This week, there is one book which I plan to buy

I'm late linking to this, but I did review Agents of Atlas #1 last week on Comics Bulletin. Also, I contributed to The Factual Opinion's Television of the Weak post, with a review of Fringe, so there's something else to read if you can't get enough of me. Enjoy.

And since I like to link to stuff I found interesting, there are a few announcements from the New York Comic-Con that I though were cool, or at least worth a mention, including several projects from Vertigo and the Vertigo Crime imprint, including a bunch of interesting-sounding graphic novels, like Filthy Rich, by Brian Azzarello and Victor Santos; The Bronx Kill, by Peter Milligan and James Romberger; Cowboys, by Gary Phillips and Brian Hurtt; and Cuba: One Story, by Inverna Lockpez and Dean Haspiel. Then there's some cool new series, like Greek Street by Peter Milligan and David Gianfelice and DayTripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, and a prose Fables novel called Peter and Max, written by Bill Willingham. That's a lot of stuff to look out for. Also of interest, if not necessarily something to look forward to, is the announcement that Jonathan Hickman will be the new writer on Fantastic Four, along with artist Dale Eaglesham. I guess that's...something, but I would definitely prefer to see him work on creator-owned stuff rather than joining the work-for-hire brigade.

Okay, the post:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 2/11/09):

Batman #686

For those who care, this is the first part of Neil Gaiman's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" storyline, with art by Andy Kubert. I'm somewhat conflicted, since I do like Gaiman, and it could possibly be an interesting story which, judging by the title, will be some sort of riff on Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" On the other hand, I'm bored with Batman and superhero comics in general, I haven't really liked any of Gaiman's comics work in the past five years or so (I haven't really enjoyed anything of his since Endless Nights), and I dislike Andy Kubert's artwork. So, I'm sure I'll see what people have to say, and then maybe read it when it gets collected or something. What a ringing endorsement!

Castle Waiting #14

This is a series that I really do want to try sometime. I need to just bite the bullet and try to get the hardcover of the first volume at the library or something.

DMZ #39

Brian Wood continues the tales of urban warfare. I'll get a chance to get closer to caught up this week (see below)...

Fables #81

More post-war tales of fabledom. New collection, please.

Gravel #9

Ellis and Wolfer with the combat magician tales. Is this any good at all?

Hellboy The Wild Hunt #3

Mignola and Fegredo. I bet this will be a good read. I'll look forward to the eventual collection.

Hexed #2

More of Boom!'s flourescent wizardry. I'm not sure if this is any good either.

Incognito #2

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips continue their supervillain (turned superhero?) story, with some backstory, and lots of promised depravity. I should have a review up tomorrow at Comics Bulletin, but I have to read it first.

Patsy Walker: Hellcat, Agent of Initiative #5

Kathryn Immonen and David LaFuente complete their funky story of Alaskan magic and whatnot. It's been fun, from what I've read, so check this out if you haven't before. By the way, apparently LaFuente is going to be the artist on a new version of Ultimate Spider-Man. What's Stuart Immonen going to do? Hopefully some graphic novels with his wife or something; As decent as Ultimate Spidey is, I'd love to see his work on something I'm actually excited to read.

Scalped #25

I keep meaning to read the first volume or two of this series, because it is reputed to be very good. As with so much that I mention, someday it may happen.

Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen #4

I haven't been too enamored of this adaptation of Stephen Colbert's character (see my review of the previous issue here), but it does have some charms, so don't let me dissuade you too much if you really want to check it out. At the least, it features some nice art by Robbi Rodriguez.

30 Days Of Night TP Juarez

I've never been into the various 30 Days of Night comics (although I saw the movie not too long ago, and I thought it was pretty good), but this one is written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Ben Templesmith, so it might be worth checking out. Does anybody know if it is any good? Do I have to be up on series continuity to understand it? Because I'm sure keeping up with the mythos of arctic vampires (who also apparently hang out in Mexico?) must be difficult.

All Star Superman Vol 2 HC

Ooh, here's the chance to read the excellent finale to a great series, one of the last superhero books that I can fully get behind. Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, beauty. Read it, if you haven't already.

Ashley Woods 96 Nudes HC

Ashley Wood did two individual books of 48 nudes apiece, so here's the collection. I don't think there's much more to it than what the title says. But that's cool, because Wood can sure draw some cute girls. Go fine art!

