Shipping This Week! - 05.02.16

Assuming Grant is still on JLA, because I'm not sure whether he does more than the first arc. Is this the last, or second last Human Target?

Waaaaaaaaait a minute... if this is the last Promethea, is this the last Tom Strong as well? IIRC Mr Moore was promising to destroy the ABC universe when Promethea finished.

APOCALYPSE NERD #1

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #637
AUTHORITY REVOLUTION #5 (OF 12) (MR)
BIRDS OF PREY #79
EX MACHINA #8 (MR)
HUMAN TARGET #19 (MR)
JLA CLASSIFIED #4
LUCIFER #59 (MR)
OCEAN #4 (OF 6)
PROMETHEA #32
TOM STRONG #31

ASTONISHING X-MEN #8
DAREDEVIL #70
DAREDEVIL REDEMPTION #2 (OF 6)
LIVEWIRES #1 (OF 6)
RUNAWAYS #1 (OF 12)
SHE HULK #12
WOLVERINE #25

QUEEN & COUNTRY DECLASSIFIED VOL 2 #1 (MR)

JLA: Classified (OOOOOOOHHHHHH YEAH!)
Daredevil (please let this be the final chapter in this interminable arc--though last issue was actually pretty good)
She-Hulk (please don't let this be the final chapter)

Also, I'll probably get the War Games Vol. 1 tpb. I really liked the War Drums trade, and came THIS CLOSE to picking up WG by the issue.

(I'm gonna have to drop some stuff, though, especially if I'm adding Titans, Legion, and Rucka's Superman. ILC has turned me into a bigger DC fan.)

DC's SEVEN SOLDIERS!!!

Seven Soldiers / JLA: Classified info (AKA Grant Morrison Fanboys Assemble!)

Hoping to get to the store this week, but I may wait until next and get Seven Soldiers while I'm at it.

DC Countdown related stuff in there, too, like the Rann/Thanagar War and a new Gail Simone series (Villains United).

I wish you had mentioned this before I started wooing you.

J.Lo cites Illness, names new album after Green Lantern

They keep not putting the ElfQuest tpbs in my pull list, though -- they're on, what, the eighth or ninth or something now, and none of them have been pulled for me. I don't know how much more specific I can be on it, and the guy who does the pulling doesn't do anything customer-side, so I can't remind him personally.

JLA: Classified, also brilliant. Sorta morbid, since it dwells so strongly on the Dibny's, but it's a lot of fun, and the last page splash made me laugh out loud.

Now, on to Daredevil #70 and then, finally, GL: Rebirth. (and I also got Batman Wargames Vol. 1, I'm sort of a sucker for these big sprawling Bat-Sagas in trade format).

Also, anyone who gave up on New X-Men for being a twee rehash of the New Mutants should really reconsider. They'd better not press a reset button, is all I'm saying. Wow.

Fuck a morbidity! If you ignored Identity Crisis for the demented crossover wank that it was, this is classic bwah-ha-ha stylee with only one bitter ironic intro caption to connect the two. If you didn't, the time to start is right before you open the cover!

And the splash reveal was so obvious, but SO WELL DONE

-- Tep (icaneatglas...), February 15th, 2005.

Several months ago, after DC and 2000AD publisher Rebellion came to a co-publishing agreement.

David A

Haven't read Green Lantern yet, it basically looks like FITE FITE FITE with coolio art. There are several scenes that will make Huk feel v excited, I think.

glad you enjoyed LOSH!

it looks like Batman is going to be told off in every single book in the DCU
I kind of think that that's what Countdown's going to be about. In the last Adv. of Superman, Supes, Bats & Wondy had a conference at the FOS, and all left a little more pissed off at each other.
I think it's going to be revealed that when the JLA tampered with Batman's mind, they also stole his thunder, and in Countdown he has to get it back (cue Georgie Fame soundtrack).

WE3

What can I say, it's as good as I expected! The homeless guy at the end was the same homeless guy as earlier in the issue, right?

