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There were a few things in the various preview magazines that did catch my eye:
IDW is putting out an Event Horizon prequel. That’s one of my favorite movies, so I might get this.
DC is putting out the House of Mystery Bronze Age Omnibus Volume 1.
Marvel is reprinting a Wolverine story by Claremont. I’m not familiar with it, but it could be interesting.
There’s a third Vampirella archive from Dynamite.
And Darkhorse is putting out Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar Omnibus Volume 1. That was already well under way when I started collecting, and I never got into it back then. It’s Starlin, though. And I’ve always heard good things about it.
All I care about is more Ultimate universe stuff and return of Thor.
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The guy who's been doing those tribute videos did another one, this time for the great Wallace Wood. I was going to link it, but after watching it, I thought it was really depressing, and didn't want to inflict it on anyone else.
Plus only a small part of the video was about Wood. The rest was about the dude's own experiences with people who suffered from substance abuse.
Honestly I just want to keep enjoying the Ultimate Universe and today's issues prove why. :)
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Since I was out that way today, I hit the comic book store a day earlier than normal. Haven't gotten around to reading the new books yet, but I was excited to pick up my DC Universe by Steve Ditko Omnibus.
It's over 1200 pages of Ditko goodness. Separated into sections by character. Looking forward to reading it.
Interesting.
Uhm that's KIND OF what we got NOW! Especially given that much of this isn't aimed at kids.
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Lost Fantasy - This is the new series from Image I started picking up. It’s interesting. Kind of a mix of BPRD stories and the aftermath of the original run of Fables, where you’ve got a mix of supernatural agents and entities operating in the shadows, but cooperating with the government. This issue picks up a little before the end of the first, showing the other side of the cliffhanger. It picks up from there, building things up slowly. All in all, it’s fun so far.
Batman: Dark Patterns - the seventh issue and third new story arc. Impressive. This story arc is going to delve into the origins of the Red Hood Gang. Possibly with some retconning. I don’t know what they’ve done with the Red Hood over the past few years, so can’t say for sure.
Hello Darkness - Sometimes issues of this book are strong. Sometimes not. This ones kind of a mixed bag. The first and last stories are decent. The rest were silly, to meh.
Resurrection Man - Apparently, Mitch and Vandal Savage both gained their powers from the same meteor. And then Vandal
killed him. And when he came back, he made a spear using the meteor. I think that’s a retcon of his origins. I wonder if they’re going to make that spear be The Spear of Destiny. Good book so far. I think this type of story fits Ram V.
Geiger - the final showdown between Tariq and Ashley, in the face of a nuclear explosion. Of course they both survive. And so does everyone else thanks to the two of them. And it’s confirmed that President Griffin has some kind of super abilities or mutation. I look forward to seeing what it is. The Ghost Machine imprint continues to impress me. I just hope Johns pulls in some more talent. I’d hate to see him burn out from too much work.
Conan the Barbarian - Conan as Amra rescues a chick. Then he and his buds are captured (along with the chick). It was the round about way to get to the end - Thoth Amon! Woot!!! Without doubt one of the best ongoing series in the industry right now.
In other news, there are other series that he's not mentioning that people should look at:
The Spawn saga is improving; The new Ultimate and Absolute Universes are great. And honestly, the Power Fantasy is the best Kieran Gillen in a while.
Some times, I think the Zombie is posting random thoughts right after me just because...
Also; Ultimates RULE!!!
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Ye gods! More gaps! Either that, or I’ve misplaced some back issue I bought. Which is a distinct possibility.
And this is why it’s a good idea to organize things more often. We’re doing a surprise clean up due to some impending guests tomorrow evening, and I was taking the opportunity to straighten up the front room. I found the missing comics that fill in the above mentioned gaps. Huzzah!
See?? He did it again!!
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Damn! I was watching another video from the Thinking Critical dude. He says he had a friend who got him actual sales numbers. The "good" news was that, for Marvel in May of 2025, ASM and One World Under Doom were both in the top ten in sales. The bad news is those sales were around 48,000 and 40,000 repsectively.
The dude also told him that while DC sales are doing well, they're not great. And that no series in the industry is selling over 100,000 copies per month.
If true.....Ouch! Yet, somehow, not surprising to me.
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Moon Knight - Well, I suppose I should have seen that coming. It was an interesting issue, but I’m not sure I like that whole “he just loves pain” thing. It seems kind of silly. Here’s hoping next issue sees an end to this story arc.
New Gods - a bit heavy handed on the allegory for current times, but still an interesting issue. Not sure I’m liking the idea of both New Genesis and Apokolips resettling on Earth. It reminds me a bit too much of that godawful Final Crisis. Also not too crazy about Metron coming across as manipulating everything. It seems very out of character, but we’ll see. One other thing throwing me off a bit, the art makes a lot of characters look way too young. I like the implication Highfather might not be too long for this world. I’d love to see Scott Free take his rightful place as leader of New Genesis.
Battle Beast - This is just weirdly fun. The ship AI is outright trying to kill BB. The little half-eaten alien just wants to get home. And BB himself just cares about kill or be killed. The tournament was quick but gloriously entertaining. A lesser writer would have probably dragged it on for 10 issues.
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So, that was it. Not much this week. It would have been a bit more. There were some delays, however, and at least one damaged book.
I did get one other item: a new printing of the collected Spiderman color book by Loeb and Sale. Haven’t read it yet. Maybe tomorrow. And now I just have to get the Captain America one.
The only reason there wasn't more is because you keep avoiding Denis Camp's great Ultimates Run. And of course the Absolute Universe. But eh.
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Apparently, someone did a new Metal Hurlant book. I found it in the "recommended for you" stuff on Amazon the other day and ordered it. The book was delivered yesterday. It's probably close to 3/4 of an inch thick. I probably won't get around to reading it for a few days though.
Edit: Yeah, I looked it up. This was part of a Kickstarter campaign to revive the book as a quarterly feature. We'll see how long it lasts.
Only because you hate Tom Taylor...
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Sadly, my usual Saturday comic book reading was disrupted by having to help the boy pack for his BSA High Adventure trip (which he's now departed on). I hope to finish that sometime today.
I did also pick up the first three volumes of the new(ish) Transformers series. I think it's being referred to as the Energon Universe. I've heard nothing but good things about it, with some people even saying it's possibly the best written comic out there these days. We shall see.
Normally, I don't really like to go for collected editions of new stuff. Since the series is already up into the 20s, however, I figured this would be the easier route than trying to find all those back issues.
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The Rocketfellers - The story is picking up a bit, and it's now on the path to some major revelations. Especially regarding at least one enemy pursuing the family. And that gives new meaning to the phrase "family drama". There's some techno-organic stuff going on, but we'll have to wait until the next issue for some origin story answers. I think this is still the weakest of the Ghost Machine stories, but only because it seems a little unfocused.
Huck: Big Bad World - I've often wondered what an evil version of The Invisible Woman might be like. Except, in this case, it's an evil Invisible Dude. Or maybe not so evil. He's got the same powers, but is forced to use them to kill. Until Huck shows up to help. My first intro to Huck was the big Millarverse event, and I'm realizing that didn't give near enough time to just how badass he is.
Vatican City - Having now finished this series, I can only wonder if it's the product of a lost bet. The overall story had lots of potential, but three issues was nowhere near enough to delve into it all. And there was a bit of silliness in there as well, like surviving a nuclear explosion in a church catacomb, then walking unharmed through the desolate aftermath. Not to mention that, in the end, some bad guys win the day. This being the commies in China and Russia nuking the vampire infested US and Europe. So, yeah, might have been better (or no worse) to let the vamps win.
Shadow of the Golden Crane - This is the last book of this series. The whole story was pretty decent, with a kind of pre-BPRD ancient organization fighting evil beings. It was a nice bit of expansion to the Hellboy universe.
