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 ...