See what I did there? Skottie Young drew Fone Bone in a post titled “Bone Daily Sketch.”

I really want that title to mean that there are more Bone Daily Sketches coming, because in spite of Young’s statement that the character has “a style and design so solid that if anyone else touches it, they explode and it just looks like the original[...]there is no really making it your own,” I think he’s done just that. I agree that it’s super-rare though, which just shows how strong Young’s style is.

He does hint that “there are some other characters in [the Bone] universe that lend themselves to a bit more freedom,” so hopefully that means we’ll see Young’s versions of those too over the next few days.

Scholastic has premiered a new trailer for Bone: Quest for the Spark, by Tom Sniegoski and Jeff Smith, ahead of the release of the second volume on Feb. 1.

The prose trilogy, which includes illustrations by Smith, follows a new generation of Bone characters into the Valley. Here’s the description of Vol. 2:

The Nacht, the evil dragon that threatens to destroy both the Dreaming and the Waking World, is growing stronger, and twelve-year-old Tom Elm is the champion the Dreaming has chosen to defeat it. Along with Roderick the raccoon, Percival Bone and his nephew and niece, Randolf, Lorimar, and the two stupid Rat Creatures, Tom must race to find the missing pieces of the Spark. This leg of the journey introduces him to a trio of scheming bears and takes him into the depths of a dangerous beehive. And, on top of everything else, a traitor might be among them.

In related news, comiXology is offering the entire Bone series — individual issues and collections alike — at half the download price through Thursday. You can even get the first issue for free.

1. What comic-related gift or gifts would you recommend giving this year, and why?
2. What gift (comic or otherwise) is at the top of your personal wish list, and why?

We’ve gotten back a bunch of suggestions, which we’ll run between now and the end of the week. So let the merriment commence …

Jim McCann

1. Exclusive 2011 Janet Lee Holiday Ornaments
Every year, Janet does about 12 ornaments, three sets of four. This year, she has done Hipster Animals, Scary Toys and Art Nouveau Angels. They are signed and dated, and at the end of the season, that’s it! She stops making them. I’ve been collecting them since 2007, and now our tree is almost completely filled with Janet’s art. You can buy them exclusively through her Etsy shop.

Oh, and if you’re REALLY nice, she MAY have a very limited Dapper Men ornament or two. Just ask!

2. This year, for myself, I’m going with a mix of Blu-Rays (portable Blu-Ray player, please, Santa!) and books. But the thing I’m REALLY excited for is the hardcover edition of the Complete Ripley novels, by Patricia Highsmith. Most people only know of Ms. Highsmith through The Talented Mr. Ripley (and classic film lovers through Strangers On a Train). There were actually five Tom Ripley novels, and the collection looks amazing. Why these books? My spouse recently Tweeted a quote from John Lithgow that struck me as a writer: “Duality, duplicity, truth and deception, good becoming bad and vice-versa are crucial elements of great storytelling.” Highsmith was and remains an unsung hero of mastering that, so I hope I learn something in the process!

Happy Holidays from the Dapper Lariosa-McCann household!

Jim McCann is the writer of Return of the Dapper Men and its upcoming sequel, Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol, Hawkeye:Blindspot and the upcoming Mind The Gap.

Matt Kindt

The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1

1. The gift I’d recommend would be The Sixth Gun trade #1 and #2. There are very few comics that are just good fun well-told stories. And even less that are also westerns. And it’s got a giant mummy. Seriously. I love it.

2. What I really want is for publishers to start bringing back comic book subscriptions. And I don’t mean iPad notifications. I want them to mail me single issues as they come out and wrapped in those brown kraft paper envelopes that are open on the ends.

Matt Kindt is the writer of the Robotman comic you can find in issues of DC’s My Greatest Adventure and artist on the Oni graphic novel The Tooth. He’s also the man behind Revolver, 3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man, Super Spy and the upcoming Supernatural.

Daryl Gregory

1. For the kids in your life, you can’t do better than the e-Comic. It’s as thin as a monthly comic book, with a folding screen that opens to allow two-page spreads. It’s high-res, so you can read word balloons easily while still be able to take in all of the surrounding art. The e-Comic comes loaded with every Jack Kirby comic, under a generous licensing deal with the Kirby estate. Plus, it only costs $25. When it’s invented in 2018, give one to every kid on your Christmas list, and SAVE COMICS.

Journey into Mystery

Until then, take the kids to a comics shop and buy them something great. My son highly recommends Journey Into Mystery by Kieron Gillen — it’s loads of fun.

2. I very rarely allow myself to play video games–nothing destroys writing time like a good game–but every Christmas I take a week off and do nothing but hang out with my family, eat and play with toys. I usually ask for one video game, and for that week I throw myself into it. Previous stockings have been stuffed with Battlefield 142, Company of Heroes, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal… and this year I want to play Arkham City. There, I’ve said it. Fortunately, it’s also on my son’s wish list, so I don’t have to use up one of wishlist slots I usually reserve for specialty beer. So you know what that means: Dad gets to punch the Joker while buzzed on Westemalle Tripel.

Daryl writes Planet of the Apes for BOOM! Studios. His novel Raising Stony Mayhall was named one of the best SF books of the year by Library Journal, and his short story collection Unpossible and Other Stories was named one of the best SF books of the year by Publisher’s Weekly. Daryl loves one of them better than the other, but won’t say which–it would hurt their feelings. You can reach him at darylgregory.com.

Jim “Zub” Zubkavich

Green Wake

1) There are a ton of great new comic titles to give/receive this year. High on my giving list are:

• 27 for music-loving friends
• Atomic Robo for people who crave action/comedy/pure joy
• Chew Omnivore Edition for dark-hearted humorous pals
• Green Wake for horror and mystery readers
• Return of the Dapper Men for fans of faerie tales and the fantastic
• The Sixth Gun for the western aficionado
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ultimate Collection for Gen X-Yers
• Who is Jake Ellis? to the espionage-thriller reader
• and One Soul for the intellectual poet in your gift-giving circle.

See? Comics for everybody!

2) Original comic art is a unique and classy thing to give a comic fan and it’s always high on my personal wish list. Even less expensive options like a convention head sketch or random comic page original can make for a great show piece in the home of a fan. I have a lot of framed originals and they give the right touch of geek chic to my place. Getting an original from my favorite artists, new or old, is now something I look for throughout the year and Christmas is no exception.

Jim Zub is the co-creator and writer of Skullkickers from Image Comics and the creator of Makeshift Miracle, UDON’s online graphic novel serializing with new pages every week at www.makeshiftmiracle.com.

Jamie S. Rich

Petrograd

1. If you’re giving the gift of comics, than my cohorts at Oni Press have the two books from 2011 that I think have the broadest appeal and will get you the most mileage this holiday season. First, there is Petrograd, Philip Gelatt and Tyler Crook’s riveting alternative history of the assassination of Rasputin. It’s got danger and intrigue and Tyler is one hell of an artist. The handsome hardcover package has a lot of flair and though the $30 price point is totally reasonable, it would never occur to the person you’re giving it to that you were at all frugal.

Second is Ray Fawkes’ amazing One Soul. Ray has done an amazing thing here, using the standard nine-panel grid to tell the concurrent stories of 18 different people spanning the ages, separated by space and time. Though it’s possible to read each life individually front to back, the experience of reading each one moment by moment, cycling through all 18 on every double-page spread is exhilarating. One Soul is both emotionally moving and intellectually thought provoking, and despite all the formalist experimentation, a damn good read. Also another wonderfully designed, smartly priced hardcover.

More self-serving for me, and a higher ticket item, is the Madman 20th Anniversary Monster, coming from Image in just a few short weeks. I helped Mike Allred put this massive hardcover together, and I even wrote the two-page framing sequence that he and Jim Valentino drew to tie it all together. Mike has done a new story, there are 20+ all-new one-pagers from the likes of Matt Wagner, Darwyn Cooke, Patrick McEown, and all three Hernandez Bros., and also every pin-up we could get our hands on from the last 20 years of the series. Yes, that includes masters like Jack Kirby, Alex Toth, and Frank Frazetta, and also relative newbies like Joëlle Jones, Emily Carroll, and Chris Samnee. There are over 260 pages and the whole shebang is 11″ x 17″, the same size as the Wednesday Comics collection.

2. There are three items I would really like this Christmas. All of them are expensive collectors editions of material by artists that have been extremely influential on my creative development, but that I have yet to save the pennies to buy myself. They are:

(1) The Blu-Ray edition of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, bundled with the DVD of his second film The Magnificent Ambersons.
(2) The Smiths Complete–All of the Smiths albums remastered with Johnny Marr at the boards. I’d love the Super Deluxe box with the book and the dual version on vinyl and CD, but I’d settle for the straight CD versions, too. The music is the thing, and what I have heard of these new mixes is quite astonishing.
(3) The Who: Quadrophenia Director’s Cut: Super Deluxe Box Set: Okay, here is one where I have to have the massive version with the bonus 5.1 disc and all the books and such. Quadrophenia is like a religious experience for me. My first book, Cut My Hair, is named for a track on the original album, and so this new opening of the vaults is utterly essential.

Both the Smiths and the Who, as well as Orson Welles, helped change my artistic path when I was a teenager, and they still provide inspiration to this day.

Jamie S. Rich is a writer who regularly publishes through Oni Press, and quite often with the likes of Joëlle Jones, Nicolas Hitori de, and soon Natalie Nourigat and Dan Christensen. His most recent comic book release was Spell Checkers, vol. 2: Sons of a Preacher Man. You can read his sort-of kind-of frequently updated blog at http://www.confessions123.com.

Ryan Cody

Bone

1. The one comic related gift I always recommend is the Complete Bone by Jeff Smith. My children read it cover to cover at least once a year. Jeff Smith’s epic is a great read, fun and adventurous for any age group. For adults I would recommend American Vampire, it’s been my favorite book this year as I catch up on it. You can also never go wrong with Hellboy. A more unique gift for a comic or pop culture fan would be original art. Full size comic pages look gorgeous framed and hung and there is probably artwork out there to fit all budgets.

2. I don’t usually buy a lot of comics myself, but I’d be more than happy to get some original art, or a nice sketchbook or two from my favorite artists. An original Sean Murphy, Cory Walker or Mignola page and I’d be one happy camper Christmas morning.

