Potter's Field: I feel like I missed most of the season

Hey, new review below! But first, I've got reviews of The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #2 and The Programme #4 up over at Silver Bullet. Enjoy!

Potter's Field #2 (of 3)
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Paul Azaceta



When I looked at the first issue of Potter's Field, I likened it to a TV series, similar to police/crime procedurals like CSI or Cold Case. Well, if that issue was the pilot episode of the series, this second installment is like the first part of a two-part season finale. It works okay, but it might have been better if we had had several interstitial episodes to get the audience used to the concept, and maybe introduce some recurring characters other than the protagonist. Maybe Mark Waid and Boom! are testing the waters to see if a series like this will sell, but I would think it would have more appeal if the stories had room to breathe, setting up a status quo so readers will be more shocked when it is disrupted.

That said, it's still a pretty good episode, with John Doe going about one of his usual investigations, only to get caught up in the manipulations of organized criminals. Waid does a good job of keeping readers guessing as to what will happen, with the machinations of the plot falling into place quite satisfyingly and still ending on a cliffhanger that leaves one eagerly awaiting the resolution in the final issue.

Paul Azaceta continues to deliver a gritty atmosphere, defining his characters very well and contributing a dynamic action sequence. I still really like the "action lines" he uses to show movements or reactions; they stand out starkly against the more realistic images, adding a unique feel to the art. It's a nice package; really, my only complaint is that it isn't a longer series. Maybe Waid and company will continue with a sequel if it sells well; I think comics could use more variation in the material that is published, and the crime genre seems quite natural. Now the publishers just need to get this into the hands of people that will like it...

This review was based on a complimentary electronic review copy provided by the publisher.

Hark! New comics approach!

I think I've used that one before. Crap. I've been kind of slacking on writing here, haven't I? My scanner isn't working right, or I probably would have done something or other. As for any reviews on other sites, I've been reposting some older reviews on IndiePulp, and I think I already linked to my review of Runaways #28 at SBC, but what the hell. I'll probably have more stuff up over there sometime soon, and I'm still waiting for MangaLife to post a couple pieces I sent them. And if I can get off my ass and write stuff, I'll have more up here too. So keep an eye out, I try to provide content. But let's look at what's coming this week:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 10/24/07):

BLACK SUMMER ALPHA

This is a repackaging of the first two installments of this series, the #0 and #1 issues. Only $2.99, which isn't a bad deal. It's been a fairly good series so far, but nothing that has me trying to convince people to pick it up. Yet.

DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #3

I could probably say the same thing about this other Warren Ellis series. Interesting sci-fi stuff, but nothing that has me praising it to the heavens. Yet.

CASANOVA #10

I'm digging this one though. I love this book, and I always get excited when a new issue shows up. Keep it up, Fraction and Moon!

GLISTER #2

I dug the first issue of this book, so I'm on board for this series for the foreseeable future. Fun all-ages stuff; the book that probably finally has me on board the Andi Watson praise-wagon (what the hell does that mean?).

NEOZOIC #1

Another book from Red 5 Comics. I still haven't got my hands on Atomic Robo or Abyss, but I might get them soon. This one seems to be one of those sci-fi stories with people fighting dinosaurs and what not, which is always a fun premise. I would be willing to check it out if I saw it in a store. Here's the official page, where you can find previews and stuff.

POTTERS FIELD #2

I thought the first issue of this series was decent, and I've already read a review copy of this second issue, so I should have a review up sometime soon, I expect.

JELLYFIST

I don't think I've actually read anything by Jhonen Vasquez (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac), but he's fairly popular, and he seems to have a goofy, morbid sensibility. This book seems to be about the difficulty of working with a collaborator, in this case Jenny Goldberg. It's 48 full-color pages for $5.95 (or is it $8.95? I'm seeing conflicting reports). Might be interesting. More information available here, and I liked the strange, uninformative description of the book here.

JACK OF FABLES VOL 2 JACK OF HEARTS

Have I mentioned that I like this book? I may have; it's hard to remember. In any case, if you're a fan of Fables, this is a highly entertaining offshoot. This storyline sees Jack go to Las Vegas and get involved in games of chance, with zany results. Good times.

