Another small week....

Ultimate Spider-Man #17

and

JSA #33

I'm too sleepy right now to think of comments or a question of the week, but I'll add them soon.

jim

Nothing. I just picked up another old Hitman TPB. I'm really disappointed that Ennis is off the Punisher though. I was just talking to the manager at my local store -- he's done with that series for good, and War Stories was just a 4 parter. Here's hoping the next "Just a Pilgrim" miniseries comes out soon.

All the good stuff I like is taking so long -- Planetary probably delayed till late summer/fall, Red Star every 2 months at best -- but probably longer, no Top Ten anytime soon, fewer Ennis projects, Authority going through various switches and changes. Pretty disappointing really. One really good thing just starting: @thena Inc. with the same writer/[unbelievable] artist team as Aria (another great series).

Tuan Jim

Anyone read Akiko?

Akiko #47 just came out this week.

Pretty slow on the new single issues this week as well, although I picked up some trades. In addition, my milehighcomics package came in with the Cable issues I had ordered and some more trades, which added more comic goodness for this week...

Singles:
American Century #12: Chaykin's take on mid-century America is pretty...interesting. It almost feels like I'm watching a early-70's made movie of the era at times...
Birds of Prey #40: I initially picked this title up because of the Butch Guice art, but he went to Crossgen to do Ruse. With writer Chuck Dixon also going to Crossgen soon, I was thinking about dumping the title...until this issue announced that Terry Moore will be taking over in the summer. Since I just picked up Moore's Strangers in Paradise v.1 last week, and have been enjoying it, I have a feeling he can easily do justice to the predominantly female characters in Birds of Prey.
Establishment #6: An Authority spin-off series, although I still haven't started up on reading the series.
Gen 13 #74: Gen 13 lost it's luster awhile ago, and the series will be ending with #77, but I really have been enjoying the series again with Adam Warren writing the past few issues, and with Ed Benes art (I've always enjoyed Warren's writing and art for his Dirty Pair & Bubblegum Crisis series). Warren has been using blacked out curses into the dialogue (for specific characters at specific moments) which kinda seems natural to how these characters might speak. At least it'll be interesting to see how he finishes up the series. Oh, by the way I recommend the Adam Warren written and drawn Gen 13 trade "Grunge: The Movie", which has a hilarious take on movies.
Monarchy #11: Same situation as Establishment, although this will be ending with issue #12.
Outlaw Nation #18: I think this is another title that's in trouble (of cancellation). It meanders a bit, and almost feels a bit like Preacher, but without the excessive violence, language and "Word of God".
Aphrodite IX #4: Eye candy. I only picked this one up because it seemed like it was ending the series (well, at least for now I guess)
Ultimate Spider-Man #19: still need to read
Uncanny X-Men #403: Haven't been crazy for either the art nor the story. Since Chuck Austen is taking over the title (and I've liked his War Machine work), I have positive hope he'll be able to turn things around.
Cable #97-101: Picked it up because I enjoyed Kordey's art in New X-men when filling in for Quitely. The story is pretty good, as it brings Cable down to more of a soldier level and he acts as such. Lots of "internal dialogue" from Cable, which gives him more character in the things he does.
Heavy Metal Spring 2002: I've been picking up Heavy Metal for years. Still enjoy the nice variety of stories it comes up with. (Favorite is still the "Rogue Trooper: War Machine" issue)

Trades:
Whiteout: I was hoping that Whiteout and Whiteout:Melt would come out together eventually(and not in the expensive HC trade called "Total Whiteout"), but I finally succumbed and picked up the collection to the first mini-series. Looks pretty good so far, especially the bleak white look to represent Antarctica, as well as an interesting protagonist, US Marshal Carrie Stetko. Will definitely pick-up Whiteout: Melt next week. Story by Rucka, Art by Lieber, Cover by Frank Miller.
Thieves & Kings v.1: Heard good things about this. Since I'm a fantasy buff, I had to give this a try (in addition, all current 36 issues are covered in v.1-4 of the trades, and issue 37 just came out this week). The first volume is a scatter of text/art and regular sequential storytelling. It sticks with sequential storytelling in the other 3 volumes.
Hellblazer: Original Sin: The first trade of the series. My start in delving into the world of Hellblazer...
9-11 v.1 & 2: Was avoiding getting this, but Mile High had both volumes together for $15. The non-superhero v.1 is definitely better than the more super-hero oriented v.2. Still, I haven't looked through it much and picked it up mainly for "later".
Adventures of Barry Ween v. 2 & 3: Foul mouthed little kids getting into trouble. Think Dexter's Laboratory meets Clerks.

