Naoki writes comics so tense, it makes Bendis' DAREDEVIL run seem like a Mr. Men book, and illustrates in a style far more realistic than Tezuka, yet treats the source with the utmost respect.
- Tom on Pluto vol 1
Signed at no extra cost!
- Stephen on stuff you'll have to find for yourselves within.
b o o k s f o r j a n u a r y
Tales From Outer Suburbia h/c (£12-99, Scholastic) by Shaun Tan. Inspired new material from the creator of CBOTMC selection THE ARRIVAL, told in a dazzlingly different array of styles and media, from graphite pencil to oils. There's even a witty nod and a wink to Italian Renaissance artists Fra Angelico or Fra Filippo Lippi, if I'm not much mistaken. A sort of modernised mix of their Annunciation and Madonna And Child paintings.
"An anthology of fifteen very short illustrated stories," writes Shaun. "Each one is about a strange situation or event that occurs in an otherwise familiar suburban world; a visit from a nut-sized foreign exchange student, a sea creature on someone’s front lawn, a new room discovered in a family home, a sinister machine installed in a park, a wise buffalo that lives in a vacant lot. The real subject of each story is how ordinary people react to these incidents, and how their significance is discovered, ignored or simply misunderstood." Link!
Luba h/c (£26-99, Fantagraphics) by Gilbert Hernandez ~ Mmmm, yum! Collecting all of Luba's American adventures in one giant hardcover to accompany the PALOMAR hardcover from a few years ago. I have the previous hardcover (a present from Stephen & Mark actually!) so I'm really glad this is happening. I'm not sure I can justify getting the awesome little cheap collections in order to fill the gaps! Now I just have to drop the hints in the right direction in time for my birthday (cue puppy dog eyes).
Older, crazier and even more tempestuous: Luba makes her way over the border with Ofelia and kids in tow where she meets her two half-sisters, high-soft-lisping Fritz and muscle mum Petra. Expect immigration frustration, over the top drama, loads of nudity and those unbelievably tender moments that Gilbert just smacks you with from out of nowhere.
Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda New Printing (£9-99, First Second) by J.P. Stassen (translated by Alexis Siegel). Heartening to know this has sold enough copies elsewhere to merit a second printing, because although I'm overjoyed at how well Sacco, Delisle etc. sell at Page 45e, we've barely gone through half a dozen of this magnificently moving book which doesn't take the obvious route in telling its story. From June 2006:
Deogratias has seen things he should never have seen. He's been coerced into doing things he should never have done. Now he wanders the township's streets in a torn, white t-shirt, his haunted eyes scanning for banana beer, the one thing that can calm his inner demons. Sometimes he thinks he's a dog. Some of the locals think that's funny, sometimes they take pity, but when a returning soldier - once sent there to "keep the peace" during the Tutsis' massacre at the hands of the Hutu majority - bumps into Deogratias again, we start to learn what made him this way. Stassen's singular account of the fate of three individuals before, during, then after the genocidal fury in Rwanda comes with many surprises, not least of which is the eventual way that Deogratia's paranoia at being poisoned plays out. The flashback reveries, distinguishable by the lack of panel borders and Deogratia's clean, whole t-shirt, depict a society already obsessed with the hierarchy of race (as taught them by their Belgian colonialists), but the wider political history is wisely confined to the excellent introduction by the book's translator. Instead you follow the young lad Deogratias and his unfaithful romancing of two young Tutsi girls, one of whom is said to be the love-child of the resident white minister, before things get very, very ugly.
The blue and sandy colours of the countryside here, seldom less than beautiful, serve to contrast with what's going on within them. Apart from the two girls - and perhaps the naive, visiting padre - almost everyone has a twisted snarl to their faces. It's a book you'll never forget, that's for sure. The only thing it doesn't do is convey the scale of the horror, but it does everything it should to convey its nature.
Random sentence from the introduction for you: "In 1993 the government ordered from China enough machetes to distribute to every third adult Rwandan Hutu male." They weren't for agriculture, and it was pre-planned.
Mother Come Home New Printing (£15-50, Fantagraphics) by Paul Hornschemeier. This, on the other hand, had no trouble in selling thanks to Mark and Tom, and it's been sorely missed from our shelves. Originally collected by Dark Horse from Paul's FORLORN FUNNIES, Mark wrote on separate occasions:
"Mother isn't coming home because mother's dead and the surviving husband and child are trying to cope in the aftermath. Fantasy and reality are woven together in a very touching way." "Her death affected the son and the husband in different ways. We never see her but she's an important character in the book. The father lost his grip, felt himself slipping away. Realising that he couldn't be a good father in this state he left his son, their son, with relatives and sectioned himself. Thomas can't quite see the reality of the situation. His father must be rescued from the home. There are no guards, no gates, so how do they keep him imprisoned here? What power do they have over him? The boy wears a cape and a lion mask, he's made himself into a superhero with animal powers to protect his father. If they're together everything will be okay....
