Tuesday, May 31, 2005

FCBM Day 31 part 6

This is it: The final comics to be given away for Yet Another Comics Blog's first ever Free Comic Book Month!

Today's sixth and final selected entry comes from Julia Malin. Julia listed four comics titles she likes:

1. Marvel 1602
2. Sandman
3. Swamp Thing
4. Justice League

and also notes that she likes the television shows: X-files, Carnivale, Samurai Jack, Justice League, & Dexter's Lab.

For Julia I have Jenni Gregory's DreamWalker vol. 2 #1-3, the story of a woman who walks through dreams (which you could probably guess from the title!)

Like all the selected entries, Julia will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Julia's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
121 free comics sent so far
0 days remaining


Whew! I wish I could have given free comics to everyone who entered, but alas postage costs money and I can't afford to do this forever. Thanks to everyone who entered; it was a lot of fun, and hopefully I'll be able to do it again next year. (Look for a wrap-up post in a few days, once I get a chance to rest.)

FCBM Day 31 part 5

It's the final day of the YACB Free Comic Book Month. To celebrate, I'm giving away comics all day!

Today's fifth selected entry comes from Alistair Isaac. The five comics that Alistair listed are:

1. The Invisibles
2. Powers
3. Astro City
4. Top Ten
5. Milk and Cheese

For Alistair I have Alan Moore's Glory #0-1, Alan Moore's prototype for Promethea using Rob Liefeld's Wonder Woman analogue, with art by Marat Mychaels & Melinda Gebbie.

Like all the selected entries, Alistair will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Alistair's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
117 free comics sent so far
0 days remaining

FCBM Day 31 part 4

It's the final day of the YACB Free Comic Book Month. To celebrate, I'm giving away comics all day!

Today's fourth selected entry comes from Chad A. Rinn. The five comics that Chad listed are:

1. The Invisibles
2. 100 Bullets
3. Shade, the Changing Man
4. Strangers in Paradise
5. Kabuki

For Chad I have Saint Germaine #1-2, the story of the immortal by Gary Reed and Vince Locke.

Like all the selected entries, Chad will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Chad's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
114 free comics sent so far
0 days remaining

FCBM Day 31 part 3

It's the final day of the YACB Free Comic Book Month. To celebrate, I'm giving away comics all day!

Today's third selected entry comes from Doug Hanke. The five comics that Doug listed are:

1. The Invisibles
2. Powers
3. Astro City
4. Top Ten
5. Milk and Cheese

For Doug I also have a two-fer: Shaolin Cowboy #1 by Geof Darrow; and Hellboy: The Corpse by Mike Mignola.

Like all the selected entries, Doug will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Doug's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
111 free comics sent so far
0 days remaining

FCBM Day 31 part 2

It's the final day of the YACB Free Comic Book Month. To celebrate, I'll be giving away comics all day!

Today's second selected entry comes from Kevin Boyle. Sayeth Kevin: "I haven't been buying comics for a few years so my 5 titles I like are all oldies."

1. The Invisibles
2. Dreadstar
3. Preacher
4. Fantastic Four
5. Micronauts

To get Kevin back into comics, I have a two-fer: Ruule: Kiss & Tell #1 by Jeff Amano & Craig Rousseu; and Conan #0 by Kurt Busiek & Cary Nord.

Like all the selected entries, Kevin will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Kevin's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
108 free comics sent so far
0 days remaining

FCBM Day 31 part 1

It's the final day of the YACB Free Comic Book Month. To celebrate, I'll be giving away comics all day!

Today's first selected entry comes from Scott Schoolcraft. The five comics that Scott listed are:

1. Hawkman
2. Avengers
3. Birds of Prey
4. Planetary
5. Hellboy/BPRD

For Scott I have Gate Crasher #1 by Mark Waid, Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti.

Like all the selected entries, Scott will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Scott's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
105 free comics sent so far
0 days remaining

Monday, May 30, 2005

FCBM Day 30.5

It's still day thirty of the YACB Free Comic Book Month, but it's the next-to-the-last day and I still have a lot more free comics to give away!

Today's second selected entry comes from Penny L. Kenny. The five comics that Penny listed are:

1. Please Save My Earth
2. Spider-Girl
3. Girl Genius
4. A Distant Soil
5. Raven's Children

(With that last comic, Penny managed to do something no other entrant did: list a comic that I'd never heard of before!)

For Penny I have Oddly Normal #1, the first issue of the new series by Otis Frampton.

Like all the selected entries, Penny will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Penny's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
103 free comics sent so far
1 day remaining

FCBM Day 30

It's day thirty of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Henry Linder. Henry listed three comics:

1. Black and White
2. Spider-Man
3. Para

And also a book:

4. Ender's Game

And a movie:

5. Donnie Darko

For Henry I have Third World War #1 by Pat Mills & Carlos Ezquerra.

Like all the selected entries, Henry will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Henry's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
101 free comics sent so far
1 day remaining

Sunday, May 29, 2005

FCBM Day 29.5

It's still day twenty-nine of the YACB Free Comic Book Month, but I'm rapidly running out of time, and I have a lot more free comics to give away!

Today's second selected entry comes from Ralph Carusillo. The five comics that Ralph listed are:

1. Rex Mundi
2. Gotham Central
3. Powers
4. StrangeHaven
5. Y, the Last Man

For Ralph I have Threshold #2: "The Hair Club", a tale of the Super Heroes of Philadelphia by David Yurkovich.

Like all the selected entries, Ralph will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Ralph's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
99 free comics sent so far
2 days remaining

FCBM Day 29 / Monkey Covers

It's day twenty-nine of the YACB Free Comic Book Month, and it's also Sunday, which as regular readers of this blog know means that it's Monkey Covers day. So let's give someone a comic with a monkey on the cover, shall we?

Today's selected entry comes from Jim McGrath. The five comics that Jim listed are:

1. Anything by Grant Morrison
2. Hitman
3. Bighead
4. Eightball
5. Any Spider-Man comic where he gets hideously mutated

For Jim I have today's Monkey Cover: Kid Blastoff #1 by Evan Dorkin & Sarah Dyer. Monkeys & Space Villains--what could be better?

Like all the selected entries, Jim will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Jim's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
97 free comics sent so far
2 days remaining

Saturday, May 28, 2005

FCBM Day 28.5

It's still day twenty-eight of the YACB Free Comic Book Month, but I'm rapidly running out of time, and I have a lot more free comics to give away!

Today's second selected entry comes from Matt Naylor. The five comics that Matt listed are:

1. The Goon
2. Invincible/The Walking Dead
3. Fables
4. She Hulk
5. Ex Machina

As a fan a She Hulk, I figure that Matt might enjoy another comic about supers & lawyers, namely Ex Parte #1 by Bill Williams, Coy Turnbull & Rus Sever.

Like all the selected entries, Matt will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Matt's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
98 entries
95 free comics sent so far
3 days remaining

FCBM Day 28

It's day twenty-eight of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Michael Cannon. The five comics that Michael listed are:

1. Hellboy
2. Y, the Last Man
3. Ex Machina
4. Sleeper
5. Gotham Central

For Michael I have CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations--Artifact #1 by Jeff Mariotte & Gabriel Hernandez.

Like all the selected entries, Michael will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Michael's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
97 entries
93 free comics sent so far
3 days remaining

Friday, May 27, 2005

FCBM Day 27.5

It's still day twenty-seven of the YACB Free Comic Book Month, and I want to give away more comics!

Today's second selected entry comes from Danny Ferguson. Sayeth Danny:

"I can't list 5 comic books I like because I haven't read that many. I've been wanting to get into comics for a while, and this might be just the thing to help me. I did check out a volume of early Spiderman comics from the library and I read through those. They were fun, but I might like something a bit more heavy. Here are some books I like if you want to get an idea of my tastes: Hitchhiker's Guide, almost anything by Robert Heinlein, Lord of the Rings, Isaac Asimov's novels, etc. I like the show Smallville, but I've never read any of the comics. I like Kevin Smith movies, but again, I haven't read any of his comic books. My tastes are pretty varied, so don't be afraid to surprise me."

Danny's obviously a sci-fi fan, so I'll be sending him a couple of fun sci-fi comics: Steve Conley's Astounding Space Thrills #1; and Rich Woodall & Matt Talbot's Johnny Raygun Quarterly #5.

Like all the selected entries, Danny will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Danny's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
97 entries
91 free comics sent so far
4 days remaining

FCBM Day 27

It's day twenty-seven of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Libby Horacek. The five comics that Libby listed are:

1. Young Justice
2. From Eroica with Love
3. Paradise Kiss
4. Legion of Super-Heroes
5. Mary Jane

For Libby I have all three issues of David Hahn's original Private Beach, mini-series (the Antarctic Press version).

Like all the selected entries, Libby will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Libby's comics should be in the mail soon. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
97 entries
88 free comics sent so far
4 days remaining

Thursday, May 26, 2005

FCBM Day 26.5

It's still day twenty-six of the YACB Free Comic Book Month, but with less than a week left I've got to hurry up and give away more comics!

Today's second selected entry comes from Joshua Cottingham. The five comics that Josh listed are:

1. Transmetropolitan
2. Squee
3. Runaways
4. Daredevil
5. Y, the Last Man

For Josh I have Lenore #11, Roman Dirge's darkly funny comic about a poor little dead girl.

Like all the selected entries, Josh will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Josh's comics should be in the mail sometime this week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
97 entries
84 free comics sent so far
5 days remaining

You're a Wonder

Why yes, that is Lynda Carter as the principal in the trailer for Sky High. I'm now totally geeked.

(link via The Beat)

Reviews: TokyoPop OEL Manga

Van Von Hunter, vol. 1
by Mike Schwark & Ron Kaulfersch
$9.99 TokyoPop

Peach Fuzz, vol. 1
by Lindsay Cibos & Jared Hodges
$9.99 TokyoPop

TokyoPop has recently been making a push with OEL (Original English Language) manga (oftentime derisively called Amerimanga). They've used their "Rising Stars of Manga" contest to identify domestic talent, signing creators to do original GN series in the same format in which they publish their imported manga (though reading left-to-right like a western comic should--Seven Seas take note!)

Two of the first titles to appear are Van Von Hunter by Mike Schwark & Ron Kaulfersch; and Peach Fuzz by Lindsay Cibos & Jared Hodges. Both comics are worthy first efforts, but each is not without its problems.

Van Von Hunter (which began life as a Webcomic back in 2002) is a humorous fantasy, the likes of which abound in Japanese manga. The setting is the Kingdom of Dikay, where a few years ago all evil was defeated, but whatever the solution was also managed to wipe clean the memory of everyone in the kingdom. But now the Dark Forces have returned, but no one is quite sure how they were defeated the last time. Enter into the picture the legendary Van Von Hunter, Hunter of Evil... Stuff!, and his loyal but forgetful sidekick, what's-her-name. The comic has a somewhat interesting and offbeat premise and is perfectly servicable in art and story, but never quite seems to take off. It is ocasionally funny, but far too often the humor seems forced. If Van Von Hunter has a central fault, it is that it tries too hard for a laugh, rather than setting up situations where the humor comes natually. As has been noted many times, comedy is hard.

Peach Fuzz was a title that I was greatly looking forward to. I really enjoyed the original short story that appeared in Rising Stars of Manga, vol. 2 (done solo by Cibos), in which Amanda, a nine-year-old girl, gets a ferret as a pet. It was a charming little tale, but something seems lost in the translation to a full-length manga volume. The biggest problem may be that none of the characters are very likable: Amanda is oblivious to the needs of her new pet, often to the point of cruelty; this may be an acurate depiction of a young girl's attitude towards a pet, but it's not exactly charming. The ferret, Peach, sees herself as a little princess of the ferret kingdom; separated from her normal world, her spoiled attitude has a hard time adjusting, though at least Peach goes through something of a character arc as she adjusts to her new life. Amanda's mom is pretty much one-note, constantly disaproving of her daughter's handling of the pet and always threatening to get rid of it (okay, two notes: she's always also complaining about the costs of pet care. But despite the problems with the characters, Peach Fuzz does manage to be charming on occasion, and Cibos shows promise as an up-and-coming artist.

Despite their faults, both Van Von Hunter and Peach Fuzz are pretty good, especially for efforts by young talent. In fact, if these were simply first issues of regular old independent comics, they would make for good first comics by their respective creators. But by publishing them in larger collected editions--the same basic format as the rest of their offerings--TokyoPop has set expectations high. If these comics don't quite meet those expectations, it's not the fault of the creators involved; I would expect that as the series continue, the creators will get more comfortable with working in the medium and produce some fine stories, if not with these titles then certainly with their next efforts.

Rating (for both): 2.5 (of 5)

FCBM Day 26

It's day twenty-six of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Bill Doughty. The five comics that Bill listed are:

1. Legion of Super-Heroes
2. Plastic Man
3. True Story, Swear to God
4. Starman
5. Bone

For Bill I have the first issue of The Sandwalk Adventures, Jay Hosler's story of Charles Darwin explaining natural selection to a mite that lives in his eyebrow.

Like all the selected entries, Bill will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Bill's comics should be in the mail sometime this week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
97 entries
82 free comics sent so far
5 days remaining

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

FCBM Day 25.5

It's still day twenty-five of the YACB Free Comic Book Month! But I've only got a week left, and there's still lots of comcis to give away, so let's give away some more!

Today's second selected entry comes from Michael Wojciak. The five comics that Michael listed are:

1. Gotham Central
2. Y, the Last Man
3. Stray Bullets
4. Daredevil
5. Sleeper

As a fan of crime/procedural comics like Gotham Central, Stray Bullets & Sleeper, Michael should definitely be reading Paul Grist's Kane. So I'll be sending him issues #16-18 to read.

Like all the selected entries, Michael will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Michael's comics should be in the mail sometime this week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
97 entries
80 free comics sent so far
6 days remaining

FCBM Day 25

It's day twenty-five of the YACB Free Comic Book Month! We're now into the final week, and there's still plenty of cool comics to give away!

Today's selected entry comes from Danielle Rich. The five comics that Danielle listed are:

1. Sleeper
2. Gotham Central
3. Runaways
4. Y, the Last Man
5. Nightwing

For Danielle I have Seaguy #1-3, the complete series by Grant Morrison & Cameron Stewart about an unemployed super-hero in a world where evil has been defeated and his quest, along with a flying talking tuna fish, to discover the truth about his world.

Like all the selected entries, Danielle will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Danielle's comics should be in the mail sometime this week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
96 entries
76 free comics sent so far
6 days remaining

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

FCBM Day 24.5

It's still day twenty-four of the YACB Free Comic Book Month; but I feel like giving away another comic!

Today's second selected entry comes from Joshua Studer. The five comics that Joshua listed are:

1. Green Lantern
2. Ultimate Spider-Man
3. Ultimate X-Men
4. PvP
5. The Walking Dead

For Joshua I have The Savage Return of Dracula #1, reprinting stories from the first two issues of the classic Tomb of Dracula series by Gerry Conway, Gene Colan & Vince Colletta.

Like all the selected entries, Joshua will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Joshua's comics should be in the mail sometime this week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
96 entries
72 free comics sent so far
7 days remaining

New This Week: May 25, 2005

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop tomorrow:


The pick of the week is the new Gotham Central collection, Half a Life, collecting what in my opinion is the best story arc from an already very good series, by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark. (BTW, Gotham Central #6, the first issue in this collection, is still up for grabs as part of our Free Comic Book Month.)


In other comics:

AAA Pop have the second issue of Michael Allred's The Golden Plates, adapting the Book of Mormon.

AiT/PlanetLAR have the second collection of Tom Beland's True Story, Swear to God: This One Goes to Eleven.

Beckett have The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty collection.

DC have the first issue of the new Green Lantern series; new issues of The Adventures of Superman (#640), City of Tomorrow (#2), Hellblazer (#208), JLA (#114), Legion of Super-Heroes (#6), The Losers (#24); the final issue of Sleeper season 2 (#12); the second issues of two Infinite Crisis tie-ins: The OMAC Project and Day of Vengeance; and the debut of their new logo on the first issue of the awkwardly-named DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy, with sure-to-be pretty art from Jose-Louis Garcia-Lopez & George Perez.

Fantagraphics have the latest issue of The Comics Journal.

Image have the second issue of The Expatriate and the first issue of Girls by The Luna Brothers.

Kandora have the second issue of Barbarossa and the first issue of Jade Fire.

Marvel have the debut of Machine Teen; the conclusion of Peter David's first new story arc in Incredible Hulk #81; the debut of JMS & Mike McKone on Fantastic Four (#527); and new issues of Captain America (#6), Power Pack (#3), Runaways (#4), Spellbinders (#3), and Ultimates 2 #6).

NBM have the debut of Zorro.

TokyoPop have a new printing of the first volume of Paradise Kiss (it's got very nifty art and a halfway-decent story to boot).

Viper have the third collected edition of Dead at 17: Revolution.

Wizard have the conclusion of New West (#2) with pretty Phil Noto art.


Should be plenty of things for reading over the long holiday weekend!

FCBM Day 24

It's day twenty-four of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Nick Leggatt. The five comics that Nick listed are:

1. Supreme Power
2. Lucifer
3. Queen & Country
4. Hellblazer
5. Catwoman

For Nick I have Rex Mundi #0, the debut issue of the alternate history tale where magic is real and the Reformation never occured. It's by Arvid Nelson, Eric Johnson & Jeromy Cox.

Like all the selected entries, Nick will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Nick's comics should be in the mail sometime this week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
96 entries
70 free comics sent so far
7 days remaining

Monday, May 23, 2005

FCBM Day 23

It's day twenty-three of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Lesley Knieriem. The five comics that Lesley listed are:

1. Fables
2. Ultra
3. Global Frequency
4. We3
5. Rom, the Spaceknight ("I mean, how can you resist a hero based on a cheap Transformers-knockoff toy, who can utter lines like, 'Back, minions of Evil!' completely without irony?")

For Lesley I have My Faith in Frankie #1, the first issue of the should-have-sold-much-better-than-it-did comic by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew & Marc Hempel.

Like all the selected entries, Lesley will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Lesley's comics should be in the mail sometime this week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
96 entries
68 free comics sent so far
8 days remaining

New Library Comics: Week of May 16, 2005

Here are the comics we got in for our library collection last week:


Deitch, Kim. The boulevard of broken dreams /Seattle, WA : Fantagraphic Books, 1993- v.1

Delany, Samuel R. Bread & wine : an erotic tale of New York City /New York : Juno Books, 1999.

Hornschemeier, Paul. Return of the elephant /Richmond, VA : AdHouse Books, 2004.

Takahashi, Rumiko, 1957- Mermaid saga /San Francisco, CA : Viz. v.2

Sunday, May 22, 2005

FCBM Day 22 / Monkey Covers

It's day twenty-two of the YACB Free Comic Book Month, and it's also Sunday, which as regular readers of this blog know means that it's Monkey Covers day. So let's give someone a comic with a monkey on the cover, shall we?

Today's selected entry comes from Jonno Crane. The five comics that Jonno listed are:

1. Spider-Man
2. Wonder Woman
3. Green Lantern
4. Supergirl/Batgirl (Ostrander)
5. X-Men

For Jonno I have today's Monkey Cover: Image Introduces... Primate #1, a 2001 one-shot special from Image & IDW, written by Beau Smith & Kevin Bernhardt and drawn by Mitch Byrd & Ryan Odagawa. The cover is by Michael Beck & Alex Garner.

Like all the selected entries, Jonno will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Jonno's comics should be in the mail early this week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
96 entries
66 free comics sent so far
9 days remaining

Saturday, May 21, 2005

FCBM Day 21

It's day twenty-one of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from James Arnoldi. The five comics that James listed are:

1. Superman (post-Crisis)
2. Kingdom Come
3. Justice League International
4. The Spectre (Ostrander)
5. New Gods (Kirby)

For James I have Blood of the Demon #1, the first issue of post-Crisis Superman architect John Byrne's version of Kirby's classic character (joined by Will Pfeifer & Nelson).

Like all the selected entries, James will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

James's comics should be in the mail early next week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
95 entries
64 free comics sent so far
10 days remaining

Friday, May 20, 2005

FCBM Day 20

It's day twenty of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Susan Smith. Susan listed three comics:

1. Ultimate X-Men
2. Ultimate Spider-Man
3. Fables

And also gave some television shows that she likes: House, CSI, Law & Order SVU, American Dreams, and Joan of Arcadia.

For Susan I have the one-shot comic CSI: Thicker Than Blood #1 by Jeff Mariotte, gabriel Radriguez & Ashley Wood.

Like all the selected entries, Susan will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Susan's comics should be in the mail at the begining of the week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
94 entries
62 free comics sent so far
11 days remaining

Thursday, May 19, 2005

FCBM Day 17 Redux

Chris Tamarri informs me that he's already a big fan of Gotham Central, the sixth issue of which was chosen for him in day 17. So instead I'll be sending him Forsaken #1 by Carmen Treffiletti, Kristian Donaldson and Nick Zagami.

This means that Gotham Central #6 is up for grabs. If you've already sent in your FCBM entry, and would like Gotham Central #6 as your selection, email me and they're yours. If you haven't yet sent in your entry, do so and tell me that you want it. First person who claims it gets it.

FCBM Day 19

It's day nineteen of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Tony Soderquist. The five comics that Tony listed are:

1. Birds of Prey
2. Captain America
3. JSA
4. Teen Titans
5. Daredevil

Now Tony doesn't come right out and say that he's a Star Wars fan, but since today is the opening day of the new movie, I've picked for Tony Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope #1, the first issue of the What If/Elseworlds version of Star Wars by Chris Warner, Drew Johnson & Ray Snyder.

Like all the selected entries, Tony will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Tony's comics should be in the mail at the end of the week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
94 entries
60 free comics sent so far
12 days remaining

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

FCBM Day 18.5

It's still day eighteen of the YACB Free Comic Book Month, but let's give away some more comics, shall we?

Today's second selected entry comes from TangognaT. The five comics that she listed are:

1. Hot Gimmick
2. Human Target
3. Street Angel
4. Astonishing X-Men
5. Hellboy

For TangognaT I have an issue of Walter Crane's mythological fantasy Sheba; vol. 2 #3 to be precise.

Like all the selected entries, she will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

TangognaT's comics should be in the mail at the end of the week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
94 entries
58 free comics sent so far
13 days remaining

Previews-o-Rama part 2: The Middle

We continue now with the second half of our monthly stroll through the lastest Previews for items scheduled to come out in July (loosely defined...):


Abiogenesis Press and Gary Spencer Millidge have the third collection of StrangeHaven, Conspiracies, collecting issues #13-18. Of course, issue #17 just came out a couple of weeks ago, so I imagine that this trade will be delayed well past July. Still, it'll be worth the wait for one of the best comics currently being published.

Active images have another Hip Flask one-shot, Myserty City.

Seal Team Seven graphic novel: The U.S. Navy vs. Atlantis. What more do you need to know? By Zack Sherman & Roberto de la Torre, from AiT/PlanetLAR.

It's official: Alias have bitten off way more than they can handle in trying to launch so many series in the span of a few months. Still, I'll be glad to see Opposite Forces make a return, especially with a 75 cent first issue. Penny & Aggie also continue, and they have a trade collection of Lions, Tigers & Bears. Oh yeah, and a comic called Monkey in a Wagon vs. Lemur on a Big Wheel--forget Rann vs. Thanagar, this is the comic showdown of the year! (I'm rooting for monkey, of course!)

Alternative Comics have Andrew Drozd's Xeric Award-winning Coexisting one-shot.

Hey look, it's a new issue of Roman Dirge's Lenore--must be a blue moon or something...

The good news is that Ben Dunn is returning to Antarctic's Ninja High School with issue #130. The bad news is that for some strange reason he's only drawing it, and not writing. As a bonus of sorts, Antarctic also have the first five Ninja High School Pocket Manga volumes in a set for just $30--and all 23 issues are original Ben Dunn.

I count seven different covers for Avatar's Medieval Lady Death/Belladonna #1, and that's seven covers too many.

Basement Comics are offering remastered versions of Budd Root's original Cavewoman series starting with the first issue of Cavewoman: Reloaded.

Buymetoys.com (what a name for a comic company--I wonder where their true business intentions lie?) have a 'preview' of The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles. I wonder if the Zoo Crew will make an appearance? (And if you get that reference, you are a big comic geek!)

Del Rey have the second volumes of both Genshiken and Nodame Cantiabile.

Hey look: Devil's Due have yet another reboot/version of G.I. Joe. Hasn't anyone told them that the 80's toy comic craze is over? On the positive side though, they have the second voluem collecting Shades of Blue in digest form. Fans of comics like Electric Girl and Runaways should check this one out.

Drawn & Quarterly have the third volume of the Drawn & Quarterly Showcase.

Disney have a Manga GN adaptation of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas; I liked the movie, but part of the charm was all of Tim Burton's character designs--what exactly is this point of turning out a manga-ized version?

"The Great Cow Race" was my favorite Bone storyline, and now it's available ina smaller, colorized edition from Graphix.

HK Comics have a revised & expanded hardcover edition of Andy Seto's gorgeous Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon adaptation, and it even comes with a 4" letter opener sword replica. (I'd rather they knocked a few buck off the price of the book...)

Disney's W.I.T.C.H. comics finally come Stateside thanks to two kid-friendly-priced GN collections from Hyperion Books.

IDW have the third volume of The Legend of Grimjack, collecting issues #8-14 of the original series. Angel: The Curse also continues with a second issue and three too many covers.

Illusive Arts have the fourth issue of their modern day fumetti version of Dorothy.

Jetpack have a new issue of Johnny Raygun Quarterly (#6).

A seventh collected volume of Carla Speed McNeil's Finder, The Rescuers, appears thanks to Lightspeed Press.

Mu Press have Those Annoying Post Bros. & Nik Turner In: The Anubis Horn, an OGN from Matt Howarth. It's The Necronomicon & a member of Hawkwind, together again for the first time!

NBM's Cryptozoo Crew is switching over to trades only, and the first volume reprints the first two comic issues along with additional material.

The Tick: Days of Drama: "Each issue has an 8-page all-new four-color mini-comic attached to the cover!" Have New England Comics gone completely mad?

Banana Sundays #1 is a comic about a new kid in school who also happens to be the guardian of three talkling monkeys. Do Oni know me or what? They also have the first issue of Ted Naifeh's Courtney Crumrin Tales.

Seven Seas have the second volume of Amazing Agent Luna; really folks this is better than you think it's going to be. Go to your local bookstore and check out the first volume; if you like it, tell you LCS to order the second volume for you.

Chocolate Thunder, which I pre-ordered from Amazon nearly a year ago, appears as though it may finally appear from Speakeasy Comics.

Top Shelf have Rich Koslowski's The King OGN, about an Elvis Impersonator who thinks he is the real thing.

M. Alice LeGrow's Bizenghast looks like it could be an 'American manga' winner from TokyoPop; it's got that whole cute-goth thing going for it. They also have their fifth Rising Stars of Manga collection.

Viper Comics debut two new series: Middleman and Karma Incorporated.

Ranma 1/2 is up to volume 31? Just how many times can Takahashi do variations on the same joke? Vix also have the ninth volume of Banana Fish.

Wilson Place Comics have a second volume of WJHC, Hold Tight!

FCBM Day 18

It's day eighteen of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Steve Pham. The five comics that Steve listed are:

1. The Dark Knight Returns
2. Watchmen
3. Doom Patrol
4. Hellboy
5. Marvel 1602

Steve likes Elsworlds-type tales, and Mike Mignola's Hellboy, so for Steve I have Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham #1, the Elseworlds story of a Batman encountering Lovecraftian horrors written by Mike Mignola & Richard Case, and drawn by Troy Nixey & Dennis Janke.

Like all the selected entries, Steve will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Steve's comics should be in the mail at the end of the week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
94 entries
56 free comics sent so far
13 days remaining

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

FCBM Day 17

It's day seventeen of the YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Today's selected entry comes from Chris Tamarri. The five comics that Chris listed are:

1. Anderson Gabrych's work in the Batbooks
2. Demo
3. Planetary
4. Seven Soldiers
5. Stray Bullets

For Chris I have Gotham Central #6, the first chapter of the "Half a Life" serial by Greg Rucka & Michael Lark.

Like all the selected entries, Dave will also receive a copy of the 32-page Free Comic Book Day Preview Edition of Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon and Shad Petosky).

Chris's comics should be in the mail at the end of the week. Enjoy!


Current FCBM Statistics:
94 entries
54 free comics sent so far
14 days remaining

New This Week: May 18, 2005

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop tomorrow:


The Pick of the Week is The Losers: Trifecta, the third collected edition of Andy Diggle & Jock's Vertigo series. More black-ops on the run with that wonderful Jock artwork.


In other comics:

Aeon have the penultimate issue of Matt Howarth's Bugtown mini (#5).

Antarctic have the penultimate issues Ben Dunn's Heaven Sent (#10) and Fred Perry's mini-run on Ninja High School (#128).

Dark Horse have a new issue of The Goon (#12) and the fourth volume of Samurai Executioner.

DC continue to piss off manga porn fans with the second volume of Tenjho Tenge. They also have new issues of Authority: Revolution (#8), Birds of Prey (#82), Ex Machina (#11), JLA Classified (#7), Lucifer (#62), Manhunter (#10), Plastic Man (#16), and Seven Soldier: Guardian (#2); the debut of a new regular creative team on Superman (#217); and a new Green Lantern Secret Files.

Image have the final issue of Lions, Tigers & Bears (#4) and new collections of Rex Mundi (vol. 2), and The Walking Dead (vol. 3).

Marvel have trades for New Thunderbolts (vol. 1) and Powers (vol. 8), and a new issue of New Thunderbolts (#8).

Oni have the collection of Sam Kieth's Ojo.

TokyoPop have a ton of manga releases. None appeal to me, although I understand that many enjoy Fruits Basket and will want to pick up vol. 9.

Monday, May 16, 2005

Previews-o-Rama part 1: The Front

It's time to go through the latest Previews to discover the good, the bad, and the strange:


Dark Horse

To lead up to this fall's Serenity movie, Firefly creator Joss Whedon and writer Brett Matthews bring us a three-issue Serenity mini that will tell a tale set between the end of the series and the start of the movie. Oh I'm sure it'll be collected into a rapid trade, but I'm a big enough Firefly geek that I'll pick it up in comics form, which is rare for me with Dark Horse these days. Alas they'll be doing a multiple covers thing with each issue, but I'll just ignore that and go with the Jayne cover by Bryan Hitch, 'cause he's one of my favorite characters.

Michael Chabon takes over the entire issue of Michael Chabon Presents the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist #7, with a full-length sotry drawn by veteran artist Eduardo Barreto.

Shadow Rock looks like it could be interesting, but 80 pages for $10 is going to look migthy thin on the bookstore shelves next to the 200 page manga volumes.

Apparently Emily the Strange has been a pop culture phenomenon for 10 years, yet I've never even heard of her before. But if you have, you might be interested in her overpriced debut comic.

Manga offerings from Dark Horse include a seventh volume of Samurai Executioner and Japan, a single volume offering from Buronson & Kentaro Miura (set in Spain, of course!)


DC Comics

You know, All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder will probably be available for eventual purpose in multiple formats: first as comics, then as 2 hardcover collections, the as two softcover collections, then as a single expensive Absolute edition. Yet I'm sure that the first issue of the comic will be a huge seller. I'll predict it now: between 300,000 and 350,000 in the direct market. (That will include reorders and second, third, etc. printings). Nowhere near early nineties numbers, but still big. Of course, that will probably mean that retailers will adjust their numbers downward on other books, meaning the middle will get squeezed out even further.

You might be tempted to go for the Nightwing: Year One trade collection; but instead I'd recommend the Batgirl: Year One collection (being reoffered this month), as it not only has a better story, but also really nifty art from Marcos Martin & Alvaro Lopez (who are being completely wasted on Breach these days).

All of the Superman titles apparently cross over with each other and Wonder Woman this month. They should either let each title exist on its own or go back to the old 'triangle' days. Interrupting storylines every few issues for a crossover is the worst of both worlds.