Dang, way too late to still be up...

Small week for me also, only read the first 2 books so far. NExt week is going to ABSOLUTELY HUGE, if everything ships on time I may be getting almost 20 new books. I picked up. . .

New X-men #123 - (Ships next week). Usually I resist reading first looks but this is the one book I just cannot wait for, especially after this last issue. Since Morrison started on this title this is the GREATEST COMIC I HAVE EVER READ. Next weeks issue is absolutely brilliant. Morrison established a general tone in one direction most of the issue & then masterfully hits you like a ton of bricks & shifts gears in another direction as mass chaos breaks out as the beginning of what may be the most epic X story ever told begins. What I love so much about Morrison is his subtle ability to slip small events that have epic proportion, the subtle was Cassandra wiped out Xavier & in this issue the subtle way . Anyone X fan or not, that hasn't been reading this book you are really missing out.

The Establishment #6 - Grey, glad your getting this series. I was almost going to drop it as I figure it will inevitably be cancelled like the Monarchy, but after reading #5 this series just kicks ass. This issue was great & the book is unlike any team book out their, as the focus of this book is how this is Britain's super team defendse team, & their way of competing with U.S. & other nations super hero authority.

Birds Of Prey #40 - One of my guilty pleasure comics. This was once one of the best titles being published & right now it sucks, but I still enjoy the characters.

The Incredible Hulk #37 - You guys posting in this thread, I cannot recommend this book enough. I have always HATED the Hulk, just couldn't get into his character & my friends keep telling me to check out this new direction. So I finally borrowed issues #34 - 36 & I'm absolutely hooked. Great art by Romita who I usually hate, & a brilliant conspiracy based story unlike any that have been told in the Hulk's history. This new direction will surely go down as a classic amongst the history of the Marvel Universe.

Uncanny X-men #403 - I'm finally warming up to Casey & have really enjoyed the past few issues, except for these horrible covers.

Paradise X #0 - Only got this b/c of the light week. I loved Earth X, but never read Universe X so I may be a bit lost. Guardians of the Galaxy supposively play a pivotal role in this story line, & while many think they are lame characters, I've always had a soft spot for them.

Elektra & Wolverine: Redeemer #3 - Just an awesome book, I wanted to wait for the trade but this story is so good I just can't wait.

Also finally read my first Hellblazer trade. I can't think of the name of it but it was the one that came last week, the first Azzarello arc. I know nothing about the character so I was a little lost but I it was O.K. My problem is their arent' any likeable characters & tons of perverse violence. Normally I'm all for this Preacher is one of my all-time favorite comics, but Custer is a damn likeable character & so far Constantine is not doing it for me.

Whether coincidence or not, I tend to group my readings. This was 'indie' week (though, with the big name authors, they're more like Mirimax indies):

Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron

Clowes work is the most difficult to critique, my impressions of David Boring (which I rate highly) ran about two sentences. I can speak a bit more to this because I didn't like it nearly as much. This book is surreal and funny but doesn't quite come together at any point. As I closed it, I nearly capitulated that I "didn't get it." Whenl I read it through a second time, I recognized that I did get it, there just wasn't much there to get. A bizarre, fun, light read.

A Small Killing

Another slightly surreal tale, though far more grounded in reality than the Clowes book. I'm tempted to describe this book as "haunting," but that sounds a bit too much like an average movie soundbyte. "Haunting" also implies more resonance than I believe this book had, although it was captivating while I was actively reading. For thoughtful retorts, I'd site the question his girlfriend asks when the protagonist proposes marriage. Little moments like that carry the book.

Ghost World

Another Clowes, this was my favorite of the week. The author has a knack for creating realistic characters in unreal situations. Because I enjoyed this one, though, I don't have much to say about it. Highly recommended, may motivate me to rent the movie.

Forgot to mention something else I picked up this week.

Comic Book Artist #17 - An absolute must have for fans of who I think is the most underrated comic book artist of all-time, & along with Alan Davis my all-time favorites: Art Adams. This issue has a HUGE 18 page interview with him, which is very informative & the cover alone is worth it. It's just cool seeing him draw Wolverine, The Thing, Longshot, and members of the Authority all on the same cover.

Just happened to notice that Daredevil: Born Again is back in stock at Amazon. It's currently listed at $9.95 which is 45% off the suggested price.

Sessa17 - Going to give Hulk a try esp. since a collected volume of 34-36 is suppose to come out this week. I've also never been a fan of the Hulk, but it sounds like the creative team is going somewhere with the title.

