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

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

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

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, one of the high points of the indy comics year, has announced the first round of guests for this year. It doesn’t seem to be up on the TCAF site just yet, but Tom Spurgeon has the rundown at The Comics Reporter, and it’s an impressive list: Jeff Smith, Alison Bechdel, Guy Delisle, and Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon are the headliners. Smith will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Bone, while Bechdel’s Are You My Mother? and Delisle’s Jerusalem are both due out shortly before the show.

But wait! There’s more! Kate Beaton, German creator Arne Bellstorf, Scottish creator Tom Gauld (whose Goliath is due out soon from Drawn and Quarterly) Gabriella Giandelli, Jennifer and Matt Holm (Babymouse), Jason, Kazu Kibuishi (creator of Amulet and editor of the Flight anthologies), Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim), Gary Panter, Michel Rabagliati, Andy Runton (Owly), Olivier Schrauwen, and Adam Warren (Empowered) will also be gracing the halls of the Toronto Reference Library this May. That’s an amazingly eclectic and talented group. If you have been thinking “Some day I’ll make it to TCAF,” this should probably be the year.

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

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

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

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

Angel & Faith

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

I have to say, this is an amazingly slow week for me in terms of new releases. If I had $15, I’d pick up the fourth issue of Dark Horse’s Angel & Faith series ($3.50), which has surprised me by turning out to be my favorite by far of the new Buffy series (due, in large part, to Rebekah Isaacs’ artwork, which is superb). I’d also grab the third issue of IDW’s Star Trek monthly ($3.99), in the hope that it’ll be as good as the first two issues; hardcore Trek fans, you should really be looking at this book, if you’re not already. Also on the list to grab: Thunderbolts #166 (Marvel, $2.99), continuing a great storyline from what might be one of the most underrated books from either of the big two publishers. One of the few nice things about Marvel’s recent Cancelpocalypse was seeing so many people speak up about how much they love Thunderbolts, and I’m right there with them; Jeff Parker’s done great things with this book.

If I had $30, chances are I’d put one of the above books – Angel & Faith, perhaps? – back for the week (or try and sweet-talk an extra 50 cents from the invisible budgeting gods who rule this column) and grab Rebellion’s Complete Alan Moore Future Shocks collection ($19.99), which collects all manner of (very) short stories from the Bearded One’s early days in 2000AD, with art by equally young masters like Dave Gibbons, Alan David, Steve Dillon and Brendan McCarthy, amongst others. Borag Thungg indeed, Earthlets.

When it comes to splurging, I’m taking that to mean double-dipping as opposed to buying insanely outrageously expensive items. I’ve already read Mark Waid’s wonderful Captain America: Man Out of Time, but now that it’s available in paperback (Marvel, $16.99), I might be tempted to buy it a second time.

Chris Arrant

Spaceman

If I had $15, I’d be all over the board but would start with the new Joe Casey/Nathan Fox joint Haunt #19 (Image/TMP, $2.99). I admit I didn’t jump onto the Haunt bandwagon when it first started, and despite seeing Greg Capullo on the book I never found the time to catch up. Seeing Casey and Fox jump on this gives me just the chance to do that. Next up would be Spaceman #2 ($2.99); I applaud DC for keeping the price point at $2.99, and seeing this dramatic divergence from 100 Bullets from Azz & Risso is something I eat up. Last up would be a pair of Marvel picks: Daredevil #6 ($2.99, Marvel) and Wolverine #19 ($3.99, Marvel).

If I had $30, I’d add to my stack starting with the new Thunder Agents Vol. 2 #1 ($2.99, DC). I enjoyed Nick Spencer’s first run on the title, and I’m a big proponent of artist Wes Craig and I’m excited to see what the two of them can do. Next up would be Uncanny X-Men #2 ($3.99, Marvel); stepping past my ambivalence to Greg Land and my appreciation of Kieron Gillen, I’m interested to see this team expand beyond the classic X-Men dynamic and turn into mutant ambassadors/enforcers in a political way. After that I’d get FF #12 (Marvel, $2.99). I love the transition of this book from being “The team formerly known as the FF” to being Marvel’s version of the Goonies, and seeing artist Juan Bobillo join it is invigorating as well as surprising. Lastly, I’d get Thunderbolts #166 ($2.99).

