Image Comics 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.

IMAGE COMICS

JUN130540 A DISTANT SOIL #42 [DIG] $3.50
AUG130581 BUSHIDO #5 [DIG] $2.99
AUG130619 DIA DE LOS MUERTOS TP (MR) $16.99
AUG130582 FIVE GHOSTS #6 [DIG] $3.50
AUG130622 MARA TP $12.99
AUG130701 MICE TEMPLAR IV LEGEND #8 CVR A OEMING [DIG] $4.99
AUG130702 MICE TEMPLAR IV LEGEND #8 CVR B SANTOS & FREE $4.99
AUG130634 PLANETOID TP VOL 01 $15.99
JUN130556 PROPHET #40 [DIG] $3.99
AUG130635 REVIVAL DLX COLL HC VOL 01 (MR) $34.99
AUG130710 SAGA #15 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
AUG130713 SEX #8 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
AUG130601 THOUGHT BUBBLE ANTHOLOGY 2013 #3 [DIG] $3.99
AUG130548 WALKING DEAD HILLTOP T/S MENS XXL $22.99
AUG130563 WALKING DEAD KINGDOM T/S MENS MED $19.99
AUG130555 WALKING DEAD SAVIORS T/S MENS LG $19.99
AUG130554 WALKING DEAD SAVIORS T/S MENS MED $19.99
AUG130559 WALKING DEAD SAVIORS T/S WOMENS MED $19.99
AUG130537 WALKING DEAD SURVIVORS T/S MENS LG $19.99
AUG130536 WALKING DEAD SURVIVORS T/S MENS MED $19.99
AUG130538 WALKING DEAD SURVIVORS T/S MENS XL $19.99
AUG130539 WALKING DEAD SURVIVORS T/S MENS XXL $22.99
AUG130590 WITCHBLADE #170 [DIG] $2.99
JUL130503 WITCHBLADE REBIRTH TP VOL 04 [DIG] $16.99

IMAGE COMICS/MCFARLANE TOYS

AUG130727 ASSASSINS CREED SER 1 HORNIGOLD AF-GAME REL PI
AUG130728 ASSASSINS CREED SER 1 RATONHNHAKETON AF-GAME REL PI

Comics, Magazines and Books 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.

PREVIEWS PUBLICATIONS
SEP130004 PREVIEWS #302 NOV 2013 CUSTOMER ORDER FORM PI
SEP130001 PREVIEWS #302 NOVEMBER 2013 [DIG/P+] $4.50