Ryan Cody is an artist and writer whose past credits include ICARUS, Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun V2 and Villains. See more of his work at http://super75comics.wordpress.com/

Be sure to come back tomorrow for more suggestions!

Blackest Friday

ComiXology has a bunch of digital comics for 99 cents today. DC Comics is holding a Blackest Friday sale, allowing you to buy each issue of the Blackest Night crossover for 99 cents each. Marvel has Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four issues on sale for 99 cents, while IDW has their Star Trek comics on sale.

Dark Horse is running a pretty amazing digital comics sale for Black Friday only: A megabundle of all the single-issue Star Wars comics available in their digital comics store, over 130 issues altogether, for $100. That’s 3,274 pages of Star Wars comics, in case you’re counting, and it’s $166 less than you would pay if you bought them all separately.

They have also figured out how to run a doorbuster special digitally: On Cyber Monday (Nov. 28), the first 500 customers through their checkout will get a 50% discount. There’s a $20 minimum, and the deal runs for 24 hours beginning at midnight PST on Nov. 28; you’ll also need a coupon code, which is provided at the link.

Khepri Comics is putting comics on sale and helping to save the cheetahs, with different sales all weekend and into Cyber Monday:

Fri 25 Nov – Black Friday – Please Enjoy 40% OFF HARDCOVERS with coupon CHEETAH40FRI
Sat 26 Nov – Small Biz Saturday – Enjoy 50% OFF SELF-PUBLISHED with coupon CHEETAH50SAT
Sun 27 Nov – Adjectiveless Sunday – Enjoy 40% OFF CREATOR-OWNED with coupon CHEETAH40SUN
Mon 28 Nov – Cyber Monday – Please Enjoy 40% OFF EVERYTHING with coupon CHEETAH40MON

Midtown Comics has comics, graphic novels and statues on sale.

Things from Another World has steep discounts going right now for selected items, plus $10, $5 and $1 doorbusters.

Chuck BB is holding a Black Metal Black Friday Super Brutal Blind Art Sale, where you can buy pages from Black Metal and get a sketch for $50.

Top Cow will have stuff in their online store discounted all weekend …

…as will Aspen Comics.

Jeff Smith’s Boneville site is holding a signature sale through mid-December, where every book ordered will be signed by Smith.

Fantagraphics minicomics

Don’t forget about Fantagraphics special mini-comics offer through their online store.

Mimoco has all their designer flash drives for 25 percent off, which include drives based on Batman, Green Lantern, Star Wars and more.

Threadless is holding a $10 T-shirt sale this weekend, so you can get those cool robot shirts by Ethan Nicolle, Becky Cloonan, JR Goldberg and Jhonen Vasquez for cheap.

MattyCollector has a ton of action figures on sale, including some of their past San Diego Comic Con exclusives and several Justice League Unlimited packs. Plus, the Rockers!

For more deals and bargains, check out the lists at The Beat and ComicsAlliance. And if you’ve seen any that I’ve missed, please post them in our comments section. Happy shopping!

Mudman

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Graeme McMillan

What’s that, you say? Paul Grist’s new Mudman series starts this week (#1, Image Comics, $3.50)? Well, that’s how I’m starting my $15 haul this week. While I’m at it, let’s add Avengers Origins: Luke Cage #1 (Marvel, $3.99) and Kirby Genesis: Captain Victory #1 (Dynamite, $3.99), before finishing up with the third issue of Wonder Woman (DC, $2.99) for a superheroic week that goes from the earth to the gods, with some blaxploitation and aliens thrown in the middle for flavor.

DC would dominate the other half of my budget if I had $30. I’d be grabbing the third issues of Green Lantern Corps, Justice League and Supergirl ($2.99 each, except Justice League for $3.99), but I’m surprising myself as much as anyone else by grabbing The Bionic Man #4 (Dynamite, $3.99) for my final pick – I read the first three issues in a bunch this weekend and really enjoyed the book to date much more than I’d been expecting.

If I were to splurge this week, my money would probably end up going to Dark Horse, because I’m kind of tempted by Drawing Down The Moon: The Art of Charles Vess ($29.99). I’ve liked Vess’ art ever since I first saw it, which was possibly in his Spider-Man graphic novel in the late 1980s…? Nonetheless, this is more than likely something I’ll end up loving the hell out of.

Chris Arrant

Wonder Woman #3

If I had $15, I’d grab (with both hands) Wonder Woman #3 (DC, $2.99). The only time I’ve bought three issues in a row of Wonder Woman was the Amazons Attack crossover Pete Woods drew years ago, but this team-up between Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang has been consistently amazing. Next up I’d go from amazons to vikings for Northlanders #46 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99); I’ve bought every issue of this in singles, but seeing artist Paul Azaceta’s arc on this re-invigorated my appreciation for the title. Getting my super-hero fix on, next I’d get Avengers #19 (Marvel, $3.99). I admit seeing Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers isn’t high on my list, but I’ve continually enjoyed what Bendis has done to varying degrees and seeing Daniel Acuna join the book is a big bonus in my book. Lastly, I’d be one of the zombie horde to buy Walking Dead #91 (Image, $2.99).

If I had $30, I’d thankfully double-back to get Greg Capullo’s ongoing return in Batman #3 (DC, $2.99) – seriously, I think Capullo is entrenching himself as a top artist in mainstream comics (again). Next up I’d get two Marvel joints – Thunderbolts #165 (Marvel, $2.99) and Venom #9 (Marvel, $2.99). After that, I’d get me weekly fix of Pilot Season with Seraph (Image/Top Cow, $3.99) then get Justice League #3 (DC, $3.99).

For splurging, there would be no question that I’d get the trade paperback edition of Drawing Down The Moon (Dark Horse, $29.99). I missed this when it came out in hardcover in 2009, so I’m glad to see it coming back into print. I seriously think Vess is one of the overlooked great in comics, but only because he hasn’t done a standard “run” on a title like seems to be needed to ingratiate yourself with the comic buying world at large. Regardless, Vess is a master and I’m glad to finally get my hands on this for a decent price.

Chris Mautner

Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker

If I had $15: It’s a quiet week for me for the most part, so I’d probably limit my initial purchases to the fifth issue of The Boys‘ spin-off Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker. For some reason I was under the delusion that it was a four-issue series and not six. Oh well.

If I had $30: A lot of people who’s opinions I respect really like the work of Golden Age artist Bob Powell, so I’d at least take a gander through Bob Powell’s Terror, a Craig Yoe-edited collection of ghoulish tales.

Splurge: That $150 one-volume anniversary edition of Bone would probably make a good Christmas present for somebody on my gift list. If I was splurging for myself though, I’d grab another Yoe-edited book, Felix the Cat: The Great Comic Book Tails, a collection of long-form stories done for Dell and Harvey back in the day by Otto Messmer, who did the original Felix comic strip as well.

Brigid Alverson

Saturn Apartments

If I had $15: I would end up leaving some of it on the table, because this is a good week for manga, and all the manga costs less than $15. Viz has three new volumes coming out this week, and my first choice among them is volume four of Saturn Apartments ($12.99), which I mentioned in What Are You Reading? this past weekend. It’s a lovely sci-fi story about a window washer in a space colony and the people he encounters. I’m hooked, and I’m ready for volume four.

If I had $30: I would add Tesoro, an anthology of short stories by Natsume Ono. Viz has been publishing a lot of Ono’s work lately, and it’s all beautiful. Her stories are more literary and romantic than your standard run of teenage manga, and she has a clean, linear style that is easy on the eyes. With the leftover money, I’d pick up Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X #3, just for something different–and because I find Atomic Robo irresistible.

Splurge: Let’s start with the third Viz release of the week, vol. 10 of Real. It’s a splurge for me because it’s a bit of a risk–I haven’t been keeping up with the series, and I don’t know anything about basketball, let alone wheelchair basketball. But volume 1 was amazing, and I’d like to see more. And if I’m really binging, I’d add the first volume of Fantagraphics’ Pogo collection ($39.99) and Drawn & Quarterly’s The Adventures of Herge ($19.95), a graphic biography of the creator of Tintin, drawn in his own ligne claire style.

Michael May

If I had #15, I’d spend most of it on DC. Eventually, I’m going to have to cut back on the number of series I’m buying from them, but not this week. I’m still enjoying Batman ($2.99), Birds of Prey ($2.99), Supergirl ($2.99), and Wonder Woman ($2.99) and want the third issues of each of them. Finishing off my budget, I’d grab Fear Itself: The Fearless #3 ($2.99). I caught up on it last night and even though I didn’t read Fear Itself, I’m going to enjoy Valkyrie’s globe-trotting adventures tracking down a bunch of MacGuffiny weapons and fighting vampires and Avengers along the way.

If I had $30, I’d quickly add Planet of the Apes #8 ($3.99), Bonnie Lass #3 ($2.99), and Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X #3 ($3.50). And like Graeme, I’d be sure to try out Paul Grist’s Mudman #1.

Splurge-wise, how unfair is the universe for making the color, one-volume Bone ($150.00) available on the same day as Fantagraphic’s Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips, Volume 1 ($39.99)? And that’s on top of DC’s Legends of the Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers collection ($49.99) and SLG’s Royal Historian of Oz ($14.95). Bone and Pogo are especially impossible to pick between, even with the massive price difference.

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes

It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes and first issues so that I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “ Mouse Guard is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.

Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.

Amulet

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes - With the Flight anthologies done, the all-ages version, Flight Explorer has morphed into this. I expect it to be as lovely as its predecessors and especially like the Mystery Box theme.

Archie

Jinx – J Torres and Rick Burchett’s graphic novel aimed at tween girls.

Kevin Keller, Volume 1 and Kevin Keller #1 – Archie collects the first appearances and mini-series of their major, gay character and also launches his ongoing series.

Ardden

Flash Gordon: Vengeance of Ming – The third volume in Ardden’s Flash Gordon series.

Ferals

Avatar

Ferals #1 – David Lapham writes werewolves.

Atmospherics, Color Edition – Warren Ellis and Ken Meyer’s re-mastered and newly painted story about a woman who’s either a disturbed witness to a UFO attack or a heroin-using serial killer.

