By Britt Schramm
July 18th, 2005
Welcome back. Hope everyone enjoyed the San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend. If you have a hangover from too many comics, I would understand if you have to come back later to read this gem. But I will need to see some verification that you had attended or it will go on your permanent record.
To catch up, here's what transpired last week:
- PftL is highlighting July's Previews for the month of September 2005
- The first half covered Dark Horse, DC and Image (Click here to read it)
- This last half will cover the Comics & Graphic Novel section and the Marvel Previews magazine
- Britt is damn crazy for attempting this arduous task during SDCC and over a two-week period when he can barely post his regular column on time
Well, with that out of the way, here are the covers for July's Previews:
Now, one more time.. With feeling..
Comics & Graphic Novels (Pages 198-386)
Page #204 - The Secret Voice #1 (Adhouse Books) - Small press book are hard to judge within Previews but Adhouse Books is a publisher that I trust. And this one looks like a keeper. $4.95
Pages #236 - 242 (Avatar Press) - Looks like it's all Pullido, all the time with the ridiculous pile of books that are coming out this month with the gambit of movie slasher villains (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Lady Death's fifteen soemthing books, some other book called Gypsy, another one called War Angel and the relase of his DVD, There's Something Out There. Aside for the other four or five non-Pullido books this month, this solicitation looks like the old Chaos Comics days. Things are look up for good old Brian. All each $3.99
Page #247 - Bat Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #11 (Bongo Comics) - This is a holiday favorite in the Schramm household. The creative teams that Bongo gets for these annual Treehouse of Horror books are always excellent. And this year is no exception with the teams of Len Wein/Bernie Wrightson and Marv Wolfman/Gene Colan. Make me wish that Halloween was right around the corner. $4.99
Page #253 - Small Press Expo (SPX) 2005 Anthology (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) - A piece of required reading for those of you who still shy away from seeing the words “Alternative” and “Comics” together in the same sentence. In this book, you will find a ton of creators all with their own stories for one low price with all of the proceeds going to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. $12.95
Page #263 - Evil Ernie in Santa Fe #1 (of 4) (Devil's Due Publishing) - Speaking of Chaos Comics, the former face of the company, Evil Ernie, seems to be prepped for a comeback. Maybe it's me but to see someone other than Pullido listed as the writer for Ernie's book seems strange. But since I never read it in the first place, I probably wouldn't know the difference. $2.95
Page #284 - Complete Peanuts Volume 4: 1957-1958 HC (Fantagraphics) - There's no need to explain the reasons to buy this series other than it will end up with the complete chronological set of the beloved gang. And with Snoopy (my son likes to call him Nuppers) yawning on the cover, how can you say no to that? Easy, if you're inhuman. $28.95
Page #294 - Magnus Robot Fighter Volume 1 GN (iBooks) - For those of you old enough to remember when Valiant roamed the comic book scene, Magnus was its Superman. Then after the infamous 90's bust, they went the way of the dodo. However, Louise Simonson and Damion Hendricks are bringing the old slugger out of mothballs for their original graphic novel. As an added bonus, Jim Steranko draws the cover. It's definitely worth a look. $6.95
Page #299 - The Keep #1 (IDW) - Oohh, a new horror book that's an adaptation of a NY Times bestseller. That sounds promising. And the writer is the actual writer. Even better. Plus Matthew Smith from Helboy is doing the pencils. Got me sold. $3.99
Page #301 - Grimjack: Killer Instinct TPB & HC (IDW) - This solict is what I like about IDW. Rather than put out a hardcover then a trade six month aftwards to make sure that the company will make the most money possible, IDW decides to let the reader choose which version that they want. How novel – letting the customer decide. $19.99 for the TPB; $39.99 for the HC
