INTRODUCTION
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September is upon us, and seeing as how this is often a scholarly month with students returning to school, I’ve started thinking about how so many comic publishers bring comics back because, supposedly, “you demanded it.” I’ve never actually demanded the return of any comic. Even if I wanted to demand the return of a comic, I’m not sure where I’d send it. For example, I’d like to see a Marvel Ultimate rendition of Darkhawk, but I’m betting we’ll never see that comic return. I wouldn’t demand it, though… I’d just like to see it.
Anyway, enough philosophical chitter-chatter; let’s bring on the comics!
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE
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Those of you who have been reading my newsletter for awhile will see my pick coming from a mile away. Deadpool’s back! WOO-HOO! I loved the Deadpool ongoing series from a few years ago; it was funny, witty, and incredibly well-written. Deadpool’s returning in yet another ongoing series (this time without Cable again), and, if written correctly, it could be downright awesome. This month, my pick is Deadpool #1 and #2.
JUL082316 Deadpool #1 $3.99 Retail
*** 50%-OFF AT WWW.COMICSNOW.COM ***
JUL082318 Deadpool #2 $2.99 Retail
*** 35%-OFF AT WWW.COMICSNOW.COM ***
DECONSTRUCTING COMICS
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On the July 7 episode, we talk about the comics anthology “Discovered” from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Reading anthologies is easy, reviewing them is hard. So Tim talks to SCAD faculty member Shawn Crystal about the college, the book, and his own comics projects.
July 14, Tim and Mulele will review “How to Make Webcomics” by Scott Kurtz, Kris Straub, Dave Kellett, and Brad Guigar. Tim has created a Web comic in the past while Mulele is trying his hand at it now, so we’ll talk about what we learned from the book and throw our own experiences into the pot as well.
More reviews and interviews to come! Keep listening to Deconstructing Comics!
www.globalcomics.net/podcast
HUGE DISCOUNTS AT WWW.COMICSNOW.COM
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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:
JUL0801015 DC Universe Decisions #1 $2.99
JUL080113 El Diablo #1 $2.99
JUL080196 Fringe #1 $2.99
JUL080209 Greatest Hits #1 $2.99
JUL080112 Secret Six #1 $2.99
JUL080202 World of Warcraft Ashbringer #1 $3.99
JUL082344 Age of Sentry #1 $2.99
JUL082282 Civil War House of M #1 $2.99
JUL082248 Dark Tower Treachery #1 $3.99
JUL082316 Deadpool #1 $3.99
JUL082298 Marvel Apes #1 $3.99
JUL082253 Samurai #1 $5.99
JUL082245 Stand Captain Trips #1 $3.99
JUL082357 X-Men Magnifesto Testament #1 $3.99
40%-OFF TRADE PAPERBACK DEALS:
JUL080199 Ex Machina TP Vol 7 Ex Cathedra $12.99
JUL080158 Green Lantern in Brightest Day TP $19.99
JUL080214 Hellblazer Family Man TP $19.99
JUL080198 Heroes HC Vol 2 $29.99
JUL080160 JLA That Was Then, This Is Now TP $14.99
JUL080124 Joker HC $19.99
JUL080193 Loeg Black Dossier TP $19.99
JUL080224 Un-Men TP Vol 2 Children of Paradox $19.99
JUL080172 Watchmen HC $39.99
JUL082402 Death of Captain America TP $14.99
JUL082389 Daredevil Guardian Devil HC $24.99
JUL082401 Incredible Herculse Against the World TP $14.99
JUL082391 Marvel Boy Prem HC $24.99
JUL082378 Punisher by Garth Ennis Omnibus HC $99.99
JUL082403 Ultimate Power TP $29.99
JUL082384 Wolverine Origins Vol 5 Deep End $19.99
TOP-10 and TOP-100
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Check out Comics NOW! Inc.’s Top-100 on IRX Productions.
Download the August 2008 Top-100 PDF file (it’s 8KB!).