Bongo

Simpsons Illustrated #1 – Bongo launches a Best Of series collecting material from various Simpsons titles.

Boom!

Steed and Mrs. Peel #1 – Reprinting Grant Morrison and Ian Gibson’s 1990 Eclipse Comics story of the other Avengers.

Peanuts #1 – Kicking off the regular, monthly series with new stories as well as reprints of Schulz’s Sunday strips.

Campfire

Jungle Book - Campfire’s artwork can often be perfunctory, but I like the whimsy of Amit Tayal’s cover for this one.

Cartoon Books

Bone: Quest for the Spark, Book 2 – The second installment in Tom Sniegoski’s series of novels set in Jeff Smith’s world (with illustrations by Smith himself).

Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand

Dark Horse

Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1 – Mike Mignola’s pulp hero returns for a five-issue mini-series.

The Monstermen and Other Scary Stories - I love Gary Gianni’s linework anyway, but I especially dug his Corpus Monstrum/Monstermen stories that appeared for a while as back-up features in Hellboy comics. This volume features Gianni’s tuxedo-wearing, medieval knight fighting zombie cowboys, squid pirates, abominable snowmen, and mustachioed skulls.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – War #1 – I’m pretty much done with the Star Wars Expanded Universe, but if you’re not or are curious about it, Dark Horse is billing this as a major jump-on point to the part that covers the ancient period of the Star Wars galaxy.

Compleat Terminal City - All fourteen issues of Dean Motter and Michael Lark’s retro-scifi/noir series.

Mighty Samson: Judgment - Probably as close as we’re going to get to a Thundarr the Barbarian comic.

King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword #1 – This four-issue mini-series adapts Robert E Howard’s first Conan story.

Dark Horse Presents #8 – Features a BPRD eulogy for Hellboy and a new Tarzan story.

DC

Justice League #5 – Looks like the team’s finally together.

Frankenstein vs. OMAC

Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #5 and OMAC #5 – As a faithful reader of Jeff Lemire’s Frankenstein, I”m actually kind of excited that this will give me some motivation to check out OMAC, which I’m hearing good things about.

Xombi - The biggest casualty (for me, anyway) of the New 52 gets its collection.

Drawn and Quarterly

Goliath - The David and Goliath story told from Goliath’s viewpoint through the filter of corporate bureaucracy and presented in a lovely, minimalist style.

Dynamite

The Lone Ranger #1 – I tried Dynamite’s first Lone Ranger series, was disappointed that it wanted to stretch the familiar origin story into a multi-issue arc, and immediately dropped it. Assuming that won’t be the case this time – and noticing that it’s written by Ande Parks, whose writing I’ve enjoyed very much on other things – I’m up for another try.

First Second

Olympians, Volume 4: Hades, Lord of the Dead – The latest in George O’Connor’s wonderfully exciting and insightful review of the the most important characters from Greek mythology. Hades has always been a favorite of mine, so I’m especially looking forward to this one.

Silence of Our Friends - “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke is supposed to have originated that quote, but it was driven home for me by Vicente Amorim’s 2008 film, Good about good Germans who were too afraid of the Nazis to assist their Jewish neighbors in WWII. But even that gave me some comfortable, historical and geographical distance from the people and events it was talking about. I expect that Silence of Our Friends, about the civil rights movement in the ’60s, will hit even closer to home.

The Sincerest Form of Parody

Fantagraphics

The Sincerest Form of Parody: The Best 1950s MAD-Inspired Satirical Comics - I can’t decided if I’m more interested in the historical context of what folks were parodying in the ’50s or just looking at some cool Jack Davis and Kirby art that I’ve never seen before.

Hermes

The Phantom: The Complete Sundays, Volume 1: 1939-1943 – I like daily strips too, but Sunday comics are the best.

Humanoids

Whispers in the Walls – Guillermo del Toro’s co-writer from The Devil’s Backbone goes solo on this tale of horror at a Czechoslovakian children’s hospital in the late ’40s.

IDW

Infestation 2 #1 – Since I’m not a zombie fan, I passed up the first Infestation even while I was loving the idea of connecting all those weird, incongruous universes. This time around it’s Lovecraftian demons, which is not only a more appealing concept to me personally; it also makes a lot of sense from a dimension-crossing standpoint. That something exists tying 30 Days of Night and Dungeons and Dragons together with Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gives me all the joy I’ll ever need.

Danger Girl: The Danger-Sized Treasury Edition - I’ve been wanting to check out Danger Girl for a while now. This collects the first three stories to get me started.

Danger Girl: Revolver

Danger Girl: Revolver #1 – And here’s the new story.

Womanthology: Heroic - The controversial Kickstarter sensation comes to life.

Doctor Who #13 – Occasionally I have to break my rule about only mentioning new series. Josh Fialkov’s taking over Doctor Who for four issues to put the Doctor in 1941 Casablanca is one of those occasions. It starts here.

Steve Canyon, Volume 1: 1947-1948 - I read these stories when Checker published them and was eager for more. Unfortunately, Checker quit, but now Milton Caniff’s globe-trotting pilot is at IDW in a great-looking hardcover.

Image

Fatale #1 – Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ supernatural noir comic has everyone’s mouths watering, including mine. I’d buy it for the “Beauty” cover alone, though the “Beast” one looks cool too.

Prophet #21 – Two of my favorite artists, Brandon Graham and Simon Roy are collaborating on this, with a cover by Marian Churchland. That’s the exact opposite team of whatever I expected from a continuation of a Rob Liefeld book. Seriously: good on Liefeld. I’m also impressed that he’s not just starting the numbering over again with #1. Seems like that would be the obvious thing, especially with the book going in such a new direction, creatively, but it’s because it’s surprising and counter-intuitive that I like it. And it’s not even like he’s cashing in on a milestone issue-number. If my calculations are correct, he’s counting two mini-series (one, ten-issues; the other, nine), a one-shot, and an annual to get to 21. If this is what we can expect from the new Extreme, and apparently it is, my interest is piqued.

Whispers #1 – I find the Luna Brothers interesting enough that a new, supernatural thriller by one of them gets a check-out.

The Intrepids

The Intrepids, Volume 1 - Teens vs mad scientists (and a cyborg bear).

Marvel

Scarlet Spider #1 – The latest spin-off for the Spider-Man franchise.

Amazing Spider-Man #677 and Daredevil #8 – I like a couple of things about this crossover. First, like DC’s Frankenstein/OMAC one, it’s pretty unobtrusive. Second, Mark Waid’s writing both parts of it.

Alpha Flight #8 – SOB! I’ll miss you, Alpha Flight!

Wolverine and X-Men Alpha and Omega #1 – I’d usually feel ungenerous towards a mini-series spin-off of a comic that’s only four issues old, but Brian Wood is writing it and that bears looking into.

X-Men Legacy #260.1 – Christos Gage takes over from Mike Carey. I’m sad to see Carey go, but intrigued to see what Gage has planned. I hear good things about his Avengers Academy.

Daredevil by Mark Waid, Volume 1 - Waid and Paolo Rivera’s critically acclaimed run for trade-waiters.

Moonstone

The Big Book of Kolchak: The Night Stalker – Collects the first seven, long-out-of-print Moonstone Kolchak stories.

Oni

Possessions, Volume 3: Better House Trap - Sadly, it’s only recently that Ray Fawkes’ name has been on my radar. Now that it is, I want to check out his slapstick series about a possessed little girl trying to escape the loving, nurturing environment of the haunted house that traps her.

Wasteland

Wasteland #33 – Oni is celebrating Antony Johnston’s post-apocalyptic series’ going monthly with a $1 kick-off issue. I’ve fallen extremely behind in reading it, but it was one of my favorite comics at the time I decided to trade-wait it.

The Avalon Chronicles, Volume 1: Once in a Blue Moon – I’m a sucker for stories about young people who get transported to magical worlds where they discover things about themselves. Especially ones as nicely drawn as this one.

Papercutz

Monster Mess - Lewis Trondheim’s story of two kids who discover their ability to bring monsters to life (and have them fight each other) just by drawing them.

Putnam

Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian, Volumes 1 and 2 - It’s a cute enough concept, but Michael Rex’s art and Fangbone’s deadly serious expression on the covers are what sells it.

Russ Cochran

Sunday Funnies #1 – This is kind of brilliant. I’ll just let the publisher describe it:  ” A monthly, 32-page, full-size comic section containing historic Sunday pages from as far back as 1895, and including favorites such as Gasoline Alley, Little Nemo, Krazy Kat, and many other classic Sunday pages that you’ve probably never seen before. Each issue … will be a full-size 22″x16″ comic section, containing full page Sunday comics in full color. These pages are coming from the archives of Ohio State University, which, thanks to Bill Blackbeard, has the largest and most comprehensive collection of Sunday comics in existence. The retail price will be $10 and I will be selling subscriptions, 12 monthly issues for $100.” Should go well next to Wednesday Comics collections.

Bettie Page in Danger

SHH

Bettie Page in Danger #1 – Even more brilliant. A fumetti using real Bettie Page photos to tell a story about the pin-up queen’s career fighting zombies, mad scientists, and other naked ladies.

SLG

Sparko – This sounds a little like Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere with the Thames replacing London’s Underground. I don’t mean to make that sound like a bad thing. Coming from SLG and including a murder mystery, goth goblins, and a pickpocket named Belle, I trust that it’s not.

Tor

Girl Genius Omnibus, Volume 1: Agatha Awakens – The Hugo-winning, steampunk webcomic gets the deluxe hardcover treatment.

And that’s it for me. What did I miss?

The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths

It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes, and first issues so that I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “ Dark Horse Presents is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.

Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.

Ape

Puss in Boots Movie Prequel – I don’t care for movie prequel comics as a rule, but swashbuckling cats are awesome in any incarnation. As long as these are fresh gags and not just ones warmed up from Shrek, I expect to enjoy this.

Archaia

Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Book 1 - I just introduced my son to The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth a couple of weeks ago, so this is great timing. He had the same questions about The Dark Crystal‘s world that I always do, so I’m looking forward to seeing Archaia’s take on answering those. Totally feel like the world’s in good hands with this publisher and these creators.

The Sigh - If Archaia’s snagging Marjane Satrapi’s (Persepolis, Chicken With Plums) new book has been reported already, I missed it. I’m surprised that wasn’t bigger news.

Siegfried, Volume 1 – I’ve been meaning to read P Craig Russell’s Ring of the Nibelung adaptation for years, so I think this might be what pushes me to finally do it. It would be fun to read Russell’s and compare it to this version by Alex Alice.

Bone: One-Volume Color Edition

Boom!

Seven Warriors #1 – Francis Manapul draws this story of seven warrior-women who fight to save the king of 6th-century Libya from the armies of the Persian and Byzantine empires.

Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #1 – I’m absolutely loving Boom’s ongoing Planet of the Apes series, so I expect to also like this mini-series set during the events of the ’68 film and featuring Dr Zaius.

Operation: Iron Cross #1 – Boom’s already got my attention this month, so this WWII spy thriller also stands out.

The first volumes of Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero, Stan Lee’s Starborn, and Stan Lee’s The Traveler - After Graeme’s warm recommendation of Boom’s Stan Lee line, I want to check them out. And at $10 each, these are made for checking.

Peanuts #0 – I’m still curious to know who the creators on this are, but the idea of new Peanuts material is exciting and Boom has a good record for getting this kind of thing right.

Cartoon Books

Bone: The One-Volume 20th Anniversary Slipcased Color Edition - The affordable version I’ve been waiting for. It’s still $150, but that’s money well spent on a book this good-looking.

Dark Horse

House of Night #1 – Ordinarily I wouldn’t be excited by yet another vampire story set at yet another school for supernatural teens. And indeed, I haven’t paid any attention to the series of YA novellas this is based on. It’s Joëlle Jones and Karl Kerschl on the art that sells it.

Uncharted

Avatar: The Last Airbender, Volume 1 – The Promise, Part 1 – Aang’s adventures continue as written by Gene Yang (American Born Chinese).

Brothers of the Spear Archives, Volume 1 - Collecting the back-up stories to Dell’s Tarzan series featuring art by Jesse Marsh and Russ Manning. I haven’t read this stuff, but it’s ’50s jungle adventure, so I imagine that the standard warnings about racist characterizations apply.

Disney Comics and Stories Classic Characters #5: The Phantom Blot – We usually stick to comics in this column, but a Phantom Blot statue warrants an exception.

DC

Uncharted #1 – The treasure-hunting game that most makes me want to buy a PS3 becomes a comic with a Hollow Earth story.

Dynamite

Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #1 – Dynamite puts their spin on the universe’s greatest space pulp hero.

EC

EC Archives - I know that EC’s been reprinting archive editions of Weird Science and Two-Fisted Tales for a little while now, but this is the first time I’ve noticed their getting a whole Previews page to themselves to advertise it.  Very eye-catching.

Mr Twee Deedle

Fantagraphics

Mr. Twee Diddle: Raggedy Ann’s Sprightly Cousin – The Forgotten Fantasy Masterpieces of Johnny Gruelle – I almost drowned in the amount of praise Fantagraphics poured on Gruelle’s work in the ad, but simply looking at the cover, it appears to be justified.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Volume 2: The Mad Scientist/Mummies on Parade – Even if I wasn’t already turned on to the awesomeness of Jacques Tardi’s Belle-Époquian heroine, “Mummies on Parade” would be enough to necessitate this purchase.

Athos in America – Jason returns to The Last Musketeer and includes other Jasony stories like “The Brain That Wouldn’t Virginia Woolf.”

Gumby Comics

Gumby’s Spring Specials Collection – I haven’t read these, but if they’re anything like the Gumby Summer Specials by the same creative team (Bob Burden, Steve Purcell, and Art Adams), they’ll be worth having.

IDW

Jack Avarice is The Courier #1-5 – I like the idea of a mini-series told in weekly installments over a month. That sounds cool and exciting, especially when it’s a spy/voodoo action-adventure thriller thingy.

Rocketeer Adventures, Volume 1 - The anthology about everyone’s favorite jetpack-wearing hero by everyone’s favorite creators is finally collected. I say “finally” like it’s been a huge wait only because it’s felt that way.

Hawken

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro-Series #1: Raphael - IDW’s determined to get me back into TMNT again. It’s working.

Godzilla: Goliaths and Gangsters – The Monster Island crime story is collected.

Godzilla: Legends #1 – TMNT isn’t the only IDW license getting a series of spotlight issues. In this one: Anguirus vs Destoroyah.

30 Days of Night: Night Again - The Joe Lansdale/Sam Kieth mini-series gets a collection.

Hawken #1 – IDW’s not going to let Oni and Image have all the Western weirdness with The Sixth Gun and Deadlands. And I can’t think of many artists I’d rather see do this kind of story than Tim Truman.

Shaman’s Tears - It’s been more than a decade since I read this story by Mike Grell, but my memory is that it was one of my favorite of Image’s second wave of creator-owned series. The other being Jerry Ordway’s WildStar, in case anyone wants to reprint that.

Image

Guns and Dinos #1 – I’m rooting for the dinos.

Mudman #1 – Paul Grist has a new superhero comic. That’s all fans of Jack Staff need to know.

Giant-Size Elephantmen #1 – I’ve got some catching up to do on Elephantmen and this inexpensive collection (three issues for $6) looks like a good place to jump back in.

Super Dinosaur

Girls: The Complete Collection – I got into the Luna Brothers’ creepy series late and always meant to go back and read the earlier issues, because it was really very good. It was underrated (the title and the abundance of naked women understandably leading many readers to think it was just about gratuitous nudity), but it’s a serious horror story with an unsettling vibe similar to something by Charles Burns.

Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors, Volume 1 – This collection was difficult to wait for, so I’m glad it’s here.

Reed Gunther, Volume 1 – Same with this one.

Super Dinosaur, Volume 1 – And this one too. Especially this one, ’cause I read the first issue and was immediately anxious to read the next. Fantastic, all-ages fun. Image is going to kill my wallet in November, but I’ll be smiling as I bury its poor, leather corpse.

Marvel

Northanger Abby #1 – Jane Austen’s parody of a gothic romance novel is as sensational as any actual gothic romance novel. I love Janet Lee’s work and am looking forward to this adaptation, but there’s a part of me that wishes Marvel had gone for a Haunted Love/House of Secrets vibe with it.

Six Guns #1 and 2 – It’s too soon to say that Western comics have made a comeback, but I’m really excited that we’re seeing so many of them lately. Even modern ones like this. Andy Diggle seems perfect for it too.

Victor Von Doom #1 – Doom’s early days as illustrated by Becky Cloonan. Thank you, Marvel.

Skaar: King of the Savage Land

Skaar: King of the Savage Land – Ka-Zar vs Son of Hulk, dinosaurs, and some giant robots.

Oni

Salt Water Taffy, Volume 5: Caldera’s Revenge, Part 2 – Jack and Benny continue trying to survive ghost ships and evil whale hunters.

Papercutz

The Smurfs, Volume 9: Gargamel and the Smurfs – I recently read one of Papercutz’ Smurf volumes to see what the fuss is about. I never really enjoyed the cartoon as a kid and I stayed far, far away from the movie, but Peyo’s comics are so well-liked that I got curious. And they’re really good. They remind me of what I loved about Casper when I was a kid: fantastic creatures having adventures in a forest fantasy world and occasionally learning some nice lessons about how to get along with other people. I’m looking forward to reading more.

That’s it for me. What are you looking forward to?

Justice League #1

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Chris Arrant

If I had $15, I’d spend it seeing the finale of DC”s major event with Flashpoint #5 (DC, $3.99) and then their Brand New Day, All-New All-Different, New 52 with Justice League #1 (DC, $3.99). I feel the thunder of Flashpoint was largely muted by the waves of announcements DC did over the summer, but Johns and Kubert crafted a unique story and I’m interested to see how they wrap it up. For JL, I’m a long-time fan of Jim Lee’s work going back to Alpha Flight, and any self-respecting comics journalist has to buy this issue just to see what’s happening. For the last bit of my money, I’d dig into Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force #14 (Marvel, $3.99) – if I wasn’t already buying it, I’d buy it again for the return of Jerome Opena on art.

If I had $30, I’d double-back to my local comic shop and get the finale of IDW and editor Scott Dunbier’s Rocketeer Adventures #4 (IDW, $3.99). They really instigated a fun anthology here of above-average talents that any publisher from Marvel on down would die to have. The next comics to enter my bag would be Invincible #82 (Image, $2.99) and Butcher Baker Righteous Maker #6 (Image, $6.99); both books are still on creative highs. For the small bills I had left, I’d get Journey Into Mystery #626.1 (Marvel, $2.99) and The Sixth Gun #14 (Oni, $3.99). I admit I was behind on JiM for a while but caught up by mainlining all the issues so far in an all-night bender. The Sixth Gun too I’ve been behind the curve on, but caught up after procrastinating for a couple years.

If I was to splurge, I’d splurge all over the July pack of 2000AD issues. Tharg’s book is a hard series to jump onto, but I’d recommend anyone just to dive in with a month’s worth and get a feel for it. I just realized they sell each issue online a month after it comes out in print, at almost half cover price. They come in CBZ and PDF format, which makes them pretty adaptable to any device.

The Steve Ditko Omnibus

Graeme McMillan

Like Chris, if I had $15, at least $7.98 of it would be going on Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1 (Both DC, $3.99); it’s the end and beginning of an era, and I can’t resist this kind of thing. I’d also pick up Dark Horse’s Angel & Faith #1 ($2.99) to see where the Buffy franchise is headed next, after the surprisingly strong final issue of a previous run that had almost entirely lost my interest by the end.

If I had $30, I’d reluctantly put Angel & Faith back and grab Essential Web of Spider-Man, Vol. 1 (Marvel, $19.99); I’ve just finished Essential Peter Parker, Vol. 5, and there’s a plot thread from there that continues in here, which would tempt me even if I wasn’t in the middle of a 1980s Spider-Man nostalgiafit. And anyway, wasn’t this meant to be the weird Spidey title back when it first started? I can’t wait to see what qualified as weird, back then.

