Judge Bao and the Jade Phoenix

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, “ Wonder Woman 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.

Archaia

Judge Bao and the Jade Phoenix - A detective story set in ancient China. Plus: cool name.

Avatar

Dicks #1 – Garth Ennis and John McCrea’s humor makes my top hat explode and my monocle fly off my face, but I remember this being pretty popular back in the day and I imagine that it’s new presentation in color and leading into a new storyline could make it popular again.

Bongo

Ralph Wiggum Comics #1 – This, on the other hand, is exactly my kind of funny. Kind of like 30 Days of Night, I’m astonished no one’s thought of it before. Too bad it’s just a one-shot, but hearing that Sergio Aragones is one of the contributors makes me want to poke myself with my Viking helmet to see if I’m dreaming.

Terror on the Planet of the Apes #1

Boom!

Terror on the Planet of the Apes #1 – Boom continues its domination of the Planet of the Apes by reprinting classic stories from Marvel’s time with the concept. Between Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Boom’s other PotA comics, I’ve been itching to read these stories.

Adventure Time #1 – As much a welcome no-brainer as Ralph Wiggums Comics. Oh, man. Now I want a crossover!

Dark Horse

Conan the Barbarian #1 – Not only does this have Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan; it also features one of my favorite Conan characters, Bêlit the pirate queen.

BPRD Hell on Earth: The Long Death #1 – The Mignola-verse is managing to come out with some kind of first issue or collected volume just about every month now. That’s amazing. In this mini-series, the team returns to the spooky woods from New World.

Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #1 – If this had come out fifteen years ago when I was still voraciously devouring all the Star Wars EU history I could get my hands on, I would’ve been dancing like a Twi’lek slave girl over finally getting the story of how the Jedi came to be. It’s one of the few events in Star Wars history that haven’t yet been explored.

Dark Horse Presents #9 – Featuring Tarzan, Lobster Johnson, and the world’s largest pirate ship. Not in the same story, unfortunately, but still pretty cool.

DC Universe Presents #6

DC

DC Universe Presents #6 – The Challengers of the Unknown take over the title with a beautiful, fantastic cover by Ryan Sook.

Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo - This isn’t even out yet and I’m already impatient for Volume 2.

Northlanders, Volume 6: Thor’s Daughter - I’ve been looking forward to finally trying out Northlanders with this volume. Telling the story of the Siege of Paris through the eyes of a Viking woman is a great hook.

Dynamite

Warriors of Mars #1 – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter stories couldn’t be more different in tone from Edwin Lester Arnold’s goofy Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation, but the similarities in concepts (Southern soldiers transported to Mars where they fall in love with princesses) has had fans and writers making connections between them for decades, including Alan Moore in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Now Dynamite’s taking a turn with Carter’s princess (or her people, anyway) kidnapping Gullivar’s.

First Second

Friends With Boys - I’m all for three things: First Second publications, Faith Erin Hicks comics, and stories about people learning to communicate with people unlike themselves. No, wait: four things. Ghost stories.

The Big Town

Fantagraphics

The Big Town - Charles Schulz’ son wrote this novel (the last in his jazz-age trilogy) about the end of the Roaring Twenties and “the role of business, crime, morality, and love in our lives.” It’s not comics, but it sounds ambitious and transporting.

Humanoids

Celestial Bibendum – New York is now on the Seine and there’s a lonely seal named Diego living in it. That’s weird enough that I’d like to know more.

IDW

Road Rage #1 – You might think that the short story “Trucks” was Stephen King’s ultimate homage to the Richard Matheson novella Duel. After all, “Trucks” was collected in Night Shift and King himself directed the movie adaptation of it, Maximum Overdrive featuring Emilio Estevez, AC/DC, and a giant Green Goblin mask. What you might not know is that King also collaborated with his son Joe Hill on a biker-gang novella called Throttle that’s more directly inspired by Duel (which you probably remember was also adapted to film as Stephen Spielberg’s first feature-length project). IDW is now adapting both Duel and Throttle to comics with this four-issue mini-series.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 1: Change is Constant – The first issues of the new, ongoing series are collected.

Jack Avarice is the Courier - I love the way IDW released this mini-series: weekly over the course of a single month, then the entire collection the month after that. I’d love to know how it sold for them, but for me as a consumer, that’s a perfect system.

