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.
But
I’m not here to discuss that. I’m here to discuss a few of the
weird and/or wonderful items offered in this month’s edition.
Oh,
boy – this
thing.
I
might write more here as I delve into the details within the DC
section of Previews,
but my initial thought is that this could be a whole lot of fun and
possibly
result in a DC Universe that I like more than the New 52. I would be
very surprised if it led to one that I like less.
Also,
is that Flashpoint Thomas Wayne Batman?
(time
passes)
After
flipping through DC’s section I’ve decided to give the main book
a try and pick a few of the titles that involve characters I like. If
this thing is treated as a fun battle royal that doesn’t take
itself too seriously, I’ll stick with it. That’s not to say that
there can’t be drama and high stakes, but I hope DC knows that many
of us are not terribly invested in their current universe and that
the best thing they could do is put out some comics that are nothing
but fun reads. We don’t care about the “stakes”, we just want
good funnybooks.
And
as much as I love certain artists and writers working today, I’m
super excited by the fact that many of my old favorites are returning
to work on Convergence.
Just to keep things tidy, here are the related books I find most
interesting:
*Batgirl
– It’s a Batgirl book. I have to at least give it a chance,
especially
with Stephanie and Cassandra on the cover. And Rick Leonardi doing
the art!
*Batman
and Robin
– Same goes for this one – it’s Damian Wayne. This one is by
Ron Marz, Denys Cowan, and Klaus Janson. It’s interesting to see
some of these names back in the DC fold. For the time being, at
least.
*Harley
Quinn –
Okay, so maybe I’ll just get all of the books I normally get. Who
doesn’t want to see Harley Quinn versus Captain Carrot?
*Nightwing/Oracle
– I can’t pass up books about favorite characters. Especially
with the combined talents of Gail Simone and Jan Duursema. Look – I
may not have been happy with a couple of Simone’s titles lately,
but I still love
her style and will always give her work a chance. She’s a fantastic
writer who will always have my respect and interest. If I don’t
like something she’s on, it’s the story she’s telling, not the
way she’s writing it; if that makes any sense.
*The
Question
– HOLY CRAP! I’ve been waiting three years for this. Renee back
as The Question with Greg Rucka and Cully Hamner at the reigns! I
didn’t even know this was happening until right now. I AM SUPER
EXCITED. I loved
these backup stories from a few years ago. This was one of the losses
that hurt me most when the New 52 hit.
*Batman:
Shadow of the Bat
– WOO-HOO, nostalgia is something else, huh? Not only is this a
callback to what I think of as the glory days of Batman comics, Larry
Hama is writing it! The creator of my favorite continuity ever.
I have to say that I am extremely disappointed that DC didn’t
recruit Brian Stelfreeze for the cover. What were you thinking, DC!?!
*Swamp
Thing –
Swamp Thing by Len Wein and Kelley Jones? YES PLEASE NOW.
*Wonder
Woman –
Larry Hama pens this one, as well. I might not have been quite
as interested, but that art looks nice and it also mentions the
vampires of Red Rain, so that’s wacky.
*Detective
Comics
– Another stellar creative team – Len Wein, Denys Cowan, and Bill
Sienkiewicz(!) – tell a story that sounds great. Dick Grayson and
Helena Wayne deciding who will be the next Batman. This sounds
nothing but promising.
*Shazam!
– Jeff Parker and Evan Shaner on Captain Marvel. Sold.
Side
Note: Between this and the excellent Multiversity:
Thunderworld Adventures,
it seems like DC wasn’t too terribly serious about rebranding
Captain Marvel as Shazam.
That’s
it for now. I’m sure the list will change as I read titles and get
word of mouth about the ones I don’t try at first.
Free
Comic Book Day falls on May 2nd
this year. I’m working with no way out. But that doesn’t mean
that I won’t be doing something special for the event. I’ve
already lined up a special guest for the podcast. More to come soon!
I
have to give this a chance. A few years ago I wouldn’t have tried
this even for novelty reasons, but the quality of Afterlife
With Archie
and Sabrina
have me convinced that this could – no, will
– be a great comic.
I’d
also like to note that Alex de Campi’s dual credit of Grindhouse
and My
Little Pony
is hilarious.
I
don’t know exactly what my mindset was when the various Fire
and Stone
series were offered, but I only got the Prometheus
and Alien
books. Those were very good, so I definitely want to pick up the
trades of this and the Predator
title. No idea why I didn’t in the first place.
DC
Collectibles (151)
Roxy
is not only a great addition to the growing Batman Animated line, she
is also a sign that DCC are committed to hitting as many characters
as possible. The fact that they are releasing a relatively
low-profile, high(ish)-cost figure this early in the line shows me
that these folks have the best of intentions and that my commitment
to said line is well-deserved.
Also,
the rocket lights up! Please, please, please
do a Batmobile, DCC.
I
also appreciate that this is the only Animated release scheduled for
this month. Of course, there are other DCC offerings that are too
awesome to resist…
DC
Collectibles (152)
I
never in a million years would have imagined that I would be able to
buy action figures of Batman, Superman, Catwoman, and Wonder Woman
that
were directly based on the work of one of my favorite artists, Jae
Lee. These things look fantastic. And I can’t help but notice it
says “Series 1”.
DC
Collectibles (154)
As
much as I love the new Batgirl design, I’m going to hold out for
the inevitable action figure. I own a few Black and White statues,
but they’re all Batman and I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t
know what else would fill out an assortment with this Batgirl,
though. Maybe a two-pack with Dagger Type in his crazy, sparkly
Batgirl costume.
Of
course, the outrage-hungry asshats that blindly attacked that
character have probably made that impossible. A word on that
“controversy” – nowhere, nowhere,
in that comic was it stated that Dagger Type was transsexual or a
transvestite. He was dressing up as Batgirl to cash in on the iconic
fame that had been generated. It had nothing to do with gender
identity or life choices or proclivities. It had everything to do
with Dagger Type trying to cash in on somebody else’s celebrity.
The
knee-jerk outrage and finger-pointing that occurred after Batgirl
#37 came out is why progressives can’t make the progress they want
to. When you attack everything,
it becomes very difficult to care when you are attacking things that
deserve it. Because of this “outrage” (which I interpret as
“trying to get pageviews”), I find myself dismissing those that
participated. They are at best desperate internet “journalists”
trying to drum up attention and at worst the exact
same kind of people that caused McCarthyism; just on the opposite
side of the table. Pick your battles, people. And be informed. How
many of you actually read
the comic before you jumped on that unsavory bandwagon?
Keep
these lunatics away from Bugs Bunny, please.
DCC
has been doing a lot of smart things with prop replicas lately. I
really dig this item and kind of want one. But I don’t need another
thing just laying around the house. Also, even if I wanted to use it
for cosplay, masked folks in Gotham don’t tend to work for the
GCPD.
This
confused the shit out of me. The last thing that I expected was to
see anybody other than Marvel producing Disney comics. But Mrs.
Troublemaker explained to me that somebody else actually owns the
license to the Disney comic book universe (or whatever).
I’m
pointing this out not because I’m reading it, but because I
absolutely love the art style they’re using on the covers and the
look of the revamped Holograms. I suppose that should lead to me at
least checking it out, but that’s just one more four dollar comic
book.
Well,
damn. Speaking of additional four dollar comics, this thing is by
Mark Waid and Barry Kitson. I want to read it. Of course, that means
I also need to read the prior volume, which is conveniently offered
as a trade paperback on the very same page!
I
loved Mark Waid’s run on Hulk
and on Daredevil,
so I’m keen to see how he handles his own property. And I just dig
Kitson’s art.
Buy
this. Or buy the trade, I suppose, since this is the last issue. I’ve
had the opportunity to read the first two issues now and they’re
fantastic. The characterizations are spot-on and the art is a lot of
fun. The likenesses are what they need to be and Charlie Kirchoff’s
colors are vibrant and eye-catching, just like the era from whence
these franchises originated.
There’s a brilliant essay about the
two by Dana Gould in the back of the second issue. Since extras like
that might not be included in the trade I recommend you track the
issues down.
IDW
(190)
I
believe that Berke Breathed is the greatest cartoonist ever to grace
the Sunday Comics. He would be utterly appalled to know that I said
that, but I think it’s true. Bloom
County
shaped my humor and personality in ways that will be with me until
the day that I die.
(he
might be upset by that part, too)
Having
said all of that, I’m not sure I’m going to pick this one up.
Breathed himself has stated time and again that these early strips
are unworthy of reprint and apparently took a massive amount of
convincing from the IDW folks to allow this work to be published.
Who
am I kidding? Of course I’m going to order it.
I
don’t really give a crap about this story of time-displaced
Avengers fighting Ultron after he took over the world. Here’s a
little secret – outside of Whedon’s movie, I don’t particularly
care about Ultron. Remember, I’m not an Avengers guy. I’m an
X-Men guy. It’s not that I don’t think Ultron is a great
character, I just don’t have any particular attachment to him. I
didn’t even read Age
of Ultron.
But
I love
Alan Davis’s artwork.
But
this book is five
bucks.