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
AUG138070 SKYWARD #1 2ND PTG $2.99
AUG131419 ACG COLL WORKS ADV INTO UNKNOWN SLIPCASE ED VOL 04 $64.99
AUG131116 ADVENTURE TIME 2013 SPOOOKTACULAR #1 $4.99
JUL130830 ALL NEW FATHOM #3 ASPEN RESERVED CVR $3.99
JUL130829 ALL NEW FATHOM #3 DIRECT MARKET CVR [DIG] $3.99
AUG131531 ANOTHER TP $29.99
JUL130748 ARCANE SECRETS #2 $3.99
AUG130987 ARCHIE #649 REG CVR [DIG/P+] $2.99
AUG130992 ARCHIE COMICS SPECTACULAR ITS A DATE TP $5.99
SEP131050 ASH & THE ARMY OF DARKNESS #1 $3.99
JUL131076 BIONIC MAN #25 $3.99
AUG131356 BITES GN $13.95
AUG131532 BLACK BUTLER TP VOL 15 $11.99
AUG131410 CLASSICS ILLUS HC VOL 18 AESOPS FABLES $9.99
JUL130916 CLIVE BARKER NEXT TESTAMENT #5 (MR) [DIG] $3.99
AUG131313 COMPLETE CRUMB COMICS TP VOL 06 CREST WAVE (NEW PTG) $19.99
AUG138212 COMPLETE CRUMB COMICS TP VOL 08 DEATH FRITZ CAT (NEW PTG) $19.99
AUG131054 CROSSED BADLANDS #40 (MR) $3.99
AUG131056 CROSSED BADLANDS #40 TORTURE CVR (MR) $3.99
AUG131055 CROSSED BADLANDS #40 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
AUG131311 DISNEY MICKEY MOUSE COLOR SUNDAYS BOX SET VOL 01 $49.99
AUG131310 DISNEY MICKEY MOUSE COLOR SUNDAYS HC VOL 02 ROBIN HOOD $29.99
AUG131446 FARLAINE THE GOBLIN #2 $5.00
JUL130871 FERALS #17 (MR) $3.99
JUL130873 FERALS #17 GORE CVR (MR) $3.99
JUL130872 FERALS #17 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
AUG130917 FINAL PLAGUE #3 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
AUG130981 FOX #1 REG HASPIEL CVR [DIG/P+] $2.99
MAR131096 GAME OF THRONES #17 (MR) $3.99
AUG131556 GFT NO TOMORROW #3 A CVR MALSUNI (MR) $2.99
AUG131557 GFT NO TOMORROW #3 B CVR PATTERSON (MR) $2.99
AUG131558 GFT NO TOMORROW #3 C CVR MYCHAELS (MR) $2.99
AUG131559 GFT REALM KNIGHTS #3 A CVR QUALANO (MR) $2.99
AUG131560 GFT REALM KNIGHTS #3 B CVR REYES (MR) $2.99
AUG131561 GFT REALM KNIGHTS #3 C CVR SPAY (MR) $2.99
AUG131572 GFT UNLEASHED TP VOL 02 $15.99
AUG130952 GOLD DIGGER #205 [DIG] $3.99
MAY131237 HARVEY HORRORS WITCHES TALES SOFTIE TP VOL 02 $24.99
AUG131135 HELLRAISER ANNUAL 2013 #1 (MR) [DIG] $4.99
AUG131111 HEROBEAR & THE KID 2013 ANNUAL #1 [DIG] $3.99
AUG131550 HIT LIST #2 A CVR D E JOHNSON (MR) $2.99
AUG131551 HIT LIST #2 B CVR TOLIBAO (MR) $2.99
AUG131552 HIT LIST #2 C CVR ORACLE (MR) $2.99
AUG131535 IM NOT POPULAR GN VOL 01 $11.99
AUG131536 INU X BOKU SS TP VOL 01 $11.99
AUG131534 IS THIS A ZOMBIE GN VOL 06 (MR) $12.00
AUG131537 K ON GN VOL 05 $11.99
AUG131092 KNIGHTINGAIL SHADOW DIVISIONS #4 $3.99
JUL130973 LARGO WINCH GN VOL 06 AND DIE $11.95
JUL130890 LEGEND OF OZ THE WICKED WEST ONGOING #12 $3.50
AUG131350 LEGEND OF THE SCARLET BLADES DLX HC (MR) $49.95
JUL130976 LUCKY LUKE TP VOL 38 DOC DOXEYS ELIXIR $11.95
AUG131539 MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA GN VOL 16 $11.99
AUG131530 MISS PEREGRINES HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN HC GN $20.00
AUG138188 MOCKING DEAD #1 ZOMBIE LAUGHTER 3RD PTG $3.99
MAY131080 MOOMIN COMPLETE LARS JANSSON COMIC STRIP HC VOL 08 $19.95
AUG131422 PRE CODE CLASSICS WEIRD MYSTERIES SLIPCASED ED VOL 01 $69.99
AUG131541 PUELLA MAGI ORIKO MAGICA GN VOL 02 $11.99
AUG131264 RAGE OF POSEIDON HC (MR) $29.95
AUG131097 REX ZOMBIE KILLER #1 $3.50
JUN130986 SHADOW YEAR ONE #6 CVR A WAGNER $3.99
JUN130987 SHADOW YEAR ONE #6 CVR B ROSS $3.99
JUN130988 SHADOW YEAR ONE #6 CVR C SAMNEE $3.99
JUN130989 SHADOW YEAR ONE #6 CVR D CHAYKIN $3.99
AUG131105 SIMPSONS ILLUSTRATED #8 $3.99
AUG130914 SKYWARD #4 [DIG] $2.99
AUG131003 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #254 REG CVR [P+] $2.99
JUN130802 SOULFIRE VOL 4 #8 CVR A DEBALFO [DIG] $3.99
JUN130803 SOULFIRE VOL 4 #8 CVR B CAFARO $3.99
JUL131210 SPELL CHECKERS GN VOL 03 $11.99
APR131133 STEVE DITKO ARCHIVES HC VOL 04 IMPOSSIBLE TALES $39.99
AUG131457 STUFF ABOUT SEX (ONE SHOT) (MR) $3.95
AUG131469 SUPER #2 $2.99
AUG131109 TAROT SHADES OF MAGICK S&N DELUXE BUNDLE (MR) $24.99
JUL130911 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #82 DLX ED (MR) $19.99
AUG131542 TRIAGE X GN VOL 04 (MR) $14.00
AUG131357 UNSPEAKABLE VAULT OF DOOM GN VOL 02 $19.95
AUG131498 UZUMAKI 3-IN-1 DLX ED HC $27.99
JUN130971 VAMPIRELLA MASTERS SERIES TP VOL 08 MIKE CAREY & MORE $19.99
AUG131308 WALT DISNEY DONALD DUCK HC XMAS BOX SET $49.99
JUL131074 WARLORD OF MARS DEJAH THORIS #31 (MR) $3.99
AUG131372 WILDER ONE SHOT (MR) $3.99
MAY130791 WILDWORK #1 $3.99
AUG131497 X-O MANOWAR DLX HC VOL 01 $39.99
AUG130916 ZOMBIE TRAMP VOL 2 #1 (MR) [DIG] $2.99

MAGAZINES
AUG131709 COMIC SHOP NEWS #1376 PI
SEP131545 FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #263 100 YEARS OF UNIVERSAL CVR $9.99
JUN131503 GRIMM MAGAZINE COLLECTORS SPECIAL #2 $14.99
AUG131715 LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #31 $9.95
JUN131495 RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE #138 $9.95
AUG131730 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #47 NEWSSTAND ED $9.99
AUG131731 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #47 PX ED $9.99
AUG131732 STAR WARS INSIDER #145 NEWSSTAND ED $7.99
AUG131733 STAR WARS INSIDER #145 PX ED $7.99
SEP131556 WALKING DEAD MAGAZINE #5 SDCC EXCLUSIVE COVER (MR) $9.99

BOOKS
AUG131368 BIG BOOK OF BODE TATTOOS HC (MR) $29.95
SEP131482 DC SUPER FRIENDS LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK FAVORITES $6.99
SEP131476 DISNEY PRINCESS LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK FAVORITES #2 $6.99
AUG131586 GREAT WAR JULY 1 1916 BATTLE OF SOMME PANORAMA $35.00
AUG131643 GUILLERMO DEL TORO CABINET OF CURIOSITIES HC $60.00
SEP131506 INSIDE SEKA PLATINUM PRINCESS OF PORN SC (MR) $24.95
SEP131480 MARVEL HEROES LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK FAVORITES #1 $6.99
MAY131081 MOOMIN AND THE COMET SC $9.95
MAY131082 MOOMIN AND THE SEA SC $9.95
AUG131307 SECRET HISTORY MARVEL COMICS HC KIRBY EMPIRE (RES) $39.99
AUG131649 TERMINATOR VAULT DEFINITIVE STORY MAKING OF T1 & T2 HC $40.00
JUL131424 TRANSFORMERS ULTIMATE POP UP UNIVERSE HC $37.00

Toriko: Gourmet Casino!!

I read Toriko, Vol. 18

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which has free smart phone apps and comics).

#IReadsYou Review: UZUMAKI: Deluxe Edition

UZUMAKI: DELUXE EDITION
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Junji Ito
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Yuji Oniki
LETTERS:  Susan Daigle-Leach
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6132-5; hardcover (October 2013); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
656pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S., $32.00 CAN, £17.99 U.K.

I would put Uzumaki, the masterpiece of horror manga from creator Junji Ito as one of the greatest horror comic books every published.  It is one of the few horror comic books that I would place on parity with the horror comics produced by the legendary American comic book publisher, EC Comics.

Uzumaki was originally published in 1998 and 1999 in the manga magazine, Big Comic Spirits.  In 2001, VIZ Media first published the series in North America in three volumes, and re-released the three volumes in 2007 in new editions.  Now, VIZ Media has collected this tour de force of fear in a deluxe hardcover edition, simply entitled Uzumaki: Deluxe Edition – a 3-in-1 edition that collects all three Uzumaki graphic novels.

Uzumaki is set in Kurôzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan and focuses on one of its citizens, Kirie Goshima, a quiet, reserved teen girl.  Being quiet and reserved makes Kirie an astute observer of the peculiar events that strike her hometown.  The pattern uzumaki – the spiral – haunts the town, and the inhabitants of Kurôzu-cho are pulled into something from which there is no return.

In Uzumak, Volume 1, Kirie Goshima gets strange news from her withdrawn boyfriend, Shuichi Saito.  He tells her that their town is haunted not by a person or creature, but by a pattern, the spiral (uzumaki), but Kirie quietly has her doubts.  Eventually, even she cannot deny how the spiral pattern manifests itself all over town – in seashells, in the clouds above, and even in the whirlwinds (or dust devils) that plague the streets.

In Uzumaki, Volume 2, the horror of the spiral is actually becoming increasingly more bizarre.  First, Kirie finds herself plagued by a practical joker who is obsessed with her.  Then, Kirie’s hospital stay becomes a lesson in pre and post-natal care when hungry mothers and their infants become very picky eaters.