There is really no reason to buy the Superman: For Tomorow hardcovers. Dodgy story aside, if you didn't buy the individual issues when they came out, you should either wait for the softcovers, or else wait for the single Absolute edition which will surely be out by the end of the year.

Who the heck asked for JLA/Cyberforce? was there really a fan outcry for this crossover? Or did Joe Kelly have such a great story that could only be told by uniting two teams from different companies? (One of which can't even support its own title!) I'd bet 'no' on both. Much more likely that a DC editor and a Top Cow editor got drunk in a bar at a convention last year and thought that this would be a good idea. you know, if we brought back prohibition, maybe there'd be a lot fewer useless crappy comics...

Warren Ellis and Butch Guide come aboard for a six-part JLA Classified arc. So far they're bringing out the big guns for this title, but how long until we're seeing the likes of Chuck Austen or Anderson Gabrych churning out stories and sales sinking down past the 20K range?

JSA Classified (gee, where'd they get the idea for that title?) kicks off with a story about Power Girl's breasts.

Gee, I'm being awfully pissy this month...

Okay, here's something nice to say: Against all odds, Kelley Puckett & Warren Pleece's Focus series, Kinetic, is being collected into an inexpensive trade (just $10 for all eight issues). The solictation doesn't say, but I'm guessing that this will be in the same smaller format as the Bite Club collection.

Plastic Man #17. More Kyle Baker. Every issue is a victory.

Seven Soldiers continues with the third issues of Guardian and Zatanna. Ryan Sook's art is so good that I don't even mind that the Zatanna cover is total cheesecake.

So if they're changing the DC logo, will they be changing that ugly huge Johnny DC logo too?

Wildstorm debut Silent Dragon by Andy Diggle & Leinil Francis Yu; I'll wait for the trade, if I get it at all.

I'm totally geeked about Jill Thompson's The Dead Boy Detectives pseudo manga.

Promethea's fifth and final volume comes out in hardcover, though I'm sure there will be a softcover in a couple of months.

100 Bullets and Y, the Last Man both get new trade collections.


Image

Bonerest by Matteo Casali & Guiseppe Camuncoli looks like it could be good, but base doneh preview it also looks like it'll be the kind of decompressed story that'll read better in a collection. I think I'll wait.

Just a few weeks ago I was going through some of my old comics and came across the second version of Jaw Lee's Hellshock; I wondered to myself if he'd ever get around to finishing it. Well he is, combining a new conclusion with the first three issues in a trade collection.

There's really nothing I can say about Guncandy that you can't determine for yourself by looking at the cover image of an upskirt shot of a thin blond girl with a big gun in one hand and sucking on a big peppermint stick with the other.

Todd Nauck has two issues of a new two-issue Wildguard series, Fool's Gold. Would it not have made more sense to siply release this as one double-sized one-shot?

Sea of Red gets a trade collection at a rather inexpensive $9.


Marvel

Hey look, lots and lots of "House of M" tie-ins, come to interrupt some of your favorite comics with yet another alternate timeline story. Aren't you excited?!

Marvel are promoting their Ultimate line with "Ultimate Starts" month, with 4 of the 5 titles starting new storyline. I bet however that more than one person will take this as "Ultimate Switch Over to Waiting for the Trades" month.

Dave Lapham doing a Daredevil vs. Punisher mini? I'm oddly intrigued...

I am, however, greatly anticipating Giffen, DeMatteis & Maguire on the Defenders mini. Face it, the Defenders are a team that just cries out to be taken only half seriously.


Not only is Peter David doing a "House of M" tie-in in the regular Hulk title, but he's also writing Hulk: Destruction, a mini that will attempt to tie together the origin(s) of the Abomination. Guess PAD is out of the ol' doghouse at the House of Ideas.

It looks as though instead of going straight to trade, Marvel is going straight to hardcover on their most popular titles instead, as evidenced this month by hardcover collections of Captain America & New Avengers. Still, they're only slightly more expensive than buying the individual issues, and there are no ads. (Just artwork and dialogue lost in the gutters...)

Machine Teen. Spellbinders. Livewires. GLA. Runaways. Gravity. All the kind of slightly-different titles that people say they want to see more of from Marvel, yet also don't seem to sell.

Does anyone else find it amusing that The Pulse "Secret War" tie-in is getting collected before the final issue of the regular Secret War series comes out? No? It's just me?

Here's my public service solicitation comment for hte month: If you were waiting for hte trade on the Doctor Spectrum series, you can safely just skip it entirely. Nothing important happened, and it was massively decompressed.

Actually, if you're looking to get a Marvel trade this month, go for the new printing of James Sturm & Guy Davis's Unstable Molecules.


Wizard

A Michael Turner Millennium Edition Limited Deluxe Hardcover? As if I wasn't depressed enough...