Solicitationary blatherings: Image

So here's Image's solicits for July, and I'm surprised to see they have quite a bit that interests me. They're one of the bigger publishers of "independent" comics, and they seem to be interested in some fairly diverse genres. That's cool by me. Let's look at what they've got:



Jack Kirby's Silver Star HC - This is cool, but pretty overpriced. There are only six issues (144 pages) for $34.99. I have the first issue, which I found in a discount bin, so I doubt it's too difficult to track down all the issues for a fairly cheap price. I know hardcovers add a little to the cost, but even so it probably shouldn't cost more than $20, in my opinion.



Godland Celestial HC - See, this is more like it. $34.99 for more than twice the content of the Silver Star hardcover. Not a bad deal, considering the two trades that collect issues #1-12 cost around $15 each, and this has the hard cover and lots of bonus content. I have the issues, so I won't be paying for the same story twice, but I'll give it a high recommendation.





Dust #1 (of 2) - This looks interesting; it's some sort of alternate history, sci-fi version of World War II, with robots and zombies and that kind of crazy shit. Sounds fun, but I don't know about the writers: mink, a music video director, and Paolo Parente, a former fashion illustrator and designer of fantasy stuff like World of Warcraft and Magic: The Gathering. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I guess. The cheesecakey variant cover (the bottom one) doesn't give me much hope though.



Madman Atomic Comics #4 - Oh hell yes. I think I'll just say that every month. I will mention one thing about the cover though: Is it just me, or does that tree look very, um, Freudian?



Repo #2 (of 5) - More of the wacky clone-hunting repo-men. I hope this is good. I do like the hovercars on this cover.



Fell #9 - Man, July is too long to wait for the next issue. I loved that last one, and this is really one of my favorite comics. I hope Ellis and Templesmith can get back to a more regular schedule.



Ward of the State #3 (of 3) - The first issue of this hasn't come out yet, so until I read it, I don't really have much to say. I hope it's good, just like I hope everything is good.



Gutsville #3 (of 6) - This series looks awesome, but it's another one that I don't think I have much to say about until I read the first issue. So I'll just say that given the premise, I like the phrase "Make it puke".



Full Color - This one's a graphic novel that I haven't heard anything about, but sounds interesting. Here's the solicitation text:

TELL YOUR BOSS EXACTLY WHAT YOU THINK.

A lifetime marked with Napoleonic bosses has generated a rage in Boom that she can’t contain anymore – only aim. Her target? Her boss. That same day, Boom comes home to find an old friend standing on her fire escape. David’s double-crossed a drug dealer and he's looking for help.

Boom tells him, “I can’t. I’ve given myself one day to make it all right or I’m just going to kill myself. What do you think of that?”

David smiles, “Chaos it is then. We’ll need coffee.”

FULL COLOR is an action-packed odyssey through New York. Fast-paced and thoughtful, compelling and funny, FULL COLOR is a revenge-fueled morality tale for a post-September 11th world.

I'm not sure what they mean by "Napoleonic" bosses. Power-hungry? I'm curious if this is supposed to be some sort of social satire or something. And what does going on a "revenge-fueled", "action-packed odyssey" have to do about the "post-September 11th world"? I dunno, but it's sparked my interest, at least.



Hiding in Time #1 (of 4) - Interesting concept (time-travel-based witness protection and the failure thereof), but the art on the cover doesn't exactly grab me. Might be worth a look.



America, Jr. volume 1 TPB - Apparently this is a collection of a webcomic about a town that declares its independence and forms its own country, "with hilarious results!" Has anybody read it? Is it any good? On an odd note, the solicit and cover trumpet the fact that the introduction is written by the guy that played President Logan on 24. Good for them, I guess.



Scrap Mettle HC - A collection of sketches and paintings by Scott Morse. I'm not a huge fan of his, but I think he's okay. $40 is kind of pricey for this sort of thing.



The Bakers: Babies & Kittens HC - I'll probably get this one though, since I love Kyle Baker. His "The Bakers" strips are hilarious, and while this one's also a bit expensive ($19 for 96 pages), I'm sure it'll be worth it.



Black Cherry - A graphic novel by Doug TenNapel. I'm not sold on him; I thought Creature Tech was okay, but didn't really like the Christian moral. I've heard some of his other stuff has the same tendencies. This one has to do with the mafia, and strippers, and a priest, but the potential is there for more moralizing. The art is good though, so it will be under consideration.



Witchblade #whatever - I don't plan to ever buy an issue of Witchblade, but I wanted to point out this nice variant cover by David Mack. That is all.



Nightfall - A graphic novel about a guy who gets sent to a Texas prison that turns out to be run by vampires. Could be interesting.




The Weapon #2 - I never saw a solicitation for #1, but this is a martial-arts series written by Fred Van Lente (Action Philosophers), so it's definitely worth checking out.
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Well, that's it for Image. Plenty of stuff of interest, but I don't know how much of it will be worth purchasing. And no new issue of Godland? Crap. More content coming soon.