It’s big news, but in an insider-baseball sort of way. Readers who are already riding on the digital comics bandwagon won’t notice a difference. IDW started putting its comics on the comiXology digital comics service a few months ago, and when I checked iVerse’s Comics + app this morning, the IDW comics hadn’t disappeared. That isn’t surprising: IDW has spread its nets wide, putting comics on everything from the Kindle to the manga site eManga. So the headline on the press release is really just a change in the back end. What is really significant is that comiXology now has nearly a complete collection, providing digital distribution and branded apps for almost every major publisher except Dark Horse (which has its own app) and Archie (which puts their comics on comiXology’s Comics app but has iVerse run their branded app).

IDW also announced that it will be releasing all of its comics simultaneously in digital and print, with the digital cover price the same as print. That is consistent with the general trend and, in general, same-day digital publication is a good idea (given that it is happening illegally anyway, so the publishers might as well get in on the game). Pricing digital the same as print ignores the general perception that digital comics are worth less than print editions. I’m not sure ignoring that perception is a good idea, but it’s early days yet, and it will be interesting to see what the prevailing model is a year from now.

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

20th Century Boys, Volume 18

Chris Arrant

If I only had $15, I would only be buying one title this week: 20th Century Boys, Vol. 18 (Viz, $12.99). Sorry Americanos, but Naoki Urasawa is delivering a gripping, sprawling drama that most other books can’t live up to. Wait, I’m wrong – I’d buy two comics with a $15 budget this week; I’d snag the $1 The Strain #1 (Dark Horse, $1) for the price point and Mike Huddleston. I’ve read the novels, but for $1 I can’t miss sampling at least the first issue.

If I had $30, I’d be thankful to double-back and first get Uncanny X-Force #18 (Marvel, $3.99). This issue, the finale of the “Dark Angel Saga,” has been a long time coming and I’m excited for the writing, the art and the story itself; and I can’t forget colorist Dean White, sheesh he’s good. After that I’d pick up my usual Walking Dead #92 (Image, $2.99) and then try Ed McGuinness’ new work in Avengers: X-Sanction #1 (Marvel, $3.99). I’m a big fan of McG’s work, but also realize just how different he is than the standard Marvel (or mainstream super-hero) artist in general. I’ve loved his storytelling sense since Mr. Majestic, and will pick up most any of his work without knowing much about the book itself. Next up would be James Robinson & Cully Hamner’s The Shade #3 (DC, $2.99). I’m surprised DC hasn’t done more marketing for this book, especially considering it’s a character who’s never held a series before; they’ve done little-to-any marketing to define just who the character is, relying on his ties to a lesser-selling series that ended ten years ago (no matter how good it was). Getting off my soapbox: those that have been reading The Shade know it’s good. After that I’d round it off with the best looking comic on shelves, Batwoman #4 (DC, $2.99).

If I was to splurge, I’d double-up my J.H Williams 3 fix with the final volume of Absolute Promethea (DC/ABC, $99.99). Although I already own these issues in singles, getting it over-sized and in hardcover is a treat. I’m hoping it also includes some production art or process sketches – I’m a nut for that.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller

Graeme McMillan

If I just had $15 for comics this week, it’d be gone in one fell swoop, with Fables, Vol. 16: Super Team (DC/Vertigo, $14.99) filling that empty void in my heart I’ve had for the last few months as I’ve awaited the latest collection of Bill Willingham’s long-running series.

If I had $30, however, I’d be picking up The Shade #3, Batwoman #4 and Demon Knights #4 (All DC, $2.99) to continue some of my favorite reads from the New 52 set-up, and sampling the much-hyped Avengers: X-Sanction #1 (Marvel, $3.99) to see if the future of Marvel Comics looks significantly different from its recent past (I suspect that it won’t. Spoilers, as River Song would chide).

In the world of splurging, it really has to be Archaia’s Jim Henson’s The Storyteller hardcover for me ($19.95); with a creative line-up including Jeff Parker, Colleen Coover, Paul Tobin, Ton Fowler and more, this is pretty much an all-star must-read for me, and one I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time.

A Tale of Sand

Brigid Alverson

If I had $15, I’d stick to singles. Let’s start with Doctor Who #12 ($3.99), from IDW; it’s a Christmas story by Tony Lee. Sold! Next, issue #2 of P.C. Cast’s House of Night ($2.99), from Dark Horse. Yes, it’s vampires — oh, excuse me, “vampyres” — but Joelle Jones’s art kicks it up a notch, bringing in a sense of energy that pushes the story beyond the usual teen-vampire melodrama. Then just for fun I’ll take Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X #4 ($3.50) and Roger Langridge’s Snarked #3 ($3.99). Now that’s a nice stack of comics.

If I had $30, though…the floppies would have to wait, because I’ll be buying A Tale of Sand from Archaia ($29.95). Based on an unproduced film script by Jim Henson, illustrated by Ramon Perez, this book has a lot going for it — the art alone looks fantastic — and I can’t wait to see it.

Splurge: I think I would find it hard to resist the first volume of the Hermes Press collection of My Favorite Martian ($49.99). I loved the show as a kid (although come to think of it, I don’t remember the comics), and I’m hearing good things about Hermes’s production values. And there has to be room in my splurge for vol. 18 of Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, still one of the best manga being published in English.

The Sigh

Chris Mautner

If I had $15: In what must be one of the most notable “gets” in a long while, Archaia picked up the rights to Marjane Satrapi’s latest graphic novel, The Sigh, a seeming Persian-styled fairy tale about love and longing. I really don’t know much about this book other than it’s out, but I’m extremely curious to see what the author of Persepolis is up to now.

If I had $30: I still haven’t gotten the first volume, but new Tezuka is always cause for celebration, so let’s herald the arrival of the second volume of Princess Knight. This brick-sized book collects the remainder of the maestro’s gender-swapping tale of a girl who must pretend to be a boy in order to inherit the throne. I’d also pick up the latest issue of Tales Designed to Thrizzle, because, hey, Michael Kupperman.

Splurge: 500 Portraits is a collection of drawings by the mighty Tony Millionaire of various people, some famous, some not so famous. I’m sure it all will be exquisitely rendered. If I was indeed splurging, this is what I’d go for.

Demon Knights #4

Michael May

If I had $15, I’d grab the latest issues to some series I’ve been enjoying. Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #4 ($2.99) is my easiest pick. I love that series and I’m even more eager to continue reading it having heard about what Jeff Lemire has planned for the future.  Avengers 1959 #4 ($2.99) puts us into the home stretch on that exciting series and like Chris A and Graeme, I’m very much enjoying The Shade, so #3 ($2.99) is another must-get. Demon Knights #4 ($2.99) also goes on the pile, because I’m growing fond of the characters. It also has a fun, high-concept battle going on; I just wish the story moved faster than it is. Since I’ve got $3 left in my pocket, I’ll give Batwoman #4 ($2.99) a shot to see why everyone loves it.

If I had $30, I’d add Moonstone’s Airboy Presents: Air Vixens #1 ($3.50), because I like Valkyrie (no, not that one; the other one) and Black Angel. The rest of my money would go to Marjane Satrapi’s The Sigh ($10.95), because she’s only ever surprised and delighted me.

There are a ton of items I’d love to splurge on, but I managed to narrow the list to three. I’m reading a lot of old Wonder Woman comics lately, so Showcase Presents Wonder Woman, Volume 4 ($19.99) is a welcome release. But I’d gladly wait on that to get either one of Archaia’s Jim Henson books coming out this week: Jim Henson’s The Storyteller ($19.95) or A Tale of Sand ($29.95). Both sound fantastic, but if forced to choose, I’d grab Storyteller first for its impressive line-up of its own storytellers. In addition to the ones Graeme mentioned above, I’m especially looking forward to stories by Roger Langridge, Marjorie Liu, Ron Marz, Francesco Francavilla, Chris Eliopoulos, Colleen Coover, and Janet Lee.

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?

Doctor Who

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

Let’s give all credit to IDW for their sense of timing. I’m so psyched up in advance of this Saturday’s return of Doctor Who to my television screen that this Wednesday’s release of Doctor Who Annual 2011 (IDW, $7.99) seems like the ideal way to prepare myself. If I had $15, I’d happily spend more than half of it on that particular anthology. The rest would go towards closing out the current incarnation of the DCU, as I’d be grabbing both Action Comics #904 and Batman: Gates of Gotham #5 (Both DC, $2.99).

If I had $30, I’d keep going with my DC Deathwatch: Batman Incorporated #8? Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #13? Xombi #6? (All DC, $2.99)To me, my funnybooks! I’m also curious enough about Kevin Smith’s Bionic Man #1 (Dynamite, $3.99) – done by the same team who made his Green Hornet surprisingly enjoyable, Phil Hester and Jonathan Lau – that I’ll probably pick it up to see if that particular lightning can strike twice.

Splurgewise, I’m unsure whether I’ve actually read the stories in the Esperanza collection of Jaime Hernandez’ Love & Rockets stories (Fantagraphics, $18.99) – I tend to lose track of the material between the first L&R run and the new one, for some reason – but if I haven’t, then that, for sure. And if I have, then there’s always a new volume of Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys (Vol. 16, Viz, $12.99)…

Brigid Alverson

If I had a dollar…

In Sunday’s What Are You Reading column, I mentioned how much I enjoyed Tony Lee and Andrew Currie’s Doctor Who Volume 2 #1 (terribly unwieldy title) in which Rory’s spam e-mails come to life (holograms, actually) and infest the Tardis, and I was recommending spending two bucks on the digital edition. Well, scrap that: IDW is publishing a dollar edition and that, my friends, is the bargain of the week.

Spontaneous

Now, if I had 14 more dollars, the choices become more complex. Obviously I have to buy Kill Shakespeare #12 ($3.99), because that wraps up the series, and an excellent series it has been. Next into the basket is the third issue of Spontaneous ($3.99); I liked the first two issues, in which a misfit and an intrepid girl reporter go after a series of mysterious apparent cases of spontaneous human combustion, and Brett Weldele’s luminous art seals the deal for me. Then I’ll toss the latest issue of MAD Magazine ($5.99) on top of the stack and consider my comics buying a job well done.

At the $30 level, I’m tempted to pick up something for my nieces and nephew, as there are a lot of good kids’ books out this week in the $10 neighborhood. I’m a particular fan of Frank Cammuso’s Knights of the Lunch Table books-reading them is like watching an animated cartoon-so I’m going to go for the third volume, The Battling Bands ($11.95). That leaves just enough for an Archie comic, and this week’s Archie #624 features yet another story ripped from the headlines-Dilton Doiley goes head-to-head with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg-so include me in!

At the top of my splurge list this week are two very different vintage comics books, Blackjacked and Pistol Whipped: A Crime Does Not Pay Primer ($19.99), edited by Denis Kitchen and filled with vintage issues of that comic, and Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising ($28.99). Both of these are reasonably priced, so I might just pick ‘em both up. And if I’m feeling indulgent, I’ll add the two new Kids Club graphic novels from Top Shelf, Okie Dokie Donuts and Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken, both $9.95, and BOOM! Studios’ Wordgirl: Coalition of Malice ($7.99) to cement my position as The Best Aunt.

Chris Mautner

Batman Inc.

If I had $15:

Issue 8 of Batman Incorporated is a given, but I’d also probably nab Okie Dokie Donuts by Chris Eliopoulus ($9.95). I really enjoyed his last comic, the effervescent Monster Party, enough to at least take a gander at this one.

If I had $30:

I’ve already got a copy, but let me recommend plunking down your entire $30 on the 301st issue of The Comics Journal. This brick of a … magazine? book? journal? features some great essays and interviews, most notably Tim Kreider’s lengthy analysis of Cerebus, and an extensive roundtable on R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis, including a thoughtful interview with Crumb hisself.

But if it’s softcore smut you’re looking for, there’s the Pin-Up Art of Humorama, which features gag cartoons by folks like Dave Berg and Brad “Marmaduke” Anderson about buxom secretaries being chased around their desks by portly, lustful employers and whatnot.

Splurge:

Certainly the $69.95 hardcover, signed and numbered edition of Anders Nilsen’s major, 15-years in the making, graphic novel Big Questions seems like the big splurge of the week. The book is thick; you could build your upper arm strength just by lifting this baby a few times. But the book’s well worth the price and weight.

JK Parkin

New Mutants #30

Allrighty, $15 … top of my list this week would be New Mutants #30 ($2.99), a Fear Itself tie-in that I’m getting it because Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have made this title a hell of a lot of fun. They’re good at that. I’d then get four reliably good titles — Chew #20 ($2.99), FF #8 ($2.99), Northlanders #43 ($2.99) and Batman Inc. #8 ($2.99).

If I had $30, I’d also grab Xombi #6 ($2.99) … like Batman Inc., this is the last issue before the big DC relaunch next month, but unlike Batman Inc., we’ve had no indication that this one will be back. Which is too bad; it gets announced, it starts up, everything changes and once again we have no Xombi title. Hopefully we won’t have to wait so long to see it again. I’d also get Oni’s Spontaneous #3 ($3.99).

Splurge this week is pretty easy, since I’ve been waiting a long time for it — Kagan McLeod’s Infinite Kung-Fu ($24.95) from Top Shelf.

Michael May

Wonder Woman #614

If I had $15, I’d say good-bye to a couple of series with Xombi #6 ($2.99) and Wonder Woman #614 ($2.99). I have a positive outlook about Wonder Woman’s new direction under Azzarello and Chiang, but I hope that Xombi also eventually finds its way into the DCnU. Next, I’d pick up the penultimate, fourth issue of Mystery Men ($2.99), another series I’ll be sad to see end when it’s done. But it’s not all about farewells this week, because I’m also saying hello to the first issue of IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ongoing ($3.99).

If I had $30 though, I’d trade-wait TMNT and Wonder Woman to make room for the Marineman collection, A Matter of Life and Death ($19.99). I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the series in single-issues and can’t wait to read it again in this form.

As usual, I have a hard time picking one splurge item. Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken ($9.95) sounds like a lot of fun, but I’ve also been eagerly awaiting the collection of Josh Fialkov’s Echoes ($19.99). However, I’ve been waiting for the balance of Kagan McLeod’s awesome Infinite Kung-Fu ($24.95) for nine years, so if I had to pick just one, that would be it.

