Books That Look Good (or not) and Other Cool Stuff

So does anyone else's browser occasionally crash when they attempt to load Image's website? Three out of five times, goddammit. Christ, let me look at your books!

There's a lot of random stuff this week--and a myriad of collected links regarding cool stuff I've stumbled across in my internet adventures. Enjoy! Or not.

Image

Dynamo 5 #14: So much fun. That is all.

Noble Causes #35: I'm enjoying the time jump immensely--how about you guys? I enjoyed the alternate dimension reset too, frankly. I think it's quite easy to get bogged down in cliches, but the way Jay Faerber cheerfully employs them keeps them fresh and fun and reminds me why they became a cliche in the first place. It isn't always a terrible thing. Take a note, writers: It is possible to use a cliche without ever letting it become an ugly, uninspired mess of a thing.

His entry into the Top Cow Pilot Season 2008, Urban Myths looks great, as does Fran Bueno's pages for Undying Love, a series still in the birth process. I'm going to entertain the fantasy that the only thing Jay Faerber ever does is hide away with his computer and write awesome comics--because if I ever hear he has free time for an actual life, I may just implode.

So basically, this morning while we were brushing our teeth and groggily searching around for coffee, Jay F. was knocking off the third script of the day and had gotten up a half hour after we did. And he was magically wooing fantastic artists.


Hyperkinetic #1: Written by Howard Shum, art by Matteo Scalera and colors done by Oscar Celestini. This is a sci-fi action comedy about four intergalactic bounty hunters (and their robot) who end up going through a wormhole and crash-landing on an alien planet.

You can peek at some page previews right here at Shum's website.

I really like the art--it looks really dynamic and fun and the preview of the story peaked my interest as well, so I'm definitely gonna give this four-issue run a shot.

And on an awesome note: There was not a single gratuitous thong shot in any of the preview pages, I am so pleased.




The Astounding Wolf-Man #7: Oh, what's that? You haven't been reading this? Shame on you, now you can't find any and will have to pick up the trade.




The Sword TPB #1: And for all of you that've either missed the boat or just waited for the trade on all Luna goodness, here it is.

An awesome modern fantasy book about a woman who finds a sword after her family is murdered, brought to you by the Luna Brothers.

Also recommended (highly): Ultra Girl. Because getting laid can be a bitch.










Oh, hey--have you asked your local store to make sure I Kill Giants lands into your hands/subscription boxes? The first issue is coming out next week--make sure you don't miss it.

It's a story about a smart ass fifth-grader, Barbara Thorson, who carries around a war hammer in her bag and kills giants. Well, in her imagination she does. Or maybe not just in her imagination.

Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Niimura are going to rock you out with a poignant story about a girl and the giants in her worlds. I predict heavy awesomeness.

IDW

Angel: After The Fall #10
Doctor Who #5
And don't you dare miss Ghost Whisperer #4. What a gem!

Seriously IDW, what is that title doing in your company?

And hum, hum, hum: Ben Templesmith signs an exclusive and has a book coming out in August, Welcome to Hoxford. Good and the promo pic to the left needs to be a poster on my wall.

Hmm, wait . . . can I have him?

Dark Horse

Buffy #16: The long-awaited introduction of the Fray storyline and Joss is back in the writer's seat, kicking off a new 'episode' for the series.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1: Hellboy meets Tom, a man who sold his soul to a demon known as the Crooked Man. They travel to the Appalachian mountains in an attempt to save Tom's soul.

There's no such thing as too much Hellboy.

DC

The All-New Atom #25

Batman #678

Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! #1: You're picking this up, right? Right? Look at the adorable.

Blue Beetle #28

The Joker's Asylum: Joker: I sincerely hope that this isn't Joker-as-a-funny-haha-clown villain and is Scary As Hell Joker. Fingers crossed.

Manhunter #32

Nightwing #146

I sat here attempting to think of informative things to say about this week's DC releases or some sort of preview or whatnot and eventually came up with . . . pretty much nothing. I'm looking forward to seeing all these hit the shelves, really looking forward to reading them and . . . that's it. There'll be fun in the reviews, dammit.

Perhaps I need more caffeine. Or lunch.

Marvel

Astonishing X-Men #25: I really, really like the new costumes. Lots. Simone Bianchi is extraordinarily talented. And that Ellis guy isn't bad either. (whoreswhoresfuckwhores)

Secret Invasion: Front Line #1: I love the Front Line concept and am really looking forward to this from Brian Reed.

All Other Shenanigans

So, you've all probably seen this post by Paul Pope regarding Battling Boy, right? Oh well, I'm showing you again because I am so pleased by it. His description of the book leaves me very hopeful we can see it in the stores sooner rather than later.

"Battling Boy is the son of a god or a super hero—it is left unspecified—who comes down from the top of a mountain (or rather, from inside a cloud/UFO contraption/contrivance from above a mountain top) at this father's behest, in order to rid a giant city from it's plague of monsters. Hercules had his labors, Batman has his Gotham, Battling Boy has his Monstropolis."

Quite nice.

Also, his clothing line via DKNY is due out soon--August, right?

One day I'll get to meet him, dammit. Eventually. Maybe.

And look, Gerard Way can read my mind. The moment I got done with Umbrella Academy, I thought, "Well, that was fucking fantastic, but I really wish I could've seen some shenanigans from their teenaged years. Also, I want figurines." One out of two, so far, because on July 2nd there's going to be a short story on Dark Horse's MySpace Presents page from Way and Ba. Also, there's a comic tie-in to Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog from Joss Whedon. Also, a Tara McPherson story, "How To Heal A Broken Heart".

This will definitely soothe the wounds caused by visiting a MySpace page.

Batman vs Batman vs Batman, especially for Oracle Batgirl, who I got to meet today and is awesome.

This is exceedingly clever. And funny.

The Awesomed By Comics podcast remains to be awesome and is actually increasing in its Awesome and hilarity. Click that link and go check it out. I need to remember to email them, actually, and inform Aaron how misled he is regarding Countdown and Grant Morrison's involvement in it. Oh look, problem solved (perhaps?) Aaron: You're misled. Gravely, gravely misled. Morrison didn't want them to touch the New Gods at all. From what I understand, he wanted the very first mention of them to be that first scene where Orion is discovered dead.

Also: Daaaaaaaamn.

Edit: Aha! I remember now. Go check out Bananaglass, which is odd and hilarious and quite clever. And don't forget to comment and inform him of such.

Speaking of damn, I need to start making bookmarks proper, I keep losing neat sites. Anyhow, that's mostly it--enjoy the rest of the day and comment if you think I might've forgotten something.

I just realized I didn't bitch about anything this week. Odd.