IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for July 16, 2014

IDW PUBLISHING

MAY140523     24 #4     $3.99
MAY140536     BORDERLANDS FALL OF FYRESTONE #1     $3.99
APR148315     CARTOON NETWORK SUPER SECRET CRISIS WAR #1 2ND PTG (P     $3.99
MAY140556     DOBERMAN #1     $3.99
MAY140558     GATE WAY NEW WORLD TP     $17.99
MAY140519     JUDGE DREDD #21     $3.99
MAY140496     LITTLEST PET SHOP #3     $3.99
APR140449     LUST TP     $19.99
MAY140487     MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #21     $3.99
MAY140486     POWERPUFF GIRLS CLASSICS TP VOL 04 PICTURE PERFECT     $19.99
MAY140453     SQUIDDER #1     $3.99
MAY140511     STAR TREK SPECIAL FLESH & STONE #1     $3.99
FEB140330     STERANKO NICK FURY AGENT OF SHIELD ARTIST ED HC     PI
APR140441     TARZAN RUSS MANNING NEWSPAPER STRIPS HC VOL 03 1971-1974     $49.99
MAY140551     THE LAST FALL #1     $3.99
APR140370     TMNT ANIMATED TP VOL 04 MUTAGEN MAYHEM     $7.99
MAY140505     TMNT ONGOING #36     $3.99
APR148444     V-WARS #2 2ND PTG     $3.99
APR140417     X-FILES CLASSICS HC VOL 04     $29.99
MAY140528     X-FILES YEAR ZERO #1     $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 16, 2014

DARK HORSE COMICS

MAY140025     BPRD HELL ON EARTH #121     $3.50
MAY140064     BRAIN BOY MEN FROM GESTALT #3     $2.99
MAR140080     BTVS SPIKE INTO LIGHT HC     $14.99
MAY140097     EYE OF NEWT #2     $3.99
MAY140062     GHOST #6     $2.99
MAR140093     GRINDHOUSE MIDNIGHT TP VOL 01     $17.99
MAR140100     PICTURES THAT TICK LTD ED HC VOL 02     $100.00
MAR140099     PICTURES THAT TICK TP VOL 02     $29.99
MAY140086     STAR WARS DARTH MAUL SON OF DATHOMIR #3     $3.50
MAR140070     USAGI YOJIMBO LTD HC VOL 28 RED SCORPION     $59.99
MAY140078     WITCHER #5     $3.99
MAY140029     WITCHFINDER MYSTERIES OF UNLAND #2     $3.50

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 16, 2014

IMAGE COMICS

MAY140618     ALEX + ADA TP VOL 01     $12.99
MAY140582     APHRODITE IX CYBER FORCE #1 CVR A SEJIC     $5.99
MAY140583     APHRODITE IX CYBER FORCE #1 CVR B SEJIC     $5.99
MAY140584     APHRODITE IX CYBER FORCE #1 CVR C SILVESTRI     $5.99
FEB140519     APHRODITE IX REBIRTH TP VOL 02     $17.99
MAY140620     BAD DOG TP VOL 01 IN THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY (MR)     $19.99
MAY140697     BURN THE ORPHANAGE REIGN OF TERROR #3 CVR A GRACE & S     $3.50
MAY140698     BURN THE ORPHANAGE REIGN OF TERROR #3 CVR B WARD & SH     $3.50
MAY140606     CAP'N DINOSAUR ONE SHOT     $3.99
MAY140622     CHEW OMNIVORE ED HC VOL 04 (MR)     $34.99
MAY140574     DARK ENGINE #1 (MR)     $3.50
MAY140626     DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 01 REAGAN YOUTH (MR)     $9.99
MAY140712     MANIFEST DESTINY #8     $2.99
APR140585     RAT QUEENS #7 (MR)     $3.50
MAY148087     SHUTTER #2 2ND PTG (MR)     $3.50
MAY148088     SHUTTER #3 2ND PTG (MR)     $3.50
MAY140734     STRAY BULLETS THE KILLERS #5 (MR)     $3.50
MAY140740     UMBRAL #7 (MR)     $3.50
MAY140745     WICKED & DIVINE #2 (MR)     $3.50
MAY148075     WICKED & DIVINE #2 CVR B ZDARSKY     $3.50
MAY140746     WILDFIRE #2 CVR A LINDA SEJIC     $3.99
MAY140747     WILDFIRE #2 CVR B STJEPAN SEJIC     $3.99

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for July 16, 2014

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

FEB141405     ACG COLL WORKS FORBIDDEN WORLDS SLIPCASE ED VOL 06     $64.99
MAY141187     ADVENTURE TIME #30     $3.99
FEB140958     ALL NEW SOULFIRE #6 DIRECT MARKET CVR A     $3.99
FEB140959     ALL NEW SOULFIRE #6 DIRECT MARKET CVR B     $3.99
APR141054     ALONE GN VOL 01     $13.95
MAR141208     ANOMAL GN     $9.95
APR140852     ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #252     $4.99
MAY141640     ARMOR HUNTERS #2 MASK CVR (AH)     $3.99
MAY141271     ARMY OF DARKNESS HITCHED #1 BLANK AUTHENTIX CVR     $3.99
MAY141266     ARMY OF DARKNESS HITCHED #1 CVR A PARRILLO     $3.99
MAY141267     ARMY OF DARKNESS HITCHED #1 CVR B FRANCAVILLA     $3.99
MAY141268     ARMY OF DARKNESS HITCHED #1 CVR C BRADSHAW     $3.99
MAY141269     ARMY OF DARKNESS HITCHED #1 CVR D SUYDAM     $3.99
MAY141265     ARMY OF DARKNESS HITCHED #1 MAIN CVR LEE     $3.99
MAY141564     ATOMIC ROBO KNIGHTS OF GOLDEN CIRCLE #3     $3.50
MAY141498     AUTEUR #5 (MR)     $3.99
MAY141135     BLACK MARKET #1     $3.99
APR140949     BRYAN LEE O MALLEY SECONDS GN     $25.00
APR141128     CAPT ACTION CAT #3     $3.99
MAR140809     CAVEWOMAN JOURNEY #2 CVR B DURHAM     PI
JAN140996     CLIVE BARKER NEXT TESTAMENT #11 (MR)     $3.99
APR141168     CODENAME ACTION TP VOL 01     $19.99
MAY141090     CROSSED BADLANDS #57 (MR)     $3.99
MAY141093     CROSSED BADLANDS #57 FATAL FANTASY CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141092     CROSSED BADLANDS #57 TORTURE CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141091     CROSSED BADLANDS #57 WRAP CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141167     CURSE #1 ECCC EXC     $9.99
MAR141144     DF AMAZING SPIDER MAN #1 GOLD ELITE LEE SGN     $699.99
FEB141259     DF ELEKTRA #1 SGN HADEN BLACKMAN     $29.99
NOV131060     DF INHUMANITY #1 FRACTION SGN     $29.99
JAN131138     DF UNCANNY X-FORCE #1 HUMPHRIES SGN ED     $19.99
MAY141077     DICKS END OF TIME #2 (MR)     $3.99
MAY141078     DICKS END OF TIME #2 OFFENSIVE CVR (MR)     $3.99
APR141204     DISNEY MICKEY MOUSE HC VOL 05 PHANTOM BLOT     $34.99
MAY141236     DOC FRANKENSTEIN TP VOL 01 MESSIAH OF SCIENCE RESURRECTED     $16.99
MAY141306     DOODLE JUMP #2     $3.99
MAY141722     GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #100 A CVR ADAMS (AOFD) (MR)     $5.99
MAY141723     GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #100 B CVR SPAY (AOFD) (MR)     $5.99
MAY141724     GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #100 C CVR FRANCHESCO (AOFD) (MR)     $5.99
MAY141725     GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #100 D CVR CHEN (AOFD) (MR)     $5.99
MAY141726     GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #100 E CVR MILLER (AOFD) (MR)     $5.99
MAY141727     GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #100 F CVR TOLIBAO (AOFD) (MR)     $5.99
MAY141728     GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #100 G CVR CHATZOUDIS (AOFD) (MR)     $5.99
MAY141080     GOD IS DEAD #16 (MR)     $3.99
MAY141081     GOD IS DEAD #16 CARNAGE WRAP CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141082     GOD IS DEAD #16 END OF DAYS CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141083     GOD IS DEAD #16 ICONIC CVR (MR)     $3.99
MAY141168     HACKTIVIST HC (MR)     $24.99
MAY148125     HARBINGER #23 2ND PTG     $3.99
MAY141659     HARBINGER #25 CVR A SUAYAN     $4.99
MAY141660     HARBINGER #25 CVR B FRISON     $4.99
MAR141014     IZNOGOUD GN VOL 08 ROCKETS TO STARDOM     $11.95
APR141055     IZNOGOUD GN VOL 10 RELENTLESS     $11.95
JAN141231     KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #209     $5.99
MAY141274     LADY ZORRO #1     $3.99
APR141056     LARGO WINCH GN VOL 14 RED HOT WRATH     $11.95
MAY141170     LAST BROADCAST #3 (MR)     $3.99
MAR141096     LEGENDERRY A STEAMPUNK ADV #5     $3.99
MAY141014     LIFE WITH ARCHIE COMIC #36 ADAM HUGHES CVR     $4.99
MAY141016     LIFE WITH ARCHIE COMIC #36 FIONA STAPLES CVR     $4.99
MAY141013     LIFE WITH ARCHIE COMIC #36 FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA CVR     $4.99
MAY141012     LIFE WITH ARCHIE COMIC #36 MIKE ALLRED CVR     $4.99
MAY141015     LIFE WITH ARCHIE COMIC #36 RAMON PEREZ CVR     $4.99
MAY141475     LILY RENEE ESCAPE ARTIST GN     $7.95
APR141057     LUCKY LUKE TP VOL 46 PONY EXPRESS     $11.95
MAY141033     MEGA MAN #39 REG CVR     $2.99
APR141270     MONSTER HIGH HOPES & SCREAMS GN     $10.00
APR141243     ONE IS ENOUGH GN (MR)     $9.95
APR141206     PRINCE VALIANT HC VOL 09 1953-1954     $35.00
MAY141500     PRINCESS UGG #2     $3.99
MAY141457     SANCTUM HC (MR)     $29.95
MAY141127     SIMPSONS COMICS #213     $2.99
NOV130790     SONIC SAGA TP VOL 05 ENERJAK REBORN     $11.99
APR140869     SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #262 REG CVR     $2.99
JAN140886     SONIC UNIVERSE TP VOL 07     $11.99
MAY141158     SONS OF ANARCHY #11 (MR)     $3.99
MAY141046     SOULFIRE ANNUAL #1 DIRECT MARKET CVR A     $5.99
MAY141366     SPIDER TP VOL 03 CITY OF CRIME     $19.99
APR141404     STREET FIGHTER IV HC VOL 01 WAGES OF SIN     $34.99
MAY141255     THE DEVILERS #1     $2.99
MAY141280     THE SHADOW #0     $3.99
MAY141162     TRANSLUCID #4     $3.99
MAY141651     UNITY #9 REG SUAYAN (AH)     $3.99
MAR141295     WWE SUPERSTARS ONGOING #6     $3.99
MAY140980     YOUTH IS WASTED GN     $14.95

MAGAZINES
MAR141337     2000 AD PACK MAY 2014     PI
MAY141556     2000 AD SUMMER SCI-FI SPECIAL 2014     $7.00
APR141672     CEREAL GEEK MAGAZINE #13     $17.00
APR141673     CINEFEX #138     $12.50
MAY141862     COMIC SHOP NEWS #1413     PI
APR141674     DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES SPECIAL MAGAZINE     $14.99
MAR141609     DIABOLIQUE #21     $9.98
MAY141865     DOCTOR WHO ESSENTIAL GUIDE #2 THE TARDIS     $19.99
MAR141608     DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #474     $9.99
MAY141872     HORRORHOUND #48     $6.99
MAR141596     ILLUSTRATORS MAGAZINE #7     $24.99
FEB141639     MARVEL CHESS FIG COLL MAG #8 THOR WHITE BISHOP     $16.00
FEB141665     RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE #146     $9.95
MAR141617     SCREAM MAGAZINE #24 (MR)     $8.99
DEC131442     STAR TREK STARSHIPS FIG COLL MAG #16 FERENGI MARAUDER     $20.00
JAN141528     STAR TREK STARSHIPS FIG COLL MAG #18 BAJORAN LIGHT SHIP     $20.00
AUG131728     VIDEO WATCHDOG #177 (MR)     $8.95
MAY141882     WALKING DEAD MAGAZINE #9 NEWSSTAND ED (MR)     $9.99
MAY141883     WALKING DEAD MAGAZINE #9 PX ED (MR)     $9.99

BOOKS
APR141541     ALARY SKETCHBOOK #3     $30.00
APR141567     CG CHARACTERS FROM SKETCH TO FINISH SC     $35.00
MAY141804     DC YR BOARD BOOK LG BATMAN SHAPES     $12.99
MAY141806     DC YR BOARD BOOK LG CATWOMAN COUNTING     $12.99
MAY141808     DC YR BOARD BOOK LG SUPERMAN COLORS     $12.99
MAY141810     DC YR BOARD BOOK LG WONDER WOMAN ABCS     $12.99
FEB140949     GLENN FABRY SKETCHBOOK SC VOL 02 REMARKED ED (MR)     $75.00
MAY141824     GORGO PRODUCTION BACKGROUND SC     $24.95
MAY141835     JAMES BAMA AMERICAN REALIST HC SALE BOOK     $14.95
MAY141837     PRINCE VALIANT PAGE HC SALE BOOK     PI
MAY141782     RB WHITE SKETCHBOOK VOL 01 (MR)     $20.00
APR141408     SUBSTRATA OPEN WORLD DARK FANTASY SC     $44.99
MAY141793     TREKKERS GUDE TO COLLECTIBLES UNAUTH 2ND ED     $29.95

Sweet Rein: Mating Season

I read Sweet Rein, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Review: THE STRAIN #2

THE STRAIN #2
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
SCRIPT: David Lapham
ART: Mike Huddleston
COLORS: Dan Jackson
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Mike Huddleston
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S. (January 2012)

Part 2: “The Occultation”

Early in 2013, Dark Horse Comics made PDF copies of all 11 issues of its horror comic book series, The Strain, available to comic book reviewers on its mailing list.  As an incentive, Dark Horse offered to give any reviewer who reviewed all 11 issues of The Strain copies of the two trade paperbacks that collected the series.  This offer was part of the promotional effort for the follow-up series, The Strain: The Fall.  I took up that offer and reviewed all 11 issues of The Strain for the ComicBookBin.

I have previously posted my review of The Strain #1 also on my “I Reads You” blog.  Over the course of the coming weeks, I will post the reviews of issues 2 to 11 on this blog in anticipation of “The Strain,” the television adaptation of the original novel.  The first episode is scheduled to debut on Sunday night, July 13, 2014 on cable channel, FX.  [By the way, Dark Horse reneged on that offer of the free trade paperbacks, at least to me.]

----------------

The Strain was a 2009 vampire novel from filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and novelist Chuck Hogan.  It was the first book in The Strain trilogy.  Back in 2011, Dark Horse Comics began producing a comic book adaptation of the first book, also entitled The Strain, with script adaptation by David Lapham and art by Mike Huddleston.

The central character of The Strain is Dr. Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control).  Dr. Goodweather is the head of the Canary Project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats.  Goodweather and his second-in-command, Nora Martinez, may have found such a threat at J.F.K. International Airport in New York City.  That’s where a Boeing 777 went dead silent after landing, with window shades pulled down and all lights out.

As The Strain #2 opens, Goodweather and Martinez are examining a strange container that was found on the Boeing.  Does it have something to do with the 206 people found dead on the plane?  Meanwhile, the three people who were the sole survivors of the flight grow restless.  They are also useless to Goodweather and Martinez when it comes to solving the mystery of what happened on that flight.

New players enter the story.  Mysterious plutocrat, Eldritch Palmer, and the elderly Professor Abraham Setrakian head to New York City.  As the Big Apple prepares for a rare event, the Occultation, something deadly begins to claim its first victims.

This review comes over a year after The Strain #2 first reached comic book shops, but a horror comic book this good will be worth reading years after its publication.  Writer David Lapham delivers a page-turner that rages like the latest pot-boiler on the bestsellers list.  This tale grows more chilling and riveting with each scene.

Artist Mike Huddleston continues to deliver potent graphical storytelling, and his control over atmosphere grows with each page.  Yes, he’s still on the way to being a master of horror, and we benefit from it with a great horror comic book.  I am chomping at the bits to read the third issue of The Strain.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Review: NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS Volume 16

NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS, VOL. 16
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Yuki Midorikawa
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Lillian Olsen
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6782-2; paperback (June 2014), Rated “T” for “Teen”
196pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S. $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

One of my favorite manga is Natsume’s Book of Friends, created by mangaka, Yuki Midorikawa.  I think it is also one of the best comic books published in North America the past three years.

Natsume’s Book of Friends focuses on Takashi Natsume.  He is a high school boy who can see the spirits and demons called “yokai.”  This ability has been a curse and has set him apart from others.  Takashi, an orphaned teen, finds a stable home with Tôko and Shigeru Fujiwara, a kindly couple who are distant relatives.

Natsume also has a companion in Nyanko-Sensei, a guardian yokai.  Takashi learns that he has inherited two things from his mysterious grandmother, Reiko Natsume: “the Sight” and her “Book of Friends,” a tome in which Reiko wrote the names of yokai.

As Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 16 (Chapters 64 to 67) opens, Natsume discovers strange, graffiti-like writing on the blackboard in his second period classroom.  While he engages that mystery, he meets his friend, Taki Tohru.  Taki can see yokai when they enter one of her spell circles.  She recently discovered a spell circle created by her late grandfather, and she used it to help a yokai.  This yokai, however, still remains near Taki’s house, and if he doesn’t want revenge, Natsume wonders, what does he want?

Next, Natsume visits Kaname Tanuma, his friend who can sense when yokai are present.  Kaname is going to visit his Aunt Satomi, who is remodeling an inn she owns and operates.  She wants some help cleaning the place for a few days.  Two of their school friends, Nishimura and Kitamoto, join Natsume and Kaname on a trip to the inn to work in exchange for room and board.  Not long after arriving, Natsume discovers the presence of a yokai that has stolen something important, endangering all their lives.

[This volume includes a bonus story, “Out of Season Blossoms.”]

As I have stated before, I had no idea that I would like the Natsume’s Book of Friends manga so much after I read the first volume of the English adaptation a few years ago.  This unique manga is the kind of literary fantasy that would fit in at Vertigo, the DC Comics’ imprint which focuses on adult-oriented fantasy comics (among other genres).

It would also be at home with juvenile and young adult graphic novels offered by publishers like First Second Books and Scholastic.  In fact, if Neil Gaiman was listed as the author of Natsume’s Book of Friends, this series would already be a bestseller, be a multiple Eisner Award-winner, and have won at least one Hugo Award.  The film or television rights would have been snapped up after the first graphic novel was published.

Instead, Natsume’s Book of Friends seems largely unknown outside of manga fans.  I wonder what the highest position on the New York Times bestselling manga list is that Natsume’s Book of Friends has achieved.

Natsume’s Book of Friends Volume 16 is one of the volumes that are perfect for new readers.  Neither of the two main stories (each running two chapters) involves the series’ internal mythology beyond the fact that Taki and Kaname are reoccurring characters.  Vol. 16 is a good example of the wonderful sense of magic and enchantment this series offers, and it proves that this series should be a big hit.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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