Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for June 10, 2020

DARK HORSE COMICS

DEC190266    ABRAHAM STONE TP    $19.99
NOV190213    BALTIMORE OMNIBUS HC VOL 02    $34.99
DEC190311    COUNT CROWLEY RELUCTANT MONSTER HUNTER TP    $19.99
DEC190234    CRITICAL ROLE HC VOL 01 CHRONICLES OF EXANDRIA MIGHTY NEIN (    $44.99
DEC190303    DISNEY LADY & THE TRAMP STORY MOVIE IN COMICS HC    $10.99
JAN200387    DISNEY PRINCESS FOLLOW YOUR HEART TP    $10.99
JAN200349    ETHER TP VOL 03 DISAPPEARANCE OF VIOLET BELL    $19.99
NOV190200    GRAFITYS WALL HC    $19.99
DEC190253    LADY KILLER LIBRARY ED VOL 01 (MR)    $39.99
JAN200339    LUTHER ARKWRIGHT TP    $39.99
JAN200355    MASK I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE MASK TP    $17.99
JAN200307    NEIL GAIMAN AMERICAN GODS HC VOL 03 MOMENT STORM    $29.99
DEC190267    RUBY FALLS TP (MR)    $19.99
JAN200333    SCARY GODMOTHER OMNIBUS (MR)    $29.99
JAN200354    STEAM TP    $14.99
JAN200356    STEEPLE TP    $19.99
DEC190264    TRIAGE TP 1 01    $19.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for April 18, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

FEB180461    30 DAYS OF NIGHT #5 (OF 6) CVR A TEMPLESMITH    $3.99
FEB180462    30 DAYS OF NIGHT #5 (OF 6) CVR B KOWALSKI & FOLNY    $3.99
FEB180457    ANTAR #1 CVR A BATTLE    $3.99
JAN180526    ASSASSINISTAS #4 CVR A HERNANDEZ (MR)    $3.99
JAN180527    ASSASSINISTAS #4 CVR B GANUCHEAU (MR)    $3.99
FEB180445    BLACK CROWN QUARTERLY #3 SPRING 2018    $7.99
FEB180410    CROW MEMENTO MORI #2 CVR A DELL EDERA    $3.99
FEB180411    CROW MEMENTO MORI #2 CVR B FURNO    $3.99
OCT170531    DIABLO HOUSE #4 CVR A SANTIPEREZ    $3.99
OCT170532    DIABLO HOUSE #4 CVR B TEMPLESMITH    $3.99
JAN180560    FOUR SISTERS HC VOL 01 ENID    $19.99
FEB180387    GHOSTBUSTERS CROSSING OVER #2 CVR A SCHOENING    $3.99
FEB180388    GHOSTBUSTERS CROSSING OVER #2 CVR B LATTIE    $3.99
FEB180426    GI JOE VS SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN #3 CVR A MESSINA    $3.99
FEB180427    GI JOE VS SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN #3 CVR B ORDWAY    $3.99
DEC170522    GOOSEBUMPS MONSTERS AT MIDNIGHT HC    $12.99
JAN180477    HALF PAST DANGER HC DEAD TO REICHS    $24.99
FEB180464    HIGHEST HOUSE #3 CVR A SHIMIZU    $4.99
OCT170543    JOE KUBERT TARZAN AND THE LION MAN ARTIST ED HC    $125.00
APR170664    LOU CAMERON UNSLEEPING DEAD HC    $24.99
FEB180358    MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #65 CVR A PRICE    $3.99
FEB180359    MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #65 CVR B RICHARD    $3.99
FEB180357    MY LITTLE PONY LEGENDS OF MAGIC ANNUAL 2018    $7.99
JAN180462    OPTIMUS PRIME #17 CVR A ZAMA    $3.99
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FEB180432    OPTIMUS PRIME #18 CVR A ZAMA    $3.99
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FEB180449    PUNKS NOT DEAD #3 CVR A SIMMONDS    $3.99
FEB180450    PUNKS NOT DEAD #3 CVR B WU    $3.99
DEC170540    SKIPPY HC VOL 04 COMPLETE DAILIES 1934 - 1936    $49.99
FEB180343    SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #3 CVR A HESSE    $3.99
FEB180344    SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #3 CVR B HERNANDEZ    $3.99
FEB180455    SPIDER KING #3 CVR A DARMINI    $3.99
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JAN180478    STAR TREK BOLDLY GO #18 CVR A HOOD    $3.99
JAN180479    STAR TREK BOLDLY GO #18 CVR B MARRON    $3.99
FEB180406    STAR TREK DISCOVERY SUCCESSION #1 CVR A HERNANDEZ    $3.99
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FEB180375    STAR WARS ADVENTURES #9 CVR A THOMAS    $3.99
FEB180376    STAR WARS ADVENTURES #9 CVR B BROKENSHIRE    $3.99
FEB180374    STAR WARS ADVENTURES ANNUAL 2018    $7.99
FEB180401    TMNT UNIVERSE #21 CVR A WILLIAMS II    $4.99
FEB180402    TMNT UNIVERSE #21 CVR B TORRES    $4.99
FEB180435    TRANSFORMERS LOST LIGHT #17 CVR A LAWRENCE    $3.99
FEB180436    TRANSFORMERS LOST LIGHT #17 CVR B LAWRENCE    $3.99
NOV170432    UNCLE SCROOGE #34 CVR A MAZARELLO    $3.99
DEC170498    UNCLE SCROOGE #35 CVR A FRECCERO    $3.99
DEC170499    UNCLE SCROOGE #35 CVR B RODRIQUEZ    $3.99
DEC170501    WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE #2 MICKEY MOUSE CVR A    $3.99
DEC170502    WALT DISNEY SHOWCASE #2 MICKEY MOUSE CVR B    $3.99
FEB180414    X-FILES CASE FILES FLORIDA MAN #1 CVR A NODET    $3.99
FEB180415    X-FILES CASE FILES FLORIDA MAN #1 CVR B LENDL    $3.99