Page #302 - Bigfoot TPB (IDW) - Steve Niles, Rob Zombie and Richard Corben bring the story of the greatest American myth to 4 color life. And with these guys leading the way, you gotta know going in that there will be some copious amounts of blood flowing in the pages. $19.99
Page #314 - Polly & The Pirates #1 (of 6) (Oni Press) - Ted Naifeh temporarily ditched Courtney Crumrin's dark landscape to head with Polly to sail the Seven Seas. This book should be a fun adventure for the entire family. $2.99
Page #332 - Smoke And Mirrors #1 (Speakeasy Comics) - This book’s description is what made me interested. Usually I lean more towards pencillers as I look at comics but this solicitation's synopsis (old retired superhero training a new punk while the old man’s daughter has developed super powers fo her own) has piqued my curiosity. I definitely will have to peruse this one when it comes out in September. $2.99
Page #345 - GTO Vol.1 DVD & Manga Bundle (Tokyo Pop) - I think that this type of packaging could be the wave of the future for manga based on an anime film. And like the ad said, the list price is like getting the manga for free. $19.99
Page #360 - Owly Volume 3: Flying Lessons TP - This book contains such a range of emotion that it’s the simplicity that strikes you first. The adventures of Owly and his friend Wormy are fun, thoughtful, touching and silly. And with this third trade, the world around Owly is starting to fill out. Maybe Andy Runton will do a spin-off on one of his characters into their own book. One can only hope. $10.00
Marvel Comics (Previews Issue #23 - By the way, they have their own separate freakin' magazine for ordering comics in case you didn't know. If you're following along, open the book with Ghost Rider staring right at you – Pages #1-73)
Page #3 - Maximum Fantastic Four - Just out of the gate and we have a contender to the throne for last week's coveted title of “Constantly reissuing collected material in different ways as the new Variant Covers Gimmick”. Almost six months after releasing the Fantastic Four Omnibus, Marvel has decided to offer another rendition of FF from back in the day. I know that this one has been remastered out the ass but come on, is it absolutely imperative to have this many versions of FF#1 available in the world? And $50 for a single issue? I don’t care what else is in this hardcover but for that price, Stan the Man should deliver it to me himself. $49.99
Pages #4-14 - Various House of M issues - Since I’m trying to be on my best behavior, I won't comment on these books. It's a hard temptation to avoid but I'm the better man for it. All issues are $2.99 (except for Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine which are $2.50)
Page #15 - Ultimate Fantastic Four #23 - Hey, it's Greg Land on pencils. Man, I remember him from his Nightwing days and good old CrossGen. Man, I miss CG. Some of those titles were really fun like Ruse, Way of the Rat and Mystic. I know that I should blame someone for their failure to reamin in business but I’m sure that there enough fault to go around to everybody. $2.50
Page #17 - Ultimate Iron Man #4 (of 5) - The length of time that this mini-series has taken to come out has been unbelievable. And they’re only on issue 4. Orson Scott Card may be used to writing novels at this speed but comics readers become disinterested in a title if it ships late; more for self-preservation than for actually hating the title. Being burned by cancelled series that never gets the chance to conclude (another nod to the dearly departed CrossGen) can do that to a reader. $2.99
Page #19 - Ultimate X-Men #63 - It's the first confrontation with Havok and his brother, Cyclops in the Ultimate universe. Just as long as his final costume looks nothing like his current Tron-wannabe design that's in the regular X-continuity. But with Brian Vaughan and Stuart Immonen at the helm, I think that I can breathe easier. $2.50
Pages #20 and 21 - Ultimate Spider-Man #82 & #83 - Bendis is putting out two Ultimate Spideys in one month? But what's up with the Black Cat’s mask? She looks more like Die Fledermaus than the Felicia that I know. The next issue has the introduction of Marc Spector (otherwise known as Moon Knight, Marvel's Batman) into the Ultimate universe. And no complaints on his Ultimate costume. It looks pretty good. $2.50 each