When it comes to splurging, I’d like to pretend to be torn between Judge Dredd: The Restricted Files, Vol. 3 (Rebellion, $33.00) and DC’s Steve Ditko Archives, Vol. 1 Featuring Shade The Changing Man ($59.99), but … well, there really is no contest for me: Rac Shade and Ditko weirdness wins, oddly positioned hands down.

The Sixth Gun #14

Brigid Alverson

If I had just $15, the choices would be pretty hard. There are a lot of interesting comics out this week and most of them cost more than that. Issue #14 of The Sixth Gun ($3.99) is a must, of course, even more so this week because Tyler Crook is the guest artist. Then I’ll have some good old-fashioned all-ages fun with Scott Chantler’s The Sign of the Black Rock ($8.95), the second volume in his Three Thieves trilogy. I loved Chantler’s art and storytelling in Two Generals, and I love the way he is making this a classic adventure story. Then I’ll drop a buck on Rinse #1, because I like a good crime comic once in a while and I’m a sucker for a good deal.

If I had $30, on the other hand, I’d take a hard turn and spend $24.99 of it on The Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, which is a great nonfiction release from Dark Horse. The Sixth Gun and Rinse stay in the basket.

This week’s splurge is another Dark Horse book: The Last Dragon ($24.99). It’s a beautifully illustrated fantasy tale, written by YA novelist Jane Yolen and illustrated by Rebecca Guay, who is best known as an illustrator of the card game Magic: The Gathering. It’s a truly beautiful book with a classic fairy tale feel, but it’s never boring or tired. I read an electronic review copy, but this is the sort of book that ensures print will never die. Some comics deserve real paper.

Little Lulu's Pal Tubby: The Atomic Violin and Other Stories

Chris Mautner

If I had $15, it would be Tubby time, as in Little Lulu’s Pal Tubby Vol. 4: The Atomic Violin ($15.99 — I’ll steal a dollar from somewhere). As regular readers of this feature know, John Stanley is a must-buy for me whenever possible.

If I had $30, I have no idea what Killing Velazquez by Philippe Girard is about but it’s from Conundrum Press, which usually puts out good stuff, so I’d at least give it a leaf-through, even if it would put me $5 over budget.

There’s a lot of great splurge stuff this week. Graeme noted that nice-looking Ditko collection. There’s also a nice $25 super-deluxe edition of Ghost World and a new $75 edition of that great Gahan Wilson Playboy collection that you really should get cause it’s totes awesome. If you really want to splurge, however, there’s the $350 Bone One Volume Color Collector’s Edition, which contains not just the new all-in-one color hardcover, but also a signed and numbered print, pewter figurines, a gold coin with Phoney Bone’s face on it and other goodies. That’s a hell of a package.

Planet of the Apes #5

Michael May

If I had $15, I’d start with Planet of the Apes #5 ($1.00). The first story was awesome and I can’t wait to see where Daryl Gregory and Carlos Magno are taking us next. Then I’d grab Phases of the Moon #1 ($2.50), the first of three, affordable flip-comics Moonstone’s putting out to promote their pulp line. This one features Domino Lady and The Spider. And speaking of spiders, I haven’t been reading Spider-Island, but I’m a big Shang Chi fan, so I want to check out Spider-Island: The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 ($2.99). Since I’ve got the money, I’ll also pick up the second issue of The Vault ($3.50), Image’s flawed, but interesting treasure-hunt/vampire story. Finally, I’ll join Chris and Graeme in Justice League #1 ($3.99). I’m curious to see what – if any – new relationships exist between the various members of the team.

If I had $30, I’d put back The Vault and grab a couple of inexpensive trades. The Deep: Here Be Dragons ($9.95) looks like a fun, all-ages alternative to The Vault‘s darker take on undersea adventure, so I’ll take one of those. And like I said, I’ve already read the first story of Boom’s Planet of the Apes and loved it, but I also want the collection ($9.99) so I can get to it easily. That puts me about fifty cents over budget, but I’ll skip a coffee or something.

The others have already mentioned some great splurge items (that Bone collection is pretty much the definition of splurge, isn’t it?), but I’ll add three picks to the pile. Eric Powell’s Chimichanga ($14.99) is about a little, bearded girl and her delicious-sounding monster. Graphic Classics hasn’t yet disappointed me and their latest volume (21, if you’re counting) is Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery ($17.95). Then there’s also Richard Sala’s new book The Hidden ($19.99) about a group of strangers trapped in a snow-bound diner with a madman on the loose during a global crisis. I’m going to want all three of those, but I reckon I’d grab The Hidden first.

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello is all over the show today, promoting the shiny new book he’s writing at Dark Horse called Orchid. He said at a panel today that Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance is a friend of his and is the one who introduced him to his new “Dark Horse family.”

After taking this picture, I was almost run over by WWE’s Triple H. Only at Comic-Con can you bounce between a Nightwatchmen and The Game …

Here’s Jeff Smith’s Cartoon Books booth, which has some new RASL additions this year.

The Marvel booth is always crowded.

As is the DC booth. And I have not yet seen one of those Wayne Casinos poker chips.

Rocketeer!

Here’s Art Baltazar signing at the DC booth. I took this with our new contributor Caleb in mind.

The AiT/Planet Lar booth is doubling as a First Comics booth. And they have four First titles for sale, including Daniel Merlin Goodbrey’s awesome Necessary Monsters.

“Bone is a modern day classic,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “We are proud to bring this multiple award-winning comic book into the digital environment for the enjoyment of fans of all ages.”

“comiXology is on the pulse of what readers want in the digital world,” said Jeff Smith, creator of BONE. “Based on popular demand, we couldn’t be more delighted to bring BONE to its community of loyal fans and now for the first time ever, on the iPad.”

Smith will host a live Q&A on Reddit today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern to discuss the new apps and his comics work with fans. You can check out the complete press release after the jump.

*****

Critically Acclaimed Series BONE and RASL Debut on comiXology with Their Own Dedicated iOS Apps.
Fans of All Ages Everywhere Can Now Enjoy One of the Greatest Comics of All Time in an Ultra-Intuitive Digital Format

New York NY, July 14th 2011 –Named “one of the ten greatest graphics novels of all time” by TIME Magazine, BONE is now available for fans of all ages everywhere to read and enjoy in an ultra-intuitive digital format through comiXology, the leading digital comics platform provider for the iOS, Android and Web. In collaboration with creator Jeff Smith, comiXology has created a dedicated digital comic app of the series for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Created by Smith, a multiple award-winning cartoonist, the critically acclaimed BONE series centers around the humor-laced misadventures of the BONE cousins. Booklist writes: “As many comics fans know, the series chronicles the adventures of the Bone cousins–plucky Fone Bone, scheming Phony Bone, and easygoing Smiley Bone– who leave their home of Boneville and are swept up in a Tolkienesque epic of royalty, dragons, and unspeakable evil forces out to conquer humankind.” The series will also soon to be made into a major motion picture.

“BONE is a modern day classic,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “We are proud to bring this multiple award-winning comic book into the digital environment for the enjoyment of fans of all ages.”

Published by the #1 children’s book publisher in the world, Scholastic, BONE is one of two books written by Smith that will be released on comiXology. The second, RASL, is a stark, black and white comic book focusing on the hard-boiled adventures of an art thief who hops through dimensional barriers, hiding out on various parallel worlds. In a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly decribed it as “ a stunning narrative that impresses with its originality, sophistication, and complexity.” RASL will also get its own dedicated app. And to celebrate their release, BONE #1 and RASL #1 will be free with the other books on sale for $.99 from July 14th-19th.

This year, Jeff Smith is celebrating twenty years in the comic book business. In 1991, he launched a company called Cartoon Books to publish his comics work, and against all odds, the small company flourished, building a reputation for quality stories and artwork. In 2005, Scholastic Graphix began publishing Bone as a series of full-color graphic novels. With well over 6 million books sold in the U.S. and Canada, BONE has become one of the top selling U.S. graphic novels of all time.

“comiXology is on the pulse of what readers want in the digital world,” said Jeff Smith, creator of BONE. “Based on popular demand, we couldn’t be more delighted to bring BONE to its community of loyal fans and now for the first time ever, on the iPad.”

Creator Jeff Smith will also be hosting an exclusive live Q&A on Reddit, Thursday July 14th, from 4pm-6pm to answer any questions and thoughts that you have. Please go to www.comixology.com/reddit during that time to chat directly with him.

Any BONE and RASL comics purchased in the dedicated apps will sync and also be available to read in the Comics apps.

About comiXology
Since 2007 comiXology has been developing the technological infrastructure to bring comics into the digital mainstream and expose new audiences to the rich history and culture of the industry. Through partnerships with top comic book publishers including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Archaia Entertainment, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment and Image Comics as well as their own mobile and web apps which hosts over 10,000 digital titles, comiXology has become a leader in digital comic book proliferation. Also focused on creating strong ties with retail stores through its technology solutions, comiXology continues to transform the previously fragmented comic ecosystem into a vibrant and cohesive marketplace.

Bone creator Jeff Smith’s busy travel schedule only begins at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. The creator will also hit Baltimore, Toronto, New York, Ohio and Italy this year in support of the 20th anniversary of Bone and the release of the Bone: 20th Anniversary Full Color One Volume.

In addition, he shares that the Bone One Volume Slipcase Edition, which is the same book that’s included with the $350 box set without the extra bells and whistles, will debut at the Mid-Ohio Con in October. Check out a picture of it after the jump.

*****

Bone One Volume Slipcase Edition

Good-Bye Chunky Rice

Cartoonists rarely produce great work right out of the starting gate. It usually it takes lots of time and lots of effort for an artist to hone their style and storytelling abilities. Debut comics — even those made by the greats — rarely offer any indication of what type of treasures lie ahead. Even Chris Ware had to make Floyd Farland before he could produce Jimmy Corrigan.

Still, sometimes a cartoonist seems to spring out of the sea foam fully formed, producing a work that not only draws attention and great buzz, but also indicates exactly where they’re headed — what direction they plan to take as an artist and what you as a reader can expect from them.

Here then, are six debut comics that made people go “Who the heck is this guy? And why haven’t I heard of him before?” I’m sure I missed someone. I always do. Be a dear and let me know who I forgot in the comments section, won’t you?