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

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for March 21, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

JAN180544    30 DAYS OF NIGHT #4 (OF 6) CVR A TEMPLESMITH    $3.99
JAN180545    30 DAYS OF NIGHT #4 (OF 6) CVR B KOWALSKI & FOLNY    $3.99
DEC170523    ANGRY BIRDS FURIOUS FOWL HC    $12.99
JAN180574    ATARI MISSILE COMMAND GAME    $39.99
JAN180556    COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS COMICS FOR ALL #4 CVR A    $3.99
JAN180557    COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS COMICS FOR ALL #4 CVR B    $3.99
NOV170555    CORTO MALTESE GN GOLDEN HOUSE OF SAMARKAND    $34.99
JAN180457    DUNGEONS & DRAGONS SHADOW OF VAMPIRE #1 GREATEST HITS ED    $1.00
JAN180474    GEARS OF WAR RISE OF RAAM #3 CVR A BROWN    $3.99
JAN180475    GEARS OF WAR RISE OF RAAM #3 CVR B PORTACIO    $3.99
NOV170465    GHOSTBUSTERS ANSWER THE CALL #4 CVR A HOWELL    $3.99
NOV170466    GHOSTBUSTERS ANSWER THE CALL #4 CVR B FUNKO BRANESKY    $3.99
DEC170558    LEGEND OF KORRA PRO BENDING ARENA AMONS INVASION GAME    $29.99
AUG170532    LEGEND OF KORRA PRO BENDING ARENA GAME    $49.99
JAN180519    MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #64 CVR A PRICE    $3.99
JAN180520    MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #64 CVR B RICHARD    $3.99
JAN180532    PUNKS NOT DEAD #2 CVR A SIMMONDS    $3.99
JAN180533    PUNKS NOT DEAD #2 CVR B WIJNGAARD    $3.99
NOV170444    SAMURAI JACK QUANTUM JACK #5 (OF 5) CVR A OEMING    $3.99
NOV170445    SAMURAI JACK QUANTUM JACK #5 (OF 5) CVR B JOHNSON CADWELL    $3.99
NOV170576    SLAP CAT GAME    $19.99
JAN180553    SPIDER KING #2 CVR A DARMINI    $3.99
JAN180554    SPIDER KING #2 CVR B REBELKA    $3.99
JAN180482    STAR TREK NEW ADVENTURES TP VOL 05    $29.99
JAN180490    TMNT UNIVERSE #20 CVR A WILLIAMS II    $4.99
JAN180491    TMNT UNIVERSE #20 CVR B WACHTER    $4.99
NOV170513    TRANSFORMERS IDW COLL PHASE 2 HC VOL 07    $49.99
OCT170522    WE SPOKE OUT COMIC BOOKS & THE HOLOCAUST HC    $49.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for October 21, 2015

