If
you don’t know, Previews
is the catalog 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 three months away.
Hawkman
and Adam Strange: Out of Time - DC (Front Cover, 116)
I
don’t find it unusual that DC has paired these two up. They’ve
crossed paths before. But I do find it interesting that not only are
they getting a miniseries relatively early in the Rebirth launch, but
also that it warrants the cover of Previews.
I recognize the names of the talent involved, but I don’t know that
I’ve read anything they’ve worked on before.
The
story is simple enough – retired Adam Strange teams up with Hawkman
to prevent war between their worlds. Sounds good.
Side
Note: Hawkman’s boots are terrible.
Labyrinth
Artist Tribute – BOOM Studios (1, 305)
That’s
a damned respectable list of artists. I don’t love Labyrinth
as much as I do The
Dark Crystal,
but the idea of folks as talented as these creating art inspired by
this admittedly beautiful movie is exciting.
Wacky
Japanese Spider-Man Action Figures - (3)
These
look awesome.
I’m not usually a fan of armored Spider-Mans, but this is a line
that is intended to be weird and experimental. It has nothing to do
with any narrative. Both Spidey and Venom look very cool. If I was
made of money I’d get them both.
I
guess it would be weird if I didn’t mention the Iron Man standing
right there with them. He’s okay. The sculpt is nice – especially
the battle damage – but the color is dull.
Halloween
Comic Fest 2016 (33-39)
How
awesome is it that this is a thing? Plenty of publishers are taking
part in what is sort of a spookier version of Free Comic Book Day. On
October 29th,
we can all put on costumes and head out to the Local Comic Shop to
grab some nifty free books! Contact your
LCS
now and urge them to plan an event!
Serenity:
No Power in the ‘Verse #1 – Dark Horse (44-45)
Further
adventures of the Serenity
crew by
Chris Roberson and superstar Buffy
artist Georges Jeanty? Yes, please and thank you.
Kid-Friendly
Relists – Dark Horse (77)
I
love this.
If
we want our favorite storytelling medium to continue, we have to be
able to get the next generation into it. Marvel and DC don’t seem
overly concerned about that with their overwhelmingly mature slate of
titles, so it’s great to see Dark Horse putting a focus on books
that everyone can enjoy.
Side
Note: The other day my eight-year-old son told me he had an issue of
Detective
Comics
that I knew was recent (it was one of the variant LEGO covers that we
had bought to put aside for him). I was immediately concerned that he
might have actually read
it. How messed up is it that I have to worry about my kid reading a
Batman comic book?
More
on this down below in “Unaffiliated Thoughts”. Which will be
slightly more affiliated this month.
Cave
Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #1 – DC (80)
I’m
a sucker for unnecessarily long titles. I also love adventures in the
middle of the Earth (like Inhumanoids)
and ridiculous super science. This book seems primed to make me
happy. I’m gonna check it out. This whole “Young Animals” thing
is off to a promising start.
Teen
Titans #1 – DC (84)
My
only experience with the Teen Titans is the old cartoon and the new
cartoon. I know the characters well enough from various other works,
but I’d love to read a Titans comic (yeah, I’ll get to the
Wolfman/Pérez stuff eventually). I’m not familiar with this
creative team at all, so I’ll probably wait for word of mouth. Ra’s
al Ghul is one of my all-time favorite villains (probably my favorite
Batman villain), so I’m hopeful that this will be good.
Side
Note: I just remembered that I did have a Teen
Titans
comic when I was a kid. I vividly remember Cyborg on the cover and
Starfire in the interiors. Because of
course
you’re going to remember Starfire. I think it was one of the ones
where I didn’t understand what the heck was going on.
I
also, now that I think about it, recall a story in one of the
collections I own. I specifically remember wondering why Jericho
looked like such a goober.
Superwoman
#3 – DC (108)
There
is something very
early 80s about this cover. One of the Batman
books struck me that way last month. Whatever the case, I like it a
lot.
Deadman:
Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1 – DC (115)
WOW!
I didn’t know there was a new Deadman book coming! And it even has
a ridiculously long title!
I
thought about just waiting for the trade, because $5.99 is a lot for
a comic and I’d really prefer a collection for this type of thing
anyway, but I can’t. I have to have new Deadman. And look at that
cover – beautiful!
Wonder
Woman 75th
Anniversary Special #1 – DC (119)
Must-have.
