By
Phantom Troublemaker
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 July.
Now
it’s time to discuss a few of the weird and/or wonderful items
offered in this month’s edition!
I
do not yet know the full extent of this “greatest comics event of
summer 2017”. I don’t know if it’s crossing over into every DC
book or every Bat book or if it’s just a series unto itself. I
don’t like not knowing, but I also have a renewed faith in DC
thanks to the overall excellence of the Rebirth titles that I’ve
been reading.
I
have a certain amount of trust that whatever form this “Dark Days”
takes, it will be in the service of storytelling more than it will be
about simply making a quick buck or creating cheap buzz. That’s not
to say that I have an issue with getting media attention or making
money. This is, after all, an industry and those things are necessary
parts of it. But as of late DC seems to have had a nice balance
between art and the more vulgar aspects of the comic book industry.
As opposed to certain other companies I could name.
In
short – I’m giving this a chance. As fatigued as I have been by
“events”, I actually do like crossovers when they’re good and
feel earned.
If
this is the sort of thing where there’s a main title, as well as
things like “Dark Days: Superman” and “Dark Days: Green
Lantern” without crossing into the regular books, I think that’s
ideal. We’ll see.
I
also like a good, old-fashioned annuals crossover.
DC/Looney
Tunes – DC Comics (Inside Cover, 113-116)
This
is weird. I mean, I’ve been seeing these characters intersect at
Six Flags all my life, but seeing Jonah Hex and Foghorn Leghorn
occupying the same space is at the very least a bit disorienting. Add
to that the fact that Mark Texeira is illustrating and things only
get weirder.
But
whatever. Given the all-star creative teams and the fact that these
are one-shots (I’m pretty sure), I’m all-in for these. Or maybe
just for the collected edition when it comes out.
Free
Comic Book Day (31-39)
This
year Free Comic Book Day falls on Saturday, May 6th.
Visit FREECOMICBOOKDAY.COM
for more details!
Aliens
Vs. Predator: Life and Death TP – Dark Horse (53)
I
have thoroughly enjoyed this newest entry into Dan Abnett’s
apparently ongoing Aliens/Predator universe story. This collects the
final comics of the current run and I recommend the entire thing.
Don’t be put off by the AvP title. It has nothing
to do with those movies.
The
Dark Horse Book of Horror HC – Dark Horse (58)
Pretty
much any standalone collection like this that Dark Horse puts
together is worth your time and money. I didn’t pick up the
original four collections that make up this hardcover, but I’ll be
more than happy to buy them all together now. Mignola, Thompson,
Dorkin, Phillips, and the rest are strong enough selling points for
me.
Go
Team Venture! The Art and Making of The Venture Bros. HC – Dark
Horse (66)
Great.
Now I’m going to have to lug this big, stupid book down to Dragon
Con to get it signed by these guys.
The
Venture Bros.
is, in my opinion, the greatest television show ever produced. I
can’t wait to get my hands on this tome to learn all of the secret
magic that goes into making it.
Considering how quickly Venture merch
goes and how much secondary market demand there tends to be, I’d go
ahead and order this if you have any interest in it at all.
Deathstroke
Vol. 2: The Gospel of Slade TP – DC Comics (130)
Deathstroke
has been one of the best Rebirth titles and is one of my favorite
overall comic books right now. It goes to the top of the stack every
time a new issue comes out. The storyline is somewhat continuous
throughout the series, so while I do recommend this, you should also
pick up volume 1.
Batman:
The Caped Crusader Vol. 1 HC – DC Comics (133)
This
is a little weird because I have an older collection of these same
issues, but it’s called Batman:
Year Two.
I wonder what made DC back off of that branding.
It’s
a solid story that provided some of the ideas for the best theatrical
Batman movie of all time, Mask
of the Phantasm.
Batman/Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 TP – DC (133)
An
excellent crossover that I’ve raved about many times. James Tynion
IV really gets all of the characters and Freddie Williams II’s art
is fantastic. You might doubt that this would be any good, but trust
me – it’s what I had been waiting almost twenty years to see. If
only they could produce an animated feature somehow.
He-Man/Thundercats
TP – DC (135)
Just
like the above entry, Williams’ art is phenomenal. But everything
else about this crossover leaves something to be desired. The plot is
paper-thin and feels decompressed and the dialogue is execrable. I
was a little embarrassed reading it at points. The story could have
happened on either show, but the character voices are badly off. If
only Tynion has tackled this one, too.
Harley
Quinn by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti Omnibus Vo. 1 HC – DC
(136)
If
you like fun comic books and are a fan of Harley (or Conner and
Palmiotti), this is a must-have. It collects all of the best stuff
from their ongoing run on the Harley Quinn comic. The first 16 issues
are excellent, the specials are great, and even Future’s
End was
a cool story. I could do without the Harley
Quinn and Power Girl
miniseries, though. That went on way too long. It could have easily
been two issues instead of six.
