Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for November 23, 2016

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

SEP162083    ABANDONED SACRED BEASTS GN VOL 03    $10.95
AUG161194    AIRSHIP ENTERPRISE #3 (RES)    $3.99
SEP161213    AMERICAN MONSTER TP VOL 01 (MR)    $14.99
JUL161918    ASSASSINS CREED #13 CVR A PERCIVAL (MR)    $4.99
JUL161919    ASSASSINS CREED #13 CVR B FUSO (MR)    $4.99
JUL161920    ASSASSINS CREED #13 CVR C CULBARD (MR)    $4.99
SEP161183    ATHENA VOLTAIRE AND THE VOLCANO GODDESS #1 CVR A BRYANT    $3.99
SEP161184    ATHENA VOLTAIRE AND THE VOLCANO GODDESS #1 CVR B ALLRED    $4.99
AUG161684    BABY SITTERS CLUB COLOR ED BOX SET    $43.96
JUL161522    BARACK THE BARBARIAN GN    $18.99
JUN161347    BARRACUDA GN VOL 05 CANNBALS    $13.95
AUG161407    BELLADONNA #1 CENTURY NUDE SET (MR)    $169.99
AUG161400    BELLADONNA #1 COSTUME CHANGE SET (MR)    $19.99
AUG161401    BELLADONNA #1 NUDE & NAUGHTY SET (MR)    $24.99
AUG161405    BELLADONNA #1 TOPLESS LEATHER CVR (MR)    $24.99
SEP161222    BLACK EYED KIDS #8 (MR)    $3.99
SEP162055    BLOODSHOT USA #2 (OF 4) CVR A BRAITHWAITE    $3.99
SEP162056    BLOODSHOT USA #2 (OF 4) CVR B SEGOVIA    $3.99
SEP162057    BLOODSHOT USA #2 (OF 4) CVR C JOHNSON    $3.99
SEP161502    BOY ZERO GN (MR)    $14.99
SEP161556    BRANDON SANDERSON WHITE SAND HC VOL 01 SGN ED    $39.99
AUG161455    CAPTAIN CANUCK 2015 ONGOING #10 CVR A ANDRASOFSZKY (RES)    $3.99
AUG161456    CAPTAIN CANUCK 2015 ONGOING #10 CVR B PRIESTLEY PHOTO (RES)    $4.99
AUG161457    CAPTAIN CANUCK 2015 ONGOING #10 CVR C RUIZ    $4.99
OCT161043    CENTIFOLIA VOL 01 (MR)    $19.95
OCT161044    CENTIFOLIA VOL 02 (MR)    $19.95
SEP161622    CIVIL WAR ADVENTURE GN VOL 02    $12.95
AUG161469    CLEAR BLUE TOMORROWS GN    $15.95
AUG161625    COMPLETE PEANUTS HC BOX SET 1999-2000 COMICS STORIES    $49.99
AUG161624    COMPLETE PEANUTS HC VOL 26 COMICS & STORIES    $29.99
AUG161627    COMPLETE PEANUTS TP BOX SET 1959-1962    $39.99
AUG161626    COMPLETE PEANUTS TP VOL 06 1961-1962    $22.99
JUL161446    DAMOCLES GN VOL 03    $11.95
MAY161075    DAYS MISSING HC VOL 01 NEW ED    $19.99
NOV151363    DF DOCTOR STRANGE #1 MIDTOWN EXC BACHALO SGN    $39.99
AUG151420    DF UNCANNY X-MEN #600 BACHALO SGN    $29.99
AUG151421    DF UNCANNY X-MEN #600 ULTRA LTD GOLD BACHALO SGN    $89.99
AUG161890    DOCTOR WHO 10TH YEAR TWO #16 CVR A CARANFA    $3.99
AUG161891    DOCTOR WHO 10TH YEAR TWO #16 CVR B PHOTO    $3.99
AUG161892    DOCTOR WHO 10TH YEAR TWO #16 CVR C QUESTION 6    $3.99
JUL161903    DOCTOR WHO 9TH #7 CVR A GLASS    $3.99
JUL161904    DOCTOR WHO 9TH #7 CVR B PHOTO    $3.99
JUL161905    DOCTOR WHO 9TH #7 CVR C QUALANO    $3.99