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. (1) Batman
2. (2) Justice League of America
3. (3) Detective Comics
4. (6) New Avengers
5. (5) Secret Invasion
6. (-) All Star Batman & Robin
7. (8) Amazing Spider-Man
9. (-) Superman Batman
10. (7) Uncanny X-Men
TOP 10 INDEPENDENT COMICS
1. (1) Transformers All Hail Megatron
2. (2) Transformers Spotlight
3. (3) Transformers Movie Sequel
4. (-) Transformers Animated Arrival
5. (4) Angel After the Fall
6. (5) Project Superpowers
7. (6) Boys
8. (8) Transformers Movie Prequel
9. (9) Fallen Angel
10. (7) Spike After the Fall
THE GOOD STUFF
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DARK HORSE COMICS
SOLOMON KANE #1 of 5
Solomon Kane returns. This time his adventures go through a haunted forest in Germany named “the Black Forest.” Though an inappropriate racial comment could be made here, I’m going to skip right by this and say anything named “The Black Forest” seems somewhat ominous as black is a very dark color while “The Sunshine Forest” sounds happy and friendly. Naturally, Kane “stumbles upon the body of a boy hanged from a rickety gallows” and decides, since he has nothing better to do, to avenge the death of this young child by going after his killer, a baron in a big spooky castle where a devil-worshipping priest died in chains centuries ago. Yup. I’m not making this up.
By Scott Allie, Mario Guevara, Dave Stewart, John Cassady, and Joe Kubert.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
DC COMICS
DC Universe: Decisions #1 & 2 of 2
In a desperate attempt to capitalize on the upcoming presidential election (yes, you read that right, DC is trying to make money off of the election), DC introduces decisions where some unnamed assassin is trying to kill off the presidential candidates. Given the current political environment filled to the brim with fake idiots who I could less than two shakes of a twig at, I’m not sure why I’d even remotely care about a fictitious comic planning their deaths. But, hey, someone somewhere will buy this, right?
By Judd Winick and Bill Willingham with Rick Leonardi.
32 pages. 2-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail each.
SECRET SIX #1
“Because you demanded it!” This is one of the most over-used and cliche phrases in the comic universe. I pose this question: who out there has ever demanded the return of anything? In the ten years I’ve written this newsletter, I have never demanded the return of anything. I must admit that I’ve demanded the death and cancellation of many things but never the return of anything. Even Deadpool, one of my favorite comedic comics, is coming back this month, but I didn’t demand it… I’m just happy that it is. Secret Six is back, and I’m thinking if you weren’t a fan of the first one, this return is probably not going to do anything for you. My only guess at who really wanted to have this comic return would be the mothers of either Gail Simone, Nicola Scott or Doug Hazlewood (who spells his name incorrectly, in my honest if not obnoxious opinion).
By Gail Simone, Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.
EL DIABLO #1 of 6
Sigh. This month in DC feels like the incessant return of comics and characters that I really couldn’t care less about. I mean, I could try, but that would be a tiresome goal that I fear I’d never accomplish because I care so little already. The haunted horseman, El Diablo, returns to determine who Chato Santana is (isn’t he the guitarist from some band) and enters some power struggle with some gang…. blah blah blah.
By Jai Nitz and Phil Hester.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
FRINGE #1-2 of 6
Wait for it… this it the 6-issue mini-series based on the upcoming Fox television show of the same name that’s trying to rip off the popularity of another Fox television show which is having its second movie come out this summer ten years after the release of the first run. Feel free to let me know that the previous sentence is the longest run-on you’ve seen in quite some time. Fringe stars some blonde girl who discovers that there are a number of mysterious events happening on the outskirts of humanity that no one seems to be paying attention to (ala X-Files) where people are being killed by plagues (ala Andromeda Strain) and some have super-powers (ala Heroes) while other mysterious and unexplained phenomena abound (ala Lost). An original series if only that it’s ripping off at least four other television shows simultaneously (not to mention numerous comic and movie storylines).
By J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orchi and Alex Kurtman.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail each.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: ASHBRINGER #1 of 4
I’m not sure who thinks it’s such a great idea to have a comic book based on WoW. Anyone who truly loves WoW spends every waking moment playing it, so there’s no time to read comic books. Those of us who don’t play WoW because it’s one of the most over-done, drawn-out, expensive online games in history aren’t going to buy the comic because if Blizzard’s unbelievably extensive marketing campaign has failed to get us to play their game, a comic based on the same content isn’t going to capture our attention, either.
By Micky Neilson, Ludo Lullabi and Tony Washington.
