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 are typically about three months away.
Most of this month’s offerings are scheduled to ship in December.
Now
it’s time to discuss a few of the weird and/or wonderful items
offered in this month’s edition!
“THE
FIRST DC REBIRTH EVENT IS HERE”, to which I say, “blech”.
I’ll
be fair, though – if this thing stays contained in the title book
and the Squad
and League
books, then I don’t mind. It’s when this stuff bleeds over into
the things I’m reading that I get annoyed. And drop titles.
To
be completely honest, if it was an entirely self-contained miniseries
I would probably buy it. It’s a great idea for a story, I just
don’t want to have to buy 52 extra comic books to read it all.
From
the creative team responsible for what is now referred to as “Batgirl
of Burnside”, which I love.
I should be really excited for this, but for some reason I just am
not. The preview art looks fantastic and I know these guys do amazing
stuff, but the concept of motorcycle racing does nothing to excite
me. I hope Motor
Crush
finds its audience and massive success, but I also hope to see
Fletcher, Stewart, and Tarr on something I’m interested in again
someday.
Amy
Chu (writer for DC’s recent Poison
Ivy
miniseries, which I enjoyed aside from the annoyingly noticeable
fill-in artists) is resurrecting good, old-fashioned chain mail
bikini Red Sonja. I have no idea if Dynamite’s attempt to clothe
their heroines worked out or not (and I did support the move, if you
recall), but it’s good to see that the original hasn’t been
retired. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter what the
she-devil with a sword is wearing as long as the story is good, and
I’m interested to see if Chu can deliver.
Halloween
Comic Fest 2016 (31-37)
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!
I
dig these crossovers that Dark Horse has been doing with the Aliens,
Predator, and Prometheus franchises. I know that sounds weird coming
from the guy that just complained about DC’s event (and will
undoubtedly be complaining about a Marvel event sooner than later),
but these are connected miniseries that are being produced for the
express purpose of telling a longer-form story. They’re not trying
to hook you into ongoing series that you aren’t interested in.
Heck, the way these are written you could just pick up the Aliens
mini and still enjoy it.
I
don’t know why you would,
but you could.
A
few weeks ago someone sent me a link to this book, asking me if I
knew there had been He-Man comic strips. I had no idea. This is
absolutely bizarre. I love that Dark Horse is collecting all of this
Masters ephemera. I wonder if they can get the German Golden Books or
whatever Goat Man is from. Or is that Anti-Eternia He-Man? I can’t
remember all of this stuff. I’m getting old.
I
just want to put it out there that the first two issues of Black
Hammer
are great. I trimmed down my pull list recently, and this title made
the cut. If you like different takes on classic superheroes, you’ll
dig this. It’s like Watchmen,
but less pretentious.
YES!
I love this kind of stuff! I am all about holiday specials.
In
the spirit of the season, I am going to keep my cynicism at bay and
believe that this isn’t a shallow ploy to sell us on the titles
related to the characters within – “READ HARLEY QUINN #9 TO FIND
OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!” – that sort of thing.
Great,
fun Batman. Firefly and Killer Moth showed up in the first issue.
They were redesigned, but I immediately knew who they were and their
new costumes made sense and looked good. This wasn’t a sleeveless
Captain Cold or Deathstroke that can’t sit down. If you weren’t
sure about this, go on and dive in. I like it and I don’t like
everything that Snyder has done.
NOTE:
Many of DC’s books are listed as 32 pages for $2.99. I feel like
something about that is wrong.
I
know I’m talking more about ongoing stuff than I normally do, but I
want to recommend Deathstroke.
Christopher Priest told more story in one issue than many writers
could in six. It was like a class in storytelling economy. And that
story is great.
I want to know more about this Slade Wilson and I can’t wait to see
what he gets up to. He is a villain.
An interesting villain and one that I think will be worth following,
but a villain.
These
collections are nearly irresistible to me. I like Doctor Kirk
Langstrom a lot, but when I think about it, how many Man-Bat stories
have I actually read? Not many! I know I read the pictured Legends
of the Dark Knight
when it was originally published and there was the whole thing with
the ninja man-bats, but I know I’ve never read his origin story.
And I’m sure there’s plenty more worth checking out.
If
you didn’t read it the first time around, Conner, Palmiotti, and
Hardin’s Harley
Quinn
is tons of fun.
I’m
impressed that these are as articulated as they are. I would expect
designer figures to be more focused on aesthetics. These are all the
DC Bombshells designs and look pretty good. I’ll buy Harley for
sure. Batwoman looks good, but if there’s anything I dislike more
than baseball… there isn’t. Ivy’s hip joints look pretty wonky
and I’m going to need to see them in person. And Wonder Woman just
looks crazy
NOTE:
The action figures on pages 151 and 152 are being resolicited and all
previous orders have been cancelled. So if you ordered the Animated
Dark Knight Returns set or the Icons Static Shock, Swamp Thing,
Wonder Woman, Deathstroke, or Cyborg, you’re going to have to order
them again.
IDW
has ended up letting me down with almost every licensed comic book
they have published, especially my beloved GI Joe. I want
to be excited about a new Joe book. I want to happily fork over my
hard-earned money for two hundred issues of an all-new ongoing
series.
