This week, I will be transported 100 years to the past

Too many links:

If you're interested, here's a trailer for the graphic novel Unbeatable, which I reviewed back in 2007.  Apparently, a second volume is imminent.

As a promo for This American Life, here's an animated version of a Quimby the Mouse story by Chris Ware.  Awesome.

This is cool: a Muppets version of Robert Crumb's cover art for Janis Joplin's Cheap Thrills.  Here's the original for comparison.

A fun webcomic: Ada Lovelace - The Origin.  It's a goofy historical strip about the pioneering mathematician who developed the first programming language to work with Charles Babbage's Difference Engine.  It also serves a a sort of opening chapter for a goofy steampunk strip called Lovelace and Babbage.  Fun stuff.

Another webcomic: "Cakewalk", by Nate Powell and Rachel Bormann.

Here's an interesting blurb about an unrealized Hayao Miyazaki/Isao Takahata adaptation of Pippi Longstocking, including some artwork.  That would've been cool.

This looks good: Nick Bertozzi's School of Visual Arts class is publishing an anthology of Iraq War Stories, and Act-I-Vate is going to be serializing it online.  Here's the press release.

Good news!  Brandon Graham's King City has been rescued from limbo, and Image is going to be serializing both the first and second volumes.  Here's the cover art for the first issue.

Previews: Publisher's Weekly has a few pages from some of the stories in Dark Horse's Noir anthology.  That one looks pretty awesome.

Daniel Clowes has a new, as yet untitled, book coming out later this year, and The New Yorker has a short preview.

Whew!  Okay, I think that's enough.  On to business:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 5/13/09):

All-New Savage She-Hulk #2 (of 4)

I read the first issue of this miniseries, and it was pretty entertaining.  It's about a daughter of the Hulk coming back from the future to get something or other, and smashing a bunch of shit in the process.  Written by Fred Van Lente.  Fun stuff; check it out, if you're so inclined.

Astro Boy Movie Prequel Underground #1

I'm not sure if this will be any good, but it's Astro Boy, which is worth a look.  The title says it all, but it's by Scott Tipton (of Comics 101 fame), with art by Diego Jourdan and a variant cover by Ashley Wood.  Maybe worth a look?

Castle Waiting Vol II #15

Every time a new issue of this series comes out, I say that I want to read it.  So here goes: I would like to read this series someday.  I'll have to pick up the hardcover collection of the first volume sometime.  To the library?

Fables #84

The Great Fables Crossover continues!  Collect it soon, fellas!

From the Ashes #1

Bob Fingerman's post-apocalyptic series begins.  I gotta check this out.  I linke to a preview the other day, but here it is again, in case you missed it.

House of Mystery #13

It's a special issue of the series, featuring four stories, with art by Neal Adams, Sergio Aragones, Eric Powell, and Ralph Reese.  Cool.  As always, I do want to catch up on this series someday.  Someday...

Howling Commandos #1

One of them WWII comics, which seems cool enough.  TV writer Jesse Alexander (Heroes, Lost, Alias) writes, and John Paul Leon illustrates.  The catch: it's supposed to be a prequel to Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Captain America: White.  Ugh.  It might still be good though...

Incognito Must Have

If you missed out on them, here's a reprint of the first two issues of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' supervillain series.  It's pretty good, so check it out if you haven't already.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III Century #1 1910

And here's the book of the week, for me at least.  Some people got it last week, those bastards.  Anyway, it's the next volume of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's series, and it should be awesome.  I can't wait to read it.  

Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1 (of 4)

People seem excited about this, a cute, goofy team of animal superheroes by Chris Eliopolous and Ig Guara.  I expect it to be fun.  I should have a review up at Comics Bulletin today or tomorrow.

Thor Tales of Asgard By Stan Lee and Jack Kirby #1

In the latest reprint thing, here's a series that collects what I think were the backup stories on the original run of Thor back in the 60s.  I've often heard that they were quite good, giving Kirby a chance to unleash some of his bombastic awesomeness, so I'll have to try to check them out.  You can't go wrong with the Kirby.

Umbrella Academy Dallas #6

It's the final issue of the second miniseries, and I can't wait to read it.  Unfortunately, it's not going to be collected until October, so I'll be champing at the bit until then.  Still, awesomeness awaits.

Unknown #1

A new series from Boom! Studios, it's about a female detective along the lines of Sherlock Holmes, which is pretty cool.  It's written by Mark Waid, with art by Minck Oosterveer.  Neato.

Unwritten #1

The latest Vertigo series, this is from Mike Carey and Peter Gross, the team behind Lucifer.  It looks like an interesting concept, following a character whose father wrote a series of Harry Potter-esque books about him as he discovers that he might be a work of fiction brought to life, or something like that.  I always dig stories about metafictional goings-on, so this might be one to check out.  