KILLER VOL 1 HC

Didn't this come out a few weeks ago? I never saw it, so I didn't even get to decide whether to get it or not. If I see it, I might consider buying it. Also, issues #5 and 6 of the series are supposed to come out this week. Weird.

SPIRIT VOL 1 HC

This series is a lot of fun, but I don't know if I would recommend paying $25 for a hardcover version of it. Maybe there will be some extras or something, but it would probably be better to wait for a cheaper softcover version. It's still pretty good though, with some excellent Darwyn Cooke art and writing.

Red Menace TP

Isn't this that Wildstorm miniseries about Cold War-era superheroes or something? With Adam Brody as one of the writers? I never read it; was it any good?

Cromartie High School Manga Vol 12 TP

This week's manga series that I'm way behind on. In fact, I don't think I've even bought a volume in like two years. I never see it in stores, or I might consider it; if I'm buying manga online, I'll probably go with something like Dragon Head, MPD Psycho, or Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. But someday I'll probably try to get caught up on this one.

Pictures Of You GN

A graphic novel from Alternative Comics, by Damon Hurd and Tatiana Gill. Apparently, it's a prequel to their book A Strange Day, which I haven't read. It looks nice.

Maggots GN
Powr Mastrs Vol 1 GN

I've never read any of these Picturebox books from the wacky Fort Thunder collective, but I always hear raves about how good they are. I dunno, the art doesn't really appeal to me, but I feel like I'm missing out on something here. If I ever see one, I might pick it up, but it's probably the sort of thing you need to special order. Maybe someday I'll get to read one of them and see what all the fuss is about.
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And that all. Not too much this week, it seems. That's okay; I just spent more than I probably should have on the new book by my favorite film critic, Vern. I don't even like Steven Seagal, but I read pretty much everything Vern writes, and I wanna support him financially. So there goes some comics money for the month. Whatever; I've got plenty to keep me busy. Stay tuned tonight for more reviews or something (I hope). Maybe I'll even be able to get my scanner working; that would be awesome.

Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now #1: a non-review

After some agonizing at the comics store yesterday, I decided not to buy the first issue of this miniseries of adaptations of Cory Doctorow's stories (sorry, Dara!), mostly because I was already spending about $40 on other comics. I did flip through it, and it looked nice enough, but the art just didn't grab me. It seemed like a decent adaptation of the source material, but "Anda's Game" has never been one of my favorite Doctorow stories (not that it's bad or anything). In what seemed to be a stab at real-world relevance, the story presented an interesting concept: sweatshops contained within massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Cory was ahead of the curve on this one; such operations have been found to exist in games like World of Warcraft, with shady businessmen running virtual labor operations in Mexico or China.

I think the thing that bugged me about the story was the description of the game's action like it was virtual reality, with the players engaging in acrobatic battles that are too "realistic" to actually happen in computer games, while they are described as sitting in a chair, looking at a computer screen, and operating a mouse. This works okay in prose, since you can mentally picture a possible future in which game graphics have progressed to the point described. But the comic doesn't have the luxury of imagination; it has to show the reader the game's action. My flip-through revealed that writer Dara Naraghi chose to cut between Anda watching her computer screen and a representation of the game's action, with the game looking like a fantasy comic filled with orcs and magic and whatnot. That's probably the only choice you can make when doing the comic, but it just doesn't work like it does in prose. So I decided not to get it.

Hopefully, future issues won't have this problem; next up is "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth", followed by "Craphound". The former is another story that I thought was so-so, so I'll have to decide whether I want it after a look at the art. But the latter, judging by the art samples I've seen, is a lock. I'm all over that one.
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So, yeah, I just felt like getting that out there. I might have a review up tonight, depending on whether I can get my damn scanner working. Later.

Exit Wounds: I guess this is Rutu Modan week

Before I get started with the review, I'll point out my review of Angel Skin, which is up at Silver Bullet Comics. It's not a book that I can really recommend, but it's interesting. Read the review to see what I mean. Okay, on with the show:

Exit Wounds
By Rutu Modan



Rutu Modan's new book is a fascinating look at life in modern-day Israel, but rather than focus on the big political picture, it's a story about people and relationships, illustrated in a sumptuously colorful Tintin-esque style. The main character of the story is Koby, a taxi driver in his twenties who is approached by a young woman named Numi who knew his father and wants Koby's help identifying what might be his body. A recent bus station suicide bombing left a corpse that could not be identified, and she thinks it might be Gabriel (Koby's father). It quickly becomes clear that Koby does (did?) not have a good relationship with Gabriel, since the latter was something of a deadbeat, walking out on his family and rarely staying in touch with them.