Page #25 - Marvel Knights Spider-Man #18 - Not look now, but it seems that the Gimp is making a guest appearance in this issue. And he’s flying. Maybe, the ball gag was his form of Kryptonite. Who knew that he could fly? Well, Zed won’t be able to tell you. Ya see, Zed's dead, baby. $2.99
Page #26 - Ghost Rider #1 - In order to totally avoid mentioning the train wreck that was Ghost Rider: Hammer Lane, here’s the cure – making sure that Johnny Blaze remains as Ghost Rider’s host, moving the book to Marvel Knights and having Garth Ennis put words in everyone’s mouths in the book. And Clayton Crain's work is looking pretty sick. Plus, it looks like all of those emails that I sent to Marvel paid off – unless I wasn’t the only one who demanded it. $2.99
Page #31 - Black Widow 2 #1 (of 6) - The great team for the first BW mini are back for some more and they brought along Sean Phillips, which can only mean better things. This one should be real good. $2.99
Page #33 - Black Panther #8 - I haven't been reading this re-launch of King T'Challa. So, there's no real reason to mention this issue. But Frank Cho had to go and make a nude Ororo cover with a strategically placed floating sheet of fabric. All you pervs, you know who you are, be on the look out for this one. $2.99
Page #35 - Wolverine #32 - This is Mark Millar's swan song on this title and he's going out in style with Kaare Andrews laying down the lead. If that doesn’t scream at you to buy it, here's some word association that may make the decision much easier: WWII, Nazis, and a concentration camp. If you're not intrigued by that, find something else to do. Comics just ain’t your thang. $2.50
Page #36 - Dardevil: Father #3 (of 5) - Is it me or does it seem that Joe Quesada's art style is morphing into a weak imitation of Frank Miller's? If you don't believe me, take a look at this listing. From the lower half of DD's face down to the tread on the boots, it’s almost eerie. (It’s really hard not to say something smart-assed about the total lack of confidence I have that this book will ship on time. Ooops, forget that last statement. It never happened.) $2.99
Page #39 - The Sentry #1 (of 8) - Paul Jenkins is coming back to the scene of the crime. If you don't remember, The Sentry was originally marketed by Marvel as a creation that of Stan Lee which had slipped through the cracks before FF #1 came out back in the 60's, making him the first Silver Age Marvel superhero. Later, near the end of The Sentry's first mini, it was “discovered” that Marvel new first superhero was actually a creation of Jenkins. And since it was so good, no one seemed to care that they were fooled. Now, Jenkins is gonna write a new story about this guy with John Romita, Jr drawing? I'm so there. $2.99
Page #42 - Defenders #3 (of 5) - Sweet goodness in on the way as Giffen, DeMatteis and Maguire are taking their hilarious show on the road across the street to tackle Marvel’s dysfunctional super-team, the Defenders. Don't think on this one; just buy it. $2.99
Page #43 - Thor: Blood Oath #1 (of 6) - Possibly, the only good thing that came about during the whole Avengers: Disassembled crap was Michael Avon Oeming writing Thor. He brought an air of authenticity that was grounded in Norse mythology which had been missing from the title for a long time. This series looks back into Marvel history (since the Thor ongoing series had ended with his death) with Thor in his traditional role of Odinson, king in waiting. With Oeming as writer and Scott Kolins as the pencil pusher, things couldn't be better for Thor, if you ask me. $2.99
Page #47 - Marvel Milestones: Ghost Rider, Black Widow and Iceman - There couldn't be a stranger grouping than this one. Supernatural demon on wheels, Russian superspy and frosty mutant - let's just say that The Defenders shouldn't have anything to worry about. If you're a fan of GR and want to pick this one up for the origin issue, let me tell you that avoiding this issue would be considered "essential" in my "book". (Hey, I made a pun. Look at the funny guy over here.) $3.99
Page #53 - The Pulse #11 - This book makes me feel somewhat weird. Jessica Jones had a one-nighter with Luke Cage in her old MAX book, "Alias". Now she's having his baby in her more age-friendly book, "The Pulse". Part of me wishes that "Alias" never went away. But with Michael Gaydos coming back to draw this ish, it might make the pain easier to take. $2.99
Page #54 - New Warriors #4 (of 6) - I dig the concept of this mini-series. Have a COPS-style reality show follow a superhero group around to capture the action. But with all of the reshoots and setup shots that are involved with a “reality” show, who would really want to do it? Why, the down-on-their-luck New Warriors, that's who. And they're led my Editor's fav superhero, Nova. But, I really shouldn't say anything. I’ve been a huge fan of Speedball for a long time. He’s off the chain. $2.99
Page #57 - Marvel 1602: New World #3 (of 6) - I read the first series that Neil Gaiman wrote with Adam Kubert on pencils. Without those cats involed, this series has all the earmarks of a train wreck. And that's not a good thing. $3.50
Page #66 & 67 - Supreme Power mini-series: Hyperion #1 (of 5) and Nighthawk #1 (of 5) - Both of these series should be great. On Hyperion, JMS and Dan Jurgens teaming together for this series has a certain can't-miss quality. And while I’m not too familiar with Daniel Way's work, Steve Dillon has been one of my favorite artists and I'll probably think real hard on this one. $2.99 each
Page #72 - Marvel Milestones: Thor Statue - If only I had the cash, then this baby would be mine, all mine. I want it so bad that I'm gonna start asking for donations at the end of each column until I get enought money to buy it. I'll show a progress line graph and send all of the contributors a personal email and a signed autograph. Lucky people. Check the end of the column for donation details. $199.00
(At this point, if you're still following along with me, you should flip the book to the cover that has The Sentry on it.)
Page #76 - Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther HC - Reginald Hudlin was just recently been named BET Chief Programmer. And while I love Boomerang (one of my Top 15 movies from the 90's), I never got into this series. Maybe now that it's collected into this hardcover, it might be more palatable. At least with JRJR on the lead, it definitely looks good. $21.99
Page #80 - Punisher Max Vol. 1 HC - This hardcover collects the first two trades of the Punisher in the MAX line. Garth Ennis knows how to push the envelope as far as blood and humor. Expect this one to have a ton of both. $29.99
Page #81 - Runaways Vol. 4: True Believers Digest - This is my second favorite Marvel book (just behind Astonishing X-Men). And since the series have been collected into the Digest format, this book might be making it's way into Whedon territory. $7.99
Page #88 - Wolverine: Enemy of the State Vol. 1 TPB - This is the collection of Mark Millar's and JRJR's first six Wolverine issues which includes a great story arc. But I've got one question: Isn't Wolverine’s arms supposed to be as hairy like George “The Animal” Steele? Seeing almost hairless arms on the old Canucklehead looks funny to me. But then again, I'm true old-skool. $14.99
Page #90 - District X Vol. 2: Underground TPB - I heard rumblings that this book is down the path of cancellation, which would suck. It's a smash-up of NYPD Blue (without Sipowicz being in a drunken belligerent haze) and X-Men with a slight dash of “Seven”. Right now, this is my third fav Marvel book. $19.98
Page #94 - Essential Ghost Rider Vol. 1 TPB - Finally, an Essential that I can't wait to be released. Even if it is Black and White, this thing will rock you like no one's business. Johnny Blaze back in the metal saddle with greats like Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Len Wein and Marv Wolfman, it's like printing Benjamins, homey. $16.99
Well, that was a long one. Hope everyone made through okay. I would be interested if any of my ramblings made someone buy a book that they weren't going to buy before reading my column. If that does happen, please send me an email at the link below and I'll make sure that your voice will be heard on the website. Alright, see you next week. Don’t forget to keep your bags and boards together and your continuity straight.
Send column-specific e-mail using the link below. You can also find me posting my terribly witty musings on anything and everything to do with Pop Culture at Kung Fu Rodeo.
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