New History of the DC Universe - If I had to use one word to describe this, it'd be "thorough". He throws a lot of history and a crap ton of characters into just this first issue. Some good. Some bad. Some cheesy as hell. The issue is split into two parts. The first is more a story-like narrative, with Barry Allen relating events. The second part is a timeline, with plenty of "happened in this issue' call outs. I guess the other issues will be like this as well.
Wolverine and Kitty Pryde - Well, this is getting weird. Fun, but weird. I'm not sure where Claremont's going with this. He seems to be vacillating between something technological and something mystical. Very Jekyll and Hyde. Love the Alan Davis cover. And I always like seeing X-Men battle Sentinels.
Hyde Street - Monsters fighting monsters. We've got denizens of Hyde Street battling other denizens of Hyde Street, and also battling monsters they didn't realize were among them. There's also a bit of the old "be careful what you wish for". All in all, this series continues to surprise me with the direction it's taken. I expected a random collection of horror stories, but Johns has given it a really interesting twist.
If anyone cares for a great Spider-man book, Ultimate Spider-man is the best choice.
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I've made it through the first two volumes of this Energon Universe Transformers series last night. Damn! It's brutal. They take a lot from the first TV series, but up the violence factor a lot. The Decepticons are way more sadistic and murderous. However, there are hints the Autobots may have been pretty damned violent as well.
I think one of my favorite parts so far was where Optimus Prime rips his own damaged arm off and beats a Decepticon with it. Second favorite part is where Optimus gets his old arm replaced with Megatron's arm and arm cannon, then uses said cannon to completely obliterate at least one Decepticon. Although it was a little disturbing to see Optimus lose control and seemingly pop Shockwave's head like a balloon.
If you want something less violent, more uplifting, USM is for you.
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Woot! Email update from Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones this morning! The limited signed and number print from Book II is at the printers. Once those are done and signed, they'll be on the way to backers who purchased one (such as yours truly).
Book II itself is currently at the printers and should be getting to backers sometime in the fall. Just in time for the Book III campaign to start!!!
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Incidentally, I finished up Volume 3 of the new Transformers series. Pretty damned awesome. Megatron is walking around with one arm and no eyes. He's got Lazerbeak wired into his head and perched on his shoulder, serving as his eyes for him.
Now I've just got to wait for Volume 4 to be released, currently scheduled for November. After that, I think Kirkman is taking over writing duties, so I might just start collecting individual issues with #25.
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Damn! Hearing some of the crap Diamond is apparently pulling in this whole bankruptcy thing. From what people are reporting, Diamond is basically trying to sell books they received but never paid for to cover its own debts. That's f'd up.
Diamond Moves To Liquidate All Consigned Comics "Held Hostage"
Maybe I'm crazy, but that sounds like theft to me.
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Ugh. I received an email notification Wednesday that one of my Indiegogo books from Graham Nolan was shipped. Checked today and it’s (unfortunately) in the hands of USPS. So it’ll take another week to get here. At least I’ve got plenty of other stuff to keep me busy.
I wish more people would give you a choice for shipping. I’ll typically go with FedEx, if it’s offered. Back up would be UPS. The USPS is more like “no other choice”.
I saw someone else on YouTube saying DC sales are up 75%. That's awesome.
PROBABLY because Absolute Universe is pretty baller.
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Immortal Thor - Well, that's over with now. I gotta say, while still somewhat entertaining, this last issue seems like a bit of a let down over the previous one. It just came across as a set-up for the new relaunch, where they get to charge you more of that NEW #1. Yeah, no thanks. If Marvel can't be bothered to try and keep an ongoing series....ongoing, I don't think I can be bothered to buy it. Make mine....something else.
Resurrection Man - This series continues to be weird, but in a pretty cool way. Now we know there are at least two different Mitch Shelleys running around, and the one was trying to use the other to finally find a way to defeat the evil Japanese cannibal turned universe destroying monster. And now it looks like Christopher Chance will be brought into the mix.
JSA - Finally! At the rate they're going, I thought it'd take another 10 issues for Johnny Sorrow's masquerade to be revealed. I never really cared much for Scandal Savage, since she's a cheap knock off of her father. So it was nice to see her get her ass handed to her by Doc Mid-Nite. And now we've got QWSP in the mix. I also really don't like the older members looking so young. At one point, they had earned their age. Now Alan Scott just doesn't look like Alan Scott. I'm looking forward to seeing what else might be in Hawkman's secret museum. Finally, as much as I'm enjoying this series, I think it's a little rude to take the title of the issue's story from a far-superior DC tale.
Sisterhood: A Hyde Street Story - Here we have the first part of a 5-issue miniseries from the Ghost Machine group. It looks like the focus will be on two young ladies, but also one of the currently less-written about denizens of Hyde Street, Sister Hood. My only issue with the story is that it displays the typical ignorance of, and unreasoning hatred for, college Greek organizations. I can't say I'm surprised, but I expected better of Ghost Machine.
Mr. Terrific: Year One - Just two issues in and I'm really loving this series. This one showcased the Spectre big time, using him as a vehicle for the glimpses into the past. And it's Corrigan Spectre as well, since the deceased detective also makes an appearance. And this Spectre isn't just a wanker punishing people horribly. I look forward to the rest of this series. The cover kicked ass.
I'm keeping with Mortal Thor if only because I want to see how the story ends.
Also, you have 0 taste so...
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I saw an article covering an interview with Hugh Jackman. He said that Sam Raimi had plans for him to do a walk-on cameo appearance as Wolverine in the first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie. That would have been cool. Apparently, logistics foiled them.
I remember when both those movies, X-men and Spider-Man, came out. I was a much younger lad at the time. I think the Spider-man movie was maybe just prior to my move to Philadelphia. Before they were released, I'd never even heard of Jackman or Maguire.
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I'm not quite sure why or when it started, but lately these videos of the great Alan Moore in something called the Maestro series have been popping up in my YouTube. It reminded me I miss him dearly writing for DC. He was weird, but brilliant.
Anyway, listening to him speak about writing, he's got a very heavy accent but is so well spoken it's a simple joy just to listen to him. Not to mention I'm in awe of his epic hair and beard.
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Huh? Apparently, those new DC compact comic collected editions they're putting out are the same size as standard Manga. And apparently, Manga has a standard size. I don't collect it, so was not aware of that.
It kind of makes sense, though. I do recall that most of the shelves I see with Manga on them (which seems to be a lot these days), seem fairly uniform.
In the video that revealed this to me, the dude was speculating that DC did this on purpose. He said they were tapping into this market of people who prefer smaller sized books that are easier to slip into a bag and carry around.
It seems to be working for DC. The same video said their sales for these books are really high.
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I also saw an article about an interview with Will Friedle, the voice of Terry McGinnis (and Batman) in Batman Beyond. Someone asked him if he would ever return to the role. He said he couldn't see himself doing it without Kevin Conroy. I like that answer. Though I wouldn't mind seeing more Batman Beyond if it were like the old series.
Alan Moore is fing tool.
Also, Absolute and Ultimate Universe rule! Mortal Thor will be awesome!
Zombie has no taste.
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Huzzah! I finally got my copy of Joe Frankenstein #3 from Graham Nolan. That's one of the fun little indie series he does. I wasn't much of a fan of stuff like Kickstarter and Indiegogo for many years, but now I back several comics on each one.
I love that indie stuff. Some of it is vastly superior to mainstream product. Like that Dracula series from Wagner and Jones. So damned awesome. Fulfillment on Book II should start in another month or so.
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So, of the two indie books I just got....
The Great War of Separation - This was part two of the story setting up the status quo for the Rippaverse. It's an interesting exercise in what would happen if you included people with superhuman abilities in a war. I'm glad they got Chuck Dixon to write this. He's the best they've got, and it pays off. And we get to see that while some of the superhumans are born that way, at least one side in this war has figured out how to screen and enhance certain candidates. Not all the superhumans get readily defined powers, but the one I thought was most interesting was one who acts kind of like a walking Bose-Einstein Condensate. Anyway, this one has multiple sides in the conflict, and they all seem to have quickly moved into using the "Excepts" as their main weapons. I look forward to the next part.
