This week, it's time for another trip to the comics store

First, some links:  

I'm late mentioning this, but it looks like Madman Atomic Comics is ending with issue #17.  I'm not as disappointed as I feel like I should be, since I kind of fell out of love with the series somewhere along the line.  The first few issues were pretty good, especially #3, but the "war in space" story killed most of my interest.  I'll probably try to pick up the issues I don't have, but it's not a pressing need or anything.  Mike Allred says the series will come back at some point (he's still gotta finish the 102-issue run he's been promising), but who knows when; maybe he's working on some other project for a while.  We'll see how it goes.

Hey, check out this Paul Pope Yojimbo print!  I might have to try to buy that and hang it on my wall.

Here's a preview of Osamu Tezuka's Swallowing the Earth, which is coming soon from Digital Manga.

And some other cool comics you can read online: Scott Morse's "Enter the Shogunaut"! J. Sorese's adaptation of Justin Timberlake's "I'm Bringing Sexy Back"!  The entirety of Yoshihiro Tatsumi's "Love's Bride" from the upcoming AX anthology!

Okay, the weekly roundup:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 6/3/09):

Agents of Atlas #6

Your monthly dose of good Marvel superheroics, courtesy of Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman.  This time, they fight Namor, which should be fun.  I expect to have a review up at Comics Bulletin tomorrow, so watch for that.

Atomic Robo And The Shadow From Beyond Time #2

Hey, more good comics, featuring everybody's favorite wisecracking robot.  I still need to finish reading the previous series...

Batman and Robin #1

This is the big event of the week for some (most?).  Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely take on a version of the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder (Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne, I think) in what is sure to be pretty cool.  Since I'll be in the shop, I doubt I'll be able to pass it up.  But I bet I won't regret it.

Boys #31

A new storyline begins in Garth Ennis' wild superhero satire, with the heroes going after the team, and hilarity and violence probably ensuing.  Let's collect the last arc, please, so I can read it.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Tales Of The Vampires One Shot

Buffy comics are ones that I can usually plan on ignoring, but I might not be able to skip this one, since it's written by Becky Cloonan, with art by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba Vasilis Lolos (Moon and Ba are doing the cover).  That's a good creative team; I bet it will make for a good comic.

Captain Blood Odyssey #1

Slave Labor has this new series by Matt Shepard and Mike Shoyket that adapts Rafael Sabatini's 1922 novel that the Errol Flynn movie was based on.  It looks interesting, with nice pencil art; check out this review by Don MacPherson for samples.

Chew #1

This Image series has a ridiculous concept that will probably lead to lots of gross-out humor, which means it could be decent.  It's about a cop who has a psychic power to read memories of anything he eats, so he ends up munching on corpses to solve murders and whatnot.  Yuck, but maybe funny?  It's by John Layman and Rob Guillory; here's an interview with Layman that contains some preview pages.

Dead Run #1

It's your standard post-apocalypse thing from Boom! Studios, about a delivery guy driving through a zombie/mutant-populated wasteland.  By Andrew Cosby, Michael Alan Nelson, and Francesco Biagini; could be decent.

House of Mystery #14

It's a new storyline for this Vertigo book; I really need to get caught up on this one.  The backup this issue is illustrated by Gilbert Hernandez, which is awesome.

Irredeemable #3

Mark Waid's "Superman gone bad" series seemed to get off to a rocky start, judging by reaction to the first issue, but it seems to have gotten better.  Here's part three; we'll see how it goes.

Jersey Gods #5

This ends the first storyline of the Kirby-inspired cosmic romance series.  I've heard good things about it, so I'll probably try to read it at some point.

Muppet Show #3 

Roger Langridge!  Everybody has been raving about this series, and here's another installment.  Don't miss out!

Punisher Naked Kill #1

Should I even bother mentioning stuff like this?  Probably not, but what the hell: it's a MAX one-shot that sees the Punisher taking down a snuff film ring without the use of any weapons, or something like that.  I suppose it could be readable.

Rotten #1

This seems like yet another zombie comic, with the high concept being that it takes place in the Old West, but it's gotten some positive blurbs from Ed Brubaker and Mark Waid, so maybe it's decent.  It's from Moonstone, and you can see a two-page preview at the official site.

Seaguy the Slaves of Mickey Eye #3

And here's what will probably be the more interesting Grant Morrison comic of the week, finishing off the sequel miniseries that has been incredibly enjoyable, and also really weird and funny.  Cameron Stewart is a pretty awesome artist; let's see what kind of zaniness shows up this time.

Ultimate Spider-Man #133

This is the "final" issue of the series that launched Marvel's Ultimate universe, but it's being relanched as Ultimate Comics Spider-Man in a month or so.  Hey, have I mentioned that this "Ultimatum" event is terrible?  Because it is, just awful stuff.  Spider-Man apparently died off-panel in two different series, so this is one of those "mourning" issues, with lots of dialogue-free imagery of characters crying.  Wow, what a blast; comics are sure fun!

