Friday, July 10, 2009

DC Preview Review for September Part 2 of 2

AS PROMISED PART 2

BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL HC Written by Tony Daniel and Fabian Nicieza Art by Tony Daniel, Guillem March, ChrisCross, Jamie McKelvie, Alex Konat and Mark McKenna Cover by Tony Daniel Collecting the hit Batman miniseries by Tony Daniel and more! Following the disappearance of her protector, Gotham City may be too far gone for Nightwing, Robin, Commissioner Gordon and the rest of the city's heroes to save the day. Amid the fires, rioting, looting and gang warfare, one question rings out from the souls of Gotham's desperate citizens: Where is Batman? Don’t miss this hardcover featuring BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL #1-3, GOTHAM GAZETTE: BATMAN DEAD? #1 and GOTHAM GAZETTE: BATMAN ALIVE? #1!Advance-solicited; on sale November 18 • 160 pg, FC, $19.99 US

GREEN LANTERN: AGENT ORANGE HC Written by Geoff Johns Art by Philip Tan, Jonathan Glapion, Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert Cover by Philip Tan
“This is comic book storytelling at its absolute finest.”— IGNA new chapter in the prelude to the massive BLACKEST NIGHT event is collected in this hardcover featuring GREEN LANTERN #39-42! A war of light explodes across the Vega System — and the Green Lantern Corps, led by Hal Jordan, must battle the bizarre Orange Lantern Corps and its leader, Agent Orange, possibly the most vile being in the universe. Plus, the Guardians' pact with the criminals of the universe is revealed.Advance-solicited; on sale November 11 • 128 pg, FC, $19.99 US

GREEN LANTERN CORPS: EMERALD ECLIPSE HC Written by Peter Tomasi Art by Patrick Gleason and Rebecca Buchman Cover by Patrick Gleason
The Green Lantern Corps faces the Sinestro Corps in this prelude to BLACKEST NIGHT from issues #33-38 of the monthly series! Mongul enslaves the planet Daxam, making it the home world of his Corps. Will Sodam Yat, the Green Lantern known as Ion, fight to save his homeworld, which he's vowed never to return to?Advance-solicited; on sale November 18 • 160 pg, FC, $24.99 US

Jim: I call these golden book hard covers. It is a trade with a cardboard cover. DC and Marvel are in love with this format and I’m sure it works with the bookstores and Amazon, but it sucks for me. Kirkman does 12 issues over size hard covers, Dark Horse does high end hard covers. Why not offer fans like me a high end product and just do a low production run, you can still make money on it.
Lee: WOW. Some whine with that cheese. Sheesh. Just because it sucks for *ONE* person doesn’t mean the format isn’t popular. And, you should be happy that DC does this because you don’t have shelf space for fancy editions of these books anyway.
Gwen: I won't be getting them because the stories weren't awesome enough for me to want them in a collection.

SUPERMAN: RED SON DELUXE EDITION HC
Written by Mark Millar Art by Dave Johnson, Kilian Plunkett, Andrew Robinson and Walden Wong Cover by Dave Johnson
For the first time ever, DC’s classic 3-issue epic is collected in hardcover. In this tale of Cold War paranoia, the spaceship carrying the infant Superman lands in the 1950s Soviet Union, where he grows up to become a symbol of Soviet power. Advance-solicited; on sale November 11 • 168 pg, FC, 7.0625” x 10.875”, $24.99 US
Lee: This is one of the better elseworld stories that was written. It's always been raved about, but it didn't live up to the hype when I read it. It was still several grades above, but not absolute classic. I will probably still get this because I love Johnson's art.
Jim: I’m tempted, but I just got a new book case and filled it from overflow stuff I had stashed in various places. For now a pass.
Gwen: I may pick this up as a gift for André at some point.
Lee: See what I mean…
Jim complains about hc quality above, then when a nicer hc comes out he doesn’t support it. You need to make up your mind, Pops.

WONDER WOMAN: RISE OF THE OLYMPIAN HC AND TP
Written by Gail Simone Art by Aaron Lopresti, Bernard Chang and Matt Ryan Cover by Aaron Lopresti
When the gods change their plans for man's world, it's up to Wonder Woman to protect humanity against an invading army of male warriors and a new adversary called Genocide.An army of Olympians has risen for an all-out assault on war across the globe and only Wonder Woman can stop them in this new title collecting issues #20-27! One particular attack could spell the end of the Department of Metahuman Affairs and end WW's secret identity of Diana Prince. And Wonder Woman's life is changed forever when she faces a monster named Genocide who goes toe-to-toe with her . . . and wins.Retailer note: This title is scheduled to arrive in stores on November 4 in both hardcover and trade paperback editions. Advance-solicited; on sale November 4 • 208 pg, FC • HC: $24.99 US; TP: $14.99 US

Jim: Good marketing idea to release the trade and hard cover at the same time.
Lee: I agree. It is a good idea. I wonder how it impacts sales of both books? Because both are available does it hurt both, instead of help both.
Gwen: This was a pretty good Wonder Woman run. Putting Gail Simone on WW was a fantastic idea as she got me interested in a character I hadn't cared about in years.

