Avatar:
Black Summer #7 - It's the final issue of Warren Ellis's violent, political superhero story, and there's some sort of promised twist ending. I thing it's been decent so far, but it hasn't made me want to praise Ellis to the heavens or anything. He could definitely change my mind in the second half of the series though, so I'll keep reading. As usual, I chose to spotlight the wraparound cover, but I should note that there is also a zombie variant cover, which I'm surprised it took this long for Avatar to get around to.
Doktor Sleepless #8 - Man, that is a really nasty cover there, so don't look too closely if you don't want to be grossed out. I'm starting to really like this series, so hopefully Ellis will keep improving, adding interesting elements and neat/weird sci-fi ideas. Don't let me down, Ellis!
Narcopolis #1 - This miniseries by written by Jamie Delano (with art by some buy named Jeremy Rock; I've never heard of him, but he seems to have a fairly standard Avatar style) looks like it's about an Orwellian future, with lots of drugs and weirdness. It looks pretty cool, so I'll probably try out the first issue, at the very least. I can't find any mention of how long the miniseries is supposed to be, but it's probably no more than six or seven issues. Here's an article/interview with Delano about the series.
Boom! Studios:
Jenny Finn: Doom Messiah TPB - I never did read these books, but they looked interesting, and I've heard they're pretty good. Mike Mignola writes, Troy Nixey and Farel Dalrymple draw (I think), it's about a Victorian girl dealing with Lovecraftian horrors or something. I might have to check it out.
The Stardust Kid volume 1 TPB - How many issues of this series ever came out? I don't think there were very many; maybe J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog are switching to serialized graphic novels (or text/comics amalgamations, like their other series, Abadazad). I haven't read either of the series, but I've heard good things, so I could check it out. It seems like something I could get my wife to read, so that's always good.
Dark Horse:
Abe Sapien: The Drowning #1 - Yet another Hellboy-verse series, this one written by Mike Mignola with art by Jason Shawn Alexander, with a solo Abe Sapien adventure (if you couldn't figure that out from the title. I won't buy the miniseries, but I'll probably get to it someday whenever I get caught up on all the various Hellboy-related collections.
Evil Dead #2 - I'm really not that interested in an adaptation/expansion of the first (and worst, in my opinion) Evil Dead movie, but it features art by John Bolton, which seems odd to me. It will probably be worth a look, if nothing else.
Hellboy Library Edition volume 1: Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil - Did I mention that I need to get the various Hellboy collections? I don't know if this is the best format though; it's $50 for the contents of two $15 trades. But I bet it will look hella-nice. Oh, and an introduction from Alan Moore, if that tips the scales for you.
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #6 - The final issue of this first miniseries, with another excellent James Jean cover (that could go without saying, but I like to say it). Have I mentioned that I really like this series? Now bring on the next one!
Dynamite:
The Boys #15 - This book seems to teeter on the edge of my awareness, not bad enough that I want to drop it, but not good enough to have me eagerly awaiting each issue. That might be why I haven't switched to trades yet; I feel like I might not feel compelled to pick up the trade with a wait of six months or more between issues. It's definitely not bad though, so I'll probably keep buying it. This issue starts a new storyline, and that cover makes me laugh; I like the detail of the torn fishnets and the panties. Really, this would be a prime stopping point for me, since the trade collecting issues 7-14 also comes out in February, but I think I'll keep sticking it out. I did read an interview with Garth Ennis the other day that makes me want to keep reading, just to see what he does with the stuff he hinted at.
Zorro #1 - I guess this goes along with the Lone Ranger comic that Dynamite publishes (that is them, isn't it?). I won't get it, but it's worth pointing out the creative team: Matt Wagner and Francesco Francavilla, with covers by John Cassaday and Mike Mayhew. It'll look nice, but I'm just not interested enough in Zorro to bother.
IDW:
Little Orphan Annie volume 1 HC - Here's another reprint project for IDW, to go along with Dick Tracy and Terry and the Pirates. I should read these, although they're a bit pricey. It's good to see IDW diversifying their output to include reprints and manga (I'm currently reading their printing of Kazuo Umezu's Reptilia, and it's great).
I should also mention IDW's Wormwood book, which I'll probably buy in trade, and this month's issue of Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now, which contains an adaptation of "I, Robot", which is a really good story. I recently read an interview with Doctorow, and he mentioned that the Creative Commons license that he uses for his work will go into effect when this series is collected, meaning the book will be freely available for download. I'll be sure to point a link to that when it comes out.