Night Fisher

1. Goodbye Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson. True, Thompson had done a few mini-comics before Chunky was published, but those weren’t seen by many until years later. Chunky was really the book that introduced readers to Thompson. The reaction to the book was swift and laudatory. I remember people buzzing about the book at SPX that year, wondering who this guy was and how could he produce so moving and assured a work at so young an age. With only three major books to his name so far (four if you count this year’s forthcoming Habibi), he’s remained one of the more beloved and significant creators in the alt-comix landscape.

2. Clumsy by Jeffrey Brown. Rare is the cartoonist who gets a glowing cover blurb from Chris Ware on their very first comic. Brown, however, was lucky enough to do so with his debut book, a cringe-tastic tale of awkward, and ultimately doomed, young love. He’s shown quite a bit of diversity since then, especially in humor books like Incredible Change-Bots, but I don’t know that he’s produced anything as emotionally affecting as this particular title yet.

3. Yummy Fur by Chester Brown. Looking back, it seems hard to believe that Yummy Fur was Brown’s first comic, that he was that good right out of the gate with so few missteps, but it’s true. That very first issue, with the start of the Ed the Happy Clown serial, stories about toilet paper that killed people and oddities like Walrus Blubber Sandwich let readers know from the get-go that there was something unique and potentially unsettling about this particular comic. I remember reading that first issue in my local comic store at the time and being profoundly unnerved by it. So much so that it actually scared me off of Brown’s subsequent work for several years afterward. That’s gotta be a mark of some kind of quality, no?

Lose #1

4. Bone by Jeff Smith. You could ostensibly argue that Smith’s first professional comics work was Bone’s precursor, Thorn, a comic strip he drew for his college newspaper while enrolled at Ohio State University. You could make that argument, but I’m not going to. For all intents and purposes, that first issue of Bone was Smith’s debut into the world of comics, a debut which proceeded to change the landscape for all-ages and alternative comics for years to come. Smith had obviously spent a inordinate amount of time thinking about and developing the series beforehand, since  it’s so assured and fully formed from the first page. His craft and storytelling abilities are just as confident in that first issue as they are in the last.

5. Night Fisher by R Kikuo Johnson. As with Chunky Rice, there was quite a bit of hype and brouhaha over the publication of Johnson’s inaugural work. Publisher Gary Groth even compared its release to the arrival of the first issue of Love and Rockets, or words to that effect. It’s not that good, although this tale of disaffected adolescence and drug dealing in Hawaii is certainly compelling and suggests that Johnson is an artist capable of producing great work. Unfortunately, he has yet to follow up on that initial promise. But Night Fisher still marks him as an artist to watch out for.

6. Lose #1 by Michael DeForge. What planet is DeForge from that he is able to produce such stellar work with such seeming effortlessness? And how is he able to make comics so profoundly creepy? So far he’s produced three issues of Lose and a rather wide assortment of mini-comics and anthology contributions with next to no drop in quality. The confidence this guy exudes on the page, especially in that first issue, is rather shocking honestly. I say we can expect great things from him, but he’s already produced great things, starting with that very first issue of Lose.

Kirby King of Comics

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Our special guest today is Ryan Cody, creator of Icarus and illustrator of Villains and Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun. You’ll be seeing more of Icarus around these parts starting very soon …

To see what Ryan and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below.

*****

Brigid Alverson

Strangers in Paradise

I bought a copy of Strangers in Paradise from author Terry Moore himself at C2E2, and it helped make the trip back go more quickly. This is a classic book that came out during my long hiatus from comics, and I’m glad to have finally discovered it. Just in the first few chapters Moore quickly sketches out a set of characters—Katchoo, Francine, and David—and sets the story barreling out of the gate at full speed. I love their personalities, his deft hand with dialogue, and the twists and turns of his stories, and I’m definitely signing on for the whole series.

I also read an advance copy of, One Soul, by Ray Fawkes, which is due out from Oni Press in May. Fawkes splits each page into a nine-panel grid and tells 18 stories in parallel on each two-page spread. His characters are widely separated in time and space and never actually meet, but they have a lot in common, and parts of their lives echo each other. I read it once, but I know I will have to read it a few more times, partly because it’s hard to keep 18 characters straight and partly because I know I’m going to see more in each re-reading; there are many patterns and subtleties that are only starting to emerge.

Carla Hoffman

New Mutants #23

I read New Mutants #23 this week and suddenly, everything makes sense. Having already read the start of this ‘new perspective’ side event (Age of X: Alpha and X-Men: Legacy #245) back when they were released, I wasn’t expecting much from chapter four of this storyline. At first glance and being thrown into the action as it were, the characters just seemed like pale Age of Apocalypse shadows and the idea of a full scale war between mutants and humans was something I know I had read before. There was nothing to stick to as far as where this whole thing would be going. But there is a new an interesting piece of the plot that shows up in New Mutants #23 that reminds me that no one would or should get away with printing the same old story, no matter how cool the character designs are. I’d tell you more but that would ruin the discovery of it on your own, which is always part of the battle. Mike Carey is giving nothing to you directly, but through deduction, you’re actually working right alongside Magneto and Rogue to find out what’s really going on.

So fellow X-Fans, take note: if you read the first part of Age of X and compared it to something you have already read or didn’t find anything interesting in the infinite war between mutants and humans, give it another chance. Read New Mutants #23 as see if the twist doesn’t make you think a little more kindly on those earlier issues. If it does, go back and read them (that’s X-Men: Legacy #245, New Mutants #22 then X-Men: Legacy #246; don’t worry there’s a list in the back) because I know you’ll catch things the second time around. Things that really do make this a story I don’t believe we’ve seen before, despite some familiar window dressing and the ever-so fashionable lens of nostalgia. I’m already starting to re-think my ideas of a ‘never-ending battle between mutant and man’ and what that really means…

Michael May

Colonia

I finished the first volume of Jeff Nicholson’s Colonia, but I don’t think I’ll be going back for the second. In his introduction, Nicholson compares what he’s trying to do with Bone, and I can see the similarities. As a concept, it works wonderfully: an innocent boy and a couple of companions enter a world filled with strange people and creatures, but instead of Bone‘s medieval-fantasy setting, Colonia‘s locale in based on the early days of New World colonization and piracy. That’s a milieu I enjoy more than the Middle Ages, so it should have worked.

Unfortunately, though his story is interesting, Nicholson isn’t as proficient as Jeff Smith at creating humor in his art. The dialog is funny enough, but the visual timing’s all off and Nicholson lacks Smith’s gift for expressive faces and slapstick. That also makes the characters rather flat, so while I really wanted Colonia to work, I kept thinking that I should be reading Bone instead, pirates or no pirates.

Tim O’Shea

Yo Gabba Gabba

I am kicking myself for neglecting to mention a release from last week, the 128-page Yo Gabba Gabba Comic Book Time anthology. Imagine a book with a range of talent including, Michael Allred, Philip Bond, J. Bone, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Chris Eliopoulos, Matthew Loux, J. Torres (who also co-edits the book with James Lucas Jones), and Dean Trippe (among many, many others). For whatever reason, I’ve never seen the Yo Gabba Gabba show, but despite my ignorance I immediately fell in love with this book. Why? Because Jamie S. Rich (who wrote the first story in this anthology) provides a story resolution that partially involves The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Seeing an Allred-drawn character singing Rolling Stones lyrics is the kind of left field moments I love in a story.

My tastes don’t lean toward horror or supernatural, but one has to take notice when BOOM publishes the first issue of a new Hellraiser series, written by Clive Barker. And there’s a back-up tale written by Larry Wachowski. I am a lousy judge of horror, but I speculate that the folks who enjoyed Hellraiser under Barker’s vision will really enjoy this book. Even though not a fan of the genre, I will admit I was impressed with the linework on the main title from Leonardo Manco.

Graeme’s post that praised BOOM! Studios’ Dracula: The Company of Monsters reminded me that I had allowed the comic to drop off my radar. That’s despite the fact I am a huge Kurt Busiek fan (see the aforementioned aversion to horror). But this week, prompted by Graeme, I read the series’ first volume (collecting issues 1-4) –a story created by Busiek and written by Daryl Gregory–and will likely try to track down the more recent issues. This modern day take on Dracula has him terrorizing board rooms–and gives us odd scenes of the vampire acclimating after his resurrection and reading the New York Times.

There’s no doubt that Marvel is flooding the market with Thor and Captain America one-shots, due to the upcoming theatrical releases. But Kieron Gillen actually pulls back the mask (real and metaphorical) on Batroc the Leaper–indulging in some interesting character exploration. I am hard pressed to recall another writer examining the fiscal and logistical challenges to the life of a villain. Added bonus: the 1967 battle between Batroc and Cap, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby from Tales of Suspense #85. It includes two great moments: Stan Lee having Cap mocking Batroc: “How’s this for some fancy stuff weeth zee hands” (as he punched the villain) and Lee shutting up and allowing Kirby to do a fight scene for one page (nine panels) with no dialogue.

Tom Bondurant

Green Lantern #64

Following Blackest Night, I had thought Green Lantern was in a bit of a rut, gazing into the Rainbow Lanterns’ collective navel without having much of a direction. However, I was pretty impressed with the first two parts of “War of the Green Lanterns” in GL #64 (written by Geoff Johns, penciled by Doug Mahnke, inked by Christian Alamy et al.) and Green Lantern Corps #58 (written by Tony Bedard, penciled by Tyler Kirkham, inked by Batt with Rob Hunter). GL #64 pulls together the past year’s plot threads into a neat little bundle of revenge, tied together with the longstanding notion that the Guardians’ omniscience doesn’t always make them right. What’s more, Krona’s plan involves the return of some “classic” Green Lantern mythology; and as ominous as those developments were, it was good to see Johns returning to them. Bedard and Kirkham come at the same events from a different perspective in GLC #58, but they too end up with our heroes facing overwhelming odds. “War of the Green Lanterns” could actually be that proverbial storyline which changes everything, but it’s setting up those changes nicely so far.