SEP161777    DREAMWORKS TROLLS CINESTORY TP    $14.99
SEP161585    EVIL ERNIE GODEATER #4 (OF 5) CVR A PARRILLO    $4.99
SEP161586    EVIL ERNIE GODEATER #4 (OF 5) CVR B STRAHM    $4.99
JUN161801    FLASH GORDON DAILIES HC VOL 02 THE LOST CONTINENT (MR)    $49.99
SEP161783    FORGET ME NOT GN VOL 05    $10.99
SEP161377    FUTURAMA COMICS #81    $3.99
SEP162170    GFT GENESIS HEROES RISING CVR A KROME (MR)    $4.99
SEP162171    GFT GENESIS HEROES RISING CVR B RIVEIRO (MR)    $4.99
SEP162172    GFT GENESIS HEROES RISING CVR C RICH (MR)    $4.99
SEP162173    GFT GENESIS HEROES RISING CVR D LILLY (MR)    $4.99
SEP162174    GFT GENESIS HEROES RISING CVR E REI (MR)    $4.99
SEP161588    GREAT DIVIDE #3 (OF 6) CVR A MARKIEWICZ (MR)    $3.99
SEP161589    GREAT DIVIDE #3 (OF 6) CVR B DALE HOMAGE (MR)    $3.99
AUG161864    HAGANAI I DONT HAVE MANY FRIENDS GN VOL 14 (MR)    $12.99
SEP161488    HELLINA #1 (OF 3) ANGELIC CVR (MR)    $9.99
SEP161489    HELLINA #1 (OF 3) ANGELIC NUDE CVR (MR)    $9.99
SEP161492    HELLINA #1 (OF 3) PANDORA CENTURY 11 CVR SET (MR)    $219.99
AUG161867    I DONT LIKE YOU AT ALL BIG BROTHER GN COLL ED VOL 05 (MR) (C    $18.99
JUL161447    IZNOGOUD GN VOL 13 I WANT BE CALIPH    $11.95
SEP161838    JEFF STEINBERG CHAMPION OF EARTH #4 (MR)    $3.99
JUL161408    JUNGLE FANTASY IVORY #2 CENTURY NUDE CVR (MR)    $39.99
JUL161405    JUNGLE FANTASY IVORY #2 COSTUME CHANGE SET (MR)    $39.99
AUG161416    JUNGLE FANTASY IVORY #3 CENTURY NUDE CVR (MR)    $39.99
SEP161497    JUNGLE FANTASY VIXENS #1 (OF 2) KS COSTUME CHANGE 6 CVR SET    $39.99
SEP162157    LEGEND TP    $14.99
AUG161768    LEGO NINJAGO DARK ISLAND TRILOGY GN VOL 03    $13.99
SEP161805    LEGO NINJAGO GAMES GHOSTS & PIRATES COLLECTION    $16.99
SEP161804    LEGO NINJAGO GN VOL 03 FROM GHOSTS TO PIRATES    $7.99
SEP161493    LOOKERS #0 KS CVR (MR)    $6.99
SEP161494    LOOKERS #0 KS NUDE CVR (MR)    $9.99
SEP161490    LOOKERS #0 KS SEXY SLEUTHS CVR (MR)    $6.99
SEP161491    LOOKERS #0 KS SEXY SLEUTHS NUDE CVR (MR)    $9.99
SEP161678    LOVE IN VAIN ROBERT JOHNSON 1911-1938 GN    $29.95
JUL161449    LUCKY LUKE TP VOL 60 BALLAD OF DALTONS    $11.95
SEP161444    LUMBERJANES #32    $3.99
JUN161802    MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN DAILIES HC VOL 01 COBRA    $39.99
SEP161973    MASKED #1 (OF 4) CVR A MCCREA    $3.99
SEP161974    MASKED #1 (OF 4) CVR B CARRE    $3.99
SEP161975    MASKED #1 (OF 4) CVR C KURTH    $3.99
SEP161976    MASKED #1 (OF 4) CVR D CRETY    $3.99
SEP161977    MASKED #1 (OF 4) CVR E PERGER    $3.99
SEP161176    MONTY THE DINOSAUR TP VOL 01    $8.99
SEP161503    MYTHOS LOVECRAFT WORLDS GN (MR)    $12.99
AUG161470    NAMIBIA GN VOL 03 EPISODE3    $13.95
SEP161832    NIGHTS DOMINION #3 (MR)    $3.99
SEP162069    NINJAK #21 CVR A CHOI    $3.99
SEP162070    NINJAK #21 CVR B BODENHEIM    $3.99
SEP162071    NINJAK #21 CVR C LAMING    $3.99
AUG161464    NORTHGUARD #4 CVR A SALAS    $3.99
AUG161465    NORTHGUARD #4 CVR B PARENT    $4.99
SEP161707    NVRLND #4 (OF 4) (MR)    $3.99
SEP161458    OVER GARDEN WALL ONGOING #8    $3.99
SEP161459    OVER GARDEN WALL ONGOING #8 SUBSCRIPTION YI VAR    $3.99
JUL161963    PACIFIC GN    $29.99
SEP161532    PALACE OF CHAMPIONS GN (MR)    $25.00
AUG161628    PEANUTS EVERY SUNDAY HC VOL 04 1966-1970    $49.99
SEP161277    PEARLS BEFORE SWINE TP STEPHANS WEB    $14.99
JUN161859    PERSONA 4 GN VOL 04    $13.99
AUG162032    PERSONA 4 GN VOL 05    $13.99
APR161698    PHANTOM COMP DAILIES HC VOL 10 W SUNDAYS  1950-1951    $60.00
SEP161241    PINK PANTHER TP VOL 01    $19.99
AUG161871    PLEASE TELL ME GALKO CHAN GN VOL 01    $14.99
SEP161789    PRINCE IN HIS DARK DAYS GN VOL 02 (MR)    $12.99
AUG161980    PUSS IN BOOTS TP AMAZING TAILS    $12.99
SEP161495    RAVENING #1 (OF 4) BLOODPLAY CVR (MR)    $9.99
SEP161496    RAVENING #1 (OF 4) BLOODPLAY NUDE CVR (MR)    $9.99
JUL161419    RAVENING #3 ALLURING CENTURY SET (MR)    $59.99
JUL161420    RAVENING #3 COSTUME CHANGE SET (MR)    $39.99
AUG161429    RAVENING #4 (OF 4) ALLURING CENTURY SET (MR)    $59.99
AUG161428    RAVENING #4 (OF 4) COSTUME CHANGE SET (MR)    $19.99
AUG161431    RAVENING #4 (OF 4) NUDE & NAUGHTY SET (MR)    $24.99
SEP161790    REAL ACCOUNT GN VOL 05    $10.99
JUN161497    REALIST CARTOONS HC PAUL KRASSNER    $44.99
JUL161352    REGULAR SHOW TP VOL 07    $14.99
JUL161794    RICK & MORTY HC BOOK 01    $49.99
SEP161609    SEMANTIC LACE GN    $14.99
SEP161625    SETHS DOMINION HC    $29.95
SEP161598    SHERLOCK HOLMES OMNIBUS TP VOL 01    $34.99
JUL161185    SO BUTTONS GN    $20.00
SEP161305    SONIC THE HEDGEHOG TP VOL 04 CONTROL (RES)    $12.99
JUL161228    STEAMCRAFT (ONESHOT)    $3.99
JUL161529    TALES OF MR RHEE TP VOL 03 THOSE WHO FIGHT MONSTERS    $18.99
SEP161793    TSUBASA WORLD CHRONICLE GN VOL 03 (RES)    $10.99
JUN161748    TURNCOAT TP (RES)    $14.99
AUG161471    VALERIAN GN VOL 13 ON THE FRONTIERS    $15.95
DEC151407    WALT KELLY POGO COMP DELL COMICS HC VOL 04    $60.00
SEP161427    WARLORDS OF APPALACHIA #2 MAIN CARNEVALE    $3.99
SEP161304    WORLD OF ARCHIE COMICS DOUBLE DIGEST #64    $4.99
SEP161603    XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS ALL ROADS TP    $19.99
APR161482    XIII CINEBOOK ED GN VOL 21 RETURN TO GREENFALLS    $11.95
SEP162082    X-O MANOWAR TP VOL 12 LONG LIVE THE KING    $14.99

MAGAZINES
AUG161847    2000 AD PACK OCT 2016    $21.60
JUL162313    BRICKJOURNAL #42    $8.95
AUG162311    CINEMA RETRO FOTO FILES #1 SPY GIRLS (MR)    $11.99
AUG162300    DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #505    $11.99
SEP162286    EVER AFTER HIGH SPECIAL #0    $9.99
JUN162128    HOBBY JAPAN SEP 2016    $20.00
SEP162270    HORRORHOUND 2016 FALL ANNUAL SPECIAL    $5.00
JUL162005    JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #69    $10.95
AUG161848    JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #377    $13.00
SEP162259    JUXTAPOZ #190    $6.99
AUG162302    LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #37    $10.95
MAY162099    MEGAMI AUG 2016    $20.00
MAY162100    NEWTYPE AUG 2016    $20.00
AUG162305    SCI FI & FANTASY MODELLER VOL 43    $27.99
SEP162287    STAR WARS INSIDER 2017 SPECIAL    $14.99

BOOKS
SEP161551    ART OF RED SONJA HC VOL 02    $34.99
SEP162087    ATTACK ON TITAN END OF THE WORLD NOVEL    $17.95
AUG168877    CHARLIE THE CHOO-CHOO HC    $14.99
OCT162165    COMIC BOOK FILM ADAPTATION EXPLORING MODERN HOLLYWOOD SC    $30.00
AUG162248    INCREDIBUILDS BATMOBILE SIGNATURE SERIES MODEL W BOOK    $29.99
JUL162207    INFECTED BY ART BEST WORLDS FANTASY SF HORROR ART HC VOL 04    $49.99
OCT161753    KITE RUNNER GN NEW PTG    $20.00
SEP162219    LEGO DC SUPER HEROES ACTIVITY BOOK #2 WITH MINIFIGURE    $8.99
JUL161642    OVERSTREET GUIDE SC VOL 03 GRADING COMICS 2016 ED    $24.95
OCT162184    ROGER ZELAZNY HERE THERE BE DRAGONS BODE ILLUS HC    $19.99
OCT162185    ROGER ZELAZNY WAY UP HIGH BODE ILLUS HC    $19.99
AUG162315    STAR TREK BEYOND COLLECTORS ED SC    $14.99
SEP163179    WARHAMMER 40K BEHEADING HC    $17.50
SEP163181    WARHAMMER 40K REBIRTH SC    $16.00
SEP163184    WARHAMMER 40K WARDEN OF THE BLADE HC    $27.00

Review: BLACK PANTHER Volume 2 #2

BLACK PANTHER, VOL. 2 No. 2
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Christopher Priest with Joe Quesada
ARTIST: Mark Texeira with Alitha Martinez
COLORS: Avalon Color
LETTERS: Rich S and Comicraft’s Siobhan Hanna
COVER: Mark Texeira
VARIANT COVER: Bruce Timm
EDITORS: Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti
EIC: Bob Harras
32pp, Color, $2.50 US, $3.50 CAN (December 1998)

“Invasion”

When I learned that former Marvel Comics editor and writer, Christopher Priest (once known as Jim Owsley), was returning to comic books, I was excited.  Priest has been announced as the new writer of DC Comics' Deathstroke comic book series, beginning some time later this year.  The news started me thinking about one of Priest's more notable runs in comic books.

Beginning in 1998, Joe Quesada and his partners at Event Comics (including inker Jimmy Palmiotti) oversaw a Marvel Comics imprint dubbed “Marvel Knights.”  One of the characters that received the “Marvel Knights” treatment was Black Panther.  Christopher Priest wrote this new Black Panther series (Volume 2) with story contributions from Quesada.  Artist Mark Texeira drew the first four issues of Priest's run.

Marvel Comics' the Black Panther, also known as T’Challa, is the first black superhero to appear in mainstream American comic books.  Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the Black Panther first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (cover dated: July 1966).

