IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for July 2, 2014

IDW PUBLISHING

APR140359     BEN 10 CLASSICS TP VOL 02 BEN A PLEASURE     $17.99
MAY140483     DEXTERS LABORATORY #4     $3.99
APR140351     DEXTERS LABORATORY CLASSICS TP VOL 01     $19.99
MAY140471     GI JOE TP VOL 03 SIRENS SONG     $17.99
MAY140557     INDESTRUCTIBLE #7     $3.99
APR140457     INDESTRUCTIBLE TP VOL 01     $14.99
MAR140464     LOAC ESSENTIALS HC VOL 05 BUNGLE FAMILY 1930     $24.99
MAY140548     LOCKE & KEY CROWN OF SHADOWS 100 PENNY PRESS ED #1     $1.00
MAR140355     MAXX MAXXIMIZED HC VOL 01     $21.99
MAY140521     ROGUE TROOPER CLASSICS #3     $3.99
MAY140545     STAR MAGE #4     $3.99
APR140444     THUNDER AGENTS ONGOING TP VOL 02     $17.99
MAR140364     TRIBES DOG YEARS SPECIAL ED HC     $39.99
APR148243     WEIRD LOVE #1 2ND PTG     $3.99
MAY140541     WEIRD LOVE #2     $3.99
MAR140407     X-FILES CONSPIRACY HC     $24.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 2, 2014

DARK HORSE COMICS

MAY140039     1 FOR $1 AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER RIFT #1     $1.00
MAY140030     ANGEL AND FAITH SEASON 10 #4 MAIN CVR     $3.50
MAR140061     AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 08 RIFT PART 2     $10.99
MAR140042     CATALYST COMIX TP     $19.99
MAR140073     CONAN TP VOL 15 NIGHTMARE OF SHALLOWS     $19.99
MAR140053     FEAR AGENT TP VOL 04 HATCHET JOB (NEW PTG)     $16.99
FEB140012     FRANK MILLER ART OF SIN CITY TP     $25.00
MAR140090     KISS ME SATAN TP     $19.99
MAR140010     LONE WOLF & CUB OMNIBUS TP VOL 05     $19.99
MAY140067     MICHAEL AVON OEMINGS VICTORIES #13 (MR)     $3.99
MAR140056     NEVER ENDING TP     $9.99
MAR140032     ROBOCOP VS TERMINATOR GALLERY SERIES HC     $125.00
MAR140028     ROBOCOP VS TERMINATOR HC     $24.99
MAR140089     SECRET FILES OF DR DREW HC     $29.99
MAR140017     STAR WARS DARTH VADER & CRY OF SHADOWS HC     $24.99
MAR140087     STRAIN TP VOL 04 THE FALL     $19.99
MAR140069     USAGI YOJIMBO TP VOL 28 RED SCORPION     $17.99
FEB140108     VAMPIRE HUNTER D NOVEL VOL 21 BLOOD BATTLE (MR)     $11.99
MAR140051     WHITE SUITS #4     $3.99

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 2, 2014

IMAGE COMICS

APR140534     A VOICE IN THE DARK TP VOL 01 (MR)     $19.99
MAY140601     BLACK KISS XXXMAS IN JULY SPECIAL ONE SHOT (MR)     $5.99
MAY140699     CLONE #18 (MR)     $2.99
APR140567     EAST OF WEST #13     $3.50
MAR140570     ELEPHANTMEN #58 (MR)     $3.99
APR140569     FIELD #3 (MR)     $3.50
MAR140539     FIVE GHOSTS TP VOL 02 LOST COASTLINES     $14.99
MAY140592     HACK SLASH SON OF SAMHAIN #1 (MR)     $3.50
JAN140600     LAZARUS #9 (MR)     $2.99
MAY140710     MADAME FRANKENSTEIN #3     $2.99
JAN140606     MORNING GLORIES #39 (MR)     $3.50
APR148432     NAILBITER #2 2ND PTG (MR)     $2.99
MAY140718     NAILBITER #3 (MR)     $2.99
MAY140720     PROTECTORS INC #7 CVR A PURCELL & ATIYEH (MR)     $2.99
MAY140721     PROTECTORS INC #7 CVR B DELIZ & DILLON (MR)     $2.99
MAR140592     SATELLITE SAM #9 (MR)     $3.50
MAR140595     SHELTERED #10     $2.99
MAR140598     SIDEKICK #7 CVR A MANDRAKE & HIFI (MR)     $2.99
MAR140599     SIDEKICK #7 CVR B URUSOV (MR)     $2.99
APR140600     SOUTHERN BASTARDS #3 (MR)     $3.50
MAY140599     TECH JACKET #1     $2.99
MAY140646     TECH JACKET TP VOL 02     $14.99
APR140610     THIEF OF THIEVES #22 (MR)     $2.99
APR140616     WITCHBLADE #176 CVR A BRAGA     $3.99
APR140617     WITCHBLADE #176 CVR B CHRISTOPHER     $3.99
APR140539     WITCHBLADE BORN AGAIN TP VOL 01     $14.99

Comics, Magazines and Books for July 2, 2014

COMICS

MAR141330     ACG COLL WORKS ADV INTO UNKNOWN SLIPCASE ED VOL 07     $64.99
DEC131246     ACG COLL WORKS FORBIDDEN WORLDS HC VOL 06     $47.99
JAN141019     ADVENTURE TIME MATHEMATICAL ED HC VOL 02 SDCC EXC     $49.99
FEB141356     ARCHER COE GN VOL 01 THOUSAND NATURAL SHOCKS     $19.99
FEB140929     BETTY & VERONICA #271 REG CVR     $2.99
MAY141146     BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA #2 MAIN CVRS     $3.99
MAR141117     BLACK BAT #12 JAE LEE     $3.99
MAR141118     BLACK BAT #12 TAN EXC SUBSCRIPTION CVR     $3.99
MAY141072     CALIBAN #4 (MR)     $3.99
MAY141074     CALIBAN #4 TERROR CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141073     CALIBAN #4 WRAP CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141287     CHAOS #3 CVR A SEELEY     $3.99
MAY141288     CHAOS #3 CVR B RUFFINO     $3.99
MAY141286     CHAOS #3 MAIN CVR LUPACCHINO     $3.99
MAY141407     COSPLAYERS #2     $5.00
FEB141258     DF AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #25 SGN KELLY SUE DECONNICK     PI
MAY141402     DKW DITKO KIRBY WOOD ONE SHOT     $4.99
APR141116     DOCTOR SPEKTOR #2     $3.99
APR141399     ENORMOUS #1 CVR A CHEGGOUR     $3.99
APR141400     ENORMOUS #1 CVR B ROSSMO     $3.99
MAY141064     EXTINCTION PARADE WAR #1 (MR)     $4.99
MAY141066     EXTINCTION PARADE WAR #1 END OF SPECIES CVR (MR)     $4.99
MAY141065     EXTINCTION PARADE WAR #1 WRAP CVR (MR)     $4.99
APR140948     FEARLESS DAWN HARD TIMES ONE SHOT     $3.99
JAN140864     FOX TP VOL 01 FREAK MAGNET     $14.99
MAY141202     GARFIELD #27     $3.99
MAR141292     GARFIELD & CO HC BOXED SET #5-8     $29.99
MAY141198     GARFIELD TP VOL 04     $13.99
APR141490     GFT OZ AGE OF DARKNESS A CVR CAMPBELL (AOFD)     $5.99
APR141491     GFT OZ AGE OF DARKNESS B CVR LASHLEY (AOFD)     $5.99
APR141492     GFT OZ AGE OF DARKNESS C CVR ATKINS (AOFD)     $5.99
APR141493     GFT OZ AGE OF DARKNESS D CVR KROME (AOFD)     $5.99
MAR141332     HARVEY HORRORS COLL PACK CHAMBER OF CHILLS SGN SLIPCASE ED     $239.99
APR140799     JACK HAMMER #4 MAIN CVR     $2.99
MAR141124     JENNIFER BLOOD TP VOL 05 BLOOD LEGACY (MR)     $29.99
MAY141310     JIM BUTCHER DRESDEN FILES WAR CRY #2     $3.99
MAY141527     LA PERDIDA TP NEW PTG     $18.00
MAY141405     LUBA AND HER FAMILY GN     $18.99
MAR141285     MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS GN VOL 01 RITA REPULSA     $7.99
MAY141283     NEW VAMPIRELLA #2 CVR A FRISON     $3.99
MAY141282     NEW VAMPIRELLA #2 MAIN DODSON     $3.99
MAR141334     PRE CODE CLASSIC STRANGE WORLDS SLIPCASE ED HC VOL 01     $64.99
MAY141666     QUANTUM & WOODY #12 FOWLER CVR     $3.99
MAY141131     ROBOCOP 2014 #1 (MR)     $3.99
APR140804     SCUM O/T EARTH #1 MAIN CVR (MR)     $3.99
APR141137     SHADOW MIDNIGHT MOSCOW #2     $3.99
APR141133     SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN SEASON 6 #4 EXC SUBSCRIPTION CVR     $3.99
APR141131     SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN SEASON 6 #4 ROSS CVR     $3.99
MAR141294     SMURFS GN BOX SET VOL 13-15     $17.99
MAR148157     SNOWPIERCER GN     $14.99
APR140871     SONIC UNIVERSE #65 REG CVR     $2.99
MAY141164     SUICIDE RISK #15     $3.99
MAY141264     TOM CLANCY SPLINTER CELL ECHOES #1     $3.99
APR141208     TWELVE GEMS TP     $19.99
APR141160     TWILIGHT ZONE #6     $3.99
MAY141100     UBER #15 (MR)     $3.99
MAY141102     UBER #15 PROPAGANDA POSTER CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141103     UBER #15 WAR CRIMES CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141101     UBER #15 WRAP CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141571     UNTERZAKHN GN     $24.95
MAR141296     WONTON SOUP TP COLLECTED ED     $19.99
MAY141148     WOODS #3     $3.99
APR140860     WORLD OF ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #41     $6.99

