Hues Prevues - Comics Today.

What's new in comic shops today? Bolded are the books I'm reading.  There are many fine books that I am not reading, but the budget and time only allows for so much.  Comics are like TV in that you have the big networks (Dark Horse, DC, Image and Marvel).  Beyond the Big 4 (which is really the big 2 (DC & Marvel), you have the independents and smaller publishers (cable).

The Format
DCD Code        Title   Issue   Price   (Publisher)

JUN053017       A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #20 (A)      $4.99   (ICARUS PUBLISHING)
--When Erotic Anthoogy just isn't enough anymore.
AUG052603       ACTOR DF UNSIGNED GRAB BAG      $14.99  (ACTOR)
JUN052656       ACTOR DFE HUNTER KILLER RED FOIL CVR #1 $14.99  (ACTOR)
AUG052604       ACTOR RISING STARS MONSTERMART ALT CVR #12      $2.95   (ACTOR)
JUL058295       ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #643 SECOND PTG  $2.50   (DC COMICS)
JUN050021       AEON FLUX #1 (OF 4)     $2.99   (DARK HORSE COMICS)
--I'll be honest, I'm not sure if I'm gonna like the movie, though I'm gonna like looking at Charlize Theron.  You know, this might be one of those films, kind of like Showgirls and the Demi Moore stripper one that are best watched on Mute with some kicking CDs mixing in the background.  Still, I have much nostalgia for the odd Liquid Television vignettes that MTV  used to show, so I thought I'd give the comic a shot.  It's supposed to server as a direct prequel to the movie.

JUN050419       ALBION #3 (OF 6)        $2.99   (DC COMICS)
AUG051914       AMAZING FANTASY #13     $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
--More new characters nobody cares about.  Expect some activity for issue 15 due to the Spider-Man connection (if you don't know the connection, you're not a big enough geek to read this posting, so you might want to skip to the next one or something) and then this title will wither back into obscurity before being canceled outright.

AUG052687       AP HOW TO DRAW HENTAI DOUBLE TEAM TWO PACK (A)  $8.95   (ANTARCTIC PRESS)
AUG050206       AQUAMAN #35     $2.50   (DC COMICS)
--Everything ties into Infinite Crisis now, don't you know.  How else can DC convince the fanboys to read the butt of every superhero joke the mainstream ever came up with.

JUL052637       ARCHIE DIGEST #220      $2.39   (ARCHIE COMICS)
AUG050185       ARKHAM ASYLUM ANNIVERSARY ED SC (MR)    $17.99  (DC COMICS)
--This is some seriously trippy comics and one of the three to four best Batman stories ever told in the graphic novel format, hell in the serial format.  Of course, the good ones are Batman: Year One, Batman: The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns.  There have been some good Batman tales told of late, but time will tell if they hold up as well as these do.  If I remember correctly, it's almost surreal painted art by Dave McKean, who twisted our cerebral cortexes monthly with his Sandman covers.  It's also written by Grant Morrison, who recently wowed everyone with We3.

JUN058283       ASTONISHING X-MEN SECOND PTG VARIANT #12        $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
APR052987       ATOMEKA #1 ALEX ROSS WWLA SKETCH ED     $19.99  (JAY COMPANY)
AUG058083       ATOMIKA #2 (OF 12)      $2.99   (MERCURY COMICS)
--I thought Speakeasy Comics put out the second issue?  Is this a re-release?  I think the book is moving to Mercury, but color me confused.

JUN052939       BAGHDAD JOURNAL AN ARTIST IN OCCUPIED IRAQ HC (MR)      $34.95  (DRAWN & QUARTERLY)
JUL053264       BANANA FISH VOL 10 TP   $9.99   (VIZ LLC)
--Sometimes I like to fish with my banana... I think I better stop there.
AUG053020       BAREFOOT GEN VOL 3 TP NEW PTG (RES)     $14.95  (LAST GASP PUBLISHING)
AUG053021       BAREFOOT GEN VOL 4 TP NEW PTG (RES)     $14.95  (LAST GASP PUBLISHING)
--If they could consistently make these available through backorders, I might be more interested.  This is supposed to be a classic manga exploring life after the a-bomb hit Hiroshima.  So I guess that makes it a book about how great America is.