I love these kinds of specials that are just about celebrating a
character. I do wish it didn’t have a “#1” by the title,
though. Something about that bugs me.
He-Man/Thundercats
#1 – DC (122)
Oh,
MAN. This is crazy. Not Batman/Ninja Turtles crazy, but still a total
wish fulfillment. Now that dorks my age are in charge of things,
awesome stuff like this keeps happening! I’m not crazy about the
art shown here. It’s great for most of the characters, but He-Man
looks weird. I’m sure it’ll be fine, though. I’m certainly not
going to let it stop me from buying this dream come true.
Speaking
of Batman/TMNT, this is the same artist. So it will
be good.
This
makes part of me regret not signing up for MattyCollector.com’s
Club Thundera, but most of me is still glad I’m not having to deal
with that bullshit.
DC/Dark
Horse: Justice League Vol. 1 TP – DC (134)
I
believe I highlighted this collection when it was offered in
hardcover. If you didn’t get it then, you should now. Just look at
this list of talent: David Michelinie, Alan Grant, James Robinson,
Mike Kennedy, Alex Maleev, Steve Pugh, Mike Mignola, and Ryan
Benjamin.
I’d
buy this book if it was about a rock fighting a snail.
Sandman:
Overture TP –Vertigo (146)
This
was a fantastic companion to the original Sandman
series. I was worried that it might feel tacked-on or unnecessary,
but it’s just another example of Neil Gaiman’s magical
storytelling. And J.H. Williams III, for that matter. This is a
must-have for fans of the franchise.
DC
Rebirth JLA Action Figure 7-Pack – DC Collectibles (152)
I really like this new scale they're providing so you can tell how big the figures are.
This
is an incredible
deal for some excellent figures. I own a couple of DC Collectibles’
Icons and they’re second only to Mezco’s One:12 Collective (and a
heck of a lot cheaper). If you love the Justice League and would like
to have figures of all of them, this is a very economical way to
accomplish that. I’d be willing to bet this set doesn’t include
the scads of accessories that come with the single carded releases,
but this is still a heck of a deal.
Disney’s
Giant Halloween Hex #1 - IDW (181)
I
love Disney Halloween specials, and so should you! That sub cover is
fantastic, but IDW’s requirements to get such covers make them
tough to get. I had always thought they were just options that
customers with in-store subs could ask for, but it turns out the
retailer has to order a certain number of copies of a book to get
them. that broke my heart a couple of years ago when Berkeley
Breathed did some variant covers.
Super
Weird Heroes – Yoe Books/IDW (189)
I
would love to pick this up, but I can’t see shelling out fifty
bucks just to laugh at some weird shit. Ten years ago I would have,
but responsibility and stuff.
Champions
#1 - Marvel (Cover, M2-3)
This
is great! I never predict anything correctly outside of pro
wrestling, so I feel pretty darn good about calling
this last month.
My hope would be that this is a bright, hopeful title that is
appropriate for all ages and avoids the grim, grinding tone of dread
that the Marvel Universe seems to be these days.
I’ll
read anything by Mark Waid. I know I’ve said before that I didn’t
like Humberto Ramos’ work on specific titles, but I love
his work when I feel it’s appropriate for the book. And it’s
perfect
for
this one.
Granted,
I’ll probably drop this six issues in when Marvel crosses it over
with every other book they publish, but I’m still excited for it.
Champions:
No Time for Losers #1 - Marvel (M5)
I’ve
never read any of the original Champions
books, but between this image and the description, it sounds like I
need to. Eight bucks for five issues isn’t bad. I’ll pick this
up, if only to see if Iceman and Hercules are checking each other
out.
Jessica
Jones #1 - Marvel (M42-43)
I
loved the character of Jessica Jones on the Netflix show and I know
that pretty much all of that came from Brian Michael Bendis, but I
can’t help but be wary of this book. Bendis is responsible for the
best ongoing comic book I have ever read, but also responsible for
some of the most unreadable drek I’ve ever seen printed. Hopefully
he can work the same magic he did in the original Alias
series and bring us some great new stories with this troubled lady.
Deadpool
& The Mercs for Money #4 - Marvel (M44-45)
Machine
Man and Domino are characters I like quite a bit. I haven’t been
reading this because I just can’t read everything. Heck, I couldn’t
even read everything just by Cullen Bunn – the guy is writing about
fifty titles a month. But this makes me curious. And it’s the start
of a new arc, so it’s a good jumping-on point.
Plus,
I don’t remember any of the Deadpool books crossing over with other
stuff. Not in a serious way, anyhow.
CAGE!
#1 - Marvel (M46-47)
At
long last, Genndy Tartakovsky’s vision of Luke Cage is seeing
print! The creator of Samurai
Jack,
Dexter’s
Laboratory,
and the incredible animated Star
Wars: Clone Wars
is bringing his unique perspective to Power Man. I’m dying to see
this. If we’re lucky, maybe Marvel will animate it.
The
Punisher Annual #1 - Marvel (M78)
One
of the co-creators of The Punisher is writing about Frank Castle
dealing with Halloween. It’s bound to be entertaining. I love it
when the publishers do special things like this. It could be just
another annual (granted, it probably would have been written by Becky
Cloonan and still would have been awesome), but why not do a
Halloween story at Halloween?
Enchanted
Tiki Room #1 (of 5) - Marvel (M96-97)
This
looks like an awful lot of fun and all of the Marvel Disney books
that I’ve read have been great, but I just can’t buy a Tiki comic
that doesn’t have the names Mike Gordon and Peter Cutler on the
front.
Star
Wars Original Marvel Comics Vol. 1 TPB - Marvel (M122)
I’m
not typing out that ridiculously overwrought title.
I’ve
read the original Star
Wars
comics many times; especially the ones being reprinted here. When I
was a kid they left me equal parts delighted and confused. As I got
older and re-read them alongside the EU stuff from Dark Horse and the
novels, the Marvel Comics just didn’t fit, despite the ongoing EU
drawing from it from time to time.
A
few years ago I bought a stack for cheap and they didn’t do much
for me. But now, at the ripe old age of 40 and with appreciation and
tolerance for all different kinds and tones of storytelling, I think
it might be time to revisit Jaxxon the space rabbit, who I hated even
when I was a kid (sorry, Joe).
Star
Wars: Poe Dameron Vol. 1 TPB - Marvel (M123)
Everybody
loved Poe Dameron in The
Force Awakens.
If you want more of the guy, this is the place. The first six issues
are a lot of fun and flesh put the post-ROTJ
galaxy more than anything else I’ve read so far (I haven’t read
those present-tense books; I can’t).
The
Unbelievable Gwenpool Vol. 1 TPB - Marvel (M133)
Think
of me what you will, but I recommend the heck out of this book. It
gets Phantom’s Highest Marks. The story is pure fun and the art is
dynamic and a joy to behold.
Black
Widow Vo. 1 TPB - Marvel (M145)
From
the guys behind Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s Daredevil
comes Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s Black
Widow!
I
know that was a tough sentence. I’m tired.
Buy
this. It’s great. Everything these guys do together is golden. And
if you haven’t read their run on Daredevil,
just go and buy it all right now. It’s incredible. Just writing
about it right now is making me want to read it again. And don’t be
all cynical and think, “Well that’s the one that everybody likes,
so I’m not reading it because I’m cool”. Yes, everybody
likes it. For a reason!
Runaways
Vo. 1 - Marvel (M154)
Man,
Marvel is making me write up a lot of trades this month!
This
is the series that made me fall in love with Brian K. Vaughn, who
writes Saga,
the greatest comic book ever published. It’s about the children of
superpowered people discovering that everything is not what it seems
in their world. This, too, gets my highest recommendation. It’s an
essential part of any true comic book fan’s collection.
Archie
Meets The Ramones #1 – Archie Comics (284)
I
love The Ramones. I love comic books. I can enjoy Archie comics when
they’re done a certain way. Not that I think this will be all grim
and gruesome like Afterlife
With Archie;
the opposite, in fact. It should be tons of fun.
Big
Trouble in Little China/Escape from New York #1 – BOOM! (302-303)
I
have to address this because it involves my favorite movie of all
time and one of my other favorite movies, both by my favorite
director.
I
don’t like anything that BOOM! has done with these properties. I
dropped the Big
Trouble in Little China
comic after four issues of trying really
hard to like it. I felt obligated to like it. I wanted to like it.
But it was too much of a cartoon for me. Personally, I felt like they
totally missed the tone of the movie.