Elf World

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Today our special guest is Fantagraphics’ Marketing Director Mike Baehr, who runs their indispensable company blog, Flog!, among other duties.

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

*****

Tim O’Shea

Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts 162: Holy crap, Jeff Parker. How long have you been holding onto to the Giant-Sized Man-Thing card? Best Thunderbolts moment in a long time. In the increased publishing schedule dynamic, I do not think I will ever see a more jarring shift than when the story shifts from Valentine De Landro to Matthew Southworth.

Supergirl 67: Really ashamed that we do not get to read more of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Supergirl. But good lord, Chriscross’ penchant for drawing ugly-as-hell bone structured faces almost killed any enjoyment I had in this story. It astounds me how such an accomplished and talented artist utterly fails to make any effort to consistently draw character’s faces the same way. Extra points to DeConnick for ending the issue on a note that would have been a mild series gamechanger (a secret revealed) had the series continued beyond this point.

Venom 6: OK this whole Spider Island event. Am I the only person that sings Spider Island to the melody of that 1970s rock classic by Jay Ferguson, Thunder Island, whenever I see the phrase? I have one question was it writer Rick Remender or artist Tom Fowler who decided to have the Venom symbiote bond with a dog? Visually a great bit. There’s always a fun horror-vibe whenever the issues are drawn by Fowler.

Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors 4: The issue opens with a great battle scene (with beautifully vibrant colors by Carlos Carrasco), leading to, of all things, a study group session? (This series is like 1960s X-Men comics, but on acid, which is a good thing for me [the comic, not the acid, that is]). But what makes this issue a must buy for me is writer Mark Andrew Smith and artist Armand Villavert’s dead-on riff on Scott McCloud’s storytelling approach in Understanding Comics (special thanks to my friend Dugan Trodglen for pointing this out to me). An aside, the issue is dedicated to Scott McCloud (“one of the greatest teachers in comics”).

Power Girl 27: Matthew Sturges tells a 60-second story. With Power Girl’s speed, of course, there’s a lot to cram in that 60 seconds. But honestly, it must be hard to understand all that she says in that 60 seconds, because she says a lot. Matthew Sturges, another writer who writes females well. Curious to see where he’ll end up in the new DCU.

Cloak & Dagger: Spider Island 1: This actually came out last week, but my pal Dugan convinced me to pick it up this week. Glad I did. Writer Nick Spencer and artist Emma Rios clearly are taking a swing at an ongoing series with this miniseries. So far, the Spider Island connection is fairly mo’s second dular, they could have just as easily plugged in a Fear Itself moment and run the same story. I am not complaining, as the dual (Cloak & Dagger) narration that Spencer employs is really effective. Much of the first issue is a rehash of where the characters have been before, but the life recap actually served to draw me into the tale. I look forward to seeing what issue 3 brings. I’m really impressed with how much more confident and effective that Rios’ art has gotten since the Strange miniseries (with Mark Waid) from a year or so back.

Hulk 39: So my good pal (and I must add, damn fine writer) Carla Hoffman does not feel the love for Red Hulk (as documented in this week’s always must read Fifth Color) that I so clearly possess. This issue perfectly exemplifies why I find Parker and artist Gabriel Hardman’s Hulk to be a great exploration of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. Despite the fact that he cannot currently change back to his human form, Red Hulk is very much defined by the human that Ross is. No one else creates as cinematic-like and dynamic layouts as Hardman. The flashback to Ross’ childhood in this issue is some of the most compelling storytelling I’ve read in months. I want a whole damn arc with Thaddeus and his childhood pals. Hoffman, please read this issue.

Daredevil 2: In this issue, writer Mark Waid subtextually reveals that he wants to marry Captain America’s shield. But seriously, I think spending time as BOOM’s big editorial honcho gave Waid a chance to sit back and look at the dynamics of the Marvel universe (something he obviously had mulled prior to BOOM admittedly) and is allowing that inform his approach to this book. Dating back to the days of Waid’s second run on Captain America, I have clearly appreciated his basic concept of seeing Marvel heroes and their weapons as props to be explored (remember when Cap lost his shield for that run?). As issue 2 opens, Daredevil quickly gains control of Cap’s shield and Cap snags DD’s billy club. To see the way the two tacticians wield the weapons is a storytelling treat, particularly given artist Paolo Rivera’s complete commitment to the scenes. DD uses Cap’s shield as an urban boogieboard, for Pete’s sake. When Waid has DD say: “That thing (the shield) is beautifully balanced, by the way. It’s like touching a Stradivarious. High point of my evening.” I giggled in delight like my 10 year old self. In two issues this creative team has given me the DD I have not seen since the days of Karl Kesel’s short run (#353-357, 359-364 [thanks very much manwithoutfear.com])–a fun to read comic. Added bonus, editor Steve Wacker runs a letter column with letters from the 1960s issues.

Tom Bondurant

2001: A Space Odyssey

Finally, the magic of eBay has delivered unto me Jack Kirby’s Monolith-sized adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the combination of Kubrick, Clarke, and the King was pretty engaging. I had read some of the regular-series 2001, and of course I have seen the movie (and read the books) many times over, but this felt much more like ’70s Cosmic Kirby — much more in the spirit of The Eternals, say — than a straightforward adaptation. In fact, Kirby’s dynamism is diametrically opposite Kubrick’s cool, meditative style. Thus, the Dawn Of Man scenes are beefed up with insight into Moon-Watcher’s thoughts and feelings. Dr. Floyd and his colleagues get a little more attention. The Star-Gate sequence is translated into a series of breathtaking double-page spreads. Kirby does a pretty faithful version of the famous bone-to-satellite jump-cut, but he modifies the look of the Pan Am clipper to more closely resemble the (then-experimental) Space Shuttle orbiter. Ironically, the characters who suffer the most are Bowman and Poole, both of whom come across fairly generic. In a way, this was in keeping with Kirby’s plans for the regular series, in which a procession of ordinary humans were transformed by the power of the Monolith. Still, Kirby’s 2001 and Clarke/Kubrick’s 2001 share the same basic cautions about humanity’s development, and in the end that’s what matters.

I’ve also been catching up on John Ostrander and Jan Duursema’s Star Wars Legacy series, having bought a couple of paperbacks from the emptying shelves at the local Border’s. So far I’m through volume 3, and I like it pretty well. Cade Skywalker does have a somewhat predictable “you can’t make me” attitude, although I guess that’s one way of following in his ancestors’ whiny ways. Also, I can’t quite get past his relentlessly-coiffed appearance, which threatens to be more monsters-of-rock than a Star Wars character should be. Overall, though, it’s a good next-generation take on the Galaxy Far, Far Away, and it stands alone well enough that the occasional ties to the movies are just a bonus.

There’s something of an unfinished aesthetic to the first few years of “New Look” Batman stories (reprinted in color in Dynamic Duo Archives Vols. 1 and 2, and in the black-and-white Showcase Presents Batman Vol. 1). Mostly this is due to the relative lack of Carmine Infantino pencils. The Bob Kane studio (including Sheldon Moldoff) still drew the bulk of the stories, with Infantino only on covers and pencilling every other issue of Detective. (Inker Joe Giella gave everything a consistent feel.)

Among the memorable stories so far are November 1964′s “Zero Hour For Earth!” (Batman #167) and “Hunters of the Elephants’ Graveyard!” (Detective #333), and “Partners In Plunder!” from February 1965′s Batman #169. “Zero Hour” was written by Bill Finger, with pencils credited to Bob Kane, and features Batman and Robin on a globetrotting mission to stop the nefarious organization known as Hydra. (Yes, this predated Marvel’s Hydra by a couple of years, but the Bat-office might already have taken a shot at Marvel a few months earlier, when a megalomaniacal mutant threatened the world in “The Man Who Quit The Human Race!”) Anyway, “Zero Hour” is the kind of story that the hairy-chested love god of the ’70s would have found familiar; although Kane/Moldoff’s Batman was hardly hairy-chested. “Hunters” was written by Gardner Fox and pencilled by Infantino, and it is probably the last word on Batman vs. a herd of rampaging pachyderms. Specifically, it’s very effective at setting up the elephants as noble creatures, and then turning them into a giant mass of stampeding trouble. Most clever of this bunch is “Partners In Plunder,” written by Ed “France” Herron and pencilled by Moldoff, which finds the Penguin deciding simply to create random chaos with trick umbrellas, and then basing his future capers on Batman’s subsequent speculation. It’s a neat idea which plays perfectly off of the “Batman is never fooled” trope, and in fact it ends with the Penguin in prison and Batman never realizing he’s been duped.

Finally, I enjoyed the Batman and Wonder Woman ’90s Retro-Active specials, mostly because the creative teams of Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle and William Messner-Loebs & Lee Moder produced stories which didn’t miss any beats from their earlier work. The Wonder Woman story especially made me wonder why DC wouldn’t turn to Messner-Loebs and Moder more often. Sure, it was a quiet, character-oriented piece about Wonder Woman bonding with a group of mallrat girls, but the reprint was the start of Messner-Loebs’ outer-space saga, and that was plenty action-oriented. If anything lasting comes out of the Retro-Active experiment, I really do hope it involves more work for Messner-Loebs, who clearly still has the chops to handle these characters.

Brigid Alverson

21

I have started reading Wilifred Santiago’s “21″: The Story of Roberto Clemente several times, but I always wandered off: This time I pulled it off my stack and read it most of the way through. I love Santiago’s style and his depiction of Clemente’s childhood in Puerto Rico, but the story is hard to follow for a number of reasons. One is the huge cast of characters, who simply appear and start having conversations as if they had known each other forever, with no background on who they are. The story also moves around in
time in a confusing way, especially in the beginning, and seems to skip important events‹how did Clemente go from being voted 8th in the Most Valuable Player poll to having Roberto Clemente Day at Three Rivers Stadium ten years later? Still, Santiago really captures the feeling of listening to a ball game on a hot summer day, and his story is rich and complex, if flawed. I’m glad I read it.

Also on the stack this week was an advance copy of The Last Dragon, a gorgeous fantasy graphic novel written by YA author Jane Yolen (Foiled) and illustrated by Rebecca Guay, who is probably best known as one of the illustrators of the card game Magic: The Gathering. Guay’s style is a throwback to the Golden Age of children’s books, reminiscent of Maxfield Parrish and Arthur Rackham in its combination of pseudo-classical styling and luminous color. I usually find books like this boring, but Yolen pairs up a smart young woman with a blowhard Fabio look-alike to accomplish the central task of the story, killing a dragon that has been terrorizing a small village. It’s a fairy-tale type story that manages to feel fresh despite its traditional setting and tropes. It’s due out in early September, and it’s definitely something to watch for.

Finally, I picked up Doctor Who Volume II: The Ripper on a whim and I really enjoyed it. The book collects four of IDW’s Doctor Who comics featuring the Eleventh Doctor. In the first story, Rory uses a cell phone in the Tardis and as a result all his (and Amy’s) spam and social-networking contacts come to life. It’s very well done, and some of the anthropomorphized spam made me laugh out loud. The second story comprises three arcs of the comic and it’s a Doctor Who take on Jack the Ripper. You really don’t have to be familiar with the television program to enjoy these stories‹I have been away from Doctor Who since the 1970s, and I still could follow them. In fact, it
worked the other way for me: I started watching the show with my daughter and I actually knew who the characters are. Incidentally, all the stories are available via IDW’s digital app, for less than the cost of the trade paperback, and if you have an iPad, the two bucks you spend on that first story will be the best money you spend all week.

Mike Baehr

My to-read pile contains about 12 feet of graphic novels and comics right now, with about half of that being Fantagraphics stuff — we’re literally putting out books faster than I can read them. I’ll try not to be too much of a shill for my employers, but what kind of Marketing Director would I be if I didn’t love what we put out?

I just finished plowing through my stash of minicomics from the Stumptown Comics Fest. Elf World from Family Style is a fun anthology series of fantasy stories by independent and small-press artists, and the first 2 issues of the 2nd volume have the nicest production values I’ve seen in minicomics, with gorgeous letterpress covers illustrated by Sammy Harkham and Daria Tessler. Salad Days by Minty Lewis is another standout — no one depicts awkward conversations and the minor humiliations of life quite like her, and all with a cast of talking fruit, which gives it a sense of absurdity but somehow heightens my empathy for the characters at the same time. Too Dark to See by Julia Gfrörer is chilling for the way it depicts how the damage that we do to ourselves and each other is far greater than any supernatural threat. And after one issue I’ve completely fallen in wuv with Ed Luce’s adorable and hilarious Wuvable Oaf (soon to be seen in Fantagraphics’ forthcoming queer comics anthology No Straight Lines), which stars a big hairy metal-and-Morrissey-loving gay dude and his friends, plus a bunch of kitties. I definitely need to pick up the rest of that series.

The Box Man

At Comic-Con last month I finally picked up a copy of The Box Man by Imiri Sakabashira, published by our “Distinguished Qompetition.” It’s like a mashup of a Jim Woodring Frank story, Hans Rickheit’s The Squirrel Machine, and a Mat Brinkman comic (with maybe a dash of Brian Ralph) as the protagonist and his animal companion journey through an incredibly detailed detritus-strewn urban underbelly on a mysterious mission, encountering various forms of peril and bizarre debauchery along the way. It’s part maximum weirdness, part straight-up thrilling action, all depicted with breathtaking skill. I’m surprised I didn’t hear more about this book when it first came out.

My current favorite ongoing webcomic is Steven Weissman’s Barack Hussein Obama, which I have the privilege of posting on the Fantagraphics website every week. Steven’s work has undergone a really interesting transformation over the last few years, and he really cuts loose with this sketchbook strip, mashing up old-fashioned gag humor, Lovecraftian horror, bizarre nonsequiturs and absurd interpersonal drama. It’s a combination that could only come from Steven and it makes for a dizzying and thrilling reading experience. I also enjoy seeing the remastered reruns each week at What Things Do (the best webcomics site out there bar none), and I’m excited that we’ll be putting out a book collection of the strip next year.