If I was to splurge like I did last Thursday at the dinner table, I would dig into The Complete Alan Moore Future Shocks ($19.99, 2000AD). I’ve read a majority of Alan Moore’s work post­-Swamp Thing, but his early British career is woefully underrepresented in my memory. I’m interested to see these stories from a younger Alan Moore, and I’d endorse more publishers to do more creator-centric collections like this in the future (hint hint, DC Comics, Alex Toth).

Brigid Alverson

Ernest and Rebecca: My Best Friend Is a Germ

If I had $15…

I would start with a graphic novel from Papercutz, Ernest and Rebecca: My Best Friend Is a Germ ($11.99), which Jim Salicrup pitched hard to me at NYCC. It’s an all-ages story of a girl who makes friends with a microbe, which helps her cope with her parents’ separation and various other problems. Since that’s likely to give me the sniffles, I’ll cheer myself up afterwards with Archie #627 ($2.99), the first issue of the Archie-meets-KISS arc.

If I had $30…

I’d toss the Archie comic and add in B.P.R.D.: Being Human ($17.99). I like the B.P.R.D. comics but I haven’t really read enough of them; this is billed as a stand-alone volume, so it looks like a good investment.

Splurge…

There’s a new book out from Archaia that caught my eye: Rust, an all-ages superhero story set on a farm during the Great Depression. At $24.95 for a hardcover copy, that’s a splurge, but it’s a manageable one. My other splurge would be Tintin: The Complete Companion ($35), a reissue of a book that came out a few years ago. And since I seem to be going for the Euro-comics this week, I’ll add in the fifth volume of the French fantasy story The Elsewhere Chronicles ($6.95), because I really like this series–it has more of an edge than most kids-in-a-strange-land stories.

Chris Mautner

Complete Alan Moore Future Shocks

If I had $15:

I’ve been reading the series as its been coming out in pamphlet form but if I wasn’t I might likely spend my $15 on the third RASL collection. Not many have said much about Jeff Smith’s current work lately, but it remains a slam-bang, captivating noir/sci-fi saga.

If I had $30:

I’d definitely pick up the Complete Alan Moore Future Shocks collection from 2000AD. I haven’t read much of Moore’s early work apart from Miracleman and really would like to become better acquainted with those stories, if for nothing else than for when I get around to doing a Comics College piece on Moore.

Splurge:

The new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, Cabin Fever, would make a perfect stocking stuffer for my daughter …

Blackest Friday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…as will Aspen Comics.

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

Fantagraphics minicomics

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

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

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

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

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

Wolverine and the X-Men

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

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

Chris Arrant

If I had $15, I’d get one from almost every box–Image’s Invincible #85 ($2.99), DC’s DMZ #71 ($2.99), Marvel’s Wolverine and The X-Men #2 ($3.99) and independent title RASL #12 ($3.50). Not much to say about any of these I haven’t already said, except anytime Cory Walker draws a book I’d pay twice cover price.

If I had $30, I’d sneak out of Thanksgiving preparations to first get a book I was surprised I liked as much as I did, despite the last issue’s ending: Shade #2 (DC, $2.99). One thing I wasn’t amped to see was Deathstroke, but given James Robinson and Cully Hammer’s track record I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Next up would be the epic (in my mind, at least) team-up of Warren Ellis and Michael Lark on Secret Avengers #19 (Marvel, $3.99). Seeing Ellis boil down the concept into “Run the mission. Don’t get seen. Save the world.” Hits me right between the eyes, and this new issue’s preview has be salivating over it. Last up, I’d pay the giant size price tag for Fantastic Four #600 (Marvel, $7.99) although my patience has worn a little thin with ending the series then bringing it back for #600.

For splurging, I’d put it all down on IDW’s Parker: The Martini Edition hardcover ($75). I already have the individual books on my shelf, but getting it all under one roof plus beaucoup process sketches and conversation from Darwyn Cooke makes this a must-have for me. And I can always gift my old individual Parker graphic novels to someone else!

Graeme McMillan

Flash #3

It’s a surprisingly light week for me this week, so if I had $15, I’d go for some books that I know I liked last time around. For example, The Flash #3 (DC, $2.99); Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato are doing a great job on this title based on the first couple of issues, so I’m on board for awhile. Same with Wolverine and The X-Men #2 (Marvel, $3.99); I was surprised by just how much I loved the debut, and bringing back what seems to be Krakatoa only makes me even more gleeful about the sense of humor on display here. Peter Milligan’s Justice League Dark #3 (DC, $2.99) would round out the haul; I liked that the second issue felt much more like Milligan’s Vertigo heyday to me than much of his recent work, and I’ll happily go for more of that, please.

If I had $30, I’d add DC Comics Presents The Life Story of The Flash #1 (DC, $7.99) to my pile; I didn’t read this book in its previous original graphic novel incarnation, but I loved Mark Waid’s original Flash run, so this feels like a lost gem from that incarnation for me. And I might go for Fantastic Four #600 (Marvel, $7.99), too, depending on whether or not I was feeling up for Jonathan Hickman’s style when I got to the store; if nothing else, I’m curious about the Ming Doyle strip therein.

Splurgewise, while I admit I’m tempted by the Parker Martini Edition (IDW, $75), my heart well and truly belongs to Evan Dorkin’s Milk & Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad hardcover (Dark Horse, $19.99), collecting all of Dorkin’s hilarious, manic, violent strip from the 1990s; I first discovered it in Deadline way back when, and that led me to find out about Pirate Corp$, Dork! and all of Dorkin’s other stuff. He’s really one of the most underrated cartoonists around, as far as I’m concerned, and I can’t wait to get this book.

Chris Mautner

RASL #12

If I had $15: It would be a toss-up for me between getting the 12th issue of Jeff Smith’s RASL and the ninth volume of NBM’s Smurf line, Gargamel and the Smurfs, and the 29th Little Lulu volume, The Cranky Giant. It would be a tough decision, but I suspect Little Lulu would win out in the end.

If I had $30: Assuming I didn’t get those Smurf and RASL books, I’d face another tough choice between the impressive Milk and Cheese collection from Dark Horse or The New Adventures of Herge, a docudrama/biography of sorts of the famed Tintin author by L’Association co-founder Stanislas and writers Jose-Louis Bocquet and Jean-Luc Fromental. (I’d probably get them discounted online in order to squeak under my budget — sorry local LCS.) Milk and Cheese would likely win out this round, as I love those little homicidal maniacs. Merv Griffin!

Splurge: OK, but all the really cool, must-have books are in the splurge category this week (as usual). In one corner, after years and years of fits and starts and delays and promises galore is the first volume of Fantagraphics Complete Pogo collection, Through the Wild Blue Yonder. In the other corner we have the first volume in Fantagraphics other, other, other big reprint project, Donald Duck, Lost in the Andes, which collects some great stories by the masterful Carl Barks. Then, in our third and final corner, there’s Everything: Blabber Blabber Blabber, the first in a series of big hardcover books collecting everything the also masterful Lynda Barry has ever done. Any of these books would be a pick of the week on their own. All three together? Just forget about your budget this one time. Your bank account will understand.

