum HC Cold War (Volume 1) TP Danger Club #1 The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath & Other Stories HC Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns (Volume 2) HC Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery HC The Girl Who Owned a City GN Jeremiah Omnibus (Volume 1) HC Lou (Volume 1): Secret Diary GN Miss Annie (Book 1): Freedom! Shenzhen: A Travelogue From China SC Voltron: Year One #1

Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples Brian K. Vaughan returns to comics with a new ongoing series from Image Comics , his first work for the comic publisher.  The story centers around two young people from opposites sides of a war, Alana and Marko.  Their people are fighting a galaxy-spanning war.  On one side, we have magic users from a moon, while on the other are a tech-heavy sort of people who employ robots, from the planet that moon orbits.  Not only have Alana and Marko defected from their people, but are in love and have conceived a child.  Neither side is happy about the child, and more than one bounty hunter is in place to track them down before word of their union spreads.  It's a very epic, ambitious story that Vaughan has planned here, obviously influenced by Star Wars .  Fiona Staples does his vision justice with some fantastic art work and beautiful coloring.  She paces this double-sized first issue perfectly, letting readers ...

Jan Strnad & Richard Corben Ragemoor is a new horror mini-series from Dark Horse Comics that sees a castle that's been in a family for years, literally come alive.  Built in blood and nursed with blood over the centuries, Ragemoor is a living thing that only allows people to come and go as it pleases.  Late at night, the people who live there can hear the groans of stone and timbers before discovering new rooms and additions to hallways.  Vines and granite serve as its limbs, enabling it to seek out new victims to feed its thirst for blood.  This first issue serves as a nice little single story actually, as we witness a man who grew up at Ragemoor as a little boy return, scheming to claim it for his own and tear the place apart.  Obviously, Ragemoor doesn't like this idea one bit, and him and his companion are terrorized after laughing off warnings from those who live there.  It's a nice little story, but Corben's art brings it to another level, ...