Comic
Book Wednesday –
Previews
August 2014: DC Cranks It Up A Notch
If
you don’t know, Previews
is the catalogue that Diamond Comic Distributors use to offer the
products they distribute to comic book stores around the country.
This is where you can view and order (through your favorite Local
Comic Book Shop) comic books, trade paperback collections, t-shirts,
books, media, and toys and other collectibles from hundreds of
different vendors that deal in geek-oriented merchandise. The genius
part is that you actually have to pay for your copy of Previews
for the privilege of ordering other things to pay for. It’s like
the Ren Fest except without the horse poo smell.
So
every month a new edition of Previews
is sent out to comic book stores. Contained in the pages within are
products that might be currently available or could be released
anytime in the next year; but typically about two months away. Or
sometimes never. I’ve ordered lots
of things that have just never come in. Without getting into the
specific politics of Diamond, let me just say that they aren’t
quite
a monopoly and also aren’t quite
the worst distributor anybody has ever dealt with in the history of
the universe.
Earth
2: World’s End – DC (Front Cover)
Alright,
DC. I’m having a hard enough time caring about the characters in
your supposed primary universe; this New 52 thing you’ve done. Now
I see some weirdo Superman and Batman and I’m expected to invest in
these guys?
I
kid. Sort of. I think this is the story of the demise of the Earth
that New 52 Power Girl and Huntress are from. I stopped picking up
Earth 2
and World’s
Finest
not because they were bad but because I simply can’t follow
characters that are even further removed from the ones I grew up
with. I buy too many books as it is.
wytches
- Image (Back Cover)
I
have loved certain portions of Scott Snyder’s run with Batman, but
I am definitely suffering from “Zero Year” fatigue. I don’t
think
that translates to Snyder fatigue, though. The guy is still a heck of
a writer and I feel he’s earned enough cred with me to at least
give this a shot. The fact that Jock is doing the art doesn’t hurt,
either. I initially had a resistance to liking a guy that referred to
himself as “Jock” for what I would think are obvious reasons. But
his work won me over.
The
Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow - Archaia (1)
This
looks delightful. I love
Langridge’s work on Jim Henson properties.
A
Note to Toy Collectors (11)
This
is the first time I’ve noticed this. I’m glad to see that it is
printed in Previews
because this is something that likely causes both retailers and
customers headaches. But it should really be printed on a splash page
in front of the “Toys*Statues*Models” section.
The
Mighty Trade Paperback – Dark Horse (57)
I
remember this coming out, but I passed because I am a bad person that
doesn’t buy a lot of comics about characters that I am not already
familiar with. I already know that I dig Peter Tomasi, and Chris
Samnee’s current run on Daredevil
has made me a huge fan of that guy. The concept of the hero that
isn’t so heroic may not be anything new, but with the talents
involved I feel compelled to check this out. Plus, it’s 12
collected issues and that’s the end.
Buffy
the Vampire Slayer – Dark Horse (59)
I
dropped all of the Buffy books because they just weren’t doing it
for me. I tried. I really did. But I just wasn’t digging the
stories enough to continue buying them. But that is one kickass
cover. I’d buy a poster of that.
I
just noticed that Richard Corben is the Guest Artist. I know he’s a
legend and all, but I am not a fan. Unless he’s just drawing
monsters. Then he’s awesome. His Hellboy
stories
are great.
Gotham
Academy & Arkham Manor – DC (75)
I
saw a lot of people bitching online about DC adding two more
Bat-centric titles (I suppose anything that takes place in Gotham
City sort of is a Bat book) in October. I mean, this bitching wasn’t
special. It was just like all of the other bitching. But the way I
see it these people have two options:
- Find a way to make the entire universe love Batman less so that anything even tangentially related to Batman is no longer a financial success
- Don’t buy the fucking books, dum-dums.
Having
said that, I won’t be buying either of these titles. The concept of
Arkham
Manor
does sound interesting – Arkham Asylum suffers some sort of
catastrophe and the loonies are moved into Stately Wayne Manor. But
it just doesn’t excite me. Gotham
Academy
actually sounds great, but not necessarily relevant to my interests.
The
Multiversity: The Just - DC (79)
It’s
Grant Morrison. Of course I’m going to try it. And this concept
sounds like a lot of fun – the children of the current crop of
superheroes are the celebrities of Earth 16. I love this. It sounds
so… Morrisony.