MAGAZINES
MAR141599     ALTER EGO #126     $8.95
MAR141600     BACK ISSUE #73     $8.95
MAY141860     COMIC SHOP NEWS #1411     PI
APR141661     COMICS REVUE PRESENTS JUN 2014     $19.95
FEB141659     DRAW #28 (MR)     $8.95
APR141664     FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #274 GODZILLA & MOTHRA COVER     $9.99
JAN141559     G FAN #106     $6.95
APR141245     HEAVY METAL #269 (MR)     $7.95
MAY141855     HI FRUCTOSE MAGAZINE QUARTERLY #32     $7.95
FEB141660     JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #63     $10.95
APR141676     LOCUS #641     $7.50
MAY141875     SCARY MONSTERS MAGAZINE #93     $8.95

BOOKS
APR141566     DIGITAL ART MASTERS SC VOL 09     $49.99
MAY141797     ESSENTIAL WONDER WOMAN ENCYCLOPEDIA SC     $30.00
APR141554     GUARDIANS OF GALAXY ORIGIN STORY YR HC     $12.99
APR141585     I AM ROSA PARKS YR HC     $12.99
MAY141821     ROGUES ANTHOLOGY HC     $30.00
MAY141791     STAR TREK COLLECTIBLES VALUE GUIDE SC     $19.95

July, I Reads You (2014)

Did you say, "Jew!"

Woody Allen joke?  It's July 2014.  Welcome to I Reads You, a ComicBookBin web and sister publication (www.comicbookbin.com).  We write about the things we read:  mostly comic books, comics, and related books.  Sometimes, we’ll write about or link to other topics:  typically books, politics, and entertainment.  Thanks for visiting; y'all come back now!

All images and text appearing on this publication are copyright © and/or trademark their respective owners.

I Reads You Review: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1.1

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1.1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Dan Slott
ART: Ramon Perez
COLORS: Ian Herring
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos with Joe Caramagna
COVER: Alex Ross
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2014)

Rated T

Learning to Crawl: Part One: The Show Must Go On

The core Spider-Man comic book series, The Amazing Spider-Man, has returned.  This All-New Marvel NOW series returns with a partner series of sorts, a side-series that retells the story of the early days of Peter Parker’s career as Spider-Man.  Entitled The Amazing Spider-Man 1.1 (Learning to Crawl: Part One), this series is brought to readers by writer Dan Slott, artist Ramón Pérez, colorist Ian Herring, and letterers Chris Eliopoulos and Joe Caramagna.

Learning to Crawl: Part One: The Show Must Go On opens shortly after Peter Parker as Spider-Man confronts the man who shot and killed his beloved Uncle Ben (Benjamin Parker) to death.  Peter is now in a position where he must put on his Spider-Man costume in order to help his family, where he once wore it as part of a secret new life.  As Uncle Ben’s funeral approaches, Peter remains unaware of how people perceive him and his alter-ego, but those perceptions will make his life even more complicated.

The art by Ramón Pérez for The Amazing Spider-Man 1.1 recalls the art of Steve Ditko that first brought Spider-Man to life more than 50 years ago.  This is an effective visual style that makes The Amazing Spider-Man 1.1 seem like a comic book that was published during the early days of Marvel Comics, instead of merely being a comic book tied into the launch of The Amazing Spider-Man 2014.

Writer Dan Slott uses this comic book to get inside Peter Parker’s head and to take an intimate look at the struggles of a 15-year-old boy more as a teenaged boy than as a superhero.  Whenever Slott brings Spider-Man into the story, it is in the context of teen Parker and not as teen superhero.  This emphasis on Peter is best exemplified in this issue when Peter is faced with his late uncle’s generosity at time when he knows that he and Aunt May could use the money Uncle Ben once gave away to those in need.  I look forward to more of this series.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: LOVELESS: A Kin of Homecoming

LOVELESS: A KIN OF HOMECOMING (Volume 1)
DC COMICS/Vertigo – @DCComics @vertigo_comics

CREATOR/STORY: Brian Azzarello
CREATOR/ART: Marcelo Frusin
COLORS: Patricia Mulvihill
LETTERS: Clem Robins
EDITOR: Will Dennis (original series)
COVER: Marcelo Frusin
128pp, Color, $9.99 U.S., $13.50 CAB (2006)

Suggested for mature readers

Loveless was a Western comic book series for mature readers published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.  The series was created by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Marcelo Frusin.  Loveless was published for 24 issues with the cover dates:  December 2005 to May 2008.  In addition to Frusin, artists Danijel Zezelj and Werther Dell'Edera also drew the series.  Loveless was a monthly, ongoing comic book series that was apparently intended to run for four years, but was cancelled after two-and-half years.

Loveless began as a series that focused on a Confederate Civil War veteran who returns to his hometown and finds it under Union control.  The veteran eventually becomes sheriff, as he continues to investigate the fate of his missing wife.  While the early issues of Loveless focused on the veteran’s relationships with the townsfolk and other locals, the series eventually expanded its scope and themes.

Several years ago, probably around the end of Loveless’ publication, I used some Amazon credit to buy the first two trade paperback collections of Loveless.  After misplacing the books, I found them and decided to read both and to review, at least, the first trade collection (for you, of course, dear readers).

Loveless: A Kin of Homecoming collects Loveless issues #1 to 5.  All five issues were produced by writer Brian Azzarello, artist Marcelo Frusin, colorist Patricia Mulvihill, and letterer Clem Robins.  The art for the cover of Loveless #1 was reused as the cover for Loveless: A Kin of Homecoming, but with new cover copy.

Loveless is set mainly in and around the town of Blackwater, Missouri.  The series introduces Wesley “Wes” Cutter, a former Confederate soldier who returns to Blackwater, where he finds that Union soldiers occupy his house and his wife, Ruth Stokes, is missing.  To regain his house, Wes starts killing Unions soldiers, but he isn’t the only former rebel killing soldiers.  Another former Confederate leads a band of fellow rebels who do not accept that the Civil War ended.  A man named Boyd leads this band of bushwhackers that are not only killing Union soldiers, but also Black people who live locally.

Jeremiah Trotter, a Northern businessman (a “carpetbagger”) wants to bring stability to the area.  In spite of the protests of Union commander, Colonel Silas Redd, Trotter offers Cutter the job of sheriff, which he accepts.  Perhaps, Cutter hopes the position will help him find answers about his missing wife and his missing younger brother, Jonny Cutter.  Also, a former slave turned bounty hunter, Atticus Mann, enters the scene.

Writer Brian Azzarello offers an embarrassment of riches when it comes to intriguing characters.  Lead character, Wes Cutter, is full of mystery, and with each page, he becomes more interesting rather than off-putting, which having too much mystery can sometimes do to a character.  Having a lot of characters can be a little confusing when the narrative shifts back and forth in time, however, which the first fives issues of Loveless do quite a bit.

One thing about Loveless of which I am ambivalent is the violence.  Artist Marcelo Frusin stages all of it in interesting ways, as if trying to create a graphical impression similar to that of film.  In spite of that, the violence is sometimes tedious, to the point where instead of raising the ante, it just wears down the story.

Marcelo Frusin and colorist Patricia Mulvihill deliver some pretty art.  In fact, the art is so good looking that the violence, the depictions of rape, and the portrayal of corpses (in various stages of damage and decay) seem odd, even out of place.

On the back cover of Loveless: A Kin of Homecoming is a quote from what is likely a favorable review.  The quote mentions the term “spaghetti western,” which Loveless is not.  Loveless, at least in the beginning, is a Western historical drama.  It is more like one of those old Western television series from the 1950s and 60s (but with explicit violence, profanity, and sex) than it is like a Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood film … or even like Django Unchained, a truer heir to Leone and Eastwood.

I plan to read the rest of Loveless.  I am curious to see how this series turned out before being cancelled.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.