IDW PUBLISHING

AUG150320     BACK TO THE FUTURE #1 CVR A     $3.99
AUG150323     BACK TO THE FUTURE #1 CVR D ARTIST ED BLANK SKETCH     $3.99
AUG150321     BACK TO THE FUTURE #1 SUB A CVR B     $3.99
AUG150322     BACK TO THE FUTURE #1 SUB B CVR C     $3.99
AUG150441     DANGER GIRL RENEGADE #2     $3.99
AUG150412     DONALD DUCK #6     $3.99
AUG150333     FISTFUL OF BLOOD #1     $4.99
AUG150375     GODZILLA IN HELL #4     $3.99
JUN150406     JOE KUBERT RETURN OF TARZAN ARTIST ED HC     PI
AUG150403     MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #35     $3.99
AUG150404     MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #35 ARTIST ED BLANK SKETC     $3.99
AUG150350     STAR TREK ONGOING #50     $4.99
AUG150338     TMNT AMAZING ADVENTURES #3     $3.99
AUG150359     TRANSFORMERS #46     $3.99
AUG150369     TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE TP VOL 08     $19.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for December 24, 2014

IDW PUBLISHING
OCT140557     CORTO MALTESE GN UNDER THE SIGN OF CAPRICORN     $29.99
OCT140450     GARBAGE PAIL KIDS COMIC BOOK PUKETACULAR #1     $3.99
OCT140452     GARBAGE PAIL KIDS COMIC BOOK PUKETACULAR #1 DLX BAGGE ED     $4.99
AUG140447     JOE KUBERT ENEMY ACE ARTIST ED HC     PI
OCT140542     JUDGE DREDD #26     $3.99
OCT140544     JUDGE DREDD ANDERSON PSI DIVISION #4     $3.99
OCT140455     MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #26     $3.99
SEP140499     SILENT HILL DOWNPOUR ANNES STORY #4     $3.99
OCT140465     TMNT GHOSTBUSTERS #3     $3.99
OCT140502     TRANSFORMERS VS GI JOE TP VOL 01     $19.99
OCT140537     X FILES X-MAS SPECIAL     $7.99

I Reads You Review: CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS Volume 2

CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS VOLUME 2
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITERS: Gardner Fox, Dennis O’Neil
PENCILS: Mike Sekowsky, Dick Dillin
INKS: Sid Greene, Joe Giella
LETTERS: Gaspar Saladino, Joe Letterese, Milton Snapinn, Ira Schnapp
ORIGINAL COVER ARTISTS:  Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson; Mike Sekowsky and Joe Giella; Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson; Dick Dillin and George Roussos; Joe Kubert; Neal Adams
COVER: Jerry Ordway
208pp, Color, $14.95 U.S., $22.95 CAN (2003)

Several years ago, I was one of the winners of a raffle at a local comic book shop (well, at least my version of a local comic shop).  The prizes had mostly been picked through by the time I visited the store again, but I ended up being lucky anyway.  Sitting on the prize table, almost alone, was a copy of Crisis on Multiple Earths Volume 2.

I am a fan of DC Comics’ Silver and Bronze Ages, and here was a book full of Justice League of America reprints from the late Silver Age and at the precipice of the Bronze Age.  As far as I was concerned, I won the raffle.

Crisis on Multiple Earths Volume 2 reprints the following Justice League of America issues with August to September cover dates:  #55-56 (1967), 64-65 (1968), 73-74 (1969), and 82-83 (1970).  The book also reprints three pin-ups that were originally published in Justice League #76 (cover dated: October 1969) and Limited Collector’s Edition C-46 (cover dated: August-September 1976).  Why did DC Comics pair two issues of Justice League of America?

Well, it starts with Flash #123 (cover dated: September 1961).  In a story entitled, “The Flash of Two Worlds,” the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen) meets his Golden Age counterpart, Jay Garrick.  It turns out Garrick, along with the rest of the original Justice Society of America of the Golden Age of comics, inhabit an alternate universe.  This meeting of the Flash characters from two different comic book eras turned out to be a historic meeting.  Apparently fans liked it, and there were more such issues of Flash.

This set the stage for the first crossover between the Silver Age Justice League of America and the Golden Age Justice Society of America:  “Crisis on Earth-One” (Justice League of America #21, cover dated: August 1963) and “Crisis on Earth-Two” (Justice League of America #22, September 1963).  In this two-part tale, the Justice Society teams up with the Justice League to combat a team of villains from both worlds.  These evil-doers travel between the worlds using vibratory devices made by the Fiddler (a Flash villain).  After kidnapping both Flashes, they plan on committing crimes, and then, each villain will spend the money on the version of Earth where nobody knows him.