Batman False Faces TP

I don't know if this is a paperback version of what was originally a hardcover, or if it's just a new printing, but this is the book that collects some early stories by Brian K. Vaughan, if you're interested. I haven't read it, but I wouldn't mind, just out of curiosity.

Batman RIP Deluxe Edition HC

And speaking of Batman (and Grant Morrison), here's the big book collecting his "epic" story about Batman going crazy, reverting to a backup personality, sleeping in the streets, and fighting a bunch of people who plotted to kill him in different ways. It was very controversial, in that people either didn't understand it or thought it was anticlimactic. I managed to read it, and I thought it was okay, but not great, and I might have been disappointed by the ending if I hadn't read all about it beforehand. But mostly, Tony Daniel's art is ugly stuff that really drags the book down. I can't say it would definitely have been better without him, but he certainly didn't help things. Anyway, I guess you can read it if you really want to, but I can't say that I recommend it.

DMZ Vol 6 Blood In The Game TPB

And this is the book I will definitely be purchasing. I really like this series, but waiting for the collected versions to come out is no fun. I'll still do it though. I think this storyline has to do with an election? I'll see when I get to it (which might not be for a while); don't let me down, Brian Wood!

First Time HC

NBM's Eurotica imprint has this collection of porn comics by various creators, including Cyril Pedrosa and Dave McKean. Looks good if you're into that sort of thing. You can see a couple of preview pages here (NSFW).

Marvel Europe TPB

This collects a few of the recent Marvel comics by European creators, including the Wolverine: Saudade one-shot that I reviewed for Comics Bulletin. I dunno if it's worth the price ($15 for basically three stories), but you could take a look if you're interested in some non-traditional takes on Marvel's characters.

Mixtape Vol 3 Food One/Jim Mahfood Art HC Regular Edition

Wow, lots more Jim Mahfood. He's pretty cool; I should try to get these sometime.

MR. T. TPB

Man, this guy just doesn't go away, does he? I guess this is a graphic novel reimagining Mr. T as a superhero bodyguard, or something. The site shows a cover of a story that pits him against Dracula. Sounds silly. If you really want to know more about this, you can download a PDF preview here.

Roberts TPB

I was interested in this series when I saw some information about it at last year's Wizard World, but I never actually read it. But here's the collection! It's about the Boston Strangler and the Zodiac Killer ending up in the same retirement home. Did anybody else read it? Is it good? Maybe I'll give it a try, given the chance.

Supreme Power Vol 1 Contact HC

Is this series still relevant? Or rather, does anybody care about it anymore? Several years ago, it seemed like a big deal, one of those serious, "superheroes in the real world" sort of things. I liked it well enough, although my tastes have changed and I'm not especially interested in that theme anymore. But it seemed to lose its way after around 12 or so issues, getting really slow and not developing, then switching from a "mature readers" title to an "all ages" one, then crossing over with Marvel's Ultimate Universe in a poorly-received miniseries, then getting relaunched in a Howard Chaykin-written miniseries that I think still hasn't finished. But if you want to see what got people interested, here's a fancy collection that you can read! Just know that it never really delivers on its promises and whimpers to a non-ending that leaves nobody satisfied. Ah, comics!

Unloveable HC

Everybody seems to be excited about this new book from Fantagraphics by Esther Pearl Watson that sort of adapts a found teenage girl's diary. Myself, I can't stand Watson's artwork, and think it looks ugly and uninteresting. But I could be wrong, so feel free to either ignore me or scream obscenities at your computer screen.

Welcome To Hoxford Vol 1 TPB

This collects the first four issues of Ben Templesmith's latest series, at a price that, like most IDW books, is too expensive ($20). Still, Templesmith is awesome, and this sounds really cool, about a prison/mental institution that might be supernatural or something (I think; I might have that all wrong). I really want to read it at some point, which may or may not ever come.

Black Lagoon Vol 4 TP

This is the only manga book of note that I saw this week. I didn't like the first volume of this action series very much, but lots of people seem to enjoy it, so I might give it another try. I do have volumes 2 and 3 sitting at home, so that might happen sooner rather than later. And here's the next one, eager to follow its predecessors.

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And that makes the week. One book that I plan to buy, maybe some others of interest. And always lots to read. Stay tuned to see what I think about whatever that might be.