There’s a ton of recent and upcoming Fantagraphics books that I’m chomping at the bit to read (Prison Pit 3, Michael Kupperman’s Mark Twain book, Gahan Wilson’s Nuts, Willie & Joe: Back Home, The Man Who Grew His Beard) but one that leaped to the top of the pile was the new 4th issue of the Hernandez Brothers’ Love and Rockets: New Stories. I actually first read this as a printout a few weeks ago but it’s been hard to stop picking it back up now that I have a bound copy. Pretty much everyone who’s read it has said that it moved them to tears, and I’m no exception. Jaime’s stories in the issue are some of the most emotionally powerful fiction I’ve ever read — as devastating as “Browntown” was in the last issue, Jaime takes it to the next level here. Brace yourself because Jaime takes you on a rollercoaster ride. So many “oh my god” and “holy crap” moments. And Gilbert is absolutely at the top of his game here too. The metafictional world he’s been building over the last few years is super-fascinating to me, and the new directions he pushes himself within that world are exhilarating.

To continue in shill mode for just a bit longer, another thing I just read is the Fantagraphics Spring/Summer 2012 distributors catalog, with all of our books slated for April-August of next year, which we just sent off to the printer. People tell me all the time that we put out too many good books, all I can do is agree and say HOO-EE, that’s not about to change anytime soon!

Graphic designer and freelance illustrator Bob Canada has followed up his first Doctor Who infographic with one featuring the best Who enemies from the ’60s and ’70s.

Someone please hire this man to design a Doctor Who animated series. Or an ongoing for IDW. That would be good too.

Of course, this isn’t surprising. Geek culture and a love of gadgets go hand in hand, and it’s natural that these magazines would lose readership to the internet. Print magazines have a significant turnaround time that keeps them from breaking news, but beyond that, the web has become the gathering spot for fans of individual properties. When you can connect with other fans of Torchwood, Sailor Moon, or RPGs via the internet, paper becomes superfluous. The irony is that the “geek” fan community is probably larger than ever; it’s magazines that have dwindled away to almost nothing.

Dark Horse Presents #1

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 Arrant

If I had $15, the first pick this week would be the relaunched Dark Horse Presents #1 (Dark Horse, $7.99). As a reader of the title in all its previous incarnations, I have a love for the format but also a desire to see them improve on it; editor Mike Richardson seems to have the right mix of big names and up-and-comers to make this work. Second up would be DMZ #64 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99), and this issue is the final issue in the “Free States Rising” arc and the first real sit-down between Matty and Zee in ages. Third would be Rick Remender’s covert ops squad Uncanny X-Force #8 (Marvel, $3.99). At first glance I question why I like this so much, but when I think about it, it becomes easy: I enjoy Remender’s storytelling, the artists they’ve had and the fearless nature to dig up some classic concepts from early 90s X-Men comics and general Marvel U stuff.

If I found $30 in my pocket instead of $15, I’d double back and pick up a pair of Invincibles: Invincible #79 (Image, $2.99) and Invincible Iron Man #503 (Marvel, $3.99). I really enjoy what these two teams are doing: carving out long expanding story-arcs that can only happen with long-term teams like these two have been fortunate enough to have. Third would be Jason Aaron and Daniel Acuna’s Wolverine #8 (Marvel, $3.99); although Daniel Acuna is known as a more glossy artist akin to Ed McGuinness meets Alex Ross, I think he really bucks that with the story arc he’s working on here. Lastly would be Avengers #12 (Marvel, $3.99) -– it really blows my mind that Bendis and Romita can do such a throw-back classic Avengers story and still keep the high sales going. I’m not complaining -– I love these stories as much as I love Avengers comics of lore, but they never sold this well.

For my splurge, I’d get the 2000 AD Pack Mar 2011 ($25). These are originally sold weekly in the UK, but for U.S. distribution Diamond has them sold in monthly bundles like this. I’m not a regular reader of the progs, but I like to drop in from time to time and… well, this is one of those times.

Graeme McMillan

Legion of the Damned

Weirdly enough, if I had $15 this week, I still wouldn’t be able to get the two comics I really want this week. Let’s make that happen by stealing a dollar from the Schroedinger’s Cat me that has $30 for a second so that I can grab both Dark Horse Presents #1 (Dark Horse, $7.99), the new take on the classic anthology, and DC Comics Presents Legion Of Super-Heroes: Legion Of The Damned #1 (DC, $7.99), the collection of the “Zombies In Future Space!” storyline from a few years ago that launched the Abnett/Lanning/Oliver Coipel-era of the franchise; I read the latter part of that run, but have always been curious about the never-before-collected opening. Now is my chance!

If I had $30, I’d wonder why another me stole a dollar earlier on, but I’d move on and pick up the first issue of Matt Sturges’ new Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life (IDW, $3.99) to get myself in the mood for this weekend’s return of the show to BBC America (Seriously, I cannot wait) and a couple of Marvel oddities: Spectacular Spider-Man #1000 (Marvel, $4.99) — a home for unused inventory stories, perhaps, but I like Spider-Man and anniversary issues, even fake ones like this — and the Marvel Backlist Reading Chronology #1 (Marvel, $1.99), in which Marvel apparently admits that its backlist needs a score card to keep straight.

Splurgewise, there’s some good material out there (Martian Confederacy Vol. 2? The new Dan Clowes, “Mister Wonderful”?), but my heart belongs to the new Astro City collection, Shining Stars (DC, $24.99). I was a latecomer to Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson’s love letter to superheroes and superhero comics, but that doesn’t mean I love the series any the less. I’m really looking forward to this one.

Chris Mautner

Tubby

If I had $15:

I’d also grab a dollar from Graeme’s alternate universe self and pick up a copy of Tubby Vol. 3: The Frog Boy ($15.99). Taking money from a theoretical version of Mr. McMillan may seem unfair, but I’m pretty ruthless when it comes to getting my hands on some John Stanley.

If I had $30:

Dan Clowes’ Mister Wonderful ($19.99), the collected version of the lovelorn misanthrope story he did for The New York Times, looks pretty nifty and was the talk of MoCCA, so that would probably be my first pick. I’d also at least flip through the latest volume of 20th Century Boys ($12.99), The Klondike, Zach Worton’s debut graphic novel about the Yukon gold rush back in the early part of the 20th century ($24.95), and Girl and Gorilla ($10.99), Maddy Flores’ book about … well, it’s there in the title, isn’t it? Actually, I’d probably just nab more cash from Earth-2 Graeme, since he’s apparently rather flush with cash in that universe.

Splurge:

It’s not a splurge for me since I already own them, but if you want to dip your toe into Robert Crumb waters, Fantagraphics has new editions of Vol. 13 and 15 ($19.99 each) in their Complete Crumb line. Both feature some really great works by the master. As for myself, I normally wouldn’t splurge on something like Archie: Seven Decades of America’s Favorite Teenager ($49.99), but since Graeme’s footing the bill, I’ll indulge.

JK Parkin

Fables #104

Unfortunately I have some bad news for Earth-1 and Earth-2 Graeme, assuming they were both interested in Legion Of Super-Heroes: Legion Of The Damned #1 … per an email this morning from one of the retailers where I get my comics, apparently the chapters were printed in the wrong order and it won’t be out until May 11.

With my own $15 I’d first grab the new Robert Kirkman/Jason Howard all ages title about a boy genius and his best friend, Super Dinosaur #1 ($2.99). I’d follow it up with Fables #104 ($2.99), which continues the Super Fables storyline. Greg Pak is having a lot of fun with the de-powered Silver Surfer, and I’m having fun reading it, so I’d grab issue #3 ($2.99). And lastly, two current favorites, Legion of Super-Heroes #12 and Zatanna #12, both $2.99, would round it out, leaving me just a few pennies to donate to Earth-2 Graeme, who likely could use some financial help after all the money that’s “disappeared” from his wallet lately.

If I had $30, I’d also get Amity Blamity ($10.95), the new graphic novel by Mike White. That leaves room for one more book, so I figure why not try out 68 #1, the new zombie comic from Mark Kidwell and Jay Fotos.

Splurgewise, there’s lots to choose from; I’d probably get both The Martian Confederacy: From Mars With Love ($15) and the Mr. Wonderful collection ($19.95).

Michael May

Sigil #2

If I had $15:

I’d start with the Marvel Backlist Reading Chronology ($1.99) because it’s cheap, because I’m the kind of nerd who enjoys reading things in order (though I suppose that describes most of us), and because when I switched from periodical issues to collected editions, I did so haphazardly without a real plan. That means that I’ve missed a lot of stuff I’d like to read and appreciate Marvel’s coming up with an aid to help me correct that. It would be nicer if it was free, since it’s essentially a catalog, but I’m not going to gripe about paying $2 for almost 100 pages of reading suggestions.

Next I’d get Sigil #2 ($2.99), which re-introduces El Cazador to comics readers and Skaar: King of the Savage Land #2 ($2.99) for obvious reasons. Switching over to Image, I’d also add Super Dinosaur #1 ($2.99) to see if it’s more than just a fun concept and ’68 #1 ($3.99) because I enjoyed the Viet Nam/Night of the Living Dead-prequel one-shot and think there’s enough there to explore that world some more.

If I had $30:

I’d add Amity Blamity, Volume 1 ($10.95) because it’s about a little girl who – with her pet pig – has to save her moonshining uncle from genetic mutation at the hands of “strange forest critters.” It’s probably wrong that the most attractive part of the story for me is the idea of the girl and her pig as ‘shine-runners. I’d read it just for that. Lurkers in the woods are bonus.

Splurge:

Like Graeme and Chris, I’m looking forward to Dark Horse Presents #1 ($7.99), but the price tag makes it a splurge item for me. I don’t think it’s over-priced – $8 for 80 pages is a good deal – but the extra pages and color print aren’t necessary. I’d rather have the old format. Still, that’s an impressive line-up of creators and the DHP name sets a high bar for expectations of quality, so I imagine that I’ll regret it if I leave the store without this.

2000 AD Prog #1722

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Our special guest this week is Mark Kardwell, who can be found blogging regularly over at Bad Librarianship Now or rocking out with the Klams.

To find out what Mark and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …

*****

Carla Hoffman

This was a good week for comics, at least for me. I’ve been reading Amazing Spider-Man and feel like they turned on the THX sound system in the story and artwork. The last couple issues have been dramatic and full of characterization and depth that I am going to wave my Spider-Man flag high, despite haters hating and fans who can’t let go of the past missing out on some truly beautiful storytelling.

Fantastic Four #588

I also liked Fantastic Four #588 and have indeed enjoyed the “Four” storyline leading up to this historic moment (PS: Marvel, don’t make me look like a fool by believing in you and rebooting the Fantastic Four in six months with a brand new #1). But I think you know all this and me waxing poetic on the above might get a little redundant.

Also redundant is my great and glowing adoration for Matt Fraction’s Thor, a fierce and powerful admiration that you can see from the blackest of infinite space. Thor #620 came out on Wednesday and my heart was full by reading the first sentence on the page. There is so much glory to this great and sweeping divine epic that Fraction weaves so well with the dreamlike and fantastic art of Pasqual Ferry, I know when I pick an issue, I am receiving the finest nectar of the Marvel gods. Nothing is going to sway me from my true and perfect trust that Asgardian Blood Colossus magic is older than the nine hills. That battle will be joined, and heroes will be be born and raised in a blood and bone brilliance of myth and power.

Now, all of the above might be telling as to why I did not enjoy Morning Glories vol. 1. Being rather cool and popular, not to mention well received, that doesn’t normally hit my pull list, I bought the extremely well presented first TP for a song and was looking forward to it. I read my way into this web of intrigue and social experimentation with the sharpest young minds on the planet with healthy helping of mystery and suspense to propel me through the book. And promptly get me struck about three-fourths of the way through. Keep in mind I never watched Lost either, so maybe it’s me. Maybe I prefer to have my protagonists to shout the the heavens in a rage that ecplises the moon against foes from another realm of thought rather that fight the system against an administration that can kill with a casual thought and some spectral presence in the basement. But on the other hand, I rather love Sweet Tooth, Jeff Lemire’s mysterious tale of a deer child and the complete unknowns he lives in, so maybe it’s not me. Maybe the high school setting? The lack of fantasy? The rather cheapness of death presented by hollow and stereotypical children in a cartoonishly oppressive environment? Disappointment wanes in the face Thor and a promised blade that could slice through time and space itself. Somethings are just not for me and others seem tailor-made.

It is a good week for comics.

Brigid Alverson

I idly picked up Julia Wertz‘s Drinking at the Movies this weekend and quickly fell into it. I read it once before, and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Drinking at the Movies is an autobiographical comic about the author’s move from San Francisco to Brooklyn, told in single-page vignettes about different aspects of her life—her friends, her drinking, her terrible jobs. It’s absolutely the opposite of the self-indulgent indy comic; Wertz takes a clear-eyed look at her own failings but she makes you laugh when she describes them. She has been posting pages from it at her website, and they’re well worth a look. This was one of the best books of 2010, and it’s criminal that it didn’t get more attention.

Manga-wise, I’m reading Countdown 7 Days on Digital Manga’s eManga website. It’s set in the grey area between life and death, and it features just a handful of characters—Hanasuke, a young man who has just died but wants to go back to life, Mitamura, a cold-blooded teacher who is disliked by everyone for his emotionlessness, and Tsuru, a crazy girl who goes on a field trip to the world of the living and then escapes. Mitamura and Hanasuke team up to find Tsuru, but the clock is ticking—if they don’t locate her within seven days, she becomes an evil spirit. This is a fairly standard plot but it’s handled in a unique way, with real attention to the emotional conflicts of the characters and a polished, linear style, so it’s better than your average afterlife manga.

Mark Kardwell

There’s something of a rebirth going on in comics publishing kicking off in the UK at the moment, at both periodical and graphic novel levels. I’ve been reading three stalwarts of the UK’s comics industry, 2000AD, The Dandy and Doctor Who Magazine. All three are magazines which, at one time or another, I probably thought I’d never read again.

