28 December 2005

On the Shelves: 12/29/05

Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month!

My weekly look at select comic books being released THURSDAY, 12/29/05. The full shipping is list available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

AC COMICS
Men Of Mystery Presents Rocketman Vs Zombies DVD, $24.95


Is this actually a movie? Sounds like fun!

ARCANA STUDIO
Jovas Harvest #2 (Of 3), $4.95


First issue was a great read, but did it cost $4.95? I need to start paying more attention to what I'm paying for comics.

ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS
Lone & Level Sands HC, $17.95


Rich Watson named this one of his best of 2005, so I think I'll check it out. See, that's how the comics internet is supposed to work.

ASPEN MLT INC
Cannon Hawke #4, $2.99
Fathom #6, $2.99


I read a TPB of one of the early, if not first, Fathom story arcs - Mile High Comics had a really good sale! - and was unimpressed. Who buys this stuff? Is it just for the art, or does it fill some niche I'm missing?

CLAYPOOL COMICS
Elvira #152, $2.50


"You hear that, Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability..."

DARK HORSE COMICS
Perhapanauts #2 (Of 4), $2.99
Revelations #5 (Of 6), $2.99


Perhapanauts #1 was fun, with a nice little cliffhanger that has me looking forward to #2. Revelations #3 and #4 have sank to the bottom of my to-read pile as I'm going for the DIY trade collection.

DC COMICS
All Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder #3, $2.99
Lex Luthor Man Of Steel TPB, $12.99
Loveless #3, $2.99
Silent Dragon #6 (Of 6), $2.99
Vigilante #4 (Of 6), $2.99


I guess it's official, I'm simply not an Azzarello fan, yes? And no longer solely because of Cage. Lex Luthor started out great, with the best interpretation of Bruce Wayne ever, but then fizzled out at the end. Loveless #1 lost me thanks as much to the offensive art as its boring story and unappealing lead character, but I still need to flip through #2 as it apparently got worse. Silent Dragon ending means only two more months of a regular Andy Diggle fix. :-(

ICE KUNION
Cynical Orange Vol 1 GN, $10.95


No idea what this is, but I love the title! Best of the week.

IDW PUBLISHING
Fallen Angel Idw #1, $3.99


After enjoying Madrox and the new X-Factor so much, I have to admit I'm tempted to give this a second try. The DC incarnation lost me pretty quickly, partly due to speculation over the lead character being Supergirl, whom I have no interest in. I was also too-recently returned to comics to fully appreciate it. And with so many indies bumping up to $3.50 recently, I'm finding it harder to hold IDW's cover prices against them.

IMAGE COMICS
Strange Girl Vol 1 Girl Afraid TPB, $12.99


Remender was supposed to send me some review copies of this, after we kissed and made up when I loved Fear Agent, but I haven't gotten anything yet, so I might just pick the trade up and take a chance.

MARVEL COMICS
Arana Heart Of The Spider #12, $2.99
Black Panther #11, $2.99
Black Widow 2 #4 (Of 6), $2.99
Daredevil #80, $2.99
Fantastic Four Special, $2.99
New Avengers #14, $2.50
Spider-Man Black Cat Evil That Men Do #5 (Of 6), $2.99
X-Factor #2, $2.99
X-Men And Power Pack #3 (Of 4), $2.99
Young Avengers Special #1, $3.99


Marvel ends 2005 with a bang as I think I'm reading more of their stuff now than I was at the beginning of the year, and that's after seriously pruning my Big Two pulls earlier in the summer. I'm done with New Avengers, though, and there's some idiotic completist thinking happening with AraƱa, Black Panther and Daredevil. It may be too soon to say so, but I think X-Factor is challenging Young Avengers as Marvel's best new title for 2005.

MR COMICS
Revolution On The Planet Of The Apes #1 (Of 6), $3.98


I love me some Planet of the Apes! Is that price right, though? $3.98?

SPEAKEASY COMICS
Rocketo #4, $2.99


Is anyone I respect reading this? Seen a lot of great buzz about it, but the first issue just didn't grab me.

TOKYOPOP
Chicken Little Cinemanga GN, $7.99
Juror 13 GN, $9.99


My son loved Chicken Little, so I'll have to give this a peek. And Juror 13 rings a bell (must've read something about it), so I'll flip through that one, too.

W.W. NORTON
Will Eisners Contract With God Trilogy HC, $29.95


If not tomorrow, then eventually.

Magazines
Comics Buyers Guide Mar 2006 #1614, $5.99


Midtown always gets this a week early, but I didn't pick it up last week because I signed up for their $5 trial subscription a few weeks back. Let's see how good their fulfillment operation is and when this issue arrives in my mailbox.

5 comments:

Chris said...

Couldn't agree more with you on the Lex Luthor series. The Bruce Wayne stuff was great, but the series got pointless and incomprehensible after that (and no more mention made of the Batman fight, either, which should have been at least addressed somehow).

Outstanding art by Lee Bermejo, though.

Mmmmm, X-Factor.

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez said...

Outstanding art by Lee Bermejo, though.

Yes, very true! Which made it that much more disappointing, really.

Hate Filled Poster said...

Yeah, I'm not too hot on Azzarello lately, his stories are too much of a slow burn for me. It takes forever to get anywhere and when he rushes it, it turns to crap, so you're screwed either way.

Kevin Church said...

I don't know if you respect me, but I think Rocketo improved massively once Espinoza realized that he should, you know, tell a story instead of Darwyn Cooke-ing us without any substance. Too bad that took three issues, but I was just so taken with the pretty...

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez said...

Kevin, you've kind of confirmed my problem with the first issue, which was easy on the eyes but I just couldn't get into the story. And I tried...three different times! Didn't love the landscape saddle-stitch, either, but that's just nitpicking. Think I'll grab the TPB and give it a second chance, though, and cross my fingers that it's not another DEMO.