Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for June 4 2014

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

DEC130840 32-BIT ZOMBIE $3.99
APR141007 ADVENTURE TIME FLIP SIDE #6 MAIN CVRS $3.99
MAR140833 AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE TP BM ED $17.99
FEB140918 AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE TP VOL 01 ESCAPE FROM RIVERDALE PX ED $17.99
FEB141161 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #12 $3.99
APR140960 BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA #1 MAIN CVRS $3.99
FEB141210 BLACK BAT #11 $3.99
FEB141211 BLACK BAT #11 TAN EXC SUBSCRIPTION CVR $3.99
APR140928 CALIBAN #3 (MR) $3.99
APR140930 CALIBAN #3 TERROR CVR (MR) $3.99
APR140929 CALIBAN #3 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
MAR141113 CAPT ACTION CAT #2 $3.99
MAR148368 CHAOS #1 DAVILA COLOR STEAMPUNK RARE REORDER $3.99
APR141079 CHAOS #2 CVR A SEELEY $3.99
APR141080 CHAOS #2 CVR B RUFFINO $3.99
APR141078 CHAOS #2 MAIN CVR LUPACCHINO $3.99
APR140909 CROSSED BADLANDS #50 COED DREAD 4 CVR SET (MR) $39.99
APR141474 DENGEKI DAISY GN VOL 14 $9.99
FEB141253 DF BLACK SCIENCE #1 DYNAMIC MIDTOWN LTD CVR $19.99
FEB141243 DF DEADPOOL #27 WEDDING SGN FABIAN NICIEZA $29.99
NOV131062 DF PRETTY DEADLY #1 DYNAMIC MIDTOWN ED $14.99
JAN141181 DF PUNISHER #1 BLANK CVR EDMONDSON SGN HAESER RMK $89.99
JAN141171 DF RED SONJA #1 DYNAMIC MIDTOWN CVR $10.00
NOV131063 DF VELVET #1 DYNAMIC MIDTOWN ED $14.99
APR141530 DISCOVERY GREAT WHITE SHARKS GN $9.99
MAR141108 DOC SAVAGE #6 $3.99
APR141467 DRAGON BALL 3IN1 TP VOL 05 $14.99
APR141456 DRAGON BALL FULL COLOR TP VOL 03 SAIYAN ARC $19.99
MAR140813 DRAGON GIRL GN VOL 01 SECRET VALLEY $9.99
APR140939 EXTINCTION PARADE #1 ARMY OF BLOODLINES BLAST 3 BOOK SET (MR $29.99
APR141244 FORGOTTEN MAN NEW HIST GREAT DEPRESSION GN $19.99
APR141029 GARFIELD #26 $3.99
APR141517 GFT GODSTORM AGE OF DARKNESS A CVR TYNDALL (AOFD) $5.99
APR141518 GFT GODSTORM AGE OF DARKNESS B CVR PANTALENA (AOFD) $5.99
APR141519 GFT GODSTORM AGE OF DARKNESS C CVR QUALANO (AOFD) $5.99
APR141498 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #98 A CVR JOHNSON (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
APR141499 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #98 B CVR QUALANO (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
APR141500 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #98 C CVR CALDWELL (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
MAR140828 GHOST COP TP $14.99
FEB140891 GHOST WOLF #2 $3.99
APR140933 GOD IS DEAD #3 APHRODITE CVR (MR) $5.99
APR140934 GOD IS DEAD #7 MORRIGAN CVR (MR) $5.99
APR141472 HAPPY MARRIAGE GN VOL 06 (MR) $9.99
APR141129 JIM BUTCHER DRESDEN FILES WAR CRY #1 $4.99
MAR140860 JIRNI VOL 2 #1 DIRECT MARKET CVR A $3.99
MAR140861 JIRNI VOL 2 #1 DIRECT MARKET CVR B $3.99
JAN141317 JOHN CARPENTERS ASYLUM #6 MAIN CVR (MR) $3.99
APR141476 KAMISAMA KISS GN VOL 15 $9.99
APR141475 KIMI NI TODOKE GN VOL 19 $9.99
APR141442 KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA GN VOL 09 $12.95
DEC131202 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #208 $5.99
APR141471 MILLENNIUM SNOW 2IN1 TP VOL 01 $14.99
APR141470 MILLENNIUM SNOW TP VOL 03 $9.99
MAR140812 MISADVENTURES OF SALEM HYDE HC VOL 02 BIG BIRTHDAY BASH $14.95
MAR140811 MISADVENTURES OF SALEM HYDE SC VOL 02 BIG BIRTHDAY BASH $6.95
APR141477 NATSUMES BOOK OF FRIENDS GN VOL 16 $9.99
APR141070 NEW VAMPIRELLA #1 BLANK AUTHENTIX CVR $3.99
MAR148026 NEW VAMPIRELLA #1 BUSCEMA EXC SUBSCRIPTION CVR $3.99
APR141066 NEW VAMPIRELLA #1 CVR A FRISON $3.99
APR141067 NEW VAMPIRELLA #1 CVR B ADAMS $3.99
APR141068 NEW VAMPIRELLA #1 CVR C ANACLETO $3.99
APR141069 NEW VAMPIRELLA #1 CVR D JUSKO $3.99
APR141065 NEW VAMPIRELLA #1 MAIN DODSON $3.99
APR141468 NURA RISE O/T YOKAI CLAN GN VOL 21 $9.99
APR141458 ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 09 $14.99
APR141457 ONE PIECE GN VOL 71 $9.99
APR141314 POKEMON ADV PLATINUM GN VOL 11 $9.99
APR141325 POKEMON BLACK & WHITE GN VOL 16 $4.99
APR141284 PRINCESS UGG #1 MAIN CVR $3.99
APR141432 QUANTUM & WOODY #11 CVR A KANO $3.99
APR141433 QUANTUM & WOODY #11 CVR B TORRES $3.99
MAR148327 RAI #1 2ND PTG $3.99
APR141423 RAI #2 CVR A ALLEN (VF) $3.99
APR141424 RAI #2 CVR B SUAYAN (VF) $3.99
APR141425 RAI #2 MASK CVR (VF) $3.99
APR140972 REVELATIONS #6 (MR) $3.99
MAR140806 ROGUES VOL 2 #2 COLD SHIP (MR) $3.99
APR141255 SCRATCH9 CAT OF NINE WORLDS #1 REG CVR $3.99
APR141455 SERAPH OF END GN VOL 01 VAMPIRE REIGN $9.99
MAR140936 SIMPSONS ILLUSTRATED #11 $3.99
MAR140855 SONIC UNIVERSE #64 REG CVR $2.99
APR140978 SUICIDE RISK #14 $3.99
MAR141263 SUPER EGO HC $19.99
APR141469 TORIKO GN VOL 22 $9.99
APR141473 VOICE OVER SEIYU ACADEMY GN VOL 05 $9.99
APR141064 WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW HC (MR) $20.00
APR140964 WOODS #2 $3.99
MAR140843 WORLD OF ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #40 $3.99


MAGAZINES
APR141656 COMIC SHOP NEWS #1407 PI
MAR141612 HORRORHOUND #47 $6.99
FEB148250 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 MOVIE MAGAZINE $4.99
MAR141614 LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #32 $9.95
APR141668 SCREEM #28 $8.95
NOV131438 TOMARTS ACTION FIGURE DIGEST #204 $5.99

BOOKS
MAR141552 DISNEY JUNIOR ENCYCLOPEDIA ANIMATED CHARACTERS HC $12.99
MAR141561 MASTERING FANTASY ART DRAWING DYNAMIC CHARACTERS SC $26.99
MAR141565 POTA MINIATURE BOOK KIT W SOUND $12.95
JAN148325 ROBERT CRUMB SKETCHBOOKS 1964-1982 6 VOL SET (MR) $1,000.00
MAR141571 SHEER FILTH BIZARRE CINEMA WEIRD LIT EXTREME ART SC (MR) $24.95
JAN141485 WORLD ACCORDING TO WOLVERINE HC $24.95

I Reads You Review: THE SHADOW: Midnight in Moscow #1

THE SHADOW: MIDNIGHT IN MOSCOW #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @dynamitecomics

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Jesus Aburto
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
COVER: Howard Chaykin with Jesus Aburto
VARIANT COVERS: Howard Chaykin
The Shadow created by Walter B. Gibson
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Rated T+

In the beginning, The Shadow was as a mysterious radio narrator.  Then, pulp writer Walter B. Gibson fully developed the character into the iconic and mysterious crime-fighting vigilante with psychic powers.  The Shadow became a pop culture icon and is no stranger to comics, having debuted in a daily newspaper comic strip in 1940 and also starring in a comic book series that ran during the 1940s, entitled Shadow Comics.