Hornschemeier shows the boy's confusion, mixing his rescue fantasy with the dull, scary reality of seeing someone you care about crumble. When they are reunited, David, touchingly, plays along with the 'escape' with a tenderness that could have easily descended into mawkish sentiment."
From the creator of THREE PARADOXES and the chilling RETURN OF THE ELEPHANT.
Colourful, painted snippets of day-to-day autobiography as Trondheim, drawing himself here as a cockatoo, playfully sabotages interviews (his own and other creators'!), basks on a beach, runs from the rain, moults, muses and greatly amuses in doing so.
Criminal vol 4: Bad Night (£9-99, Icon/Marvel or Titan) by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips. Page 45 Comicbook Of The Month winner back for a fourth book whose penultimate chapter came with a twist of genius neither I nor Tom saw coming. Unfortunately for its lust-struck protagonist - document forger and detective news strip creator Jacob - neither did he.
Supermarket: Cash Money edition (£9-99, IDW) by Brain Wood & Kristian Donaldson. Of the first issue a couple of years ago:
After a couple of silent opening pages that smelled heavily of thick tobacco smoke and Yakuza, I'd resigned myself to this being an old-style Brian Wood slab of slippery, shallow hipness like COURIERS, and the introduction of the obligatory young, sassy female lead with a mouth didn't do much to dispel those early fears until we get to the first supermarket in question, where Ms. Pella Suzuki holds down an afternoon and Saturday job, even though her family's rolling in it...
"I don't need this job. But it's interesting. Making my own money gives me a moral high ground over the parentals, which is useful for guilt trips. Plus, commerce fascinates me. Always has, seeing what it takes to separate people from money. These types of convenience stores are well-known for being insanely overpriced. Almost to a level you'd consider criminal. But she'd rather pay $8-99 for a pint of cookie dough ice cream than drive three miles down the road to the Safeway where it's two bucks less. Laziness? Well, sure. But also because she can afford it. That's the reason. Fuck the Lincoln Navigator outside and the Prada blouse she's wearing. Overpaying is the true sign of the leisure class. "I'll waste money because I can. Envy me." Watch...
"Ma'am? Would you like to donate one dollar to inner city youth programmes? I can put it right on your card."
"What? No."
"Excuse me?" [calls the guy behind her.] "Is one dollar the maximum we can give? Can I give more?"
"Well, of course, sir. You can donate any amount you want."
"I changed my mind. Put me down for fifty dollars."
"Sure thing."
I thought it was a scam. Well, it is, but I thought the scam in question involved the guy behind the rich bitch. But no, he was being genuinely competitive:
"I would be sick to the stomach right now if they were the slightest bit self-aware. Their cluelessness is obvious. It doesn't matter what the cause is. "Inner city youth." Please. I just made that shit up. I created a product out of thin air and she couldn't wait to waste money on it fast enough. She's go home with bragging rights intact, and Mr. Single Man behind her in line will just buy his beer. Why bother donating now? She outdid him. Poor fucker just got his nuts cut off in public."
Now, I'd be happy to just sit and read that sort of stuff all day, with Kristian's Kristiansen-like art (well, it is, in places, apart from the colouring), punctuating the pages with just enough expression to illuminate the protagonists' motivations. But no: halfway through the entire tempo changes, and it seems that Little Miss Suzuki is in for several educations and very rude awakenings of her own, because I wasn't wrong about the Yakuza...
V For Vendetta recoloured (£12-99, Vertigo/DC) by Alan Moore & David Lloyd. Colours taken from the recent hardcover. Alan Moore's answer to where Britain was heading under Thatcher: a fascist state where dissent is seen as unpatriotic. Well, just look over the Atlantic! Alan wracked his brain to see what he could come up with to illustrate the idea of Big Brother, totalitarian Britain and inadvertently invented the high street security camera now seen on city centres' every corner. He's not stupid, our Uncle Alan. Want to learn more little nuggets like that? I got it from the MINDSCAPE OF ALAN MOORE DVD still on sale @ £19-99.
Alan Moore's The Light Of Thy Countenance (s/c £5-50, or h/c £11-99, Avatar) by Alan Moore, adapted by Antony Johnston & Felipe Massafera. Fully painted by Felipe and faithfully adapted by Antony preserving every word, this "tears back the veil of one of the most arcane of enchantments - the Magic of Television. Part grimoire, part grim evocation of things that are all too ordinary... Maureen Cooper is not real. She is an apparition summoned to screens, into homes, and into the hearts and minds of the viewing audience by Carol Livesly. But Carol Livesly is not the god that creates the illusions that capture the mind and bind the soul. She is only the servant of a higher power. A higher, hungry power, as old as the world and eternally new." Does like mighty fine.
Compleat Death Deluxe Edition h/c (£23-50, Vertigo/DC) by Neil Gaiman & Mark Buckingham, Chris Bachalo, Dave McKean. Perfect companion to your ABSOLUTE SANDMAN collections, for it not only reprints DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING and DEATH: THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE, but the AIDS-awareness "Death Talks About Life" pamphlet which co-starred John Constantine (very, very funny) the stories from VERTIGO WINTER'S EDGE #2 and SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS.
Sandman Mystery Theatre vol 7: The Mist & The Phantom Of The Fair (£12-99, Vertigo/DC) by Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle & Guy Davis. Ah, that second one is possibly my favourite of the series - it really did reach its seediest, most depraved depths there - and both stories are pure Guy Davis which is all readers ever wanted. More stand-alone mysteries as America begins to sense WWII on the horizon and opens the 1939 New York World's Fair to a awe-struck public.
DMZ vol 6: Blood In The Game (£8-50, Vertigo/DC) by Brian Wood & Richardo Burchielli. The possible rise of a new leader in the demilitarised zone that is New York City.
Pax Romana (£9-99, Image) by Jonathan Hickman. From the creator of the fiercely intelligent and imaginatively designed NIGHTLY NEWS demolition of the US media, and now Bendis' co-conspirator on a new NICK FURY book, here's some political sci-fi. Of #1 in January, I wrote:
My faith is fairly strong. Not my faith in Holy Catholic Church. Nor my faith in the wisdom nor potential success of its mission here to dispatch a military envoy back through time from 2055 AD - a point at which Catholicism in the East and West is in terminal decline as Europe is swept under a tide of Islamic fervour - in a crusade to change history from a point after the crucifixion of Christ but before the birth of Muhammad. To enlighten through conquest and impeccable manners. And armed with satellite and nuclear capability, backed by a band of 5,000 mercenaries, and loaded in both senses with 4,100 metric tons of gold, how could the peoples of 312 AD hope to resist the new Will of God? We shall see, for this is but the beginning.
Jonathan Hickman, responsible for the startlingly well informed NIGHTLY NEWS, risks much in giving this series the launch it most certainly deserves, by resisting the temptation to start with the action. Instead he builds it up through a series of debates between the scientists and the church about the validity of their theories and capabilities; between the Pope and his Cardinals on the wisdom, morality then parameters of such an expedition; between the church and the military on the chain of command; and between the Cardinal Beppi Pelle, leader of the missionary task force, and those recruits chosen on the strength of their "misdirected violence" about their religious convictions and strong moral fibre! Undeniably driven by the text, this is still beautifully and surprisingly designed throughout, and riddled with the darkest of deadpan humour ("Your Holiness, if I may begin?" "Of course, and we are going to be here for quite some time, so while we are flirting with heresy, let's completely break with tradition and temporarily dispose of the honorifics, shall we?"). Surprise, indeed, is the last thing in which Hickman is lacking, for if you think this is going to be a religious treatise, then last two pages are going to blow your brains out.
Wherein lies my faith? My faith lies in this proving to one of the smartest and most ambitious pieces of sociological science fiction to hit the world of comics so far, and do so with a bang. Here is a preview.
Skate Farm (£6-50, IDW) by Barzak ~ I have a peculiar weakness for comics about skateboarders. I don't know why, because with the exception of the Skateboarding stories in KING-CAT COMIX and Jim Rugg's awesome STREET ANGEL, comics about skaters have always been a bit iffy. Like Archie's Teenage Mutants Ninja Turtles, y'know? Well If I'm confusing you, it's probably because I can't make out what the hell any of this means. Well anyway, don't click the title link unless you like being assaulted by the worst flash animation and "dramatic" score on the internet.
Fatal Faux-Pas (£6-50, Secret Acres) by Samuel C. Gaskin ~ From Saved By The Bell to Depeche Mode, Sam Gaskin joyfully pokes fun at the pop culture icons of my youth. Not much to view online but click the title for a few Happy Days strips and his name for his blog. Neither are as good as I had hoped, but I'll let you know if the book is better in three months!
Wormdye (£8-50, Secret Acres) by Eamon Espey ~ Ah sod it there's absolutely no useful information that I can find about this and his website is his myspace which has almost no mention of his comics but you got bored of waiting for it to load so closed the tab but you sort of liked the cover which looks like how you imagine David B's work to look like if he was having an off day (inhale, inhale, inhale, inhale, inhale, hyperventilate, collapse into bag of nerves. Wiggly nerves).