Deathstroke
#1 – DC (82)
I
enjoyed Tony S. Daniel’s work on Batman. I feel like he did a solid
job with an incredibly difficult situation. I’m curious to see what
he does with Slade Wilson. I still haven’t decided whether I’m
going to add this one to the pull, though.
Klarion
#1 – DC (83)
I
love Klarion the Witch Boy, but I am not a fan of Ann Nocenti. Her
writing – while very good – tends to be too agenda-laden for me.
I am tempted by Trevor McCarthy’s art.
Lobo
#1 – DC (84)
Wow.
Three new series from DC that I have more than a passing interest in.
That’s pretty impressive. I’m not gonna lie – I enjoyed
whatever that Lobo book was with this leaner, metrosexual Last
Czarnian. I felt like I had a sense of where the creators were going
and that it wasn’t necessarily bad. I don’t know if this is a
continuation of that or some new direction because it’s been at
least a couple of years since that story was published. I am
definitely a fan of Cullen Bunn’s work, so I might give this a
look.
Trinity
of Sin #1 – DC (85)
What
the heck is going on here!?! Four books? Four?
I haven’t followed anything about this Pandora chick, but I love
the Question (even if it isn’t Renee Montoya), I dig Phantom
Stranger (no relation), and J.M. DeMatteis is one of the most
talented writers working today. I know this Trinity thing has been
going on for a while – why does this reference the Question being
centuries old? Is that a thing? I don’t know how I feel about that.
Batman
Eternal – DC (103)
I
only include this so that I can mention how awesome it has been. I
had a number of Facebook buddies tell me that it was either very good
or the best Batman book right now. I’d go so far as to say the
latter bunch were right. There have been a couple of weak issues that
had some serious problems with storytelling, but otherwise this has
been a fantastic experiment. It feels like a throwback to the days of
Batman event books.
Batman
#35 – DC (104)
Okay,
enough already. Why does every story arc have to be this massive
thing? I know I just got done complimenting Batman
Eternal,
but that book features every
person in the Bat-verse.
It is epic out of necessity. This title is just about Batman and
every Batman story can’t – and shouldn’t – be a huge,
world-changing event. I enjoy Scott Snyder’s work, but I kind of
wish that he would take a break between arcs. I miss the days when we
would get smaller stories that would last between one and three
issues in between big arcs. Legends
of the Dark Knight
was a perfect example of this (the original run, not the current
one). Each arc would feature a different creative team and longer
arcs would always be separated by one-shots and three-issue arcs.
The
bottom line is I can’t get excited about “Endgame”.
Detective
Comics #35 – DC (107)
That
beautiful cover is what caught my eye, but the description is what
caught my interest – “the first chapter of a two-part tale by the
guest team…” This is exactly what I was talking about above. A
nice two-part break from whatever has been going on in Detective
Comics.
Batgirl
#35 – DC (109)
DC
is doing something right because I haven’t written this much about
their books since I started doing this column back in April. Barbara
Gordon is one of my favorite characters. I have her tattooed on my
arm. It’s been killing me that I haven’t enjoyed most of what has
been done with her in the New 52. But DC is giving us a fresh start
and I’m pretty excited about that. Cameron Stewart is awesome and
his sense of style appeals to me a lot. I’m in for this one.
Green
Lantern/New Gods: Godhead – DC (114-119)
DC
is absolutely on fire this month! Er, in October. I haven’t read a
Lantern Corps comic since a couple of months after the New 52
started, but the imagery and concept behind the new Lantern event
story has me excited. I love the images and the related quotes and I
like that the New Gods are finally taking a major role in the New 52.
There’s no reason they shouldn’t be every bit as influential as
the Asgardians of Marvel. More so, really. I’m not sure I’m going
to commit to reading these, but I’m curious to hear how they are.
Hero
Comics 2014 – IDW (179)
Everybody
needs to buy this, and not just because it features Sam Kieth and
Mike Grell. Sales of this book benefit The Hero Initiative,
which helps out comic creators in times of need.
SIXIS
– Marvel (M Cover)
Yeah,
yeah – I know it’s “AXIS”. But every time I see that logo I
see “SIXIS”. I am excited to read the main story, but irritated
by all of the tie-ins.
Star
Wars – Marvel (M Inside Cover & M78/79)
At
first I was shocked that this wasn’t on the cover, but this is an
omnibus collection of reprints of the old Marvel Star
Wars
comics. I’m sure the book with January’s solicitations (the first
month that Marvel officially has the license back) will be festooned
with goodness from that galaxy far, far away.
I
want this omnibus very badly, but $125 is a lot of money.
Marvel
75th
Anniversary Celebration #1 – Marvel (M41)
Marvel
does like to have fun and overall seems to be able to take itself
less seriously than the Distinguished Competition. I think this is
going to be a really neat-o book.
Deadpool’s
Art of War - Marvel (M69)
Deadpool
by Peter David. SOLD.
Original
Sin – Marvel
I
am very excited to read this crossover. Marvel is putting out a
hardcover collection of the main story, as well as some trades of the
tie-ins. I’ll read them all. I haven’t even heard anything about
Original
Sin
yet, but I’ve been stoked about it since the first preview image I
saw.
Strongman
– Amigo Comics (256)
It’s
The Dark
Knight Returns
if Batman was a luchador. Only Previews
spells it “Luchidore”. Spelling errors aside, you know I’m
buying this.
Alien
“Chestburster” T-Shirt (464)
Genius.
I don’t normally like white t-shirts, but it’s perfect in this
instance to highlight all of the blood and gore. Actually, this is a
little too
gory for me to wear on any kind of regular basis. But it’s a great
shirt.
Batman
Classic TV Series Riddler Bust - DST (468)
This
looks absolutely fantastic. I love that he has the mask around his
neck. That was a nice design choice.
World’s
Greatest Heroes Super Powers Figures – Figures, Inc. (483)
Every
time I see these – and the Batman TV series figures – I want to
buy them all. The nostalgia factor is strong, but they also just look
so cool. For just a few bucks more than most 6” scale figures cost
nowadays, you get a larger figure with a better head sculpt and
fabric clothes. I’d love to interview somebody at Figures, Inc.
about the history of that company.
Batman
Desktop Standees – DC(?) (537)
I
like the classic artwork on these a lot, but the real thrill is
seeing Harley Quinn rendered in this 70s/early 80s style. She looks
like she’d really fit in with the Super Powers era.
Nightbreed:
Boon Mask (547)
I
find it utterly bizarre that we’re getting merchandise based on
Nightbreed.
It’s even more bizarre that the merchandise is one of the most
plain things in the movie. Not Dr. Decker’s mask or one of the
creatures, but Boon’s face with basically just Maori-looking
tattoos and sort-of fangs. Truth be told, Boon’s transformed
appearance was always the thing that disappointed me about an
otherwise great movie.
Beware
the Batman: Dark Justice DVD (564)
Just
as Beware
the Batman
started to get really cool, Warner Brothers yanked it from Cartoon
Network. They showed these remaining thirteen episodes all at once in
the middle of the night on a Saturday. I still haven’t seen them.
I’d like to have a Blu-Ray set of the whole series, but I don’t
know that the WB is going to bother doing that.
Transformers:
Beast Machines – The Complete Series DVD (565)
I
don’t know if I am unusual in this, but Beast
Machines
is by far my favorite iteration of the Transformers franchise. I had
a bunch of the toys and I thought that the cartoon was fantastic. The
difference in animation between this and the primitive CGI of Beast
Wars is
amazing. I remember that I just happened to be up on whatever morning
the first episode debuted and I actually went to the trouble of
programming my VCR to record the show. I loved it and was hooked.
Now
that I think about it, this might have had a weekend Prime Time debut
before moving to Sunday mornings. Whatever the case, this is a
fantastic cartoon series and I’ll be buying it regardless of the
format.
Also
of Note
*DC
is producing Monster variant covers for October. I think this is a
fine idea and that every comic book company should do it. DC showed
22 covers in this Previews
and they were all at least fun. My favorites were
Batman/Superman:
Batman
& Robin:
Superman:
And
Batgirl:
*Marvel’s
book is fucking HUGE this month. It’s 111 interior pages with fold
outs on both covers. To be honest I don’t know how many pages these
usually are, but this one is noticeably thicker.
*I
want to see this Harley Quinn at Dragon Con:
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