This week is kind of yawn-worthy

I got all my links out of the way Saturday night, I guess, so nothing to mention today besides the new comics:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 3/25/09):

Crossed #4

Garth Ennis' nastiness continues.  I suppose I might try to read this sometime, but it probably isn't anything I'll go out of my way to acquire.  Unless I'm feeling really misanthropic or something.

Garth Ennis Battlefields Dear Billy #3

Ah, here's the more contemplative, romantic Ennis, with his war stories of lost love and such.  Probably lots of violence too though.  I really want to read this one, along with The Night Witches, which I still haven't picked up.

Immortal Iron Fist #24

I've been enjoying what I've read of this continued run on Iron Fist, although this issue is an odd one, being one of those stories about Iron Fists of the past.  That's not too big of a deal, but rather than falling between story arcs, it interrupts the current story for no discernable reason.  Who knows, maybe it'll have some impact on the larger arc, but it seems like poor planning, or a sign that the artist was getting behind and needed an extra month to catch up.

Incredibles Family Matters #1

Ooh, it's the first of Boom! Studios' tie-in to Disney/Pixar movies.  It's a couple years late; the prime time to do this would have been around when the movie came out, but it's still a good enough concept that it should be fun to see what they come up with.  It's written by Mark Waid, with art by Marcio Takara.  You can see a short preview on Boom!'s site.

Jack of Fables #32

I have no idea what's going on in this series these days, but I do want to find out at some point.  I'll try to catch up as the trades come out, I guess.

Muppet Show #1

And here's the other Disney book from Boom!, and it's the one to watch out for, because it's written and drawn by Roger Langridge!  Awesome.  I bet it will be hilarious and pretty, since Langridge is both (or his comics are, at least).  Here's a preview.

Runaways #8

It's part two of the Takeshi Miyazawa-illustrated story about Chase's evil shock jock boss, who has a scheme to turn the population of LA into zombies.  I don't know if anybody is still reading this book, and I can't really recommend it, since I don't think Terry Moore has a very good grasp of the characters and what makes them interesting or enjoyable, but Miyazawa's art is nice.  There you go.

Unknown Soldier #6

I do plan to read this book at some point.  It looks really interesting.  Check out this examination of the last issue.

Planetary #1 Special Edition

DC's latest recommendation of what to read if you liked Watchmen.  I can't complain, since I like the series, but it's not necessarily one for comics beginners.  Or maybe it is, who knows.  Warren Ellis, John Cassaday, worldwide conspiracies and action.  It's pretty good stuff.  Not bad for a buck.

Star Trek Spotlight Tribbles

Tribbles?  They get a whole issue about them?  There's really not much to them, being simple fuzzballs, right?  Well, Stuart Moore and Mike Hawthorne beg to differ, I guess.

Top 10 Special #1

More Top 10 already?  This one-shot is written by Zander Cannon, with art by Chinese artist Da Xiong.  I hope this is included in the collection of the Season Two miniseries, because I want to read it.

Umbrella Academy Dallas #5

This second mini looks like it's hurtling toward a conclusion, so hopefully it will get collected quickly.  I'm jonesing for the family-related super-craziness.  Don't let me down, fellows.

American Jesus TP Vol. 1 Chosen

As has been noted by others, the "volume 1" seems to indicate that this Mark Millar/Peter Gross miniseries will have a follow-up, but it doesn't really seem necessary, does it?  It's a short, mostly effective little supernatural story with a (fairly obvious) twist, and trying to continue it seems foolhardy (and also kind of ruins the "American Jesus" title).  But we're talking about Mark Millar here, so he'll probably continue to belabor the obvious.  Still, this isn't bad, even though I probably wouldn't really recommend it.

Beats A Graphic History HC

Hey, I didn't know this was coming out.  It's a book about the Beat Generation of writers, by Harvey Pekar, with art by Ed Piskor, Trina Robbins, Peter Kuper, and others.  Oddly, I can't find a whole lot of information about it online, but here's the Amazon page.

