On the Shelves: 12/21/05

Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month!

There's a transit strike going on here in NYC, so who knows when I'll be able to pick up my books this week! Nevertheless, here's my weekly look at select comic books being released tomorrow, 12/21/05. 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]

ACTOR
Actor DFE Hunter Killer Foil Cvr, $14.99
Actor Top Cow Top 5 Starter Set, $14.95
Worm 25 Creator Sgn Ed, $10.00

A.C.T.O.R.'s a great organization, so it's a real shame some of the comics they have to sell to raise money. Lemonade from lemons, I guess, yes?

ALIAS ENTERPRISES LLC
David Shepherds Song Vol 1 TPB, $8.99
Hyperactives #0 (Of 5), $0.75
Lethal Instinct #5 (Of 6), $2.99
XIII #5, $2.99

Anyone think Mike S. Miller's theme song right now is "I'm Still Standing"? Oh no, wait. Elton John is gay. Never mind. I still have April 2006 in the "When will Alias collapse?" pool.

ARCANA STUDIO
Sundown #3 (Of 3), $2.95

Nothing spectacular here, but it's been a solid read.

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS
Sabrina Vol 2 #72, $2.25

Yay, Tania!

AVATAR PRESS INC
Jason X Sp Leather Cvr #1, $19.99
Lady Death 2005 Bikini Sp Leather Cvr, $24.99
Nightmare On Elm St Paranoid Leather Cvr #1 (Of 3), $19.99

LEATHER covers? WTF!?!

DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan #23, $2.99

I really hope Tim Truman can keep this running along at the same high level Busiek's been able to.

DC COMICS
Batgirl #71, $2.50
Infinite Crisis #3 (Of 7), $3.99

Was IC #3 delayed? Because with the release of the One Year Later solicits, I've lost almost all interest in the setup and just want to get there already.

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Snake-Eyes Declassified #5 (Of 6), $2.95

Good fun. Shut up!

IMAGE COMICS
Intimidators #1, $3.50
Shadowhawk #8, $3.50

Checking out the Intimidators solely because the newly engaged Neil Kleid is writing it, though the previews I've seen haven't exactly piqued my interest. Shadowhawk's new artist/direction left me extremely underwhelmed and #7 has sunk to the bottom of my to-read pile. Did Image raise prices across the board, or is $3.50 a Shadowline thing?

MARVEL COMICS
Captain America #13, $2.99
Spider-Woman Origin #1 (Of 5), $2.99
X-Men Deadly Genesis #2 (Of 6), $3.50

Whatever interest I might have had in Spider-Woman, and it was minimal at best, faded thanks to the Luna Brothers' art which just doesn't work for me, especially not on straight superhero books. What's with all the X-books I'm reading lately? Does that mean House of M worked?

SPEAKEASY COMICS
Elks Run #4, $2.99
Gatesville Company #2, $2.99
Grimoire #7, $2.99
Lonebow #1, $4.99
Mutation #3, $2.99
Season Of The Reaper Winter #1 (Of 3), $2.99
Shotgun Wedding #1, $2.99

Does anyone else look at this lineup and see it in a completely different light now? Three new series debuting, and several delayed issues of fledgling series finally coming out doesn't exactly inspire confidence in Speakeasy's long-term viability. I'm sticking with Elk's Run and The Grimoire, but I'm admittedly hesitant to try anything new as I have no interest in reading comic books online.

Magazines
Write Now #11, $5.95

Anyone else reading this? I like it a lot.