Oni Press:
Jumper: Jumpscars GN - I read part of the young adult novel Jumper many years ago, but I never finished it for some reason. It's about a kid with teleportation powers, and a movie adaptation is coming out next year, I believe. This graphic novel is a prequel to the movie, written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, with art by Brain Hurtt. I'll be willing to check it out just for Hurtt's art; his work on Hard Time and The Damned is excellent.
Maintenance volume 2 TPB - I've been talking up this series for a while now, so here's your chance to get caught up, with a collection of issues 4-6. Good stuff.
Wasteland #15 - A new story arc, which means the second collection will be appearing soon, I hope (was it already solicited? I don't remember). I can't wait to get caught up.
Red 5:
Atomic Robo #5 - I haven't written anything about it yet, but I got the second issue of this book (still waiting for the first), and it was a riot. Really, really fun, with some heart, even. I'm on board now.
Neozoic #3 - This is another Red 5 series that looks neat, but I don't think the first issue has shown up yet. People vs. dinosaurs, in the future, or something. Looks cool. I hope I actually see it somewhere.
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And I think that's everything, unless I missed something somewhere. I'm sure there will be other stuff worthy of attention (like manga, which I don't even mention in these things), but I guess that will be more of a surprise.
I guess I lied about having some content yesterday, but hopefully I'll get to it tonight. Really!
Oh, a new Jamie Delano book is always great news, although I´m reluctant to even touch anything Avatar...
ReplyDeleteAnd the second Wasteland collection was solicited in October.
Ah, thanks for the info. I assume that means it's coming out in January...
ReplyDeleteAs for Avatar, they have some decent stuff, they just tend to lean toward more lurid material, with emphasis on gore, sex, and nudity. Jacen Burrows and Juan Jose Ryp are pretty good artists, and I usually follow Warren Ellis and Garth Ennis, so I read those sorts of things. If nothing else, Avatar's complete lack of restriction on content allows them to unleash the totally depraved stuff lurking in the back of their twisted minds, so I appreciate seeing what they come up with. I stay pretty far away from the Lady Death/Brian Pulido's Temptress/Minx/Succubus/Naked Chick/Scary Powerful Woman sort of crap though.
I was going to give Doctor Sleepless one more issue to see what I think about it. Right now I currently like it but not love it. I was wondering if I should just read Transmet instead if I haven't read any Warren Ellis before this and Black Summer.
ReplyDeleteReally not expecting much from the Evil Dead comic, but I would rank the Evil dead movies like this:
Evil Dead 2 > Evil Dead > Army of Darkness
That's my opinion anyway. Come to think of it I know someone who loves AOD, but didn't care for the original Evil Dead. Great Blog by the way.
Eric: Transmet would be a great place to go if you're looking to read more Ellis. I haven't read the whole thing (another entry on my "to buy someday" list), but what I've read is really good, full of techno-futuristic sci-fi, political rants, and real, humanist moments. And lots of gross-out, weird stuff, just for fun. Other good Ellis stuff includes the first 12 issues of The Authority, Nextwave, and his Ultimate stuff for Marvel, if you like superheroes. There's also Planetary, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Evil Dead movies, I think I would put Army of Darkness ahead of the first one. The original has some good bits (the creepy tree rape, for one), but it's pretty amateurish (not that I don't appreciate what they accomplished; it's where Sam Raimi figured out how to direct movies, after all), and it lacks the charm and humor of the other two, I think. I still like it, but given the choice, I would prefer to watch the other two instead. But hey, to each his own, as I always say.
Matt: I´m pretty sure there might be a decent book hidden under all the bad girl / zombie cruft, only they should really work on their Corporate Identity, the image they´re projecting as a publisher.
ReplyDeleteAs it is, even looking through their Previews section makes me feel dirty. Like, do they publish whatever remains the can find in Warren Ellis´ outhouse?
And this is a company that once had The Goon and Dreamwalker in their publishing line-up.
Myk: I think I read a quote from Warren Ellis six months ago or so in which he said he wanted to change people's perception of Avatar as a company. But, yeah, it'll take more than a couple sci-fi books from him (which, based on cover images, don't really stand out too much from Avatar's other offerings anyway) to make people think of them as something other than bad girl/zombie semi-porn.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I hadn't heard of Dreamwalker, but it looks interesting. I might have to look around for some back issues.