Uptight #3

Jordan Crane!  I missed the second issue of this series, but the first one was great.  I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last one, since single-issue indie comics like this are a dying breed (ETA: According to Mike Baehr in the comments, this is not the case, which is very good news).  Check it out if you see it on the shelves.

Werewolves on the Moon: Versus Vampires #1 (of 3)

This is another one that probably isn't worth mentioning, but the title is amusing, so what the hell.  In fact, there's probably nothing more to say about it.

Daredevil Omnibus By Ed Brubaker & Michael Lark Vol 1 HC

I find myself not really caring about Daredevil these days, but I do like Ed Brubaker, and his run on the series has a good reputation, so I suppose I could give this book a read if I got the chance.  Not that I'm going to pay 75 bucks for it or anything.  But it's probably a decent collection of comics; enjoy, if you can afford it.

George Sprott HC

I think this is already out, even if I have not yet seen it.  I do want to read it though, since I really liked the excerpt that ran in The Best American Comics.  It's Seth, telling the story of a fictional Canadian TV host.  Enjoyable, poignant stuff, if that's your sort of thing (it is mine).

House of Mystery Vol 2 Love Stories For Dead People TPB

Hey, I just said that I wanted to catch up on this series, and now's my chance!  It's the second storyline all in one book, featuring art from the likes of Bernie Wrightson and Kyle Baker.  Don't let me down, good artists!

Ocean TP New Edition

I remember liking this Warren Ellis/Chris Sprouse sci-fi series, although it didn't have the best ending.  Still, interesting stuff about finding aliens and technology buried under the ice of one of the moons of Jupiter.  Give it a try if you missed it the first time.

Punisher MAX Vol 5 HC

The final hardcover collection of Garth Ennis' Punisher run; I really need to read these.  To the library!

Sentry TP Age of Sentry

I can't believe I'm going to recommend a Sentry book, because I pretty much hate the character.  That's the power of Jeff Parker, I guess.  He and Paul Tobin wrote the stories here, which give a 50s, Silver Age vibe to the character.  It's not the greatest thing ever, but it's pretty readable and enjoyable, and the parts illustrated by Colleen Coover are great.  Go for it, if it's your kind of thing.

Side B Music Lovers Comic Anthology GN

I'm never sure about this sort of thing, if only because music is something that doesn't necessarily translate all that well to comics.  But there's some good talent here, including Brandon Graham, Jim Mahfood, Box Brown, Dave Crosland, Lucy Knisley (who also drew the cover), and Ryan Kelly, so it might be readable.  Here's the official site, with a bunch of preview pages.

Tiny Tyrant Vol 2 The Ethelbertosaurus TP

I never read the first volume of this Lewis Trondheim-written kids' comic, but I bet it was funny; Trondheim is usually quite hilarious.  Here's volume two, with art by Fabrice Parme.  I should try to read these.

Uncanny X-Men Lovelorn TP

Another one that I probably shouldn't bother mentioning (this is apparently the week of dubious recommendations), but for those who are predisposed to read X-Men and/or Matt Fraction comics, this isn't too bad.  Terry Dodson illustrates, and some of the multiple storylines are interesting, especially the one about Beast and Angel putting together a team of scientists to rescue the mutant race.  Enjoy?

Cirque Du Freak Vol 1 GN

This "manga" is only part of a multimedia empire by author Darren Shan that includes novels and an upcoming film; it has something to do with a character (also named Darren Shan) who joins a magical circus and gets involved with vampires, or something like that.  I guess that's notable; check it out if it sounds like your sort of thing.

Honey And Clover Vol 6 GN

Six volumes of Chica Umino's excellent series already?  This is good stuff; I'm going to have to start purchasing the individual volumes now that Shojo Beat is cancelled.

Magic Touch Vol 2 TP

While this series has a good reputation (if I remember correctly), the first volume didn't seem to get much in the way of good press.  I did like the preview that ran in Shojo Beat though; maybe it picks up in this second volume.

Rasetsu Vol 1 TP

I also thought this seemed like a good series when it previewed in SB.  It's about ghost hunting and whatnot.

Samurai Harem Asu No Yoichi Vol 1 GN

This series from Tokyopop is notable for combining harem manga with samurai manga (and conveying that fact in the title), but also for making no bones about its nature, with a blurb that says "in the classic tradition of fan-service manga" and mentions "four hot, busty girls."  That's sort of admirable, I suppose.

Slam Dunk Vol 4 GN Viz Edition

Ooh, I love this series.  I better try to get my hands on this volume; I need to see Basketballman Sakuragi and his slapstick antics, stat!

Tail Of The Moon Prequel The Other Hanzo(u) TP

I'm mentioning lots of Shojo Beat previews this week, and here's another one.  It's a prequel to another series, but it's supposed to stand alone; maybe it's good?

Tezukas Black Jack Vol 5 TP

Man, these just keep coming out.  I'm way behind, not having read any of these, even though I do have all four extant volumes.  One of these days, I'll go on a Tezuka binge and blow my mind with awesomeness.

-----

I think that's everything.  Lots of comics, as always.  Maybe I'll even write about some of them this week...