AUG052810       BART SIMPSON COMICS #20 (O/A)   $2.99   (BONGO COMICS)
JUL052719       BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR #11   $4.99   (BONGO COMICS)
--These transcend typical Simpsons comics, which are very good in their own right, by bringing in the best in indie and underground creators to tell some really great and perverse Halloween tales.  A great companion to the always entertaining The Simspons television Halloween specials.

JUL053241       BASTARD VOL 9 TP (MR)   $9.99   (VIZ LLC)
--I think my ex wrote this book.  I can't believe she's up to Volume 9.  We weren't together that long...
AUG050179       BATMAN GOTHAM COUNTY LINE #1 (OF 3)     $5.99   (DC COMICS)
--Periodically and regularly, DC puts out these three issue prestige format mini-series, and most of them star Batman.  They're all inconsequential and most are forgettable.  So why keep doing it?  Well, they're Batman so the retailers buy them.  And at $18 for the run... I guess I know why they keep doing them after all.  Isn't math wonderful.

JUL050260       BATMAN STRIKES VOL 2 IN DARKEST KNIGHT TP       $6.99   (DC COMICS)
--Digest-sized collection based on the latest animated incarnation fo the Dark Knight.  $7 is a great price for a good bundle of comics goodness, but of course kids don't read comics, so who is this really for?

AUG053357       BECKETTS BASEBALL CARD PLUS NOV DEC 2005 #20    $9.99   (BECKETT MEDIA)
JUL052639       BETTY & VERONICA #212   $2.25   (ARCHIE COMICS)
JUL052845       BLAB VOL 16     $19.95  (FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS)
--My ex also wrote this... and I have no difficulty in seeing why it's at Volume 16.  Of course, that could explain why Bastard is up to Volume 9.

AUG050207       BLOOD OF THE DEMON #8   $2.50   (DC COMICS)
--Is there anybody John Byrne hasn't pissed off yet?  You know, I haven't pissed him off yet.  And I've pissed off some people in the comics industry in my time.  Oh, and this book is canceled.  It crashed and "byrned"... heh-heh... see what I did there?  Heh-heh.  Uh...

JUN052984       BONE SHARPS COWBOYS & THUNDER LIZARDS GN        $22.95  (G.T. LABS)
JUN053081       BONEYARD #19    $2.95   (NBM PUBLISHING)
AUG052718       CANNON HAWKE #1 $2.99(ASPEN/MLT INC)
FEB051586       CASEFILES SAM & TWITCH #19 (MR) $2.50   (IMAGE COMICS)
--Before Queen & Country and the noir detective movement in comics, there was Sam & Twitch.  The original helped catapult a certain writer named Brian Michael Bendis into the comics mainstream (read superheroes) and this continuation features some of the best crime writers of the modern comics era.  Virtually no super-heroes or supernatural occurences, though as it does technically exist in the Spawn universe, there's a hint of it.  But don't let that stop you.  Gotham Central doesn't hardly suffer from being in the collosal shadow of Batman and remains one of the best police procedurals the industry has ever seen.

AUG052660       COLLEGE GIRL NAMED JOE VOL 2 TP $14.95  (AMAZING AARON PRODUCTIONS)
--I used to get Aaron Adventures from Image in the mid-'90s.  It was this same guy.  Kind of perverse and juvenile in humor but with very nice art.  Like a more detailed line-work version of Frank Cho.

AUG050015       CONAN & THE DEMONS OF KHITAI #1 (OF 4)  $2.99   (DARK HORSE COMICS)
JUN050023       CONAN THE GOD IN THE BOWL AND OTHER STORIES HC  $24.95  (DARK HORSE COMICS)
--For those who just can't be bothered with buying those flimsy periodicals, here's the lavish hardcover you can hide under your mattress in shame where the rest of us keep our comics.  Okay, seriously, the production quality on these is top notch, so buy it and read it proudly on public transportation.  Remember, if you bring ten new fans into the fold, you get a free toaster.  With wide slots for bagels.