In Uzumaki, Volume 3, the citizens of Kurôzu-cho find themselves cut off from the outside world.  Titanic typhoons (hurricanes) and whirlpools keep the Japanese Navy from reaching the village.  As the pattern of the spiral completely takes over the town, Kirie and her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, embark on a final quest.

It opens with a benign landscape of a young woman standing on a mountain road that overlooks her coastal hometown.  The second and third pages, a double-page spread, are decidedly less benign.  Now, the young woman, our heroine, is ever so close, yet not so close, to a vague maelstrom of swirling, imprecise wind.

This is Uzumaki, and we are about to follow heroine/lead character/protagonist, Kirie Goshima, into a bizarre tale of a cursed town.  Through her, we experience one of the weirdest of weird horror stories.

Uzumaki is “manga;” in fact, it is a manga masterpiece.  However, creator Junji Ito offers a work that goes beyond borders.  Some may call it manga simply to keep it in a ghetto, away from other kinds of comics.  Comic book, graphic novel, bandes dessinee, manga:  This is visual storytelling that transcends language and national origins.

Many comics and graphic novels make little sense to readers other than to their intended audience.  [This is the case with some superhero comic books.]  Uzumaki does not suffer from this because Ito’s story is built around the kind of fears with which we can all identify – the specter of death, loss of control of our lives, and our own paranoia.  Like the citizens of Kurôzu-cho, our lives are often delicately constructed.  Hit a weak point and much if not all of it comes tumbling down.  Some people don’t even have the strength or the time to save or rebuild their broken lives.

As it begins, Uzumaki presents a town full of people slowly sinking into madness, unable to stop decay and eventual death.  All the readers have to hold onto is Kirie, who’s sane… for now, because it is going to get worse.  Reading Uzumaki again, I am struck by how the story feels not so much fresh as it does feel like an old horror that is always ready to get inside the reader’s mind.

Readers who are looking for the best of the best comics and manga will find it in Uzumaki: Deluxe Edition.  Readers who are searching for crazy/cool horror will find a big massive serving of scary in Uzumaki: Deluxe Edition.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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Case Closed: The House of the Evil Spirit

I read Case Closed, Vol. 48

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

I Reads You Review: BATMAN #22

BATMAN #22
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: Scott Snyder
PENCILS: Greg Capullo
INKS: Danny Miki
COLORS: FCO Plascenia
LETTERS: Nick Napolitano
COVER: Greg Capullo with FCO Plascenia
VARIANT COVER: Mikel Janin
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2013)

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger

Zero Year – Secret City: Part Two

Dear Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo,
Apparently, your “Zero Year,” a most pleasing, is what I wanted Grant Morrison’s Batman to be.  Of course, I enjoyed Mr. Morrison’s Batman stories, but I always thought that they should somehow be... better?  His Batman and Robin series started with such hope and promise, but quickly went flat, whereas your own “Zero Year,” seems to be on an upward trajectory, as they say. We’ll see...

The latest Batman event storyline is “Zero Year.”  Written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Greg Capullo, this 10-issue story is currently running through the ongoing, eponymous Batman series.  And thank you, DC Comics, for not making it a crossover with other Bat-titles and keeping the publication schedule pure.

Batman #22 (Zero Year – Secret City: Part Two) opens with Bruce Wayne facing down the Red Hood and his gang.  He discovers a shocking connection to the criminal and to Wayne Enterprises, but Bruce doesn’t know the half of it.  Meanwhile, a flashback to the past shows little Bruce gone cave exploring.  And adult Bruce has a spat with his butler, Alfred Pennyworth.  See ya’ next issue.

As I said in my review of Batman #22:  Wow!  I’m ready to read more.  Snyder is killin’ it, y’all.  I so don’t look forward to a refraction period, so I hope this story arc stays strong.  Style aside, Greg Capullo is doing some tremendous storytelling.  “Tremendous,” did I say?  I guess you can tell that I am enjoying this.  But I look forward to enjoying this, almost as much as I look forward to each new appearance of Love and Rockets – my favorite comic book.

Bruce Wayne: “That One Time”

WRITERS:  Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV
ART: Rafael Albuquerque
COLORS: Dave McCaig
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito

This issue’s Bruce Wayne flashback story is “That One Time.”  It takes place when Bruce is 21.  He’s trapped in a hole of some kind.  The theme is “doing the impossible.”  I like some of what artist Rafael Albuquerque is doing here.  The rest of the art serves the story, so I won’t complain.

Artists, writers, and other creative types will find some words of wisdom in this story.  They may even find it inspirational.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Real: Goes to "A-Camp"

I read Real, Vol. 12

A review was posted at ComicBookBin.