I'll have to whip out Establishment #1-5 and read them through to see how good it is... (too behind in catching up on reading! )

Tuan Jim - Any idea if @thena, Inc. is going to stay in a storytelling format as the Preview issue showed? The art is great, but it feels like I'm reading an illustrated novel.

Seeker - Akiko seems to have been around forever, but I never gave it a try. Seemed a bit cartoony, but how good is the series? (if it has trades, I might give it a try if opinions on it is positive)


Looks like this week is going to get ugly: I've already counted around 25 titles on the to-get list, 5 titles on the maybe list, and way too many trades to pick up at once.

Quick question: has anyone here ever picked up any of those Marvel "Essential..." tradepaperbacks? I don't mind the black & white, and I'm guessing it'll have inferior paper, but does anyone have an impression on any of them?

Where does everyone find a list of what's coming out this week? I want to prepare my wallet.

jim

A lot of people will tell you to use diamond, or a few other sites, but I think they are all pretty inconsistant. And whatever you do DO NOT go by anything Wizard says, they practically pull dates out of thin air. I use & my comic book store goes by it as well, so I think it is the most reliable site, www.comicbookresources.com

Scroll down to the very bottom of the page where it says new site updates, & you'll see "New Comics List". They are almost always accurate, maybe with the exception of a title or 2 that gets pushed back, also there is a cool little option that lets you check off what titles you want & print out a little list.

I've been getting a pretty steady collection of them... all the Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Avengers, the Howard the Duck one if it ever comes out, the first few X-Men ones... I think they're fantastic, especially if you haven't read a lot of the classic Silver Age comics. I don't mind the black and white "phonebook" reproduction as the price point is so low - $15 or less - that it makes complaining about reproduction seem churlish. When you can get the first 75 or so issues of "Amazing Spider Man" for under $50 that's an amazing deal.

The reproduction is solid, although not outstanding. Sometimes the artwork seems to reproduce a little darker than it should be and a few details get lost (this was worst in the Fantastic Four #3 volume, most of the others I've barely noticed it). In a few of the "X-Men" books too I noticed that a handful of the covers had absolutely terrible reproduction, like they were scanned on someone's 1988 Macintosh or something, but the stories were fine.

I guess you get what you pay for. If you're an anal collector who must have everything "mint" and "first print" then pass, but if you just want to read some outstandingly fun stories for a low price, pick 'em up. I suggest the first volume of "Amazing Spider-Man" by Lee & Ditko if you haven't read 'em. Classic!

Sierra - Thanks for the feedback! With the Essential Howard the Duck and Essential Dr. Strange coming out...well, whenever (supposedly this week), I was deciding whether to dive into the classics (without having to sell off a major organ or two) and give the rest of the Essentials a try. If the worse problem is an occasional imperfect reproduction, then I don't think I'll have any problems with them at all

The Essential Spider-Man TPBs will definitely go onto my "wantlist" then


I go to: www.midtowncomics.com
...and not just because that's the store I go to
There's a Weekly Release List in the upper right corner which they update every Saturday. I like the way they layout the information, by breaking out all of the titles out by company/category.

If you want to read some free crossgen comics:

http://www.comicsontheweb.com/

The first set of titles to pop up are:
Ruse - 3 issues
Path - 1 issue
Sojourn - 3 issues

Click on the red linky on the bottom of that page and you'll get access to:

Mystic - 10 issues
Sigil - 10 issues
Scion - 10 issues
Meridian - 10 issues
The First - 10 issues

My only favorites are Ruse & Sojourn, but if you have the time, give the others a gander...hey, it's free!

In addition, the interface is VERY cool...

I haven't picked up my books yet, but sitting in my box waiting for me are:

- AMERICAN CENTURY #12 (you either like this or you hate it. I like it. I also think this new arc is much more interesting than the last)

- LUCIFER #23 (one of the best books out there, with some of the best creative people in the business on it. Amazing covers by Chris Moeller)

- PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #40 (Only Marvel book I buy)

Looking ahead to this coming Wednesday, I'll be getting:

- THE RED STAR #8 (buy the trade, my name is on the back cover! Fantastic book)

- POWERS (If anyone likes this book check out what Oeming and garrahy did for me: http://www.slushfactory.com/powerslush.jpg)

-Brian

Peter Parker: Spider-Man continues to be the great unsung Spidey title, stuck in the shadow cast by Mr. Babylon 5. While Amazing has been experiencing an undenied uptick in quality, PPSM #40 features one of the greatest fake-outs in modern Spider-lore:



This is shaping up to be one of the better Doc Ock arcs in recent history. My favorite purchase of the week, however? Six words:

Essential Howard The Duck, Vol. 1. 'Nuff said!