40 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
GREATEST HITS #1 of 6
Woo-hoo. Another comic book about a super-team filled with characters that we’ve never met starting in the 1960’s (smells like someone found out what The Twelve was cooking and decided to make their own). In Greatest Hits, the Mates are a super-team that got together to fight crime and naturally have had many ups and downs in the last 40 years. Meet the Crusader, the Solicitor, Vizier and Zipper. Then, forget them just as quickly since no one really cares.
By David Tischman and Glenn Fabry.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
IMAGE COMICS
BACK TO BROOKLYN #1 of 5
Bob Saetta pisses off his ganglord brother, and the two go to war… against each other. Normally, I’d write this sort of trite and tried storyline off (especially from Image), but Garth Ennis is heading this one up with the help of Jimmy Palmiotti. Color me intrigued (I think “intrigued” is a slightly darker shade of “robin’s egg blue”).
By Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
DEAD AHEAD #1 of 3
It’s kind of like 28 Weeks Later meets Ghost Ship. A group of friends on a fishing trip end up floating out to sea after a plague turns humanity into undead zombies. They’re running low on supplies when a luxury cruise-ship floats into view. It has everything they need to survive, but it may be filled with undead zombies, too. Those undead zombies; it’s like they’re EVERYWHERE.
By Clark Castillo, Mel Smith, Alex Nino, and Moose Buamann.
24 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
FOUR EYES #1
The description of this comic starts off as dull and then just turns weird: it’s Brooklyn in the 1930s and America is struggling against the Great Depression when a 10-year-old named Enrico decides to try and take care of his mother by going to the ring of fire where dragons are trained and fight for cash and glory. Once again, I must honestly say that I’m not making this up and my mouth has permanently dropped open in shock of how ridiculous this storyline sounds coming out of my keyboard.
By Joe Kelly with Max Fiumara.
24 pages. Ongoing series (?). $2.99 retail.
M-THEORY #1 of 3
It sounds as though this comic really wants to be “The Outer Limits.” In the “premier episode, a government scientist receives a startling transmission of extraterrestrial origin while a promising college student makes a terrifying discover (that would be that math sucks), and a group of deep space explorers encounter a shocking nemesis… at the outer limits of our galaxy.” Wow. I’m so excited that I almost didn’t pass out on my keyboard for five minutes.
By Dwight MacPherson and Bruce Brown with Mike Barentine.
32 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $3.50 retail.
DRAGON PRINCE #1
We’ve had dragons. We’ve had martial artists. We’ve had unloved, unwanted teenagers who feel like they don’t fit in. Now, combine them altogether when Aaron Chiang discovers that he’s The Dragon Prince and heir to the bloodline of all dragons while he kicks butt and takes names even if he only wants to be just a normal teenager.
By Ron Marz and Lee Moder.
32 pages. Limited series. $2.99 retail.
ZERO G #1 of 4
As the name implies, this comic takes place in outer space. An asteroid heads toward Earth with a variety of precious metals that may “shift the balance of power in Earth” so all the countries fight each other to get to the asteroid in time.
By Alex Zamm and Jason Badower.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
MARVEL COMICS
THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS #1 of 5
Marvel has recently developed this habit of changing perfectly good books into limited-series comic books. Though not a terrible idea, it’s kind of confusing. Stephen King’s “The Stand” was a terrifyingly good story concept that got transformed into a terrifyingly bad television mini-series (terrifying for a completely different reason than the book). Now, Marvel’s trying to cash in on “The Stand” by making a 5-issue mini-series (surprisingly short considering the original storyline babbled on for somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000 pages). So, if you’re a big fan of The Stand and are ready for more, this is the mini-series for you.
By Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
DARK TOWER: TREACHERY #1 of 6
“The ka-tet of Roland, Alain and Cuthbert have returned safely to their home in Gilead. But all is not well. Roland has kept the evil Maerlyn’s Grapefruit and become obsessed with peering into its pinkish depths” ……………………. what? I fell completely asleep for a second there, re-read what I wrote, re-read the description of the comic, and, despite my much-needed rest, still don’t understand what the heck this comic’s supposed to be about. More importantly, I don’t care.
By Robin Furth, Peter David, Jae Lee and Richard Isanove.
40 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
SAMURAI #1 of 4
It’s a well-received story from Europe finally translated into English about a Samurai who tries to confront his own past. In doing so, he discovers a general that’s trying to betray the Emperor. The two are linked through a grave secret – some 13th century prophet. If you like samurais and this description sounds intriguing, you should really check this comic out. Yes, I know; I just made a positive comment.
By Jean-Francois di Giorgio and Frederic Genet.
56 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $5.99 retail.
BIG HERO 6 #1 of 6
Chris Claremont has finally drank enough of the Kool-Aid to completely and utterly reduce his brain matter to the consistency of two-day-old oatmeal. Japan’s top heroes are now fighting super-villains in Tokyo. Written by Claremont, I can’t help but fear the proper treatment of Japan is going to be completely misplaced by one of the best writers of untied loose-ends for the X-Men series.
By Chris Claremont with David Nakayama.
48 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
CIVIL WAR: HOUSE OF M #1 of 5
Magneto took over Earth in House of M, and this mini-series seeks to answer how. Yep. That about covers it.
By Christos Gage and Andrea Di Vito.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
MARVEL APES #1 & 2 of 4
Remember Marvel Zombies? This is the exact same storyline, except with
apes.
By Karl Kesel and Ramon Bachs.
40 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail each.
DEADPOOL #1 & 2
Heeeeeee’s baaaacck. I really am just so excited about this title. Deadpool is a mercenary with a regenerating healing power just like Wolverine. However, Deadpool lacks Wolverine’s dashingly handsome looks and kind of resembles a California raisin with skin cancer. In the past, Deadpool comics are very hit and miss; some of them are so funny that they make me read them on the toilet for fear of pissing myself with laughter, and other times, they’re so bad that I use them as toilet paper, wipe my ass with them, and then light them on fire to throw on the front steps of the houses where people I don’t like live. Hopefully, this time around will be more of the former and not the latter.
By Daniel Way and Paco Medina.
48 pages & 32 pages. Ongoing series. #1 – $3.99 retail. #2 – $2.99
retail.
SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS #1 of 4
Both DC and Marvel have their favorite underwater, underappreciated superhero. Marvel’s trying to make its readers give a flip about Namor by giving him the Marvel Knights treatment. If you think this might finally be the comic to make us give a flip about Namor, don’t hold your breath (pun intended).
By Peter Milligan and Esad Ribic.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
THE AGE OF THE SENTRY #1 of 6
A throwback origin tale explaining how Rob Reynolds became The Sentry. Not a bad concept, and if you’re at all interested in The Sentry, then this title should fill in a lot of missing information that we haven’t known up until this point.
By Jeff Parker, Paul Tobin, Nick Dragotta and Ramon Rosanas.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY #1 of 4
The Westchester mansion has been blown to teeny-tiny bits so the X-Men are relocating to San Francisco (presumably because skin-tight latex is popular there and they’ll be able to blend in unnoticed). Marvel’s touting this as one of the biggest shake-ups in the X-Men storyline since the death of Professor X which was one of the biggest shake-ups in the X-Men storyline since the Age of Apocalypse which was also about the … death… of … Professor X. Wait. How many times have we killed off the Professor now?
By Mike Carey, C.B. Cebulski, Skottie Young, and Michael Ryan with Various.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.
X-MEN MAGNETO – TESTAMENT #1 of 5
I’ve always felt that Magneto’s back-story origin as a Jew living in Germany and having to survive Adolf Hitler’s Final Solution was a story that could deserve more air-time. Apparently, someone at Marvel agrees with me as they’re releasing this mini-series. If treated properly, this storyline of the rise of Magneto could be incredibly captivating. If treated poorly, this series is going to be tried, tried, and tired.
By Greg Pak and Carmine di Giandomenico.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING DEVIL SLAYER #1 of 4
Sergeant Dan Sylva decides to go back to Iraq after he loses everything in the U.S., but takes the wrong flight and ends up going to Hell. A demon named Belathauzer is bringing a mercenary group to Iraq where Sylva is mankind’s last chance against demonic invasion. Actually, I may be making some of this up, but I lost track of the storyline somewhere at the point where I realized the comic industry is once again trying to capitalize on the Iraqi war; something twisted about that.
By Brian Keene and Chris Samnee.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $3.99 retail.
FINAL NOTES
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September’s got a lot of interesting titles coming out, but also has a bunch that sound like sticking Q-tips into places they shouldn’t go might be more fun. Who knows? Maybe the industry will prove me wrong. Probably not.
As always, if something disappears, you can demand its return. I’m not sure where you send your demands, but apparently it works.
And, as always, thank you for your business!
Eric Jacobson