Applegeeks TP Vol 01 Freshmen Year

It's the latest of Dark Horse's collections of webcomics, this one being a well-regarded nerdy strip with nice artwork.  Like always, you can read it for free online, but sometimes physical books are nice to have.

Codeflesh Definitive Edition HC

I've never read this Joe Casey/Charlie Adlard book about a superhuman bounty hunter, but I've always meant to, especially since I like Casey so much.  Here's a new, fancy, expensive ($40) edition, containing an all-new story.  To the library!

Collected Doug Wright Canadas Master Cartoonist Vol 1 HC

People have been excited about these new collections from Drawn and Quarterly, and after reading the Nancy/Melvin Monster FCBD book, I can understand why.  So here's the first installment, and it looks hella nice.  Check it out, if you can afford it.

Connective Tissue HC

Hey, more Bob Fingerman!  This one is more illustrated prose than comics, but it looks pretty

crazy, about a girl who "plunge[s] down the rabbit hole into a surreal world of throbbing, veinous buildings, compulsory public nudity, weird creatures, and more".  Freaky.  You can download an excerpt and see a preview slideshow at Fantagraphics' site.

Creepy Archives Vol 3

More of the pricey Dark Horse collections of the classic horror series.  These are too expensive for me, but I would certainly love to read them.

I Kill Giants TP

I wasn't all that enamored of the first issue of this Joe Kelly-written series about a girl who claims to have magical powers, but it's received some acclaim, so the collected version might be worth a look.  Here's an interview with Kelly that has some preview art, if you're interested.

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out HC

Luba HC

Oh man, I'm torn about whether I should get this huge hardcover collection of Gilbert Hernandez's stories from the second volume of Love and Rockets (along with the upcoming Locas II) or wait for the cheaper paperback versions.  I might have to just go for it.  It's sure to be great reading.  Check out Fanta's site for the usual preview/slideshow.

Potters Field HC

I enjoyed this series from Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta, so here's a collected version that might be worth getting.  It's a bit on the expensive side ($25), but it will surely have nice presentation, and it also contains a "lost" story illustrated by Steve Yeowell.  It's pretty good stuff; I'll give it a recommendation.

Secret Identities TP

This is "the anthology of Asian-American superhero stories", which might be interesting.  All the creators and characters are Asian-American, which is cool, because they're fairly under-represented in the industry (I think).  Here's the book's homepage, where you can find more information and see a preview.

Secret Wars 2 Omnibus HC DM ED

Wow, really?  Was anybody clamoring for a deluxe collection of this oft-derided story?  Ah, the wonders of the modern marketplace, with the superhero side of the medium constantly eating its own tail.  If you want to spend a hundred bucks on a big book of stories that are, by all accounts, pretty terrible, well, you're probably pretty stupid.  Enjoy!

Studs Terkels Working A Graphic Adaptation TP

I did not even know this existed, but it looks pretty neat.  Harvey Pekar adapts the classic book by Studs Terkel to comics form, with art by a number of different artists, including Peter Kuper, Pablo Callejo, Gary Dumm, Pat Moriarty, and others.  Sounds like one I want to read.

Future Diary Vol 1 GN

A new manga from Tokyopop, this sounds pretty interesting, with one of those premises where people can tell the future via magic cell phones and have to kill each other within a certain amount of time.  Brigid Alverson has a good review here.

Gurren Lagann Vol 1 GN

I dug this anime quite a bit (you can see me talk about it here), and here's the manga version of the story.  I don't know if it will be worth reading, but it's now available.

Ikigami The Ultimate Limit Vol 1 TP

A new series from Viz about a world in which the government occasionally selects people to be killed as motivation for...something or other.  I've got a review copy of this sitting at home, so I should hopefully get to it soon and post a review.  Looks interesting.

Manga Shakespeare As You Like It TP
Manga Shakespeare Othello TP

These always crack me up for some reason, but you never know when they might actually be decent, or at least interesting to see how somebody manages to manga-fy the source material.  These are both apparently from a studio of Japanese creators living in London, so they are a bit closer to actual manga than the usual stuff like this, which generally consists of Westerners trying to ape a generic manga style.  You can see previews here and here.

Spider-Man J Vol 2 Japanese Daze TP Digest

And for other manga goofiness, here's the Japanese version of Spidey.  I haven't read much of it, but I do know that John Jakala gives it his recommendation.  

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Is that everything?  I think so.  Sorry about the lack of content lately, but I've been working on a project (I'll give details at some point), so I haven't had much time for blogging.  That means I've got a pile of stuff to catch up on, so expect more posts soon.  Yay?