04 April 2006

On The Shelves: 4/5/06

Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month.

Here's my weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 4/5/06. 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]

PICK OF THE WEEK



Revolution On The Planet Of The Apes #3


ADHOUSE BOOKS
Superior Showcase #1, $2.95


The follow-up to last year's FCBD standout, Superior Showcase #0 (which was a spinoff of the unfortunately out-of-print Project: Superior), AdHouse presents another trio of quirky tales featuring "heroes that are super." My favorite this time around is Mike Dawson's bittersweet "Ace-Face vs. The Target", starring Ace-Face, the Mod with the Metal Arms. Check out his web site for a sneak peek at Freddie and Me, "the epic story of my lifelong obsession with the rock band Queen." Queen was the first band I ever saw in concert, way back in 1980 when The Game was released and Another One Bites the Dust was my favorite song. The Game was my first LP, and the concert tickets were freebies I got through a summer science program I was in, so it goes without saying that I'll be checking out Freddie and Me. Who says nostalgia is dead?

AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS)
Emo Boy #6, $2.95
Little Scrowlie #13, $2.95
Next Exit #8, $2.95


I'm not really SLG's target market -- despite 15 Minutes and Vaistron -- but I love a good fight, and SLG Editor-in-Chief Jennifer de Guzman vs. Punk Planet has been an interesting, if rather one-sided, dustup.

DC COMICS
Batman And The Monster Men #6 (Of 6), $3.50
Detective Comics #818, $2.50
Ex Machina #19, $2.99
Hellblazer Papa Midnite TPB, $12.99
Infinite Crisis #6 (Of 7), $3.99
Jonah Hex #6, $2.99
Teen Titans #34, $2.50


So far, One Year Later has kind of fizzled for me, not generating any significant interest in anything new beyond some of the Bat-family becoming readable again, and the pleasant, if somewhat flawed, surprise of Blue Beetle #1. Having it kick off before the end of Infinite Crisis has also lessened my interest in that story, too, as whatever affect it may have on the DCU is muted somewhat by knowing all the major players are back in play one year later. I mean, does anybody really think Superman is going to stay de-powered? And does anybody really care that Super-clone is dead? It's that sense of "meh" that's keeping Jonah Hex on my pull list.

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite #10, $2.95


Chugging along monthly with solid storytelling and perfectly complementary artwork. It may not be pushing comix forward, but it's a solid read that I look forward to each month.

I BOX PUBLISHING
Thieves & Kings #48, $3.50


I bought the Vol. I TPB a while back but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Certainly seems right up my alley, though. Anyone out there reading it want to pimp it?

MARKOSIA
Dark Mists Bumper Edition, $4.95


This collects the first two issues originally published by AP Comics, but the 3rd issue came out a few weeks ago so it's awkward timing. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good read and was a smart pick-up for Markosia, as the eventual TPB should have a solid shelf life. If #3 is still on the shelf at your LCBS, they're both worth picking up before then.

MARVEL COMICS
Moon Knight #1, $2.99
Moon Knight Finch Sketch Variant #1, $2.99
Young Avengers #11, $2.99


Finally, Moon Knight Returns. Fuck yeah! Already read the first issue via PDF and Huston does a great job setting the table while Finch pulls off his best work yet. Still not a fan, but credit where due. And I'll be killing comics by picking up the cover price variant, too! I'm going to miss Young Avengers when it's on hiatus, but it's been shipping so sporadically lately that I might not even notice!

MR COMICS
Revolution On The Planet Of The Apes #3 (Of 6), $3.95


I love what these guys are doing with this series and hope it sells well enough that they can do more with it. One of the few indies that really give a bang for your buck as the higher cover price is balanced by meaty extras.

TITAN PUBLISHING
Writers On Comics Scriptwriting SC (New Ptg), $16.95


This is an excellent read for both comics fans and aspiring writers, and was one of the first comic Books I read when I started buying comics again. It was the Grant Morrison interview that led to an Invisibles TPB being my first exposure to his work and tainted my opinion ever since. Not sure what the "New Ptg" includes, but Amazon still has what appears to be the first printing at a nice discount.

Magazines
Prism Comics Lgbt Guide To Comics Magazine 2006, $5.95


I'm a fan of demographic marketing as I recognize the desire to see familiar representations of life in my escapist fantasy, so I'm curious to see what falls under Prism's umbrella, and how accessible it is to a hetero reader. EDIT: Just realized this might read as somewhat contradictory, or simply confusing. What I meant was, while I am a fan of demographic marketing, I always find it interesting to see just how targeted a particular thing is and whether or not there's any appeal beyond its target audience. ie: Crash was clearly targeted at an urban audience (some have cynically argued specifically at the Hollywood audience who would be voting in the Oscars), but its subject matter wasn't so esoteric as to be completely inaccessible to a broader audience. Brokeback Mountain, on the other hand, attempted to market itself as a "universal love story" in order to overcome its perception as "the gay cowboy" movie and reach a broader audience. Ironically, in doing so, it may have won the battle at the box office only to lose the war at the Oscars.

3 comments:

Chee said...

i've got a story in tomorrow's XMEN UNLIMITED!

Me and Mike Oeming!

-Kleid

Dan Diaz said...

Good luck finding that variant sketch for cover price. Midtown is advertising it for $17.00.

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez said...

And so we find the limitations of my love for Moon Knight. Must've been an incentive variant to boost initial orders. No thanks!