JUN053010       CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON VOL 2 REVISED & EXPANDED DLX      $17.95  (HK COMICS LTD)
--I think they took a cue from the DVD market.  Put out the product, then a Director's Cut a bit later, then a limited edition a bit later with alternate footage and new interviews, blah-blah-blah.

JUL050018       CURSE OF DRACULA TP     $9.95   (DARK HORSE COMICS)
JUN052910       CURSE OF THE BLOOD CLAN REG CVR #1 (OF 3) (MR)  $4.95   (DEAD DOG COMICS)
JUN052911       CURSE OF THE BLOOD CLAN VARIANT CVR #1 (OF 3) (MR)      $4.95   (DEAD DOG COMICS)
JUN053148       CURSED EARTH BLOOD OF HEROES GN         $19.99  (SPARTANS UNLEASHED)
JUL050027       DAMN NATION TP  $12.95  (DARK HORSE COMICS)
--Don't you just sometimes feel this way and want to say this.  Well, you can if you live in the USA.  Just don't let the government hear you say it.  And you'd better not say it in an airport.  And be careful at work or school because you never know who might be listening.  And I wouldn't trust a landline either.

AUG051980       DAREDEVIL REDEMPTION TP $14.99  (MARVEL COMICS)
--This collection of the six-issue mini was basically an episode of any random legal procedural with Matt Murdock AKA Daredevil involved instead of Ally McBeal.  And I think, for that, it was a better story.  After all, we've all read every variation possible of Superhero X hitting Supervillain Y, so it was nice to see a good legal drama unfolding.  But since comics is the dirty stepchild of the entertainment industry, let's say that it was probably ripped off of a Grisham story.  A Time To Kill, maybe.

JUL051708       DARKNESS & TOMB RAIDER B&W CVR #1 REMARKED      $89.99  (IMAGE COMICS)
JUL051707       DARKNESS & TOMB RAIDER B&W CVR #1 SGN   $49.99  (IMAGE COMICS)
JUN050360       DC SPECIAL THE RETURN OF DONNA TROY #4 (OF 4)   $2.99   (DC COMICS)
--Hey, have you heard of this thing called Infinite Crisis.  Yeah, it's coming to the DC Universe and it's supposed to be HUGE!

JUN052878       DEADBEATS #73   $2.50   (CLAYPOOL COMICS)
AUG050181       DETECTIVE COMICS #812   $2.50   (DC COMICS)
MAY052732       DF DAREDEVIL #75 SGN    $19.99  (DYNAMIC FORCES)
APR052851       DF HOUSE OF M #2 SGN    $19.99  (DYNAMIC FORCES)
MAR052860       DF NEW AVENGERS #7 BENDIS SGN   $19.99  (DYNAMIC FORCES)
JUN052949       DF SUPERGIRL #1 DOUBLE SGN      $49.99  (DYNAMIC FORCES)
--Double-signed?!!!  For only fifty bucks?!!!  You gotta be kidding me?!!!
JUN052952       DF ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1 SGN    $29.99  (DYNAMIC FORCES)
JUL052875       DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES VOL 14 TP        $7.95   (GEMSTONE PUBLISHING)
--Another victim of the budget cuts, these are rock solid and entertaining for all ages.  The Disney comics are the best in "kid-friendly" comics, because they're not so dummed down that adults can't enjoy them as well.

AUG050246       ELFQUEST ARCHIVES VOL 3 HC      $49.99  (DC COMICS)
AUG053101       ELKS RUN #1-3 COLLECTED ED VOL 1 TP     $7.99   (SPEAKEASY COMICS)
--I look forward to finding out if all the buzz and hype was worth it.  Don't let me down!!
AUG052643       EMO BOY #3      $2.95   (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS)
AUG052734       ESCAPE OF THE LIVING DEAD #1 (OF 5) (MR)        $3.99   (AVATAR PRESS)
AUG052737       ESCAPE OF THE LIVING DEAD GORE CVR #1 (OF 5) (MR)       $3.99   (AVATAR PRESS)
AUG052738       ESCAPE OF THE LIVING DEAD LEATHER CVR #1 (OF 5) (MR)    $19.99  (AVATAR PRESS)
AUG052736       ESCAPE OF THE LIVING DEAD TERROR CVR #1 (OF 5) (MR)     $3.99   (AVATAR PRESS)
AUG052735       ESCAPE OF THE LIVING DEAD WRAPAROUND CVR #1 (OF 5) (MR) $3.99   (AVATAR PRESS)
--The other sequel to the original Night of the Living Dead film.
AUG051938       FANTASTIC FOUR IRON MAN BIG IN JAPAN #1 (OF 4)  $3.50   (MARVEL COMICS)
--Seth Fisher is an odd and unique artist.  And he seems to have a fascination (or understanding) with Japan.  This should be very very very strange.  If good, it will be only appreciated by a very small sector of the very small comics reading community.

