Indies Preview Review for April Part 3 of 3

Image Comics
Godland: Celestial Ed. Vol. 02 HC by (W) Joe Casey (A) Tom Scioli
Finally, the wait is over! Book Two in the Eisner Award-nominated Celestial Editions is here! See how the greatest cosmic superhero epic of our time was taken to even higher levels of surreal splendor! See Commander Adam Archer, Maxim, Basil Cronus, Nickelhead and more in all their oversized glory! Is there any other book that delivers the Savage Sting and the secret of the Infinity Tower? Not in this universe! Where else are you going to see Lucky in all of his glory? Only GØDLAND has the pure, storytelling power to scratch the greatest itch you ever had! Collects GØDLAND #13-24, plus tons of cosmic-powered extras! 360 pages, FC, $34.99
Jim: I never got into this series, but I have heard a lot of positive things about it.
Lee: This is Casey at his weirdest and best. I've always felt that Casey was hit or miss as a writer, but his hits were always so good that I keep coming back for more. This is very, very good... and strange. The oversized hc is the best way to read the series.

Sam & Twitch: Writer #1 by (W) Luca Blengino (A) Luca Erbetta & Fabio Bono
New Crime Fiction Mini-Series Shipping Bi-Weekly! A top-notch creative team from Italy spins a hard-boiled crime fiction tale from the boroughs of NYC! Part One: Incipit In Media
In the dead of winter, with a snowstorm looming, a routine homicide investigation has a literary twist. A suspected drug dealer is found dead and naked, with what seems to be part of a larger story written all over his body. Detectives Sam Burke and Twitch Williams, along with graphologist Charlotte Garland, have to discover the truth, but the case, like the weather, can only get worse? #1 of 4, $2.99
Lee: I definitely have a soft spot for S&T because of Bendis’s run on the title. It was just before he moved to Marvel and still some of his strongest work. Bi-weekly is impressive if they can pull it off but I wish I knew more about the creative team. I’ll look at it on the racks before I make a final decision.
Jim: I have an aversion to almost anything associated with Todd McFarlane, but one day I want to read the Bendis Sam & Twitch stuff.

Sea of Red Slipcase Collection
By (W) Rick Remender & Kieron Dwyer (A) Kieron Dwyer
The year is 1533. Deckhand, Marco Esperanza's shipping vessel is sunk in the dead of night leaving him, the sole survivor, left adrift in the Red Sea. His prayers are answered when a strange ship impossibly cuts through the night fog saving him a watery grave. However, his elation soon turns to horror when he discovers he has been brought aboard the dread pirate ship, The Black Galleon. There is more to Captain Lesser Blackthroat and his evil crew than mere piracy, these men are damned -- these men are vampire. The year is 2004. Since being turned undead by Blackthroat, Marco has spent the past 400 years tied to the bow of a sunken vessel, clinging to unlife in the dark, briny, deep. His confinement at the bottom of the sea ends when film director Joel Cameron's submarine discovers him while location scouting. Hungry to film a live vampire battle, Cameron agrees to aid Marco in seeking out the eternal monsters responsible his fate that he might have his revenge. Collects Sea Of Red, Vol. 1-3 Warning: May Not Be Suitable For All Ages $39.99 NOTE: Limited to 1000 copies. Allocations may occur.
Lee: First, to comment on the slipcase, I think it’s a cool idea. It’s a nice way to keep you tpb’s from getting beat up too much. Then again, how much are they going to get beat up on a shelf. As for the story, I have these books already and they’re pretty good. If you like Remender’s work, then you’ll like this.
Jim: I usually enjoy Remender's work and had missed this stuff, sounds like a nice way to try it out and after I read it and if I don't like it I will mail it off to someone.

Oni Press Inc.
Mondo Urbano GN by (W/A) Rafael Albuquerque, Mateus Santolouco, Eduardo Medeiros
Rafael Albuquerque (artist of Vertigo's new American Vampire series) joins Eduardo Medeiros (Mad) and Mateus Santolouco (Wolverine) for a riotous new graphic novel series! Told through a series of vignettes, Mondo Urbano takes readers on a gritty and exciting ride through a world of sex, drugs, and rock n roll. $11.99
Lee: Is it me or does it seem like Oni is publishing less and less frequently these days. Their offerings seem to be getting slimmer and slimmer. But the things they are offering, such as this, sound great.
Jim: Wow Lee enjoying a music comic mash up, who would have thunk it. Oni does has a very slim publishing schedule which is a shame and most of what they publish is very good.

Titan Publishing
Darkies Mob HC by (W) John Wagner (A) Mike Western
Gathered in a complete uncensored collection, this is the original, hardhitting war comic story from the pen of Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner. In the hellish, humid jungles of Burma, renegade Captain Joe Darkie leads a rag-tag squad of British soldiers behind Japanese lines, transforming them into the brutal Darkie's Mob. His squad faced hardship, horror and vicious combat at every turn, as their Captain's mania threatened to engulf them all. How many will die before his bloodlust is finally sated? $19.95. Visit the Mob fanpage, with some art, here
Jim: When I read in the back of Battlefields that Ennis enjoyed this (I believe) then my decision was made to check this out. Of course the title will have some screaming politically incorrect, but who cares.
Lee: Darkie's Mob is collected from the British comic "Battle" which is roughly equivalent to Our Army At War. Except that it's bloodier. I'm always up for a good war story and this sounds like a great one. I'm sold.

Top Shelf Productions
BB Wolf & 3 Lps HC by (W) J.D. Arnold (A) Rich Koslowski
Set in the Mississippi Delta of the 1920s, B.B. Wolf & The 3 LP's is a classic story of racial injustice, murder, revenge, and music, all told through the re-telling of a timeless fairy tale. A farmer and family man by day, blues musician by night, B.B.'s life seemed simple. But this fragile peace comes crashing down when the LP's decide to take his land by any means possible. When all is lost, B.B. lashes out, setting into motion acts of revenge that only a big bad wolf could unleash. $12.95. The official BB Wolf site is here, and the previews are here.
Jim: This book screams Lee and screams for me to pass.
Lee: I think it's late, your tired, and just saying no now. I'm not sure who JD Arnold is but I sure as heck know who Koslowski is.... and he's great! Koslowski is a master story teller, great artist, and creator of one of my all time favorite books "Three Fingers." If his name is attached to this, that's good enough for me. Doesn't hurt that Top Shelf is publishing this. You are missing out.

Greetings from Cartoonia SC
Twelve modern European cartoonists gathered objects of inspiration from each others' homelands (such as architectural styles, animal species, car models, traditional folk products, and mythological beings). Then each artist created a comic story set in their chosen country. What emerged is a completely new, trans-national entity. $20.00 See previews here.
Jim: Yeah it just sounds so, so like a bunch of gobblely gook new age crap to me.
Lee: Take a look at the previews and you will instantly know if this book is for you or not. Personally, it's for me. I love the indie scene and I really love indie art. This compilation will be full of things that I like and dislike but that's what I'm looking for. I'm sold.

Moving Pictures GN by (W) Kathryn Immonen (A) Stuart Immonen
During World War II the Nazis pillaged much of Europe's great art collections. Museum curator Ila Gardner and SS officer Rolf Hauptmann are forced by circumstances to play out an awkward and dangerous relationship in a public power struggle. Moving Pictures unfolds along two timelines which collide with the revelation of a terrible secret, an enigmatic decision that not many would make, and the realization that sometimes the only choice left is the refusal to choose. $14.95 A 12 page preview here.
Jim: This is a must buy for me. Stuart on art and his wife has proven a capable writer and I love the premise.
Lee: For me too. This is such an easy sell and I'm sure it'll get lots of hype at the release date gets closer. The Immonen's are very, very talented and I'm sure this won't disappoint.

Zip Comics
Schizophrenic One-Shot by (W) Josh Frankel (A) Toby Cypress
Sam C. Howe is just your average 20-something living in the big city. He has a crappy job, a run-down apartment, and a crazy roommate, but, Sam has a secret. Sam is a schizophrenic, but all of his hallucinations become real. Assuming the identity of a super-powered being called Uberman, Sam will take on the evil villian group known as the 7 Virtues, but find that the war going on inside his head may be for the wrong reasons! $3.99, illustrated by Toby Cypress, who can be found here who previously drew “Killing Girl" which can be found here, A preview of Schizophrenic here and the official site here.
Jim: Sounds like a decent premise but Cypress' art in Killing Girl was just short of atrocious in my view.
Lee: What??? no no no, the art was very good. The color may have stretched credibility but the art was good. I guess this comes down to if you like Cypress's art or not. I do so I'm willing to give it a try.

Lee: This has been another great month. Between reprints of older books and shiney new things, I'm going to have a month packed with good reads.
Jim: Sigh, Lee has cost me more money this month, but with material that should be worthwhile.