solicitations
The Middle Ground #72 | Internet fail, apparently
I’ve written before about my frustration with Previews, the monthly catalog that’s roughly the size of what we used to call “a phone book” — just think, one day phone books won’t exist, and yet we’ll still say that things are “like a phone book,” because that’s how language works — but this weekend, I realized: Previews is still better than the Internet.
- October 4, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Graeme McMillan
The Fifth Color | End of the line with Marvel’s December solicitations
That's a strange amount of whimsy from Matt Murdock...
Now, I will admit that the Distinguished Competition has given this month an air of finality. So many No. 1 issues, what could possibly come next? Tonight there will be drinks raised high and hands shaken to a job well done as their Wrap Party ends this publishing month at Golden Apple Comics. And it does seem a little final, doesn’t it?
It’s the perfect mood for looking ahead to December, where the last of the Marvel books published this year will leave 2011 not with a bang or a whimper, but with a dawn of things to come. I’m not saying it’s a very big dawn or a brilliant one either; right now, I will full admit things look kind of so-so for December at Marvel …
… then again, I have been wrong before, so let’s take a look at December’s books, shall we?
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- September 30, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Previews: What Looks Good for November
The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths
It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes, and first issues so that I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “ Dark Horse Presents is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.
Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.
Ape
Puss in Boots Movie Prequel – I don’t care for movie prequel comics as a rule, but swashbuckling cats are awesome in any incarnation. As long as these are fresh gags and not just ones warmed up from Shrek, I expect to enjoy this.
Archaia
Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Book 1 - I just introduced my son to The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth a couple of weeks ago, so this is great timing. He had the same questions about The Dark Crystal‘s world that I always do, so I’m looking forward to seeing Archaia’s take on answering those. Totally feel like the world’s in good hands with this publisher and these creators.
The Sigh - If Archaia’s snagging Marjane Satrapi’s (Persepolis, Chicken With Plums) new book has been reported already, I missed it. I’m surprised that wasn’t bigger news.
Siegfried, Volume 1 – I’ve been meaning to read P Craig Russell’s Ring of the Nibelung adaptation for years, so I think this might be what pushes me to finally do it. It would be fun to read Russell’s and compare it to this version by Alex Alice.
- September 9, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Michael May
The Fifth Color | Forward into the Past with Marvel for November 2011
I hate to start it out this way, but we have to talk.
Despite fan apathy, despite the louder bolder act from the Distinguished Competitor, Fear Itself is a mighty fine event book. It has a very easy premise that people unfamiliar with comics can get into (hey, you know Thor? It’s like all the bad guys are that strong now), it’s got that “Versus” style atmosphere where people can debate all day long on who should have really been the first down or defeated in the Worthy vs. Heroes, it’s got a super-powered upgrade coming up for us by Iron Man, there’s been some tragedy and some triumph, and coming up in October, we’ll have closure with an ending that multiple comics can build up or down from.
Fear Itself #7.1
Fear Itself #7.2
Fear Itself #7.3
Or maybe not.
Remember in the last Lord of the Rings movie when they just kept having to tie up so many loose ends or add so much finality to the main story that it just felt like the audience just didn’t know where to applaud in a well-made film? Or even worse, you drank a really big soda during a three-hour+ movie and really wanted it to have a firm sense of a finish so you could escape? Yeah.
So, thanks to some New Math numbering by Marvel, it looks like #7 of Fear Itself really doesn’t end so much for our heroes because come November, we’re getting a Captain America ending, an Iron Man ending and a Thor ending (Depending on how well you do playing through the game, does this unlock any achievements?) If your mini-series is seven issues long, you should be able to tell me a complete story between issues #1 and #7. Afterwards, if there is a banner theme running around the books as they’ve done historically since Avengers: Disassembled and even further with some of the old annual arcs, so be it. I think, as comic readers, we’re more familiar with picking up what looks good coming out of a major event and deciding for ourselves that hey, let’s see the prologue with a certain character after the book is finished. Even a Fear Itself: Thor #1 one-shot would be more preferable, because at least with some distance from the main series, it feels like we’re moving on and not buying a very sneaky issues #8, 9 and 10.
Yeah, it’s probably too much of a sour note to play against the backdrop of a very solid set of storytelling, but man. What a way to start November.
Let’s see what else is coming from the House of Ideas in November 2011, shall we?
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- August 26, 2011 @ 03:30 PM by Carla Hoffman
Previews: What Looks Good for October
Spera, Volume 1
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, “Jeff Lemire’s Frankenstein is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.
Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.
Archaia
The Grave Doug Freshley – A lot of publishers are doing Weird Western comics lately and that’s just fine with me.
Spera, Volume 1 – I like the sound of this fairy tale in which a couple of princesses combine efforts to save their kingdoms. It’s not that I’m anti-prince, but that’s a cool, new way to do that story.
Avatar
Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island – Warren Ellis doing Steampunk sounds thrilling, but really all they had to say was “pirates.” I bet this is still really good though, even if you’re pickier than I am.
Boom!