Joe Frankenstein: The Eye of Ra - This story follows from the previous two but is told mostly as a flashback. It shows The Monster and a previous Frankenstein, Fredrick, in 1930's Egypt. And we get to see the origin of one of the villains from the previous stories. The story had a kind of Universal's mummy movies feel to it. Although I wasn't crazy about the art, which wasn't done by Nolan this time. By the end, they bring in some other characters from the "Nolan" verse, so they're expanding on that, which is fun. Once again, I look forward to more.
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It'll be interesting to see how things shake out with the industry over the next few months, what with the continued Diamond fiasco. On top of over things.
I know that between the Diamond stuff and computer issues, the store I usually go to has been having a lot of trouble getting books to customers lately. In fact, for this week, I had to go through a list of what's coming out and send them a separate list of what I wanted. Not sure how long that's going to go on for, or how well it'll work.
I'll find out later this afternoon, though. My usual morning visit is delayed due to a funeral. One of the scout parents sadly passed away (at the young age of 48). F#$k cancer!
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Gotham by Gaslight: A League for Justice - I was wondering when they'd get around to this. I have a soft spot for the original Gotham by Gaslight, as I picked that story up when it first came out. It's one of those classic Elseworlds tales, something I enjoy when done well. Anyway, the first series of this expansion was interesting enough. This one picks up right where that one left off, with the soon-to-be League coming together and stopping criminals from stealing what looks to be Kryptonite. There are strong hints, as well, that another Kryptonian is somewhere on Earth, and that he was a last survivor of a colony that unleashed its own destruction. I'm interested to see where they go with this.
Hello Darkness - This issue was mostly crap. All but one of the stories was less a horror story and more preaching shrillness. I half expected most of the writers to be named Karen. If they continue with more junk like that, I might have to stop collecting the series.
Wolverine and Kitty Pryde - I think I said last time that this series didn't seem to know what it wanted to be: a tale of mystic menace or a battle against technology used for evil. This issue was mostly the latter. Then it ended as the former. And the tech bit was sloppy writing. So was his inclusion of the phrase "genejoke". As I recall, that didn't come into use in the comics until well after the original Logan and Kitty miniseries, so it feels really out of place here. I hate to say this, but I'll be glad when this series is done. And I'm not sure I'd get anything more from Claremont. Then again, it could just be poor editing, which wouldn't surprise me at all.
Batman: Dark Patterns - I wasn't crazy about some newly retconned past history of the Red Hood that predates Batman, but this story is making it work so far. And it looks to probably conclude with next issue, which I like. With a bit of set-up for a future story thrown in for good measure. Watters uses a good bit of dialogue and narration, but I think he could do with a bit more.
The Magic Order 5 - We finally get the finale of this latest Magic Order series from Millar. I had nearly forgotten it hadn't come out until now. It was a satisfying, but slightly messy end. There were definitely some plot holes. I find myself kind of hoping he lets up on this series for a good many years. I just don't see where they could go from here.
Conan the Barbarian - Conan captive in Stygia and forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena. It gives us lots of cool action, and a few slight nods to the original movie with Schwarzenegger. And scantily clad hit chicks are always a welcome sight, even if one is an evil sorceress. And at the end, we get the return of Zula. Fernando Dagnino's art isn't as good as that of de la Torre, but it's solid.
Savage Sword of Conan - Two Titan Conan books in one week is an awesome week. They're probably in the top ten books in all of American Comics. Although this is technically more of a magazine. The first story is a sequel to Red Nails, following Conan and Valeria to Shem, then adventure on a haunted island. That one was drawd and written by Patch Zircher. Not bad at all. The back up story was a Kull tale. Kind of silly, but fun. Written by Fabian Nicieza. On the back cover they talked about the next Conan mini-series, Scourge of the Serpent. Looking forward to that.