American Jesus vol 1: Chosen (£6-50, Image) by Mark Millar & Peter Gross. A reprint of Mark's three-part Dark Horse series CHOSEN in which an ordinary boy in contemporary America discovers he's not as ordinary as he thought. Very well done, and a sequel is on its way. This is an even better title for it, as will become apparent only at the end. Eh...? Hmmm.
The Sword vol 2: Water (£9-99, Image) by Joshua Luna & Jonathan Luna. I've spoken before of the Luna Brothers' capability when it comes to genuinely shocking moments, but that was before the penultimate issue here in which they raised their game even further. Dara's a lovely young lady whose family was slaughtered in front of her by three people who looked like ordinary human beings but were anything but. All for the sake of a sword. Increasingly it becomes apparent why they want that particular sword as wheelchair-bound Dara walks again and body parts start flying whether she wants them to or not. Now she's tracking one of the three down to an island for an icy stand-off in the water that will make Dara wish she'd stayed in her wheelchair. Take a look here.
Walking Dead vol 9: Here We Remain (£9-99, Image) by Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn. The king of zombie comics. Bless you, Charlie Brooker for getting it into the Guardian Guide the other weekend.
Requiem: Le Chevalier Vampire Collection (£12-99, Heavy Metal) by Pat Mills & Oliver Ledroit. First three chapters of vampires and biomechanics. Illustrated review from a very happy gore-hound.
Presidents Of The United States (£12-99, IDW) by Ben Templesmith. What?! Not his usual glass of gore. Written and drawn by Ben (FELL, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, WORMWOOD GENTLEMAN CORPSE) Templesmith, it says here, though I suspect it may prove to be an art book. Umm, Templesmith's 96-page take on each of the Presidents of The United States of America.
Bone vol 9 Colour Edition (£7-99, Cartoon Books) by Jeff Smith. All-out war as the fantasy epic reaches its full-colour conclusion. COMPLETE BONE in black and white still available @ £26-99.
Supermen! The First Wave Of Comic Book Heroes (1939 - 1941) (£16-99, Fantagraphics) edited by Greg Sadowski ~ Features the likes of Will Eisner, Basil Wolverton, Jack Kirby, Jack Cole and Fletcher Hanks and is being published because that Fletcher Hanks book I SHALL DESTROY ALL CIVILISED PLANETS did so well for them. If you like your superheroes wonky and unintentionally written for comedic effect, this is for you!
Boody Rogers: Bizarre comics of, (£12-99, Fantagraphics) edited by Craig Yoe ~ This too reprints a load of cult golden age comics. Boody Rogers' style looks like Jack Cole doing Gary Panter, so it will come as no surprise his comics found their way into RAW. More on arrival!
Kaspar (£8-50, Drawn & Quarterly) by Diane Obomsawin. You may find this far higher up the page on arrival, but for the moment I can find no art from this Canadian animator. Based on disputed history, a young man mysteriously appears out of nowhere in Nuremberg 1828, after being allegedly raised in a cellar and deprived of human contact until the age of sixteen. The note accompanying him says he desperately wants to be a cavalryman just like his father. Five years later he dies of knife wounds.
Inkweed (£10-50, Sparkplug) by Chris Wright. COMICS REPORTER's Tom Spurgeon's a fan: "A truly organic and interesting way to cartoon, the complete package of verbal cadence and informative visual style." All I can tell you at the moment.
Baloney (£10-99, Drawn & Quarterly) by Pascal Blanchet. From the creator of WHITE RAPIDS, named Best Comic 2007 by The Onion. We still have a copy. "Winds swirl and darkness reigns over a hamlet perched atop a craggy peak. Russian fatalism sets the tone as Blanchet orchestrates the tale of a village butcher, his disabled daughter, and her tutor in their doomed uprising against Duke Shostakov, local governor and owner of the only heating company in town."
Wonderlost (£9-99, Image) by C.B. Cebulski & Khoi Pham, Jonathan Luna, Paul Azaceta etc. Art first, and I very much enjoyed Paul Azaceta's thick, Lapham-ish lines and Koi Pham applying Simonson-like effects to normal life. It's basically confessional autobiography about Cebulski's early encounters with girls, and it's not bad at all, but it's a far cry aesthetically from what Jeffrey Brown does.
This Is A Souvenir: The Songs Of Spearmint & Shirley Lee (£19-99, Image) by various inc. Chynna Clugston-Flores (formerly Major), Scott Mills, Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie. In the spirit of the anthologies dedicated to Tori Amos and Belle & Sebastian comes one dedicated to Spearmint.
Planet Of Beer (£9-99, Dark Horse) by Brian Sendelbach. "Dark Horse is proud to present . . . actually, make that giggling manically as we present one of the silliest-yet most subversive and darkly funny-collections of comics you'll see this year. Planet of Beer selects the best and weirdest comic strips from the popular underground weekly comic Smell of Steve in one gloriously colored, landscape-format book. Join creator Brian Sendelbach's all-misfit cast of underloved underwater superheroes, space-faring former U.S. presidents, soul-sucking alien DJs, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and other insane characters as they work together to find the elusive and legendary Planet of Beer. Actually, that's way more of a sensible plot than you'll actually find in this book, but if you like your comics absurd, awesome, and maybe just a tiny bit disturbing and wrong, we're pretty sure you're going to love this book."
Grendel: Devil's Reign (£12-99, Dark Horse) by Matt Wagner & Tim Sale. "It is the 26th century A.D. Orion Assante has become the Grendel-Khan, emperor of the western world, and a huge political target! In an effort to strike at the Khan, African nationalists kidnap Orion’s wife Sherri, who is still recovering from the tragedy of losing a child. Meanwhile, a vampiric revolution is brewing at Grendel’s Palace in Vegas … and hinges somehow on a timid man with a pigeon totem. Regardless, it has become necessary to invade Africa. Grendels, ready yourselves! The time is now, and the difference is you! Newly remastered by award-winning colourist Matt Hollingsworth." Random Cover and preview here.
Classic Dan Dare vol 11: The Phantom Fleet h/c (£14-99, Titan) by Frank Hampson, Desmond Walduck. Yes, we stock these! Anyone inspired enough by Ennis and Erskine to want to read the originals? Don't know Desmond, so I'm not sure in what capacity he's involved. Here's THE EAGLE/DAN DARE website.
Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice (£12-99, DC) by James Robinson & Tony Salmons. No idea. Anyone?
Superman: Braniac h/c (£12-99, DC) by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank. Tom has plenty of ideas about this, but forgot to commit them to paper. Please bring him cake. He is useless without it.
Midnight Nation Deluxe h/c (£23-50, Top Cow/Image) by J. Michael Straczynski & Gary Frank. They promise extras in addition to the main event, but the main event was strong enough for Mark to enjoy it, as a police officer is forced to go on a walkabout in limbo to find himself.
Marvel 1985 h/c (£16-99, Marvel) by Mark Millar & Tommy Lee Edwards. Affectionate and heartfelt tribute to Marvel's 80s output and maybe even Mark's dad, I don't know. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and it all came together beautifully and unexpectedly at the end. 1985 and young Toby is starting to see things out of the corner of his eye. He swears blind they're the supervillains from his favourite comic books, but no one believes them because this is the real world. The real world in which his perfectly lovely but daydreaming Dad is shunted aside by Toby's mother for another man who's perfectly alright but not Toby's Dad whom he loves with all his heart. Toby's right, though: somehow the villains have made their way into our world, and there are no superheroes to stop their rampage. Can Toby's knowledge of the comics help save the world? Yes. Very clever. Art, as I've said, like Duncan Fegredo with a big, thick brush. Works very well for when the worlds collide and Galactus finally turns up. Choice of two covers: Tommy Lee Edwards of Jimmy Cheung.
Secret Invasion (£19-99, Marvel) by Brian Michael Bendis & Leinil Francis Yu. The culmination of all Bendis' work since NEW ANGERS #1, this sees the shape-shifting Skrulls' infiltration of the Marvel Universe in an act of religion and revenge come to full fruition. You realise this means war? It surely does, and there will be casualties. Personal moments of horror and heartbreak mixed with clever tactics and all-out massive conflagration and carnage as the Marvel masses meet a very different breed of Super-Skrull, far more powerful and in numbers so vast you can't see the end of them over the horizon. See "also scheduled" for tie-ins. EMBRACE CHANGE
Secret Invasion: Home Invasion (£9-99, Marvel) by Ivan Brandon & Nick Postic. A webcomic I've not read.
Mighty Avengers vol 4: Secret Invasion Book 2 h/c (£12-99, Marvel) by Brian Michael Bendis & Khoi Pham, Steve Kurth. Stuff that happened some time ago.
Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man vol 1 softcover (£16-99, Marvel) by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko. A far more constructive celebration of their 70th Anniversary than yet another variant cover programme (see comic section), Marvel will now be releasing their full-colour MARVEL MASTERWORKS in softcover at the rate of one a month. This reprints Spider-Man's first appearance in AMAZING FANTASY #15, then AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1-10. The cover of the version available exclusively to comic shops mimics that gaudy horror of the hardcovers, but the regular edition we recommend you order instead is beautifully designed, with the central two figures on black
High School science nerd Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, and finds private solace from his public ostracism in being able to climb up walls and fight egomaniacal mop-topped losers with way too many appendages. First appearances of Dr. Octopus, the Sandman, Electro and the Vulture.
The X-Men Omnibus vol 1 h/c (£65-00, Marvel) by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas & Jack Kirby, Jay Gavin, Werner Roth, Jack Sparkling. First 31 issues of the original series, again available in two covers: original by Jack Kirby or Alex Ross's interpretation of it.
Professor Charles Xavier perceives a need to train five student mutants in case other members of the emerging species decide to terrorise the human population. Thirty seconds later: other members of the emerging species decide to terrorise the human population. Honestly, it's as if Charlie could read their minds.
The original team consisted of pretty-boy rich kid The Angel, big-footed and loquacious gymnast The Beast, snow-balled teenager Iceman, sulky old Cyclops, and Marvel Girl for whom telekinesis was just the beginning.
Captain Britain by Alan Moore & Alan Davis Omnibus h/c (£65-00, Marvel) by - holy false advertising! - Alan Moore, Alan Davis, Dave Thorpe, Paul Neary, Michael Carlin, Steve Craddock, Mike Collins, Jamie Delano, Chris Claremont & Alan Davis, Paul Neary. Brit twit with a stick in stories from (breathe in) MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #377-388, THE DAREDEVILS #1-11, CAPTAIN AMERICA #305-306, MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #7-16, CAPTAIN BRITAIN #1-14, NEW MUTANTS ANNUAL #2, UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #11. I'd suggest to you that the UK MWOM and CB issues are from their second volumes.
New Avengers vol 3 h/c (£23-50, Marvel) by Brian Michael Bendis & many. Already available first as hardcovers and now as softcovers, this is one of those double-sized jobbies collecting NEW AVENGERS #21-31, NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI one-shot, CIVIL WAR: THE CONFESSION and CIVIL WAR: THE INITIATIVE.
Spider-Man: New Ways To Die h/c (£16-99, Marvel) by Dan Slott, Mark Waid & John Romita Jr... In which the Brand New Day series came together most enjoyably with Norman Osborn leading his Thunderbolts into action against Spider-Man and indeed his own son! It also catalysed the appearance of Anti-Venom, a name I initially thought ridiculous until I realised who it was, why it was and exactly what it was: quite literally an antidote to Venom and much more besides. John Romita Jr. is always a joy.
Ultimatum: March On Ultimatum h/c (£16-99, Marvel) by Coleite, Polaski, Loeb, Bendis & Basaldua, Peterson, Romita Jr., Djurdjevic, McGuiness, Garcia. This year's five Ultimate annuals. Just read Bendis' ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #3, which introduces a very different Mysterio whilst concentrating on Peter and Mary Jane considering taking their relationship to "the next level". Very sweet, and very funny. Also read the ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL #1 which links ULTIMATE ORIGINS to ULTIMATES 3 and does go some way to suggesting why Captain America should have been running around in... someone else's shoes.
X-Men: Original Sin h/c (£16-99, Marvel) by Mike Carey, Daniel Way & Scot Eaton, Mike Deodato. Recent crossover between X-MEN LEGACY (#217-218) and WOLVERINE: ORIGINS (#28-30) preceded by X-MEN ORIGINAL SIN one-shot. Wolverine and Xavier battle a scheming Sebastian Shaw for control of Logan's son Daken, with the Hellfire Club caught in the middle. Actually, the Hellfire Club is Sebastian's real target, with Wolverine his weapon of choice. Goes back to Logan's first day at the Mansion and a secret encounter with Xavier.
Wolverine: Not Dead Yet h/c (£12-99, Marvel) by Warren Ellis & Leinil Francis Yu. I remember this happening, but nothing about it. More on arrival, you'd hope.
Captain America: The Truth h/c (£16-99, Marvel) by Robert Morales & Kyle Baker. The story of those experimented on before Steve Rogers to find a supersoldier to help turn the tide of World War II. Anyone who knows their shameful, real-world history will not be surprised when they learn that the early guinea pigs were all black. This is their story, told with power and - it has to be said - a very unusual art style for Marvel. The softcover's been out of print for years, and I wouldn't expect there to be another.
Daredevil: Born Again h/c (£16-99, Marvel) by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli. "Karen Page, Matt Murdock's former lover, has traded away his secret identity for a drug fix. Now, Daredevil must find strength as the Kingpin of Crime wastes no time taking him down as low as a human being can get." Absolute killer story from some 25 years ago which Bendis and Brubaker fans will relish.
Daredevil By Frank Miller & Klaus Janson vol 3 (£19-99, Marvel) by Frank Miller, Mike W. Barr & Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, John Buscema, Bill Sienkiewicz. Collects DD #185-191, #219, WHAT IF? #28, DAREDEVIL: LOVE AND WAR graphic novel illustrated by Sienkiewicz which stars the Kingpin's best ever waistcoat.
X-Men: Proteus h/c (£12-99, Marvel) by Chris Claremont, John Byrne & John Byrne with John Bolton, Mark Bright. Already available in the black and white ESSENTIAL X-MEN, this saw the X-MEN go horror on a trip to Muir Island to rescue Moira McTaggart and co. from the clutches of her body-hopping (and devouring), reality-warping son. Also, someone's messing with Jean Grey's mind. Accompanying the original issues are the unnecessary retro shorts from the back of CLASSIC X-MEN.
Hulk Visionaries: Peter David vol 6 (£19-99, Marvel) by Peter David with Kurt Busiek & Dale Keown with Bill Jaaska. The best the series has ever been with monumentally sexy art from Dale Keown. Oh, yeah, I definitely would...
Infinity Crusade vol 2 (£19-99, Marvel) by Jim Starlin & Ron Lim, Tom Raney, Kris Renkewitz, Angel Medina, Bill Sienkiewicz. Third in a trilogy of old-skool cosmic crossovers (see also INFINITY GAUNTLET and INFINITY WAR) involving the Infinity Gems which gave their owners power over various aspects of reality (time, power, the evening's tv schedule...). Pick your favourite Marvel superhero and they're here, fighting each other.
Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne vol 0 (£16-99, Marvel) by John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Marv Wolfman, Bill Mantlo & John Byrne, Joe Sinnott, Pablo Marcos. Before Byrne's main, highly imaginative run on the series which started off beautifully before his inking turned stiff, he did occasional stints with Sinnott on inks that looked very different indeed (though not at all unattractive). Reprints FF #215-218, 220-221, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #50, MARVEL TEAM-UP #61-62
Public Enemy: Welcome To The Terrordome (£15-50, American Mule Entertainment) by Chuck D, Adam Wallenta & Adam Wallenta. Excuse me a couple of years, I need to turn all these Marvel solicitation pages so I can get to this. I can't actually believe there's a full graphic novel of this heading our way. Well, not our way, although we will order one for you if you insist and pay in advance. In April 2006 I was unlucky enough to find myself in the presence of a sample copy of the first issue and wrote:
911 isn't the only joke, Chuck - you've just become one yourself. This is by far the most puerile comic I have seen in years. Public Enemy are street superhero mo'fos, yo (look, if Chuck's going to drown himself in clichés, I feel at liberty to join in), each with their own special abilities, none of which evidently includes being able to write a comic or make friends with an actual artist. Naturally, they are under investigation by The Man in the form of National Security Agencies (which they were - I'm a big fan of Public Enemy, but D's just turned them all into Kiss) whilst saving the inhabitants of New Orleans from the flood and from each other. It's all in the aid of The Message, and if Chuck did travel all the way to New Orleans at the time to help out, good on you, Chuck. If you didn't, then fantasising about it now is simply pathetic.
Him & Hers Smuggling Vacation (£6-99, Dealer Comics) by Jason Wilson & Tony Spencer. Slapstick comedy in which a warring couple on holiday stumble on a stash of drugs and run off with them. The author wrote to commend this to me with the encouraging news that there was great interest from Nottingham's drug dealers, as if I wanted them through our door. Neither that nor the sample copy particularly amused us here.
Lost Boys: Reign Of Frogs (£8-50, Wildstorm/DC) by Hans Rodionoff & Joel Gomez. Bridges the gap between the two films.
Strange And Stranger: The World Of Steve Ditko New Printing (£26-99, Fantagraphics) by Blake Bell. Coffee table art book tracing Ditko's life and career.
Be A Nose! The Art Spiegelman Sketchbook (£16-99) by Art Spiegelman. "Funny, sharp, bawdy and personal." From the creator MAUS
Dave McKean: Postcard From Paris (£10-00) by Dave McKean. Sketchbook. Thanks to Josh at Gosh! comics in London (Great Russell Square near the British museum - if you're ever in London, or if indeed you live there, you owe it to yourselves to check 'em out) we already have this in and it's signed at no extra cost. The first four copies, anyway.
Dave McKean: Squink (£22-00) by Dave McKean. Art book. Thanks to Josh at Gosh! comics in London (opened long before Page 45 and blazed the trail for ethical retail practices and decent comics) we already have this in and it's signed at no extra cost. The first six copies, anyway. Sample pages at "other work" on his website.
also scheduled:
Pantomime: Scad Sequential Anthology (£6-50, Top Shelf) by various. Silent shorts.
Kingdom: The Promised Land (£11-99, Rebellion) by Dan Abnett & Richard Elson
Shakara The Assassin (£12-99, Rebellion) by Robbie Morrison & Henry Flint
Heathertown (£6-50, Image) by Corinna Sara Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four (£9-99, Marvel) by Aguirre-Sacasa, Stern, DeFalco & Kitson, John Buscema, Ryan
Secret Invasion: Captain Marvel (£9-99, Marvel) by Brian Reed & Lee Weeks
Secret Invasion: War Machine (£8-50, Marvel) by Christos Gage & Sean Chen
Fantastic Four: Worlds Greatest s/c (£12-99, Marvel) by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch
Ultimate Spider-Man vol 21: War Of The Symbiotes (£10-50, Marvel) by Brian Michael Bendis & Stuart Immonen
Iron Man: Director of SHIELD - With Iron Hands (£8-50, Marvel) by Stuart Moore & Roberto De La Torre, Carlo Pagulayan, Steve Kurth
Immortal Iron Fist vol 3: The Book Of The Iron Fist s/c (£10-99, Marvel) by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction & various
X-Force vol 1: Angels & Demons s/c (£10-50, Marvel) by Craig Kyle, Chris Yost & Clayton Crain
Marvel Zombies: Dead Days s/c (£16-99, Marvel) by Robert Kirkman, Mark Millar, Reginald Hudlin & Sean Phillips, Greg Land, Breitweiser, Portela
Essential Punisher vol 3 (£10-99, Marvel) by various
Mask Omnibus vol 2 (£16-99, Dark Horse) by Evan Dorkin & co.
Batman: False Faces s/c (£9-99, DC) by Brian K. Vaughan & Scott McDaniel, Scott Kolins, Rick Burchett, more
Batman And The Outsiders vol 2: The Snake (£9-99, DC) by Chuck Dixon & Julian Lopez, Carlos Rodriguez, Bit
Brave And The Bold vol 3: Demons & Dragons h/c (£16-99, DC) by Mark Waid, Alan Brennert & Scott Kolins, Jerry Ordway, Humberto Ramos, Oscar Jimenez
Justice League International vol 4 h/c (£16-99, DC) by Giffen, DeMatteis & Maguire, Templeton, McKone, Willingham etc.
Simon Dark vol 2: Ashes (£11-99, DC) by Steve Niles, Scott Hampton & Scott Hampton
The Losers h/c (£26-99, DC) by Jack Kirby
Showcase Presents Aquaman vol 3 (£10-99, DC) by Bob Haney, Leo Dorfman & Nick Cardy, Sal Trapani, Pete Costanza
Diana Prince: Wonderwoman vol 4 (£12-99, DC) by O'Neil, Delany, Haney, Kanigher & Don Heck, Dick Giordano, Aparo
Who Is Wonderwoman s/c (£9-99, DC) by Allan Heinberg & Terry Dodson, Gary Frank
Wonderwoman: The Ends Of The Earth h/c (£16-99, DC) by Gail Simone & Aaron Lopresti, Bernard Chang, Matt Ryan
Tales Of The Green Lantern Corps vol 1 (£12-99, DC) by Barr, Wein, Kupperberg, Snyder, Busiek, Klein & Staton, Gibbons, Infantino, more
m a n g a f o r j a n u a r y
Pluto vol 1 (£8-50, Viz Media) by Naoki Urasawa, Osama Tezuka ~ The creator of MONSTER returns with a superb retelling of classic Astro Boy story "The Greatest Robot On Earth" - but don't expect cute. Naoki writes comics so tense, it makes Bendis' DAREDEVIL run seem like a Mr. Men book, and illustrates in a style far more realistic than Tezuka, yet treats the source with the utmost respect. I read the first two books' worth years ago and I was blown away, my immediate thought being "This is Ultimate Astro Boy!" but that sells it so short as Astro isn't even introduced until much later and it really isn't about him. This is about man's injustice to man as Pluto, the first robot to "murder" other robots, forces the seven most powerful sentient robots to question the darker side of human nature. Europol's finest investigator Gesicht is assigned to track the mysterious Pluto before he destroys another of the seven, even though he himself is a target. Ships in February, so more on arrival!
20th Century Boys vol 1 (£8-50, Viz Media) by Naoki Urasawa ~ Mind bending sci-fi where a group of friends' childhood games (concerning all things Giant Robot etc) manifest in their adulthood and cause the apocalypse. It all sounds a bit Grant Morrison but I'm assured by Ossian that it stays a lot more coherent. "Failed rock musician Kenji's memories of his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all."
Barefoot Gen vol 7: Bones Into Dust and Barefoot Gen vol 8: Merchants Of Death (£9-99 each, Last Gasp) by Keiji Nakazawa. Manga classic detailing life in Hiroshima during then after the bomb. It's extraordinarily powerful stuff based on Keiji's own experiences, which was originally serialised all over the place, falling prey as it did to editorial movements and publisher bankruptcies. By the time we get to volume 8 it's 1950 and Gen is in middle school, whilst outside he sees the corrosive effects of drugs, and the arms industry given a business boost by Korean War. Here's Paul Gravett.