Having just spent some time with the ’70s Batman Family stories which reintroduced Kathy “Batwoman” Kane, I was delighted to see her return in Batman Incorporated #4 (written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Chris Burnham). The issue worked well as an interlude in Batman’s Argentinian adventure, but it may have worked even better as yet another giddy deconstruction/celebration of Goofy Sci-Fi Batman. Robin’s dialogue about “even the dog wear[ing] a mask … makes it all dumb instead of special[,] like it doesn’t matter anymore” is probably the most pointed criticism of the (for lack of a better term) “anti-goofy” reader. Still, once again Morrison has given meaning and resonance to a dusty corner of Batman lore, even echoing the great Alan Brennert’s treatment of an aging, wistful Batwoman in the classic “Interlude on Earth-Two” (Brave and the Bold #182, January 1982), while continuing to advance the “United Colors of Batman” theme he’s been working for the past five years. Just a really great issue all around, and I haven’t even mentioned Burnham’s wonderful work.

Ryan Cody

Sadly, for someone who claims to be a writer himself, I do not read as much as I should, and what I do read is mostly comics. One book I just finished was Kirby: King of Comics by Mark Evanier. I found a used copy at Hastings for $8 and thought there was no way to go wrong there. It’s basically a beautifully illustrated biography of Jack’s life in comics. It touches a little on his youth, mostly in how that affected his later ideas of the stories he wanted to tell, and goes through his long career. There was nothing scandalous or really mind-blowing about it, but it was a quick read and gave a good impression of the greatest comic creator ever. It also has some beautiful artwork in it including some variant designs for Marvel’s Norse Gods that are amazing.

The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women

Another recent book I read, and in part had read to me, was The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women by James Ellroy. It’s a biography that has the single focus of Ellroy trying to explain and come to terms with his relationship with women, and how those relationships reflect back to him being 10 and his mother being murdered. It has a snappy pace and is hilarious more often than not. Biographies are probably my favorite types of books when I do sit down to read, it’s often that the truth can be as entertaining as fiction if you care enough about the subject.

The artist side of me mostly follows other artists when it comes time to read comics. No matter how good the story is, if the art is boring to me, I can’t get through it. I really enjoy the B.P.R.D. and Hellboy books, Guy Davis did some fantastic work on those and Arcudi and Mignola have created a great universe for the characters. I try to follow Powers as much as I can, again I think the setting and relationships coupled with insanely talented art make for good reading. Last but not least, I just finished reading The Winter Men by Brett Lewis and John Paul Leon. That was fantastic, from plot, to script, to art, one of the best books I have read in a very long time. It had everything I love; crime, amazing powers, corruption, bad language and even a tiny bit of nudity. I highly recommend it.

Bone Pewter Figures

Earlier this month Jeff Smith announced details on the three different versions of the Bone 20th Anniversary Full Color One Volume Edition that are coming out later this year. And starting today, Jeff Smith’s Boneville website is now taking orders for the two box set editions that can either be shipped to your home or picked up at various conventions later this year.

The Bone: 20th Anniversary Full Color One Volume Collector’s Box Set includes a hardcover collection of the series, a signed art print, pewter figures of the three Bone cousins (see above), a miniature facsimile of Bone #1, a new essay by Smith, an expanded cover gallery of the Bone comic books and graphic novels, an illustrated 20-year timeline, a copy of the DVD The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, BONE, and the Changing Face of Comics and a 22k gold-plated coin. It will come in a red box, is limited to 2,000 copies and will cost $350. There’s also a $1,000 edition that’s limited to 50 copies and includes original art by Smith instead of the signed art print.

Both of these will be available this summer, starting at the San Diego Comic Con. Fans can also pre-order and pick them up at the Baltimore Comicon, Fan Expo Canada and the New York Comicon. The $350 box set can also be ordered through your local comic shop (Diamond code MAR111015).

Bone: Full Color One Volume Collector's Box Set

I know what I’ll be saving my “splurge” money from our weekly Food or Comics? column for … Jeff Smith announced today full details on the Bone: 20th Anniversary Full Color One Volume he’s planning for this year to celebrate, obviously, the 20th anniversary of the first issue of Bone.

There will actually be three different versions:

–Shipping this summer just in time for the San Diego Comic Con is the Bone: 20th Anniversary Full Color One Volume Collector’s Box Set. It includes a hardcover collection of the series, a signed art print, pewter figures of the three Bone cousins, a miniature facsimile of Bone #1, a new essay by Smith, an expanded Cover Gallery of the Bone comic books and graphic novels, an illustrated 20-year timeline, a copy of the DVD The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, BONE, and the Changing Face of Comics and a 22k gold-plated coin with Phoney Bone’s head on one side, and Fone Bone on the reverse giving the dates of Bone #1 July 1991, and the 20th Anniversary July 2011. It will come in a red box, is limited to 2,000 copies and will cost $350.

–Also shipping in time for SDCC is a version of the above that, instead of the art print, includes an original piece of art by Smith and hand watercolored by Steve Hamaker. These are limited to 50 copies and cost $1,000.

–Finally, a $150 version of the hardcover that includes the timeline and cover gallery will ship in November. It comes in a slipcase.

And if you’re worried about how many trees this will cost the world, don’t worry –Smith says they’ll plant a tree through American Forests.org for every one they sell.

I’ve been meaning to send you all in the direction of “The Feast,” a short fantasy-adventure story about a bunch of village children and the giant forest monster that preys upon them, ever since it went up on Top Shelf’s webcomics portal Top Shelf 2.0 last week. Hopefully you’ll agree after reading it that cartoonists Anna Bongiovanni and Evan Palmer’s lushly illustrated monster romp was well worth the wait. You’ll catch a lot of Jeff Smith influence in the creature designs, action choreography, and elegantly inked black-and-white wilderness, but it took Bone a long, long time to get as unexpectedly dark as this gets by the end. This has “can’t wait to see more from this pair” written all over it. Sink your teeth into it.

Bone: Quest for the Spark

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy on Wednesday based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on what we call our “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList if you’d like to play along in our comments section.

Chris Mautner

If I had $15:

There’s quite a number of good books out this week, making for some tough decisions, but I think I’d initially go for either the third volume of Bakuman by Death Note creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata ($9.99) or Quest for the Spark #1 by Jeff Smith and Tom Sniegoski. The former is a series about would-be manga creators that I’m really starting to dig, the second is a new, official Bone (prose) sequel that, even though it doesn’t star all of the original cast and isn’t being written by Smith, should nevertheless be a worthy purchase, as Sniegoski is no stranger to the Bone universe (having penned the hilarious Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures spin-off).

If I had $30:

Seeing as how it made my recent Six by 6 list, I’d be remiss not to pick up a copy of Darryl Cunningham’s Psychiatric Tales ($15). I’ve been enjoying Cunningham’s work online for awhile now and am eager to check out the print version.

Splurge:

I already have a copy, but let me heartily recommend those feeling like splurging this week check out Joe Ollman’s hilarious graphic novel, Mid-Life, about a harried middle aged dad (loosely based on Ollmann himself) who develops a rather strong crush on a children’s entertainer, to the point of even trying to meet up with her in New York City. I hope to have an interview with Ollmann up on the site at the end of the week, but for now, you can read an interview he did with Tom Spurgeon.

Brigid Alverson

If I had $15:

Psychiatric Tales

I’d spend it all on Darryl Cunningham’s Psychiatric Tales ($15), out this week from Bloomsbury. I really enjoy his non-fiction comics, and I have been looking forward to the U.S. release of this book. Consider me sold.

If I had $30:

The next $3.50 would go for Atomic Robo: Deadly Art of Science, because the only thing better than Atomic Robo is Atomic Robo busting gangsters in 1930s New York. Then, like Chris, I’d pick up the third volume of Bakuman ($9.99) because I love Takeshi Obata’s clean-lined art and I’m always up for manga about manga.

Splurge:

Even though I haven’t read the first seven volumes, vol. 8 of Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins on Stage ($24.99) looks mighty tempting. I love a good vintage soap opera comic. This might lead me to pick up the previous volumes if it’s good enough.

Graeme McMillan

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever

If I had $15 this week, I’d spread the financial love around. First thing I’d pick up Buck Rogers Annual #1 ($4.99); not only did I like the first series of Dynamite’s revival of the classic space hero, but this is also the comic debut of friend and former Newsarama boss Matt Brady, who co-writes this with Troy Brownfield (also of Newsarama), and my curiosity is as high as my hope that it’ll launch him into a positively Brian Michael Bendis-esque orbit of success and fanbase idol worship. Elsewhere, Chris Roberson returns to Fabletown’s most deadly spy with the first issue of Cinderella: Fables Are Forever (DC/Vertigo, $2.99), and if it’s anywhere as good as the first series, a good time is guaranteed for all. Over at Marvel, I’ll be picking up the first issue of the new Power Man and Iron Fist mini ($2.99), in large part because I love the old incarnation of the title, I have to admit, but Fred Van Lente writing is never a waste of time. Lastly but not leastly, Thom Zahler’s Love And Capes relaunches with a new mini, Love And Capes: Ever After this week (IDW, $3.99), and after picking up the trades of what’s gone before, I’m curious to see where the whimsical romance – imagine True Story, Swear To God, but with superpowers – goes next.

If I had $30, I’d add the final collection of G. Willow Wilson and MK Perker’s Air (Vol. 4: A History Of The Future, DC/Vertigo, $14.99) to my pile. This series never seemed to find the audience it deserved, which might have stemmed from a relatively slow start – although the first trade is pretty great, if you asked me – but I really enjoyed its Lost-esque mix of intrigue, terrorism, romance and spirituality. I’d like to see Wilson get another Vertigo series sometime soon, to hopefully get a second chance to win people over.

And if I were to splurge, this week, it’d be an easy choice: The first trade of John Ostrander’s classic Suicide Squad run, for just $19.99 (Suicide Squad, Vol. 1: Trial By Fire, DC Comics)? There’s a place in my reading list AND my heart, just for you…

JK Parkin

Power Man and Iron Fist

If I had $15:

Wow, lots to choose from this week … Northlanders #37 ($2.99) features the start of a new storyline, “The Siege of Paris,” with art by Dark Rain‘s Simon Gane. I’d also grab Adventure Comics #523 ($2.99), which brings back the Legion Academy, as well as Heroes for Hire #3 ($2.99), which has just been a really fun title so far. I’ve also been looking forward to Fred Van Lente’s take on Power Man and Iron Fist ($2.99), so let’s grab that first issue, then round it out with Incognito: Bad Influences #3 ($3.50) which puts me slightly over the limit, but I think I saw a couple of quarters on the ground outside …

If I had $30:

Love and Capes: Ever After #1 ($3.99) brings back Thom Zahler’s much beloved comic, this time by IDW. I’d also grab the latest issue of Walking Dead ($2.99), as I’ve been digging the new storyline. I’m with Graeme on Cinderella: Fables Are Forever ($2.99), which leaves me room for one more comic …. so do I grab the third issue of Osborn, which has been excellent? Or THUNDER Agents? Or Justice League: Generation Lost #19? I guess I’ll decide when I get there.

