Image Preview Review for September

Jim: It seems to me that Image is still having all sorts of issues trying to figure out what the heck they are doing. Outside of a few good core titles, they are all over the map.
Lee: They have always been all over the map. Just the pieces of the map aren’t as good as they previously were.

FALLOUT TOYWORKS #1 (of 5)
created by PETE WENTZ & DARREN ROMANELLI
story BRETT LEWIS
art & cover SAM BASRI & IMAGINARY FRIENDS STUDIOS
SEPTEMBER 2
32 PAGES / FC
$3.99
A brilliant young robot maker risks his entire company for his factories newly produced android named Tiffany, but when his new concept fails to work fixing her soon becomes his greatest passion and potentially his own destruction.
Inspired by the ideas and lyrics of FALL OUT BOY, FALLOUT TOYWORKS brings the magic of innocence to life as both a toy maker and his invention set about learning the true secrets of life. FALLOUT TOYWORKS is created by PETE WENTZ (bass and vocals for FALL OUT BOY), DARREN ROMANELLI (Dr. Romanelli DRx) and Nathan Cabrera. Dr. Romanelli "DRx" is the ground breaking designer behind the reinterpretations of Nike, Looney Tunes and Black Sabbath. The series is written by BRETT LEWIS, the acclaimed creator of BULLETPROOF MONK and The Wintermen. IMAGINARY FRIENDS STUDIOS are the acclaimed art studio behind the art for Radical's Hercules: The Thracian Wars, Caliber: First Canon of Justice and STEVE NILES's City of Dust.

Jim: See this book is an example. It has way too much going on and cannot be expressed as a simple concept. Then it wants to cite all of the influences and then provides us with its resume for the creators. I’m not sold on this book.
Lee: Oddly enough all the resume stuff doesn’t bother me. The generic nature of the story bothers me more. Please… toy makers builds busty android and falls in love. Haven’t we read this plot-story, many, many times before? And, the art looks like still from a cartoon which isn’t the most appealing either.
Jim: So that is two strikes for this series. If you can’t make it appealing to either Lee or I you are already in a deep hole as we are willing to try different stuff and have different taste.

UNDERGROUND #1 (of 4)
story JEFF PARKER
art & cover STEVE LIEBER
SEPTEMBER 23
32 PAGES / FC
$3.50
As WHITEOUT readies to hit theaters worldwide, artist STEVE LIEBER returns to the adventure genre with a new thriller, pairing with acclaimed writer JEFF PARKER (AGENTS OF ATLAS, EXILES)!
Park Ranger and avid caver Wesley Fischer is on a one-woman mission to stop Stillwater Cave from being turned into a tourist trap, but public opinion is not on her side. When locals begin blasting in the cave, Wes and a fellow ranger investigate - and a confrontation spirals into a deadly chase deep under the Kentucky mountains!

Jim: This is a new mini-series done right. A nice quick clean sell and for me it is two creators that I enjoy. Sold.
Lee: It’s true that Parker and Lieber are proven commodities but I’m not sold on this one. It seems like Whiteout in a cave. That’s fine but I already read Whiteout. This falls into the maybe, maybe not pile.
Jim: Jeff Parker is not Greg Rucka, so I think he will not be doing a Rucka riff.
Lee: Parker may not be Rucka but the premise is close enough. Isolated place, dangerous location, with a killer on the loose. Still seems like very similar stories to me.

SKY PIRATES OF NEO TERRA #1 (of 5)
story JOSH WAGNER
art & cover CAMILLA D'ERRICO
SEPTEMBER 30
32 PAGES / FC
$2.99
"SKY PIRATES OF NEO TERRA"
In Neo Terra, a world of forgotten technology and natural magic, reckless young glide-wing pilot, Billy Boom Boom, must outwit the Pirate King to stop him from ushering in a new Dark Age. CAMILLA D'ERRICO, (Burn, Nightmares and Fairy Tales) pencils this high adventure mini-series about loyalty, friendship, and what it means to be a true hero. Based on the Nintendo DS game "The Sky Pirates of Neo Terra".

Jim: No more based on video game books for me unless someone has read it and loans me a copy. Wildstorm stuff was not to my liking and this looks like crap.
Lee: I’m with ya here. Big pass on video game material. Especially, second tier video games. No no no.

BEAST OGN
story MARIAN CHURCHLAND
art & cover MARIAN CHURCHLAND
SEPTEMBER 16
152 PAGES / FC
$15.99
The first full-length solo work of MARIAN CHURCHLAND, artist of Conan: Trophy.
Colette, a young sculptor looking for work, finds a job with a mysterious client who wants her to carve his portrait out of marble. The client turns out to be a shadowy creature, and the block of marble, she discovers, has a long history that threatens to engulf her entirely.

Jim: Nothing to make me want to buy this book. An unknown creator doing writing and art for $16 – forget it. Give me a ten page preview or something.
Lee: Oddly enough, I thought this was one of the most interesting books being promoted. I like the cover. I like the premise. And, unlike others I went and found preview here (http://incertus.livejournal.com/). The art has a certain Paul Pope, loose line style that I really like. The best of the bunch so far if you ask me.
Jim: You had to find the preview, isn’t that a problem in and of itself? Why aren’t links provided with solicitations that are being released for online.
Lee: I always have to find previews for myself. You’re right that people should just start providing links in the hype. I bet it would help sales.

BOMB QUEEN VI #1 (of 4)
story JIMMIE ROBINSON
art & cover JIMMIE ROBINSON
SEPTEMBER 30
32 PAGES / FC
$3.50
"OH, BOMB AH!"
Image superheroes are lining up to congratulate President Obama, But NOT the villain dictator of New Port City. Bomb Queen is seething with bloodlust when the new administration targets her criminal city for closure along with Guantanamo Bay. Bomb Queen vs. Barack Obama? Only Image would dare! Don't miss it!
NEW STORY ARC! JUMP ONBOARD THE WILDEST SERIES IN COMICS!!

Jim: Wow I’m sick of all the Barack Obama stuff, but you have to feel bad that anybody has to suffering being the center of attention of Bomb Queen. The cover LAYout is priceless.
Lee: Ok. I’ll agree with the Obama saturation point but it’s still Bomb Queen. And, I’ll bet that Robinson manages to push a lot of buttons with this story.
Jim: And that is the shame, Bomb Queen doing Obama will probably be outrageous and funny, but now it feels like a stunt.

TIFFANY'S EPIPHANY HC
story KRISTEN KOERNER SIMON
art & cover JIM VALENTINO
SEPTEMBER 16
32 PAGES / FC
$12.99
The animals in the forest are being bullied! Jack the Rabbit decides to confront the culprit, only to find out the bully is a SKUNK named Tiffany! A lighthearted and humorous tale that shows how wrong it is to be a bully, as well as how lonely being a bully can be.
FEATURING THE FAN-FAVORITE CHARACTERS FROM THE FIRST SILVERLINE BOOKS PUBLICATION IN THE SERIES, BRUCE THE LITTLE BLUE SPRUCE: THE FOUR LOVABLE FIELD MICE AND JACK THE RABBIT!

Jim: What is this? Is Valentino sleeping with this writer? I mean this does not fit image and 32 pages for $13 bucks for a children’s book. Please make it stop!
Lee: All the second tier publishers are branching out into children’s books. Why are you surprised by this? And, you apparently haven’t bought books for your Grandkids because $13 is not that bad a price. Kids books are very pricey.
Jim: No grandkids yet buddy boy.

INVINCIBLE: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION, VOL. 5 HC
story ROBERT KIRKMAN
art & cover by RYAN OTTLEY & FCO PLASCENCIA
SEPTEMBER 23
336 PAGES / FC
$34.99
Witness Invincible's transition from new hero just starting out to an established superhero! This volume collects Invincible's confrontation with Cecil Steadman, the return of the Reanimen and the beginning of a bold new era for Invincible!
Collects INVINCIBLE #49-60

Jim: As a hard cover guy, I love these books, oversized, twelve issues and only $35 bucks, what is not to love.
Lee: I don’t love the fact that you don’t have enough room on your bookshelf for this. I feel bad for you because I bet you would like this. It’s a great series if you haven’t read it. And, it looks super awesome in hc format. I’m glad I have room for it on my bookshelf.
Jim: I’m making room by moving some of the trades and newspapers editions on to new homes, don’t you worry about the space issue.
Lee: That’s true, and since I’ve seen your shelves… did I provide an updated list of trades I could “store” at my house for you?

JACK STAFF, VOL. 4: ROCKY REALITIES TP
story PAUL GRIST
art & cover by PAUL GRIST
SEPTEMBER 16
224 PAGES / FC
$17.99
Becky Burdock is hunting vampires. Jack Staff is Britain's Greatest Villain. Something's wrong in Castletown, and not all the pieces seem to fit anymore.
Collects JACK STAFF #13-20 & JACK STAFF SPECIAL #1

Lee: Jack Staff is excellent, excellent superheroes. Grist has a unique art and story telling style. I think I’m one of the few that reads this but it’s always been very, very good.
Jim: I read some of his work with the police detective that escapes my name. He has a very loose style, but it works.

THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #20
story ROBERT KIRKMAN
art & cover JASON HOWARD
SEPTEMBER 30
32 PAGES / FC
$2.99
Look out, Crime! Chloe Hampton: Vampire Girl is on the prowl! Meanwhile, her father, Wolf-Man, really makes a mess of things... all leading up to our monumental issue 25!

Jim: Yeah I like this book and all, but I picked it for the dumb solicitation copy. All leading up to our monumental issue #25 – Is every book before leading up to a number further up. Just seems dumb to me.
Lee: Wow. How do I top that? I can’t so I’m going for belligerent and annoying. No ya dumb @$! Only issues 3, 7, 9, and 20 lead up to #25. Issues, 2, 4, & 6 are leading up to issue 50. It’s all part of Kirkman’s master plan. If you read this book you would know what’s going on. Wow, that’s pretty good for annoying if I do say so myself.
Jim: I’m confused – how does 20 fight with the 25 and yet the other numbers are even. Your plan did not work.

BONDS #3 (RES)
story DURWIN TALON
art & cover DURWIN TALON
SEPTEMBER 2
32 PAGES / FC
$3.99
"FINALE"
The bio-weapon project White Rabbit is about to be activated and Faith discovers that her path of vengeance does not end with Hirano. She must stop herself from being consumed by the dark powers behind her accumulating tattoos. To save her soul, Faith must forge new bonds with her murdered father, a mother she kills one tattoo at a time, and a fiance who still clings to hope.

Jim: I got issues #1 & #2, but that was so long ago I could care anymore, so you can count me out for the final chapter.
Lee: Who cares about the story!!! Did you see the cover? We kinda stopped the Fanboy cover report but this one is… startling to say the least. Easy winner this month.

CHEW #4
story JOHN LAYMAN
art & cover ROB GUILLORY
SEPTEMBER 2
32 PAGES / FC
$2.99
A senator with bloodstream full of drugs and a belly full of chicken is stone dead in the morgue, and the trail leads back all the way the Arctic, to a joint U.S./Russian space observatory that has been singularly focused on a single, distant, Earth-like planet. Tony Chu and his partner are about to discover whatever secret this planet holds does not compare to those being kept by the astronomers.
Yeah, that weird stuff just got weirder, in a spacey story from Image's deliciously twisted new series about cops, crooks, cooks, cannibals and clairvoyants!
RETAILER WARNING: MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES

Jim: What a great frelling book the first issue was. I loved it.
Lee: Does Proof know that you’re cheating on it like this? You used to always pick Proof, now you pick Chew. Seems a little… I don’t know… two-timey to me.
Jim: A new love is always fresh and new. Sure I still like Proof and all, but it is like we have drifted apart a little and Chew was paying attention to me.

Jim: Another blah month for new stuff from Image. These guys really need to pick up their game as IDW has passed them buy and soon Dynamite will pass them. In fact April Estimates show Dynamite actually passed them in Dollar share (verus number of books) which is more important. So Image is now the sixth place publisher.
Lee: Image is six? Wow. How the mighty have fallen. Dull books but pretty stupid comments from us make a great post!