May 23, 2007

Quick Review of this Week's New Release List (5-23-7)

by Chris M.

Before we get to the Quick Review proper, I'd like to give a shout out to everyone who commented on last week's Quick Review -- thanks, guys! And keep 'em coming. The Quick Review is powered by love -- or insults, we'll take either one (we're not proud). By contributing comments to the Quick Review, you make the world a better comic book place.

Let's get biz-ay...

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As we walk in fields of indy comics gold:

  • A & J Books brings us the Field Guide to Midwest Monsters GN. "Monsters?" I thought, my mental ears perking up. It turns out, not so much -- replace "monsters" with "weird shit some dudes made up (and drawn in kind of an early Slug Signorino style)." I'll be giving this one a wide berth.

  • AC Comics releases Best of the West #60. If I read AC's website right correctly, they appear to have acquired the rights to a whole posse o' cowboys and cowgals published in the past by a herd o' publishers, in part to "keep this genre alive as a part of American heritage." I wouldn't call myself a fan of Western anything, but I think this is a darn-tootin' fine idea (and since they're up to issue #60, I guess people buy it). Yee-haw!

  • Antarctic Press gives the world Final Girl #1 (of 5). I guess she becomes more final as the miniseries gets closer to the end (and would the alternate title for this be "X: the Last Girl?").

  • AP is also releasing Gold Digger #85. And in its second volume no less (although I can't tell from the AP website if, in fact, eighty-five issues of Gold Digger have in fact been published). The Quick Review, naturally, has no idea what this is about -- it looks like it started out as kind of a Foglio-does-furry thing but now looks to be justanother Amerimanga title (with standard human Amerimanga characters).

  • Speaking of Gold Digger, this week also bears witness to the arrival of Gold Digger Peebo Tales Summer Fun Special #1, and Gold Digger Swimsuit Special 2007. I didn't realize anyone was still doing swimsuit specials (maybe they can do a comiquette statue too). It also occurs to me that a Summer Fun Special and a Swimsuit Special is kind of redundant, since, presumably, summer fun would involve swimsuits. Still, if cheesecake Amerimanga is your bag, AP appears to have a double-dose for you this week.

  • Black Coat Press brings us Zembla Vol 1 TPB. I'm guessing this is a collection of material from some Euro comic. "An orphan is raised by lions and become king of the Jungle." Now, I could get behind this if they did a comic where Zembla leads his army of lions against Tarzan and his army of apes. Then they could team up and fight their real enemy, Honkor, an elephant who was raised by humans and becomes their leader.

  • Continuity is realsing Neal Adams Sketches SC. Neal is still a great artist and still thinks the Earth is expanding (of course, what makes Neal fun is that he's so darned whacky about it).

  • Devils Due Publishing falls in with GI Joe Special Missions Brazil. Hmmm...I wonder what "special mission" Joe might have in Brazil... (imagines the incredibly not safe for work "Phat Booty Brazil" website)

  • IDW Publishing is bringing out Legend of Grimjack Vol 7 TPB. So I collected the first 30 or 40 issues of the original Grimjack comic. I don't think anything worth reading happened after that, did it?

  • Sanctum Productions brings us Doc Savage Double Novel Vol 6 and Shadow Double Novel Vol 7. Are these reprints of old pulp novels?

  • TwoMorrows Publishing is throwing down with Back Issue #22. This is the one with the big Levitz/Giffen interview about the Legion (Giffen: "Man, between the end of the old Baxter series and v.4, did I fuck up the Legion or what? I am a golden death god!").

  • Virgin Comics gets funky with Devi #11, Snakewoman Special Collectors Edition #0, and Walk-In #6. I haven't read any of these and they look pretty weird. I'm not really grokking Virgin's strategy here, unless it's to sell the movie rights for some of these to Ballywood.

Dark Horse Comics has a few choice offerings for us this week:

  • Outer Orbit #4. "Orbit" sounds astronaut-ish, which I dig. Let's see what this is: "In space, no one can hear you scream . . . or belch, or swear, or cry like a little girl when you're about to be taken down by merciless interstellar bounty hunters who want that mysterious idol you swiped from that hot chick who inexplicably gave you the tip of a lifetime (if you know what I mean) when you showed up at the wrong hotel room with the pizza delivery." In other words, welcome to Trying-too-Hard-to-be-Funny-while-Trotting-out-a-Bunch-of-Cliches Theater.

  • Star Wars Legacy #12. Star Wars, nothing but Star Waaaaars, duh-duh-duh-duh!

DC Comics has cut a swath of destruction through the forests of deepest, darkest Canada to bring you:

  • Birds of Prey #106. I wonder if any of the ladies in this issue will be bending over in a suggestive manner to pick articles of clothing out of strategically placed laundry baskets.

  • Encyclopedia Of Comicbook Heroes Vol 1 Batman TPB. As mentioned by Jason here.

  • Hellblazer #232. Damn, 232! I find the character insufferable after about 23 pages, never mind 232 issues. So is this the longest-running non-Action or Detective Comics title DC currently has?

  • Ninja Scroll #9. Ninjas, nothing but ninjaaaaaas, duh-duh-duh-duh!

  • The Other Side TPB. I wonder if this is a dramatization of the 2003 Billy Ray Cyrus album.

  • Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes #30. With Waid leaving the book, can't we just cancel this car wreck and bring back the Legion I want? I feel this a completely fair and reasonable position.

  • Superman Batman Vs Aliens Predators TPB. Batman and Superman? Fighting Aliens and Predators? Boooooooring. How about Superman and Batman vs. the creepy little ghost chick from The Grudge? Or a drunk, super-powered Andy Rooney?

  • Wonder Woman Lynda Carter Statue, $195.00. Yes, just what I need on my mantle -- a $200 statue of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. (Although...is she bending over a laundry basket?)

  • Young Magician Vol 8. Is this that annoying "Mary Sue" Tim Hunter character?

Image Comics cuts a somewhat smaller swath to bring us:

  • Coyote Vol 5 TPB. This volume apparently wraps up the original Englehart Coyote run.

  • Dynamo 5 #3. Still haven't seen issue #2 anywhere.

  • Elephantmen #9. Some sort of "furry noir" thing, by the looks of it (possibly comedic).

  • Godland #18. The first several issues were some of the most un-Kirby-like Kirby riffing I've ever seen in my life. Don't know if it got any better later.

  • Gutsville #1 (of 6). When I first saw this listed I thought it said "Glutesville," which I think would have been funnier. Anyway, it's apparently about the descendents of a ship that was swallowed by some gigantic leviathan, and apparently they have built a little town inside the beast. Interesting premise at least.

  • Loaded Bible 2 Blood of Christ (One Shot). Jesus fighting vampire zombies in a post-apocalyptic world. I know you think you're being clever when you come up with something like this...but you're really not.

  • Savage Dragon Archives Vol 2 TPB. I have never read an issue of Savage Dragon. All I know is he has a big fin on his head and he's a cop.

  • Unique #3 (of 3). Shouldn't "Unique" be a one-shot?

Meanwhile, Marvel Comics cuts an even bigger (and more profane) swath of destruction, etc., to bring you:

  • Captain America #26. I hope Carnage gets to be the new Cap (I mean really, who gives a fuck at this point, so why the hell not?).

  • Criminal #6. Another comic about Tony Stark?

  • Doctor Strange Oath TPB. "I swear I had nothing to do with Civil War -- honest!"

  • Fantastic Four #546. I am currently endorsing this title and encourage all fans of good superhero team books to pick it up.

  • Heroes for Hire #10. Maybe they can do a special issue of this where all the hot chicks on the team bend over at once and Adam Hughes' head explodes.

  • Irredeemable Ant-man #8. Maybe he can be the next Cap if Carnage isn't available.

  • Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1. As mentioned previously by some of our loyal commenters, here's your Iron Man comic in which Iron Man's still a hero and Tony Stark isn't a villain. Ah, those were the days...

  • Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1 (Special Pricing), $1.00. I'd certainly rather pay a buck -- what do you have to do to get the special pricing?

  • Red Prophet Tales of Alvin Maker #7 (of 12). An adaptation of the Orson Scott Card series, I bet. I wonder if Alvin has magic glasses.

  • She-Hulk 2 #18. I'm still so chagrined with Avengers: Initiative that I'm leaning toward dropping this book. Also, the series as a whole seems to have lost steam during its Civil War crossover phase.

  • Wisdom #6 (of 6). Cheeky British guy hunts fairies.

  • X-Men #199. Occasionally when I read Astonishing X-Men, I wonder what in the world is going on in the other x-books. But honestly, I'm afraid to look.

  • X-Men 3 Movie Professor X Bust, $70.00. You know, what would really look good in my living room is a $70 statue of Professor X. It's only a bust though, so, sadly, he won't be bending over anything.

And it's time once again for the Quick Review Random Comic Spotlight. This week the lucky winner is...

AIT/Planet Lar: Homeless Channel, GN.

The helpful AIT/Planet Lar website says:

When Darcy Shaw starts a twenty-four hour cable network called The Homeless Channel, she thinks she's got everything figured out. But confronted with an unexpected romance, a sibling out on the streets, and corporate sponsors who think they know what's best for her network, Darcy starts to wonder which is more important: saving the world or saving herself. Check out Matt Silady's intriguing debut graphic novel.

Sounds pretty interesting, and apparently the artwork combines photography with conventional comic book illustration.

That's all the time we have this week. As always, let us know what you think, what we missed, and if you've recently bent over anything in a manner that would offend anyone. Now if you'll excuse me, I seem to have dropped my mouse and I'm not wearing any pants...

Posted by Chris M. at May 23, 2007 8:39 PM