For Black Panther Vol. 2, Priest used characters from the 1990-91 miniseries, Black Panther: Panther’s Rage.  He also introduced new characters, in particularly Everett K. Ross, an attorney in the Office of the Chief of Protocol at the U.S. State Department.  Priest's story revolves around Black Panther's trip to the United States to investigate “The Tomorrow Fund,” a charity he established.  There has not only been financial irregularity at the charity, but there has also been a death related to the charity, that of a young girl who was the face of The Tomorrow Fun.  The story of Black Panther Vol. 2 is narrated via flashback by Everett K. Ross to his State Department boss, Nikki Adams.

Black Panther Vol. 2 #2 (“Invasion”) opens in an apartment in the Leslie N. Hill Housing Project, where Black Panther and his entourage has decided to make their base of operations while in New York City.  Ross, the State Department's liaison to T'Challa, is still without his pants and has found himself in the company of Mephisto.  Meanwhile, Black Panther is beating and intimidating his way through the city in order to find out how a child connected to his charity ended up dead.  The answer is a lot closer to home than T'Challa realizes.

Christopher Priest has stated that he used Everett K. Ross to bridge a gap between the African culture in which much of the Black Panther mythos is based and Marvel Comics’ predominantly white readership.  I don't need that bridge, neither as a longtime comic book reader nor as an African-American.  As I have previously stated, I think comic books have maintained a “predominantly white readership” for a number of reasons.  That includes substandard marketing, advertising, and public relations, to say nothing of the publishing and editorial policies regarding who is hired and assigned to create comics.  However, I have encountered many comic book readers who are predominantly of European extraction i.e. “white boys,” who really liked Priest's Black Panther and still fondly remember the series.

I think Priest's decision to tell the story via Ross is a kind of genius move.  He uses Ross to bring levity to the series, and in Ross, Priest has fashioned a funny guy and a truly likable character.  His misadventures are a kind of after-dinner mint to the main story, Black Panther's quest for answers regarding The Tomorrow Fund, which Priest tells in the spirit of blaxploitation movies.

It is a tale of woe and urban decay and of crime and betrayal.  Priest depicts Black people hurting other people for money and power, and “the Man” is not to blame.  Also, the trouble of Mother Africa, in this case, Black Panther's home country of Wakanda, are intimately connected to the scandal of The Tomorrow Fun.

It is odd that I am not that crazy about the style of Mark Texeira's art for Black Panther Vol. 2.  Still, his graphical storytelling is picture perfect for Priest's multifaceted script.  It even works in the comic scenes featuring Ross.  Texeira's art works in spite of itself; at least, it seems that way to me...

After reading Black Panther Vol. 2 #2, I am ready to read Priest's Deathstroke.  I am also anxious to read more of this series.

A

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

The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Comics Review: WHO KILLED KURT COBAIN?

WHO KILLED KURT COBAIN?
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

CARTOONIST: Nicolas Otero
TRANSLATION: Ivanka Hahnenberger
LETTERS: Troy Little
ISBN:  978-1-63140-726-0; hardcover (October 2016)
152pp, Color, $24.99 U.S.

IDW Publishing recently published a new hardcover, full-color graphic novel, entitled Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: The Story of Boddah.  This is an English language release of the French graphic novel,  Le Roman de Boddah, written and drawn by Nicolas Otero and published earlier this year by Editions Glénat.  Otero's graphic novel is a comic book adaptation of the French novel, Le Roman de Boddah (2013), by author Heloise Guay de Bellissen.

Who Killed Kurt Cobain? is a work of fiction that recounts real-life events from the life of Kurt Cobain.  For those who don't know, Cobain was the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band, Nirvana.  This musical trio exploded onto the American music scene in late 1991 with the album, Nevermind.  Less than two and a half years later, Cobain committed suicide in April 1994.  [Dave Grohl, the founder of the Grammy-winning rock band, Foo Fighters, was Nirvana's drummer, and Krist Novoselic was the band's bassist.]

