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| The rest of the pictures in this one are way better. I promise. |
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.
Suiciders
– Vertigo (Front Cover)
This
is a new series about dudes who go on dangerous, high-stakes missions
while drinking delicious Angry Orchard cider.
Okay,
not really. It’s a new series written by Lee Bermejo, the guy that
did Batman:
Noël.
I absolutely love his art, but the writing in that book wasn’t
super. Still, people live and learn and get better at a craft. I
might be willing to give this one a try, especially since it’s a
Vertigo book.
S.H.
MonsterArts Mecha-King Ghidorah - Bandai (5)
Oh,
dear lord that is BEAUTIFUL. I can’t justify the price of these
figures, but this thing is just gorgeous. I want nice-looking,
well-articulated figures of Ghidorah and Mecha-Ghidorah so
bad and
NECA doesn’t look to be making any headway into the realm of
non-Godzilla monsters in their G line. It’s bumming me out.
The
Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – Dark Horse (46)
This
is an absolute must-have for me. It features concept art, prototypes,
and all kinds of art from the history of the Masters toy line, as
well as interviews with creators. I am so excited about this one!
The
Multiversity Titles – DC (74/75)
I’ve
read Pax
Americana
several times now and I can’t get over how incredible it is. I
won’t say what it’s about because it’s very thrilling to
realize what’s going on as you read it. If you haven’t read it, I
highly recommend that you do; even if you aren’t reading any other
Multiversity
stuff.
Then
there’s this Director’s Cut thing. It has Ivan Reis’s pencils
and a bunch of other special features, but the main draw is the big
poster version of Rian Hughes’s map of the Multiverse. Or at least,
it would be if it were coming rolled up and not folded into squares,
which is what I assume given that it’s polybagged with the issue. I
can’t imagine why they would do it like that.
As
far as the concept of double-dipping, if I had Grant Morrison working
for me, I would print as many versions of whatever he did as I could,
too.
Justice
League United #9 – DC (77)
I’m
not reading JLU,
but this is a very cool cover.
Lobo
#5 – DC (89)
Somebody
who is not reading this Lobo
series probably has no business commenting on it, but I can’t help
it. I like Cullen Bunn. Everything of his that I’ve read has been
very good. But this is not the cover of any Lobo comic book that I
want to read.
Batman
‘66 #20 – DC (118)
It
was inevitable that this title would get to the point where people
that I have never heard of are working on it. That’s just what
happens with books that aren’t the big, high-profile titles. It’s
usually bad news, but I’ll give this one a chance as long as it
continues to be goofy fun.
New
52 Harley Quinn Action Figure – DC Collectibles (146)
I
am thrilled that they are making this Harley. It’s probably my
favorite look of hers. I do hope that the roller skates are
removable, though. It’s not a big deal – just a preference. I’ll
be ordering her either way.
The
Joker and John Stewart figures on the page are boring and that Ivy is
just awful. I can’t stand her New 52 look. I think she might be the
worst redesign of the whole bunch.
Joe
Frankenstein #1 (of 4) – IDW (154)
It’s
funny that IDW is promoting this by saying that Dixon and Nolan are
the creators of Bane. I suppose that’s worth mentioning, but I’m
not sure anybody is going to buy a Frankenstein book based on that
pedigree. I just like Dixon and Nolan an awful lot, so I’m going to
try it. It helps that it’s a 4 part miniseries.
Star
Wars: Darth Vader #1 & 2 – Marvel (M2 & 3)
Last
month Marvel revealed a new Star
Wars
book by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday. Now we’re getting a Vader
book by my current favorite writer, Kieron Gillen, and Salvador
Larroca. I am very excited for this because of the creators. A Vader
solo book is not exactly something that I was dying for, but Gillen
and Larroca are great selling points.
Marvel
Universe Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (of 4) – Marvel (M9)
I
won’t pick up this comic (thought I might get it for Lil’
Troublemaker); I’m just ecstatic that Marvel is doing a Guardians
cartoon. Well, maybe not ecstatic. I am not a fan of anything that
they have on TV right now, so I probably shouldn’t get too worked
up for Guardians.
Hawkeye
vs. Deadpool TPB - Marvel (M97)
I
don’t know if somebody at Marvel is reading these columns or not
(haha), but the numbering has been much better in this month’s
Marvel book.
I
want to read this. I also want to read Fraction’s Hawkeye
and just haven’t gotten around to it.
Godzilla
2000 Pizza Cutter – Diamond Select Toys (260)
Nothing
will ever top the simple grace and design perfection of the USS
Enterprise pizza cutter, but this Godzilla model is pretty kickass. I
can’t quite figure the design out, though. I guess you just grab
his head and cut?
Lou
Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation – Tomorrows Publishing
(379)
I
watched the documentary on Scheimer and it was great. I’m excited
to see this print version, which includes storyboards, cartoon
pitches, model sheets, and all kinds of other neat stuff that you
need to have on pages in front of you rather than just flashing by on
a screen.
That's
it. This is probably the shortest edition of this column since I
started it, but it makes sense because people don't want to be
thinking about spending money in December.
Speaking
of not spending money, how would you like to win some free stuff?
Be
sure to listen to the newest episode of the Needless Things Podcast
this Friday for details on how you can win this Alice action figure:
And
a whole prize pack of goodies from our pals at Zenescope
Entertainment!
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