Thief of Thieves

Image

Thief of Thieves #1 – Some new guys named Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer team up to write one of those crime comics the kids love these days.

Glory #23 – Rob Liefeld’s Extreme relaunch continues to impress me with the talent it’s choosing. In this case, Joe Keatinge (Popgun) and Ross Campbell (Shadoweyes) offer a very different take on the Wonder Woman archetype.

King City - Brandon Graham’s masterwork is finally collected.

Marvel

Winter Soldier #1 – The closest thing we’re going to get to a Black Widow comic right now.

Ka-Zar by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert, Volume 2 - Ka-Zar vs. Thanos. ‘Nuff said.

Metropolitan

Journalism - A collection of short comics by cartoonist/war-reporter Joe Sacco.

Moonstone

The Lone Ranger: Vendetta - The concealed cowpoke and Tonto investigate a serial killer with possible connections to the Ranger’s dead nemesis, Butch Cavendish.

Rohan at the Louvre (French edition)

NBM

Rohan at the Louvre - A newly famous mangaka meddles with a cursed painting deep in the bowels of the famous museum. This will not end well.

Oni

Sixth Gun, Volume 3 – Trade-waiters have reason to whoop it up now that the next installment of the awesome Weird Western is on its way.

Courtney Crumrin, Volume 1: The Night Things Special Edition – The comic that put Ted Naifeh on so many radars gets color and a hardcover.

SLG

Malleus Maleficarum: A Guide to Catching Witches - Everyone’s favorite Inquisitorial treatise on How to Hunt and Torture Pagans, the Homeless, and Other People You Don’t Like is adapted to comics.

Top Shelf

Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland – One of the last projects Pekar worked on before his death is also – according to Alan Moore’s intro – “one of [his] very greatest works.”

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

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?

Welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading. Our guest this week is Andrew Foley, the author of the new vampire graphic novel from IDW, Done to Death.

To find out what Andrew and the rest of the Robot 6 crew are reading this week, click below …

Tim O’Shea: Wonder Woman 1: There is very little I can say about Cliff Chiang’s art except stunning. As for the writing? I guess I want to see where the next issue takes me before giving a solid verdict. But in general, I am impressed (though I also see some merit to J. Caleb Mozzocco’s recent analysis of the issue). On a small aside, much has been made of the horse beheading scene. I just wonder if I am the only one who thought the horse looked like Mr. Ed.

Captain America 3: I love Steve McNiven’s art in this issue. Extra points to Brubaker and McNiven for creating one of the most hilarious scenes with Cap’s shield ever.

Birds of Prey 1: I entered this book not wanting to like it, to be honest. Birds of Prey without Gail Simone just seems hamstrung. And yet I was wrong, Duane Swierczynski delivers an interesting script, and Jesus Saiz’s art is as exquisite as ever. I am a simpleton, but the character design (and that car!) for Starling has me interested. That being said, look forward to Todd Klein’s analysis of the new 52 logos. For me, Birds of Prey’s logo is quite lacking.

The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror 17: Jim Woodring, Zander Cannon, Gene Ha, Tom Hodges and Jane Wiedlin (yes Jane Wiedlin) all in one comic. But for my money, the issue opens strongest Cannon and Ha’s Nosferatu: A Simpsony of Horror. I do not think I will ever see another comic story that so perfectly matches the look and vibe of that silent film classic—through the Simpsons prism of course.

Hulk 41: Of all of Jeff Parker’s non-creator-owned work, this issue of Hulk is the finest thing he has ever written. I beg of you Parker, start doing an Untold Childhood Adventures of Thundy Ross as a back-up feature. Looking forward to whatever plans Parker has for Henry. Aspiring artists should study the subtle nuanced storytelling that
Gabriel Hardman delivers in this (and every) issue.

Heroes for Hire 12: I am so going to miss this ongoing series (which ends with this issue), which allowed writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning to feature Marvel’s B characters in a pseudo-team setting. The bolstering of Paladin as a character worth caring about is something that has a lasting effect in the Marvel current continuity.

Batman and Robin 1: Peter Tomasi’s solid script (particularly Bruce’s lecture to Damian) is undermined by the rushed style of Patrick Gleason’s art. I normally like Gleason’s art, but in this issue there were actual panels I had to read three or four times just to figure out what I was seeing.