Cobain allegedly had an imaginary friend named “Boddah,” to whom he supposedly addressed a suicide note.  In Who Killed Kurt Cobain?, the readers see the rise and fall and the highs and lows of Kurt Cobain through the eyes of Boddah.  Cobain becomes modern rock's greatest icon in a journey that begins in the dark clubs of Seattle before rocketing the young musician onto the world stage.  The journey to rock immortality then plummets through a torrent of drug abuse; a dysfunctional marriage to fellow musician, Courtney Love; and self-loathing and depression before the final stop, self-destruction and suicide.

Who killed Kurt Cobain?  Unless Perry Mason knows something else, then, the answer is Kurt Cobain.  I have not read Heloise Guay de Bellissen's novel upon which this comic book is based (nor do I plan to), so I will focus on what I think Nicolas Otero attempts to do in the graphic novel, Who Killed Kurt Cobain?

It seems as if Otero tries to fabricate a time line of events – what happened in Cobain's life – and then presents them in a murky, impressionistic haze to reflect the fictional Cobain's state of mind.  I think Otero also tries to fabricate Cobain's interior life – his thoughts, creativity, imagination, delusions, illusions, etc, which he also presents in a murky, impressionistic haze.  The narrative is shocking and even confrontational, but the meaning or purpose of the series of events depicted is oblique.

Who Killed Kurt Cobain?  I don't care.  I hate to go hard on this graphic novel, especially because I am reviewing a copy IDW Publishing generously sent me.  I try not to bum-rush or be too harsh on books I receive as review copies, but I am not really interested in Who Killed Kurt Cobain?, the graphic novel or the real-life question.

I was and still am a huge fan of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain the musician and singer-songwriter.  I don't remember the date, but sometime in or around September 1991, an employee at Paradise Records (which has been closed for almost two decades) in Baton Rouge, LA, just off the northern side of the campus of Louisiana State University, recommended Nevermind to me because I was looking for rock music outside the mainstream.  I bought Nevermind and immediately brought it home, and after the first listen, I was a fan.

I was shocked and hurt upon learning of Cobain's death, but whatever went down with his death was and is beyond my control.  I loved Nirvana because I thought the music was good – real good, and like Paul McCartney, I don't just like genres of music, I like good music.

Who Killed Kurt Cobain? is not a bad graphic novel.  I suspect some people find it quite intriguing; otherwise, IDW would never have published a snazzy hardcover, full-color edition of it.  In this work, Nicolas Otero is ambitious and thoughtful.  This work just ain't for me... not anymore.  There are, however, readers who want comic books about real-life rock musicians or ones that feature fictional versions of them, and Who Killed Kurt Cobain? may be something they want to read.

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Image Comics Orders Second Printings for Mark Millar's "Reborn"

REBORN HITS BIG, SENT BACK TO PRINT

Issue #1 and #2 both go back to press

Image Comics has fast-tracked the first two issues of the breakout hit series from Mark Millar (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Greg Capullo (Batman) for more printings in order to keep up with the skyrocketing customer demand.

REBORN #1 asks: Where do you go when you die? Not heaven or hell; somewhere else. Somewhere you have to fight to survive. Somewhere the people from the past are waiting for you—the good and the bad.

In REBORN #2 the epic sci-fi fantasy story continues. After her death, Bonnie is reborn in Adystria and has a sword thrust into her hand. As the evils within the Dark Lands get stronger, she is Adystria's only hope: their savior.

REBORN remains available for purchase across all digital platforms, including the Image Comics website (imagecomics.com), the official Image Comics iOS app, Comixology’s website (comixology.com), iOS, Android, and Google Play.

The following will be available on Wednesday, December 14th, 2016. The final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, November 21st, 2016:

REBORN #1, 3rd printing (Diamond Code OCT168148)
REBORN #2, 2nd printing (Diamond Code OCT168210)
REBORN #3 Cover A by Capullo (Diamond Code OCT160627)
REBORN #3 CVR B Capullo Sketch variant (Diamond Code OCT160628)
REBORN #3 CVR C by Capullo (Diamond Code OCT160629)
REBORN #3 CVR D by Garner (Diamond Code OCT160630)


ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

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

Yaoi Review: BLUE MORNING Volume 6

BLUE MORNING, VOL. 6
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga (Chara Comics)

CARTOONIST: Shoko Hidaka
TRANSLATION: Jocelyne Allen
LETTERS: NRP Studios
COVER: Shoko Hidaka with Shawn Carrico
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8806-3; paperback (September 2016) Rated “M” for “Mature”
250pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Blue Morning is a series of yaoi manga graphic novels from creator Shoko Hidaka.  Yaoi manga features love stories in which the romantic leads are males.  A subset of boys’ love (BL) manga, yaoi can also feature explicit depictions of sex.  Blue Morning focuses on Akihito, the heir to a viscount-ship, and Katsuragi, his very capable butler, to whom Akihito is attracted.

After the death of his father, Akinao Kuze, 10-year-old Akihito Kuze moves into the Kuze mansion, as he prepares to inherit his late father’s viscount-ship.  There, he meets the Kuze family butler, Tomoyuki Katsuragi, who is tasked with raising Akihito.  By the time he is 17-years-old, Akihito finds himself relentlessly drawn to Katsuragi, but also frustrated by the distance between them.

As Blue Morning, Vol. 6 (Chapters 28 to 33) opens, Akihito and Katsuragi make love, but then move apart.  Katsuragi begins to run the household and business affairs of Soemon Ishizaki, the father of Akihito's best friend, Soichiro.  Then, it is announced that Akihito will leave to obtain treatment for a long ailment (which he is feigning).  However, Akihito does plan on leaving to study abroad, so will this planned departure be the thing that forces Akihito and Katsuragi back together?

The Blue Morning manga is a romantic period drama, but is also something of a domestic drama.  I have compared it to being something like a comic book version of one of those Merchant-Ivory films from the 1980s and 1990s.

Much of Blue Morning Volume 6 is about character drama; people talk, but talk around those with whom they are familiar or have a romantic relationship.  While this series begins and ends with intimacy, creator Shoko Hidaka uses everything else to play with the big “if,” which is the question of whether the romantic leads will ever truly unite.  I like this series; it is a good one, but the story is ready to be resolved.  I don't see it remaining a quality manga past a seventh volume.

A-

www.SuBLimeManga.com

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for November 16, 2016

DC COMICS

SEP160219    AQUAMAN #11    $2.99
SEP160220    AQUAMAN #11 VAR ED    $2.99
SEP160303    BATMAN #1 DIRECTORS CUT    $5.99
SEP160229    BATMAN #11    $2.99
SEP160230    BATMAN #11 VAR ED    $2.99
APR160436    BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES BATWING    $175.00
MAY160369    BATMAN BLACK & WHITE STATUE ROBIN BY FRANK QUITELY    $80.00
SEP160204    CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE #2 (MR)    $3.99
SEP160205    CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE #2 VAR ED (MR)    $3.99
SEP160236    CYBORG #5    $2.99
SEP160237    CYBORG #5 VAR ED    $2.99
MAY160359    DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS BUMBLEBEE STATUE    $125.00
JUN160389    DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS MERA BUST    $60.00
SEP160313    DOCTOR FATE #18    $2.99
JUN160338    FLASH BY MANAPUL & BUCCELLATO OMNIBUS HC    $99.99
JUL160404    FLASH HC VOL 09 FULL STOP    $24.99
AUG160324    FLASH TP VOL 08 ZOOM    $17.99
AUG150301    GOTHAM CITY GARAGE HARLEY QUINN DLX STATUE    $425.00
SEP160252    GREEN ARROW #11    $2.99
SEP160253    GREEN ARROW #11 VAR ED    $2.99
SEP160256    GREEN LANTERNS #11    $2.99
SEP160257    GREEN LANTERNS #11 VAR ED    $2.99
SEP160323    HE MAN THUNDERCATS #2 (OF 6)    $3.99
SEP160270    JUSTICE LEAGUE #9    $2.99
SEP160271    JUSTICE LEAGUE #9 VAR ED    $2.99
AUG160331    JUSTICE LEAGUE DARKSEID WAR POWER OF THE GODS TP    $16.99
SEP160363    LUCIFER #12 (MR)    $3.99
AUG160336    MULTIVERSITY TP    $29.99
AUG160335    NEW SUICIDE SQUAD TP VOL 04 KILL ANYTHING    $16.99
SEP160276    NIGHTWING #9    $2.99
SEP160277    NIGHTWING #9 VAR ED    $2.99
SEP160308    RAVEN #3 (OF 6)    $2.99
SEP160332    SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #75    $2.99
SEP160280    SUICIDE SQUAD #6    $2.99
SEP160281    SUICIDE SQUAD #6 VAR ED    $2.99
SEP160310    SUICIDE SQUAD MOST WANTED #4 (OF 6) EL DIABLO & KILLER CROC    $4.99
SEP160288    SUPERMAN #11    $2.99
SEP160289    SUPERMAN #11 VAR ED    $2.99
JUL160421    SUPERMAN THE COMING OF THE SUPERMEN HC    $24.99
SEP160297    TRINITY #3    $2.99
SEP160298    TRINITY #3 VAR ED    $2.99
JUN160362    WATCHMEN COLLECTORS EDITION BOX SET    $125.00

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for November 16, 2016

MARVEL COMICS

SEP161075    ALL NEW WOLVERINE #14    $3.99
AUG169360    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #19 2ND PTG ALEX ROSS BDNM    $4.99
SEP160987    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #21 CC    $3.99
AUG161031    AVENGERS EPIC COLLECTION TP ONCE AN AVENGER    $39.99
SEP161038    BLACK PANTHER #8    $3.99
SEP161039    BLACK PANTHER #8 RIBIC CONNECTING D VAR    $3.99
AUG169361    CAGE #1 (OF 4) 2ND PTG TARTAKOVSKY VAR    $3.99
SEP161014    CAPTAIN AMERICA SAM WILSON #15    $3.99
SEP161022    CARNAGE #14    $3.99
AUG161002    CIVIL WAR II KINGPIN TP    $15.99
AUG161003    CIVIL WAR II X-MEN TP    $15.99
MAY160916    DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 CARDY DM VAR ED    $125.00
SEP161083    DEADPOOL #22    $3.99
AUG169362    DEADPOOL BACK IN BLACK #1 (OF 5) 2ND PTG ESPIN VAR    $3.99
AUG169363    DEATH OF X #1 (OF 4) 2ND PTG KUDER VAR    $4.99
AUG169364    DOCTOR STRANGE #12 2ND PTG BACHALO VAR    $3.99
SEP161053    DOCTOR STRANGE #14    $3.99
AUG169365    ENCHANTED TIKI ROOM #1 (OF 5) 2ND PTG KESINGER VAR    $3.99
AUG161021    HOWARD THE DUCK TP VOL 02 GOOD NIGHT GOOD DUCK    $15.99
SEP160997    INFAMOUS IRON MAN #2    $3.99
AUG169366    INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #14 2ND PTG KEOWN VAR    $3.99
AUG169367    JESSICA JONES #1 2ND PTG MACK VAR    $3.99
SEP161040    JESSICA JONES #2    $3.99
SEP161042    JESSICA JONES #2 SHIRAHAMA VAR    $3.99
SEP161090    MAX RIDE FINAL FLIGHT #3 (OF 5)    $3.99
SEP161084    OLD MAN LOGAN #13    $3.99
SEP161056    PATSY WALKER AKA HELLCAT #12    $3.99
SEP160992    SILK #14 CC    $3.99
AUG160883    SPIDER-MAN #9 CW2    $3.99
SEP160985    SQUADRON SUPREME #13 NOW    $3.99
AUG161008    SQUADRON SUPREME TP VOL 02 CIVIL WAR II    $15.99
SEP160912    THANOS #1 NOW    $3.99
SEP161037    UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #14    $3.99
AUG160795    UNCANNY INHUMANS #15 NOW    $3.99
SEP161069    UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #1    $4.99
SEP161071    UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #1 IBANEZ VAR    $4.99
SEP161070    UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #1 LASHLEY VAR    $4.99
AUG161016    UNCANNY X-MEN SUPERIOR TP VOL 02 APOCALYPSE WARS    $15.99
AUG161023    X-MEN GAMBIT AND WOLVERINE TP NEW PTG    $15.99