Koby is reluctant to help at first, since he doesn't really believe his father is dead, but Numi drags him along, slowly getting him more interested in the search. And while the mystery is compelling, it gives way to a study of these two characters and their attempt to connect with each other. Koby seems to try to cut himself off from others (although he feels obligated to take care of his aunt and uncle) in order to avoid being abandoned again. Numi, on the other hand, seems to have trouble in relationships because she is not good-looking in the conventional sense. We learn that her family is rich, and her mother and sister are both pretty and glamorous, so she feels inferior to them and possibly ashamed of her upper-class background. She had a romantic relationship with Gabriel, a much older man, and she's trying to get some sense of closure after losing him.

It's fascinating watching these characters try to form a relationship, and a big part of that is Modan's deceptively simple artwork. The characters are drawn in the Franco-Belgian "Clear Line" style, with little definition to their features other than dots for eyes and the outlines of their nose and mouth. But Modan makes great use of these parts, assembling them into affecting, emotional displays that seem completely natural. And the body language is also really, really well done; whenever Koby frustratedly lights a cigarette, I almost forget that I'm looking at a drawing. But she also uses some really nice impressionistic techniques as well, especially in a scene of Koby and Numi swimming, where splashes of water become splotches of blue color pouring across the page.

Backgrounds are also very nicely done. They are often drab-looking, with simple grey filled with a dark, monochromatic color scheme; this technique pushes the characters to the front and emphasizes them over their environment, but upon inspection, there are a lot of nice details filling out the scenes. I especially liked the odd memorial at the site of the bombing, with photos and candles placed on a Coca-Cola shelving unit and flowers on the ground or taped to the wall of the building. As a whole, the art is really beautiful, with bright, arresting colors that define the characters and environment and don't let you look away.

I'm very impressed by the emotional punch that the story packs even though it doesn't directly engage the political conflicts of its setting. While the idea of living in a country where people aren't sure which bombing you're talking about when you mention a tragic event is so foreign to Americans, it's not these political matters that draw you in to the story; it's the characters and their relationships. Near the end of the book, there's a fantastic moment, when [SPOILERS] Koby and Numi become intimate and she jokingly compares him to his father. He freaks out, naturally, but the remarkable thing is how real the exchange feels. Numi is still coming to grips with the end of her relationship with Gabriel, and while she is growing closer to Koby, she still feels the connection to his father and doesn't want to let that go. Koby, on the other hand, is finally beginning to care about somebody after keeping people at arm's length for so long, but the last thing he wants is to be reminded of his father's actions, or face the possibility that he might do something similar [end SPOILERS].

In the end, the truth about Gabriel and his fate becomes less important than the journey to find it. Modan gives us some indelible characters that manage to connect under the most unlikely circumstances. She even succumbs to the impulse to end with a happy, romantic gesture, and I can't fault her for it. People need to be able to connect with other people, even in the harshest environments, and when we get to know such distinctive characters, we want the best for them.

So, please, read this book. It's one of the best comics works to come out this year, among many other bits of greatness. While it's Modan's first book-length graphic novel, it probably won't be her last; I can't wait to see what she delivers next.

Rutu Modan will soon be a household name, mark my words!

Ah, I don't know about that, but her book Exit Wounds is excellent. Tonight, I went into Chicago to an event featuring Ms. Modan talking about her book, and it was very informative. As befits my unprofessional nature, I neglected to bring any note-taking materials, so all of the following thoughts come from my memory. Take them with as many grains of salt as you wish.