2000AD remains like a religion for UK comics readers and creators. And, like Catholicism, even those lapsed from reading it still harbour strong opinions about it. I do occasionally see the odd sycophant online saying that 2000AD has never been better, but that’s far from the truth. It’s hardly the creative hothouse it was during the Steve McManus-era, and it probably isn’t even as consistent as it was under the recent Andy Diggle-era, but it is still damned good, a national treasure, current-Tharg Matt Smith is capable of pleasing me greatly with some inspired commissioning choices, and (like Diggle) has proven adept at enticing classic 2000AD creators back into the fold.

Speaking of national treasures, The Dandy is probably the classic UK comic for all sorts of reasons (even if Eric Clapton was reading its stablemate The Beano on the front cover of that Bluesbreakers LP). It is also most people over here’s first regularly read comic, and it’s also the first comic people have the experience of growing out of. In the last few months, however, it has staged a rather miraculous turnaround in fortunes. For decades creatively moribund, rehashing the styles and creations of artists either deceased or long departed (US readers: think if DC still published Superman by an endless line of uncredited Al Plastino ghosts), it has recently been re-energised by the hiring of a new generation of web cartoonists (Jamie Smart, Nigel Auchterlounie, Andy Fanton, amongst others), often producing new career-highs as they in turn are re-energised by the prospect of a whole new (and considerably younger) audience. I’d hate to jinx the magic that’s going on over there right now, but in many ways, I’d compare what is going on over there to when Kurtzman was running Help! In the Sixties, bringing lots of underground artists to prominence.

Doctor Who Magazine proudly announced itself on its latest front cover as “the world’s number one top-selling sci-fi monthly magazine”, and this isn’t terribly surprising. As any fule know, print magazines are dying on their ass, and the DWM is lucky in these times to be piggy-backing on the seemingly unfailing success of the reborn Doctor Who franchise. This success means that it is an extraordinary forum for comics, and the magazine has a hell of a history with the artform. It has published work over the years by the biggest and best creators of the last three decades (from Alan Moore and Grant Morrison to Dave Gibbons and Mick McMahon), and has tempted me back to buying it regularly for the first time in about twenty years by featuring work by creators of the calibre of Roger Langridge, Rob Davis and Dan McDaid. Whoever (arf!) is commissioning work over there is a man of good taste.

On a non-UK-tip, I got a big box of stuff from my regular comic shop recently, and the stand-out was easily the Daytripper trade paperback. I’ll just add my voice to the chorus of pundits raving about it. It held my interest on so many levels: a book about death that succeeds in being positively life-affirming (probably why I kept thinking about the Flaming Lips as I was reading it); a grown-up work in a market that steadfastly refuses to grow up; a great book about writing by two men commonly regarded as artists; and a work I’d recommend (like Asterios Polyp) to anyone who derisively thinks the term “graphic novel” usually applies to books that barely qualify as novelistic.

Invincible Iron Man #500

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 for this week if you’d like to play along in our comments section.

Graeme McMillan

If I had $15 this week, IDW would be seeing a lot of it. It’s a cheat, because I’ve actually already read both Doctor Who Vol. 2 #1 and GI Joe: Cobra II #12 (both $3.99), but both are licensed comics done right in my opinion; Who in particular really catches the tone of the TV show in a way that the last series, as fun as it was, didn’t quite do (despite the writer, Tony Lee, being the same for both), and Joe has an ending that’ll get the nostalgics in the audience jumping up and down. It’s a weird mix of anti-nostalgia and art appreciation that gets me looking at my other pick of the week, Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man #500, which I’ll be picking up less for the story – although I like the “What if this really was #500 of the current series, and set 40-odd years in the future?” idea behind it – than the art, seeing as the wonderful Nathan Fox, KANO and Carmine Di Giandomenico join the okay-if-you-like-photo-tracing Sal Larroca for this oversized issue.

If I had $30, I’d add Marvel’s Wolverine & Jubilee #1 ($2.99), purely because I like Kathryn Immonen’s writing – I was pretty much turned off of the whole vampire thing by how incredibly bad “Curse of The Mutants” turned out to be – and also BOOM!’s Dracula: In The Company of Monsters collection ($12.99), because I’ve been on a Kurt Busiek kick recently and missed this one the first time around. Apparently, my second $15 is a vampirey one.

Splurge-wise, I’d probably go for the sixth and final Starman Omnibus from DC ($49.99). For whatever reason, the earlier releases of James Robinson’s series bypassed me entirely, and so I’ve been catching up with these deluxe collections that, along with about 12 issues or so per collection, also feature reflective essays from Robinson that are almost worth the price of admission by themselves. Really, really good stuff.

Chris Mautner

The Boys #50

If I had $15:

The 50th issue of The Boys is a must-grab for me ($3.99). For better or for worse I’m pretty much wedded to the series at this point. This new chapter should be “for better” though as it finally reveals what exactly happened between the Boys and The Seven before Hughie joined the team that created their uneasy truce.

On the other end of the spectrum there’s The Smurfette ($5.99; $10.99 hardcover), NBM’s fourth volume of classic Peyo Smurf material. As you’ve probably already guessed this one tells the story of how that lone female of Smurfdom, the Smurfette, came to be. As far as I know it’s the first time this book has been translated for an American audience, and I love me some Peyo, so count me in.

If I had $30:

I might consider picking up the new reprint of Julie Doucet’s My New York Diary ($16.95). Doucet is one of those artists that, for one reason or another, I’ve never delved into too deeply, but this book is supposed to be one of her best, so I’ll likely give it a shot.

Splurge:

I haven’t read The Strangely Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen yet, but I’m kind of curious to see the pseudo-sequel, Denis Kitchen Chipboard Sketchbook ($19.95), a collection of quirky cartoons and other drawings Kitchen has done on a heavy, grainy paper stock for the past several years.

Brigid Alverson

Fraggle Rock #1

If I had $15…

I’d spend it on kids’ comics this week. Let’s start with Fraggle Rock vol. 2 #1, from Archaia ($3.95); I never saw the Jim Henson TV show, but their anthology made me a fan and I’m always up for a bit of goofy, Muppet-flavored humor—especially in January. Then Mickey Mouse #304 ($3.99), from BOOM! Studios—this issue starts their run of classic Disney stories, including an unpublished Floyd Gottfredson story from 1932 and a pirate story from 1934. I love vintage comics, so sign me up for those! Then to round it out, I’ll pick up the latest Archie Double Digest ($3.99), which is a lot of comics for the money, and the latest issue of Tiny Titans ($2.99), because I can never get enough of Art Baltazar.

If I had $30…

I’ll take a chance on vol. 2 of Afterschool Charisma ($12.99), although the reviews I have read say it stalls out a bit in the second volume. The premise of the story is enough to keep me going for a while—it’s about a school whose students are all reincarnations of famous people (Mozart, Joan of Arc, JFK). I read a few chapters of the first volume and liked it a lot, so I shouldn’t have any trouble picking up the thread.

Splurge

MySpace Dark Horse Presents, vol. 6 ($19.99) might seem like a splurge because I’m paying for comics that are still available online for free, but the lineup of talent (Evan Dorkin, Art Baltazar, Stan Sakai, Mark Crilley) and the ability to avoid the horrible MySpace environment make it cheap at twice the price.

Chris Arrant

Northlanders #36

If I had $15 dollars, I’d celebrate the anniversary of Brian Wood Month (R.I.P.) and buy his two titles out this week, DMZ #61 and Northlanders #36 (both $2.99). Although “mainstream” comics press has died down on him a little bit, he’s turned into an epic storyteller – who’d have thought a series about Vikings could have gone on for 36 issues without crossovers, media tie-ins or stunts? The big stunts on his books are the artistic talents, but they’re chosen in such a way that it doesn’t throw off the stories Wood is developing but adding new layers. This month, DMZ has Shawn Martinbrough and Northlanders has Becky Cloonan. With little over nine dollars left, I’d pop my claws over Wolverine #5 ($3.99) and Wolverine & Jubilee #1 ($2.99). In the core title, Jason Aaron has really been telling a different kind of superhero story – probably more un-superhero and just plain out cool. For Wolverine & Jubilee, I’m in it for nostalgia and for the creators. I started reading X-Men shortly before Jubilee came onto the scene and have some kind of spell over me by that god-damn shopping issue they did. As for creators, Kathryn Immonen has shown a real fan-side or intense research that’s had her writing characters like she knows them without telling you that she knows them. Phil Noto’s a real gem too, and has really upped his pace since that Superman/Supergirl series awhile back.

If the good gods of paycheck gifted me with $30, I’d buy more singles – namely Invincible Iron Man #500 ($4.99). This would be something I would’ve regretted not buying earlier, because I really think after all is said and done Fraction will be most remembered for his Iron Man run. I’m interested seeing what he does in this book – and Salvador has really broken through the problems he had in the early issues to come up with something admirable. I’d also pick up Thor #619 ($3.99) – I’m not in love with the writing here as I am in Invincible Iron Man, buy Ferry’s art is worth it just to hold up to your face and look at. I’d spend the last bit of my money on an Image 2-fer — Ben McCool & Nikki Cook’s Memoir #1 and Nick Spencer & Joe Eisma’s Morning Glories #6.

And if I was splurging, I’d get the Rat Catcher GN from Andy Diggle and Victor Ibanez. At his heart, I think Andy DIggle is a British crime writer – albeit one able to do it in space sometimes, or in Hells Kitchen. My hopes are that Rat Catcher will be more un-adulterated than his work-for-hire material and closer to Losers or the great Remy Zero. Victor Ibañez’s art seems uncommonly good, and could be his first beginnings of a breakthrough in terms of public perception. Throwing in a criticism though of the Vertigo Crime books at large, though – a $19.99 price point to try something new is pretty rough. I imagine switching it from hardcovers to softcovers could make it cheaper for people to try it out. In fact, I see it hard for retailers to try it out.

Michael May

Avengers Academy #8

If I had $15:

I’d first grab Bret M Herholz’ adaptation of William Gillette’s 1899 play Sherlock Holmes: The Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner ($11.99). There’s a Gorey/Addams vibe to the art that I like and hey, it’s Sherlock Holmes. Then I’d pick up Avengers Academy #8 ($2.99) to check in on Reptyl, my favorite dinosaur-powered superhero.

If I had $30:

I’d add Dracula: The Company of Monsters, Volume 1 ($12.99). I’m a little tired of corporations-as-villains (too much reality in my fantasy), but I do like that Kurt Busiek and I’m curious to see how the drama plays out between Dracula and corporate America.

Splurge:

There’s a lot to splurge on this week, but I’ll keep it under control and just mention a couple of things. I’ve been wanting to catch up on Ricardo Delgado’s Age of Reptiles series of mini-series since I first heard about it, so his remarkably affordable omnibus ($24.99) is a must-have. I also really want to check out what (from its line-up of characters) should be my favorite superhero team in Secret Avengers, Volume 1: Mission to Mars ($24.99).

Deadpool Team-Up #886

Hello and welcome to a special “birthday bash” edition of our weekly “What Are You Reading” feature, where the Robot 6 crew talks about what books we’ve read recently. Usually we invite a special guest to share what they’ve been reading, but since today isn’t just an ordinary day for us, we thought we’d invite a whole bunch of special guests to help us out — our friends and colleagues from Comic Book Resources, Spinoff and Comics Should Be Good!

To see what everyone has been reading, click below …

*****

Brigid Alverson

Fables Deluxe Edition Hardcover, Vol. 1

I’m trying to catch up on some of the books I missed during the long stretch of my life when I was away from comics, so this week I picked up the first volume of Fables. I like the idea a lot—taking the characters of fairy tales and children’s literature and putting them into adult situations—and the stories are interesting enough to keep me reading. The art bothers me a lot, though. The character designs are fine, but the different elements of each panel don’t work together to create a coherent space. Snow White’s office for example, is in a vast room filled with all sorts of clutter—a flying ship, a toppled column, a suit of armor—but it’s as if every piece was drawn separately and then pasted down, like a Coloforms kit. It’s not as obvious in other parts of the book, but that early scene made me aware of it. Also the characters in this first novel don’t wander far from standard stereotypes—the icy executive woman, the bad boy, the slut, and of course Prince Charming. That’s the cost of using fairy tales as your source material, but I hope the characters develop a bit more complexity. Anyway, it’s a very witty take on the topic and the stories are fun to follow, so I’ll be sticking with it.

Manga-wise, I read the first chapter of Mizuki, a shoujo manga that Digital is publishing on their eManga site. It’s a pretty standard story about a girl who transforms into a devil to fight ghosts; as she is in high school, she tries very hard not to transform because her friends are frightened and revolted by her other form (they don’t know it’s her) and she doesn’t want to scare off the guy she has a crush on. That’s a pretty transparent metaphor for teenage life, and I can see why a book like this would have some appeal for the young-adult crowd. The art is not very distinctive but it is nicely done; I’ll be sticking around for chapter 2 of this one.

Sean T. Collins

Oh, sweet Christmas break! I did a ton of cramming to be properly equipped for doing Best of 2010 lists and now I can kick back and catch up on my prose reading. Right now I’m working my way through an old favorite fantasy series, Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising Sequence. Re-reading it for the first time in years, I’m struck by how much of it is basically info-dumping, yet somehow its tale of the eternal, Arthurian conflict between the Dark and the Light in Britain and Wales still feels immediate and epic.

But there have been plenty of comics on the docket as well. Click the links below for full reviews!

H Day

* H Day by Renee French (PictureBox): French’s elliptical, silent tone poem about her struggle with migraines and ants is a fantastic showcase of her considerable gifts as a crafter of images.

* I Want You #2 by Lisa Hanwalt (Pigeon Press): Body horror, gross-out humor, and insanely detailed drawings of horses and birds and stuff. It’s quite a combo.

* Boy’s Club #4 by Matt Furie (Pigeon Press): Another uproarious installment of Matt Furie’s chronicle of the unrepentant dude-dom.

* Duncan the Wonder Dog by Adam Hines (AdHouse): Despite its rapturous reception elsewhere and my sympathies for its subject matter of animal rights, I found this graphic novel a classic case of reach exceeding grasp.

* The Wrong Place by Brecht Evens (Drawn & Quarterly): Evens uses color like you’ve rarely seen elsewhere to tell the tale of two friends, one a livewire and one a wallflower, and their shared social scene.