From that point on in 1967 until 1985, the JLA/JSA crossover became an annual event in Justice League of America comic book series.  I know that these JLA/JSA team-ups are essential stories that led the way to DC Comics’ universe-changing event series, Crisis on Infinite Earths.  However, I’m reading them because they are a kind of comic book that I like the most.  If you, dear reader, do need some historical perspective, Martin Pasko’s introduction to this trade paperback, “Crisis Behind the Scenes,” is excellent.

The stories in this book also reflect the changes going on in the comic book industry in the late 1960s.  Golden Age Justice Society of America and longtime Justice League of America writer, Gardner Fox (who had written 65 consecutive issues of the JLA series), gave way to then emerging new talent Dennis O’Neil.  Artist Dick Dillin became Justice League of America’s penciller.  He replaced regular JLA artist Mike Sekowsky, who began his comic book career when the industry was in its infancy (in 1941 with Timely Comics).  Even Sekowsky’s inker, Murphy Anderson (who also began working in the 1940s), gave way to Sid Greene and Joe Giella as Dillin’s inkers.

As I am largely unfamiliar with that era of comics, I didn’t notice much of a change in the creative staff, except in the kind of stories Gardner Fox and Dennis O’Neil wrote.  Fox’s JLA-JSA stories are fanciful, like children’s fantasy stories (Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz).  O’Neil’s stories are more cosmic, and the threats to the heroes are more immediate and dangerous.  Change and death are prominent themes, especially in the 1969 crossover.

I enjoyed reading this trade paperback, and I would recommend it to JLA fans.  Crisis on Multiple Earths Volume 2 makes me look forward to finding the other volumes in the Crisis on Multiple Earths trade paperback series, although I do wonder how many are currently out of print.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for October 30 2013

Digital Comics: Digital new releases available from your local comic book shop are marked below. [DIG] = Digital version available. [DIG/P+] = Print-Plus digital/print combo pack available. For more information, go to www.digitalcomicsreader.com.

IDW PUBLISHING

AUG130417 DANGER GIRL THE CHASE #2 $3.99
AUG130495 DINOSAURS ATTACK #4 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUL138141 FELDSTEIN MAD LIFE AND FANTASTIC ART HC SGN $125.00
AUG130473 GI JOE #9 [DIG/P+] $3.99
AUG130471 GODZILLA RULERS OF THE EARTH #5 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130335 JOE KUBERT TOR ARTIST ED HC PI
AUG130377 KISS KIDS #3 [DIG/P+] $3.99
AUG130384 MY LITTLE PONY 2013 ANNUAL $7.99
AUG130382 MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #12 [DIG/P+] $3.99
AUG130372 POWERPUFF GIRLS #2 $3.99
AUG130371 SAMURAI JACK CLASSICS TP VOL 01 $19.99
AUG130463 TMNT ONGOING #27 $3.99
AUG130465 TMNT VILLAIN MICROSERIES #7 BEBOP & ROCKSTEADY $3.99
AUG130490 TRANSFORMERS PRIME BEAST HUNTERS #6 [DIG/P+] $3.99
AUG130484 TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE #22 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130326 WILD BLUE YONDER #3 $3.99
JUL130399 ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS THIS MEANS WAR MMPB $9.99

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for August 7 2013

Digital Comics: Digital new releases available from your local comic book shop are marked below. [DIG] = Digital version available. [DIG/P+] = Print-Plus digital/print combo pack available. For more information, go to www.digitalcomicsreader.com.

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
JUN130808 ALAN MOORE FASHION BEAST HC (MR) $32.99
JUN130807 ALAN MOORE FASHION BEAST TP (MR) $24.99
MAY131253 ALICE I/T COUNTRY OF HEARTS CLOCKMAKERS STORY GN VOL 01 (MR) $13.99
JUN131163 AMULET SC VOL 03 CLOUD SEARCHERS NEW PTG $12.99
MAR131271 ATOMIC ROBO REAL SCIENCE ADV #9 $2.75
JUN131257 ATOMIC ROBO SAVAGE SWORD OF DR DINOSAUR #2 $3.50
JUN131194 BAG OF MARBLES GN $9.95
MAY131321 BAKUMAN TP VOL 20 $9.99
JUN131012 BLACK BAT #4 BENITEZ ART CVR $3.99
JUN131009 BLACK BAT #4 LEE CVR $3.99
MAY131254 CERTAIN SCIENTIFIC RAILGUN GN VOL 08 $12.99
JUN130797 CHARISMAGIC VOL 2 #4 DIRECT MARKET MAIN CVRS [DIG] $3.99
APR130912 CRITTER (ONGOING) #13 $3.50
MAY130895 CROSSED BADLANDS #34 (MR) $3.99
MAY130897 CROSSED BADLANDS #34 TORTURE CVR (MR) $3.99
MAY130896 CROSSED BADLANDS #34 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
JUN130812 CROSSED HC VOL 06 (MR) $32.99
JUN130811 CROSSED TP VOL 06 (MR) $24.99
MAY130950 DAMNED TP VOL 01 $16.99
APR131068 DAMSELS #9 $3.99
MAY131256 DANCE IN VAMPIRE BUND OMNIBUS VOL 03 (MR) $19.99
MAY131073 DARK SHADOWS #19 $3.99
MAY131327 DEVIL & HER LOVE SONG GN VOL 10 $9.99
APR131104 DF DANGER GIRL TRINITY #1 CAMPBELL EXC CVR $10.00
APR131105 DF GUARDIANS O/T GALAXY #1 EXC CVR PI
MAY131101 DF IRON MAN #9 EXC CVR PI
MAY131106 DF TEN GRAND #1 LEE EXC CVR $6.99
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NOV121161 DF WARLORD OF MARS #27 RISQUE RED CVR (MR) $19.99
APR131103 DF X-FILES SEASON 10 #1 EXC CVR $6.99
JUN130737 EXPLORER SC $10.95
MAY131183 FAIRY TAIL GN VOL 28 $10.99
JUN130712 FINAL PLAGUE #2 (MR) $2.99
JAN131095 GAME OF THRONES #16 (MR) $3.99
JUN130908 GARFIELD #16 [DIG] $3.99
MAY131069 GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS TP VOL 07 GREEN FIELDS BEYOND (MR) $16.99
JUN130842 GEORGE RR MARTIN SKIN TRADE #2 (MR) $3.99
JUN130844 GEORGE RR MARTIN SKIN TRADE #2 GRISLY CVR (MR) $3.99
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MAY131373 GFT WONDERLAND DOWN RABBIT HOLE #3 A CVR SPAY $2.99
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MAY131148 KAFKA GN (NEW PTG) $16.99
MAY131328 KAMISAMA KISS TP VOL 13 $9.99
MAY131257 KANOKON GN COLL ED VOL 02 $18.99
MAY131331 KAZE HIKARU GN VOL 21 $9.99
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MAY131330 KIMI NI TODOKE GN VOL 17 FROM ME TO YOU $9.99
JUN131377 KINGDOM HEARTS II TP VOL 01 $19.00
MAY130915 KNIGHTINGAIL SHADOW DIVISIONS #1 $3.99
JUN130956 LADY RAWHIDE #1 $3.99
MAY130916 LEGEND OF OZ THE WICKED WEST ONGOING #10 $3.50
MAY131329 LIBRARY WARS LOVE & WAR GN VOL 10 $9.99
JUN131195 LITTLE PRINCE GN VOL 09 PLANET O/T GIANT $7.95
JUN130943 LORDS OF MARS #1 ROSS CVR (MR) $3.99
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MAY131322 NARUTO TP VOL 62 $9.99
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JUN131138 NO STRAIGHT LINES QUEER COMICS TP $35.00
MAY131323 NURA RISE O/T YOKAI CLAN GN VOL 16 $9.99
JUN131315 OVER THE WALL GN $14.95
JUN131025 OWL #2 $3.99
JUN131031 PATHFINDER GOBLINS #1 $3.99
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MAY131334 POKEMON BLACK & WHITE GN VOL 11 $4.99
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JUN131320 QUANTUM & WOODY #2 REG SOOK $3.99
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JUN130889 ROBOCOP LAST STAND #1 (MR) [DIG] $3.99
APR130799 RUBICON HC (MR) $24.95
MAY131258 SACRED BLACKSMITH GN VOL 02 (MR) $13.99
JUN131415 SCREWED #3 A CVR KIRKHAM (MR) $2.99
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MAY130917 SERUSIS #2 $3.50
MAY131016 SHADOW #16 $3.99
JUN131330 SHADOWMAN #9 REG JOHNSON $3.99
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MAY131340 SLAM DUNK GN VOL 29 $9.99
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JUN130905 SUICIDE RISK #4 [DIG] $3.99
MAY131341 TEGAMI BACHI GN VOL 14 $9.99
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JUN130742 THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR HC $19.95
JUN131197 TIB & TUMTUM GN VOL 01 WELCOME TO TRIBE $6.95
MAY131342 TORIKO GN VOL 17 $9.99
FEB130817 URSA MINOR #6 (MR) $3.50
APR131229 VAMPIRE CHEERLEADERS MUST DIE GN VOL 01 (MR) $12.99
APR131046 VAMPIRELLA #31 $3.99
APR131058 WARLORD OF MARS DEJAH THORIS #28 (MR) $3.99
JUN131264 WITCH BUSTER TP VOL 01 BOOKS 1 & 2 (MR) $16.99
JUN131265 WITCH BUSTER TP VOL 02 BOOKS 3 & 4 (MR) $16.99
MAY131259 WORLD WAR BLUE GN VOL 02 $11.99

MAGAZINES
JUN131434 COMIC SHOP NEWS #1364 PI
APR131388 DC SUPERHERO CHESS FIG COLL MAG #37 SUPERGIRL WHITE PAWN $16.00
APR131389 DC SUPERHERO CHESS FIG COLL MAG #38 LEX LUTHOR BLACK KING $16.00
APR131390 DRAW #25 $8.95
JUN131491 FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #269 $9.99
APR131391 JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #61 $10.95
JUN131494 MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT #32 $9.98
MAY131492 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #46 PX ED $9.99
JUN131288 STAR WARS CLONE WARS MAGAZINE #19 $4.99
JUN131506 WALKING DEAD MAGAZINE #5 NEWSSTAND ED (MR) $9.99
JUN131507 WALKING DEAD MAGAZINE #5 PX ED (MR) $9.99

BOOKS
FEB131295 ALIEN SAGA POSTER COLLECTION $24.99
JUN131421 ART OF BROM HC (MR) $44.95
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DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 2 2013

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Review: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT Jim Aparo Volume 1

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT JIM APARO VOLUME 1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Bob Haney
ARTIST: Jim Aparo
COVER: Jim Aparo with Alan Passalaqua
Artists on cover reprints: Jim Aparo, Murphy Anderson, Bob Brown, Nick Cardy, Gil Kane, Joe Kubert, Irv Novick, George Papp, Howard Purcell, George Roussos
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3375-4; hardcover
360pp, Color, $49.99 U.S., $57.00 CAN

Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 1 offers readers three times the fun. How does this hardcover collection do that? This 360-page book reprints 23 issues of The Brave and the Bold, published over a five-year period, covering late 1970 to late 1975. Because it was a Batman team-up book for most of its run, this collection finds The Batman joining forces with such classic DC Comics heroes as Aquaman, Deadman, the Metal Men, the Phantom Stranger, Sgt. Rock, Swamp Thing, and the Teen Titans; plus the trio of Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and the Black Canary, and even a bizarre team-up of The Batman and his arch-nemesis, The Joker.

The second cool thing about the book is that every story reprinted within its fine covers is written by Bob Haney. Over a three-decade career at DC Comics, Haney was a key contributor to what would become the DC Universe, including being a co-creator of the original Teen Titans.

However, the purpose of this book and the third great thing about it is its focus on the late Jim Aparo. Aparo’s 30-plus year career at DC Comics as a comic book artist was a high-water mark for the American comic book industry. For the past few years, DC Comics has been publishing book collections showcasing the work of some of the most influential Batman artists of the last four decades. Hardback trade collections have gathered comic book stories drawn by such artists as Neal Adams, Don Newton, and Marshall Rogers. Now, the focus is on Jim Aparo, beginning with the subject of this comic book review, Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 1.

Debuting in 1955, The Brave and the Bold featured the debut of the Justice League of America (#28, February-March 1960) and of what would become the Teen Titans (#54, July 1964). Beginning with its 74th issue, The Brave and the Bold became a Batman team-up title. Jim Aparo, who at the time had only been at DC Comics a few years, was the fill-in artist for The Brave and the Bold #98. Beginning with #100, he became the regular artist and from 1971 to end of The Brave and the Bold in 1983, Aparo was the series’ regular artist.

Over a 30-year period, Aparo was probably the most prolific artist on the Batman line of comic books, but during that time, other Batman artists, like Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers, and Frank Miller, received more attention and critical acclaim. Aparo was clearly influenced by Neal Adams, who was his contemporary. Still, Aparo had his own style and was able to stand apart and also influence later Batman comic book artists, including, by my estimation, Norm Breyfogle, Alan Davis, and Bruce Timm.

Unlike the muscular, pumped-up Batman that is familiar to today’s readers or the classic line, cleanly-designed Batman of the Golden and Silver Ages, Aparo’s Batman is a lean, muscular figure. Aparo gives Batman the rangy and nimble physique of a natural athlete. He poses Batman in a way that makes him seem like a normal person, but also presents him in a classical fashion, as if Batman were posing before a figure drawing class. Aparo also gives Deadman the natural/classical ideal treatment during the character’s appearance and team-up with Batman. (The Brave and the Bold #104, “Second Chance for a Deadman”).

Aparo’s Batman is unmistakably human. Of course, Bob Haney gets credit as the writer of the stories reprinted here, but comics is a graphics medium in which a storyteller draws the story. Aparo’s Batman comes across as a tangible person. He is vulnerable and fragile, contemplative and thoughtful, stalwart and steady, brave and bold, and is as surprisingly emotional as he is consistently rational (as a detective).

Whoever made Aparo the regular artist on The Brave and the Bold made the perfect choice. Aparo had the ability to adapt Batman’s emotions, moods, and appearance for wildly differing scenarios. That also made him the perfect artist to draw Batman stories which paired him with other characters that were like him, only somewhat like him, and not like him at all.

In the story “The Commune of Defiance,” (The Brave and the Bold #102), Batman and the Teen Titans unite to help a group of young people save their blighted neighborhood. In this story, Batman is a father figure who not only discourages the young radicals’ propensity towards violence, but also encourages them to work towards their goal. Here, Batman the masked avenger becomes Batman the defender and people’s champ. He believes that if someone saves these young people’s neighborhood for them, it will mean much less than if they did the work to save and rebuild their homes. Today, Batman would be called a “thug hugger” for his stance in this story. So it is safe to say that this Batman, who bucks the police and political power in Gotham to help “young criminals” save their neighborhood, will never been seen again.

What we as readers and people who appreciate the medium lost when Jim Aparo retired was a storyteller who recognized what is best about these superheroes. They are not gods and figures of some new mythology. They are like us, but better; they are idealized versions of what we’d like to be. Our good sense and perhaps, some physical revulsion might keep us from jumping into the middle of an inferno to save a life. A superhero like Batman is someone like us – someone we want to be – who will indeed dive into the inferno. This is Aparo’s Batman.

I don’t mean to do a disservice to Bob Haney, a master storyteller who could do in a single issue what someone apparently can’t do in six issues of Justice League – tell a complete story. However, Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 1 is about Jim Aparo. I’ve long thought this, and now, I can unleash this thought. Jim Aparo, at this point in time, is the greatest Batman artist in the history of comic books.

A+

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

"Before Watchmen" - Watchmen Prequel Comic Books Announced

The following was taken from a DC Comics blog post written by David Hyde:

DC ENTERTAINMENT OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES “BEFORE WATCHMEN”

This summer, DC Entertainment will publish all-new stories expanding on the acclaimed WATCHMEN universe. As highly anticipated as they are controversial, the seven inter-connected prequel mini-series will build on the foundation of the original WATCHMEN, the bestselling graphic novel of all time. BEFORE WATCHMEN will be the collective banner for all seven titles, from DC Comics.

“It’s our responsibility as publishers to find new ways to keep all of our characters relevant,” said DC Entertainment Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee. “After twenty five years, the Watchmen are classic characters whose time has come for new stories to be told. We sought out the best writers and artists in the industry to build on the complex mythology of the original.”

Stepping up to the challenge is a group of the comic book industry’s most iconoclastic writers and artists – including Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS), Lee Bermejo (JOKER), Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL), Darwyn Cooke (JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER), John Higgins (WATCHMEN), Adam Hughes (CATWOMAN), J.G. Jones (FINAL CRISIS), Andy Kubert (FLASHPOINT), Joe Kubert (SGT. ROCK), Jae Lee (BATMAN: JEKYLL AND HYDE), J. Michael Straczynski (SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE) and Len Wein (SWAMP THING).

BEFORE WATCHMEN includes:

RORSCHACH (4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo

MINUTEMEN (6 issues) – Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke

COMEDIAN (6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones

DR. MANHATTAN (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artist: Adam Hughes

NITE OWL (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert

OZYMANDIAS (6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee

SILK SPECTRE (4 issues) – Writer: Darwyn Cooke. Artist: Amanda Conner

Each week, a new issue will be released, and will feature a two-page back-up story called CURSE OF THE CRIMSON CORSAIR, written by original series editor Len Wein and with art by original series colorist John Higgins. There will also be a single issue, BEFORE WATCHMEN: EPILOGUE, featuring the work of various writers and artists, and a CRIMSON CORSAIR story by Wein and Higgins.

“The original series of WATCHMEN is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell. However, I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire,” said Dave Gibbons, WATCHMEN co-creator and original series artist.

“Comic books are perhaps the largest and longest running form of collaborative fiction,” said DiDio and Lee. “Collaborative storytelling is what keeps these fictional universes current and relevant.”

Leroy Douresseaux on JEW GANGSTER

JEW GANGSTER
DC COMICS

CARTOONIST: Joe Kubert
LETTERS: Pete Carlsson
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3179-8; paperback
144pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN

Best known for his work on such DC Comics characters as Sgt. Rock and Hawkman, Joe Kubert has been drawing comics since 1938, before he was even a teenager. With his wife, Muriel, Kubert also founded the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art (now known as The Kubert School), a technical school that teaches the craft of creating comic books, among others aspects of narrative art.

Jew Gangster: A Father’s Admonition was a hardcover graphic novel written and drawn by Joe Kubert and published by IBooks in 2005. As part of “The Joe Kubert Library,” DC Comics has republished the gook as Jew Gangster in a paperback edition (with French flaps!).

Jew Gangster is a hybrid, coming-of-age story that is also crime fiction and is set in Depression-era New York City. The story’s protagonist is Reuben “Ruby” Kaplan, a handsome young man growing up in Brooklyn, specifically “the East New York section.” Ruby is from a poor immigrant family (Polish). His father, Isaac, works as a dress cutter, and his mother runs a kosher restaurant (by herself) in the front rooms of the building where the family lives. Ruby also has a younger sister, Rifke.

Ruby is, quite frankly, tired of being poor. He’d been occasionally running errands and making special deliveries for a local mobster named Monk Greenberg. Eager to help support his hardworking parents, Ruby starts skipping school to do more work for Monk. Ruby does make more money, consequently falling deeper into the organized crime world, but also angering his father. Ruby becomes Monk’s right hand man, participating in brutal, terrible criminal acts, but betrayal and suspicion not only put Ruby’s life on the line, but also his family’s lives.

Jew Gangster is similar to the Depression-era, Jewish, and historical melodramas and biographical comics that Will Eisner produced as graphic novels the last 30 years of his career and life. On the surface of Jew Gangster, it may appear that Joe Kubert is employing every gangster cliché and poor immigrant family trope found in popular storytelling, from the heartbroken papa and diplomatic mama to the criminal mentor and martyred pal. One might even compare this graphic novel to one of those cinematically-influenced comic books trying to look like a Film-Noir crime flick.

Jew Gangster, at its heart, is a coming-of-age story depicting two fronts: that of Ruby Kaplan and that of the Jewish people, specifically those in the section of Brooklyn where Ruby lives. Kubert’s story hinges on Kaplan’s realization of what it will take to do more than merely survive, and that could be said to be true of the Jewish community of which Ruby is part. Jew Gangster seems to say that no matter where one lives – at the top, middle or bottom of society – life is a struggle. Ruby, like his Jewish contemporaries, must pick his fights and battles and win them and perhaps, get more out of life, but any kind of victory is not without some kind of cost.

To relegate Jew Gangster to a particular genre is to deny the universal nature of this story about a wayward boy who just talks about taking care of his family and becomes a man who really takes care of his family. His struggle in his chosen profession by which he will care for his loved ones could take place in many other professional setting. When you look past the violence and grimy Brooklyn setting, this could be a biographical tale of boy entering the adult world of comic book publishing. This same story could focus on a boy on the verge of becoming a man as he navigates his way through the complicated, political worlds of government, law enforcement, business, finance, etc.

Yes, Jew Gangster is what it is, dressed in the rags of crime fiction and playing out on the mean streets of Depression-era Jewish Brooklyn. Behind all that, however, is the common tale of a boy in tough times, in a tough neighborhood, making tough choices so that he can make his way in the world. Jew Gangster is a terrific story in that way.

A-

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for May 11 2011

DC COMICS

MAR110366 ALL NEW BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #7 $2.99

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MAR110289 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY #1 (OF 5) $2.99

FEB110141 BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 $2.99

FEB110196 BATMAN STREETS OF GOTHAM TP VOL 01 HUSH MONEY $14.99

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