In 2012, Dynamite Entertainment returned The Shadow to comic books with a new ongoing series.  However, The Shadow once prowled about DC Comics, including a stint in the mid to late 1980s.  It began with The Shadow #1 (cover dated: May 1986), the first issue of a four-issue miniseries.  Written and drawn by Howard Chaykin, the series (eventually known as The Shadow: Blood & Judgment), was a revamp and modernization of The Shadow for the sublimated sex and consequence-free violence that was pop culture in the 1980s.

Howard Chaykin returns to The Shadow in a new miniseries, The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow, from Dynamite Entertainment.  The series features the classic Shadow, but looks at him about 20 years into his crime-fighting career.

The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow #1 (Part 1) opens in New York City, late December 1949.  With the help of his agent, Jericho Druke, The Shadow stops a gold-heist masterminded by Benedict Stark, the self-proclaimed “Prince of Evil.”  As the 1940s prepare to give way to the 1950s, however, Lamont Cranston/Kent Allard is ready to put The Shadow to rest.  Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, a plot that threatens the world begins to formulate in London.

For a time, I was a huge fan of The Shadow.  I read the books that collected the old pulp stories.  I read the comics.  I even found a few cassette recordings of the old radio series.  Last year, I read part of The Shadow: Year One, the miniseries by writer Matt Wagner and artist Wilfredo Torres that took readers back the very beginnings of The Shadow’s crime-busting career in NYC.

Chaykin’s 1980s miniseries began with a bang and lots of blood.  The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow #1 is a molasses-slow setup for the series.  There is nothing here that stands out except Jesus Aburto’s colors, which make even dour London seem like a hoppin’ place.  The colors make the Big Apple sparkle with magic and potential.  I am going to come back for the second issue.

I would probably give The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow #1 a “C” or “C+” grading.  However, I will hold off because there isn’t enough here to really praise or condemn it.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Grumble on Indiegogo - The Last Week

Down to the last week:

Kimi Ni Todoke: New Year's Eve and Day

I read Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 19

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which has free smart phone apps and comics.  The Bin is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter and Indiegogo.

I Reads Juneteenth 2014

It's June 2014!  Welcome to I Reads You, a ComicBookBin web and sister publication (www.comicbookbin.com).  We write about the things we read:  mostly comic books, comics, and related books.  Sometimes, we’ll write about or link to other topics:  typically books, politics, and entertainment.

Follow Leroy on Twitter.

All images and text appearing on this publication are copyright © and/or trademark their respective owners.

I Reads You Review: THE AMAZING SPIDER MAN #1

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 (2014)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Dan Slott
PENCILS: Humberto Ramos
INKS: Victor Olazaba
COLORS: Edgar Delgado
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos
COVER: Humberto Ramos
VARIANT COVERS: Marcos Martin; Ed McGuinness; Pop Mhan; Jerome Opeña; Skottie Young; Alex Ross
92pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (June 2014)

Spider-Man is a Marvel Comics superhero.  Peter Parker was once a shy and retiring teenager.  He was a freelance photographer.  He has always been a science wiz.  Parker is the Amazing Spider-Man.  Then, the gods of comics fate allowed Spider-Man arch-villain, Doctor Octopus, to swap his brain into Parker’s body.  Doc Ock became the Superior Spider-Man.

Peter Parker’s brain is back in his body, and the core Spider-Man comic book series, The Amazing Spider-Man, is re-launched.  This All-New Marvel NOW series is brought to readers by writer Dan Slott, artists Humberto Ramos (pencils) and Victor Olazaba (inks), colorist Edgar Delgado and letterer Chris Eliopoulos.

The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (“Lucky to Be Alive”) opens with Spider-Man fighting a group of oddball, semi-super-villains.  He’s doing that for relaxation.  Now, that Parker is back in control of his body, he discovers that Doctor Octopus completed Parker’s PhD and started his own company, “Parker Industries.”  But the company is a bit of a mess.  And Parker apparently has girlfriend named Anna Maria Marconi.  Spider-Man is back, but so are the troubles of Peter Parker.