Michael May

Justice League Dark #3

If I had $15, I’d begin with my usual DC series for the week: Aquaman #3 ($2.99), Superman #3 ($2.99), and Justice League Dark #3 ($2.99). As I think about those though, I realize that I’m reading JLD for the potential of what I think it could be and where I hope it’s going, not because I’m particularly enjoying what it is. That sounds like something I need to stop buying monthly and wait for the collection. I’ll give it this one more month before trimming it out. I’m much more looking forward to Alpha Flight #6 ($2.99), which has been reliably entertaining since it started. I’m heart-broken that there are only three issues left. Finally, since I’ve still got three bucks in my pocket, I’ll pick up another issue from a canceled series, Daken: Dark Wolverine #17 ($2.99), but that’s because it’s got the Runaways in it and I miss those kids.

If I had $30, I’d add All-Star Western #3 ($3.99), the only New 52 title I don’t mind paying four bucks for. With Justice League and Action Comics, I count pages and look at back-up material before wincing that I’m paying that much for a comic. With All-Star Western, I feel like I’m getting four bucks of value in the pages themselves, however many there are. After that, I’d add Super Dinosaur, Volume 1 ($9.99). I read the first issue and it was fantastic. Nine-year-old me was thrilled, and he largely controls my wallet.

It’s easy to pick a splurge item this week. I’ve been wanting to read a good collection of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics for decades and IDW is making that finally possible with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1 ($49.99).

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

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

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

The Marvel booth is always crowded.

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

Rocketeer!

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

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

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

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

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

*****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

X-Men: Schism

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. We’re coming a little late today due to a power outage in my neck of the woods — due to a blackout, not because I spent the money for the electric bill on Flashpoint or Fear Itself tie-ins.

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

Chris Arrant

If I had $15, I’d make a mad grab for American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #2 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99); I love what Snyder and Murphy are doing here, and anyone who knows me knows how big a fan I am of Murphy’s work. Next up would be the debut of Jonathan Hickman’s Redwing #1 (Image, $3.50); after seeing Hickman blossom at Marvel, it’s great to see him re-invest in creator-owned comics. Third would be Jason Aaron and Carlos Pacheco’s X-Men Schism #1 (Marvel, $4.99); I have a sense Aaron’s the kind of writer to bring his “A” game when it comes to special stories (he did it recently in Scalped #50), so I’m interested to see what he does here. Last up would be Northlanders #42 (DC, $2.99).

If I had $30, I’d double-up on two indie series; Jeff Smith’s RASL#11 ($3.50) and Loose Ends #1 (12 Gauge, $3.99). Then I’d go back to Marvel and get FF #6 (Marvel, $2.99) and Wolverine #12 (Marvel, $3.99).

If I had some money to splurge, I’d get the great Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies trade paperback (Image, $18.99). It has two things I like — weird variations on a long-running character, and an eclectic line-up of creators. It’s almost as if the Popgun crew had a go at Larsen’s Dragon.

Graeme McMillan

Captain America #1

I admit: Thanks to traveling, work overload and just plain busyness, I’ve completely failed to make it to a comic store in the last few weeks, so if/when I hit the store this week, I’ll be less interested in the new releases than I will be just seeing what I’ve missed since mid-June. But if someone were to insist that I spend $15 on books from this week, chances are I’d spend it on Captain America #1 (Marvel, $3.99)–I’m curious to see what Ed Brubaker does with the idea of a new beginning for the character, especially considering the fact that he’s essentially been doing one 70+ issue storyline since the last time he relaunched the series –as well as Superman #713 (DC, $2.99), because I’m curious to see where the Man of Steel goes in my neck of the woods (presuming, of course, he gets there and someone at DC hasn’t taken offense at something else Chris Roberson has written this issue) and, completing an unconscious cycle, DC Comics Presents Gotham Noir (DC, $7.99), reprinting an early collaboration between Brubaker and Sean Philips that promises to be grim yet enjoyable reading.

If I had $30, I’d make a point of adding Ultimate Comics Fallout #1 (Marvel, $3.99), because I hope it’ll include something to make the “Death of Spider-Man” storyline so amazingly emotionally vapid, Green Lantern #67 (DC, $2.99) because I’m curious to see how that whole “War of The Green Lanterns” ended up–My bet? Hal is shown the box office take of the GL movie and has to face real fear for the first time–and X-Men: Schism #1 (Marvel, $4.99) because I am masochistic enough to be curious about how this particular Cyclops/Wolverine clash will differ from the seventy-nine similar clashes in their past.

Splurging this week for me will probably take the form of just buying all the books I’d meant to get for the last three weeks or so, but if I were to look at something from this week’s list, I’d probably take a look at the Bloom County To Mars: The Imagination of Berkeley Breathed catalog from the Cartoon Art Museum’s recent exhibit that IDW is making available in the direct market ($20)…

Chris Mautner

It’s a pretty quiet week for me, so if I had $15, I’d probably just stick with the 11th issue of Jeff Smith’s RASL.

If I had $30, I’d pick up the trade for Incognito: Bad Influences. There’s something about Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ work together that just really accentuates their particular strengths.

As far as Splurge items go, that Bloom County book that Graeme mentioned sounds rather intriguing, so let’s go with that.

Brigid Alverson

If I had $15, I’d spend the whole thing on the fourth volume of Cross Game ($14.99), Misturi Adachi’s charming story of boys and girls and baseball, packaged by Viz in a double-sized volume of almost 400 pages.

If I had $30, I’d take a chance on The Homeland Directive ($14.95), a new thriller out from Top Shelf that looks like it would make good summer reading.

My splurge is pretty modest this week: The third issue of Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors, which would be my first choice if the other books weren’t 15 bucks each. Nothing other than that is calling out to me, so I’ll save the rest of my splurge money for next week.

Michael May

Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #2

If I had $15, I’d load up first on three different series I’m following: Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #2 ($2.99), Alpha Flight #2 ($2.99), and Mystery Men #3 ($2.99). I’ve written about Alpha Flight and Mystery Men here before, so I’ll spare you, but Frankenstein has a great concept and Jeff Lemire did an excellent job on the first issue by drawing me in without making me feel like I needed to buy any other Flashpoint titles to follow his story. Next I’d add Defenders: From the Marvel Vault #1 ($2.99), because I’m curious and excited to see Kurt Busiek write a story over Mark Bagley’s art that was already produced from a Fabian Niceza script. That’s a crazy experiment that I wouldn’t pay money to see many people do, but Busiek…you bet. Finally, if I just had 50 cents more I’d grab the new RASL or BPRD, but I don’t, so I’ll buy All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #9 ($2.99) instead. I’m not a big Hawkman fan, but B:tBatB has consistently been strong enough that it doesn’t have to rely on my affection for its guest-stars.

If I had $30, I’d add Casanova: Gula ($14.99) to see how it’s improved since I read it in single-issues from Image.

My splurge item this week wouldn’t be actual comics. Instead, I’d buy the Triton and Black Manta figurines from Eaglemoss ($14 each) and make them fight each other.

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

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

*****

Bone One Volume Slipcase Edition

DC Universe: The Stories Of Alan Moore

[A quick note before we go too much farther: I started writing this post before DC’s big announcement about its September-and-beyond plans. In fact, I wanted this particular post to be about something other than Flashpoint and/or line-wide reboots -- so depending on your perspective, I picked exactly the right week, or exactly the wrong week, to draw that line. In any case, it’s probably not hard to tell, from the past few weeks’ worth of posts, where I stand on current events.

[So there you go. On with the business at hand.]

Since it’s pretty much summer, and time to think about catching up on reading, let’s revisit DC’s list of “30 Essential Graphic Novels” — “best-selling titles that you must read[, ]whether you are just beginning to discover graphic novels or you are an established fan looking to expand your collection.”

The list is almost four years old, and has had a few minor updates. (Pride Of Baghdad replaced The Quitter, and Crayon Shinchan replaced Sword Of The Dark Ones.) For the most part, though, it’s the same compilation — heavy on the Batman and the Jeph Loeb, a decent amount of Alan Moore (but no Swamp Thing), a couple of Sandman books and Hellblazer, but no Wonder Woman, no Joe Kubert, and no Jack Kirby. While there are at least a couple of representatives from each of DC’s imprints, there aren’t many hints at the real scope of DC’s diverse publishing history.

Now, I understand that everyone could come up with his or her own unique list. Mine won’t be entirely satisfactory, and neither will yours. I have tried to be wide-ranging (although I have focused more on the DCU books), but to a certain extent I am more interested in exploring the lower tiers of DC’s collections. Everybody knows Batman, Alan Moore and Frank Miller; not everyone knows Jack Knight, Gail Simone, or Grant Morrison.

Another couple of caveats — I didn’t include any book that was already on DC’s list, not because I think my list is better from top to bottom, but again in order to be more diverse. Also, I think all these books are still in print, or at least available at reasonable prices.

Accordingly, in rough chronological order, here’s my alternative thirty….

* * *

We begin in the Golden Age, and I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say these stories changed comics forever. The first books in the Superman Chronicles and Batman Chronicles series are worth your time not just for their historical significance, but also because they show how the characters have changed over the decades. While Superman went through some significant upgrades, especially in the Silver Age, to me it’s also instructive to see how quickly Batman went from “grim urban avenger” to joking father-figure. Similarly, the first (and so far, the only) Wonder Woman Chronicles sets out right from the start the vision that William Moulton Marston had for his creation. It’s not so heavy on the kink as it would be, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting.

Jumping to the Silver Age, one has to include the first Flash Chronicles. Truthfully, there aren’t a lot of “pure” Silver Age books on my list, because I’m not sure you need a lot if you just want an overview. Gardner Fox’s stories and Carmine Infantino’s pencils influenced quite a few of DC’s subsequent revamps, such that books like Green Lantern and Justice League of America tended to look and sound the same. Not that they’re not enjoyable on their own merits; just that Flash gets the nod for being first.

Another perspective on the Silver Age comes from Showcase Presents The Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 1, reprinting the venerable team’s formative years. This does have a bit more of the “Silver Age Crazy” fans talk about, because I’m pretty sure it contains at least one Legion of Super-Pets story. More to the point, it comes from the editorial office of Mort Weisinger, the man who exploded the Superman mythology in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I wanted to include at least one LSH book on the list, and I almost went with The Great Darkness Saga, but for our purposes the early stories are better.

DC history involves more than superheroes, so my list includes three Showcase Presents books which get into war comics and Westerns. Bob Kanigher and Joe Kubert are synonymous with DC’s war books, so naturally I include Showcase Presents Sgt. Rock Vol. 1 and Showcase Presents Enemy Ace. Frank Rock and Hans von Hammer are very different characters, but both series show how their senses of honor and duty are tested by the rigors of war. Showcase Presents Jonah Hex also gives us a sort of anti-hero, more ethical and moral by comparison by the lawless world around him.

Moving into the 1970s, I wanted to include the Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams, but their color collections are out of print. My reluctant substitute is Green Lantern: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, mostly because it includes the introduction of GL John Stewart from GL vol. 2 #87. That’s a highlight of the O’Neil/Adams run, although it’s not as preachy as some of the others. All of the O’Neil/Adams stories are available in black-and-white in Showcase Presents GL Vol. 5.

It should go without saying that the Fourth World needs some representation on any best-of-DC list, and readers who want an introduction have a couple of options. The two-volume paperback series Jimmy Olsen Adventures By Jack Kirby can be had for a reasonable amount, but it only reprints Kirby’s (still mind-bending) run on Jimmy Olsen. For the full New Gods experience, I’d go all-in with the first Jack Kirby Omnibus.

As with Green Lantern/Green Arrow, I’d wanted to include the seminal Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers run on Detective Comics from 1977-78, but that collection (Batman: Strange Apparitions) is out of print. In its stead, I’d recommend the first Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told paperback, which includes O’Neil and Adams’ classic “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge.” Either that or you could wait for the big Marshall Rogers hardcover, coming in a few months.