JUL052657       FATHOM DAWN OF WAR VOL 1 TP     $9.99   (ASPEN MLT INC)
AUG051673       FELL #2 $1.99   (IMAGE COMICS)
--Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith continue their experiment in monthly comics that you can afford.  Cheaper than a gallon of gas (and that's not easy to say these days), I was impressed with how much I enjoyed the first issue.  It has the expected Ellis cynicism, and the expected Templesmith style.

JUL050019       FOG TP  $6.95   (DARK HORSE COMICS)
JUL051697       FRESHMEN #3 (OF 6)      $2.99   (IMAGE COMICS)
--Okay, here's why I love this book.  The main characters, teenagers all of them, got powers based on whatever they were thinking about at the time.  So, of course, one of the guys superpower is a gigantic johnson.  Now that's realism, baby!  I don't need anything else than that right there.  Genius.  Give that team an Eisner.

JUL058211       FRESHMEN EXTRA CREDIT ED #1 (OF 6)      $2.99   (IMAGE COMICS)
JUL052539       FULL METAL PANIC OVERLOAD MANGA VOL 2 TP        $9.99   (A.D. VISION)
JUN053116       FURRLOUGH #151  $3.50   (RADIO COMIX)
JUL053268       FUSHIGI YUGI VOL 8 2ND ED TP    $9.95   (VIZ LLC)
JUN052978       GENIE #3        $2.95   (FC9 PUBLISHING)
--I think FC9 may soon join the ranks of other failed publishers, or join Speakeasy, which seems to be the trendy thing to do.  And I say more power to 'em.  If enough indies band together they can reshape the industry like Image did lo so many years ago...

JUN053117       GENUS #73 (A)   $3.50   (RADIO COMIX)
JUL058045       GHOST RIDER RETAILER VARIANT #1 (OF 6)  PI      (MARVEL COMICS)
--They call it a retailer incentive, but what it really is is a ploy to entice retailers to order more copies of a book they're not sure they can sell so as to get a limited variant cover that they're not sure anyone will want.  Comics retailing is hard.

AUG052860       GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE #4        $2.95   (DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING)
--I guess I'm just not enough of a fan of G.I. Joe to be able to follow these.  It all seems so over-the-top and silly and I have a hard time keeping the characters straight.  If you're ready to stone me for that, how about this.  I dropped the Transformers comics because I had a hard time telling the robots apart.

AUG052675       GOLD DIGGER HALLOWEEN SPECIAL #1        $2.99   (ANTARCTIC PRESS)
AUG050192       GOTHAM CENTRAL #36      $2.50   (DC COMICS)
--Did you read what I said above about this book.  Yeah, well it's that and more.  Read it!
AUG051684       GROUNDED #3 (OF 6)      $2.99   (IMAGE COMICS)
AUG053066       ICE HAVEN GN (O/A)      $18.95  (RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHING)
AUG051912       INCREDIBLE HULK #87     $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
--Peter David is leaving... again.  And someone else is going to take over.  Do you care?
JUL052918       INNOCENCE GN (A)        $19.95  (ICARUS PUBLISHING)
--The (A) means this is an adult book.  So something tells me "Innocence" will have very little to do with it.  Brought to you by the same people who bring you Super Erotic Anthology!