Daredevil Lady Bullseye TPB

Hey, so who is this Lady Bullseye anyway?  Is she a character who had been around before, or somebody that Ed Brubaker invented (probably at the behest of Marvel, who wanted a badass chick character)?  Or should I care?  Probably not.

Desperadoes Omnibus TPB

I've never read this supernatural western series, but it might be all right.  Does anybody recommend it?  IDW has this collection of the entire series to date for $25.  Yup.

Drinky Crows Maakies Treasury HC

Tony Millionaire's strip gets re-branded to match its probably-more-famous Adult Swim counterpart with this collection, which includes the second five years of the series.  This is really funny, weird, excellently-drawn stuff; I really should read more of it.  You can see a preview slideshow here.

Hi-Fructose Collected Edition HC

This is more of an artbook than comics, but it's still notable.  I've never heard of the magazine that this collects, but it's got contributions from the likes of Junko Mizuno, Dave Cooper, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Jim Woodring, Kaiju Big Battel (which is weird, since that's a traveling giant-monster wrestling show, not an artist), and others of that ilk.  Probably pretty nice-looking.

Showcase Presents Ambush Bug TP Vol. 1

People seem to love them some Ambush Bug, but I've never really understood the appeal.  I guess he's a wisecracking trickster type, and sometimes he has meta-fictional adventures?  Okay, I guess I do understand the appeal, but from what I've read, I don't find him all that funny.  But here's a big collection of his comics to prove me wrong.  Enjoy, people.

Spaghetti Bros Vol 3 HC

I've still never even seen a copy of this imported Carlos Trillo-written crime series, but I wouldn't mind looking at it if I ever did lay eyes on it.  Here's part three, for those who are able to locate it.

Ted McKeever Library Book 3 Metropol HC

The McKeever collections continue.  I really wouldn't mind reading these.  This one's about a modern war between angels and demons.  Sounds neat.

Walking Tour Of The Shambles SC New Printing

I think this is a prose book by Neil Gaiman and Gene Wolf, with illustrations by Randy Broeker.  I've never read it, but I do like Gaiman, so I should check it out.  It's apparently about a supernatural neighborhood of Chicago, so that's a plus.  To the library!

March On Earth Vol 1 TP

This CMX manga seems interesting, so maybe I'll give it a try someday.  It's about a young girl who ends up having to raise her baby nephew when all their relatives die.  Sounds sad, cute, and other adjectives along those lines.

Hot Gimmick VIZBIG Edition Vol 1 GN

I thought this already came out, but whatever.  It's the super-thick collection of the enjoyable Miki Aihara series.  I talked about it when a preview ran in Shojo Beat, but I would definitely give it a qualified recommendation, in that it's enjoyable, addictive teen soap opera without any uplifting or worthwhile message of any sort.  Good times.

Oishinbo A La Carte Vol 2 Sake GN

Part two of Viz's import of the famous, long-running cooking manga, with this volume focusing on sake.  I didn't get a chance to read volume 1, but I do have a copy of this one, so I'll try to read it and write about it soon.  I'm kind of excited.

Pluto Urasawa x Tezuka Vol 2 GN

Ooh, part two of Naoki Urasawa's re-envisioned Astro Boy story.  I loved part one, so I'm quite excited to keep reading.  Not that I haven't been overdosing on Urasawa lately or anything...

Reading Club Vol 1 GN

This manhwa from UDON purports to be "Korea's first horror comic for girls".  That's interesting, I guess.  It's something about a girl who finds a book that brings nasty nightmares to life or something.  Could be worth a look.

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And that's all, with a couple things of interest for the week, but not too much.  I should have more Monster, but I'm almost finished, so then I'll have to try to pick up and move on to something else.  I was thinking I might try to do more manga, like Nana or Parasyte, but I might have to cleanse my palate a bit and read some Western comics for a change.  We'll see.