Splurge:

Marvel has a couple of collections for some past big events, a $100 Acts of Vengeance Omnibus and a $75 Atlantis Attacks Omnibus. Having read both of those, though, back when they were originally serialized, I’d go for something more recent and less expensive — the new Namor: The First Mutant trade ($14.99).

Chris Arrant

If I had $15:

It’s be a tough week for me if I only had fifteen dollars, because the top book on my want list is Rian Hughes’ On The Line (Image, $12.99). As a designer / comics reader, this hits me square between the eyes. It’s a collection of Hughes’ newspaper strips from the UK mag The Guardian and works as a compliment to Image’s earlier Yesterday’s Tomorrows collection of other Hughes’ work. Some people compare him as a UK equivalent to Chip Kidd, but I think that’s improper – for both Hughes and Kidd. Hughes really made an indelible mark in UK comics, and in the logos of American comics you might not even imagine.

If I had $30:

I’m saved. With $15 more dollars to play around with, I’d start off first with Wolverine #5.1 (Marvel, $2.99). I’m not the market to jump onto this series as I’m already following it, so this is just another regular issue for me. What makes it more exciting is Jason Aaron’s track record for doing amazing one-shot stories; his story in Liberty Comics was something and his “A Day In The Life” story in Wolverine #73-74 was great (yeah, it’s 2 parts – but it was only one issue’s worth of pages). Second I’d grab the new issue of Northlanders (DC/Vertigo, $2.99), which starts a new story-arc; I can buy these sight-unseen, as Wood’s developed a great track record of fulfilled expectations. After that it would be Walking Dead #81 (Image, $2.99) for my monthly fix and Buck Rogers Annual #1 (Dynamite, $4.99) to give this title a second chance and to see what my former boss Matt Brady can do in comics. Lastly would be T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #4 (DC, $2.99); I’ve been buying all the issues so far but the added bonus of George Perez doing some pages seals the deal for me; otherwise I might just wait for the trade.

Splurge:

I already have most of the issues, but my splurge nonetheless would be Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (Marvel, $99.99). A proto-event with no unifying series but rather tie-ins through other titles, “Acts of Vengeance” remains a seminal moment for me as a young comics fan. That great image of assorted villains standing over the broken signets of Marvel’s heroes? Sold. In many ways, the Cabal in “Dark Reign” was a retread of this story-arc, but what I love about this is the villains’ plan of mis-matching their hero/villain pair-ups, and having for example Iron Man’s #1 villain the Mandarin go after the X-Men. I remember those Uncanny X-Men issues specifically, from the short-lived costume Psylocke had with the Hand before going to her ninja garb, the great Captain America / Wolverine / Black Widow team-up and those nights in Madripoor. Oh those nights.

Well, as it turns out — he’s not done yet.

Last night on his blog, Smith posted a sketch from a new project he’s working on — a sketch of Superman. According to the cartoonist, it’s a sketch for an upcoming project for DC. Nothing else is said about the shape or scope of this upcoming work, but Smith does talk about his own personal connection with the character.

“One of my favorite memories of Superman,” says the artist,” is from when I was a kid was the character busting through walls, either on the TV show, or as a plastic Aurora model kit.”

This week is a big one for Smith — the new illustrated Bone novel, Bone: Quest For the Spark, hit shelves. Written by Tom Sniegoski with illustrations by SMith, it’s the first in a trilogy which introduces three new members of the Bone family.

BONE: 20th Anniversary Full Color One Volume Edition

Is it okay to start making my Christmas wish list for next year?

2011 is the 20th anniversary of the publication of Bone #1, the comic that kicked off a Jeff Smith’s epic tale and launched his successful career. To celebrate, Smith announced today that a full-color version of the Bone One Volume Edition is coming next year.

“The technology has finally caught up!” Smith posted on the Bone site. “Through a combination of sewing and glue, we can make a nearly 1400 page color One Volume Edition that lays flat when open!”

The Bone One Volume Edition, previously only been available in black and white, collects the entire Bone comic series. Scholastic, meanwhile, has been publishing color collections of the story over the last few years. With a trio of Bone films on the horizon. the timing for this couldn’t be better.

Bone: Tall Tales

Welcome once again to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy based on certain spending limits — $15, $30 to spend and if we had extra money to spend on what we call the “Splurge” item.

So join Brigid Alverson, Chris Mautner and me as we run down what we’d buy this week, and check out Diamond’s release list to play along in our comments section.

Chris Mautner

If I had $15:

This one’s easy, as Wednesday sees the arrival of Jeff Smith’s latest Bone-related project, Tall Tales ($10.99 paperback, $22.99 hardcover — I’m obviously going for the paperback here). My daughter has become obsessed with Bone — to the point where she’s started making her own Bone-related comics (complete with theme music) — and is eager to pick up the latest volume, even if it does mostly collect material she and I have read before (namely the Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails series). I’ll probably pick it up on the sly this week and give it to her for for her birthday next month.

Next, it’s not comics, but I see that the Macmillan imprint Square Fish is re-releasing some of Tove Jansson’s Moomin children’s novels at $6.99 a pop. Since I’ve enjoyed D&Q’s reprints of the comic strip so thoroughly, I may pick up one of the novels as well.

If I had $30:

20th Century Boys

Hmmm. I’m way behind on Naoki Urasawa’s awesome 20th Century Boys series, but assuming I wasn’t, I’d definitely be picking up the new vol. 10 next ($12.99).

Or, if I was in a more sporting mood, I might hold off on that and get vol. 4 of Fumi Yoshinaga’s Ooku: The Inner Chambers. The first volume left me a little cold, but I’ll admit to being curious to see if Yoshinaga eventually delivers on her interesting swapped gender historical epic.

Splurge:

Craig Yoe’s IDW imprint has been hit or miss with me (great production values but I wish they put a bit more scholarship and analysis into their essays), but I’d definitely pick up Felix the Cat’s Greatest Comic Book Tails ($34.99), featuring a wealth of stories the classic Felix artist Otto Messmer did for Dell and Harvey. Messmer’s art is lovely, and the original strip was a hoot, so I’m curious to see what he did with a longer format.

Brigid Alverson

If there’s a theme this week, it’s that it’s hot, and I’m cranky and only in the mood for fairly undemanding entertainment. So here goes:

If I had $15, I’d get…

The Archie and Friends Haunted House TPB ($9.95), which is written by Batton Lash and therefore guarantees a good time. A lot of people don’t realize that Archie graphic novels even exist, but they are actually very nicely produced and a good deal for the money.

That leaves me with five bucks. I haven’t been a big fan of Top Cow properties up to now, but Artifacts #1 ($3.99) looks like a good stepping-on point, so I’ll give it a try. It’s a big, complicated story about the 13 artifacts that control the universe, and how some shadowy entity is trying to bring them together to destroy everything. It sounds a bit grandiose, but what the hell, it’s summer reading. Then I can spend that last dollar on one of Dark Horse’s dollar comics, Sin City: The Hard Goodbye.

If I had $30…

I’d get all that and add in Natsume Ono’s Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso ($12.99). Ono tends to be stronger on art than on story, but that’s OK for summer reading, and his art is really lovely. That last two dollars can go for two more dollar comics, Dungeons & Dragons #0 and Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft #1. I’m not a D&D fan, but the comic promises to introduce me to the universe, and Locke & Key just sounds kind of cool.

If I wanted to splurge…

Ooku

I’d buy more manga, as this is a good week for that. Like Chris, I’m behind on 20th Century Boys, but it’s an awesome series and I can’t pass up vol. 10. Fumi Yoshinaga’s Ooku: The Inner Chambers is a great piece of gender-bender historical fantasy, and I’m definitely up for vol. 4. And I really enjoyed the chapter of Gossip Girl I read in Yen Plus magazine, so I’ll grab the first volume of that as well. Don’t judge me! It’s hot as blazes here, and a bit of badass chick lit is just the thing to take my mind off the lack of air conditioning around here.

JK Parkin

Ah, Brigid, now I almost feel guilty that we’ve had such a mild August out here on the West Coast that we haven’t even had to turn on the air conditioning this month …

If I had $15 …

Northlanders #31 ($2.99)
Morning Glories #1 ($2.99)
Incredible Hulk #611 ($3.99)
Thanos Imperative #3 ($3.99)
Dungeons & Dragons #0 ($1)

Incredible Hulk #611

… for a well-oiled total of $14.96. Northlanders continues the “Metal” storyline that kicked off last issue, about a blacksmith and the girl he loves trying to escape from corrupt Christian missionaries. Morning Glories is a new title from Image about six brilliant students who transfer into a prep school with “sinister and deadly” secrets; you can check out a preview here. Hulk #611 finally pits Skaar against his dad, and the Thanos Imperative sees several cosmic heroes uniting against the Cancerverse invaders. Finally, I had a buck left over, and as former D&D aficionado, I figured the new series from IDW was worth checking out.

If I had $30 …

Jersey Gods Vol. 3: Thunder Road ($12.99). Not only because I really enjoyed the series and would like to see how it ends, but also because they have some of the best subtitles for their trade paperbacks. After “I’d Live and I’d Die For You,” I was wondering how they’d pay tribute to the true king of Jersey music.

That’s $12.99, so I have a little more than $2 left. So I’m going to cheat and also grab a copy of Justice League: Generation Lost. Or download it, actually, to my iPad, courtesy of Comixology.

Splurge

Chew Omnivore Edition Vol. 1 Hardcover ($34.99). Actually I already own all the issues collected in this, but I thought it was worth mentioning because it’s a really, really great series. If you haven’t checked it out, buy this, buy the trades or grab some of the singles … you’ll be happy you did.