Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 19 2012

IMAGE COMICS

JUN120536 AMERICAS GOT POWERS #4 [DIG] $2.99

MAY120598 CARBON GREY VOL 2 #2 CVR A EVANS & LOH $3.99

MAY120599 CARBON GREY VOL 2 #2 CVR B NGUYEN $3.99

OCT120481 CHEW TP VOL 06 SPACE CAKES (MR) [DIG] $14.99

OCT120515 COMEBACK #2 (MR) [DIG] $3.50

SEP120504 HAPPY #3 [DIG] $2.99

MAY120613 HAUNT #28 [DIG] $2.99

OCT120530 MACGYVER FUGITIVE GAUNTLET #3 [DIG] $3.50

OCT120533 MULTIPLE WARHEADS ALPHABET TO INFINITY #3 [DIG] $2.99

OCT120535 NOWHERE MEN #2 [DIG] $2.99

OCT120541 SAGA #8 (MR) [DIG] $2.99

SEP120521 SUPER DINOSAUR #16 [DIG] $2.99

JUN120576 SUPREME #67 [DIG] $3.99

OCT120546 THIEF OF THIEVES #11 (MR) [DIG] $2.99

OCT120496 WALKING DEAD OMNIBUS HC VOL 04 S/N LTD ED (MR) $150.00

SEP120482 WALKING DEAD T/S KILL THEM ALL BLACK MED $19.99

SEP120478 WALKING DEAD T/S KILL THEM ALL WHITE LG $19.99

SEP120477 WALKING DEAD T/S KILL THEM ALL WHITE MED $19.99

SEP120476 WALKING DEAD T/S KILL THEM ALL WHITE SM $19.99

SEP120479 WALKING DEAD T/S KILL THEM ALL WHITE XL $19.99

SEP120480 WALKING DEAD T/S KILL THEM ALL WHITE XXL $22.99

OCT120548 WHERE IS JAKE ELLIS #2 [DIG] $3.50

OCT120549 WITCH DOCTOR MALPRACTICE #2 [DIG] $2.99

AUG120535 WITCHBLADE #162 CVR A CHRISTOPHER [DIG] $2.99

AUG120536 WITCHBLADE #162 CVR B BERNARD & BENES $2.99

IMAGE COMICS/MCFARLANE TOYS

SEP121727 TMP NHL SERIES 32 AF PI

SEP121731 TMP NHL SERIES 32 HENRIK LUNDQVIST AF PI

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for December 19 2012

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

JUN120779 AIRBOY DEADEYE #5 [DIG] $3.50

SEP121131 ALLIANCE OF THE CURIOUS HC (MR) $29.95

OCT121143 ANNOYING ORANGE GN VOL 01 SECRET AGENT ORANGE $6.99

OCT121144 ANNOYING ORANGE HC VOL 01 SECRET AGENT ORANGE $10.99

SEP121132 BEFORE THE INCAL CLASS COLL HC (MR) $44.95

OCT120777 BEST OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG TP VOL 01 $14.99

OCT120766 BETTY & VERONICA #263 [DIG/P+] $2.99

OCT120767 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #208 [DIG/P+] $3.99

JUN121064 BIONIC WOMAN #6 $3.99

OCT120914 BRAVEST WARRIORS #3 MAIN CVRS [DIG] $3.99

JUL120795 BROKEN PIECES #5 $3.50

JUN121173 BUCK ROGERS IN 25TH CENTURY DAILIES HC VOL 07 $49.99

AUG121319 COUNTRY ASS WHUPPIN TORNADO RELIEF ANTH ONE SHOT (RES) $5.99

OCT120858 CRITTER (ONGOING) #7 $3.50

NOV120934 CROSSED BADLANDS #11 MEAN SPIRITED CVR (MR) $5.99

NOV120932 CROSSED BADLANDS #17 AUXILIARY ED (MR) $3.99

MAR120749 CURSED PIRATE GIRL HC VOL 01 $24.95

OCT120794 DAMES IN THE ATOMIC AGE GN VOL 01 $8.95

SEP121139 DANZA GN $12.99

JUL120994 DARK SHADOWS #11 $3.99

OCT121055 DEVILS PANTIES GN VOL 06 (MR) $20.00

OCT121145 DISNEY FAIRIES GN VOL 10 TINKER BELL RAINBOW $7.99

OCT121146 DISNEY FAIRIES HC VOL 10 TINKER BELL RAINBOW $11.99

SEP121248 DOROHEDORO GN VOL 08 (MR) $12.99

OCT121001 EVIL ERNIE #3 $3.99

OCT120798 EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ASSASSINS #6 CVR A RANDOLPH $3.99

OCT120799 EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ASSASSINS #6 CVR B MHAN $3.99

OCT120800 EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ASSASSINS #6 CVR C TORQUE PI

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SEP120885 FREELANCERS #2 MAIN CVRS [DIG] $3.99

JUL121158 GARFIELD & CO HC BOXED SET #1-4 $29.99

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SEP120736 GOLDEN AGE GREATS SPOTLIGHT VOL 11 SUPERHEROES & OTHERS $29.95

JUL120955 GREEN HORNET #32 $3.99

OCT121282 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #80 A CVR CAFARO (MR) $2.99

OCT121283 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #80 B CVR QUALANO (MR) $2.99

OCT121235 HARBINGER (ONGOING) #7 SUAYAN CVR $3.99

OCT120899 HELLRAISER ROAD BELOW #3 (MR) [DIG] $3.99

OCT120806 IDOLIZED #4 CVR A NOME $3.99

OCT120807 IDOLIZED #4 CVR B PHOTO $3.99

NOV121274 INFEX HC $49.95

SEP120780 INVENTOR GN [DIG] $18.95

APR120795 IRON OR THE WAR AFTER HC $24.95

SEP120874 JOAN OF ARC FROM THE ASHES #2 (MR) $3.50

OCT121185 JUDGE DREDD GARTH ENNIS COLL TP (MR) $19.99

NOV121016 LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #20 LAVA LEOPARD CVR (MR) $9.99

NOV121015 LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #21 AUXILIARY CVR (MR) $3.99

NOV121017 LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #21 LITTLE RED DEAD CVR (MR) $9.99

SEP120740 MAGIC WHISTLE #12 (MR) $3.99

SEP128226 MASKS #1 REORDER ROSS SKETCH $3.99

OCT120985 MASKS #2 $3.99

OCT121085 NANCY CHRISTMAS GN VOL 02 COMPLETE DAILIES 1946-1948 $26.99

OCT121124 NIGHTWATCHMAN GN $8.99

AUG121014 PANTHA #5 $3.99

SEP121234 PARADISE KISS TP VERTICAL INC ED VOL 02 $19.95

APR121114 PHANTOM COMP SERIES HC VOL 02 GOLD KEY YEARS $49.99

OCT120722 PIRATE EYE ONE SHOT $3.99

OCT121090 POGO COMP SYNDICATED STRIPS HC BOX SET VOL 1 & 2 $69.99

OCT121089 POGO COMP SYNDICATED STRIPS HC VOL 02 BALDERDASH $39.99

SEP120738 PRINCELESS SHORT STORIES FOR WARRIOR WOMEN #2 $3.99

OCT120719 RACHEL RISING #13 [DIG/P+] $3.99

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AUG121317 ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW TP $17.99