* Big Questions #15 by Anders Nilsen (Drawn & Quarterly): The decade-in-the-making conclusion to Nilsen’s haunting series about a flock of birds who were tragically ill-equipped to deal with the incursion of humanity into their world offers no big answers.

Timothy Callahan

The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, by J. W. Rinzler
I’ll admit that the combination of the leaden prequels and video-gamish Clone Wars theatrical release nearly killed my interest in anything Star Wars-related. But I used to be a total Star Wars geek, even going so far as to submit a Star Wars RPG adventure to West End Games in the mid-1990s, though my adventure was rejected because it (a) wasn’t very good, and (b) had what the editor called an “inappropriate title” for something in the Star Wars line. The title? “Attack of the Energy Beasts,” a purposely goofy classic sci-fi homage. I guess, when the second prequel title was announced, years later, that editor probably realized his mistake. Or he said to himself, “Yeah, Lucas doesn’t get it, either.”

Anyway, Rinzler’s massive “Making of…” tomes are the kinds of things that can rekindle interest in that far, far away galaxy. This book focuses on Episode V, of course, and it not only has fascinating behind-the-scenes photographs, and a compelling overview of the struggle to make the movie at a time when no sequel had ever made as much as the original film (Godfather II only did half as well as the original, for example, and that was the best sequel ever made), it also has a great sequence which transcribes a day in the directing life of Irvin Kershner, based on a recording of that day’s events leading up to the famous Han Solo in carbonite scene. Kerhner was wearing a mic all day for another “Making of…” project being completed at the time, and the transcription of the on-set script revision and fragile egos of the performers is a clear look at what really happened when the cameras weren’t looking. The whole book is a pretty great, and engrossing, read.

Captain America #613 by Ed Brubaker, Butch Guice, and Friends
I read ten to twenty new comics every week, so why single out this one? Because sometimes I forget how good Brubaker’s Captain America can be, and this was a particularly good reminder of what has been one of the best mainstream superhero comics of the past five years. From Guice’s chiseled artwork (best embellished by Stefano Gaudiano) to the sometimes dynamic vividly nightmarish layouts to the rapid cross-cutting between Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and the daughter of the Red Skull, this looks to be a comic that’s back on track after a year of slightly disappointing issues (though by the high standards of Brubaker’s Captain America, even weaker installments are better than most). I liked this one a lot.

The Art of Jim Starlin, by Jim Starlin
Quite early in my comic book reading days, I picked up a copy of Dreadstar and Company #2, which reprinted the second issue of the Epic Comics series focusing on Dreadstar’s blind female compatriot, Willow. It was a shocking issue back then, and rereading the entire Dreadstar saga these days, trying to follow along with CBR’s Chad Nevett in “Dreadstar December,” has reminded me how much I’ve always enjoyed Jim Starlin’s work. I’ve been devouring his other comics, and I have an essay on Gilgamesh II that I keep promising to write.

Jim Starlin’s art book, which features highlights from his career and a lengthy retrospective written by himself, is a good primer on the man’s career and it’s also a good reminder of all the projects he’s tacked over the years. It doesn’t go into nearly enough detail about the conflicts he’s had with various publishers (he frustratingly hints at juicy stories of poor treatment by the Big Two, but politely declines to name names or provide specific blow-by-blow accounts), but it does show Starlin to be a man who has always been ahead of the curve, trying to do his own thing in an industry that wants bland conformity.

Timothy Callahan writes the regular column When Words Collide, as well as reviews for Comic Book Resources. He does a lot of other stuff online, too, even talking about comics on the Splash Page podcast with CBR’s Chad Nevett.

Josh Wigler

Morning Glories #2

It’s probably no accident that the books I’m enjoying the most these days are coming from Image Comics, given the fact that I’ve covered the Image beat on CBR for the better part of two years now. But that’s just the state of things, I guess — it’s a good time to be a comics fan, and an especially great time for Image’s creative output.

The two books at the top of my buy pile every month are Chew and Morning Glories, and not just because I’m running monthly columns on them (though that certainly doesn’t hurt). With Chew, John Layman and Rob Guillory are constantly evolving the story of FDA agent Tony Chu in exciting new directions, almost effortlessly taking the series from its initial premise of a guy who gleans psychic impressions from the things he eats to it’s current end-of-the-world-by-fiery-alien-sky-writing status quo. There’s no telling where the book is going to go next, which is exactly why I love it so much.

Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma’s Morning Glories is entering the new year in great shape as well, with the first arc officially concluded in last month’s breathtaking fifth issue. Having already read this month’s installment a couple of weeks early, I can already tell you that Morning Glories is off to an excellent start in 2011. I can also say with no bullshit that this series is one of the most consistent edge-of-your-seat reads you’ll find anywhere in comics today. If you’re not picking Morning Glories up already, do yourself a favor and dive in while it’s still early — trust me, you don’t want to miss this boat.

Some other current favorites include:

- Artifacts … the best event series of 2010, trucking strong into 2011 thanks to Ron Marz and the enormously talented people at Top Cow.

- Orc Stain … I’m pretty sure James Stokoe couldn’t make a bad comic if he tried, certainly not when crafting the disturbingly detailed world that “Orc Stain” inhabits.

- Proof … recently relaunched with a new number one, but it’s the same hairy Sasquatch you know and love.

- The Walking Dead … as the world wakes up and smells the coffee thanks to the hit AMC series, the rest of us already know how amazing this series is thanks to the increasingly devastating monthlies. After eighty issues, Kirkman is still at the top of his game and showing no signs of slowing down.

That’s barely scratching the surface of what I’ve been reading and loving lately, and judging by what’s on the horizon in 2011, the new year should be an equally crowded one. Here’s hoping, at least!

In addition to covering Image for CBR, Josh also can be found blogging regularly for Spinoff. He also writes for MTV and ComicsAlliance.

Ryan K Lindsay

Franken-Castle

Franken-Castle
It’s a concept nearly everyone scoffed at and while many enjoyed it just as many would never admit that it was fun. I missed the boat but that only means I get to enjoy it in one big HC instead. While the end of the tale may have lost its way, the start of this strange monster filled romp by Remender and Moore was one of my picks for comic of the year. A shame not enough agreed with me and it missed out on a mention on the CBR Top 100. I absolutely loved the art and the writing here and while it wasn’t really the Punisher I kind of dug that about it. It wasn’t afraid to try something new and completely succeed in totally new ways.

I can only imagine what a youth would make of Franken-Castle if s/he found it squirreled away at home (which is the optimal way for every generation to discover comics). The sensational art by Tony Moore is something indeed and matched with Rick Remender cutting loose in a way that the Big Two just don’t do enough is the sort of mind-expanding four colour drug that every formative stage should be exposed to. This is comics the way I always imagine them through the magical and misty lens of the golden years of my youth. There should be more titles out there like this.

Secret Dead Men
I love Duane Swierczynski. I’ll just come out and say it, I think he’s a damn fun writer. I really liked his Immortal Iron Fist Run and I would have loved to see him do just a bit more on Black Widow. But the man also writes novels and very good ones so I’m slowly catching up on them all. I recently finished The Wheelman, which is a stellar heist story, and I’m now elbows deep in Secret Dead Men, which is about a sort of wandering PI who collects souls and stores them in his brain. It’s the sort of zany idea that must be read to be believed, and once you’ve read enough Swierczynski you will become a believer. I have no doubt.

Proof
John Prufrock is a very cool character. A Bigfoot (perhaps the Bigfoot) who works for a shadowy government agency tracking down other cryptids. It’s a perfect high concept but shocking in that the execution is actually better than you think it might be. There’s erudition to the words, and beauty in the art, and a certain spirit between the panels that just makes you fall completely into the world created. This is a title you can get lost in.

I initially picked this title up in trades but I’ve switched to floppies for the new relaunch and I’m glad I did. The latest issue was a whole barrel of cool and I’m so very glad I don’t have to wait months between my Proof fixes. This comic deserves to be read by more people so become the next one and pick up a trade, or the latest #1 issue, today. You won’t regret it.

Ryan K Lindsay is a weekly reviewer at CBR. He is also a staff writer for comic news and reviews site The Weekly Crisis. He also runs a comic scripting challenge site called thoughtballoons where each week a character is picked and every member of the site must write a one page script about that character (and play-at-home scripts are encouraged in the comments). He’s also been known to throw a think piece up at Gestalt Mash and is hoping one day to have his many comic pitches drawn by people with pencils.

Greg McElhatton

All Clear

All Clear by Connie Willis: I’ve been a fan of Connie Willis’s writings ever since I first picked up a copy of Doomsday Book, back in the day. The second half of what was supposed to be a single novel (but so big it got split into Blackout and All Clear), it feels like it’s the final word on her time travel novels. A book about World War II is rarely cheerful, but this one pulls your heartstrings with both despair and hope. It’s a book I was a little unsure of early on, but it comes together beautifully for a strong conclusion.

Justice League International Vol. 1-4 by Keith Giffen, J.M DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, Ty Templeton: I have a confession to make–aside from the odd issue here and there, I’ve read almost none of the “classic” Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire JLI. I recently went on a binge and read all four collections to date, and unsurprisingly I loved them. Sure, I could’ve done without the inevitable line-wide crossover every five or six issues, and the rotating door of cast members is a little hard to keep track of at times, but it’s still a lot of fun. Looking forward to picking up Volume 5 shortly!

Voodoo Heart by Scott Snyder: I’m about halfway through this collection of short stories, and if there was any doubt that Snyder’s adept at multiple genres (he’s already proven that by writing both American Vampire and Detective Comics with completely different voices), this should seal it. The opening story (“Blue Heron”) about a man chasing a zeppelin across the country to catch the love of his life will hook you, and three stories later the quality hasn’t dipped. Really looking forward to sitting down with the rest before long.

Greg McElhatton writes reviews for CBR and Read About Comics, and also has a fun personal blog.

Kiel Phegley

X'ed Out

Over the past few weeks, my reading has been divided up on two very specific categories. First up, I’ve been going back over a ton of great comics while working on CBR’s top 100 of the year list. Aside from some of the books I wrote up for the countdown including Brandon Graham’s King City, Hope Larson’s Mercury and Mike Dawson’s Troop 142, I’ve been going back over the big books of the year like Wilson an X’Ed Out as well as some killer stuff that didn’t quite make my top ten or the top 100 including Jason Lutes’ latest issue of Berlin and Kathryn and Stuart Immonen’s Moving Pictures. And in case you’re wondering, my #1 book of the year was totally Love & Rockets New Stories #3. That one has been banging around my brain box since the moment I first picked it up. We live in an age of wonders.

The other stack of stuff I’ve been tearing through are a slew of novels I have to read for my upcoming residency as an MFA student at Hamline University. My program is in Writing for Children and Young Adults, so my required list is a metric ton of middle grade and YA prose with a few picture books thrown in. I’ve read Jack Gantos’ Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key, Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and Deborah Heiligman Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith. Most importantly for the comic folks out there, I’ve been asked to re-read Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese because, get this, Yang will be at Hamline next week while I’m in my first residency to give us students a workshop in writing and graphic novels and what not. How rad is that?

Kiel Phegley is the news editor for Comic Book Resources, and one of the folks I should probably thank more often for all the help he gives us. Check out his interview with The Comics Reporter.

Brian Cronin

The last five comic books that I read were Deadpool Team-Up #886, a well-told action story by Shane McCarthy and Nick Dragotta featuring Iron Fist. Dragotta’s art was fantastic and McCarthy had a lot of funny dialogue.

Secret Warriors #23

Secret Warriors #23 was the rare issue that gives you an extreme amount of singular character development while still moving the over-arching plot along. Great job by Jonathan Hickman, and it is awesome that Alessandro Vitti is going to finish out this series on art.

Justice Society of America #46 was an intriguing look at the idea of a superhero team devoting itself entirely to one city and not letting ANY crime occur. Meanwhile, Marc Guggenheim and artist Scott Kolins do strong work in establishing the mysterious villains in the comic as a formidable and scary threat to the cast of this book. One drawback in the issue to me was a scene featuring Obsidian that did not ring true to me.

Hulk #28 was another entertaining issue by the impressive duo of Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman. Hardman has not had a bad issue yet, and Parker gives him a lot of really cool stuff to draw in this issue (and the previous issues, as well).

Finally, Flash #8, by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins, was an effectively eerie look at the origin (or should I say originS) of the Reverse-Flash. Seeing him cruelly change time around himself makes him a rather terrifyingly disturbing creature.

That’s my list!

Brian Cronin runs our sister blog, Comics Should Be Good! and was part of The Great Curve team way back in the day, before we were ever Robot 6. He’s also an author.

Alex Dueben

Apollo’s Angels

Apollo’s Angels by Jennifer Homans. Writing about comics and art has its challenges, but it’s a cakewalk compared to writing about dance. For centuries, the only real record we have of dance has been through writing. The facility with language required by good dance writers is part of what I love about the genre (sometimes more than dance itself) and as I think and write more about the history of comics I know that Homans’ cultural analysis and history of ballet is something that’s going to stick in my head for some time to come. This is the gold standard of arts writing.

Berlin: City of Stones and Berlin: City of Smoke. I’ve been meaning to reread the first volume and read the second one of Jason Lutes’ epic series ever since I picked it up months ago but I wanted to read through it all in one sitting and finally got a chance this week. I can’t help but feel that like Love and Rockets, the problem isn’t that we love the series any less or that the quality has dropped – it’s better than it’s ever been – the problem is that we’ve run out of adjectives to describe it. There’s nothing new to say. How many times can we say it’s a brilliant piece of work and one of the greatest comic series ever?

Bad Machinery: A Feral Flag Will Fly. I picked up this limited edition book of the beginning strips of John Allison’s new comic at Webcomics Weekend and hadn’t gotten around to reading it. Part of the problem with buying the books of webcomics is that I’ve already them, which means they drop to the bottom of the pile quickly. The truth is that I love Bad Machinery. I think it’s Allison’s best work. And it was great to OD on the comic for an afternoon without staring at the screen.

The Butterfly Mosque. G. Willow Wilson is best known to comic fans for her graphic novel Cairo and the series Air. This new memoir will likely change all that. It’s a beautiful book that I can’t recommend highly enough, detailing Wilson’s conversion to Islam and her time in Cairo, falling in love and her young married life. Wilson conveys the culture she found herself a part of and the essential separateness that one feels in a culture unlike that which one is born and raised in. Through it all there is a greater understanding and love.

Alex Dueben writes about the kinds of comics that I know Sean and Chris dig for CBR.

Sonia Harris

The Essential Moon Knight

The Essential Moon Knight Vol 1 & 2
by Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz and others
Love Bill Sienkiewicz, I have ever since New Mutants and then Elektra Assassin. Because of his genre-altering work , I thought it would be interesting to see how his style evolved. This book definitely show his early work, you can see the change and watch him move towards something more communicative. Still, his line is always characteristic, easy to spot even when he’s trying to hide his inherent craziness. To be honest, I’m not reading the words, I’m just in it for the art. I might go back and read them if I get stuck in bed sick one day or something, but there isn’t a lot of draw.

http://www.freakangels.com/
by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield
I tried reading this online when it started, but the short episodes meant that I couldn’t really get into it. Then I forgot about it for a few months and came back with plenty of story unfolded. Elis writing a screwed-up, post-apocalyptic London is very compelling, especially with a dysfunctional, neo Village of the Damned (but nice, sort of) angle. Duffield’s art is quite lovely, and it’s become one of the few comics that I don’t mind reading online. Having said that, it does look good in print – the colors sort of do slightly better things in print – but knowing that it is up online, how can I wait all those extra weeks for the book?

Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity
by David Lynch
A funny little, chunky, blue book. Although I read sequentially, it would be a great book to dive into at any point for inspiration, a sort of random divination kind of a thing, to set the mood for a project or day. David Lynch talks gently about his creative process and the role transcendental meditation plays in that (which may or may not be your cup of tea, but I think it is interesting, regardless.) He’s very candid, talks openly of his feelings about major projects, which is really interesting to me. He discusses about how some films are made, what it means to him, and what he intends in making them… It’s nice, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of his films. The book is less dry than that, more an aspirational piece for the creative mind.

Sonia Harris writes for Comics Should Be Good every wednesday and sometimes writes convention coverage for CBR.

James Hunt

Hopeless Savages: Greatest Hits

1. Hopeless Savages: Greatest Hits – Jen Van Meter, Christine Norrie et al.
Many of my favourite creators have admitted being influenced by Hopeless Savages, so when the omnibus edition came out recently, I took that as my “now or never” moment to see it for myself. Working through the book, I’m not sure I’ve been entirely won over by the “punk family” premise, but the characters are lovingly-crafted and it’s easy to see why it had such an impact on those who read it.

2. Generation Hope – Kieron Gillen, Salvador Espin.
With its central theme of teenagers accepting themselves as mutants, Generation Hope feels more like the X-Men than any other X-Book does right now. I’ve loved Gillen’s work ever since the days of the original Phonogram series, and this is no exception. The market might feel a little over-saturated with mutant titles, but this had an incredibly strong launch, and it’s a series that I’m looking forward to seeing more of in 2010.

3. The Fabric of the Cosmos – Brian Greene.
Sometimes it’s good to get away from fiction and be reminded that actually, the universe we live in is strange enough even without superpowers and cosmic beings. I figure if I can understand DC continuity, quantum physics shouldn’t be much harder to grasp, and Greene’s informative yet approachable style keeps me from feeling overwhelmed by the hard maths – just when you think it’s getting a bit too complicated, out come The Simpsons references.

James Hunt reviews comics for Comic Book Resources.

Greg Hatcher

Well, to be honest, what I’m reading is usually listed right there in the column every week. But today we have….

Crossovers: The Secret Chronology of the World, volumes one and two, by Win Eckert. This is kind of the ultimate continuity-geek book, working out the chronology of every single literary crossover ever, including comics. It might be a little uber-nerdy for some folks but I’m pretty nerdy and I think it’s great fun. I’m a Wold Newton guy from way back, I bought Philip Jose Farmer’s biography of Doc Savage new off the stands back in the seventies, so this is totally my thing.

Coils, by Fred Saberhagen and Roger Zelazny. Picked this up on a whim not too long ago, on one of our bookscouting road trips. A man discovers that his memories are false computer implants… when he tries to discover the truth his fiancee is kidnapped and the chase is on. Sort of a cross between The Bourne Identity and Total Recall.

The Liberty Project by Kurt Busiek and James Fry, collecting their short-lived comics series from Eclipse way back when. I remember this series fondly from the 1980s and it’s nice that it’s back in print again.

Greg Hatcher can be found writing every week for Comics Should Be Good!

Shaun Manning

20th Century Boys

20th Century Boys vol. 12

I’ll admit that I thought 20th Century Boys went off the rails a bit when the “New Book of Prophecy” was introduced, but volume 12 reveals a bit more about the origins of this second deadly tome and ties together a lot of really fascinating threads. Urasawa is utterly brilliant, managing to string out the big reveal of the Friend’s identity for a full twelve volumes and keep things interesting at every step of the way.

Doctor Who #1

I got a preview copy of the new IDW series starring the Eleventh Doctor, and this standalone issue was a hell of a lot of fun. Basically, the TARDIS is infected with every spam email Rory has ever received and brings to life the various charlatans and con men embodied in each. The 419 man is a special treat. My only gripe is that it drives me nuts when recognizable entities like Facebook are tweaked just to avoid naming them directly, and there was a bit of this.

Shaun Manning covers Dark Horse, BOOM! and a lot of other comic news on CBR.

Chad Nevett

Invisible

I got some really cool books for Christmas and have been reading those, prose and comics alike. On Wednesday, I had a bunch of time to kill and wound up reading all of Invisible by Paul Auster in the process. It’s not dissimilar to his other books with a narrative within the narrative presented to us by a friend of the original author. I find Auster’s prose engaging and it always makes me want to write. It’s writing that requires you to be active and read between the lines. He’s also a writer I love just for the fact he’s almost at the point where he’s releasing one novel each year.

I arrived home from the holidays to find a shipment of comics I bought, including Jack Cross #1-4 by Warren Ellis and Gary Erskine. It’s one of the rare recent Ellis-penned minis that I hadn’t read and I missed getting a copy of the recent DC reprint. It fits nicely into his larger body of work with his interest in intelligence work. The protagonist is an interesting fellow with his idealism and pacifism in the ‘real’ world, but his utter brutality when he’s called on to do a job. It’s a cynical book, but definitely one for the Ellis fans.

And, finally, just today, while at work, I read Parker: The Outfit by Darwyn Cooke (on lunch and during breaks, of course). I picked this up during the week with a gift card and loved it. Much more of a COMIC adaptation of the prose than The Hunter was. Cooke is more playful and inventive here, willing to change up styles and storytelling approaches when it suits him, not just during the heist scenes. It’s a shame we’ll have to wait until 2012 for more.

Chad Nevett talks about comics in several different places around the web — at his personal blog GraphiContent, at Comics Should Be Good!, as a reviewer for Comic Book Resources and on the Splash Page podcast, with Mr. Callahan. He also writes about wrestling for 411mania.

Comics journalist Zack Smith took on the challenge of collecting sketches of the (in)famous Doctor. And he’s just getting started! Here’s what Zack had to say about it:

10th Doctor, Weeping Angel & Sally Sparrow by Jeff Parker

There are lots of themed sketchbooks out there, and I’d recently seen ones that dealt with the likes of G.I. Joe and Star Wars.  I’d noticed how many comic creators were fans of the Doctor, and how a number had posted fan art on their websites.  I thought it would be fun to take advantage of this and get a book that covered the ENTIRE history of the series, dating back to 1963.

In total, I got a dozen pieces to start off the book. The biggest surprise I got, though, was finding out some great comic creators WEREN’T Who fans — including Paul Pope, Amanda Conner and Jonathan Hickman! If you read their work, you’d swear it was influenced by them!

I have a number of goals for future pieces. Mike Allred wasn’t doing sketches, but I’d love for him to do the Second Doctor, or maybe the early models of the Cybermen, which were essentially sock-masks with radio parts glued on. It might be fun to get Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba from Vertigo’s Daytripper and The Umbrella Academy to do Captain Jack’s late paramour Ianto Jones. And Kate Beaton would be perfect for the Seventh Doctor!

The long-term goal is to fill all 100 pages or so of this sketchbook, with no repeats. But with 11 Doctors, six incarnations of the Master (including Eric Roberts), and various Daleks, Cybermen, Companions, spinoffs and miscellaneous aliens, I think it’s possible!

You can see his growing collection in a Facebook album he set up. Here are a few favorites:

4th Doctor by Tom Scioli

5th Doctor by Adam Hughes

Captain Jack Harkness by Howard Chaykin

Soldier Zero

Well before SDCC and last week’s BOOM!/Stan Lee press conference, Paul Cornell. When we did this email interview, details had not been released about Soldier Zero, Cornell’s collaboration with Stan Lee and BOOM! Studios. (For details about Soldier Zero along those lines, please be sure to read CBR’s Shaun Manning’s interview with Cornell from last week). For this interview, I instead focused upon Cornell’s clear respect for Lee’s work and general storytelling approach, as well as the opportunity to work with BOOM. As witty and sharp as Cornell is, it made for an enjoyable interview, despite his busy workload. I appreciate Cornell’s time, as well as BOOM! Studios’ Chip Mosher willingness to arrange the interview. I’m hoping that in addition to creating a great tale for us to read, Cornell garners the Stan Lee nickname he so clearly craves.

Tim O’Shea: Back in 2009, at your blog, you lamented that you entered the industry after Stan’s heyday of giving collaborators nicknames. Now that you’re working with Stan, have you scored a nickname from him yet?

Paul Cornell: I think I’ll try and pluck up the courage to ask him for one. That’d be like being knighted.

O’Shea: In a DowntheTubes 2008 interview, in terms of your own comics writing, you said “…what I try and do is what all the best superhero books do. I try and write modern Greek and Roman myths that actually reflect things that are going on right now. Much as every body of mythology talks about what is happening right now, in terms of when it was created. … And everything that Stan Lee ever did was literally just about looking out of his window. His Marvel comic body of work, which is all about New York, is just extraordinary.”

Are you looking out the proverbial window to write this Stan Lee project? If you are, can you share some of the view?

Cornell: This particular window is looking into the real lives of wheelchair users, and trying to create a superhero that reflects their experiences in the modern world. It’s Stan doing what he always did best, with us acting as Rick Rubin to his Johnny Cash: demonstrating that what Stan does isn’t about pastiche and nostalgia, but is classic and timeless, and can be immediate in today’s world.

O’Shea: In prepping to collaborate with BOOM! on this Stan Lee project, did you have to calm yourself down after the initial thrill of realizing you’re getting to work with Stan? How do you avoid being intimidated at building a story originating from the mind of Stan Lee?

Cornell: I’ve always had the knack of putting the thrill and the excitement in a different box in my head from the creative work. Otherwise I could never have written Doctor Who or Captain Britain. You’re not filling anyone’s shoes, you’re writing as yourself and thus honouring the originators by trying to do your best work, without your hands shaking. But, now you mention it, eeeek!

O’Shea: Growing up in the United Kingdom, do you remember how you were first introduced to the work of Stan Lee?

Cornell: That was the first issue of Avengers Weekly, a black and white reprint of part of Avengers #4, with scary Ditko Dr. Strange in the back. My Dad got it for me because he thought it was time I moved on from the Beano and Dandy. Which means he probably liked the look of it himself. Stan’s writing appealed directly to me, because he talks directly to the reader, and seems to be unfolding these very real, grounded stories to you, guiding you through them like any great children’s storyteller. He advanced my reading level so much. I was the only kid at school who knew what ‘thou base defiler’ meant.

O’Shea: Other than the understandable privilege to collaborate with Stan Lee, for a veteran storyteller like yourself, what’s the core appeal (from the “mechanics of writing” standpoint) of taking a Stan Lee assignment?

Cornell: Veteran? You mean I go from being a callow newbie to being a veteran, without ever getting to enjoy being inbetween? You’re the first to say that, I’ve just crossed some sort of age group rubicon. The core appeal is that Stan still creates structures that immediately resonate as good, modern, storytelling. This is the man that plotted the first half hour of the Spider-Man movie, beat by beat. You see his ideas and think: I see how that’s going to work, it just needs a modern studio to record it, with musicians who don’t feel they have to pretend it’s the Sixties (to continue my Johnny Cash metaphor).

O’Shea: As much as you have clearly excelled in mainstream continuities like Marvel and more recently at DC, what was the most enjoyable aspects of working in the relatively uncharted waters of this BOOM/Stan Lee universe dynamic?

Cornell: I love the fact that we’re creating a whole new world of comics, with the timeless strengths of Stan Lee behind it, and the modern energy of Boom!

O’Shea: A quick scan of tweets between you and EIC Mark Waid reveals an obvious mutual admiration of each other’s work. In addition to getting to work on a Stan Lee project, was part of the appeal to this assignment a chance to work with the BOOM! EIC?

Cornell: You’re just a stalker, you are. And absolutely, having hung out at Doctor Who conventions with Mark for so long (and having seen Colin Baker kick his arse at a panel game), I was always interested in working with Mark. I love his work, and his voice is important in this series too.

O’Shea: Given how busy you are–writing comics, developing projects for TV and living some semblance of a normal life somewhere in between–how do you find time to tweet AND maintain a blog? How important is it for you to use both to stay in contact with your fanbase?

Cornell: I think being a writer is all about communicating with the audience, so it’s all one thing to me. Twitter lets me talk quickly and directly to so many people. I love it.

O’Shea: Is this the last non-DC work you’ll be doing for awhile–did this project get in before the DC exclusive contract took effect?

Cornell: No, it’s the only exception DC allowed me from the Exclusive. I said I was doing it for Stan, and they understood!

Planet Bollywood

This is what you might see if you are lucky enough to sit next to Roger Langridge on his flight to the States tomorrow to attend Heroes Con; he’s working on a ten-page story for Doctor Who magazine and figures he will be finishing it on the road. In the meantime, he shows off the pencils for one page on his blog. The story is called Planet Bollywood, which, as Roger says, just about says it all. If you’re heading to Heroes Con, go visit Roger at table 518, near the Boom! Studios booth, and see how it’s going.

Greendale

Happy day-after-Free Comic Book Day to everyone, and welcome to another edition of What are you reading? Our guest this week is Rick Marshall, editor of MTV’s Splash Page blog. To see what Rick and the rest of the Robot 6 crew have been reading this week, read on …

*****

Tim O’Shea

Starman Omnibus

There’s an underlying current of disappointment when I read most of James Robinson’s writing these days (the recent Blackest Night Starman 81, being a noticeable exception). My disappointment was reinforced even more when rereading the early days of Starman, thanks to Starman Ominbus Volume 1.”Talking with David, ’95″ is just an amazing example of how well Tony Harris and James Robinson worked together. Robinson put it perfectly when he wrote in this volume’s intro: “In my time working month after month with Tony Harris, our personalities were never quite on the same page, yet our differences combined to make something far more interesting that either of us, at that time, could have done on our own. (Do you think I would have had one pirate reference, if Tony hadn’t been on board? His version of Grundy–thin, gentle Grundy–led to me revising/explaining Grundy’s various incarnations/personalities to the point that that’s become a part of DC lore. Grundy would have been a one-appearance villain if Tony hadn’t ‘gotten all creative on me’–but again to the betterment of the opus as a whole.)” Harris has gone on to other strong storytelling successes (for example, Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughan and Harris), but if he can spare the time, Robinson might benefit by collaborating with Harris again.

Kudos to DC for running Mike Carlin’s editorial this month about the late Dick Giordano under his classic Meanwhile… banner. Read the piece, it’s a good one.

I don’t know if Roger Stern and Lee Weeks would be willing to become one of the regular Spidey writers in the rotating lineup the book sports, but it would be a delight if they were. I know there’s a retro vibe to their work, in a sense (Weeks even does the half Spidey face bit [when Pete's in civilian mode], a bit I always liked), but for my money Stern and Weeks are as contemporary as any of the other comics creators on the Spider-Man books. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that over the coming issues (starting in Spider-Man 634) Stan Lee will be doing a two-page multi-issue tale with artist Marcos Martin. Interesting choices that Spider-Man editors are making these days, choices that make an old fanboy like me happy.

I continue to enjoy Mark Waid’s Incorruptible series at BOOM!, but as much as I appreciate the company’s effort to deliver on time every month, this issue suffered due to the absence of regular series artist Jean Diaz. Guest artist Horacio Domingues, at one point, is called upon to do a pivotal scene reaction shot with Max, and Domingues gives us a virtual Shaggy/Scooby Doo Yoinks! campy facial expression (a scene that Diaz would have handled quite, quite differently and less cartoonishly). In other BOOM comics, Incredibles 8 shines the spotlight on Elastigirl and brings back a character that has not been seen (unless I’m mistaken) since the actual film. I appreciate an all ages book like Incredibles that tries to expand the continuity as this series has to date.

Sean T. Collins

The Arrival

I’m back, back in the reviewing groove! Over the past couple weeks I’ve finally started reading and reviewing comics en masse on my personal blog after a month or two “prose break.” (Seriously, everyone, go read George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels.) Here’s the first half-dozen comics I took a crack at:

The Arrival by Shaun Tan: Can we please mail a copy of this awe-some look at the immigrant experience to every single resident of Arizona?

Young Lions by Blaise Larmee: A Xeric-winning slice-of-lifer that’s a thing of beauty for the Tumblr generation.

Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki: Subtle and gutsy teen angst for the young-adult market.

Keeping Two by Jordan Crane: A lush and painful look at loss from one of comics’ best draftsmen, now available as a webcomic.

Death Trap by Lane Milburn: Another Xeric winner–a mutant Texas Chain Saw homage, with some really powerful cartooning.

Tales Designed to Thrizzle #6 by Michael Kupperman: After five unimpeachably funny issues, a let-down!

JK Parkin

I picked up several free comics yesterday, but due to company coming into town I’ve only gotten to read one, Marvel’s Iron Man/Thor team-up to save the world from … the moon? Written by Matt Fraction and drawn by the incomparable duo of John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson, the two Avengers team up to save the world from a series of natural disasters being caused by a group of “multibillionaires” using old Stark technology to terraform the moon into a place they can build expensive condos and eat caviar while the rest of the world dies off. I was pleased to see JR Jr.’s take on Thor and Iron Man again, and there were some nice disaster pages (some caused by the moon, some caused by Thor).

Also, Iron Man? Kind of a smug jerk in this story. “Hey Tony, one of your inventions is causing tidal waves and what have you across the globe.” “Oh, that old thing?”

Up next: more free comics, including the first issue of The Sixth Gun, the other Iron Man comic, War of the Supermen, Love & Capes #13 and something I’m forgetting …

Rick Marshall

The Losers

With Splash Page’s focus on the area in which comics overlap with other media, my reading habits have shifted a bit toward titles that have been optioned for big- or small-screen adaptation or have some connection to the mainstream media world by virtue of subject matter, author, or any number of other factors.

That being the case, I often find myself mentally assigning what I read into one of three categories: work-related reading, personal reading with work-related potential, and purely personal reading.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for multitasking, and compartmentalizing all of it helps me keep all of the competing narratives separate in my head.

Here’s what I’m currently reading:

Work-Related: I recently finished Greendale, Joshua Dysart and Cliff Chiang’s Vertigo graphic novel based on the Neil Young album. I’m a big fan of all three of the creative minds involved in this one, and though it fell a little short in the end, it was a really fun read. It reminded me a lot of a smaller, simpler version of Stephen King’s The Stand, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It hits shelves in June.

I’ve also been catching up on The Losers and 100 Bullets, two series I was into early on but lost track of somewhere along their run. I sort of rediscovered the former series due to the movie hitting theaters this month, and the latter because it’s only a matter of time before it gets picked up somewhere. Brian Azzarello hinted to me in an interview last year that an option was likely at some point soon, so now’s as good a time as any to get caught up, right?

Personal/Work: Anyone who knows me is probably aware of my unhealthy obsession with all things Doctor Who. I’ve been devouring IDW’s Doctor Who comics as they hit shelves, especially during the drought between the last season and the current one. Tony Lee is doing an amazing job with the series, and it’s great to see what happens when you have someone writing a series like this who’s both a big fan and a supremely talented writer.

I’ve also been re-reading some of my favorite webcomics that were collected in print over the last year. In particular, Jon Rosenberg’s Goats collections feel like new material with all of the polish they received during the transition to paper. The publisher of the series, Del Rey, did a bang-up job freshening everything up and making the strips really jump off the page. Similarly, some of DC’s print collections of Zuda Comics have really impressed the heck out of me — especially High Moon and Bayou. To be honest, Zuda had never really been on my radar until I started reading some of the print collections of the series published there, but I’m glad that’s changed.

Finally, I just finished reading through all four books in Top Shelf’s “Swedish Invasion” line. All four are great reads, but Hey Princess and 120 Days of Simon were really good. The former felt like a Swedish version of a Jeffrey Brown or James Kochalka bio-comic, while the latter was an experience all its own. The author, Simon Gardenfors, is a popular Swedish rapper who travels around the country at the whim of fans who signed up on his website to feed him and let him crash with them. It’s a wild, wild story.

Personal: I usually read a novel as a counterpoint to all of the comics — a constant narrative that I can keep coming back to between issues and such. I’m currently about halfway through Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, but I’ve been reading a novel between each Wheel of Time chapter so I don’t overload on the sword-and-sorcery stuff. This time around, it’s Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy (I have them all collected in a single novel), a sci-fi classic I’d been meaning to read for ages but finally got around to recently. My copy of the book is a fairly old and was sitting on my bookshelf for years before I finally took the plunge. It’s a great reminder of why Asimov is such a big player in the sci-fi world, and given how much of today’s sci-fi is all shiny metal killer robots, it’s also a reminder of what can happen when science was just as important as the fiction. It’s a true classic, and I can’t recommend it enough.

So, there you have it! That’s what I’m reading these days — or trying to, at least.

Mysterius the Unfathomable

Welcome once again to What Are You Reading?, where we talk about exactly what the title implies every Sunday. Today’s special guest contributor is BOOM! Studios editor Ian Brill, who works on their Farscape line, the Eisner-nominated Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and the upcoming CBGB comic, among others. He’s also the writer of a new Darkwing Duck miniseries coming from BOOM! later this year.

To see what Ian and the Robot 6 gang have been reading this week, click the link below.

*****

Chris Mautner

Blazing Combat

I spent most of this week reading the new, paperback edition of Blazing Combat, which Fantagraphics released in hardcover format last year. For those of you who don’t know, Blazing Combat was a magazine-format war comic that Warren Publishing released back in the mid-60s, after the success of Creepy. It only lasted four issues, however, mainly because the U.S. military, the American Legion, and other like-minded individuals objected to what it saw as an anti-American attitude, especially in its Vietnam stories, and tried to keep it as far away from newsstands as possible.

Written mostly by editor Archie Goodwin and drawn by a stellar line-up that included Wally Wood, George Evans, Alex Toth, John Severin, Russ Heath and Reed Crandell, the comics slavishly follow the format set by Harvey Kurtzman with his EC war comics Frontline Combat and Two Fisted Tales back in the 50s. So much so that the tales at times creak and groan under the weight of their artifice. You can often sense the O. Henry style twist coming a mile away. When a soldier talks about getting a vintage bottle of wine on the first page, you can be sure it will lead to his undoing by the last.

And yet the artistry on display is so mind-boggling, particularly in the case of Crandall, Heath and Severin, that it seems churlish of me to not recommend this book simply because of a few overly and obviously ironic twists. The creators clearly had a real love for this kind of material, so much so that wish things had tipped slightly in their favor a bit more, and that the market had made at least a little more room for war comics when as the silver age gave way to the bronze.

Tim O’Shea

Cinderella #6

I’m sorry to see the Chris Roberson/Shawn McManus Cinderella six-issue miniseries end this month. Because of the villain reveal in last issue (Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother) this final issue was part therapy session/part way too much talking. I’m not slamming Roberson, given the dynamics, it was necessary–but I just wish the issue could have allowed for more action in the end. I know from interviewing Roberson that he’d be game for writing an ongoing Cinderella series, but I’m unsure if sales would support such a book long-term. That being said, I loved this miniseries overall (despite the pacing at the end) and hope that Roberson gets to work with Cinderella more (possibly BBC-style in another miniseries, as opposed to an ongoing). In the meantime, fans of Roberson like myself got a sneak preview this month of his new collaboration with Mike Allred–I, Zombie, which is set to launch in May. Roberson and Allred make a great team, it appears.

I understand all the hype and excitement behind Spider-Man: Fever by Brendan McCarthy. The man is channeling a major Ditko vibe in this project. I will likely buy the remaining two issues in this miniseries solely for the art. But Marvel should have had someone else write the dialogue for it. McCarthy has no ear for dialogue: in a pivotal early scene, Doctor Strange literally narrates what’s happening on the page. Consider this three panel (spoiler ahead) bit: Panel 1: “It’s leaving.” Panel 2: “Down the drainhole!” Panel 3: “But it has taken Spider-Man’s soul.” (I like to imagine that Strange’s intonation [lack of exclamation point] on that last line was akin to if he had said: “Wong, that pizza we ordered seems to be running late.”) And if I never see the word “Harrah” (uttered more than 50 times by various characters in this issue) again in this miniseries, I’ll be happy. This project? Please come for the art, brace yourself for the dialogue. Harrah, indeed. It’s truly a shame, as McCarthy is quite selective in the work he does, and the art is so incredible, I wish
the dialogue could do it justice.

I just described to my wife the scene where Spidey’s soul being stolen while he lay in a bathtub. Her reaction: “One would presume being in a bathtub, they took his kidney as well.” I love my wife.

Brigid Alverson

Ratman

I just picked up vol. 1 of Ratman today, so I’m not too far into it yet, but I’m liking what I see so far. It’s almost self-critiquing—it’s a manga about a short kid who dreams of being a superhero someday. The Japanese handle this sort of story very differently from Americans—for one thing, superheroes in the new Japan double as corporate spokesman and there is a whole array of them. And in the first 30 pages or so we have already had a fight on the basketball court, a humorous mishap involving a tough guy from a school gang, and a martial-arts display that included a gratuitous full-on panty shot. It’s sort of a parody of all the conventions of shonen manga, and it’s well drawn and easy to read, which is a plus. The hero is fairly sympathetic, and the characters are less stereotyped than the usual run of manga characters, so I think I’ll be sticking with this one.

Also this week, I picked up Gene Yuen Lang’s Prime Baby. I’m probably the only person who will be disappointed that there wasn’t more math in it—I come from a family of serious math nerds—but there are other reasons to be disappointed as well. The story was cute but didn’t hang together very well, and I didn’t care for the ending at all. The story is told in comic strips and they were just a bit too small to read comfortably. I’m afraid this one just didn’t work for me.

One that did work better was Rabbi Harvey vs. The Wisdom Kid, an all-ages comic about a rabbi in the Wild West. It’s a clever story about a battle of wits between Rabbi Harvey and a slicker rabbi from out of town. The art is done in a naive but pleasing style with a muted palette. This is published by a Jewish publishing house, not a graphic novel publisher, but they get all the elements right, and I really liked it.

Tom Bondurant

Fun Home

Oh dear Lord, I read so much comics since last we spoke! Finally I can cross Whiteout and Fun Home off my to-do list, because I read ‘em both on the plane back from WonderCon. Fun Home sure lived up to its reputation, although I wish I’d paid a little more attention in 12th-grade English. I was especially fond of Alison Bechdel’s cartooning style, because it seemed to blend the best parts of Lynn Johnston and Garry Trudeau while staying unique. As a dad who wonders what his daughter will think of him when she’s older, Fun Home‘s story resonated with me pretty strongly.

I found Whiteout (by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, of course) to be a deft thriller, and it’s hard for me to imagine it in color, let alone movie-fied. A few elements (including one of the twists at the end) were a little familiar, but I still liked how Rucka and Lieber worked them into the Antarctic setting. Carrie Stetko is the key to the book, though, and she comes across with depth and real personality.

I liked Batman And Robin #11 a lot, and it was good to see a certain Morrison character again in Doom Patrol #9, but my favorite single issue this week is, ironically, a comic which I missed picking up in San Francisco. Madame Xanadu #21 returns to the present (well, the ’50s) with penciller Amy Reeder Hadley for our heroine’s long-awaited team-up with a prominent DC superhero. Oh sure, Matt Wagner’s script was entertaining as always (although I thought the gangsters’ accents were a bit much). Nevertheless, I am really enjoying Hadley’s sprightly, energetic portrayal, and this issue gave her lots to do. Plus, that cover is really something.

And finally … last Saturday night found the Bondurants and the Hoffmans in the Marriott Marquis lobby talking comics. I shared my love for Detective Comics #500, which includes the classic Alan Brennert/Dick Giordano “To Kill A Legend” and Len Wein and Walt Simonson’s sublime “Once Upon A Time.” However, my presentation was
but a trifle compared to Carla’s. Not only did she lay out in detail — using the phrase “death-metal” a couple of times — why August 2008′s Thor: Reign Of Blood special (written by Matt Fraction and pencilled by Khari Evans and Patrick Zircher) was both a great Thor story and a great single issue; not only did she buy a copy of the issue at WonderCon just to make her point; but she in fact gave me that copy for my very own! So thank you, Carla, for introducing me to Matt Fraction et al.’s version of Thor! I read the issue again when I got home, and it is a well-executed epic which uses its 36 pages very efficiently. Plus it has, you know, the big scene at the end where Thor pilots … well, you’ll have to read it yourself. Or track down Carla, which is probably a better option.

Matt Maxwell

Hulk #1

Hulk #1 Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness
It came for free on my iPad from the Marvel Comics app. Go ahead and mock me. The art’s pretty and muscular, even if it’s serving a story that’s pretty bare bones at best and very much moment-driven in the style of The Ultimates. Colors look real good, though. But I’m not finding enough there for me to be really interested in additional chapters, even at two bucks apiece.

Spider-Man #526 (I think. It’s the first chapter of “Brand New Day.”)
Much meatier, story-wise, even if I’m not wild about the storyline that all this spun out of. The issue itself wasn’t bad, a little disjointed, some nice art, but nothing really amazing. I’m also not the biggest Spider-fan on the planet, so I didn’t have a lot of investment in this. The backup features did nothing for me, but I’d have been happy with a JJJ featurette.

Fantastic Four, whichever issue Jonathan Hickman started his run with.
Kinda neat, possibly leading interesting places. I’m not entirely convinced by his take on Reed Richards (particularly the buffed out, unshaven manly-man presentation we got from the artwork.) The reveal at the end was neat, but without a connection to the characters themselves (and I haven’t read the book since Simonson’s run, really), there’s not much for me to come back to. Of the Marvel titles listed above, this is the one I’m most likely to come back and pick up a second issue of.

Looked over the first issue/preview of Valentine, by Alex de Campi (writer of the oft-overlooked Smoke from IDW) and Christine Larsen. What I read here didn’t give me enough of an idea to see if I’d really enjoy the series or not. I will say, the presentation was interesting, where the panel would come up, then you “turn” the page to get the captions to show up. It did let the art hit you first, and actually seemed like it was offering a different way to read digital comics (instead of just translating the experience of reading a printed comic on a screen.) I may check this out further, but additional episodes would have to be much more substantial for me to keep going.

The first three were from the Marvel Comics app, the last is from Comixology. I also just downloaded the iVerse reader, but haven’t had much chance to check out their offerings.

Also reading the Conan the Barbarian Omnibus, which is a bunch of the original Robert E. Howard stories. Finished “The Scarlet Citadel” last night. Wish the Kindle reader app had an easy way to jump from story to story. It doesn’t, and that makes me sad. A clickable table of contents would really be helpful.

Besides that, it’s research. And you don’t want to hear about that.

JK Parkin

The Last Resort

The Last Resort by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Giancarlo Caracuzzo is pretty much an ode to the zombie genre, set on a tropical resort island where a virus has started turning everyone into flesh-eating monsters. The story doesn’t just pull out every B-grade horror movie cliche there it is, it revels in them, making the story a whole lot more fun than it sounds like on paper. The characters are fairly well developed, despite the fact that you know going into it that many of them are just cannon fodder, and the whole thing is loaded with humor, violence, sex, gore, foul language, gratuitous body parts and even monkey zombies — everything you need for a fun, over-the-top story. Plus the collection features all of Darwyn Cooke’s covers, which was definitely a bonus.

This week I also finally dove into the comic section of McSweeney’s San Francisco Panorama. The newspaper-style insert, which can be purchased separate from the larger Panorama, features some really great comics by Jon Adams, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Dan Clowes, Seth, Jessica Abel, Adrian Tomine, Erik Larsen and many more.

Ian Brill

Thank goodness you’re asking what I am reading, as opposed to what books I have set to read. If I were to write about all the books I still need to get to we might run out of Internet. In between writing Darkwing Duck, editing a good lot of comics (28 Days Later, Farscape, The Amory Wars and plenty more) I do get around to reading. Here’s a sample.

Planetary #21

Planetary by Warren Ellis, John Cassady and Laura Martin: I decided to revisit this, one of the series that got me back into comics. Reading all the issues so close together, and yes Planetary is as known for its publishing delays as it is anything else, I really see what an amazing feat this series is. Warren Ellis, John Cassady and Laura Martin are telling a story of how the world works and they do it by using genre storytelling artifacts. When drawn by Cassady, characters inspired by Doc Savage, Tarzan and the actual Sherlock Holmes become the icons you’re always told they are. Ellis has the genius, he truly is one of the few people in comics who deserve the description, to take all of the pulp landscape and wrestle it down so it tells a story of power, corruption, lies and the universe itself. I feel only in their hands a story like “Death Machine Telemetry” (issue #21), which is basically a didactic where Elijah Snow is told the story of the building blocks of life, could work, and work brilliantly.

Doctor Who: Nightshade by Mark Gatiss: Anyone who knows me knows I’m an incurable Doctor Who fan. Guilty as charged, I feel DW demands storytellers give us tales of great imagination with intelligence, curiosity and empathy at their core. This novel is part of The New Adventures line, original stories featuring the Seventh Doctor told after the original series ended in 1989. A lot of people who went on to write for the re-launched show contributed, including former show runner Russel T. Davies and Paul Cornell, whose novel Human Nature was turned into a brilliant two-parter. Mark Gatiss has written episodes for the new DW, including the next episode to air in the UK, “Victory of the Daleks,” as well as acted as the titular villain in “The Lazarus Experiment.” This novel from 1992 promises to be somewhat of a tribute to the Quatermass series, Nigel Kneale’s creation that launched science fiction on British television. I’m two chapters in and can already appreciate how much care and detail Gatiss puts into setting up all of supporting players The Doctor and his companion Ace shall meet along the way. The maturation of DW that led to the re-launch being such a hit started here in this line of novels.

The BBC have actually posted this story as an eBook.

I also want to recommend Dorian Wright’s Paperback Book Club at Postmodernbarney, where he has reviewed every one of the New Adventures novels.

Mysterius the Unfathomable by Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler: I heard a lot of good things about this book so I decided to pick up the trade. I’m enjoying it so far. Fowler’s art is amazing. In the back cover Howard Chaykin declares it looking “like Jack David inked by Wally Wood.” That’s pretty apt. It’s wonderful to see such an expressive art style be used to tell a longform genre story, this time one of modern urban fantasy. Mysterius is a private supernatural investigator with a W.C. Fields nose and a female assistant, Delfi. Yes, as a DW fan I noticed certain similarities to our favorite Time Lord but this is a story of magic, not time travel. Parker has several strands going on at once and all bumping into one another, a storytelling choice I usually love seeing. I can see Parker loves giving Fowler fun stuff to draw. There’s a visit to another plane of existence in the first issue and Fowler does killer work with it! I hope to see more of his work in the future.

DC's Paul Levitz and Guinness’ Craig Glenday

Longest Running Sitcom and Longest Running Animated TV Series – With over 443 episodes, The Simpsons is the longest running sitcom (by episode count) and longest running animated series. During its 20th season (2008-09), The Simpsons finally overtook the 435 episodes of former record holder The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-66).

Best-selling Comic (single edition) – Spider-Man No.1, first published in August 1990, is the Best-selling Comic (single edition). With an initial print run of 2.35 million, the record-breaking edition was sold with a variety of differently colored covers and several reprints were ordered to keep up with high public demand.

Longest Continuosly Published Comic Book – The longest running comic book is Detective Comics, which has been printed continuously by DC Comics in the USA since Issue #1 in March 1937. The comic introduced the character of Batman in Issue #27 in May 1939.

Most Successful Sci-fi TV Show – Doctor Who, the longest running sci-fi television show, is now the Most Successful Sci-fi Show on Television. Based on the length of the show’s run and international sales data, the series about the adventures of the iconic Time Lord was presented with the new record at Comic-Con 2009 International.

Most Digital Effects in a TV Series – Farscape employed about 25 computer artists to create between 40 and 50 effects shot per episode. The effects team had just seven days to work on each episode, at a rate of 22 episodes per year.

Largest Gathering of Zombies – The record largest gathering of zombies was achieved by 3,894 participants in the ‘Red White and Dead Zombie Party’ in association with Night Zero on July 3, 2009 in Seattle, Washington. Ryan Reiter, Artistic Director for Freemont Outdoor Cinema Events.

Picture via The Source

A Scottish Dalek, get it?

Calling all Dr. Who fans. There’s a new art blog in town and it’s devoted to Daleks. That’s Darryl Cunningham’s contribution above.

This week Carl Jansson, a former manager of Comic Universe in Fountain Valley, CA. Before we begin, however, I want to thank everyone who’s sent in photos over the past week. The amount of interest I’ve received has truly been staggering, and I promise each and every one of you will get your day in the sun. So don’t fret if you haven’t heard back from me yet; you will, and soon. I promise.

And now let’s join Carl on a tour of his home …

These are most of my hardcovers, odd sized trades, and my collection of busts. They are on a hand made bookshelf on top of my writing desk in the living room. I started collecting trades more than monthlies while working at Borders Books a few years ago, and continued the trend while at Comic Universe. I just like the way they look on the shelf. My long boxes are in my closet where they are hard to get to, so trades just work better for me. Oh, and the Doktor Sleepless Plasma Globe Bust.

And here’s a better view of the busts, as well as an Action Comics page by Brad Walker given to me by the inker Livesay! The busts are of a few of my favorite characters.

This is one of four similar bookshelves located throughout the house. This one is mostly my Will Eisner library, oversized books, and assorted Doctor Who books. I am a big Doctor Who fan, as you will see a few pictures from now. Also, statues!

Here is the shelf on the opposite side of my TV from the last one. This is mostly trades, assorted by author. Lots of Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, etc. Astute viewers will see the Ev’ry Little Bug vinyl picture disk in the bottom right. I love me some Spirit/Eisner!

Here is a small side table/bookshelf next to my easy chair where I keep smaller sized books and trades, and across from that we see Doctor Who figures.

Close-up on the Doctor and friends. I have too many Daleks though.

Two of my favorite comics ever! Those covers are priceless!

This is a page from Day of Vengance by Justiniano and Livesay, two of my favorite modern creators.

An Atomics print, signed by Mike Allred and Alex Ross. I’m a huge Allred fan.

This is a small collection of regular, non-comic books. I have more in boxes somewhere, so it’ll fill up pretty quick.

Random trades, some organized, some not so much.

Lots of Madman, Metal Men, and The Spirit. See, obsessed with Allred.

Part of my Ultraman collection. I have a rather large one, for some reason. I just got really into Ultraman a few years ago, and then Dr. Who toys came along. I haven’t bought any Ultraman in a while now.

Toys, busts, and my CDs. (and dust, apparently)

And last, but not least, my Cloak & Dagger and Dr. Strange posters.

Welcome to yet another round of Send Us Your Shelf Porn. Our guest this week is Lee Lemon, who hails from Banbury, near Oxford. “I’m a graphic designer (or person who colours stuff in) and I’m 35!” he writes. “Hope you like my porn (of the shelf variety!)”

There’s not much that I can add to that, so we’ll cut to the chase and let Lee start the tour …

OK in the above two pictures we have my smaller bookcase. On the top here we have some non-comics stuff but I included this one for my Doctor Who toys which I stole from my son. You can also see some Judge Dredd books (need to collect the rest of those!) and some other 2000AD books. Also are the two 9-11 trades, some Dark Horse novels, Scout and my small horror movies collection (Friday the 13th – the same film over and over with different victims!) At the top left there you can see my Vertigo Tarot from a long time ago, looking a little worse for wear.

Same bookcase, bit further down we have some of my collections and Graphic Novels. Gotta love those DC/Vertigo ones. Also some Grant Morrison there, and Walking Dead too.

Next shelf down, loads of prestige format DCs, Understanding Comics and some arty stuff (Exit Wounds, Tomine, Seth, Alan Moore’s Mirror of Love). Bottom shelf and now taking over the next shelf is Edge Magazine – Been collecting it for a long time as you can see!

Other bookcase now. At the top there we have Lost Girls (bit rude that you know!), and some other big hardcovers (oo-er) such as Love and Rockets, Cages. More 2000AD books, Metropol, those big DC books from a couple of years back (weren’t very good were they), and my Watchmen Graphitti Designs Hardcover. Touch it and I cry. On the shelf below we’ve got some Frank Miller, some of those Hellraiser Epic anthologies, Grendel, First Comics’ Lone Wolf and Cub and more DC Prestige stuff!

My trade(ish) sized hardcovers. You will notice big Alan Moore love here – all the ABC hardcovers, Killing Joke, V, etc… Supreme trades there too, tho they have been printed really badly. Gotta love Moore. Also some Ultimate X-Men (gotta love Grant too), Kabuki, some JLA, Starman, Batman. Below we have more Moore (Miracleman books 1-3, Captain Britain, From Hell original issues), A1, loads more DC stuff, and an almost complete run (if you include the trades) of Epic’s colour Akira! Sorry about the blurry nature of this photo.

And that’s it. My longboxes hide under my desk where my iMac lives in the same room. I need a bigger room for those!