Justice
League by Giffen and DeMatteis Omnibus Vol. 1 HC – DC (137)
This
is the legendary run of Justice
League that
everyone always talks about. The one where Batman knocks out Guy
Gardner. I haven’t read it, but I’d like to.
Trinity
TP New Edition – DC (140)
I’m
assuming this is the original “Trinity” team-up that inspired the
last decade or whatever of ongoing Trinity comics featuring Wonder
Woman, Batman, and Superman. I don’t know the history of the
concept, so I’m not positive. Either way it’s by Matt Wagner, so
I’m ordering it. Also, it’s a Ra’s al Ghul story. EXCELLENT.
Batman
Animated: Batcave – DC Collectibles (149)
As
seen in Needless
Things’ Toy Fair 2017 coverage.
I want it, obviously. But that price is steep and
it’s huge. I don’t know where I’d put this much plastic
Batcave. And as our pal The Belligerent Monkey
pointed out, the figures don’t exactly stand well, so what are you
going to do, put those giant, ugly stands on this thing?
DC
Designer Series Bombshells Action Figures by Ant Lucia – DC
Collectibles (150)
These
look like such a fun collection. If I didn’t already have way too
much stuff going in the way of action figure lines I’d love to have
a shelf full of these designs. I still don’t know if doing them in
the Icons style was the right call. With designs this stylized, the
articulation seems odd. I still haven’t seen the first wave in
person, so I can’t say for sure yet.
Batman:
Black & White Amanda Conner Statues – DC Collectibles (152)
Amanda
Conner is the best and these statues look fantastic, but I have sworn
off of non-articulated stand-around-things. Mostly.
Batman/Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures TPB - IDW (165)
This
book collects the second Batman/TMNT team-up, this one featuring the
versions of the characters from the current Ninja Turtles cartoon and
Batman:
The Animated Series.
It’s every bit as good as the other one.
Super
Weird Heroes: Preposterous But True! - IDW (191)
While
this collection looks like an awful lot of fun, I can’t justify it
for myself, even if Mr. Whiskers looks like the greatest hero of all
time. If you pick this up, let me know how awesome it is.
Kill
the Minotaur #1 - Image (199)
The
minotaur has always been my favorite mythological creature and I love
the story of Theseus. I just don’t know that I need it in $3.99
monthly comic book form. If this was a miniseries of 4 or 6 issues
I’d probably sign up, but I don’t want to get attached to another
ongoing series.
Shirtless
Bear-Fighter! #1 (of 5) - Image (202)
Fortunately
we have the hyphen between “Bear” and “Fighter” as well as a
clear cover image to let us know that this is a shirtless man that
fights bears, not a man that fights shirtless bears.
Winnebago
Graveyard #1 (of 4) - Image (203)
Steve
Niles. All they ever have to say is “Steve Niles”. One of the
best horror writers working today.
Tokyo
Ghost Deluxe Edition HC - Image (208)
I
have not read this, but the fact that it’s by Rick Remender and
Sean Murphy caught my eye when the single issues were coming out.
Having just watched Ghostin the Shell,
I want to get into this sort of thing. I didn’t pick it up the
first time around because I had just dropped Remender’s Black
Science.
It just wasn’t my thing.
Peter
Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 - Marvel (Cover, M18-19)
Chip
Zdarsky won my heart with Howard
the Duck
and ever since Spidey appeared in that run I’ve been wanting him to
write a Spider-Man book. But I’m not digging this “companion book
to Amazing
Spider-Man”
business that Marvel is putting over here. I don’t want a companion
book to anything. I want a standalone book. What was once a must-have
has turned into an “I’m not so sure” thanks to Marvel’s weird
semantics.
Weapons
of Mutant Destruction - Marvel (M71-73)
As
soon as I saw this announced, I saw articles mocking it.
I
get it. A Wolverine/Hulk hybrid is a total high school boy fantasy
and also a colossally terrible idea. But if it weren’t for
scientists following through on terrible ideas, comic books – and
science fiction in general – wouldn’t be nearly as much fun, now
would they?
Fun
seems to be what Greg Pak does best, so I’m going to give this
thing the benefit of the doubt and assume it’s going to be a big,
ridiculous story like FrankenCastle.
Remember that? I loved it.
Star
Wars: Droids Unplugged #1 - Marvel (M85)
This
collects some backup stories from various Marvel Star
Wars
comics. I’ve read them and they’re great, so if you haven’t
seen them, pick this up.