I
dropped their Escape
from New York
comic after one issue because I didn’t care for the art. As I’ve
said so many times before, I love cartoons and cartoonists, but it
needs to match the subject matter.
Greg
Pak is a talented writer, but firstly I’m not that interested in
these worlds crossing over and second BOOM!’s track record leaves
something to be desired. I’m not saying the stuff is bad, it’s
just not what I want from these franchises. Kind of like Sammy Hagar
with Van Halen.
Homies
#1 – Dynamite (342-343)
WOW.
I
don’t know if you remember Homies, but I still have a bunch of
them. They were little plastic figures of Latino stereotypes that
came out of quarter machines. They first came out in 1998. Every Toys
R Us and quite a few Krogers and Walmarts had the machines up front,
so I’d always drop my spare change in and get a couple. I used to
carry cash back then.
I
think I might have actually been more financially responsible. Maybe
I should ditch the debit and credit cards.
Anyway,
Homies creator David Gonzalez is doing a comic book based on the
characters, which I think is pretty neat.
Harley
Quinn #1 Jae Lee Cover – Dynamic Forces (365)
I
almost didn’t post this because I feel like such a chump for
ordering it, but I always try to be straight with you guys.
From
her days on Batman:
The Animated Series
to the Arkham
video games to her current solo series, I have always loved Harley.
Nothing will ever top the original animated version voiced by Arleen
Sorkin, but I dig the current comic book version as written by the
genius power coupling of Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner.
Jae
Lee is one of my all-time favorite comic book artists and the only
other comic I’ve ever bought from Dynamic Forces was an issue of
Transformers/GI
Joe
that he illustrated and did the cover.
I
have to get this. It’s one of those things that will leave a
tangible hole in my collection if I don’t. It hits two sweet spots
for me, so I’m gonna shell out the twenty bucks and be glad I did.
I didn’t order the autographed version because, to me, autographs
don’t mean anything if I didn’t get them myself.
Plus,
the illustration has a bunch of dogs on it. As you guys all know, I
love dogs, too.
Andre
the Giant: Life and Legend - :01 First Second (372)
This
is one of the most wonderful graphic novels I have ever read. It’s
a sweet story of Andre Roussimoff’s life, as told to Box Brown by
many different individuals. The illustration is beautiful, simple,
and compelling. This is another that gets my highest recommendation.
Boba
Fett Backpack (536)
I
do not need a backpack. But I want this one so
bad.
The Alliance pilot style one next to it looks cool, too, but I
actually prefer the older model.
Batman
1989 Movie Watch (550)
If
you need a Batman watch and you need it to be very specific about
which Batman you prefer getting your chronal information from, DC has
you covered. As much as I love this Batman, and as classy as
everything surrounding that Bat Symbol looks, the symbol itself looks
a little cheap in the middle of that watch face.
One:12
Collective Action Figures - Mezco (556-557)
The
amazing just keeps coming. This month we have the opportunity to
order Space Ghost, Frankenstein, Reverse Flash, and Superman. I want
all of them, but I have to be practical. I have a
lot of
Frankenstein action figures, so I’m just going to have to let that
one go. I already preordered the Entertainment
Earth Excusive Glow-in-the-Dark Space Ghost,
so I don’t need this one. I like this Superman an awful lot and
don’t have a good comic book Superman figure. He might be on the
order form.
As
for Reverse Flash, I am only now getting into the comics where this
guy shows up and I don’t feel attached enough to pay $80 for a
figure of him.
Oh,
and this will probably be the first Superman figure that can be posed
to look like he’s actually facing forward while flying. That alone
makes it worthwhile.
DC
Comics 8-Inch Action Figures – Figures Toy Company (557-558)
If
you dig action figures with fabric clothes but need a more affordable
alternative, our pals at Figures Toy Company do a fantastic job
bringing the Mego style back to life. They cover everything from
Superfriends to comic style to the Batman television series. They’re
also producing what I think is the best-looking Ra’s al Ghul figure
ever.
Twelfth
Doctor 2nd
Sonic Screwdriver – Underground Toys (559)
This
will be the first sonic screwdriver that I do not purchase, and that
makes me very sad. Doctor
Who has
changed into a completely different kind of show since it’s 2005
return, and it’s not something that I love anymore. This sonic is
very symbolic of that. It’s flashy and artificial and has the
appearance of something that was designed to look cool without a
thought to function.
Except
for the looking cool part. It looks effing stupid. I can’t believe
a grown man is going to hold this on what was once my favorite
television show of all time.
Suicide
Squad 10-Inch Plushes (571)
These
look awful and Joker and Harley are the wrong color. I wouldn’t
throw a free dart at a balloon to win one. Let’s move on.
Ring
of Honor Action Figures – Figures Toy Company (574)
Jay
Lethal, the Briscoes, and Kevin Steen (now Owens) make up the first
series of Ring of Honor action figures! Hear all about them on
Episode
45 of the Needless Things Podcast!
Table
Museum: The Vitruvian Man Figma - FREEing (605)
LOOK
AT HIS LITTLE WEINER!!!!! OH MY GOSH, I AM DYING!!!!
I’m
sorry. But seriously. Little plastic weiner.
A
Clockwork Orange Alex RAH Figure – MEDICOM (611)
$389.99
is a little steep for me. If Diamond wants to do a line of characters
from Stanley Kubrick movies, I’ll preorder them right effing now.
But that’s a heck of a lot of loot to drop on a sixth scale psycho.
Suicide
Squad MAF EX Action Figures – MEDICOM (619)
I
promise I am not starting down some crazy path where I start spending
ludicrous amounts of money on action figures. But I have grown pretty
tired of reviewing the same kinds of figures over and over again.
I’ve decided I’m going to buy the various Harleys that are coming
out so that I can not only review them but compare the releases from
the various import toy companies that I’ve been seeing so much
about over the years.
I’ll
keep the best one and put the rest into the Patreon
Mystery Boxes.
Click that link and help a brother out!
Toy
Story: Woody Robo Sheriff Star Combiner Chogokin Figure – Tamashii
Nations – (622)
This
is one of those dream toys. I would love to have it, but I’m not
spending $169.99 on it. If any of you pick one up, let me know how
rad it is.
Gary’s
Pick
of the Month!
(that
he doesn’t know about)
Cthulu Stress Doll Keychain (629)
It
might seem like a small trinket this time around, but Dragon Con is
fast approaching and I’d bet dollars to donuts our ol’ pal Gary
could use one of these. Heading up the American Sci-Fi Classics Track
- much like pimpin’ - ain’t easy.
Garbage
Pail Kids Masks (641)
These
are amazing! If I had anywhere to display them and had two hundred
and fifty bucks to throw away, I’d totally get them! Unfortunately
I’ve already got a bunch of masks I really shouldn’t have bought.
I might even put them in October’s Patreon
Mystery Boxes!
Howard
the Duck Mug (643)
I
love this, but I don’t need a mug. Not even to put pens in.
CONTEST!!!!!
WIN SOMETHING!!!
If
you pick up this month’s issue of Previews
and can guess which item on page 569 was my favorite, I will send you
a signed piece of Phantom art and a Random-Ass Toy from the Phantom
Zone!
Follow
@PhantomTrblmkr on Twitter and tweet your answer to me. First correct
guess wins!
Unaffiliated
Thoughts
SPOILER
– I am appalled by what happened to Krypto in the pages of
Superman.
If you don’t know, Eradicator ate him. In front of Superman’s
son. Going back to being concerned about my son reading DC comics, he
would be terribly upset if he had read that. He loves
the DC super pets and while I understand that bad things happen or
life lessons or blah, blah, blah, there is simply no good reason for
that to have happened as far as I am concerned. I am a big fan of
Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason – the writers behind this atrocity
– and I suppose they had a good reason for this, but I don’t care. I think it’s awful. I’m not boycotting DC or anything
because I’m not an idiot, but I just didn’t like this at all.
I
am not a fan of what I’ve heard about the animated adaptation of
Batman:
The Killing Joke,
not of Brian Azzarello’s behavior upon being asked about it. I
haven’t seen the film yet, but I have spoken to people who have and
it sounds like the worst has happened. You guys know I am not a
social/political/whatever guy, but it seems to me that they have
undermined everything that is great about Barbara Gordon in order to
sell the impact of Joker’s actions. It’s pretty gross. But I’ll
save further commentary until I’ve actually seen it.
*****
That’s
all I’ve got for this month. Start putting your pennies in your
Diamond Select figural bank and remember to drop your order form off
at your Local Comic Book Shop!
Yes. I need that keychain!
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