Ms. Modan definitely showed a love of comics, talking about how she got into making them herself. She's from Israel, which she said is just about the only country on earth where neither Superman nor Tintin ever became popular. So she was fairly unfamiliar with comics until she was introduced to the underground alternative comics of the 80s, like Raw. She was especially influenced by the works of Art Spiegelman and Charles Burns, and she said that after half an hour of reading these comics, she knew that was what she wanted to do with her life. She began by self-publishing anthologies along with other Israeli artists, and Exit Wounds is her first full-length book. It came about when Drawn & Quarterly approached her to write a book-length graphic novel. She was trepidatious about the idea at first, since she had previously only done shorter works, but she accepted. She had second thoughts though, because she was worried that they were expecting an Israeli Persepolis, but D&Q's publisher Chris Oliveros assured her that she could write whatever story she liked, as long as it was uniquely Israeli, and not something that could happen just anywhere (I think she certainly succeeded on that front).

She said that the inspirations for the story were a date that she went on after which the guy never called her, and she was worried that something had happened to him. Also, she had heard reports of a bombing in which one of the victims was unidentifiable, and nobody came forward to "claim" him, making her wonder what sort of person wouldn't have anybody that missed them.

When questioned about the (non)inclusion of political material in the book, she stated that while she has political opinions (as does everybody), she does not like to include them in her work, because most people's political opinions are not very interesting (she's definitely not American!). Rather, she tries to present experiences from a particular point of view, which is something interesting that everyone has.

When asked about feminism, she stated that in fiction written by men, she thinks the main female characters tend to be "the most beautiful woman in the world". But when written by women, the most beautiful woman is usually a secondary character like the sister or best friend. She tries to present her female characters in a non-traditionally beautiful manner, as exemplified by the character of Numi in Exit Wounds.

I asked her about her influences, since she said Tintin was not popular in Israel, but her art seems to be influenced by Tintin and the European "Clear Line" style. She said that the professor who taught her about comics was Belgian, and he was from that school of art, and it was also the style that fit her best. But since comics don't have much of a history in Israel, it was remarkably freeing for her to be able to choose any direction in which to develop.

After the question-and-answer session, she stayed to sign books for people, breaking out her art materials. She did a nice sketch in my copy, with paints and everything, but my scanner is acting up, so I can't show it off right now. I might update tomorrow if/when I get it working.

UPDATE: I finally got around to scanning it:



I also took a few pictures. Here she is sketching in a book:



And since somebody offered to take my picture with her, I sat opposite her and pretended to be the interviewer:



I'm such a weirdo.

So that was the event. It was a good time, and I'm glad I made the trek into the city for it. I just finished reading Exit Wounds today, so I hope to have a review up tomorrow. Watch for it!

Solicitationary blatherings: DC/Marvel, January 2008

No new news or anything from me today, other than the Rutu Modan thing tonight. That should be fun. Let's look at DC's January stuff, separated by imprint. And what the hell, let's throw in Marvel's too:

DC:



Teen Titans: The Lost Annual - Holy crap, it's the Bob Haney/Mike Allred annual that's been sitting on the shelf unpublished for so long! Maybe Allred's recent bitching about it not being published convinced DC to finally release the damn thing. Good for them. I don't really care about the Teen Titans (although the summaries of Haney's stories that I've read in places like Chris Sims' Invincible Super-Blog sound delightfully insane), but I'll buy pretty much anything Mike Allred does.



The Spirit #14 - Sergio Aragones' (and Mark Evanier's) first issue, with artist Mike Ploog. Am I the only one who hadn't heard Ploog was the artist? Is that for more than just this issue? Should be interesting. Nice cover, by Jordi Bernet.



Countdown Special: The New Gods - Looks like another reprint book, in which DC demonstrates why their books used to be interesting. This collects Mister Miracle #1, Forever People #1, and New Gods #7. Nice cover by Ryan Sook, but I'd rather just get the next item on the list...



Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus volume 4 - I still need to pick up the second volume of these awesome, awesome comics. I think this is the last one, with the closest thing Kirby ever got to a conclusion to his epic saga. I can't wait to read it.

CMX:



Crayon Shinchan volume 1 - Hey, it's Crayon Shinchan! I've watched a few episodes of the show on Adult Swim, but I've never read the comics. While the show is pretty funny, this will probably be even better, since crude drawings aren't as strange when printed as they are when animated, and I won't have to be annoyed by dubbed voices. It's win-win!