Darth
Vader #1 & 2 - Marvel (M86-87)
Charles
Soule’s Lando Calrissian book was excellent, so I’m more than
happy to give this a chance. I’m a guy that wants to explore all of
the backstory and different corners of the Star Wars galaxy, so
anything that Disney and Marvel decide to shine a light on is okay by
me. I suppose that comes from two decades of devouring all of the
Expanded Universe material I could.
Heck,
this probably explains why I didn’t have a problem with Disney
labeling that “Legends” and starting over. Now I get to start all
over again with different stories – that are now official canon
(until they’re not)!
Thor
by Walter Simonson Omnibus HC - Marvel (M98)
I
could fill a room with legendary, essential comic books that I
haven’t read. I’ve already got two shelves full at home. I’ll
get around to them someday when I’ve caught up with what’s
currently being published and also have about a week where I don’t
have anything else to do.
Yeah.
Jimmy’s
Bastards #1 - Aftershock (264)
What
if all the ladies that James Bond made the sex with had kids?
I’m
guessing they all grew up to hate him and became supervillains.
That
seems to be the premise of the new book from Garth Ennis starring
Bond stand-in Jimmy Regent. If Ennis is in top form it should be full
of laughs and depravity, so I’m in.
Nocturnals
Books – Big Wow Art (288)
Dan
Brereton is one of the best artists ever. Nobody does the
supernatural like he does. I will but pretty much anything with his
name on it. If you haven’t read his stuff, the Black
Planet
book collects the first Nocturnals story and is excellent. Highest
recommendation.
Valerian
Collections - Cinebook (319)
Luc
Besson’s Valerian
and The City of A Thousand Planets
is coming out soon and I am super, super, super, super, super, super
excited. The trailer looks AMAZING:
And
I feel like this could be the spiritual successor to The
Fifth Element that
I’ve been waiting so long for.
But
I am not reading any of these books until I see the movie. I have
learned my lesson about that. Watch the movie/TV show first, then
read the stuff if you haven’t already. I would’ve enjoyed the
last five Harry Potter movies a whole lot more if I hadn’t decided
to read the books first.
Art
of Atari Poster Collection - Dynamite (330-331)
Oh,
man – this is tempting. Some of the best and wildest art of the 80s
came from the covers of Atari games because they really had to sell
us on those shitty-looking graphics. You weren’t going to see
anything even remotely resembling a gigantic, fire-breathing, flying,
man-eating centipede in the game, so these artists had to make those
covers POP.
GWAR:
Orgasmageddon #1 – Dynamite (336-337)
How
has this not happened already?
GWAR
are important pop culture icons (no, seriously) and I cannot believe
that this is the first time they’ve crossed over into comics. It
seems like such an obvious thing.
I
would order this, but I am terrified at the idea of my son finding it
and reading anything that has GWAR involved.
Dynamite
is having a good month.
I
totally understand why this American-released comic book needed to be
called Blood
Brothers,
but Hermanos
de Sangre
would have been such a cooler title.
Guns,
ghosts, monsters, and a luchador is all you have to put in front of
me to get my attention. Consider this added to my list. I’ll let
you know how it is.
I’m
mentioning this because the individual issues caught my eye when they
were first solicited. I’d like to read a comic book about a
megalodon. The art looks great, too.
Obviously
I love Previews.
I have more fun writing this column than any other and it’s
regular, monthly material for me. As a matter of fact, I’d say I
probably like Previews
more than ninety percent of the rest of humanity. But I am not paying
money to wear a Previews
shirt. If they want to send me one, I’ll wear it all day (purple
XXL, please; or XLT if you’ve got it), but I can’t imagine buying
one.
Especially
not a *makes fart noise* Secret Empire one.
I’m
pointing this out for a few reasons:
1
– I just think it’s cool
2
– I feel very strongly that our pal, Gary Mitchel, should be
wearing this shirt
3
– If they make a Monster Manual version, I will get one
4
– This is THE classic D&D image and font – well done
YES
MARVEL THIS SHOULD DO VERY WELL FOR YOU.
Actually,
judging from online reaction to Nick Spencer’s Captain
America-related decisions, I think Marvel might actually make a
fortune off of people who buy this shirt just to burn it.
This
would have worked better without “Spider-Man” on it. It’s a
solid design, but the presence of that name sort of makes Spider-Gwen
seem like a supporting character, which she isn’t.
SPIDER-MAN
(and
some broad)
This
is a poor design choice. The image is too small to really tell what
the design is, but since I know my MOTU artwork, I know that this is
a picture where He-Man’s back is to the “camera” and Skeletor
is tiny. There are so many far better pieces of He-Man art to put on
t-shirts.
