Welcome to a special late edition of “Can’t Wait for Wednesday”! Stupid real life always gettin’ in the way …

It’s Tokyopop’s week, as the publisher unleashes a whopping 25 titles, including nine new series. Compare that with DC’s 31 titles (only six of them are trade paperbacks/collections), and Marvel’s 21 (five trade paperbacks/collections). That’s a lot of manga.

For a rundown of the titles — and not only Tokyopop’s — that Chris Mautner and I think are worth special mention, just click “more.”

And, as always, let us know your choices in the comments below.

Chris Mautner’s pick of the week: DUNGEON PARADE, VOL. 2: DAY OF THE TOADS

In terms of combining artistic sophistication with down-to-Earth genre thrills, Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim’s Dungeon series has everyone else beat by a good few miles. Manu Larcenet jumps on board for this one, a collection of two short stories that focus more on the comedy end of the comedy/fantasy adventure pairing. My pick of the week.

Kevin Melrose’s pick of the week: O-PARTS HUNTER, VOL. 5

Seishi Kishimoto’s fantasy-adventure series — known, delightfully, as 666 Satan outside of North America — is one of my guilty pleasures. It’s Dragon Ball meets Naruto meets Pokemon meets Scientology meets Kabbalah. It’s unnecessarily complex, with its O-part Tacticians, angels and demons, yet it’s strangely addictive. The fight scenes are overblown and crackling with energy, and the primary protagonist, Jio, is a kid with his red eye toward world domination. What’s not to like about that?

JUN070155 BOOSTER GOLD #1 $3.50
MAY078333 BOOSTER GOLD VAR ED #1 $3.50

Kevin: I remember liking Dan Jurgens’ mid-’80s Booster Gold series, largely because the concept wasn’t anything I’d seen before: Unscrupulous 25th-century athlete-turned-night watchman Michael Jon Carter steals several museum items, including a Legion flight ring, Brainiac 5′s force-field belt and Rip Hunter’s Time-Sphere, and travels back to the late 20th century. There, he becomes a celebrity superhero, with endorsement contracts, movie deals and the like. Later, of course, he played a central role in the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League and, more recently, in DC’s 52. Now he’s back with this time-hopping series that would appear to be made of leftover parts from that year-long event: The time stream is still in trouble, and only Booster can set things right. Maybe this is how DC will complete the reset of its universe to 1985-86.

JUN070188 FLASH #231 $2.99

Kevin: After clearing the decks last month with All-Flash, Mark Waid and Daniel Acuna kick off their run on Wally West & Family with a storyline that’s “destined to be one of the most talked-about tales of 2007!”

MAY070226 GOOD AS LILY $9.99

Kevin: DC’s new Minx line has been pretty solid so far, and I have a feeling that Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm’s Good As Lily may end up being one of the standouts of the first wave of books.

JUN070200 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12 (NOTE PRICE) $3.50
JUN070201 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VAR ED #12 (NOTE PRICE) $3.50

Kevin: Brad Meltzer’s year-long stint ends with a day-in-the-life story that includes more wonderful art by Eric Wight.

APR070219 WILL EISNERS SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL 22 HC $49.99

Chris: Gah … getting so far … behind … on handsome archive … collections … Need … cash … infusion …

JUN072234 DP 7 CLASSIC VOL 1 TP $24.99

Chris: DP 7 was one of the better books that came out of the New Universe experiment, mainly due to Mark Gruenwald’s keen observational prose and Paul Ryan’s detailed art work. I don’t know if my fondness for the title is strong enough to get me to drop $25, but I’d at least thumb through it while at the store.

JUN072216 NEWUNIVERSAL VOL 1 EVERYTHING WENT WHITE PREM HC $19.99

Chris: Speaking of the New Universe, here’s Warren Ellis and Salvador Larroca’s revamp of the not-so-lamented Marvel line. A few critics have felt the series is too overly familiar of other, better sci-fi books, but I’m enjoying it so far. And I’m not just saying that because I misquoted Ellis the other day.