I don’t read Spider-Man comic books as much as I once did.  I have been planning on changing that, and The Amazing Spider-Man #1 – 2014 edition – convinces me that I should.  This new beginning features classic pile-on-Parker with some web-slinging, and while I won’t call this great, I find it to be a good read.  As for artist Humberto Ramos, I am enjoying his work, which seems more like the work of former imprint-mate, J. Scott Campbell, than ever before.

Back-up features credits:
WRITERS: Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Joe Caramagna, Peter David, Chris Yost
PENCILS: Javier Rodriguez, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Chris Eliopoulos, Will Sliney, David Baldeon, Ramon Perez
INKS: Alvaro Lopez, John Dell, Cam Smith, Chris Eliopoulos, Will Sliney, Jordi Tarragona, Ramon Perez
COLORS: Javier Rodriguez, Antonio Fabela, Jim Charalampidis, Rachelle Rosenberg, Ian Herring

There are six short stories featuring various characters from the world of Spider-Man, with one being a preview of a side-series comic book.  These stories are extras, and I like anything that makes a comic book a bigger issue than it normally is.

INHUMAN #1
WRITER: Charles Soule
ARTIST: Joe Madureira
COLORS: Marte Gracia
LETTERS: VC’s Clayton Cowles
COVER:  Joe Madureira and Marte Gracia

The Amazing Spider-Man #1 reprints the sold-out Inhuman #1 (Part 1: Genesis) by writer Charles Soule, artist Joe Madureira, colorist Marte Gracia, and letter Clayton Cowles.  Marvel Comics is re-inventing and revitalizing the Inhumans, a strain of humanity that began with genetic manipulation by visitors to Earth from an alien civilization (the Kree).

This first issue revitalizes my interest in the Inhumans, and I have not read an Inhumans comic book since Paul Jenkins’ 12-issue comic book series, The Inhumans, which was first published about 14 years ago.  This new comic book also offers some of Joe Madureira’s strongest art, in terms of storytelling and style, in over a decade.  This Inhuman #1 reprint is why I’m giving The Amazing Spider-Man #1 a high grade.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

I Reads You Review: MOON KNIGHT #2

MOON KNIGHT (2014) #2
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Warren Ellis
ARTIST/COVER: Declan Shalvey
COLORS: Jordie Bellaire
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos
COVER: Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire
VARIANT COVER: Phil Noto
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2014 – second printing)

Rating: Parental Advisory

“Sniper”

Moon Knight, the Marvel Comics superhero character created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, recently received a new eponymous comic book series.  [Moon Knight first appeared in Werewolf by Night #32 (cover dated: August 1975).]  Courtesy of writer Warren Ellis, artist Declan Shalvey, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and letterer Chris Eliopoulos, the 2014 Moon Knight comic book finds the title character taking on serial killers, spree killers, and other mass murders (so far).

Moon Knight #2 (“Sniper”) opens with a focus on eight individuals, who wind down after a long day at work.  But their pasts have come back possibly to haunt them.  Perhaps, Moon Knight can stop the haunting.

I just read Moon Knight #2, and I like it so much that I had to start writing this review right away.  That’s funny, because I did not care much for the first issue of the “All-New Marvel NOW!” Moon Knight.  Nothing:  I didn’t care for Warren Ellis’ script, nor was I feeling buzz word-hot artist Declan Shalvey or just-got-lots-of-Eisner-nominations colorist Jordie Bellaire (whose work I usually like).

Ellis’ story has a heartbreaking quality to it, but he is clever in how he manipulates through information.  By the end of the story, you might be having thoughts about how justice is served or, at least, least be thinking about blow back and real world issues.

Shalvey has a graphic style that would be right at home at alt-comix and art comics publishers like Top Shelf Productions and Drawn & Quarterly.  This time his compositions offer the striking visuals that they did not in the first issue.  Bellaire’s colors are evocative, creating mood and also giving the story a forceful sense of drama.

Shalvey and Ellis come together to create a story rhythm that is a beating heart, with a jazzy vibe that is part noir and part superhero comic book.  Half pantomime (without dialogue and exposition) and half sparsely worded, Moon Knight #2 is a unique read.  It bodes well for the next few issues, and I’m on board for more.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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