MAR120754 SHARAZ DE HC $29.95

OCT120869 SIMPSONS COMICS #197 $2.99

OCT121156 SIXTH GUN #27 $3.99

OCT120864 SLIPSTREAM SPECIAL (ONE SHOT) $3.50

OCT120776 SONIC UNIVERSE #47 [P+] $2.99

SEP121094 SPACEHAWK TP WOLVERTON $39.99

SEP121249 TENJO TENGE GN VOL 10 (MR) $17.99

OCT121041 THE SPIDER #7 $3.99

SEP121247 VAGABOND VIZBIG ED GN VOL 11 (MR) $19.99

SEP121008 VAMPIRELLA #25 $3.99

OCT121157 WASTELAND #42 (MR) $3.99

OCT121284 WONDERLAND #6 A CVR SEJIC (MR) $2.99

OCT121285 WONDERLAND #6 B CVR REYES (MR) $2.99

OCT121239 X-O MANOWAR (ONGOING) #8 BRAITHWAITE CVR $3.99

MAGAZINES
AUG122022 ADV OF TINTIN ALLAN CHESS FIG COLL MAG $19.99

AUG122019 ADV OF TINTIN BIANCA CASTAFIORE CHESS FIG COLL MAG $19.99

AUG122017 ADV OF TINTIN CAPTAIN HADDOCK CHESS FIG COLL MAG $19.99

AUG122021 ADV OF TINTIN NESTOR CHESS FIG COLL MAG $19.99

AUG122020 ADV OF TINTIN SAKHARINE CHESS FIG COLL MAG $19.99

AUG122018 ADV OF TINTIN THOMPSON CHESS FIG COLL MAG $19.99

AUG122016 ADV OF TINTIN TINTIN CHESS FIG COLL MAG $19.99

OCT121327 COMIC SHOP NEWS #1331 PI

OCT121328 COMIC SHOP NEWS #1332 PI

OCT121386 DOC SAVAGE DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 63 $14.95

SEP121345 DR WHO MAGAZINE #454 $8.99

SEP121399 FILMFAX #132 $9.95

OCT121308 JUXTAPOZ #144 JAN 2013 $5.99

OCT121385 LOCUS #623 $6.95

AUG121539 PHANTOM DETECTIVE DOUBLE NOVEL #1 $14.95

SEP121356 RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE #129 $9.95

OCT121388 SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 67 $14.95

OCT121380 WALKING DEAD MAGAZINE #2 NEWSSTAND ED (MR) $9.99

OCT121381 WALKING DEAD MAGAZINE #2 PX ED (MR) $9.99

BOOKS
AUG121329 ART OF DARKSIDERS SC VOL 02 $39.99

JUL121374 BEHIND THE SOFA CELEBRITY MEMORIES OF DOCTOR WHO PX HC $24.99

OCT121129 CANNABIS FANTASY COOL COLORING BOOK $9.95

OCT121058 DONT GO WHERE I CANT FOLLOW HC $19.95

SEP128235 HARRY POTTER PAGE TO SCREEN COMP FILMMAKING JOURNEY $1,000.00

JUL121250 HISTORY OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG HC $49.99

SEP122059 WARHAMMER TIME LEGENDS 3 RISE OF NAGASH OMNIBUS $22.50

I Reads You Review: 20TH CENTURY BOYS, Volume 21

Creators: Naoki Urasawa with Takashi Nagasaki and Akemi Wegmüller (English adaptation)
Publishing Information: VIZ Media, paperback, B&W, 208 pages, $12.99 (US), $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4215-3539-5

Rating: “T+ for Older Teens”

There once was a boy who imagined the end of the world. That is the spine of the story in 20th Century Boys, a science fiction adventure series from famed manga creator, Naoki Urasawa. The story begins with Kenji Endo, a hardworking and honorable young man.

He operates his family’s small business (a convenience store). He is also a single parent to Kanna, the child abandoned by his sister, Kiriko. In 1997, Kenji discovers a series of ominous incidents that follow “The Book of Prophecy,” a ridiculous scenario Kenji and his friend made up as children in the early 1970s.

A bizarre religious cult called the Friends and their leader, the “Friend,” are behind a plot that leads to December 31, 2000. Called “Bloody New Year’s Eve,” this day sees the world brought to the brink of destruction. The Friend is called the hero who saved the world. Kenji, who tried to stop the Friend’s destruction, is branded a terrorist.

Fourteen years later, Neo Tokyo is a thriving, multiethnic metropolis, but another crisis occurs when the Friend is assassinated in 2015 by a member of his own organization. He comes back to life in time to save the Pope and also order the dispersal of a killer virus that changes the world.

Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, Vol. 21 (entitled Arrival of the Space Aliens) opens in Year Three of the Friendship Era. Word of Kenji Endo’s return spreads slowly, but steadily in the barrens outside Tokyo, but a DJ learns that not everyone wants to hear the good news. Father Nitani, head of the Kabuki-cho Catholic Church, patiently waits to meet with his old friend, the Pope, but he’ll need a food delivery boy to deliver some good news for him.

Meanwhile, Takasu marvels at the special package that she is carrying for the friend. Kanna, Kenji’s niece, makes a startling discovery about the old Expo venue. In a flashback, we see the battle to save Kenji and his friends’ secret hideout. Finally, the Friend makes a very special announcement.

20th Century Boys is a battle of good versus evil or even crazy versus brave. As such, it is a riveting suspense thriller built on countless subplots and plot threads that spread out in all literary directions. All, however, eventually come back to the center – the battle against the Friend’s conspiracy, as told in “The New Book of Prophecy.”

The book also delves into cults, as well as the cult of personality. Sometimes, a charismatic person can spread his mental illness to his followers. These acolytes can find themselves doing nonsensical things in spite of what they know to be correct, or at least to be the better choice. It makes for unsettling reading, this comic book depiction in such clear terms and in stark visual storytelling.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Comics Review: Mighty Love

MIGHTY LOVE
DC COMICS

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
LETTER: Kurt Hathaway
COLORS: Dave Stewart
ISBN: 978-1-56389-930-1; hardcover
96pp, Color, $24.95 US, $37.95 CAN

Mighty Love is a 2004 hardcover graphic novel from Howard Chaykin, the creator of one of the most influential comic books of the last 30 years, American Flagg! [In 2005, DC published a paperback version of Mighty Love.] Mighty Love isn’t on the level of American Flagg!, but Chaykin’s trademark smart-ass dialogue and distinctive artwork are plentiful here.

Mighty Love revolves around two costumed heroes, Iron Angel and Skylark. By day, Lincoln Reinhardt is a wealthy liberal attorney who defends criminals, but he is secretly tired of the moral morass that is his professional life. So by night, Reinhardt becomes the masked vigilante, Iron Angel, defending the justice he circumvents every day by bashing the kind of scum he normally represents. By day, Delaney Pope is a straight-arrow detective serving in a crooked police department, but she is tired of working in a murky world of ethical compromise. So by night, this conservative cop becomes Skylark, a bleeding heart masked defender of the justice that she circumvents as an agent of a corrupt administration.

Iron Angel and Skylark, who were previously unaware of each other’s existence, join forces after a fundraiser turns deadly during a robbery. The police are looking at Lincoln’s girlfriend, Bess Autrey, as a prime suspect. Delaney, who despises Lincoln, is the lead detective. If only Delaney Pope knew that Skylark’s new pal, Iron Angel, is none other than her nemesis Lincoln Reinhardt…

While Mighty Love might not be American Flagg!, Mighty Love resembles Howard Chaykin’s mid-1980s revamps of The Shadow and Blackhawk for DC Comics. This story has the same crisp graphic inventiveness mixed with the look of 1940s Film-Noir. Chaykin has toned down the sexual perversity of his 80s work, in favor of sexual innuendo, but Chaykin retains the snappy dialogue readers have come to expect from the comics he writes. There is even a running joke about euphemisms (like “packing heat” and “blow this pop stand”).

In a way, Mighty Love is an “old reliable” type Chaykin comic. His fans know what they’re getting, but what they’re getting is entertaining. Nothing here is earth-moving, but Chaykin brings the opposites-attract romance, superhero genre, and urban crime fiction together in a way they would seemingly not mesh. It’s as if these genres together are a natural thing – three great tastes that taste quite good together – and it’s all so lighthearted, in spite of the violence.

Devotees of superhero comics will understand why Chaykin eschews exploring the reasons why a police detective and a criminal defense attorney would moonlight as costumed vigilantes, even though the trend the last 30 years is to dig in the dirt to find out why Spider-Man, Batman, and others put on masks, cowls, capes, and even spandex. Mighty Love is simply here to be loved. It’s like a neo-golden age Hollywood film, drawn with Chaykin’s visual detail for urban settings, snazzy interiors, and sharply-dressed characters.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Excel Saga: The Surrogates

I read Excel Saga, Vol. 24

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

I Reads You Review: Young Justice #20

YOUNG JUSTICE #20
DC COMICS

WRITER: Greg Weisman
ART: Christopher Jones
COLORS: Zac Atkinson
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

Young Justice Invasion – Chapter One: “Wheelbarrow, Shoe, Thimble”

Young Justice is a spin-off comic book series based on “Young Justice,” the animated superhero television series currently airing on Cartoon Network. “Young Justice” the television series focuses on the lives and adventures of the sidekicks and protégés of some of DC Comics’ biggest superheroes, which includes such young heroes as Nightwing, Superboy, Wondergirl, and Robin, among many.

Young Justice #20 (“Wheelbarrow, Shoe, Thimble”) takes place in two different, but local time periods in the existence of Young Justice: “Yero Zero” and “Year Five,” specifically December 1st. In fact, this date is special because it is Dick Grayson’s birthday, and in both periods, various superheroes stop by to wish Robin (Year Zero) and Nightwing (Year Five) a happy birthday.

The team: Nightwing, Batgirl, Beast Boy, Bumble Bee, Lagoon Boy, Mal Duncan, Miss Martian, Superboy, Wolf, and Wonder Girl (with Robin called back to Gotham City) embarks on a mission to stop an assassination of a visiting foreign dignitary. The team splits in two, with Miss Martian leading the “Beta Team” to stop the assassination. Meanwhile, Nightwing takes “Alpha Team” to recruit the new Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, into Young Justice. But unknown players are about to enter this game.

Young Justice #20 is all over the place. There are a lot of characters and even several guest stars, which only makes everyone seem extraneous. Forget two time periods, this issue reads as if there were eight. Perhaps, writer Greg Weisman is just prepping and this is the calm before the multi-chapter storm. The art by Christopher Jones and colorist Zac Atkinson is still high-quality, though, especially that last page.

B

http://DCnation.com


Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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Review: PETEY AND PUSSY by John Kerschbaum

PETEY & PUSSY
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: John Kerschbaum
ISBN: 978-1-56097-979-1; hardcover (October 2008)
126pp, B&W, $19.99 US

John Kerschbaum is a cartoonist and illustrator whose work has appeared in The Comics Journal, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and the Village Voice, among many. Petey & Pussy is a 2008 collection of interconnected comics shorts and short stories created by Kerschbaum that form a graphic novel.

The stars of the book are Petey & Pussy, two characters that form what is essentially a cat-and-dog comedy team. These funny, talking animals, however, have human heads, of which the outstanding features are prominent noses and balding pates. Several years before this book was published, the characters appeared in a comic book, Peter & Pussy #1, which Kerschbaum self-published through his Fontanelle Press.

Pussy is a rude house cat with a caustic wit and a sharp tongue, and his round spectacles gives him a Larry David vibe. He lives with a decrepit old lady who on the surface seems to be in the throes of dementia, but who has a surprisingly peppy step. Pussy shares the house with a legion of mice (including a smart one that seems to be a cross between Speedy Gonzales and Jerry of Tom and Jerry) and a falling-to-pieces suicidal bird. Pussy’s pal is Petey, a chunky, roly-poly dog with a fondness for drink. Petey personifies the blue collar bum. He is the kind of guy to go to if you need a partner in crime to help you do bad stuff.

Petey & Pussy chronicles their criminal misadventures. Their exploits include a boa constrictor, corpse dismemberment, and foiling a thieving niece. Along the way, Petey and Pussy always find time to drink at Joe’s.

On the back of Petey & Pussy’s book jacket, there’s a quote from Johnny Ryan, creator of Angry Youth Comix, which says, “Kerschbaum is one of the few cartoonists whose work makes me wince in horror.” That’s saying something, because Ryan’s own comix can simultaneously dry out and straighten out a Jheri curl. I’ve read some crazy comix, and while he won’t scare you under the sheets like S. Clay Wilson, Kerschbaum can be as raw as R. Crumb, Peter Bagge, and Ryan, who may be his closest comix cousins.

It is possible to see a similarity between Petey & Pussy and Looney Tunes. Kerschbaum’s work here does have a passing resemblance to the irreverently violent cartoons of Looney Tunes director, Bob Clampett, and the racy and risqué work of Tex Avery. In fact, Petey & Pussy has a cousin in modern animation, the work of Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy” and “American Dad”).

That said, John Kerschbaum has taken whatever influenced him and has developed his own weird, violently funny thing. No fan of adult funny animal comics (like Fritz the Cat) will want to miss Petey & Pussy. I don’t know enough about John Kerschbaum to say whether or not I’ll be praising his future work, but Petey & Pussy is some funny shit.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux