COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
OCT188792 (USE JUL182285) FEARSCAPE #1 (3RD PTG) (MR) $3.99
NOV181394 ALBERT EINSTEIN TIME MASON #4 CVR A HUDDLESTON $3.99
NOV181395 ALBERT EINSTEIN TIME MASON #4 CVR B DONLEY $3.99
NOV181822 APAMA THE UNDISCOVERED ANIMAL #7 $3.99
NOV182277 APOSIMZ GN VOL 02 $12.95
NOV181683 APPALACHIAN APOCALYPSE #1 $3.99
NOV181545 ARCHIE AND ME COMICS DIGEST #14 $6.99
AUG181465 BABYTEETH #14 (MR) $3.99
MAY182144 BELLE BEAST HUNTER TP $19.99
NOV182185 BLACK BUTLER GN VOL 27 $13.00
NOV181995 BREAKNECK #2 (OF 5) CVR A GUGLIELMINI $3.99
NOV181996 BREAKNECK #2 (OF 5) CVR B SCOTT $3.99
OCT182114 BTOOOM GN VOL 23 (MR) $17.00
NOV181437 CAPTAIN GINGER #4 $3.99
NOV182186 CASE STUDY OF VANITAS GN VOL 05 $13.00
NOV181872 CATALYST PRIME SUMMIT #12 $3.99
NOV181867 CATALYST PRIME SUPERB #16 $3.99
NOV182183 CERTAIN MAGICAL INDEX GN VOL 16 MANGA $13.00
NOV182158 CHILDREN OF WHALES GN VOL 08 $12.99
OCT182164 CLOCKWORK PLANET GN VOL 09 $12.99
OCT181869 CREEPY CREATIONS HC VOL 01 $21.99
NOV181431 DARK ARK #13 $3.99
NOV182157 DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION GN VOL 04 (MR) $14.99
NOV182187 DEATH MARCH PARALLEL WORLD RHAPSODY GN VOL 06 MANGA $13.00
OCT181456 DELLEC VOL 2 #4 CVR A GUNNELL $3.99
OCT181457 DELLEC VOL 2 #4 CVR B BARRIOS $3.99
FEB181500 DF ACTION COMICS #1000 BENDIS GOLD SGN ED $89.99
SEP181745 DF AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #800 BAGLEY SGN $62.00
OCT181654 DF DC DECEMBER HOLIDAY PACKAGE $29.99
APR181517 DF MAN OF STEEL #1-6 SUPER SIX PACK SGN BENDIS $99.99
OCT181655 DF MARVEL DECEMBER HOLIDAY PACKAGE $29.99
OCT181652 DF RETURN OF WOLVERINE #1 CSA UNMASKED GRANOV EXC $39.99
OCT181653 DF RETURN OF WOLVERINE #1 CSA VIRGIN GRANOV EXC $39.99
MAY181628 DF SUPERMAN #1 SGN BENDIS $19.38
SEP182265 DIE WERGELDER GN VOL 02 (RES) (MR) $19.99
NOV181826 DIOSAMANTE GN (MR) $19.95
NOV182181 DIVE GN VOL 01 $13.00
NOV181859 ENCOUNTER #10 $3.99
NOV181784 ETERNAUT HC (CURR PTG) $49.99
NOV182159 FIRE PUNCH GN VOL 05 (MR) $12.99
NOV182106 GFT TALES OF TERROR VOL 4 #11 CVR A ERIC J $3.99
NOV182107 GFT TALES OF TERROR VOL 4 #11 CVR B LEISTER $3.99
NOV182108 GFT TALES OF TERROR VOL 4 #11 CVR C REYES $3.99
OCT182198 I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS GN $19.99
OCT181582 IAN GN VOL 02 LESSONS OF DARKNESS $11.95
OCT182059 INFINI-T FORCE GN VOL 04 $13.99
NOV181861 INFINITY 8 #9 (MR) $3.99
NOV182189 IS WRONG PICK UP GIRLS DUNGEON GN VOL 10 $13.00
NOV182190 IS WRONG PICK UP GIRLS DUNGEON SWORD ORATORIA GN VOL 06 $13.00
OCT181873 JUDGE DREDD COMP CASE FILES TP VOL 32 $25.99
NOV182191 KAKEGURUI COMPULSIVE GAMBLER GN VOL 08 $15.00
MAY182059 KIRBY & LEE STUF SAID $24.95
NOV181854 KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN SUN #3 $3.99
OCT181512 KORD & HARLEY HC (MR) $24.95
OCT181583 LADY S GN VOL 06 SECOND OF ETERNITY $11.95
SEP181690 LARGO WINCH GN VOL 17 MORNING STAR $11.95
NOV181676 LEGENDLORE REALM CHRONICLES TP VOL 04 $14.99
NOV181434 LOST CITY EXPLORERS TP VOL 01 ODYSSEY $14.99
SEP181691 LUCKY LUKE TP VOL 71 COWBOY IN PARIS $11.95
NOV181865 MAE VOL 2 #5 $3.99
OCT182201 MAGICAL GIRL SPECIAL OPS ASUKA GN VOL 05 (MR) $12.99
SEP181353 MEN OF MYSTERY #110 $29.95
NOV181690 MERMAID PROJECT GN VOL 01 EPISODE 1 $11.95
NOV182279 MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING GLORY OF THE LOSERS GN VOL 10 $12.95
NOV182179 MONSTER WRESTLING VOL 01 $13.00
NOV182193 MONTHLY GIRLS NOZAKI KUN GN VOL 10 $13.00
NOV182194 MURCIELAGO GN VOL 09 (MR) $13.00
OCT182204 NOW LOADING GN VOL 01 $12.99
NOV182178 NYANKEES GN VOL 01 $13.00
NOV181789 OLYMPIANS GN VOL 11 HEPHAISTOS GOD OF FIRE $10.99
JUL182171 PENNY DREADFUL HC VOL 1 THE AWAKENING ARTIST ED $29.99
SEP181445 PINK PANTHER PINK WINTER SPECIAL #1 LTD ED RETRO ANIMATION C $9.99
SEP181443 PINK PANTHER PINK WINTER SPECIAL #1 MAIN TAPIE CVR $3.99
SEP181444 PINK PANTHER PINK WINTER SPECIAL #1 SPECIAL HOLIDAZE CVR $3.99
AUG182134 PRE CODE CLASSICS TALES OF HORROR HC VOL 01 $44.99
AUG182135 PRE CODE CLASSICS TALES OF HORROR SLIPCASE ED VOL 01 $54.99
AUG182136 PRE CODE CLASSICS WEB OF MYSTERY HC VOL 04 $54.99
AUG182137 PRE CODE CLASSICS WEB OF MYSTERY SLIPCASE ED VOL 04 $59.99
NOV181400 PRINCELESS FIND YOURSELF #4 CVR A MARTIN & GRUNIG $3.99
NOV181401 PRINCELESS FIND YOURSELF #4 CVR B KNIGHT $3.99
AUG182138 PS ARTBOOKS PRESENTS AUTHENTIC POLICE CASES HC VOL 01 $44.99
AUG182139 PS ARTBOOKS PRESENTS AUTHENTIC POLICE CASES SLIPCASE ED VOL $54.99
NOV182002 ROBOTECH #16 CVR A ROCHE $3.99
NOV182003 ROBOTECH #16 CVR B ACTION FIGURE VAR $3.99
NOV182004 ROBOTECH #16 CVR C LAMING $3.99
NOV182195 SACRIFICIAL PRINCESS & KING BEASTS GN VOL 04 $13.00
NOV182196 SAGA OF TANYA EVIL GN VOL 05 $13.00
OCT181717 SEA HC VILLADSEN $19.99
JUL181998 SECOND COMIING OF KRENT ABLE GN $19.99
NOV182197 SEKIREI GN VOL 07 (MR) $24.00
NOV182006 SHADES OF MAGIC #4 (OF 4) STEEL PRINCE CVR A OLIMPIERI $3.99
NOV182007 SHADES OF MAGIC #4 (OF 4) STEEL PRINCE CVR B INGRANATA & SAH $3.99
NOV182051 SHADOWMAN (2018) #11 CVR A ZONJIC $3.99
NOV182052 SHADOWMAN (2018) #11 CVR B GRANT $3.99
NOV182053 SHADOWMAN (2018) #11 CVR C BIVENS $3.99
SEP181568 SIMON BISLEY SKETCHBOOK 2018 TP #1 (OF 1) (MR) $15.00
SEP181569 SIMON BISLEY SKETCHBOOK 2018 TP #1 (OF 1) LTD SIGNED EDITION $20.00
OCT182176 SWEETNESS & LIGHTNING GN VOL 11 (RES) $12.99
OCT181573 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #107 STUDIO DELUXE EDITION (MR $19.99
SEP181677 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #113 COSPLAY TAROT PHOTO CVR E $19.99
NOV182198 TEASING MASTER TAKAGI SAN GN VOL 03 $13.00
OCT188795 THESE SAVAGE SHORES #1 (3RD PTG) (MR) $3.99
OCT181584 THORGAL GN VOL 20 KRISS OF VALNOR $11.95
NOV182199 TODAY CERBERUS GN VOL 11 $13.00
OCT182207 ULTRA KAIJU ANTHROPOMORPHIC PROJECT GN VOL 02 (RES) $12.99
OCT182208 VOYNICH HOTEL GN VOL 03 (MR) $12.99
OCT181329 WALK THROUGH HELL #7 $3.99
AUG182163 WHITE WIDOW #1 MAIN CVR $3.99
AUG182164 WHITE WIDOW #1 RED FOIL CVR $3.99
NOV181976 WIRES AND NERVE SC GN VOL 01 (OF 2) $17.99
NOV181977 WIRES AND NERVE SC GN VOL 02 (OF 2) GONE ROGUE $17.99
NOV182200 WITCH PT 5 BOOK OF ELEMENTS GN VOL 01 $15.00
NOV182201 WITCH PT 5 BOOK OF ELEMENTS GN VOL 02 $15.00
NOV182180 WITCHS HOUSE DIARY OF ELLEN GN VOL 01 $13.00
NOV181677 WRATH OF GOD (MR) $14.99
NOV182239 YAMADA KUN & SEVEN WITCHES GN VOL 17 $16.99
NOV182202 ZO ZO ZOMBIE GN VOL 02 $12.00
MAGAZINES
JUN181661 007 MAGAZINE OMNIBUS VOL 02 $25.99
SEP181942 2000 AD PACK NOVEMBER 2018 $22.40
OCT181870 2000 AD PROG #2110 $5.60
OCT181871 2000 AD PROG #2111 2018 XMAS SPECIAL $9.99
OCT181971 BACK ISSUE #110 $8.95
NOV181699 COMIC SHOP NEWS [90CT BUNDLE] #1648 $PI
OCT181833 DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #533 $11.99
NOV181692 FANGORIA VOL 2 #2 $19.79
SEP182062 HOBBY JAPAN DECEMBER 2018 $20.00
AUG182288 HOBBY JAPAN NOVEMBER 2018 $20.00
OCT181872 JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #403 $13.00
NOV181853 LOCUS #696 $7.50
BOOKS
NOV182172 DEATH MARCH PARALLEL WORLD RHAPSODY NOVEL SC VOL 07 $14.00
OCT181750 DOCTOR WHO COMP HIST HC VOL 86 12TH DOCTOR STORIES 269-271 ( $18.99
OCT181745 DOG MAN GN VOL 06 BRAWL OF THE WILD $9.99
NOV181926 DR THIRTEENTH $5.99
NOV182170 FINAL FANTASY VII LATERAL BIOGRAPHY TURKS LIGHT NOVEL SC $14.00
NOV182173 GOBLIN SLAYER LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 06 $14.00
OCT182209 HOW REALIST HERO REBUILT KINGDOM LIGHT NOVEL VOL 02 $13.99
NOV182038 LIFE & TIMES WARD KIMBALL MAVERICK OF DISNEY ANIMATION $30.00
NOV182175 OVERLORD LIGHT NOVEL HC VOL 09 $20.00
NOV182171 SISTERS ALL YOU NEED LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 03 $14.00
NOV182176 STRIKE THE BLOOD LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 11 $14.00
Monday, January 14, 2019
Sunday, January 13, 2019
The Incomes of Authors Has Dropped 42 Percent Since 2009
Authors Guild Survey Shows Drastic 42 Percent Decline in Authors Earnings in Last Decade
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Authors Guild’s 2018 Author Income Survey, the largest survey of writing-related earnings by American authors ever conducted finds incomes falling to historic lows to a median of $6,080 in 2017, down 42 percent from 2009.
“When you impoverish a nation’s authors, you impoverish its readers”
The Authors Guild surveyed its membership and the members of 14 other writers organizations in 2018, receiving detailed responses from 5,067 authors. This included traditionally, hybrid and self-published authors who have commercially published one or more books. When discussing median incomes, the survey looked at both full-time and part-time authors.
The respondents reported a median author income of $6,080, continuing a sharp decline over the last decade: $8,000 in 2014 and $10,500 in 2009 (per the Authors Guild’s 2015 Survey), down again from $12,850 in 2007, as reported in a joint Authors Guild/PEN survey.
Earnings from book income alone fell even more, declining 21 percent to $3,100 in 2017 from $3,900 in 2013 and just over 50 percent from 2009’s median book earnings of $6,250.
The survey showed a shift in book earnings to other writing-related activities, such as speaking engagements, book reviewing or teaching. Including those sources, respondents who identified themselves as full-time book authors still only earned a median income of $20,300, well below the federal poverty line for a family of three or more. To access the full results and data, please click here.
“When you impoverish a nation’s authors, you impoverish its readers,” said James Gleick, the Authors Guild’s president. He noted that more books are being published than ever, but that books of quality often demand time and research that can’t be sustained if an author also needs to teach and lecture to make ends meet.
The drop appears to affect almost all categories of authorship, with writers of literary fiction experiencing the biggest recent decline in book earnings: 43 percent since 2013. This raises serious concerns about the future of American literature—books that not only teach, inspire and elicit empathy in readers, but help define who Americans are and how the U.S. is perceived by the world.
The only exception came among self-published authors, who saw book-related income almost double since 2013. Despite this uptick, self-published income levels remain 58 percent lower than traditionally published authors.
The Causes
Among the factors contributing to the pressure on authorship, the Guild cited the growing dominance of Amazon over the marketplace, forcing publishers to accept narrower margins and passing those losses onto authors through lower advances and royalties, including the extremely low royalties paid on the increasing number of deeply discounted sales and the 25 percent of net ebook royalty.
In addition, many electronic uses, such as classroom course packs, Google Books and Open Library, are now made on a royalty-free basis arguing fair use, whereas royalties traditionally were paid for comparable analog uses.
Increased competition from Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program adds to the equation, as do the massive number of books sold cheaply as new by Amazon resellers right alongside the publisher’s copies, often even claiming the buy box.
Amazon controls approximately 85% of the self-published market and so most self-published authors have no options other than to accept Amazon’s non-negotiable terms.
“Amazon, but also Google, Facebook and every other company getting into the content business, devalue what we produce to lower their costs for content distribution, and then take an unfair share of the profits from what remains for delivering that reduced product. We get that they like to move fast and break things, but it’s no longer in their own interest to break us. If even the most talented of authors can no longer afford to write, to create, who’s going to provide the content?” asked Authors Guild vice president Richard Russo.
What Can Be Done?
The following writers organizations and publishing platforms participated in the survey: Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, Society of Children’s Book Writers, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Textbook and Academic Authors Association, National Association of Science Writers, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association for Garden Communicators, Independent Book Publishers Association, PEN American Center, Authors Alliance, Next Big Writer, B&N Press, Authors Registry, IngramSpark, Reedsy and Lulu.
About the Authors Guild
The Authors Guild is the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization for writers. Its mission is to empower working writers by advocating for the rights of authors and journalists. The Guild protects free speech and authors’ copyrights, fights for fair contracts and a living wage and provides an engaged and welcoming community for all published authors. For more, visit www.authorsguild.org.
[1] Book-related income is based on royalties, advances, ebook subscriptions contracts, subsidiary and international rights, audio and film rights, reprints, distribution rights and earnings from book awards or prizes. Writing-related income refers to 18 types of jobs that rely on professional skills published book authors possess to earn income beyond book sales, such as speaking engagements, teaching creative writing, freelance journalism, editing and ghostwriting. Author-related income is the combination of both these two amounts.
-----------------------
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Authors Guild’s 2018 Author Income Survey, the largest survey of writing-related earnings by American authors ever conducted finds incomes falling to historic lows to a median of $6,080 in 2017, down 42 percent from 2009.
“When you impoverish a nation’s authors, you impoverish its readers”
The Authors Guild surveyed its membership and the members of 14 other writers organizations in 2018, receiving detailed responses from 5,067 authors. This included traditionally, hybrid and self-published authors who have commercially published one or more books. When discussing median incomes, the survey looked at both full-time and part-time authors.
The respondents reported a median author income of $6,080, continuing a sharp decline over the last decade: $8,000 in 2014 and $10,500 in 2009 (per the Authors Guild’s 2015 Survey), down again from $12,850 in 2007, as reported in a joint Authors Guild/PEN survey.
Earnings from book income alone fell even more, declining 21 percent to $3,100 in 2017 from $3,900 in 2013 and just over 50 percent from 2009’s median book earnings of $6,250.
The survey showed a shift in book earnings to other writing-related activities, such as speaking engagements, book reviewing or teaching. Including those sources, respondents who identified themselves as full-time book authors still only earned a median income of $20,300, well below the federal poverty line for a family of three or more. To access the full results and data, please click here.
“When you impoverish a nation’s authors, you impoverish its readers,” said James Gleick, the Authors Guild’s president. He noted that more books are being published than ever, but that books of quality often demand time and research that can’t be sustained if an author also needs to teach and lecture to make ends meet.
The drop appears to affect almost all categories of authorship, with writers of literary fiction experiencing the biggest recent decline in book earnings: 43 percent since 2013. This raises serious concerns about the future of American literature—books that not only teach, inspire and elicit empathy in readers, but help define who Americans are and how the U.S. is perceived by the world.
The only exception came among self-published authors, who saw book-related income almost double since 2013. Despite this uptick, self-published income levels remain 58 percent lower than traditionally published authors.
The Causes
Among the factors contributing to the pressure on authorship, the Guild cited the growing dominance of Amazon over the marketplace, forcing publishers to accept narrower margins and passing those losses onto authors through lower advances and royalties, including the extremely low royalties paid on the increasing number of deeply discounted sales and the 25 percent of net ebook royalty.
In addition, many electronic uses, such as classroom course packs, Google Books and Open Library, are now made on a royalty-free basis arguing fair use, whereas royalties traditionally were paid for comparable analog uses.
Increased competition from Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program adds to the equation, as do the massive number of books sold cheaply as new by Amazon resellers right alongside the publisher’s copies, often even claiming the buy box.
Amazon controls approximately 85% of the self-published market and so most self-published authors have no options other than to accept Amazon’s non-negotiable terms.
“Amazon, but also Google, Facebook and every other company getting into the content business, devalue what we produce to lower their costs for content distribution, and then take an unfair share of the profits from what remains for delivering that reduced product. We get that they like to move fast and break things, but it’s no longer in their own interest to break us. If even the most talented of authors can no longer afford to write, to create, who’s going to provide the content?” asked Authors Guild vice president Richard Russo.
What Can Be Done?
- Publishers and self-published authors should be able to negotiate collectively with Amazon, Google and Facebook to equalize the bargaining power. Congress should enact an exemption to antitrust law to permit it.
- Royalties should be paid by resellers to authors for resellers’ sales of new books.
- U.S. should establish a federally funded equivalent of a public lending right to provide authors a benefit from the public use of books; and libraries should be better funded.
- Publishers should pay higher royalties on ebooks and deeply discounted books; and they should destroy all bookstore returns to prevent them from getting into the secondary market.
The following writers organizations and publishing platforms participated in the survey: Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, Society of Children’s Book Writers, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Textbook and Academic Authors Association, National Association of Science Writers, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association for Garden Communicators, Independent Book Publishers Association, PEN American Center, Authors Alliance, Next Big Writer, B&N Press, Authors Registry, IngramSpark, Reedsy and Lulu.
About the Authors Guild
The Authors Guild is the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization for writers. Its mission is to empower working writers by advocating for the rights of authors and journalists. The Guild protects free speech and authors’ copyrights, fights for fair contracts and a living wage and provides an engaged and welcoming community for all published authors. For more, visit www.authorsguild.org.
[1] Book-related income is based on royalties, advances, ebook subscriptions contracts, subsidiary and international rights, audio and film rights, reprints, distribution rights and earnings from book awards or prizes. Writing-related income refers to 18 types of jobs that rely on professional skills published book authors possess to earn income beyond book sales, such as speaking engagements, teaching creative writing, freelance journalism, editing and ghostwriting. Author-related income is the combination of both these two amounts.
-----------------------
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Review: MOON KNIGHT #188
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Max Bemis
ART: Jacen Burrows
COLORS: Mat Lopes
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
COVER: Jacen Burrows and Mat Lopes
VARIANT COVERS: John Tyler Christopher; Daniel Warren Johnson with Mike Spicer; Bill Sienkiewicz (based on his cover for Moon Knight #25)
36pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2018)
Rated “T+”
Moon Knight created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin
Moon Knight is a Marvel Comics superhero character. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, Moon Knight first appeared in Werewolf by Night #32 (cover dated: August 1975) and is Marvel's version of Batman (at least, some think so). Moon Knight is Marc Spector, an American-born mercenary who died in Egypt, under the statue of Khonshu, an ancient Egyptian moon god.
Khonshu appeared to Spector and offered him a second chance at life. Spector wrapped himself with the silver shroud that covered Khonshu’s statue, turning it into a silver cloaked costume, becoming the Moon Knight. A superb athlete and master of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, Spector is also a skilled acrobat, gymnast, detective, marksman, and is an aviator who uses both traditional and sophisticated weaponry.
With the Marvel “Legacy” initiative, Moon Knight gets a “Legacy” number change, so instead of a new Moon Knight #1, we get Moon Knight #188. This issue also sees the start of a new creative team: writer Max Bemis; artist by Jacen Burrows; colorist by Mat Lopes; and letterer by Cory Petit.
Moon Knight #188 opens in Ravencroft Asylum where Dr. Emmett is involved with Patient 86. He is a pyromaniac(?) and killed some number of people while in the military. Marc Spector was also a patient of Dr. Emmett's, and there may be a connection between her old and new patients.
After reading this comic book, you can enjoy the afterword written by Max Bemis and Jacen Burrows. Both seem quite confident that they are going to deliver something exciting and unique in their run on Moon Knight, and I am willing to believe them. I think the creative team of Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey on Moon Knight from 2014 showed that the character can be a truly unique in comic book stories that defy the usual.
Bemis and Burrows seem determined to launch their run from the spirit of possibilities Ellis and Shalvey offered. Bemis is new to me, but I am familiar from Burrows for his time with Avatar Press. Over a decade I ago, I thought that he had potential, and he is showing that now. Also, Mat Lopes gorgeous coloring surprisingly makes this a good looking comic book, which in turn makes the creepiness of this story even creepier. Yes, I already have issue #189, and I am recommending this “Legacy” Moon Knight to Moon Knight fans.
[This comic book includes a three-page “Marvel Primer” origin-overview story about Moon Knight, written by Robbie Thompson; drawn by German Peralta; colored by Rachelle Rosenberg; and lettered by VC's Cory Petit.]
7.5 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
-----------------------------
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Review: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT #1
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Steve Niles
ART: Piotr Kowalski
COLORS: Brad Simpson
LETTERS: Tom B. Long
COVER: Ben Templesmith
VARIANT COVERS: Piotr Kowalski with Aurore Folny; Ashley Wood; Ben Templesmith
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2017)
DIAMOND CODE: OCT170412 – Wednesday, December 20, 2017
30 Days of Night was a three-issue horror comic book miniseries written by Steve Niles and drawn by Ben Templesmith. IDW Publishing originally released the miniseries in 2002 (August to October). 30 Days of Night takes place in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in the United States.
It is so far north that during the winter, the sun does not rise for 30 days. This is the perfect scenario for a group of vampires that take advantage of the prolonged darkness to invade Barrow and openly kill the townspeople so that they can feed at will. A small band of humans, led by a young sheriff, struggle to survive this monstrous onslaught.
The original 30 Days of Night was followed by numerous sequel and spin off comic book titles. It also yielded a line of novels and was adapted into a 2007 theatrical film and a direct-to-DVD sequel. Now, IDW is rebooting the 30 Days of Night comic book franchise in a new comic book series, entitled 30 Days of Night, of course. It is written by Steve Niles; drawn by Piotr Kowalski; colored by Brad Simpson; and lettered by Tom B. Long.
30 Days of Night #1 opens in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost community in North America. Here, the sun does not set between May 10th and August 2nd. It also does not rise between November 18th and January 24th each winter. And the temperatures average below zero. Many of the townspeople are leaving before this year's time of darkness, but those who stay behind in this isolated Alaskan township will have to survive a new evil that emerges to terrorize the town.
Nothing happens. 30 Days of Night is practically 20 pages of nothing. What little suspense, mystery, or intrigue, this first issue does not have enough of anything scary to qualify as a horror comic. It is not that Steve Niles' writing is bad; this 30 Days of Night #1 is simply first-issue introduction by decompression gone really bad.
Nor is Piotr Kowalski's art poor. It is simply as generic as Niles' writing.
5 out 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.
----------------------
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Review: MYSTIK U #1
DC COMICS – @DCComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Alisa Kwitney
ART: Mike Norton
COLORS: Jordie Bellaire
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
COVER: Julian Totino Tedesco
48pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (January 2018)
Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”
Zatanna created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson
Zatanna Zatara is a DC Comics magic-based superhero. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in Hawkman #4 (cover dated: November 1964). Zatanna is the daughter of Giovanni “John” Zatara, and like him, Zatanna is both a stage magician and an actual magician, and she is one of the most powerful magicians on Earth. Zatanna controls her magic by speaking the words of her incantations spelled backwards, incantations that can alter reality.
Zatanna is the star of the new four-issue miniseries, Mystik U, which DC Comics is publishing on a bimonthly schedule. The series is written by Alisa Kwitney; drawn by Mike Norton; colored by Jordie Bellaire; and lettered by Deron Bennett. Mystik U follows a college age Zatanna who is enrolled in a college of magic and trying to learn which of her classmates is evil.
Mystik U #1 opens in a dark future, one which is ruled by an entity called the “Malevolence.” A powerful magician believes that Zatanna can change this dark time, by being cast back in time. Seven years earlier, a young Zatanna is a sheltered showbiz kid who suddenly experiences a shocking awakening of her powers.
That is why a friend, Dr. Rose Psychic, enrolls Zatana in Mystik University, a mysterious university that teaches its students how to master their unique brands of magic. Zatanna finds herself drawn to four other students There is Sebastian Faust, son of Felix Faust and a bitter rebel. June Moone is a split personality also known as Enchantress. Zatanna becomes close to the competitive premed student, Pia Morales (a new character). Finally, there is the awkward prodigy, Sargon the Sorceror, who possesses a powerful gem and is much confused. One of them is fated to betray the others and become a powerful force of evil, Malevolence.
I was cynical about Mystik U. What little I read about it suggested that it was another lame attempt by DC Comics to get in on the Hogwarts-school-of-magic-band wagon that should have been theirs (Timothy Hunter, cough). However, I was drawn to the striking cover art by Julian Totino Tedesco, so I picked up the first issue.
Boy, am I glad. This is the kind of entertaining comic book that keeps me around DC Comics and Marvel even when I am ready to give up. It is simply a joy to read, something fresh and not the usual superhero fight comic. Writer Alisa Kwitney has fashioned a mysterious and intriguing school in Mystik University that has a dark-ish atmosphere, one that reminds me of Archie Comics' brilliant Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, in part because of Jordie Bellaire's sterling colors. The characters are coming along, although they seem a bit unformed in this first issue.
Mike Norton offers art that is calm and a little stylish, but Norton emphasizes storytelling. The setting, the characters, and the mood and atmosphere are all strong, and Norton creates for Mystik University, wonderfully varied interiors and exteriors. He makes the school someplace the readers would like to visit (but maybe not to live), and Deron Bennett's lettering pops up like welcome signs to the story. Norton makes the school feel like a real place of magic, and yes, crazy stuff happens there.
I heartily recommend Mystik U to readers of DC Comics' magic-based world and titles. I eagerly await the next issue and incantation.
9 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
--------------------------
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Review: THE POWERPUFF GIRLS: Power Up My Mojo
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Haley Mancini and Jake Goldman
ART/COLORS: Derek Charm; Nicoletta Baldari; Phil Murphy
LETTERS: Andworld Productions
EDITORS: Sarah Gaydos; Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon
COVER: Chad Thomas
MISC ART: Derek Charm, Nicoletta Baldari; Ben Carow; Chad Thomas; Grace Kraft; Philip Murphy; Julia Vickerman; Ian McGinty with Meg Casey;
ISBN: 978-1631408717; hardcover 6” x9” (April 18, 2017)
76pp, Color, $12.99 U.S., $17.50 CAN
“The Powerpuff Girls” (1998 to 2005) was an animated superhero television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. The show centered on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, who were three kindergarten-aged girls endowed with superpowers. They were created by the scientist, Professor Utonium, who mixed sugar, spice, and everything nice and accidentally added “Chemical X.” The professor would become the girls' father. The girls and the professor lived in the fictional city of Townsville, USA. The city's mayor frequently called on The Powerpuff Girls to help fight criminals using their super-powers against the city.
DC Comics published a number of comic books based on “The Powerpuff Girls,” including an ongoing series that ran for 70 issues from 2000 to 2006. IDW Publishing started publishing comic books based on The Powerpuff Girls in 2013. One of IDW's efforts was The Powerpuff Girls, a 2016 six-issue series, which was written by Haley Mancini and Jake Goldman, two staff writers on the 2016-2018 reboot of the original “Powerpuff Girls” series.
IDW collected issues #4 to #6 of that series in the 6” x9” hardcover comic book, The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo. [The first three issues of the 2016 series were collected in The Powerpuff Girls: Homecoming.] Mancini and Goldman wrote issues #4 to 6. Derek Charm illustrated and colored issue #4. Nicoletta Baldari drew and colored issue #5, and Phil Murphy drew and colored issue #5. Andworld Productions provided the lettering for all three issues.
The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo features three full-length, full-color stories. In the first (from issue #4), the mayor of Townsville asks the Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup to lead the upcoming bicycle race, “the Tour de Townsville.” There is just one problem. The Powerpuff Girls don't known how to ride bikes. As luck would have it, they meet the mysterious Penny Farthing and her “Magic Time-Traveling Bicycle.” Penny offers to teach the girls how to ride bikes, so what does that have to do with... Him?!
In the second story (from issue #5), the girls enter “the Townsville Soapbox Derby” with Bubbles driving a soapbox car, but Mojo Jojo has a diabolical plan to use the race to give him all the power. In the third story (issue #6), the Powerpuff Girls take on their adversaries, Bianca and Barbie a.k.a. “The Fashionistas.” to recover a pair of “1000 carat diamond pumps.” This time, however, the Fashionistas have something to stop the girls, the “sassy ray,” and woe be a town or a scientist father that runs afoul of three sassy superhero girls.
IDW sent me a review copy of The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo about a year ago, but circumstances kept me from reading it until recently. I really wish IDW would have sent me the previous book because...
I really like The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo. This is simply a fun comic book to read. I was a fan of the original Powerpuff Girls animated TV series and of the series stars, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. [I have not seen the 2016-18 reboot.] The three stories contained in this collection delight me the same way the TV series did. I am sure that writers Haley Mancini and Jake Goldman could turn these stories into episodes of the series (if they are not already), because these three stories are pure Powerpuff – sugar, spice and all.
I am familiar with artist Derek Charm from his work on Archie Comics' Jughead and IDW's Star Wars Adventures. Charm can draw comics in several media cartoon and animated styles, and he produces killer Powerpuff Girls. Artists and colorists, Nicoletta Baldari and Phil Murphy, also draw illustrations that capture the sparkly, Powerpuff style. Andworld Production's glittery lettering fits in perfectly with the sugary, effervescent art and graphical storytelling in this collection.
I could read two or three more books like The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo. IDW has produced at least two more Powerpuff Girls comic book miniseries since the 2016 series. I hope IDW keeps them coming, and I need to look for the ones they already have published!
8 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
--------------------------
Monday, January 7, 2019
BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for January 9, 2019
BOOM! STUDIOS
SEP181338 ADVENTURE TIME FINN TP $9.99
OCT188637 ADVENTURE TIME SEASON 11 #4 FOC VERMILYEA INCV $3.99
NOV181358 ADVENTURE TIME SEASON 11 #4 MAIN $3.99
NOV181359 ADVENTURE TIME SEASON 11 #4 PREORDER BENBASSAT $3.99
NOV181350 BY NIGHT #7 (OF 12) MAIN CVR LARSEN $3.99
NOV181351 BY NIGHT #7 (OF 12) PREORDER STERN VAR $3.99
SEP181328 FENCE TP VOL 02 $14.99
NOV171321 GO GO POWER RANGERS #1 MORA SDCC CONNECTING CVR B $19.99
NOV181333 GO GO POWER RANGERS #16 MAIN & MIX $3.99
NOV181334 GO GO POWER RANGERS #16 PREORDER MOK VAR $3.99
SEP181311 LUCY DREAMING TP $19.99
NOV181341 WIZARD BEACH #2 (OF 5) $3.99
SEP181338 ADVENTURE TIME FINN TP $9.99
OCT188637 ADVENTURE TIME SEASON 11 #4 FOC VERMILYEA INCV $3.99
NOV181358 ADVENTURE TIME SEASON 11 #4 MAIN $3.99
NOV181359 ADVENTURE TIME SEASON 11 #4 PREORDER BENBASSAT $3.99
NOV181350 BY NIGHT #7 (OF 12) MAIN CVR LARSEN $3.99
NOV181351 BY NIGHT #7 (OF 12) PREORDER STERN VAR $3.99
SEP181328 FENCE TP VOL 02 $14.99
NOV171321 GO GO POWER RANGERS #1 MORA SDCC CONNECTING CVR B $19.99
NOV181333 GO GO POWER RANGERS #16 MAIN & MIX $3.99
NOV181334 GO GO POWER RANGERS #16 PREORDER MOK VAR $3.99
SEP181311 LUCY DREAMING TP $19.99
NOV181341 WIZARD BEACH #2 (OF 5) $3.99
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)