JUN052913       INTERGALACTIC ADVENTURES OF GARA GALAXY #1 (OF 3)       $4.95   (DEAD DOG COMICS)
FEB051592       JACK STAFF #9   $3.50   (IMAGE COMICS)
--I think this book's first issue came out in... what was it?... 1967.
JUL052854       JIMBO IN PURGATORY LTD ED SGN HC (O/A)  $99.95  (FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS)
JUN050025       JINGLE BELLE TP         $12.95  (DARK HORSE COMICS)
AUG050221       JSA #78 $2.50   (DC COMICS)
--Infinite Crisis anyone?  Fans are of two minds on these linewide crossovers.  Some hate it because they feel scammed, like they have to buy an issue of Aquaman to get the whole story.  DC says this just isn't true, but it is.  Personally, I enjoy the hell out of them.  The ability to do linewide crossovers of this sort is something unique to the comic book industry, where you have 20-40 monthly titles that all coexist in one reality.  Imagine if the television networks did this consistently.  And yes I remember when they did the power outage (I think it was a power outage) in Friends and Mad About You and whatever else crap they had on at that time on NBC to give the idea they were in the same reality.  But TV could never do the kinds of crossovers that superhero universes can and have.

AUG052697       JUSTICE CITY CHRONICLES VOL 1 #1 (OF 2) $3.50   (APE ENTERTAINMENT)
AUG050240       JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #14    $2.25   (DC COMICS)
MAR052701       KEITH GIFFENS TRENCHER TP       $17.99  (BOOM PRODUCTIONS)
--I love this stuff.  I fell in love with Giffen's unusual art style on Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 4 (1989), and it got even quirkier for Trencher.  This book was published by Image and then Blackball and all of it was over-the-top funny in the same way Lobo was when Giffen co-created him.  It's nice to see a collection of this goofy stuff.

MAY050019       KONG KING OF SKULL ISLAND TP    $19.95  (DARK HORSE COMICS)
JUN052966       KRAZY & IGNATZ 1935-1936 A WILD WARMTH OF CHROMATIC GRAVY       $19.95  (FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS)
--I wish I'd jumped on board these collections a bit earlier as it seems difficult to get them in order and from the beginning (that and Fantagraphics doesn't make it easy to know what volume this is and how many there have been).

JUL053095       LILING PO VOL 3 GN (OF 7) (RES) $9.99   (TOKYOPOP)
AUG052641       LITTLE GLOOMYS SUPER SCARY MONSTER SHOW #2      $2.95   (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS)
JUL053110       LIZZIE MCGUIRE CINEMANGA VOL 1-4 GN BOX SET     $19.99  (TOKYOPOP)
--They sent me a free one of these.  I can see how youngsters might like them, but man is it tedious to read these Cinemanga books.  They're just screenshots with the dialogue printed in a word balloon next to it... but you knew that... right?

JUL052855       LOCAS A LOVE & ROCKETS BOOK HC (O/A) (MR)       $49.95  (FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS)
--This one I've already got, but I'm telling you, you need to read these.  Love & Rockets is one of the best comic serials to ever be created.  Grounded and realistic, the stories of the Brothers Hernandez are so perfectly "true" you can't help but fall in love with them.  A perfect blend of image and word and a testament to what the industry is capable of.  The comic itself is an anthology, with the brothers pursuing various storylines, and this collects one of those.

AUG050247       LOONEY TUNES #131       $2.25   (DC COMICS)
--Wouldn't it be great of kids read comics?  Hey, wouldn't it be great if DC could do uncensored and PC'd Looney Tunes.  We could have Bugs smacking Hitler around and hawking war bonds, and bring it to the modern era with biting sociopolitical commentary.  Man, that would be great, wouldn't it?  Hey, a bunch of guys in black suits just showed up.  Government?

AUG050255       MADARA VOL 5 (MR)       $9.99   (DC COMICS)
JUL052910       MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER VOL 1 GN (RES)     $6.95   (PUBLISHERS GROUP WEST)
JUL053256       MAISON IKKOKU VOL 13 2ND ED TP  $9.95   (VIZ LLC)
AUG051939       MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #8 $2.50   (MARVEL COMICS)
AUG051932       MARVEL MONSTERS DEVIL DINOSAUR  $3.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
--There's this comic book called The Goon, that Dark Horse publishes.  Eric Powell is the man behind it.  It is absolutely brilliant in every way and almost beyond description.  Supernatural toilet humor is a pretty good basics.  Anywho, he wrote this one and provides the covers for this "event," so it's worth at least checking out.

AUG051928       MARVEL TEAM-UP #13      $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
--Robert Kirkman writes the best superhero comic on the market right now, Invincible, and the best ongoing horror saga, The Walking Dead.  This isn't either of those things, but he writes it, too.  And Invincible is slated to appear in a couple of issues.

JUL051925       MARY JANE VOL 2 HOMECOMING DIGEST TP    $6.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
--I guess the digests do pretty well, because after canceling the ongoing series and then bringing back a mini based on the sales of the first trade they've just announced it's coming back as an ongoing.  Sales still suck in the direct market, so it's gotta be these that are sellling.  And it is a very nice price point.  The individual books that make up this trade cost almost twice as much.  Not to mention that it is excellent high school teen drama.  And much like the aforementioned Case Files: Sam & Twitch and Gotham Central, Spider-Man is a peripheral figure at best, which only serves to strengthen the series.

DEC035251       MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE SANTALUCIA CVR #3       $2.95   (MVCREATIONS INC)
AUG051920       NEW THUNDERBOLTS #13    $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
--Crossing over with The New Avengers here.  Marvel should just make our lives easier and stick "New" in front of oll of their books so they can all be clustered together in the alphabet.  I know that when I see "New" on a book, I buy it automatically.  I mean...  it's... it's... new!

AUG051978       NEW X-MEN HELLIONS TP   $9.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
JUL052964       NIGHT #2 (MR)   $2.95   (JESTER PRESS)
AUG050224       OUTSIDERS #29   $2.50   (DC COMICS)
JUL052615       OZ THE MANGA #4 (OF 8)  $2.99   (ANTARCTIC PRESS)
JUL053085       PITA TEN VOL 1-4 GN BOX SET     $29.99  (TOKYOPOP)
MAY052930       POISON ELVES VENTURES #3 PURPLE MARAUDER (MR)   $3.50   (SIRIUS ENTERTAINMENT)
MAY051811       POWERS #13 (MR) $2.95   (MARVEL COMICS)
--Remember the part where I said Gotham Central is the best police procedural because Batman and his gang are peripheral at best.  Not so here.  Taking up the mantle where Top 10 left off, Powers forged its own identity with absolutely compelling crime sagas with a major superhero presence.  Capes or no, these are not superhero stories.  They are crime stories that just happen to have superheroes in them.  And there is a difference.  Read it to see for yourself.  Excellent stuff.  Oh, and the letters page is not appropriate for the right-wing religious zealots.  That'd be a quick way to shut the indsutry down.

AUG051954       PUNISHER #26 (MR)       $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
JUL052818       PUSH MAN & OTHER STORIES HC (MR)        $19.95  (DRAWN & QUARTERLY)
AUG052897       PYONGYANG A JOURNEY IN NORTH KOREA HC (MR)      $19.95  (DRAWN & QUARTERLY)
JUL050320       QUITTER HC (MR) $19.99  (DC COMICS)
--Fell victim to the budget, but I will try and get it when it comes out in Trade.  This is the guy behind American Splendor, the comic and the guy the movie's based on.  Autobiographical and unique, this one's getting kudos from everyone.

APR052891       RAISIN PIE #4 (MR)      $3.50   (FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS)
AUG050231       RANN THANAGAR WAR #6 (OF 6)     $2.50   (DC COMICS)
--I read this one already.  There's something out there.  I knew this book would be a signficant lead-in to Infinite Crisis and it looks like I am right.  Oh and I can see now how they can say it has direct connections to Crisis on Infinite Earths.  Man, I love it when DC does crap like this.  It brings out the fanboy in me for real!  Suddenly, I don't feel like I'm married with a kid and a nice home.  It's like I'm living in my mom's basement, sleeping on comic boxes.  Hooray!

FEB051648       RISING STARS HC $69.99  (IMAGE COMICS)
--Okay, this was J. Michael Straczynski's (Babylon 5) first foray into comics.  It's superheroes, naturally I guess, and at 24 issues long, it's a lot of story for your buck.  They finally wrapped it up earlier this year, and while it's a little rough, there is some of his patented brilliance to be found.  And it lays the foundation for some of what he is now trying to explore with the excellent Supreme Power from Marvel.

FEB051649       RISING STARS HC SLIPCASE ED     $99.99  (IMAGE COMICS)
--Because a slipcase costs $30.00.
JUL051703       RISING STARS VOICES OF THE DEAD #5 (OF 6)       $2.99   (IMAGE COMICS)
--JMS is no longer involved at all, but Rising Stars made Top Cow way too much money for them to stop now.  I guess we can expect more minis exploring various "specials" from the original as long as they keep bringing in money.

AUG050265       ROBOTECH THE SHADOW CHRONICLES #1 (OF 5)        $3.50   (DC COMICS)
--This is the prequel to the new DVD coming out.  I have nothing more to say.  Note that it is not bold.
AUG052984       SAW REBIRTH     $3.99   (IDEA & DESIGN WORKS LLC)
--Sequel to the movie.
JUL053205       SHONEN JUMP NOV 05 #35  $4.99   (VIZ LLC)
AUG050226       SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAMORPHO VOL 1 TP   $16.99  (DC COMICS)
--I wish these were all $9.99.  These and the "Essential" line from Marvel.  Then I'd buy them all!
AUG052807       SIMPSONS COMICS #94 (O/A)       $2.99   (BONGO COMICS)
AUG052808       SIMPSONS COMICS #95 (O/A)       $2.99   (BONGO COMICS)
AUG052809       SIMPSONS COMICS #96 (O/A)       $2.99   (BONGO COMICS)
JUN053096       SIN CITY #1/2 JUST ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT       $4.99   (NEW DIMENSION COMICS)
AUG050229       SON OF VULCAN #5 (OF 6) $2.99   (DC COMICS)
JUL052646       SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #154 $2.25   (ARCHIE COMICS)
AUG051982       SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL 6 FINAL CURTAIN TP   $14.99  (MARVEL COMICS)
JUL053065       SPELLGAME #1    $2.99   (SPEAKEASY COMICS)
AUG051896       SPIDER-GIRL #91 $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
AUG051988       SPIDER-MAN DOOR POSTER  $15.99  (MARVEL COMICS)
--Do you think my wife would mind?  How about a poster of the upside down kiss from the movie, only cut out Spidey and focus in on MJ's wet tank top.  Think she'd mind that?

AUG051887       SPIDER-MAN THE OTHER SKETCHBOOK $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
JUN053038       STEVE NILES CELLAR OF NASTINESS TP      $24.99  (IDEA & DESIGN WORKS LLC)
JUL058321       SUPERGIRL #1 THIRD PTG  $2.99   (DC COMICS)
AUG050198       SUPERMAN SHAZAM FIRST THUNDER #2 (OF 4) $3.50   (DC COMICS)
AUG051956       SUPREME POWER NIGHTHAWK #2 (OF 6) (MR)  $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
AUG050288       SWAMP THING #20 (MR)    $2.99   (DC COMICS)
--Like dropping acid on paper.  It's not bad but it is weird.  And I can't tell if that's a good thing or not, though.  I guess it doesn't matter, as I suspect it won't make it to see issue 30.

AUG052817       TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #30 (O/A) (MR)    $2.95   (BROADSWORD COMICS)
--This started as soft porn with mostly teases and hints.  I think it's stopped being so soft (though I guess it would still be classified as that as I think it still stops short of showing sex.  Let's just say it is a very graphic pin-up book with the pretense of plot and story.

AUG052816       TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE SGN #30 (MR)      $10.00  (BROADSWORD COMICS)
JUL053111       THATS SO RAVEN CINEMANGA VOL 6 GN (OF 7)        $7.99   (TOKYOPOP)
JUN053011       THIRD TESTAMENT VOL 1 HC (MR)   $9.95   (HK COMICS LTD)
AUG051924       THOR BLOOD OATH #2 (OF 6)       $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
JUN052790       THUNDERBIRD #1  $2.95   (ATLANTIS STUDIOS)
--Wasn't he one of the All-New All-Different X-Men?
JUL053259       TOUGH VOL 4 GN (MR)     $9.99   (VIZ LLC)
JUL052571       TRUE PORN VOL 2 TP (A)  $19.95  (ALTERNATIVE COMICS)
--A misleading title as this is not an adult pornographic book but rather a collection of vignettes about experiences with sex and sexuality by independent comics creators.  The first one was very well done, so I have hopes for this one as well.

JUL052751       TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD #15     $2.95   (CLIBS BOY COMICS)
JUL053247       TUXEDO GIN VOL 14 TP    $9.99   (VIZ LLC)
AUG051964       ULTIMATE MARVEL FLIP MAGAZINE #5        $3.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
AUG051965       ULTIMATE TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #5 $3.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
AUG051941       UNCANNY X-MEN #465      $2.50   (MARVEL COMICS)
JUL052878       UNCLE SCROOGE #346      $6.95   (GEMSTONE PUBLISHING)
JUL050047       USAGI YOJIMBO #87       $2.99   (DARK HORSE COMICS)
JUN050452       V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION HC (MR)      $29.99  (DC COMICS)
JUL052985       VENGEANCE OF THE MUMMY #1 (MR)  $2.95   (MOONSTONE BOOKS)
AUG050290       VERTIGO FIRST OFFENSES TP (MR)  $4.99   (DC COMICS)
--This is what comics needs more of.  A reasonably priced collection/teaser of the first issues of some of comics greatest ongoing series.  I think this is the second one Vertigo has done, and I hope it bodes well for more.  Might not work as well with the spandex stuff, though, I guess.

JUL053248       VIDEO GIRL AI VOL 13 TP         $9.99   (VIZ LLC)
JUL052879       WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #661      $6.95   (GEMSTONE PUBLISHING)
AUG052798       WARHAMMER 40000 FLAMES OF DAMNATION TP  $9.99   (GAMES WORKSHOP PUBLISHING)
JUN050406       WATCHMEN THE ABSOLUTE EDITION HC        $75.00  (DC COMICS)
JUL053179       WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME IF I WET THE BED GN      $7.00   (TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS)
JUL051700       WITCHBLADE #90  $2.99   (IMAGE COMICS)
JUL051711       WITCHBLADE & TOMB RAIDER B&W CVR #1 REMARKED    $89.99  (IMAGE COMICS)
JUL051710       WITCHBLADE & TOMB RAIDER B&W CVR #1 SGN         $49.99  (IMAGE COMICS)
JUL058296       WONDER WOMAN #220 SECOND PTG    $2.50   (DC COMICS)
JUL050258       WONDER WOMAN #221       $2.50   (DC COMICS)
--Who would have thought that Wonder Woman would be so bad ass, that people would be buying her book and forcing second printings.  Killing Maxwell Lord was the best thing she could have done for her career.  What?  Spoiler Warning?  But that was months ago?  You didn't?  Well then what the hell are you reading this for!?  Go read that.

AUG051976       X-MEN COMPLETE AGE OF APOCALYPSE EPIC BOOK 2 TP $29.99  (MARVEL COMICS)
--I thought I was on board for this set and bought the first one but suddently I don't care again.  Based on sales of the first one, a lot of people were excited about it.  I wonder if they still care.  Maybe I could ask them why I don't anymore.

AUG051947       X-MEN UNLIMITED #11     $2.99   (MARVEL COMICS)
JUL050040       YOU DESERVED IT TP      $9.95   (DARK HORSE COMICS)
--You really did.
JUL053008       ZORRO #5        $2.95   (NBM PUBLISHING)
JUN053090       ZORRO VOL 1 HC  $12.95  (NBM PUBLISHING)
JUN053089       ZORRO VOL 1 SC  $7.95   (NBM PUBLISHING)
--Don't do it.  I know, maybe you like the character.  Maybe you like Antonio Banderas in the latest Zorro movies.  Maybe you even fondly remember Lady Rawhide and the Topps Comics series from a few years back.  To you, then, I say, enjoy your memories.  Cherish them.  Spend ten minutes thinking about how much you have enjoyed those various incarnations.  Spend your time doing this rather than reading this psuedo-manga-esque travesty.  The fake manga works well enough for The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, but it's really making the Zorro stories bad bad bad.  I read the first two issues, and really I don't need to read anymore.