VOL. 10 #11 – November 2008
INTRODUCTION
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It’s another month of mini-series madness and I’ve just taken my meds, so I’m
locked on words that begin with “m” like “meow,” “monsters,” “mini-series,”
and “mythbusters.” What a damn good show that is. Adam Savage is my hero.
Wait. Comics. We’re talking about comics…
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE
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No competition at all this month… Neil Gaiman is releasing a new Sandman
mini-series. ’nuff said.
SANDMAN DREAM HUNTERS #1 of 4 $2.99 retail
*** 50%-OFF AT WWW.COMICSNOW.COM ***
DECONSTRUCTING COMICS
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Visit www.deconstructingcomics.com and catch these cool podcasts!
August 25: Greece is the word! Athens-based Spyros talks to Tim about comics
in Greece: what’s available, what’s popular, and why quitting your day job
is simply out of the question for Greek creators.
September 1: Patrik W talks to Tim and Mulele about his trip to San Diego
Comicon. He shopped around several portfolios, and looked into having a
booth or table there next year. We’ll find out how that went.
September 8: An interview with Shannon Wheeler, creator of Too Much Coffee
Man. He’s living the dream of cartooning full-time, and Too Much Coffee Man
has become an opera!
September 15: Tim and Brandon talk about Alex Robinson’s self-describing
“Too Cool to Be Forgotten,” as well as “Tonoharu, Part One” by Lars
Martinson.
More reviews and creator discussions on the way!
www.deconstructingcomics.com
HUGE DISCOUNTS AT WWW.COMICSNOW.COM
———————————–
Aside from always offering 35% off the cover price of monthly comics with no
minimum to buy, each month Comics NOW offers incredible deals on some of the
newest titles out there. Just point your browser to
http://www.comicsnow.com to order any of these titles below at huge
discounts or any other comic at least 35% off the cover price.
Here are this month’s deals:
50%-OFF COMIC DEALS:
SEP080121 Batman Cacophony #1 $3.99
SEP080201 Mirrors Edge #1 $3.99
SEP080202 Push #1 $3.50
SEP080212 Sandman Dream Hunters #1 $2.99
SEP080101 Sgt Rock The Lost Battalion #1 $2.99
SEP080138 Superman Supergirl Maelstrom #1 $2.99
SEP080106 Terra #1 $2.99
SEP080210 X-Files #1 $3.50
SEP082321 Adam Legend of Blue Marvel #1 $3.99
SEP082344 Iron Man End #1 $4.99
SEP082382 Thor Man of War #1 $3.99
SEP082306 Ultimatum #1 $3.99
SEP082403 Weapon X First Class #1 $3.99
SEP082401 Wolverine Chop Shop #1 $2.99
SEP082406 Wolverine Power Pack #1 $2.99
SEP082398 X-Men Spider-Man #1 $3.99
40%-OFF TRADE PAPERBACK DEALS:
SEP080167 Batman The Man Who Laughs TP $14.99
SEP080219 Jack of Fables Vol 4 $14.99
SEP080176 JLA Sanctuary $19.99
SEP080174 Legion The More Things Change TP $17.99
SEP080181 Showcase Presents Strange Advs TP Vol 1 $16.99
SEP080179 Tales of the Batman Tim Sale TP $19.99
SEP080230 Vinyl Underground Pretty Dead Things TP $17.99
SEP082437 Astonishing Xmen HC Vol 2 $34.99
SEP082438 Astonishing X-Men HC Vol 2 DM Ed $34.99
SEP082462 Counter X TP Vol 3 $19.99
SEP082443 FF Worlds Greatest Prem HC $24.99
SEP082444 FF Worlds Greatest Prem HC DM Ed $24.99
SEP082440 Invincible Iron Man Prem HC $24.99
SEP082441 Invincible Iron Man Prem HC DM Ed Movie Cvr $24.99
SEP082442 Invincible Iron Man Prem HC DM Ed $24.99
SEP082419 MMW Iron Man HC Vol 1 New Ptg $54.99
SEP082420 MMW Iron Man HC Vol 1 New Ptg Var $54.99
SEP082445 New Avengers Prem HC Secret Invasion Bk 1 $19.99
SEP082459 Thunderbolts Warren Ellis TP Vol 2 $14.99
SEP082455 Ult. Hulk vs. Iron Man TP Ultimate Human $15.99
TOP-10 and TOP-100
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Check out Comics NOW! Inc.’s Top-100 on IRX Productions.
Download the October 2008 Top-100 PDF file (it’s 8KB!) at:
http://www.irxproductions.com/comics/oct08top100.pdf
It’s Comics NOW!’s very own Top-10 and Top-100 lists. This list is based on
the internal sales quantities of the titles with Premiere being the big guns
who pay the extra bucks to be listed first in the ordering system: Dark
Horse Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, and Marvel Comics. The Independent
list is everyone else, all those pea-shooters who no one really pays
attention to… or do they?
Here’s an example of how to read the format:
1. (3) The Amazing Eric Comic
“1.” – the place of the title in the list this month
“(3)” – where the title was LAST month (“-” if it wasn’t)
the title – this one should be pretty obvious
TOP 10 PREMIERE COMICS
1. (-) Batman
2. (1) Justice League of America
3. (5) Final Crisis
4. (6) Detective Comics
5. (3) Secret Invasion
6. (7) Justice Society of America
7. (2) New Avengers
8. (4) Amazing Spider-Man
9. (10) Uncanny X-Men
10. (9) Superman Batman
TOP 10 INDEPENDENT COMICS
1. (1) Transformers All Hail Megatron
2. (5) Transformers Animated Arrival
3. (6) Transformers Movie Prequel
4. (3) Angel After the Fall
5. (4) Boys
6. (-) GI Joe A New Beginning
7. (-) Transformers Best O/T UK
8. (8) Spike After the Fall
9. (9) Fallen Angel
10. (-) Black Terror
THE GOOD STUFF
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DARK HORSE COMICS
KULL #1 of 6
Okay. If you like Kull then you’ll like this. It’s Kull. But the
description is enough to make me want to gag out a fur-covered pot-bellied
pig. Kull has made himself King of a weird-named land Valusia. Count
Areyas is irritating Kull and he’ll need to kill him in order to reunify the
kingdom. Yep. That’s Kull alright.
By Arvid Nelson, Will Conrad, and Jose Villarrubia.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
GIGANTIC #1 of 5
A gigantic alien appears in San Francisco and begins destroying everything
because it can’t buy enough pot at Haight-Ashbury (okay, maybe just the
beginning of that sentence was true, but I was trying to spruce up the
plotline a little). The alien is actually a reality show character from
another planet where the aliens on the other planet are watching it destroy
Earth. Alright. That IS weird and unique. Maybe Dark Horse is on to
something (or perhaps just ON something)?
By Rick Remender, Eric Nguyen, and John Rauch.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $3.50 retail.
THE CLEANERS #1 of 4
As you might expect, The Cleaners is not about a group of Merry Maids
hopping from home to home and cleaning up my entirely too nasty apartment.
No, it’s typical – it’s literally “a ragtag team of for-hire trauma-scene
cleaners led by ex-surgeon Robert Ballamine.” Of course, there’s some sort
of run-in with some ghostie or something and everything goes to hell. Maybe
literally, maybe just figuratively, but you get the point.
By Mark Wheaton, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Rahsan Ekedahl and John Graef.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.99.
DC COMICS
SGT. ROCK: THE LOST BATTALION #1 of 6
Good lord, there have been so many Sgt. Rock mini-series that I’m pretty
sure no one needs a description. Ick. Alright, maybe someone out there
hasn’t heard of this character so here goes: Sgt. Rock is a
non-super-powered military badass who always wins regardless the odds or
mission that he’s placed on. Sometimes he teams up with some other people
who are inevitably red-shirts that get killed at some point throughout the
story just so that more gore can be added to comic book already based on
war.
By Billy Tucci.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
TERRA #1-2 of 4
Yet another comic from the Terror Titans. This one has the “rock-slinging
heroine” Terra who’s fighting a new threat to all things peanut-buttery and
jelly on the planet. I can sling rocks, too, but I in no way call myself a
superhero. Go figure.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
BATMAN: CACOPHONY #1 of 3
A mysterious masked killer named Onomatopoeia (that means “sounds like” in
“whoosh” sounds like what it actually sounds like… see?) appears out of
nowhere and wants to kill Batman. The only thing that saves me from
groaning out loud is that the comic is written by Kevin freakin’ Smith.
Regardless of the fact that I’m pretty sure he hasn’t a quality hit since…
well… Daredevil; I’m still holding out hope.
By Kevin Smith, Walt J. Flanagan and Sandra Hope.
40 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
SUPERMAN/SUPERGIRL: MAELSTROM #1-2 of 5
Maelstrom (from Apokolips, of course) has come to Earth and wants to kill
Superman. Superman and Supergirl join forces (why not?) and proceed to kick
the ever-living crap out of Maelstrom (surprise!).
By Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Phil Noto.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
MIRROR’S EDGE #1 of 6
Oooh, here’s a new take on an old concept: Mirror’s Edge is a comic based on
the EA game with the same name. Except instead of waiting to see if Mirror’s
Edge is worth playing, DC is releasing this comic to coincide with the
release of the game. This is risky for a multitude of reasons such as if
the game sucks, so will the comic, and any comic based on a game sucks.
Actually, I guess this isn’t risky. We already know the outcome regardless
of whether the game is good, eh?
By Rhianna Pratchett and Matthew Dow Smith.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
PUSH #1-2 of 6
A comic based on a movie of the same name. Ingenious. The U.S. government
has set up a secret group to fight a war against a shadowy underground
agency. Need I say more?
By Marc Bernardin, Adam Freeman, and Bruno Redondo.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $3.50 retail.
THE X-FILES #1 of 6
I’m not sure why they decided to bring X-Files back. Don’t get me wrong – I
loved the original series. Muldur was excellent, Scully was hot. Who’s
complaining? But, there was literally a decade between movie releases and
the TV show has been off the air since VHS tapes were spiffy. Yeah, couldn’t
care less.
By Frank Spotnitz and Brian Denham.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $3.50 retail.
THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS #1 of 4
Sandman returns? I mean, seriously?? Sandman returns and Neil Gaiman is
writing it? Ummmm… drool. It’s the 20th anniversary of The Sandman, and
Gaiman is writing a new story. I really don’t even want to run the risk of
ruining this for any of you. If you haven’t read Sandman, get on
comicsnow.com right now and buy all 50 trade paperbacks. Order this, too.
Read them all and revel in the magical brilliance that is this universe.
(Yes, I’m actually being seriously positive… you may now wipe your ass
since a giant monkey has just crawled out of it).
By Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
IMAGE COMICS
I HATE GALAXY GIRL #1 of 3
… and I really do. There’s some sort of competition for who should be the
new Galaxy Girl and Renee Tempete is frustrated because the one who gets it
is hot. Renee is not. I don’t see the problem or strife.
By Kat Cahill and Seth Damoose.
32 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $3.50 retail.
MARVEL COMICS
LORDS OF AVALON: KNIGHT OF DARKNESS #1 of 5
More legends of King Arthur (surprise, it’s called Avalon – what? You were
expecting Spider-Man?!). If you like the whole Avalon thing and Merlin and
stuff, you’ll like this. It’s got hags. Real hags. *JOY*
By Sherrilyn Kenyon, Robin Furth, and Tommy Ohtsuka.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
ULTIMATUM #1 & 2 of 5
It’s the whole Ultimate Universe and they’re having to come to grips with
the fact that the world seems to be falling apart. Is the whole Ultimate
Universe coming to an end? Considering how quickly Ultimate Spider-Man
covered the gamut of all the stories ever told in the Spider-Man Universe, I
wouldn’t be terribly surprised.
By Jeph Loeb and David Finch.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL #1 of 4
The Blue Marvel has been missing since 1961 and suddenly comes out of hiding
when this big baddy named Anti-Man attacks New York City and kicks the crap
out of The Mighty Avengers. Since it’s not such a big deal that he’s a
hero, the thick of the story comes when Iron Man a.k.a. Robert Downey, Jr.
(errm… I mean Tony Stark) tries to figure out who Blue Marvel really is.
By Kevin Grevioux and Mat Broome.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
X-MEN/SPIDER-MAN #1 of 4
I’m tempted to just say that it’s X-Men with Spider-Man but that would be
kind of irritating. It’s a 4-part mystery that investigates the strange
relationship between Spider-Man and the X-Men all the way back to the
beginning of The Marvel Age.
By Christos Gage and Mario Alberti.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
WEAPON X: FIRST CLASS #1 of 3
Didn’t we already do this? Except this time there’s a distinct focus on
Wolverine’s original classes with the X-Men.
By Marc Sumerak, Mark Robinson & Tim Seeley.
48 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
WOLVERINE AND POWER PACK #1 of 4
You know they’re stretching to bring back old characters when they can’t
even give them their own mini-series or ongoing series. No, the only way
that Marvel is going to bring back Power Pack is if they do so with
Wolverine.
By Marc Sumerak, Chris Giarrusso and Gurihiru.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
FINAL NOTES
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Okay, I’ve just got to point out that there are absolutely no ongoing series
coming out this month. None. Not a single one. All of the comics I
covered were mini-series. Is it an end to all creativity as we know it? Or
do I just need a nap? Who knows?
As always, when in doubt, take your meds and go to bed just like a good
little space alien should.
And, as always, thank you for your business!
Eric Jacobson
