Did you hate the little cartoons I used to do to kick this column off each week? Then good news! I just lost access to the scanner I used to use to send them into the Internet, and probably won’t be able to upload any for awhile (Unless there are any millionaires in the reading audience who would like to buy me a scanner of my own). Did you like them? Oh. Well, then I guess it’s bad news.
But whether there are colored pencil drawings of dubious quality or not, it’s still the night before Wednesday, which means it’s time to take our weekly look at what’s coming out this week. Ready?
Almost Silent: This 300-page, $25 hardcover collects a quartet of one-named comics creator Jason almost silent works, including several that have been out of print for a while. You Can’t Get There from Here, Tell Me Something, Meow, Baby and The Living and the Dead are all included, and that last one’s got zombies in it…you all still like zombies, right? This should look fine sitting next to Low Moon on a bookshelf.
Dark Avengers #14: This week’s Siege tie-in, and it’s…kind of a big deal, I think? I don’t know, the solicitation sounds like free verse poetry to me: “Is this a hero reborn or a eulogy?” It also promises “the most pivotal moment” in The Sentry’s life, so that’s something. It’s by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, and it will cost you four bones. If you’re a little behind on your Dark Avengers and need to get caught up, this week also sees the release of the second collection of the series so far, Dark Avengers Vol. 2: Molecule Man is a $20, 110-page hardcover collecting #9-#12 of the hit series.
Devil #1: Madhouse, the anime studio responsible for Trigun, Ninja Scroll and Paprika, are producing this four-issue, Western-style (i.e. not manga) comic book series. Torajiro Kishi is the writer/artist, and the premise is a new take on vampires. It should definitely be worth a look. Preview here.
DC Universe Origins: Hey remember those neat little two-page origin stories that appeared in the back of 52 and Countdown? Well DC’s gathered them all up into a single $15, 145-page trade paperback. Mark Waid, Scott Beatty and Len Wein wrote ‘em, and they were drawn by a who’s who roster of artists, many of them perfectly suited to the subject. There should be about 50 characters covered, everyone from Animal Man to Zatanna, according to the solicitation.
Ghostbusters: Tainted Love: IDW’s latest Ghostbusters holiday special focuses on a holiday not usually known for it’s ghosts and goblins—Valentine’s Day. The $4 one-shot is by writer Dara Naraghi and artist Salgood Sam. I’ll have more on this later in the week, but I read a preview copy and it was one of the better Ghostbusters comics I’ve read in the last few years. Please note if you live on the east coast, this and several other IDW books won’t show up in your shops until next week, due to a pretty terrible accident. Preview here.
Green Lantern #51: This week’s Blackest Night business consists of both Green Lantern books. In Geoff Johns, Dough Mahnke and Christian Alamy’s Green Latntern #51, Hal Jordan and his multi-colored corps continue their battle with the Black Lantern Spectre, and in Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Rebecca Buchman’s Green Lantern Corps #45, um, well, Guy Gardner and a chainsaw seem to be involved:
Hulk #20: Do you prefer your Marvel crossovers slightly smaller in scale than Siege? Say, confined to a single family of books? Then there’s always “Fall of the Hulks,” the Hulk franchise crossover. This week brings Hulk #20 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, and Incredible Hulk #607 by Fred Van Lente, Greg Pak, Jeff Parker, Paul Pelletier and Ryan Stegman. Both books are $4, but Inc. Hulk has a back-up featuring Red She-Hulk.
Magog #6: This month’s issue of the surprisingly still not canceled Magog guest-stars Power Girl. We have a preview of it on the main page; the first page makes mention of the cleavage cut-out, and page three has an unfortunately drawn panel which makes it look like Magog is groping PG. Keith Giffen, Howard Porter and John Dell do the creative honors—well, they made the book, at any rate.
Tiny Titans #25: Art Baltazar and Franco’s all-ages comic comic book celebrates its twenty-fifth month anniversary with a special guest: Geoff Johns (?!), and one of Johns’ favorite characters, Superboy. I’m looking forward to seeing the sales data on this issue, just to see if Johns’ name alone really is enough to boost the sales of any DC comic book at the moment.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
$20 for 110 pages???????
Marvel’s really scraping the bottom of the value per dollar barrel.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
@Lemurion – That’s only if you don’t enjoy the content, friend. $20 is about the floor for a hardcover, color comic book, price-wise.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Caleb, Why did you move?
February 16th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
I miss the drawings! Of course, not so much that I’m going to send you a scanner, so touche!
And this will be the first issue of Tiny Titans I buy, but I’m buying it for Superboy, not Johns!
February 16th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Is anybody following Fall of Hulks? Could someone give me a rundown of the story so far? I bailed after McGuinness left after that (choose an adjective) Hulk and Defenders vs Rulk and Offenders arc.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:09 am
You could mail each of us a drawing to post above our computer monitor when reading the column, Caleb!
Almost Silent = me being very jazzed.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
I’m with Lemurion. Who are these people who have $20 to spend on 4 middle-of-the-road issues of Dark Avengers in a hardbound edition?
There are that many rich people in this country?
February 17th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
no more drawings ;_;
thats the best part of this column
February 22nd, 2010 at 4:00 pm
At least he didn’t attempt a drawing representing Batman/Superman 69…
January 17th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Your article is what I would call food for the soul. It makes me ponder about the subject all the time. It is something worth recalling.