Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for June 13 2012

DARK HORSE COMICS

APR120019 BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #10 JEANTY VAR CVR $2.99
APR120018 BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #10 NOTO CVR $2.99
APR120032 CONAN THE BARBARIAN #5 $3.50
APR120008 MASSIVE #1 WOOD CVR $3.50
FEB120057 NGE SHINJI IKARI RAISING PROJECT TP VOL 11 $9.99
APR120036 STAR WARS KNIGHT ERRANT ESCAPE #1 (OF 5) CARRE CVR $3.50
APR120029 STRAIN #5 (OF 12) (MR) $3.50

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for June 13 2012

IMAGE COMICS

FEB120494 ALPHA GIRL #3 (MR) $2.99
MAR120477 BULLETPROOF COFFIN DISINTERRED #5 (OF 6) (MR) $3.99
APR128084 DANCER #1 2ND PTG $3.50
APR120531 DANCER #2 $3.50
APR128085 DANGER CLUB #2 2ND PTG $2.99
MAR120488 INVINCIBLE #92 $2.99
APR128086 MANHATTAN PROJECTS #3 2ND PTG $3.50
APR120546 MIND THE GAP #2 CVR A $2.99
APR120547 MIND THE GAP #2 CVR B FRANCAVILLA $2.99
FEB120453 MYSTERIOUS WAYS TP $19.99
APR120441 ORC STAIN TP VOL 01 (MAY100457) (MR) $17.99
APR120419 PLANETOID #1 $2.99
APR128195 SAGA #1 5TH PTG (MR) $2.99
APR128087 SAGA #3 2ND PTG (MR) $2.99
APR120558 SKULLKICKERS #15 $3.50
APR128088 THIEF OF THIEVES #1 4TH PTG $2.99
APR128089 THIEF OF THIEVES #2 4TH PTG $2.99
APR128090 THIEF OF THIEVES #3 4TH PTG $2.99
APR128091 THIEF OF THIEVES #4 3RD PTG $2.99

Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for June 13 2012

COMICS

FEB121136 2000 AD #1779 $5.25

FEB121137 2000 AD #1780 $5.25

MAR121164 2000 AD #1781 $5.25

MAR121244 ARATA THE LEGEND TP VOL 10 $9.99

APR121179 BAD MEDICINE #1 REG ED $3.99

APR121180 BAD MEDICINE #2 $3.99

MAR121011 BAD TEACHERS EQUATION GN VOL 04 (OF 5) (MR) $19.95

MAR120759 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #202 $3.99

MAR121250 BLACK BIRD GN VOL 14 $9.99

FEB120700 BOY WHO MADE SILENCE GN (MR) $22.99

APR121020 BOYS #67 (MR) $3.99

APR121021 BOYS TP VOL 11 OVER THE HILL W/T SWORDS OF A THOUSAND MEN $19.99

MAR120718 CAVEWOMAN 2008 HEROES SIGNED SKETCHBOOK (MR) PI

FEB120728 CAVEWOMAN BUNNY RANCH ONE SHOT $3.75

APR120856 CROSSED BADLANDS #4 AUXILIARY ED (MR) $3.99

JAN120807 DARK AXIS RISE O/T OVERMEN TP (MR) $14.99

MAR121248 DAWN OF THE ARCANA TP VOL 04 $9.99

MAR121034 DF SHADOW #2 EXC CHAYKIN LINE ART CVR $14.99

APR120857 DICKS COLOR ED #5 (MR) (NOTE PRICE) $3.99

APR120858 DICKS COLOR ED #5 OFFENSIVE CVR (MR) $3.99

MAR121042 DOG X CAT GN VOL 03 (A) $15.95

FEB120974 DYNAMITE ART OF ALEX ROSS HC SIGNED ED $69.99

MAR121247 EARL AND FAIRY GN VOL 02 $9.99

APR120896 ELRIC THE BALANCE LOST TP VOL 02 $14.99

APR121160 FAIRY TALES OF OSCAR WILDE HC LTD SGN ED VOL 05 $50.00

FEB120780 FATHOM VOL 4 #6 CVR A KONAT $3.50

FEB120781 FATHOM VOL 4 #6 CVR B GUNNELL $3.50

JAN121037 FLASH GORDON ZEITGEIST #5 $3.99

FEB121299 FLESH & BLOOD SC VOL 02 (MR) $11.95

FEB121034 GRAPHIC CLASSICS GN VOL 09 ROBERT L STEVENSON 2ND ED $12.95

APR121326 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #74 A CVR SEJIC (MR) $2.99

APR121327 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #74 B CVR BONK (MR) $2.99

APR121330 GRIMM FAIRY TALES ANNUAL 2012 A CVR CHEN (MR) $5.99

APR121331 GRIMM FAIRY TALES ANNUAL 2012 B CVR SEJIC (MR) $5.99

MAR121190 HONEY DARLING GN (MR) $12.99

FEB121096 HONEY WEST #6 (RES) $3.99

MAR120858 INCORRUPTIBLE #30 $3.99

APR120747 JOHNNY HOMICIDAL MANIAC DIRECTORS CUT SC (NEW PTG) (O/A) $21.95

MAR121245 KEKKAISHI GN VOL 32 $9.99

MAR120763 KEVIN KELLER #3 $2.99

MAR120764 KEVIN KELLER #3 PARENT VAR CVR $2.99

DEC110996 KIRBY GENESIS CAPTAIN VICTORY #5 $3.99

MAR121107 KITCHEN PRINCESS OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 $14.99

MAR121009 KIZUNA GN VOL 06 (OF 6) DLX ED (MR) $12.95

MAR121096 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #187 $5.99

APR120970 LADY DEATH ORIGINS CURSED #3 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99

APR120971 LADY DEATH ORIGINS CURSED #3 (OF 3) SULTRY CVR (MR) $3.99

APR120972 LADY DEATH ORIGINS CURSED #3 (OF 3) WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99

MAR120743 LOST GIRL GN (ARCANA) (MR) $14.95

APR121209 LOXLEYS AND THE WAR OF 1812 HC $19.99

MAR120744 LUCAS GN (MR) $14.95

MAR120766 MEGA MAN #14 $2.99

APR120996 PANTHA #1 $3.99

DEC111084 PRINCE VALIANT HC VOL 05 1945-1946 $29.99

MAR120999 RED SONJA WITCHBLADE #4 $3.99

SEP110729 RICHIE RICH #5 $3.99

MAR121252 SAKURA HIME LEGEND OF PRINCESS SAKURA GN VOL 08 $9.99

MAR121010 SAME DIFFERENCE GN (MR) $12.95

APR120798 SECRET HISTORY BOOK 20 (MR) $5.95

JAN120825 SIEGFRIED HC VOL 01 (RES) $24.95

APR121181 SIXTH GUN #23 $3.99

APR120886 SPONGEBOB COMICS #9 $2.99

APR120935 STEED AND MRS PEEL #6 (OF 6) $3.99

MAR120794 STITCHED #5 (MR) $3.99

MAR120795 STITCHED #5 GORE CVR (MR) $3.99

MAR120796 STITCHED #5 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99

FEB120701 TALES FROM THE CLOCKWORK EMPIRE GN $17.99

APR121059 THE LONE RANGER #6 $3.99

APR120999 THE SPIDER #2 $3.99

MAR121191 THREE WOLVES MOUNTAIN GN (MR) $12.99

APR120944 VALEN OUTCAST #7 MAIN CVRS $3.99

FEB120930 VAMPIRELLA #18 $3.99

APR121052 VOLTRON YEAR ONE #3 $3.99

MAR120904 WAR GODDESS #8 (MR) $3.99

MAR120905 WAR GODDESS #8 SULTRY CVR (MR) $3.99

MAR120906 WAR GODDESS #8 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99

JAN121045 WARLORD OF MARS #18 (MR) $3.99

FEB120928 WARRIORS OF MARS #3 (MR) $3.99

MAR121241 YU GI OH ZEXAL GN VOL 01 $9.99

FEB120989 ZORRO RIDES AGAIN #10 (OF 12) $3.99

MAGAZINES
FEB121243 CLASSIC MARVEL FIG COLL MAG #174 ARACHNE $14.00
JAN121372 DC SUPERHERO CHESS FIG COLL MAG #7 BATGIRL WHITE KNIGHT $16.00
FEB121253 DC SUPERHERO FIG COLL MAG #108 MERA $14.00
DEC111287 DC SUPERHERO FIG COLL MAG SPECIAL SWAMP THING $38.00
MAR121344 DR WHO MAGAZINE #447 $8.99
APR121398 FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #262 $9.99
FEB121138 JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #323 $12.25
FEB121284 SCI FI & FANTASY MODELLER VOL 25 $27.99
APR121231 STAR WARS CLONE WARS MAGAZINE #12 $4.99
MAR121175 SUNDAY FUNNIES COLLECTED VOL 02 $30.00
APR121427 SUPERNATURAL MAGAZINE #33 PX ED $9.99
MAR121870 WHITE DWARF #389 PI

Bleach: The Lust

I read Bleach, Vol. 40 (Bleach (Graphic Novels))

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

I Reads You Review: ROCKETEER ADVENTURES VOL. 2 #3

ROCKETEER ADVENTURES VOL. 2 #3
IDW PUBLISHING

WRITERS: David Lapham, Kyle Baker, Matt Wagner
ARTISTS: Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker, Eric Canete
INKS: Karl Story
COLORS: Jordie Bellaire, Eric Canete and Cassandra Poulson
LETTERS: Shawn Lee, Kyle Baker
PIN-UP: Eric Powell with Dave Stewart
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
COVERS: Darwyn Cooke (A, C), Dave Stevens (B)
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

The Rocketeer is a comic book character created by artist and illustrator, Dave Stevens, who died in March of 2008. The Rocketeer is Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jet pack that allows him to fly, and his adventures are set mainly in Los Angeles in and after the year 1938.

The Rocketeer returned to comic books in 2011 in Rocketeer Adventures. Edited by Scott Dunbier and published by IDW Publishing, this four-issue, anthology comic book was a tribute to Stevens and featured Rocketeer short stories (about 8 pages in length) from some of the premiere creators in American comic books. The tributes continue in Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2.

Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2 #3 opens with “Coulda Been…,” a story by David Lapham with art by Chris Sprouse and Karl Story, that finds Cliff Second and his girlfriend, Betty Page, imagining what their lives could be like. In “Butch Saves Betty,” the brilliant cartoonist Kyle Baker introduces Cliff and company to a shadowy client. Then, writer Matt Wagner and artist Eric Canete take readers to the future for a “History Lesson.”

David Lapham is a popular comic book creator, but I wonder if people really appreciate what a good writer he is. I see him as a comic book scribe who can always put an imaginative twist on the character/ensemble drama. Read 30 Days of Night: 30 Days ‘Til Death; it could have been just another vampire comic book, but isn’t. His “Coulda Been…” shows why making comic book characters “grow up,” especially those grounded in fantasy, is a mistake. The reason is that when you make characters act like real-world adults that fundamentally changes those characters, sometimes to the point in which they become different from what they were originally. Another good thing about this story is that the artist is the talented and under-utilized Chris Sprouse.

There is nothing special about the other two stories, other than that Kyle Baker draws one of them. What is special is the pin-up by Eric Powell (with colors by Dave Stewart). I could stare at a Powell drawing for an hour and not consider that a waste of time.

B

Cross Game: The Return of the Infamous Coach Daimon

I read Cross Game, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Ray Bradbury Has Died

American science fiction and fantasy author, Ray Bradbury, died Tuesday, June 5 2012, at the age of 91.  I first encountered his work in the late 1970s in the form of a film based upon his book, The Illustrated Man, and a television miniseries based another book, The Martian Chronicles.  Over time, I encountered more films, television, and even comic books based upon Bradbury's work.  His novel, Fahrenheit 451, is one of my favorite novels.

This Associated Press article (via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) has details on his life and career, including this tidbit:

Bradbury was so poor during those years that he didn't have an office or even a telephone. He wrote "Fahrenheit 451" at the UCLA library, on typewriters that rented for 10 cents a half hour. He said he carried a sack full of dimes and completed the book in nine days, at a cost of $9.80.

Although some academics doubted that account, saying he could not have created such a masterpiece in such a rapid, seemingly cavalier fashion, Bradbury maintained in several interviews with the AP over the years that that was exactly how he did it.

I won't put into words what his work meant to me, but I will say Rest in Peace, Mr. Bradbury.