We leave the ‘70s with Crisis On Multiple Earths Vol. 4, reprinting the Justice League/Justice Society team-ups from 1975, 1976, and 1977. The first story is an odd duck involving a couple of DC writers from Earth-Prime, but the other two are more straightforward “third-party” adventures, first with the Marvel Family and other ex-Fawcett characters, and then with the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Legion story is one of my favorites, if that helps at all.

The 1980s bring us two absolute musts, both from Alan Moore: Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol. 1, and DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore. As with Jack Kirby, it’s hard to overstate Moore’s contributions to DC’s superhero line, to say nothing of Swamp Thing’s role laying the groundwork for Vertigo. The DCU book also includes “For The Man Who Has Everything,” “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?” and The Killing Joke, Moore’s most noteworthy Superman and Batman stories.

DC relaunched several superhero titles in the late ‘80s, many of which proved pretty influential. Chief among these was the George Pérez revamp of Wonder Woman, the first collection of which (Gods and Mortals) tells a nice, fairly self-contained, origin story. I also recommend the first volumes of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire’s Justice League International, John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell’s Suicide Squad (Trial By Fire), and Grant Morrison and Richard Case’s Doom Patrol (Crawling From The Wreckage).

The ‘90s saw more experimentation from DC, although some of it was under different imprints. Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool (by Robert L. Washington, Dwayne McDuffie, and John Paul Leon) collects the first arc of 1993′s Static, along with 2001′s four-issue Rebirth of the Cool miniseries. From WildStorm I picked the first Astro City collection, Life In The Big City. Regular DC wasn’t too bad either, represented here by Starman Omnibus Vol. 1 (James Robinson and Tony Harris), Hitman: A Rage In Arkham (Garth Ennis and John McCrea), and JLA: One Million (Grant Morrison, Val Semeiks, et al.).

Finally, the last decade has had its share of good collections. I picked JLA/Avengers, Darwyn Cooke’s first Spirit collection, the biting satire Dr. 13: Architecture & Mortality, Jeff Smith’s Shazam!: The Monster Society Of Evil, the first Madame Xanadu collection (Disenchanted), the gorgeous Batwoman: Elegy, and Secret Six: Unhinged (first collection from the current series).

* * *

Now, those aren’t all “graphic novels” in the strictest sense — many are just collections of individual issues, or samplers of decades-old series. To me, though, it seems a little disingenuous to frame a product as a graphic novel when DC is still so heavily invested in weekly comics sales.

Naturally, there are a number of series I wanted to include, but which for various reasons didn’t make the cut. These include the first Joshua Dysart/Alberto Ponticelli Unknown Soldier collection (Haunted House) and the first Planetary collection (All Over The World), both excellent intros to extra-good series which ended up in the “others receiving votes” category. I tried to stay away from hardcovers, so as to keep things affordable (thus, no Wednesday Comics), but clearly missed that goal. I really wanted to include at least one New Teen Titans book, but I think you need to start from the beginning in order to appreciate the impact of stories like “The Judas Contract” and “Who Is Donna Troy?” Sadly, those early issues have only been reprinted in the out-of-print New Teen Titans Archives vol. 1. (They’ll be reprinted in the forthcoming NTT Omnibus, but that was too pricey for me.) At least read the Terra Incognito paperback before you crack open Judas Contract, to get an idea of what regular readers went through.

Again, I’m sure there are significant omissions, but overall I think it’s a good start. The Justice League comes out pretty well, with four books; and Batman and Wonder Woman get two apiece. Superman gets three, but only if you count the Legion book and the Jack Kirby book. (Part of that is because Superman: Birthright and All Star Superman are both on DC’s list.)  Besides the Greatest Green Lantern Stories book, there are a few Green Lantern Corps stories in the Alan Moore DCU book.  Bob Kanigher and Joe Kubert get two books, as do Moore, Grant Morrison, and George Pérez. Still, it shows a nice range of styles and storytelling formats, and I think it would serve both a DC newcomer and a lifer pretty well.

Of course, by this time next year we’ll all be looking at 52 collections of the first six issues of those coming-in-September titles, and then I’ll have to pick thirty of those….

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Clip and save –  the Grumpy Old Fan “Alternative Thirty,” in alphabetical order:

Astro City: Life In The Big City
Batman Chronicles vol. 1
Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told vol. 1
Batwoman: Elegy
DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore
Doom Patrol: Crawling From The Wreckage
Dr. 13: Architecture & Mortality
Crisis On Multiple Earths vol. 4
Flash Chronicles vol. 1
Green Lantern: The Greatest Stories Ever Told
Hitman: A Rage In Arkham
JLA/Avengers
JLA: One Million
Justice League International vol. 1
Jack Kirby Omnibus vol. 1
Madame Xanadu: Disenchanted
Saga of the Swamp Thing vol. 1
Secret Six: Unhinged
Shazam!: The Monster Society Of Evil (Jeff Smith)
Showcase Presents Enemy Ace
Showcase Presents Jonah Hex vol. 1
Showcase Presents The Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 1
Showcase Presents Sgt. Rock vol. 1
The Spirit vol. 1 (Darwyn Cooke)
Starman Omnibus vol. 1
Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool
Suicide Squad: Trial By Fire
Superman Chronicles vol. 1
Wonder Woman Chronicles vol. 1
Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals

Remember back when burglars conveniently identified themselves by wearing striped shirts and masks? Bone creator Jeff Smith does, and his variant cover for Superman #713 has a retro feel to it. The comic goes on sale on July 13 (7/13), which makes it easy to remember, and the regular cover is by John Cassaday.

Jeff also posted his pencil sketch for the cover at his Facebook page.

Little Mouse Gets Ready, and he teaches French as well!

Toon Books, the early-reader comics imprint helmed by Francoise Mouly, is relaunching three of its iPhone apps: Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons, by Agnes Rosensteihl; Jack and the Box, by Art Spiegelman, and Little Mouse Gets Ready, by Jeff Smith. Yes, you can get comics by the creators of Maus and Bone for free! All are worth a look on their own merits, and they also make an excellent distraction should you find yourself in the company of bored, fidgety children.

Of course, the free app is just the start—as soon as you open it up, you get the option to purchase an audio version in English or a variety of other languages.

I looked over the Little Mouse app, and it looked good, although the automated page turns are a little disconcerting. (You can turn that off from the start menu but not once you are reading the book.) All three books were originally published in a landscape format so they fit nicely on the screen, and the resolution is good even when blown up to double size for the iPad. And compared to $12.95 for the hardcovers, the free app is a steal.

Good-Bye Chunky Rice

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

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

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

Night Fisher

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

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

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

Lose #1

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

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

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

Kirby King of Comics

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

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

*****

Brigid Alverson

Strangers in Paradise

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

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

Carla Hoffman

New Mutants #23

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

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

Michael May

Colonia

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

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

Tim O’Shea

Yo Gabba Gabba

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

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

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

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

Tom Bondurant

Green Lantern #64

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

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

Ryan Cody

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

The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women

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

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

Bone Pewter Figures

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

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

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

Bone: Full Color One Volume Collector's Box Set

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

There will actually be three different versions:

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

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

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

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

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

Bone: Quest for the Spark

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

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

Chris Mautner

If I had $15:

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

If I had $30:

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

Splurge:

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

Brigid Alverson

If I had $15:

Psychiatric Tales

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

If I had $30:

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

Splurge:

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

Graeme McMillan

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever

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

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

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

JK Parkin

Power Man and Iron Fist

If I had $15:

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

If I had $30:

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

Splurge:

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

Chris Arrant

If I had $15:

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

If I had $30:

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

Splurge:

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

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

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

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

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