I’m
pointing this out for one reason:
1
– Obviously our pal, Rad Ranger, needs this
These
look nice and I think this is a strong character assortment. I do
wonder why they’d go with Butch in his jacket as opposed to bloody
Butch with a katana. I bet Marsellus Wallace doesn’t actually have
a way to hold that box like that. Flat hands would make sense, flat
hands with magnets that connect to magnets in the box would make more
sense. Honestly, this version of Wallace isn’t even the best unless
they’re making a car to put Butch in.
Sorry,
guys – after my disappointment with DST’s Ghostbusters I’m
probably being a little harsh, but just like their choice of a 7”
scale, a lot of their decisions confound me.
Also
it doesn’t look like Jules has a gun. C’mon, you guys.
The
pirates, on the other hand, look fantastic. I’d love to see DST go
full-bore on this line and hit as many of the characters from the
movies as they could. There’s never been a truly great, cohesive
Pirates of the Caribbean line.
I
pointed this out somewhere, but between all of the license that Super
7 is picking up and adding to their new M.U.S.C.L.E. line, it’s
starting to get almost as good and weird as the original Mattel line.
We now have Street Fighters and Eternians and aliens and marines,
with more weird, disparate stuff on the way.
My
wife collects Mezco’s Living Dead Dolls, but I definitely
appreciate them as well. I feel like lately they’ve really stepped
up the quality on their licensed releases and this Harley is a good
example. If the shadowed pic provided isn’t good enough for you,
here’s the full product reveal:
I
dig it.
We
only pick up POP! figures here and there, but when Funko produces the
only decent toys of one of the greatest animated television shows of
all time, I will be buying them. Jazwares made actual action figures,
but since their stuff tends to fall apart if you look at it too
strongly I’ll stick with these.
What
a fucked up world we live in. I honestly don’t know if I mean that
in a good way or not. But you can bet your ass when Funko puts out
Blue Velvet figures I’ll buy ‘em all.
Don’t
you fucking look at me.
NECA’s
Ultimate figures have all been great, but if you already own the
specific version there often isn’t much reason to upgrade. This
one, however, looks like a big step up over the older release. Two
heads, two masks, tons of weapons, and the one thing that made up my
mind to order it – a corkscrew!
This
is irresistible. I know I said earlier I had quit statues, but this
is a family collectible. It’ll go in the living room with all of
the mass-appeal stuff. It’s easily one of the cutest and most
hilarious things I have ever seen.
You
know how I feel about these.
I
wish this was a movie version of Deadpool, but with the excellent
One:12 aesthetics I’m more than happy to go ahead and order this
one and anticipate a future Deadpool 2 release.
If
you missed out on these excellent Dutch figures the first time
around, you should grab one now. The Jungle Hunter Predators don’t
really match up to the current Ultimate versions available, but that
stealth one looks incredible.
I
don’t remember what year the Dutch figures first came out, but the
one on the far left won Needless Things’ Action Figure of the Year.
Even mud Dutch turned out to be great. I might pick up one of the
tactical vest ones this time just because the two I have are so good.
This
isn’t one of my favorite Weird Al costume designs, but I’ll put
it over anyway just because I know “White & Nerdy” is THE
Weird Al anthem for a number of younger fans. I’m just waiting for
them to repurpose that one Freddy Kruger’s surgical scrubs for a
“Like A Surgeon” Al. I’ll buy that. And “Fat” Al, which I
feel is inevitable.
Again
– mentioned only for the benefit of our pal, Rad Ranger.
Where
the heck are the Ghost
in the Shell
toys? The various anime has had action figures for years – I’ve
even owned some – and I find it hard to believe that nobody was
interested in producing figures of Scarlett Johansson in skintight
combat suits. Seriously – nobody
was interested in this license? Not NECA or Bandai or Medicom or even
Hot Toys? Meanwhile we have life size replica combat penguins from
Batman
Returns.
Someone explain this to me. You can read my review of Ghost
in the Shell
here,
as well as my thoughts about the controversy.
Supergirl
has driven off of the relationship-centric cliff and I’m afraid it
will never return.
The
Flash
has gotten better, but Barry is still the dumbest fictional character
ever.
Arrow
is very solid this season, but for the first time I don’t care even
a little bit about the flashbacks. I know people were excited about
the Bratva stuff, but I have no idea why. It has bored the shit out
of me.
Legends
of Tomorrow
has, amazingly, been very entertaining.
Legion
is interesting, but I can't believe people really like it as much
as they say they do. I think it's one of those shows that makes you feel smart and artsy when you say you like it. I know I do.
WHERE
IS MY GOTHAM!?!?!?!?!
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!
Be
sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram for
all of the latest toy news and live reports from the stores that
carry them!
No comments:
Post a Comment