I’m
a big fan of Tim Seeley and I like the idea of Quill telling the tale
of the Guardians’ “Best Story Ever”. It has a Tenacious D kind
of vibe. I’ll check this out.
That’s
an awesome image. I haven’t been reading this book and I’m not
sure if it’s because I missed it or decided not to spend the money
on it. I like these team-up/one-shot books. AvX
and A+X
are still some of my favorite books from the past few years.
Also
a cool image. And this is a fantastic book. I recommend it to any fan
of comic books. Dan Slott is telling better Doctor Who stories in
this book than Doctor
Who is
telling on television.
It
looks like Marvel is catching up to other publishers’ idea of the
dollar reprint. Timed to come out just before the massive Secret Wars
event, this line includes the first issues of The
Infinity
Gauntlet, Marvel Zombies, Age of Apocalypse, Civil War, Planet Hulk,
House of M, Old Man Logan, Armor Wars, Miles Morales: The Ultimate
Spider-Man, Age of Ultron, and
Powers.
I’m a little surprised by that last one, as I don’t think it’s
part of the Marvel Universe. But I’m not sure.
Anyway,
these are all titles that will have significant roles in Secret Wars.
I’ve
heard nothing but good about this. What do you guys think? Should I
get the collection?
This
short essay is worth reading. Ross Richie – the founder and CEO of
BOOM! – has some great ideas about what could be going on with
comics. As somebody that doesn’t really give independent stuff a
chance very often, I have to say that I like where Richie is coming
from. I feel especially strongly about the current lack of all-ages
books, though I want them to feature the likes of Spider-Man and
Batman and I don’t know that we’ll ever see that independent of
some media tie-in.
Anyway,
you should read this. It’s interesting.
A
special note to BOOM!, though – I’m not a fan of the art
decisions on Big
Trouble in Little China
and Escape
From New York.
I don’t feel that either property works in the cartoony style of
the artists on those titles. I just can’t read ‘em. The art isn’t
bad by any means – I just don’t like it in these worlds. Put
those guys on some all-ages books.
I
love this, but I don’t wear Polo shirts anywhere but work and I’m
not paying this much for a work shirt. Also, I just realized that the
shirt above this one has an AT-AT mimicking the Polo horse pose, which
is INCREDIBLE.
This
is a beautiful shirt that doesn’t
feature Orko.
I don’t have nearly enough Masters shirts, so I’m thrilled to see
this one offered. I’m a little miffed that Trap-Jaw isn’t on
here, but I suppose the design does accurately reflect the hierarchy
of Skeletor’s goons. Trap-Jaw would be jumping ahead to replace
Mer-Man or Beast-Man, and that would only lead to trouble.
You
guys know how I feel about this Sofubi business (I hate them), but
this grotesque abortion might have the dishonor of being the ugliest,
most appalling toy I have ever seen in my life. It looks like
Godzilla and a Gray double teamed a turd and somehow made the turd
pregnant and then the turd gave birth to an alien lizard shit baby.
This looks like the type of thing the guy from Human
Centipede
would want in his home. Forget toys, this might just be the ugliest
fucking thing I have ever seen, and I can’t imagine what kind of
deranged misanthrope would pay sixty dollars to own it.
That
hat is so good. It’s Brett’s hat from Alien.
Even though it would be less accurate, I’d like it more without the
gold leaves. I should probably just look into getting a Nostromo
patch and sewing it onto a Flex Fit hat since that’s all that will
fit my giant head.
The
lunch boxes are all neat, but I feel like they really nailed it with
the Alien
one. It looks exactly like the lunchboxes I had when I was a kid –
the kind that I got sent to the principal’s office for using to
defend myself from a bully. I realize that’s a Marilyn Manson song,
but that for real happened to me.
The
Aliens
one is really good design-wise, but it needs trim like the Alien
one has to truly work. The Predator
is the weakest. It just looks like a mouse pad. There isn’t even
any artistry to it. It’s just his face slapped on a metal box and a
Thermos.
This
month’s column was a little lengthier thanks to DC’s Convergence
titles. I have to say, I’m excited for them. I don’t know if they
will make any difference or if DC will actually shake things up this
Summer, but it’s nice to have a little hope that things could get
better.
Which
is immediately dashed by that nightmarish Minilla thing.
Love that Roxy Rocket!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I'm in this issue of Previews as well.
Big Bang Universe #1. This new 1st issue features a story by me and Jeff Austin.
Check it out at http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/1/71/941?articleID=158639
Bobby
Awesome! Sorry I missed that - I love doing these, but they turn my brain to mush. Previews is fucking huge.
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