LUNA PARK HC
Written by Kevin Baker Art and cover by Danijel Zezelj
“The most satisfying story I've read — in any medium — in years. Perhaps the greatest work of one of America's greatest writers.” — Darin Strauss (Chang and Eng)“Frightening, beautiful and compelling to the very last panel.” — Denise Mina (HELLBLAZER, Slip of the Knife)New York Times bestselling author Kevin Baker (Dreamland) writes his first original graphic novel, with internationally acclaimed artist Danijel Zezelj. Alik Strelnikov lives in the shadow of Coney Island, a world of silenced rides and rusting amusement parks that mock his dreams of becoming a hero. Ten years ago, he traded a brutal existence in the Russian army for the promise of America only to become an enforcer in the Brooklyn mob. Now, he chases his ghosts with all he has left: booze, heroin and his lover, Marina, part-time prostitute and full-time fortune teller. The only way the two of them can escape their miserable fates hinges on a desperate plan that will put them between warring mobs and span a century, from contemporary Coney Island to the Russia of the Second Chechen War to spellbinding 1910s New York. Mixing historical novel, immigrant fiction and crime thriller, LUNA PARK marks Kevin Baker’s return to Coney Island, the setting of his critically beloved Dreamland and features breathtaking art by Danijel Zezelj (LOVELESS) with to-die-for colors by Dave Stewart (DC: THE NEW FRONTIER).Advance-solicited; on sale November 11 • 160 pg, FC, $24.99 US • MATURE READERS

Jim: “Perhaps the greatest work of one of America's greatest writers.” I love it when they keep the hype subdued and calmed down. Never heard of Kevin Baker, but this sounds very good and Danijel Zezelj is a fantastic artist.
Lee: I’m always surprised how much you like Zezelj. He is a great artist but he uses very heavy blacks which you aren’t a fan of. Oh well, the art alone sold me on this project.
Gwen: This looks pretty cool. I'll have to get Jim to let me borrow it.

SWEET TOOTH #1
Written by Jeff Lemire Art and cover by Jeff Lemire
From out of the deep woods and the mind of acclaimed indie cartoonist Jeff Lemire (THE NOBODY, The Essex County Trilogy) comes a new Vertigo monthly ongoing series like no other! After being raised in total isolation, Gus – a boy born with deer-like antlers – is left to survive in an American landscape devastated a decade earlier by an inexplicable pandemic. Even more remarkable is that Gus is part of a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid children who have emerged in its wake, all apparently immune to the infection.Enter Jepperd, a violent, hulking drifter who soon takes in Gus and promises to lead him to “The Preserve,” a fabled safe-haven for hybrid children. Along the way they’ll have to contend with science militias, deadly scavengers, rival bounty hunters, and hybrid worshipping cultists as they fight to make it to safety and solve the mysteries of this deadly new frontier. This bizarre and haunting new series is boldly written and illustrated by Eisner-nominated creator Jeff Lemire and elegantly colored by fellow Eisner nominee Jose Villarubia. A little boy with antlers, a big man with guns, a world without hope – SWEET TOOTH #1 ships in September for only $1.00! Plus, don’t miss a free preview of this title in August’s JACK OF FABLES #37!
Lee: I am sold! Lemire's Essex County Trilogy is one of the best comics series of the past decade which was a moving, and heart wrenching, slice of life tale. I am excited to see his new work, and see if he can handle the more horrific elements of this story. I'm sure this will be very, very good.
Jim: Well I’m always willing to give a new Vertigo series a go, especially for $1. Add in Lee’s heartfelt recommendation and it sounds like a winner.
Gwen: This looks pretty surreal but I'd be willing to give it a shot.

SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING BOOK 2 HC
Written by Alan Moore Art by Shawn McManus, Stephen Bissette, John Totleben and Ron Randall Cover by Stephen Bissette & John Totleben
“Perhaps the brainiest and scariest horror narrative of the ’80s.” — ROLLING STONE In this second collection Swamp Thing hardcover featuring SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #28-34 and SWAMP THING ANNUAL #2, the Earth Elemental says goodbye to the illusion of his own humanity after learning that he is 100 percent plant, meets a crew of benevolent alien invaders inspired by the classic swamp-based comic strip Pogo, and consummates his relationship with Abigail Arcane as only he could.Advance-solicited; on sale November 25 • 224 pg, FC, $24.99 US • MATURE READERS

Jim: This is such a no-brainer. Although I think Alan Moore has gone round the bend, this stuff was terrific.
Lee: Agreed. This was great, but the next one which will introduce Constantine will be even better.
Gwen: I have these stories in trade I believe. I think they are in my stack of stuff to read.

COVER GIRLS OF THE DC UNIVERSE: POWER GIRL STATUE BASED ON THE ART OF ADAM HUGHES SCULPTED BY DESIGN JACK MATHEWS
As the cousin of Superman, Power Girl packs quite a punch as one of the heaviest hitters in the JSA. And now, she stars in her own smash-hit monthly series, further increasing her popularity and cementing her place as one of the greatest superheroines of all time!This latest addition to the instantly popular COVER GIRLS OF THE DC UNIVERSE statue line is posed just as she appears on the variant cover of Adam Hughes’ POWER GIRL #2.Hand-painted, cold-cast in porcelain and measuring approximately 9” tall x 6.5” wide x 4.25” deep, this statue includes a 4-color Certificate of Authenticity and is packaged in a 4-color box. Limited Edition. Manufactured to order.Advance-solicited; on sale February 24, 2009 * Statue * $99.99 US

Jim: I wonder if I can somehow buy this statue and my wife not notice it.
Lee: Wouldn’t it be easier to buy your wife the Powergirl costume and have her model that????
Jim: Right, let's see how fast your wife would put on that costume for you.
Gwen: What a ridiculous costume. Not that I don't understand its marketing value - but they might as well have a superhero Playboy bunny at this rate. Oh wait - that's the Phan

Jim: Lots of good stuff, a few clunkers and it looks like DC is doing a better job lately.
Lee: At least DC got the Red Circle launch right. That’s positive. Now if only they can sustain it.
Gwen: I’m ready for a cook-out!

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