Roger Langridge’s Snarked #1 – After a well-loved zero-issue, Langridge’s version of Wonderland gets its real, official start.
- August 10, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Michael May
The Fifth Color | Looking at Marvel for October 2011
Fear Itself #7
You guys.
We did it.
This is, quite possibly, the best it’s ever going to get. Two opening weekends of more than $65 million from Marvel Studios movies this summer, Thor and Captain America, combined with the $55 million from X-Men: First Class … I feel like I want to go buy a jet ski! We really did own the box office this year, and I am so proud to see the House of Ideas forge their own path in Hollywood and come out on top for staying close to the stories we adore and yet still forging entirely new ones for a new generation.
Then there’s print media. I know, it’s a weird time to be looking ahead to October, because events tend to end around this time of year, if not simply reveal their catastrophically shocking twists. So the solicitations have shed a lot of words like trees shedding leaves, both leaving us with the bare branches of what will later flower in the spring with … well, whatever next big story will dazzle the public.
I will be honest with you, gentle reader; this one will be a little bare as a snapshot of Marvel’s titles in October. Add to this that I wasn’t at Comic-Con this year, so I can’t exactly report or add info I heard at the show. The good news is that CBR is the most dashing and handsome news site out there, so you can catch all the coverage here.
Thanks to the seasonal shift that event books create, there’s a lot of stuff we just can’t say or know about until we hold those issues in our hot little hands. On the other hand, you can’t keep everything a mystery without the public going to town on speculation, so let’s delve int the unknown of October and see what Marvel has around this corner.
- July 29, 2011 @ 05:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Grumpy Old Fan | New 52, Month Two: DC solicits for October 2011
Don Newton and Dick Giordano provide a classic Batman cover
Sometimes it’s been hard for me to process the New 52 as anything but an amorphous mass of, well, Newness. In this respect, DC’s October solicitations are helping to define that mass, with details like the five-year timeframe and Superman’s work boots.
Still, despite the promise of widespread change — and the somewhat-irrational implication that those who aren’t curious now will be left behind later — it’s been fairly easy for me almost to ignore the solicits, and just buy the books when they come out. After all, presumably DC is after new (or returning) readers who don’t follow the solicits and aren’t attuned to the spoilers.
Besides, the October solicits also include some attractive reprints; so let’s get right to it, shall we?
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- July 21, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
The Fifth Color | Forward into the Past with Marvel in September
They're breaking up Superman and Lois Lane?!?
What’s the point?
This is like hosting the best block party for three months straight, and then suddenly the guy next door rents an outdoor projector and starts playing “Best of the Web” YouTube videos on the side of his house. People just can’t help but turn their heads. Is it a wise idea? Aren’t these just constant clips of low-rent YouTube versions of Jackass? Why can’t I look away?
So here we are, minding our own business, when the Distinguished Competition comes out with a hefty announcement for their September line-up. It’s bright and shiny and controversial and loud, and maybe this is what the other half feels like every time Marvel announces that they are going to create a studio to make their own movies, make a push for trade paperbacks, support digital comics or kick off a whole new universe where characters are younger and more movie-savvy for the modern comic reader.
Yeah! So let’s look at September, people! Let’s face front to the future and remind ourselves that no matter the number on the cover, it’s the content that counts. What’s Marvel bringing to the fore in September?
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- June 17, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Grumpy Old Fan | New DCU revue: DC Comics Solicitations for September 2011
Sexy Black Flash. Sexy. Black. Flash. SEXY ... BLACK ... FLASH.
Even after all the news, and all the reactions thereto, I thought there was still a little to be revealed in September’s DC solicitations. Would the First Wave books or Batman Beyond be there, moved “outside” the scope of the superhero-dominated main line? (Apparently not.) Would there be obscure reprints to pore over? (Oh my yes.) How weird could the Ame-Comi line get? (Three words: Sexy Black Flash.)
Nevertheless, this week I’m looking at the New 52′s impact on my personal bottom line, and — although I am far from the first blogger to do so — offering my take on what looks good for the foreseeable future.
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- June 16, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
The Fifth Color | Forward into the Past with Marvel solicitations for August 2011
August is going to look a lot like this
So here we are, looking ahead to August. The confetti and streamers from what will probably be the most successful year of Marvel films to date (three summer movies released consecutively helps!) will be quietly swept up, the San Diego Comic Con will have probably released tantalizing footage of the next year’s main event, the Avengers movie and oh, yeah. Something something comics something.
Looking to my extensive notes, I have dusted off the leather tomes of yesteryear and found that 2010 wasn’t half as lively as this year is shaping up to be. Sure, it was a month of endings and beginnings, plus vampires were everywhere and Shadowland was just kicking out the jams in all its mini-series glory but … looking back now, maybe it’s the nostalgia that keeps me from thinking better of the books that came out in August last year. Maybe it’s because I already know what became of each ending or beginning, how important vampires turned out to be and that yes, the Cable & the New Mutants: X-Force HC was a clue that Nate Summers was going to bow out at the end of Second Coming (man, Second Coming was last year? It feels like it’s been longer than that…).
With that in mind, can I tell you how excited I am for Fear Itself #5? Come look ahead at August and see what Marvel has in store after their banner year in film.
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- May 20, 2011 @ 03:30 PM by Carla Hoffman
Grumpy Old Fan | Surprise me: DC Comics Solicitations for August 2011
Featuring the classic Blizzard vs. Polar Bear battle!
One tagline for the big alien-invasion movie Independence Day cautioned, “Don’t make plans for August.” Well, perhaps the biggest news coming out of DC’s August solicitations is the pervasive sense of foreboding they have about September. Rich Johnston maintains that a whole crop of new No. 1 issues is on tap for the fall, but there are no “FINAL ISSUE!” blurbs to be found on any of the current ongoing series.
While that doesn’t rule out a line-wide relaunch, the solicits also seem to say that readers won’t have to worry about a line-wide reboot. As noted in this space a couple of weeks back, the degree of change will probably be different for different titles. Nevertheless, now that we have a better idea of how August will look, let’s see what it says about September….
- May 19, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Previews: What Looks Good for July
Sergio Aragonés Funnies #1
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, “Alpha Flight 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.
Abstract Studios
Terry Moore’s Echo Complete Edition – Collecting all 30 issues of the Strangers in Paradise creator’s sci-fi epic.
Rachel Rising #1 – And kicking of Moore’s new series, featuring a girl who rises up out of her shallow grave and tries to figure out how she got there.
Bongo
Sergio Aragonés Funnies #1 – I can’t think of a better publisher for a book like this and it’s nice to see Bongo’s growing beyond its Simpsons and Futurama books a little.
Boom!
The Amory Wars: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth, Volume 3 – I haven’t read these myself, but I know at least one Coheed and Cambria fan who doesn’t read a lot of comics, but snatches these up as soon as they come out. Because of that, they’re worth not only mentioning, but being happy about.
- May 5, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Michael May
Grumpy Old Fan | Life, liberty and the pursuit of DC Comics Solicitations for July 2011
Doc Savage, still not cancelled
For most of us, it’s getting to be the middle of April. Everything is blooming and getting greener. Our thoughts turn to familiar rites of spring like baseball, taxes, and that new Green Lantern preview.
On Earth-Solicits, of course, it’s July. The greenery is withering in the heat, the tax refund is spent, and half the Reds are sick thanks to being downwind from the Proctor & Gamble plant. Nevertheless, the residents of Earth-Solicits are just bursting at the seams, excited to tell you all that’s been happening in their world …
… but they can’t tell you everything, because then you’d have no reason to visit.
This sort of fan dance is especially pronounced in the current crop of solicitations. When something like a third of DC’s superhero line is taken up with titles like War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath, Brightest Day Aftermath, and especially the cottage industry which is Flashpoint — titles which jump off from endings readers have yet to see, and/or which go deeper into books yet to begin — it’s hard to get excited, because right now it’s all hype for hype’s sake.
Thankfully, that’s not all there is to the July solicitations, so let’s cruise on….
- April 14, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Previews: What Looks Good for June
Old City Blues
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, “Batman: The Brave and the Bold 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 – feel free to mention your own stuff.
AdHouse
Welcome to Oddville! – It’s got Jay Stephens’ (Tutenstein, The Secret Saturdays) name on it, so I’m going to need to have it.
Antarctic
Gobs #1 – Likewise this with Richard Moore’s name. I’d rather it be a new Boneyard issue, but I’ll take vile goblins living in a giant’s corpse.
Archaia
Old City Blues – Archaia’s got a great track record when it comes to entertaining me, so if I’m going to take a chance on a cyberpunk story – a genre that I either love or loathe depending on the story – I feel like I’m in pretty good hands with them.
Dark Horse
Conan: Island of No Return #1 – I just realized what Lost was missing: a haunted castle and the greatest barbarian in the world.
- April 6, 2011 @ 08:33 PM by Michael May
Grumpy Old Fan | That flash of green: DC Comics Solicitations for June 2011
Dear Jack Black: you can be Green Lantern only if you are Arkiss Chummuck. Or G'Nort.
With the Green Lantern movie coming out in the middle of the month, June looms big for DC’s superhero line. Since writer/executive Geoff Johns has become so identified with GL, you’d expect it would be a big month for him too — and indeed, between GL-related items and the Flashpoint event, Johns’ influence is felt all around the June solicitations.
Away we go –!
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MORE LIKE “CASHPOINT,” AMIRITE?
Sometimes I think Flashpoint should completely interrupt DC’s superhero line for three to five months. After all, if all of DC history is changed (again), but the ongoing books can still tell current, normal-timeline stories, aren’t readers just waiting for the reset button to be pushed? Still, whatever suspense might be gained from such a setup is probably outweighed by the aggravation it would cause; not just to readers who’d have to wait out those months, but to DC’s professionals themselves, who’d either have to arrange things logistically to avoid disruptions, or risk leaving an ongoing arc hanging. In any case, obviously none of the regular DC books are going on a break to accommodate and/or reflect Flashpoint — except for The Flash, which is eminently appropriate.
- March 17, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant