What I’m Getting Wednesday

Finally a light week! Okay, just joking, but it is a little better then what I have been hit with lately and the benefit of cutting a few books here and there has kicked in with Superman Confidential and Wildstorm Revelations now being left at the store this Wednesday. Also DC has mixed up the hard cover program so the hard cover I get this week is only a $25 book. I’m curious as to what the paper quality will be. I also wander if the crashing dollar will impact the cost of the books as much of the printing is done overseas and I assume the exchange rate affects the cost structure. I hope to see Comic Book Comics this week as my store was short on the number of copies needed and with my huge reading list waiting a week is not a killer for me. The market share report for this week is DC 43% (16), Independents 35% (13) and Marvel 22% (8) books which is about as high a number as Marvel ever reaches anymore.

Bat Lash #4 (of 6) – Love the cover. This issue Bat’s is trying to get back home to save his family. This has been a classic western type story, but it also has remained true to Bat’s personality as it was established before. This is a solid mini-series that if you are missing, you may want to get the trade.

Batman Confidential #14 – The first part of this arc about the “Return of the Wrath” was well done, but I’m a Tony Bedard (writer) and Rags (pencil) fan. A nice idea to take a one shot villain and make him into to something more and maybe a new fixture for Batman’s rogue gallery.

Booster Gold #7 – Last issue Booster and Blue Beetle returned to Earth and the Omacs were in charge. The Omac idea is almost being overused already. I’m curious to see how this story plays out as Ted was supposed to die and I wonder is the ending is not already written in stone that Ted can’t cheat history.

Countdown to Mystery #6 (of 8) – It is very sad to realize that we are reading Steve Gerber’s last comic book work and the Dr. Fate story had to be finished by Steve’s friends. I have a feeling Steve Gerber is a talent we will miss more as time goes by and we learn to appreciate what he did. It is a shame that he did not have a higher profile when he was alive. The important thing is this has been a good series so at least Steve’s last work was very good work.

Countdown to Final Crisis #7 – Only six more issues left after this one. I’m counting down alright, I’m counting down. April 23 this finally ends!!!!!!!!!!!

Gotham Underground #6 (of 9) – The new Vigilante shows up in this issue. This is one of those mini-series that I picked up and thought I will give it a whirl as it has good talent on the book (Frank Tieri and Jim Califore as writer and artist respectively) but not sure of the premise, and I have been pleasantly surprised. This is a good tale of the Gotham Underground and the rise and fall of certain members of that group. It has also woven in most of the Bat family and done all of it well.

Green Arrow / Black Canary #6 – Ollie and Dinah are out to find who kidnapped Connor and who is targeting them. One thing I love about this series is that it is “the peddle is to the metal” almost each and every issue. I have to fight myself to slow down and actually read and enjoy the book as I often go too fast.

Green Lantern Corp #22 – The conclusion to a look at Boodikka who has become an Alpha Green Lantern. The official hype says the “jaw dropping” conclusion. If my jaw dropped as often as that phrase is used in hype my jaw would be on a hinge.

JLA Classified #54 – Concluding the Stern/Byrne/Farmer arc on the Justice League. This has been one of the best arcs done on this series. A worthy addition to the JLA mythos.

JLI International Volume 1 – Hard Cover – 7 Issues, 192 pages for $25 sounds like a decent bargain, but they never give us the details on what type of paper. Still the JLI material by Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire was a true revelation when it first came out. It mixed a lot of humor with solid action and adventure in an in-continuity DCU book.

Salvation Run #5 (of 7) – I have been hot and cold on this book and last issue was a good one with the Gorilla on Gorilla showdown. The end game for this book will be interesting as I imagine the villains will be even worse after this experience.

Showcase Presents: The Phantom Stranger Volume #2 – I really enjoy this type of material. Often it is not the strongest material, but for $17 it is hard to go wrong. I always enjoyed the Phantom Stranger and this collection has some great Jim Aparo art work in it.

Simon Dark #6 – This has become one of my favorite series out of the DCU. This issue we learn more about Simon and his origins that are a mixture of both science and magic. It really reminds me of Edward Scissorhands more then anything else. A much darker version, but it has that surreal vibe.

Suicide Squad Raise the Flag #7 (of 8) – The mission goes to hell and as the General implements his plan. This book should be a series of mini-series or an unlimited series again. John Ostrander is doing a great job on this book again and it is a terrific series.

Superman #674 – The penultimate issue for Kurt Busiek as a new regular artist (Renato Guedes) comes onboard. Kurt has had a very good run on this book and the “Camelot Falls” story line as a collected edition should be one that has a long life. Hate to see Kurt leave, but he will be writing “Trinity” the new weekly starting in June staring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman and we are getting James Robinson as the new writer in a few months, so it is a win-win.

Wonder Woman #18 – Now that we have writer Gail Simone’s first arc under our belt, so to speak, we should start to see how the normal ebb and flow of this book will be under her guidance. It usually takes a writer a few months to really get the feel of the character and since Gail is not a drive-by writer I hope she is on this book for a few years. An odd little anomaly this week, not a single Vertigo or Wildstorm title that is on my list showed up. Of course with my recent cuts, it is not hard to miss Wildstorm once in a while.

Astounding Wolf-Man #5 – This Kirkman series reminds me of all of his series, in that they tend to improve over the course of time. The bi-monthly publishing schedule does make it seem like it is taking even longer for this book to find its rhythm.

Cemetery Blues #2 (of 3) – Continuing the adventures of our inept “heroes” as they continue their monster hunting escapades. A wonderful farce that makes you laugh and admire the artwork.

Gutsville #3 (of 6) – Wow this book disappeared for a very, very long time. I happy to see it back and I remember the premise, but the actual story is a vague impressionistic blur in my mind.

Screamland #1 (of 5) – The official hype “Where have the old Hollywood monsters gone? In the age of computer graphics and green screen, the answer ain't pretty. Having lost all of his money in a dot-com scheme, Frankenstein's Monster is content to drink the days away. When a chance at work drops in his lap, can he sober up long enough to cash in? Will the whole affair end in pitchforks and torches?” So I had to try it out.


Walking Dead #47 – I LOVE THIS SERIES! It has always been a very good series, but the tension and anything can happen level has been ratcheted up to a very, very high level. When you literally can’t wait for a book you know it has really hit the mark.

Abe Sapien #2 (of 5) – The BPRD stuff is a great and large tapestry that you know is building to a huge climax against the supernatural forces of darkness. So the ancillary series that focus on a character such as Abe is a nice change of pace that gives us more insight into Abe and the artwork in this book is beautiful.

BPRD 1946 #3 (of 5) – In a similar vein this book is giving us the background on how the BPRD got started. This adventure in post WWII Germany is another winner. Once you become immersed in the Hellboy Universe you can’t help but enjoy all the rich history and story lines that Mike Mignola has created. Mike is the Stan Lee of this material.

Goon #22 – The continuing adventures of the Goon. Eric Powell’s seminal creation is now getting his full attention and we should see quite a few issues this year and that is a very good thing.

Atomic Robo #6 (of 6) – Webster’s Dictionary Comic Book – See Atomic Robo. No really it is that much fun, actually illegal in Utah and some parts of South Dakota. Bad news the mini-series is ending, good news Atomic Robo is coming back later this year.

Foundation #3 (of 5) – BOOM is really doing a wonderful job with having series after series come out of great ideas. This conspiracy theory style book where X-Files meets James Bond is very well done. I think of BOOM as a true publisher where they publish any genre as long as they deem it to be a good product.

Grimm Fairy Tales #24 – The best weekly comic on the stands, but that is damning the book with faint praise. This is an okay series, but I want it to get back to the fairy tales and stopped being focused on Sela and Belinda 100%.

Locke & Key #2 – The first issue was a fantastic read and I’m looking forward to issue #2. The family has moved into the house and we are just starting to get into the mysteries of the house. Go get the first issue and join me here in a week to talk about issue #2.

Wormwood TP Volume #2 – The saga of the Leprechauns and Wormwood told by the inimitable Ben Templesmith. If you don’t have an aversion to vulgarity and insane violence and have a sense of humor then this is the book for you.

Annihilation Conquest #5 (of 6) – This has been a good mini-series, not as strong as the first Annihilation mini-series, but still entertaining. My big gripe is that Nova has not been a big enough part of the book. Still it appears we will have a totally new group of characters coming out of this series taking over the name “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

Fantastic Four #555 – The second issue of the Mark Millar / Bryan Hitch run on this book. I had some problems with the first issue, but the ending was well done. I’m looking forward to this issue to see the world we are all going to escape to once we screw up this planet.

Last Defenders #1 (of 6) – I’ve almost decided to not even get this book because it is tied to all the Initiative crap that I don’t like, but I will try to give it a fair shot.

Mighty Avengers #10 – This book is now really back on track, you have to love an artist like Mark Bagley who can deliver more pages in a year then most any other artist and it is quality work. Iron Man and Dr. Doom are back in the past together and we now get s to see what happens next.

Thunderbolts #119 – I’m expecting to be drawn back into this series and all my complaints about late books will be forgotten. I think it helps that Thunderbolts is not really impacting any other books, so lateness does not hurt it as much.

Wolverine #63 – The artist Ron Garney kept me on this book since Jason Aaron took over. Last issue I thought it was Wolverine who killed an innocent woman indiscriminately and Ron contacted the blog and straighten me out and it changed the whole context of the story. Now I’m looking forward to an issue of Wolverine.

Nova #11 – Nova is on the originating home world of the Phalanx looking for a way to defeat them. This is such a great series and it is especially nice to see a hero like Richard Ryder actually be allowed to age a little and become a greater hero then before.

X-Factor #29 – The best in-continuity X-book on the stands. I love how Peter David takes whatever editorially mandated crap is thrown at his book and he incorporates it and makes it seem like it was always meant to be part of the story.

That is a wrap for another week and it was touch and go as to whether this post would make it as I have some internet issues (like I had no internet). It is like a drug for me and not being able to be online was giving me the shakes!!!!!

Some really great books are coming out this week and hopefully a few surprises. I found that even the small culling I have done at my list allows me to be more effusive about what is coming out as the weaker books keep getting cut.