APR073908 BETTY BLUES GN $10.00

Chris: Now here’s something that caught me completely by surprise. This is an award-winning French book by Renaud Dillies, which, I’m assuming, has been translated for an American audience. I’ll let Last Gasp detail the plot: “Musician Little Rice Duck has the blues. His fiancee, Betty, charmed by goblets of champagne and money, has left him to follow a sinister and rich cat. In despair, Duck gives up his trumpet and empty-handedly runs as far away as possible. How can he continue to play the blues when he has lost his faith?” This one will likely be tough to locate, but it might be worth the hunt.

JUN073617 BABY SITTERS CLUB VOL 3 MARY ANNE SAVES THE DAY SC $8.99

Chris: Rania Telgemeier’s adaptations of the popular Scholastic series are solid, cute books that you can pass on to your daughter without a fear in the world. To an extent they suffer from a bit of blandness — it’s hard to tell the individual babysitters apart, personality-wise — but they’re engaging and fun and have enough of a wide berth for little girls to project their own personalities into.

FEB073430 DOG AND WATER DEFINITIVE ED HC (MR) $19.95

Chris: I’m pretty sure this should say Dogs & Water, since this is the definitive hardcover edition of Anders Nilsen’s 2004 story about a man transversing a desolate landscape with only a teddy bear for a companion. At night he dreams of drowning. It’s a haunting, evocative work that I highly recommend. You can download a PDF preview here.

MAY073506 LIFE AFTER BLACK BARRON STOREY THE JOURNALS HC $49.00

Chris: I don’t know anything about this other than it’s a collection of Storey’s journals. The fact that Storey is one of the most idiosyncratic and original people to ever have worked in comics makes me want to check this out, though.

MAY073734 MISSING KAMIKAKUSHI NO MONOGATARI VOL 1 GN (OF 3) $9.99

Kevin: The adaptation of Gakuto Coda’s light novel appeals to my horror and folklore sensibilities. I’ve heard of Coda’s work, but I confess to not knowing anything about this series beyond the Tokyopop description. Still, I think I’ll be picking this up.

MAY073745 MY CAT LOKI VOL 2 GN (OF 3) $9.99

Kevin: The first volume of Bettina Kurkoski’s global manga was touching and charming, and I expect more of the same from the follow-up. You can sample both volumes here.

MAY073660 NARCOLEPTIC SUNDAY GN (MR) $14.95

Kevin: I love a good crime story, particularly the high-concept ones. In Jeremy Haun and Brian Koschak’s Narcoleptic Sunday, narcoleptic Jack Larch awakes from a one-night stand to find the girl of his dreams murdered and himself the prime suspect. You can read a 22-page preview here.

MAY073733 UNDERTOWN GN $9.99

Kevin: More global manga from Tokyopop, this time about a boy who’s “so sad that tears have literally stained his cheeks” because his father has only a month to live. The boy crawls under his bed, where he finds a portal to another world where he searches for a magical object — The Sugar Stone! — that might save his dad. It sounds a little too precious — The Sugar Stone! — but the bit about his tear-stained cheeks is, I don’t know, intriguing? Robert Smith-esque?

MAY073593 YESTERDAYS TOMORROWS GN $47.50

Chris: Must be European week at the Diamond household. This is an impressive, hardbound collection of hard-to-find comics by British artist Rian Hughes, best known on these shores for his work with Grant Morrison on Dare, a radical reimagining of British hero Dan Dare. This book collects that series, as well as a number of other notable comics from the past few decades. I may have to dip into savings and pick this up. It’s too goodof an opportunity. (You can read an interview with Hughes here, by the way).

JUN073490 ZOMBIE HIGHWAY DIRECTIONLESS (MR) $3.99

Kevin: Full disclosure: I work on the BloodRayne comics, from Digital Webbing Press, which publishes Zombie Highway. Also, I’m not a big fan of the zombie subgenre. With all of that out of the way, I enjoy Jason Pell’s comics about a convertible-load of friends making their way across the zombie-infested country. You can read a preview here.

Here’s the full list of comics shipping this week:

DARK HORSE COMICS

FEB070139 CLASSIC DC CHARACTER #4 THE FLASH $49.95
JUN070017 REX MUNDI DH ED #7 $2.99
JAN070105 SERENITY PVC SET $17.99

DC COMICS

JUN070148 ACTION COMICS #854 (CD) $2.99
JUN070151 AMAZONS ATTACK #5 (OF 6) $2.99
MAY070201 APOTHECARIUS ARGENTUM VOL 2 $9.99
JUN070183 AQUAMAN SWORD OF ATLANTIS #55 $2.99
JUN070263 ARMY @ LOVE #6 (MR) $2.99
JAN070385 BATMAN MINI STATUE II BY JIM LEE $49.99
JUN070194 BLACK CANARY #4 (OF 4) $2.99
JUN070155 BOOSTER GOLD #1 $3.50
MAY078333 BOOSTER GOLD VAR ED #1 $3.50
JUN070187 BRAVE AND THE BOLD #6 $2.99
JUN070150 CATWOMAN #70 (AA) $2.99
MAY070144 CATWOMAN ITS ONLY A MOVIE TP $19.99
JUN070185 CHECKMATE #17 $2.99
JUN070143 COUNTDOWN 37 $2.99
JUN070188 FLASH #231 $2.99
MAY070163 FLASH GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD $19.99
JUN070254 FRIDAY THE 13TH PAMELAS TALE #2 (OF 2) (MR) $2.99
MAY070226 GOOD AS LILY $9.99
JUN070244 GRIFTER MIDNIGHTER #6 (OF 6) $2.99
JUN070272 HELLBLAZER #235 (MR) $2.99
JUN070250 HIGHWAYMEN #3 (OF 5) $2.99
JUN070200 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12 (NOTE PRICE) $3.50
JUN070201 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VAR ED #12 (NOTE PRICE) $3.50
JUN070227 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #5 $2.25
JUN070274 LOVELESS #19 (RES) (MR) $2.99
JUN070232 MAD MAGAZINE #481 $3.99
MAY070204 MUSASHI #9 VOL 12 $9.99
JUN070161 OUTSIDERS FIVE OF A KIND WEEK 3 THUNDER MARTIAN MANHUNTER $2.99
JUN070251 PROGRAMME #2 (OF 12) $2.99
JUN070169 ROBIN #165 $2.99
JUN070211 SHADOWPACT #16 $2.99
JUN070176 SUPERMAN BATMAN #39 $2.99
MAR070280 SUPERMAN VS DOOMSDAY COLLECTORS SET $29.99
APR070219 WILL EISNERS SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL 22 HC $49.99

IMAGE COMICS

JUN071882 KILLING GIRL #1 (OF 5) (MR) $2.99
JUN071939 RIPCLAW PILOT SEASON #1 $2.99
MAR071854 SPAWN #170 $2.95

MARVEL COMICS

JUN072136 ANNIHILATION CONQUEST QUASAR #2 (OF 4) $2.99
JUN072142 CAPTAIN AMERICA #29 CWI $2.99
JUN072234 DP 7 CLASSIC VOL 1 TP $24.99
JUN072130 FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #23 $2.99
JUN072223 IRON MAN DIRECTOR OF SHIELD TP (JUL068577) $14.99
JUN072165 MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #2 $2.99
JUN072170 MARVEL ADVENTURES TWO-IN-ONE #2 $4.99
JUN072124 MARVEL ILLUSTRATED TREASURE ISLAND #3 (OF 6) $2.99
JUN072215 NEW AVENGERS VOL 6 PREMIERE HC $19.99
JUN072190 NEW X-MEN #41 $2.99
JUN072216 NEWUNIVERSAL VOL 1 EVERYTHING WENT WHITE PREM HC $19.99
JUN072207 RED PROPHET TALES OF ALVIN MAKER #10 (OF 12) $2.99
JUN072135 SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #4 $4.99
JUN072177 SUB-MARINER #3 (OF 6) CWI $2.99
JUN072185 SUPER VILLAIN TEAM UP MODOKS 11 #2 (OF 5) $2.99
JUN072202 TERROR INC #1 (OF 5) (MR) $3.99
MAY078330 THOR 2ND PTG COIPEL VAR #1 $2.99
JUN072127 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #112 $2.99
JUN072198 WOLVERINE ORIGINS #16 $3.99
JUN072217 WOLVERINE ORIGINS VOL 3 SWIFT AND TERRIBLE PREM HC $19.99
JUN078152 WORLD WAR HULK MATCH TO #3 (OF 5) $3.99

WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT

MAY073105 AVENGERS CLASSIC #1 ART ADAMS CVR CGC 9.8 ED PI
APR073264 SILVER SURFER REQUIEM #1 CGC 9.8 PI
MAY073093 SUB MARINER #1 TURNER CVR CGC 9.8 ED PI
JUN073147 WIZARD ANIME INSIDER DEATH NOTE CVR #48 (NOTE PRICE) $4.99
MAY073103 WORLD WAR HULK #1 FINCH CVR CGC 9.8 ED PI

OTHER PUBLISHERS
MAY073687 2000 AD #1547 $4.10
JUN073808 2000 AD #1548 $4.10
MAY073522 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #63 (A) $4.99
APR073762 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY MEGA BUNDLE #5 (A) $18.00
JUN073573 ARCHAIC #8 (NOTE PRICE) $3.50
JUN073250 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #112 $2.25
JUN073251 ARCHIE DIGEST #237 $2.49
MAY073728 ATELIER MARIE AND ELIE ZARLBURG ALCHEMIST VOL 1 GN (OF 5) $9.99
JUN073617 BABY SITTERS CLUB VOL 3 MARY ANNE SAVES THE DAY SC $8.99
MAY073835 BASARA VOL 24 TP $9.99
MAY073758 BATTLE VIXENS VOL 12 GN (OF 12) (MR) $9.99
JUN073426 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA CYLON APOCALYPSE #1 SET $14.00
APR073573 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA CYLON SILVER FOIL CVR #12 PI
APR073908 BETTY BLUES GN $10.00
MAY073749 BEYOND THE BEYOND VOL 4 GN (OF 4) $9.99
MAY073185 BIZARRE NEW WORLD #3 (OF 3) $3.50
MAY073740 BIZENGHAST VOL 3 GN (OF 5) $9.99
MAY073732 BOMBOS VS EVERYTHING VOL 1 GN (OF 3) $9.99
MAY073799 BOOKS WITH PICTURES #6 (OF 6) $2.95
MAY073836 BOYS OVER FLOWERS VOL 25 TP $9.99
MAY073312 CEST BON ANTHOLOGY VOL 3 GN (MR) $17.95
JUN073853 CHARLEYS WAR VOL 1 HC (O/A) $19.95
MAY073739 CHIBI VAMPIRE VOL 5 GN (OF 10) (MR) $9.99
JUN073755 CLASH #1 (OF 5) $3.50
JUN073582 CONVENTION PREVIEW FULL CIRCLE II & THICKER THAN BLOOD 2007 $2.25
JUN073833 DEATH COMES TO DILLINGER COLL ED (O/A) $6.99
MAY073434 DF NEW AVENGERS TRANSFORMERS #1 SGN $19.99
FEB073430 DOG AND WATER DEFINITIVE ED HC (MR) $19.95
APR073941 DRACULA VS KING ARTHUR LTD ED HC (RES) $29.95
MAY073753 DRAGON KNIGHTS VOL 25 GN (OF 25) $9.99
MAR073384 DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES VOL 3 MANIAK CVR A #3 (OF 12) $3.50
MAR073385 DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES VOL 3 WALPOLE CVR B #3 (OF 12) $5.50
MAY073631 DUNGEON PARADE VOL 1 TP (O/A) $9.95
MAY073629 DUNGEON PARADE VOL 2 TP DAY OF THE TOADS $9.95
JUN073940 EXPENDABLE ONE VOL 2 BOOB VS BOOBS GN (MR) $11.95
JUN073690 FALLEN ANGEL IDW VOL 3 TP $19.99
APR074372 FATE STAY NIGHT TV ANIMATION PRODUCTION DRAWINGS $46.99
MAR073180 FATHOM KIANI #3 $2.99
APR073287 FEMFORCE #140 $6.95
MAY073844 FLAME OF RECCA VOL 24 TP $9.99
JUN073455 FORGOTTEN REALMS VOL 5 STREAMS SILVER TP $18.99
JUN073542 FOURTH HORSEMAN #1 (OF 4) (MR) $3.99
MAY073726 FRUITS BASKET VOL 17 GN (OF 22) $9.99
MAY073765 FUMI YOSHINAGAS TRULY KINDLY GN (MR) $9.99
MAY073191 GEARHEAD #4 (OF 4) (MR) $3.95
MAY073385 GI JOE STORM SHADOW #3 $3.50
JUN073225 GOLD DIGGER #88 $2.99
JAN073781 GREAT CATSBY VOL 5 GN (OF 6) (MR) $19.99
JUN073981 HAYATE COMBAT BUTLER VOL 2 TP (NOV063970) $9.99
MAY073847 HAYATE COMBAT BUTLER VOL 4 TP $9.99
JUN073378 IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE (A) $9.00
MAY073756 INITIAL D VOL 27 GN (OF 32) $9.99
MAY073849 INU YASHA ANI MANGA VOL 22 GN $11.99
MAR073687 JAMES BOND DEATH WING TP $16.95
MAY073683 JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #261 $7.50
JUN073726 KODT BUNDLE OF TROUBLE VOL 20 TP $11.99
MAY073851 LAW OF UEKI VOL 7 TP $9.99
MAY073506 LIFE AFTER BLACK BARRON STOREY THE JOURNALS HC $49.00
MAY073766 LOVE MODE VOL 6 GN (OF 11) (A) $9.99
MAY073767 LOVE PISTOLS VOL 2 GN (OF 4) (A) $9.99
APR073888 LOVE THE WAY YOU LOVE #5 (MR) $5.95
MAY073741 LOVELESS VOL 6 GN (OF 7) (TKP) (MR) $9.99
MAR073640 MAINTENANCE #4 (MR) $3.50
MAY073734 MISSING KAMIKAKUSHI NO MONOGATARI VOL 1 GN (OF 3) $9.99
MAY073763 MITSUKAZU MIHARA THE EMBALMER VOL 4 GN (OF 5) (MR) $9.99
MAY073742 MUGEN SPIRAL VOL 2 GN (OF 2) $9.99
MAY073745 MY CAT LOKI VOL 2 GN (OF 3) $9.99
MAY073660 NARCOLEPTIC SUNDAY GN (MR) $14.95
MAY073165 NINJA HIGH SCHOOL #152 $2.99
MAY073852 NO NEED FOR TENCHI VOL 11 2ND ED TP $9.99
JUN073985 O PARTS HUNTER VOL 2 TP (NOV063976) $9.99
JUN073986 O PARTS HUNTER VOL 3 TP (JAN073972) $9.99
MAY073853 O PARTS HUNTER VOL 5 TP $9.99
MAY073781 PANEL DISCUSSION NEW PTG TP $24.95
MAY073725 PEACE MAKER VOL 1 GN (OF 6) (MR) $9.99
MAY073729 PICK O/T LITTER VOL 1 GN (OF 4) $9.99
APR073910 PIN UP WINGS HC (MR) $30.00
MAY073313 PIRACY IS LIBERATION VOL 2 INFOTRIP GN (MR) $13.95
JUN073379 PORKY #2 (A) $9.00
JUN073694 ROAD TO HELL TP (APR068181) $12.99
JUN073681 SCARFACE DEVIL IN DISGUISE #2 (MR) $3.99
OCT063158 SHRUGGED #6 $2.99
JUN073332 SIMPSONS COMICS #133 $2.99
JUN073264 SONIC X #23 $2.25
JUN073683 SPIKE SHADOW PUPPETS #3 $3.99
MAY073735 ST LUNATIC HIGH SCHOOL VOL 1 GN (OF 2) $9.99
MAY073730 STAND BY YOUTH VOL 1 GN (OF 5) (MR) $9.99
JUN073616 TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE #2 GCC EX ARCEE CVR $12.99
MAY073858 TREASURE VOL 2 GN (MR) $12.95
MAY073733 UNDERTOWN GN $9.99
MAY073731 WE SHADOWS GN $9.99
JAN073913 WIZARD KING TRILOGY BOOK 2 ODKIN SON OF ODKIN (MR) $12.95
JUN073358 X ISLE VOL 1 TP $14.99
MAY073593 YESTERDAYS TOMORROWS GN $47.50
MAY073320 YOKO TSUNO VOL 1 ON THE EDGE OF LIFE TP $9.99
MAY073764 YUBISAKI MILK TEA VOL 5 GN (OF 7) (MR) $9.99
MAY073854 ZATCH BELL VOL 14 GN $9.99
JUN073583 ZED #8 $3.50
JUN073490 ZOMBIE HIGHWAY DIRECTIONLESS (MR) $3.99

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