I’m
not familiar with Aubrey Sitterson, but if you’ve got a good take
on GI Joe being a sort of global police force (and idea I suggested
back when I first heard about the shared Hasbro universe), then I
don’t care what else you’ve done.
As
far as the artist – Giannis Milonogiannis – a Google search
reveals a lot of cool stuff, but in a style that, to me, is not
suitable for GI Joe.
But
it’s GI Joe, so I’m gonna give it a chance.
A
noble and worthy project. Some of the biggest names in comics are
contributing to a book to benefit the victims or the tragic night
club shooting in Orlando. ALL PROCEEDS go to the cause.
I
don’t care about the Inhumans, I have never cared about the
Inhumans, and I can’t foresee ever caring about the Inhumans. I
especially don’t like them in the context of threatening Marvel’s
mutants, because that’s my corner of the Marvel Universe and it’s
been pretty lousy for a long time now.
I
want my mutants back.
This
looks like it should be a lot of fun. At the very least, I can get
behind the idea of a super-patriotic team. And is that X-Man Nate
Summers?
My
introduction to Kate Bishop came by way of Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye
series, which is just as good as everyone says it is. I liked Kate a
lot and have been hoping for more. Here it is.
After
his run on Howard
the Duck,
Chip Zdarsky is now a guy whose work I will follow wherever until he
does something lousy.
Gwenpool
is great. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every issue and if you haven’t
followed my recommendations yet and checked it out, you’re either
wrong or just no fun. Gwen Poole in a holiday special is just the
best. I’m excited.
Kieron
Gillen + Star Wars = I don’t need solicitation info. Just give it
to me.
If
you want a fun, all-ages Spider-Man book that isn’t tied to any
continuity, this is the one. You could pick up any single issue and
enjoy it, but go ahead and just buy them all. Or at least this trade
collection.
This
is a beautiful adaptation of the birth of Christ. I bought a copy a
few years ago and was really amazed by Tucci’s art. There are a few
different editions available now, so if you godless heathens know
someone that isn’t necessarily destined for hellfire and brimstone,
one of them might make a nice gift.
I
can’t remember if I read about this or have posted about it before
or what, but I’ve been waiting for these translated editions. I
don’t know if the comic has been translated before, but I’ve
never read any of them despite having been a fan of the movie for
decades. Kelly Sue DeConnick is providing the adaptation.
What
is even… what is this?!?! Apparently there’s a series called
“Disney Great Parodies” and this one involves Mickey Mouse in
Dante’s Inferno.
Madness. I can’t wait for “The Duck Call of Cthulu” and “Tropic
of Clarabell”.
The
Art of Hammer
is a must-have for any horror fan. I have an older edition and it’s
chock-gull of beautiful art and posters, including stuff I had never
seen even in this internet age. This one gets my highest
recommendation.
I
do not own The
Hammer Vault,
but I will soon.
Dan
Brereton is one of my all-time favorite artists. I have two of these
and recommend them. His art is weird and gorgeous and compelling.
These are those kinds of art books that when you see the spine on the
shelf, you have to grab it and look through it, no matter how many
times you have before.
These
are, in my opinion, the best Star Trek toys that have ever been made.
The sculpts are incredible and each starship has lights and sounds
that are usually – but not always – appropriate to the particular
ship. These are marked as “In Stock Now”, which means that when
you order them from your Local Comic Shop they should
arrive in a couple of weeks – in plenty of time for the holidays.
The Next
Generation
Enterprise
is my favorite. It’s one of the best toys I own.
PICK
OF THE MONTH
(that
he doesn’t know about)
Harley
Quinn Hula Girl – Cryptozoic Entertainment (519)
This
is one of those ingenious things that makes me wonder how nobody
thought of it sooner. The sculpt is fantastic and twenty-three bucks
isn’t bad for something like this.
Rogue
One is
right around the corner and you know what that means – the Star
Wars section is back, baby! Drink it in!
They
get off to a strong start with a Black Series Jyn Erso, a Rogue One
Stormtrooper helmet, and the U-Wing toy, but everything rapidly goes
downhill with the rest of the section consisting of the same The
Force Awakens merchandise you can currently find on clearance at your
local Target. So 2015. BOO.
I
enjoyed the second Bay Turtles movie a lot more than I did the first,
but that’s like saying I prefer diarrhea to vomiting. Is there
really anyone out there that likes these movies enough to spend $350
apiece
on statues of these versions of the characters? You could probably
buy an entire collection of origin al TMNT toys for that.
This
is a great-looking statue. I love the dynamic pose and the colors are
nice and vibrant.
This
was a light month for me.
Gotham
returned
a few weeks ago and is as nuts as ever. I don’t think I accept what
they’re doing with Ivy. Just because she’s physically older
doesn’t make whatever they’re planning okay. Jim Gordon is still
almost a villain. Barbara Keane is the character I most look forward
to seeing each episode, which is remarkable considering she was
ruining the show in the first season.
Let
me know what you’re looking forward to in the comments, or join the
discussion in the Needless
Things Podcast Facebook Group!
*****
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment