Comics and More

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... The Complete Peanuts (Volume 15): 1979-1980 HC - The latest volume of Fantagraphics ' excellent Complete Peanuts reprint project dips into material from the 80's, and includes an introduction from Al Roker. Other Noteworthy Releases Age of X Universe #1 (of 2) Best of Dick Tracy (Volume 1) TP Chimo GN Dollhouse: Epitaphs One-Shot Fish Police (Volume 1) TP Godzilla: King of Monsters #1 James Patterson's Witch & Wizard (Volume 2): Operation Zero HC Jimmy Olsen #1 Kid K-OS (Volume 1): Agents of Doom GN Mome (Volume 21) GN Strange Tales II HC Superman: The Black Ring HC Tenken GN Vanguard Frazetta Classics (Volume 1): Johnny Comet HC Vanguard Frazetta Classics (Volume 2): White Indian HC

Jonathan Hickman & Steve Epting Fantastic Four relaunched this week as FF in wake of team member Human Torch's death, FF standing for Future Foundation, something that Hickman introduced earlier in his run on the series. The first issue of this new direction for the team continues the grieving process for the team, as seen through the eyes of Spider-Man, the latest person to join the Future Foundation. We see Ben's guilt for not being the one to have died in Johnny's place, Franklin's reluctance to enjoy things he otherwise would have, making it clear to Peter in an awkward scene that his uncle can not be replaced. The Human Torch's death certainly had to be addressed at the beginning of this series, but it really made for a downer of a first issue, although Hickman did interject a little action into the issue through a breakout attempt initiated by A.I.M. to bring one of the Fantastic Four's villains back into the picture. Also, there was a really neat ...

Many of you may not be aware that I write fiction, but my first YA novel, Twice Bitten has just become available through Barnes & Noble digitally for just $1.99!  It's a gay paranormal romance with the following official synopsis: Jesse Hartwick is a teen celebrity, recently out of the closet, and just beginning to take off as the next big thing in Hollywood. Distanced from his only family, Jesse puts his all into his career, leading a lonely life in the spotlight. Everything changes one day when he meets Kurt, a cute mysterious stranger who saves him from a mob of fans, beginning a romance that will change things forever, but is Jesse's celebrity status the only thing that Kurt is interested in? When Lane comes into the picture, it just confuses Jesse more, but he can hardly deny the strong feelings he has for him, especially since he didn't even know that Jesse was a celebrity when he met him, making him all the more appealing. Shortly after meeting these tw...

A little later than usual this month, here are some choice books from Previews Catalogue that I think may get overlooked or are just plain exciting to me, due in comic shops in May... Captain Britain (Volume 1): Birth of a Legend HC - Finally, the early adventures of Captain Britain are being collected in the US (for the first time), featuring talent such as Chris Claremont and John Buscema. Courtney Crumrin Tales #2: The League of Ordinary Gentlemen - Finally, Courtney Crumrin returns!!  This is a sequel to Portrait of the Warlock As a Young Man , featuring Uncle Aloysius. Jack Kirby Omnibus (Volume 1) Starring Green Arrow HC - Yep, collecting odds and ends from around the DC universe to headd to the Jack Kirby experience. Barks' Bear Book HC -  From Yoe! Books comes a collection of Carl Barks comedy series, collected for the first time, featuring a bear and a burro. Yeah! SC - Collecting a series that was a collaboration between Peter Bagge and Gilbert Hern...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Stumptown (Volume 1) HC  - Stumptown was a mini-series published by Oni Press last year, from Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth.  It was kind of an overlooked title, but it wound up on several best-of-the-year lists for 2010, and deservedly so.  This is one of the best outputs from Greg Rucka period.   Stumptown features a witty protagonist in the fully-realized Private Investigator Dex, who doesn't have the best of luck, but is good at what she does.  If you missed it the first time around, pick up this collection. Other Noteworthy Releases Arctic Marauder HC Cardboard Valise GN FF #1 Finder Library (Volume 1) TP Invincible Ultimate Collection (Volume 6) HC New Character Parade GN Phoenix Without Ashes HC Savage Dragon: Emperor Dragon TP Showcase Presents: The Witching Hour (Volume 1) TP The Story of Lee (Volume 1) GN Thing Classic (Volume 1) TP

Goong: The Royal Palace (Volume 1) Park So Hee I just got back from C2E2, but I'll probably talk more about that later.  While I was in Chicago, I scored some good manga, and had enough down-time to squeeze in a manga for today.  Goong: The Royal Palace is a book I've been eyeing for awhile now, just because I love the elaborate clothing and backgrounds on the beautiful covers, and I couldn't resist picking up the first volume when I saw it on sale.  This title is actually manhwa, from Korean creator Park So Hee, and sees a sort of Cinderella story with a reluctant heroine.  It takes place in a parallel world, where the monarchy still thrives in Korea, when it actually ended a long time ago.  It's sort of a what-if that sees the royals living in the palaces of Korea, and treated like celebrities, with their own breed of paprazzi following them around, the media going crazy over every little incident.  Chae-Kyung is drawn into this world when she is chos...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops tomorrow... Ruse #1 (of 4) - Another book from Marvel's Crossgen imprint debuts this week, the first issue in a four issue mini-series.  This was one of Crossgen's best titles, a Victorian mystery, and former Crossgen creator Mark Waid is writing, with Mirco Pierfederici on pencils.  Also, note that another comic company's resurrection is taking place this week (and not just as an imprint), as many Atlas Comics make their debut this week, including Grim Ghost and Phoenix . Other Noteworthy Releases Classic Jurassic Park (Volume 2): Raptors' Revenge TP Deadpool Max: History of Violence #1 Grim Ghost #1 IZombie (Volume 1): Dead To the World TP Krazy & Ignatz 1912-1921: Benevolent Brick TP Phoenix #1 Sea Ghost #1: Sea Ghost In the Machine Spider #1 Suddenly Something Happened GN Xombi #1

Amnesia Labyrinth (Volume 1) Nagaru Tanigawa & Natsumi Kohane Souji Kushiki returns home from going to school afar to live with his family and attend high school with people he grew up with.  He's good at everything he does, from sports to his high grades to his popularity, and he definitely leaves an impression on the female population.  In fact when he left to go to high school elsewhere, he left plenty of broken hearts in his wake.  But not Sasai, a girl from his class who's pretty blunt (and proud) about not having had feelings for him.  She's a strong-headed young woman who's really persistent in getting Souji to help her with a murder investigation.  During the summer, three students from their high school have been murdered and she thinks with his wits, and his father who works for the police, she can help solve the case and find out why one of the students, whom she had a crush on, was murdered.  The only thing each victim had in co...

Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Tan Eng Huat & Timothy Green II I'm a pretty big fan of the cosmic stuff that Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have done over the past few years at Marvel, particularly with Annihilation , War of Kings and Guardians of the Galaxy .  I was not a fan of The Thanos Imperative , which I dropped after giving it a few issues when it didn't click with me.  It appears quite a bit of stuff went down at the end of that series, since in the new mini-series Annihilators , we see that the Guardians of the Galaxy have either been killed or scattered across the universe, and a new team of mega heroes, consisting of powerful cosmic characters, have risen from the ashes of The Thanos Imperative to form a new team of heroes to stop any new threat to the universe before it reaches such a critical level.  And right from the first page of Annihilators , it's pretty clear that if you haven't kept up with the cosmic goings-on at Marvel, the story isn'...

I plan on getting back to more regular posts by the end of the week, as my free time's been pretty full lately.  Anyway, here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... Sigil #1 (of 4) - Crossgen is resurrected with this first issue of a four-issue mini-series from Marvel's new Crossgen imprint.  It's kind of an ultimatized version of the Crossgen fans may remember, with a great team at the helm: Mike Carey and Leonard Kirk.  The story features a sixteen-year-old girl who is suddenly burdened with a symbol on her chest that turns her world upside-down. Other Noteworthy Releases Asterix: Asterix & Obelix's Birthday TP The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art 1895-2010 HC Infamous #1 (of 6) John Stanley's Melvin Monster (Volume 3) HC Legion of Super Villains #1 Oresama Teacher (Volume 1) Power Pack Classic (Volume 3) TP Prince Valiant (Volume 3): 1941-1942 HC Thor: The Mighty Avengers (Volume 2) TP To...

Here is the book you should be paying attention to, in comic shops on Wednesday... Roy Crane's Buz Sawyer (Volume 1): War In the Pacific HC - From Fantagraphics, this is sure to be another beautifully-produced hardcover archival project, reprinting the Roy Crane comic strip. Other Noteworthy Releases Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 (of 3) Batman: Time and the Batman HC Batman Beyond: Hush Beyond TP Binky the Space Cat (Volume 1) GN Captain America and Falcon #1 Conan (Volume 1): Frost Giant's Daughter TP An Elegy For Amelia Johnson HC Herculian #1 Hexed TP Intrepids #1 Johnny Hiro (Volume 1) TP Lewis and Clark GN Marvel Zombies: Supreme #1 (of 5) Marvelman Family's Finest HC Popeye (Volume 5): Whas a Jeep HC Popeye: The Great Comic Book Tales by Bud Sagendorf (Volume 1) HC The Smurfs (Volume 5): The Smurfs and the Egg GN Superpatriot: America's Fighting Force TP Takio GN Thor: Tales of Asgard TP Venom by Daniel Way Ultimate Collection TP Wildcats V...