Dokkoida!? volume 1 - This looks like an enjoyable series, with kind of a superhero vibe. And probably plenty of comedy and whatnot. I might get it.

Wildstorm:



The Programme #7 - I guess this is the only Wildstorm book I'm interested in these days. Unless you count Ex Machina, which a) doesn't have a new issue coming out in January, and 2) I'm getting in trade anyway. But I'm enjoying this so far; I hope it doesn't start sucking or anything. Judging by the cover, it looks like Russia is getting its team of supervillains together. Should be fun, if you like genocide.

Vertigo:



Army@Love #11 - There are other series that I'm getting in trade that I could have mentioned (DMZ, 100 Bullets), but I'll stick with this one, since I love the cover.



Fables #69 - And I have to mention this one every month, just to point out James Jean's invariably beautiful covers. By the way, this issue is part 9 of "The Good Prince"; when is that story going to end so they can collect it (and I can read it) already?!



Jack of Fables #19 - And it looks like I'm sticking with this series in monthly form. It's just too enjoyable to drop. I'm digging Brian Bolland's covers; this one mixes creepy and funny especially well.



Northlanders #2 - More of Brian Wood's Viking series. I can tell the next couple of months are going to see me mentioning this and saying, "I'll have to wait and see if it's good when the first issue comes out". I get tired of that. So I'll only mention it in the future if the cover is really awesome. This one is pretty good, which is surprising, since it's a variant by Andy Kubert. Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading the series. That's all.



Y: The Last Man #60 - OH SNAP FINAL ISSUE! That cover is going to haunt me until the damn book comes out. Doesn't portend a happy ending, does it?
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Marvel:



Ultimate Human #1 (of 4) - Ultimate Hulk vs. Ultimate Iron Man, in an Ultimate Miniseries by Ultimate Warren Ellis and Ultimate Cary Nord (Ultimate Conan). Might be interesting; I do like Ellis's work on various Ultimate stories. Maybe. But probably not.



Spider-Man: With Great Power... #1 - I don't know if this is an ongoing or a limited series, or what. It looks like yet another of those tiresome stories of Spidey's early days, written by David Lapham and drawn by Tony Harris (who should be working on Ex Machina, dammit!). The cover's kind of clever, with the crossed arms, but that's the only positive thing I can say about it. Count me out.



Silver Surfer: In Thy Name #3 - I have no intention of buying this, but I wanted to point out the cover by Paul Pope. Pretty cool.
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I could also have mentioned books like Iron Fist, Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin, Omega the Unknown, Metal Men, and maybe some others, but I just did. That's all for the big two. Man, they're doing less and less to get my interest (or money). It's getting to the point where I might stop doing the weekly pilgrimage to the comics shop. Wow.

Okay, that's enough of this silliness. I don't expect to have anything up tonight, since I'll be out late at the aforementioned Rutu Modan event (by the way, Exit Wounds: really good, so far). So see you tomorrow!

Solicitationary Blatherings: Image, January 2008

Before I get into the post, I'll go ahead and repeat what I said last post, so it doesn't get pushed off the top of the page: I'm going to be going to this event with Rutu Modan, the author of Exit Wounds, in Chicago tomorrow, so anyone reading this that will be there, let me know and I'll try to say hi.

Okay, here's what's coming from Image Comics in January. They jumped the gun and got their solicits out early this month, for whatever reason. You can see the full list here, but here's what I'm interested in:



'76 #1 - This appears to be some sort of blaxploitation/70s riff, from writer B. Clay Moore (Hawaiian Dick) and a bunch of other people I've never heard of. Could be worth a look.



CAPTAIN STONEHEART & THE TRUTH FAIRY HC - This looked really cool to me at first; I don't read Elephantmen, but I like Joe Kelly and love Chris Bachalo (their series Steampunk is super-cool, and tragically unfinished), so I thought this might be a fun takeoff of the story they did on one issue. But on closer inspection of the solicitation text, it seems to be little more than a glorified repackaging of that story, with scripts, pencil art, and an audio CD. It's 80 pages for $19.99, and that's more than I want to pay, especially if I can get the original issue for $3.00.



CASANOVA #12 - Oh yeah, looks like E.M.P.I.R.E.'s going up (down?) in flames! I love this book.



CEMETERY BLUES #1 - Something about monster hunters who have wacky hijinx. Written by Ryan Rubio, with whom I'm not familiar, and art by Thomas Boatwright, who recently did The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allen Poo. I haven't read that either, but it looked nice, and so does this. I might check it out. By the way, is it just me, or is that guy in the back totally based on Terrence Stamp? And is this a monthly or a limited series? That kind of information might be nice.



INFINITE HORIZON #2 - More of the modern-day Odyssey retelling. Not much to say about it until it starts coming out, but this is one really nice cover. It always freaks me out when a piece of art makes me think my eyes can't focus.



JACK STAFF SPECIAL #1 - I always hear that Jack Staff is awesome, but I've never read it. This special is hailed as a jumping-on point, so maybe I'll jump on. Also, I heard the book is going monthly, which seems like a good idea; more material means people like me are more likely to check it out.



LUCHA LIBRE #3 - I liked the first issue of this series well enough, but it didn't blow my mind or anything. I'll probably try to pick up future issues, like this one. That's all.



MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #8 - Looks like more epilogue to the "Madman in space" story arc, and the solicitation says it's a great jumping-on point, I guess for the readers that got lost in all the metaphysical hoo-hah. I'm there every step of the way though! Go Mike Allred!



MICE TEMPLAR #3 - I don't think I ever reviewed the first issue of this series, but it was all right. Most other reviews I read expressed my feelings well enough: it looked good, generic fantasy, why do these characters have to be mice, etc. But it had its moments, and Oeming's art is really neat, especially with the watercolors. I'll probably continue to check it out, unless the second issue is just terrible.



MR. UNIVERSE - I don't know what to make of this book; the solicitation makes me think it will be some sort of superhero deconstruction/metafictional exercise, but it's hard to tell. The art looks interesting; sort of a Michael Gaydos or Jason Shawn Alexander style. It's a one-shot for $3.50, so it might be worth getting.



PAX ROMANA #3 - It's the second-to-last issue of this miniseries, and I don't have much to say, other than that I'm there for whatever Jonathan Hickman is delivering.



A RED MASS FOR MARS #2 - Um, ditto.
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And I guess that's it. I might get to DC's solicits tonight, if I feel like it, or maybe I'll wait until tomorrow. Marvel's come out tomorrow, and lately they've had very little that interests me, so maybe I'll group them together like I always say I'm going to. And then later in the week, there will be others, including Dark Horse, who already dropped their offerings. We'll see how it goes. As for reviews, nothing tonight, buy maybe something tomorrow. But probably not, since I'm going to the Rutu Modan thing. Whatever. See you later!

The comics, they keep being published

Before I get into what's coming out this week (which I don't think is very much anyway), I'll mention that I'm going to be going to this event with Rutu Modan, the author of Exit Wounds, in Chicago tomorrow, so anyone reading this that will be there, let me know and I'll try to say hi. I'm hoping one or more of the IndiePulp guys will be there, at least.

Oh, and I also have a review of Runaways #28 up at SBC, and a repost of my Narcoleptic Sunday review at the aforementioned IndiePulp. Enjoy!

So, on to:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 10/17/07):

Army @ Love #8
DMZ #24
Fables #66
Ex Machina #31

Four Vertigo/Wildstorm series that I'm waiting for the trade on. I hope that doesn't mean any of them get canceled due to low sales of the monthly issues...

The Programme #4

I'm reading this one monthly though, just because I don't know when or if it will ever get collected. It's been pretty good so far; Peter Milligan is awesome when he's not phoning it in.

The 99 #1

I don't plan to get this, but it's worth pointing out. It's a new superhero series with Muslim characters. I'll probably read a review or two, if I see any. Here's the official site.

Abyss #1

Another book from Red 5. I never did find any copies of Atomic Robo, so I'm probably going to have to special order the first issue. This one is a comedy of sorts about an heir to a supervillain's legacy. Looks nice, especially the cover, with its logo that evokes Action Comics and an image that homages the famous "Death of Superman" cover. Again, I'll probably get it if I see it, but I bet I'll have to special order it (and I'll only do that if I read good reviews). Anyway, here's the page on Red 5's site.

The Boys #11

I didn't drop this series, so it looks like I'll be on board at least through this next arc, unless Ennis does something to completely drive me away. It's kind of on the fence, not quite good enough that I feel like I should keep buying it every month, but just good enough to keep me from dropping it. Damn you, Ennis, for keeping me intrigued!

Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales Then and Now #1

I should probably just add this series to my pull list. I've read most (if not all) of the original stories, so I had thought I might or might not get certain issues, depending on whether I liked the art. But I expect I won't be able to pass them up, especially after writer Dara Naraghi dropped by in the comments here with some links to art samples (hear that, creators? Commenting here is a good way to get me to buy your comic!).

Suburban Glamour #1

I'll probably wait for the trade on Jamie McKelvie's new miniseries (dammit, I still need to pick up Phonogram!), but it certainly looks nice, so I recommend checking it out if you see it.

Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite #2

I really dug the first issue of this series (although I never reviewed it, for some reason), so I'm sure the second will also be good. Don't let me down, Mr. punk-rocker-turned-Morrison/Fraction-wannabe! (and Gabriel Ba, too!)

Wonderland #5

I'm not especially interested in Disney comics, but this one has some lovely Sonny Liew artwork, so I would consider getting a collection of some sort.

Zig Zag #2

I'm not familiar with this book, but one of my IndiePulp cohorts recommended it, so I'll check it out if I see it.

Army @ Love vol. 1

Did I mention I like this series? Rick Veitch is awesome, so if you like his comics (or if you like funny satire of current events), I encourage you to check this out.

Gear School

A manga-esque graphic novel from Dark Horse, with giant robot alien wars, or something like that. It looks nice, as judging by the preview on the book's site. It seems like a pretty good package: 96 full-color pages for $7.95. Kid-appropriate and everything.

Eduardo Risso's Tales of Terror

I love me some Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets), so it's cool to see some of his Argentinian (or is it Spanish?) comics get imported. I'll probably get it at some point, if not right away.

Shazam Monster Society of Evil HC

One of the best books so far this year gets collected into a really nice-looking hardcover. A little pricey ($29.99), but probably worth it. The unpopular-in-indie-circles Jeff Smith (sorry, inside joke) delivered a super-fun story, and I highly recommend it.

Awesome Indie Spinner Rack Anthology Vol 1 TP

This looks like a, well, awesome anthology that's "presented by" the "Indie Spinner Rack" podcast and Evil Twin Comics, the self-publishing company of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey (Action Philosophers). It's got quite the list of contributors: Al Columbia, Renee French, Nick Bertozzi, Bernie Mireault, Kazimir Strzepek, Matt Kindt, Roger Langridge, Sam Hiti, and many others, including "the debut episode of the next Evil Twin Comics series Comic Book Comics by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey". I will definitely pick this one up if I see it. Here's the book's page, with a preview.

Whiteout Vol 2 Melt TP Definitive Edition

I enjoyed the first volume of Whiteout, so I'll probably try to get this one as well.

Bookhunter GN

This looks interesting. It's based on a true story about a book being stolen from the Oakland Public Library in 1973, following the detectives who are trying to track it down. But it looks pretty fictionalized, adding lots of cartoony action to the story. You can check out a preview at the book's site.

Drifting Classroom Vol 8 TP

I'm still behind on this. Someday I'll catch up. Someday...

Naoki Urasawas Monster Vol 11 TP

Ditto. I'm still trying to get to volume 3...

Fall In Love Like A Comic Vol 1 TP

A shojo series that I wouldn't normally bother mentioning, but I wrote a review of it that should be up on MangaLife sometime soon. I also talked about the preview chapter that was published in Shojo Beat a few months ago...

Shojo Beat Vol 3 #11 Nov 07

And finally, the latest issue of my manga anthology of choice (between two options, really, but maybe those will expand someday...). I already received this issue, and I'm reading it now, so expect a review soon. I will say one thing: yakuza/gangster stories don't seem like an obvious choice for a shojo series, and this issue kind of supports that theory.
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And that's all for this week, I think. Maybe there's more there than I thought there would be. I might have more reviews up soon, and I should get to solicitations sometime, so keep an eye out for content. I'll stop the slacking off, really!