Batman 1: Greg Capullo (inked by Jonathan Glapion) made this issue sing visually. Capullo’s understanding of body language in certain scenes really sold the story that writer Scott Snyder constructs. I really appreciate Snyder’s use of technology (in some Bruce Wayne scenes) to help give readers non-Batman moments (and yet still advance
the action.

Chris Mautner: Amulet Book 4: The Lost Council by Kazu Kibuishi — More solid all-ages fantasy comics from >r Kibuishi. As I’ve said before, Kibuishi wears his influences on his sleeve here, it’s more than a bit derivative, and I could see the “surprise traitor” coming a mile away, though to be fair, it’s not like Kibuishi wasn’t deliberately telegraphing it from a mile away. All that being said, the book remains an entertaining jaunt; Kibuishi is a very talented cartoonist and storyteller, and his work has grown appreciably in the years since the first volume was released. There’s a reason this series is selling so well. If DC were smart, they’d be looking more to works like these for their big reboot, instead of … well, wherever it is they are looking.

Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising by Rick Marschall and Warren Bernard — Like the title says, this is a look at how popular comic strip characters and comics in general were used to help sell products. The best thing about the book is the art, which shows classic characters like Little Nemo and the Yellow Kid hawking all manner of suspect gee-gaws. Even cartoonists like Peter Arno and Percy Crosby got in the act, proudly pitching tomato juice and beer. Most of the text is rather perfunctory, though it does get interesting when it talks about advertising firms like Jonstone and Cushing, which dealt exclusively in comic strip ads. Plus, there’s a nice selection of Mr. Coffee Nerves strips at the back, and I’m always a sucker for that guy. I’d love a top hat like his.

Brigid Alverson: Usually I prefer graphic novels to monthly comics, but I have been picking up a few single issues here and there. I liked B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Russia #1 because it started  a new story arc with just enough exposition to let me know where things stand. People in Russia are… melting into blobs? Hard to say, but whatever it is, it’s nasty. The B.P.R.D. is in disarray — Hellboy has quit, Liz Sherman is in hiding after causing a giant conflagration, and Abe Sapien is in a coma, having been shot by the psychic Fenix. That leaves Kate Corrigan and Johann Kraus to travel to Moscow and get dissed by the local officials before knuckling down to solve their problem. The comic opens strong with a pretty scary supernatural incident, then cuts to Kate and Johann on their way to Russia. Unfortunately, all the exposition gets in the way of the story a bit. I’d like to know more about what is happening, but I guess that’s a reason to read issue 2.

I was a bit more dubious about Conan Road of Kings #8 — can I really come in at issue 8 of a story arc and follow it? Yes, I can, because there’s a nice little block of  text at the beginning that explains what has happened so far, and despite all the elaborate names and places (“Prince Arpello of the province of Pellia”) that mean nothing to me right now, the story is pretty straightforward: Conan got mixed up with some sort of a resistance group, they were betrayed, and everyone did a bunk, leaving him with the young daughter of one member of the group. So what we have is an adventure story with a big hunky guy and spunky little girl eluding the guards, fighting giant insects, etc. The art is nice and clear, not overly complicated, and the bright coloring makes it feel like a 1950s adventure movie.

Red Hood & the Outlaws #1

Andrew Foley: Well, they got me. I succumbed to the car crash fascination of it all and went out and read Catwoman #1 and Red Hood and The Outlaws #1. I am so weak. First up, I’ve got to say that, without the online uproar, the books’ immediate draw for me would be their artwork, and on that score neither disappoints. It’s some of the things the artists have been called upon to draw that makes me uncomfortable.

Maybe it’s time for me to simply admit I’m a crotchety old prude who’s out of touch with the youth of today, but I’ve got issues with these issues. I’m not saying DC shouldn’t publish mature interpretations of what started out as children’s comic characters (and in at least one of these cases is aimed at readers as young as 12 years old). I will, however, suggest that maybe a little more thought should have gone into whether making these interpretations the characters’ official versions was the best strategy to go with. Why risk alienating a substantial portion of your potential audience during a line-wide relaunch intended to bring new and lapsed readers to your books? Maybe they ran the numbers and concluded that it’s a risk worth taking, that the dollars brought in from the Lady Death crowd will be worth the inevitable ill will from more politically correct quarters.

I’d be surprised if those involved with Catwoman #1 hadn’t made some calculations along those lines, actually, as the entire book seems practically tailor-made to provoke a response. Many comics folk these days seem to care little what the response actually is, so long as it’s loud and passionate. “We want people to talk about the books” is an oft-heard refrain. If you’re worried people won’t talk about the high quality of a book’s writing, crass titillation ought to do the trick–it worked for Frank Miller, right? Well yes it did, but there was a palpable sense of childlike glee in the Miller-written scene Catwoman #1’s title is a reference to. In contrast, Catwoman #1’s conclusion seems a hollow affair, an exercise in cynical manipulation with the sole purpose of cashing in on the barriers broken by All-Star Batman and Robin. I wasn’t happy when ASBARTBW plowed headlong into this territory, either, but at least I got the sense that its writer, if no one else, was having fun.

Though it wasn’t what I’m looking for from the character, on a meta and craft level, Catwoman #1 hits exactly the target its makers are aiming for. Red Hood and The Outlaws #1 feels more scattershot to me. It doesn’t seem to be aiming for any particular bullseye, yet still manages to miss. I’d have problems with the New DC’s version of Starfire even if she was an entirely new character. I just don’t see what good can come from having an oversexed bimbo so dumb she can barely tell the guys she’s sleeping with apart presented as the lead female character in a superhero book for teens. That sends a terrible message to kids and parents DC presumably wants to attract. That it’s a previously existing character who previously wasn’t portrayed as a sex-starved blow-up doll sends a terrible message to nearly everyone. Yes, Koriand’r’s sensuality was always a big part of her character. And yes, she was for a time a naïve innocent unaccustomed to the ways of the world–at least the world she was on. But for as long as I read the Teen Titans, she wasn’t anything close to…that. Though the impression I got from the issue overall is that the writer’s looking to create a straight superhero adventure romp, the insertion of frat boy fantasies of casual sex absent any responsibility was so baffling to me that I’d almost convinced myself there was a point to it beyond the obvious. “Maybe Scott Lobdell’s setting the stage for a story about sexually transmitted infections, where Arsenal has to deal with Tamaranian genital warts or something,” I thought.

Then I heard about the semi-transparent bikini and I decided to think about something else.

My favourite thing about Wonder Woman #1 was the way Cliff Chiang presented the character visually. Without someone next to her, Diana looks much the way she always has. But when you compare her to other people, you realize she’s huge, an imposing physical presence who towers over those around her. That’s how a confident, powerful superhero of Wonder Woman’s stature ought to be drawn. I hope other artists who’ll be working with the character are taking notes.

I quite enjoyed everything else about the issue too, but once finished I couldn’t help feeling that I should have enjoyed it more. What was there was pretty great. Azzarello’s Diana is a half superhero, half 300 Spartan, no-nonsense warrior to be reckoned with. She’s a powerful character, defined in this issue by her actions rather than her relationship to male characters. Her traditional Greek god enemies have been given a patina of Vertigo grit, but it doesn’t read to me as the horror story Azzarello’s been billing it as. There’s some disturbing imagery, but overall this first issue is closer in tone to Game of Thrones than Hellblazer. My only problem with Wonder Woman #1, really, is that it felt a little thin. Maybe that’s because of the decreased page count DC creators have to work with these days, maybe it’s because so many other New 52 books have been fairly dense reads, but this book left me not just wanting more, but feeling like I should’ve gotten more.

And I’m running out of time to get these done, so a few quick hits:

Joss Whedon Conversations: I learned how to write stories from any number of places, but I learned how to write screenplays from Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series scripts. And there are many writers whose interviews I find more informative and entertaining than their work. So I probably had unreasonably high hopes for this collection of interviews. It’s not bad, but the interviews’ subject matter overlap, becoming somewhat repetitive, and most don’t pursue the subjects broached in the sort of depth I’d have preferred. I keep picking away at it mostly because Whedon’s obvious passion for his work is good for a morale boost.

The Bulletproof Coffin: I know I’ll love this book when I finish reading it, but that’s not going to be for awhile. I’ve read the first three issue/chapters in fits and starts, but this engrossing and weird story of forbidden comics is something I won’t be able to fully enjoy until I’m able to commit a solid chunk of time to read the thing in one or two sittings. Given the way my schedule’s looking these days, I’ve got something to look forward to on December 25.

JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD Featuring MISTER MIRACLE: I’ve been on a Jack Kirby kick for about six months now, ever since I read his insane and brilliant OMAC series in hardcover. I read his New Gods run years ago, but haven’t had much exposure to the rest of his Fourth World material. Unfortunately, everything of Kirby’s I read from now on will have the burden of high expectations to contend with. His Fourth World stuff is frequently presented as Kirby’s masterwork, and it’s great, BUT–! My “mind” is still 100% BLOWN by OMAC! I’m enjoying the “lines on paper” that is Mister Miracle, but OMAC… IT IS NOT!!! Perhaps–NOTHING ever CAN be!!

Simpsons Treehouse of Horror

Although I stopped watching the show on a regular basis a few seasons back, I try not to miss the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode every year that for some reason is typically shown the Sunday after Halloween. I also try not to miss Bongo’s Treehouse of Horror comic special, which seems to go out of its way every year to recruit an interesting array of contributors. The last couple of years have featured everyone from cat and transforming robot cartoonist Jeffrey Brown to Lemmy of Motorhead.

This year is no different, as it features stories by Go-Go/Lady Robotika‘s Jane Wiedlin, Zander Cannon and Gene Ha of Top Ten fame and indie artist Jim Woodring. I’ll be sure to add this to my buy list when it comes out Sept. 28.

Duffman

Legal | The Lithuanian publisher of The Simpsons comic has been fined for breaching laws banning the advertising of alcohol with its depiction of Duff Beer, the fictional brand consumed by Homer and other residents of Springfield.

Although Simpsons creator Matt Groening has never licensed the Duff trademark out of concern that it might encourage children to drink, companies in several countries have released beer using the Duff name (Fox and Groening sued an Australian brewery for doing so in 1995, forcing the product to be pulled from shelves and destroyed). The existence of unlicensed Duff beers apparently was enough for a government watchdog, who handed down the more than $4,000 fine. The publisher said it has stopped publication of The Simpsons while it tries to address the Duff matter — a major issue, considering that Bongo Comics reportedly doesn’t permit content changes to licensed titles. [The Australian]

Mike Richardson

Publishing | Dark Horse President Mike Richardson talks frankly about recent layoffs, subsequent comments made by a former employee, recent publishing decisions and the company’s digital strategy: “We have a very large staff for a comic book company, probably as large or larger than Marvel or DC. As we look going forward, in recent years we’ve had to resort to wage freezes as we try to bear the brunt of the health costs and rising business expenses. As we see those rising we have to figure out how to deal with them. We made some very hard choices and did the best we could over that. Rather than considering wage freezes and passing on more health care costs, I made a decision to do it a different way. One element of that cost-cutting was reducing our payroll and staff. On a personal level, it’s horrible. On a company level, it’s something you have to do from time to time. It’s not the first time and probably won’t be the last time, but for now we’re hoping it is, obviously.” [Comics Alliance]

Retailing | Retailer Steve Bennett recounts the accomplishments and failures of Tokyopop: “Publishers, Tokyopop chief amongst them, kept putting out an increasing number of titles that were entirely too similar to what was already on the shelves (especially when it came to supernatural romance harem comedies). Our store didn’t have the resources to order half of them and increasingly we were stuck with unsold, and frequently unsellable, product from what we did order, while simultaneously trying to put in reorders on the most popular series.” [ICv2.com]

The Amazing Spider-Man #1

Comics | Mary Lynn Smith profiles Gary Dahlberg, a 62-year-old Minneapolis man who died last summer in a house fire that spared his meticulously maintained comic collection that’s estimated to be worth between $1 million and $2 million. “As he got older, my mother would ask, ‘What are you going to do with all those books?’ My mother used to say they couldn’t be worth anything,” Dahlberg’s sister Wendy Kulper says. “I think my mom is now looking down and saying, ‘Sorry, I didn’t know.’” [Star-Tribune]

Retailing | Bill Lai, owner of Anime Castle in Flushing, Queens, is profiled. [WNYC]

Digital comics | Todd Allen surveys the market for kid-friendly downloads. [Publishers Weekly]

Creators | Eva Volin interviews ElfQuest creators Wendy and Richard Pini. [Good Comics for Kids]

Comics | A vacant building in downtown Haverhill, Mass., cartoonist Bob Montana’s inspiration for Riverdale, is being considered as the location for a possible comic-book hall of fame. [Eagle-Tribune]

Comics | The origin of Hulk villain The Leader. [Big Shiny Robot]

Back in January, Bongo head honcho Bill Morrison talked to CBR about it briefly, saying:

Sergio Aragonés’ “Funnies” is a new ongoing series that not many people may know about, but it’s coming from Bongo Comics this year and will most likely premiere at Comic-Con International San Diego. As the book’s editor, I hope I’m not coming off as self-serving by mentioning it here, but I’d be talking about it anyway, just as a Sergio fan! This book will be completely written and drawn by Sergio and will be unrelated to “The Simpsons.” He’ll continue to write and draw Simpsons stories as well, but this will just be Sergio doing what he does best; drawing the funniest cartoons in the universe!

But this isn’t Aragonés’ first stint in The Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s comic line — Sergio started contributing to the publisher’s line back in 2009 beginning with Bart Simpson #50. Aragonés continued as a regular contributor to Bart Simpson, even starting an ongoing feature called “Maggie’s Crib.”

Although Bongo might be defined in readers’ minds as The Simpsons comics, it’s wholly owned and operated by Matt Groening outside of the framework of Fox and the The Simpsons animated series. In addition to hosting Aragonés’ work in various series, Bongo has also run stories by another comics funnyman, Evan Dorkin, for years.

SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg announced the new comic this morning. It will be published by Bongo Comics (the dead-tree home of Bart Simpson) and edited by former Nick Mag editor Chris Duffy, which is very good news—in its heyday, Nick Mag published not only SpongeBob comics but a wealth of short-form mini-masterpieces by creators of the first order, from Craig Thompson to Gahan Wilson to Justin Green. And indeed, it seems that Hillenburg and Duffy have assembled an impressive stable of creators for SpongeBob: James Kochalka (Johnny Boo, American Elf), Hilary Barta (Fear Agent), Graham Annable (Grickle), Gregg Schigiel (X-Babies), and Jacob Chabot (Mighty Skullboy Army, X-Babies).

The comics will be bimonthly and priced at $2.99 for 32 pages. The first issue will hit comics stores on Feb. 6 and newsstands on March 1.

Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval

Publishing | Thursday’s news that DC Comics will replace the nearly 60-year-old Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval with its own rating system was followed on Friday by an announcement by Archie Comics that it, too, will drop the Code. The two were the last publishers to abandon the CCA — Marvel withdrew in 2001, Bongo just last year — which means that as of next month, the once-influential self-regulatory body created by the comics industry in the wake of the 1954 Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency will cease to exist.  Before a series of revisions in 1971, the Code prohibited even the depictions of political corruption, or vampires and werewolves, and the use of the words “horror” or “terror” in titles.

Christopher Butcher wonders whether DC’s decision to drop the Code was made with an eye toward the bottom line, while Johanna Draper Carlson offers an overview of the CCA’s history. Elsewhere, Mike Sterling asks whether any retailers ever “experienced any kind of real-world impact of the Comics Code Authority?” And Tom Mason makes some tongue-in-cheek recommendations for DC’s new rating system, including “G – GREYING MAN-BOYS” and “R – REFRIGERATOR.” [Newsarama]

Publishing | Calvin Reid spotlights Tor Books’ graphic-novel joint venture with manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment. [Publishers Weekly]

Dark Horse

Publishing | Dark Horse has promoted Sierra Hahn and Dave Marshall to full-time editors. [press release]

Retailing | Murfreesboro, Tenn., comics store Outer Limits lost all of its contents Saturday morning in a fire. Owner Chuck Cagle, who had insurance, said he plans to reopen in another location. [The Daily News Journal]

Creators | Collaborators Phil Hotsenpiller and Rob Liefeld discuss their apocalyptic graphic novel Armageddon Now: World War 3. [CNN Belief Blog]

Best of the year | Shawn Huston wraps up his two-part look at the best comics of 2010. [PopMatters]

And now, I’m feeling a little creeped out, because Heidi has the news that they are, in fact, getting one of these newfangled website thingies. That’s right: About 20 years after the rest of us, 17-year-old Bongo Comics discovers the internet.

It looks like they are making up for lost time, though, with plenty of content.

www.bongocomics.com will offer regular “Simpsons” and “Futurama” news items and blog updates, as well as announcements of new publishing ventures. A comprehensive history of all Matt Groening’s comic-book, trade-book, and calendar publications, including Groening’s catalog of books collecting his syndicated strip Life in Hell, will also be featured.

Well, OK, that actually sounds like every other publisher’s website. But hey, at least they are doing it! As of this writing, the actual website is password-protected, but hopefully the scaffolding will come off later today. It’s live! Go check it out.

Comic-Con

Comic-Con International has released the programming schedule for Thursday, July 23, as well as some special programming for preview night. You can check out the entire day’s worth of activities right here for yourself. Here are some of the highlights …

• During preview night on Wednesday, Warner Bross Television will show some of their pilots for upcoming TV series — Human Target, Vampire Diaries and the remake of V.
• The first panel that jumped out on me on Thursday is the 10 a.m. LongBox Digital Comics panel with Rantz Hoseley, Jeff Katz and other special guests as they demonstrate the product. They’ll also discuss, and no doubt announce, some of the partnerships they’ve formed with various comic companies.
• Interestingly enough, before the LongBox panel even ends, there’s a Motion Comics panel featuring folks from Warner Bros. and DC, including Paul Levitz, Dave Gibbons and Paul Dini. It starts at 10:30 a.m.
• Also at 10:30 a.m., Douglas Wolk and the folks from io9.com will talk about science fiction. I mention this because it may be your only opportunity to heckle our old friend Graeme McMillan.
• Several comic companies have panels on Thursday: IDW, Bongo Comics, Archaia, Devil’s Due, Top Shelf, Mondo Marvel, Vertigo, DC’s Superman books, DC’s Justice Society books, Archie Comics and Oni Press. There’s also a joint Cartoon Books and Abstract Studios panel, as Jeff Smith and Terry Moore are sharing booth space at the con this year. It says to expect a special announcement from Smith.
• There are also several spotlight panels on the con’s special guests, including Geoff Johns, Leinil Francis Yu, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Gene Yang, Richard Thompson, Gail Simone, Kevin Eastman, Jimmy Gownley and Bill Sienkiewicz, among others.
• As this is the con’s big 40th anniversary, they’ll have several panels that look back at the con’s origins and past … including a reunion panel for most of the members of the band Seduction of the Innocent.
• Movie panels on Thursday include Kick-Ass, Astro Boy and The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, among others.
• There are several “how to” panels featuring creators like Zander Cannon, Andrew Pepoy (who will teach you how to network at the show), J. Michael Straczynski and several creators from Marvel in a panel led by C. B. Cebulski.
• Thursday night brings the debut of the Green Lantern: First Flight animated DVD movie.

Per the site, they’ll be rolling out the schedules for each day over the next four days … so check back often.

If you’d like to submit an event for inclusion, please email them directly to me. Please include the venue, city and state, start time, event details and any related websites where we can send folks for more information. Virtual events, like online creator chats, are also welcome.

Today, June 26

Toronto | Pulp Fiction, an art exhibit featuring the works of Marc Bell, Amy Lockhart, Peter Thompson, Seth Scriver and many more Canadian cartoonists, opens at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. The exhibit kicks off with an opening party tonight at 7 p.m. and runs through Aug. 23. More details can be found here.

Saturday, June 27

Brooklyn, NY | The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund kicks off their “Conversational Comics” series with David Heatley, Lauren Weinstein and Julia Wertz talking about autobiography in comics. Details here.

Chicago | Challengers Comics will host Kathryn Immonen, writer of Hellcat and Runaways, for a signing, cookout and fund-raiser. All proceeds raised at the cookout will benefit the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago. Details can be found here.

Dallas | Detective Comics writer Greg Rucka will sign at Zeus Comics from from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Details available here.

London | Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, Marc Ellerby, Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillen and many more will attend LUC@176, which runs from noon to 7 p.m. at Project Space 176. Details here.

Los Angeles | Golden Apple on Melrose hosts the Berserker release party with Heroes actor Milo Ventimiglia, co-producer Russ Cundiff and artist Jeremy Haun. Details here.

Wenham, Mass. | Superhero Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. as part of the Wenham Museum’s summer exhibit, “Colorful Characters: Storytelling Through Comics.” Details here.

Sunday, June 28

Dundee, Scotland | Warren Ellis, Alan Grant and many more will attend the Literary Dundee, a day of comics programming at the University of Dundee. Details here.

Wednesday, July 1

Bellflower, Calif. | Metropolis Comics hosts Bongo Comics’ Bill Morrison, Tone Rodriguez and Batton Lash for Free Donut Day from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Details here.

Los Angeles | Batman & Robin writer Grant Morrison will sign from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Meltdown Comics on Sunset Blvd. Before the signing, horror writer Clive Barker will host a conversation with Morrison. Details here.

Santa Monica, Calif. | Bad Kids Go to Hell writers Matthew Spradlin and Barry “Bazza” Wernick will sign at Hi De Ho Comics from noon to 8 p.m. More details here.

More in July

July 8 | Christian Alamy in Chicago

July 10-12 | Screaming TikiCon in Cleveland

July 11 | The Asian American ComiCon in New York

July 11 | 100 Bullets event benefiting the Hero Initiative in Los Angeles

July 16 | Dave McKean in Chicago

July 17-23 | Watchmen director’s cut screenings in L.A., NYC, Dallas and Minneapolis

July 18-19 | Frank Santoro teaches a class on line drawing and composition in New York

July 22 | Spider-Man #600 exhibit in San Francisco

July 23-26 | Comic-Con International in San Diego

Bad Milhouse

Jeffrey Brown, one of several creators contributing to Bongo’s Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror comic this year, shares some rough sketches of the first page of his story here and here. His story, “Bad Milhouse,” features Bart’s best friend in a story inspired by the TV movie Bad Ronald.

©2009 Bongo Entertainment, Inc. The Simpsons © & ™Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

I somehow missed this in Tucker Stone’s report from MoCCA last week, but luckily Heidi over at the Beat caught it — Stone spoke with John Kerschbaum about his future projects, and the creator revealed that he’s working on this year’s Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror book for Bongo Comics.

Kerschbaum isn’t the only one working on the book, though; as you can see below in the solicitation copy that Bongo was kind enough to send us, they’ve recruited a Murderer’s Row of creators, including Jeffrey Brown, Kevin Huizenga, Matthew Thurber and many more, and it’s edited by Sammy Harkham of Kramers Ergot fame:

Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #15
Edited by Sammy Harkham
$4.99
48 pages/standard format/color/humor
UPC: 01511 (7-98342-02851-5)

Guest edited by Sammy Harkham, the award-winning creator of the popular Kramers Ergot anthology, this year’s issue is a jam-packed with some of the most idiosyncratic (and weirdest) takes on “The Simpsons” universe ever. Among Halloween-inspired short strips by such visionary cartoonists as Jordan Crane (Uptight), C.F. (Powr Mastrs), Will Sweeney (Tales from Greenfuzz), Tim Hensley (MOME), and John Kerschbaum (Petey & Pussy), are four featured tales of inspired Simpsons lunacy: heralded artists Kevin Huizenga (Ganges, Or Else) and Matthew Thurber (1-800 Mice, Kramers Ergot) collaborate on a weird and wild story equal parts Lovecraftian eco-horror and Philip K. Dick identity comedy. Jeffrey Brown (Incredible Change-Bots, Clumsy) does a creepy and suitably pathetic story featuring Milhouse in a “Bad Ronald”-inspired tale of murder and crawl space living. Harkham and Ted May (INJURY) pull out all the stops for a tragic monster tale of unrequited love, bad karaoke, and body snatching at Moe’s Bar. Ben Jones (Paper Rad) does the comic of his life with an epic tale of how bootleg candy being sold at the Kwik-E-Mart rapidly spirals out of control into an Invasion of The Body Snatchers-like nightmare of a Springfield filled with cheap bootleg versions of familiar characters. And nobody does squishy, sweaty, and gross like up and coming cartoonist Jon Vermilyea (MOME), who outdoes himself with “C.H.U.M.M.,” a C.H.U.D.-inspired parody featuring everybody’s favorite senior citizen, Hans Moleman!

With a cover by Dan Zettwoch, Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #15 is like nothing you’ve ever seen, and is sure to be one of the most talked about comics of the year by alternative comic readers and Simpsons fans of all ages!

This goes on my “must buy” list.