JLA: CLASSIFIED #3

It seemed a bit rushed, like GM didn't quite have enough pages to put in all that he wanted to, but still pretty good. I have #4, haven't read it yet.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #8

Best issue yet!! The panel with the broke-down Sentinel looming over the fence is bangin'.

I still have Lucifer, Human Target, Vinemanamanaramama, Fables, Y, and Wolvie to read.

And I miss Weeping Gorilla. Which is just the sort of thing Weeping Gorilla would say.

I would say "oh, for fucks sake", with a tone of inpressed annoyance, but, you know, this really is the ultimate Promethea issue.

BEST LAST PAGE: JLA:C might've won it on most weeks (even if you can SEE the bowlcut on the cover), but this week, it's Astonishing. Two panels, two lines of dialogue, one HOLY SHIT cliffhanger.

BEST ONE-LINER: Now, see, this would've gone to Astonishing (see above) or perhaps even Daredevil (the heart line) had I not picked up LOSH #2. I can't quote it verbatim, but it involves marriage - y'all that read it know what I mean.

BEST JOKES: Sadly, JLA:C kinda falls flat for me in this dept. Most of the gags seem forced, & don't really jive w/ the facial expressions. This nod goes to Brian K. Vaughn two times, w/ Ex Machina (the dinner anecdote) and Runaways (for many things, but mostly for turning a former member of a kiddie super-team into a would-be Hollywood starlet).

MOST PERFUNCTORY WTF ISSUE OFFERED BY USUALLY SOLID WRITER: The new Adventures of Superman. The inconsistent art doesn't help, but about 10 different threads dangle in here (including the last page, which comes out of nowhere). More Mxyzptlk, please.

BEST BANG FOR BUCKS: LOSH - lots of stuff happening from stem to stern, including pre-cognition, goats, and KARATE KID! Folks that poo'd on Mark Waid before really should give this book a try - it's the best stuff of his I can remember reading.

BEST BOOK ILCSTERS NEED TO STOP BUGGIN' ON: Daredevil!!!! Not that I doubt that Bendis might be stretching himself too thin, but, for me, that's showing up in The Pulse more than anywhere else.

BEST USE OF PANEL-IN-PANEL DEPLOYMENT: We3 #3, for that panel on the 2nd or 3rd page where the homeless guy surveys the scene of cops and cars, and Frank Quitely draws a panoramic view of the scene, then fills the panel w/ small cutaways focusing on the details the guy's catching as he turns his head. Very very nice.

BEST PANEL: Again, We3, for the close-up of the face w/ the raindrop hitting squarely on the open eye. Just a small little detail, but it works so well, and actually choked me up a bit, too. Grant Morisson is such a bastid.

I have to re-read JLA: Classified #3 again when I'm not falling asleep. I was very confused by Batman's escape...like, wait, why are the robo-headed apes turning on Grodd? Was that a robo-Batman on the spit? What's going on?!?

I'm full of questions today.

Legion Of Super-Heroes

I'm not reading the Pulse -- much to my surprise -- so the thinness is showing up in Daredevil for me instead! Crap, if I drop Daredevil, maybe Avengers will go thin.

It's pretty cool seeing a month's stuff all together, it reminds me how many cool comics I read.

Stormbreaker -- not sure I'll stay with this. I loved Oeming's Thor, and I want him to have the chance to play with this stuff ... I just don't know if it's grabbing me enough.

Y -- !!! Well, I ... guess I can't complain about that mystical stuff anymore.

Outsiders -- LINSEED OIL AND STYROFOAM?

New Avengers -- for a "the team assembles" story -- which I feel like I've read too many of in the last couple years -- I really liked this. And I love the core lineup of Stark, Cap, Spidey, Jessica Drew, and Cage. That's just good -- particularly the way Bendis handles these characters (Jessica Drew has been such an inconsistent character over the years, depending on who felt like writing her; Cage almost as bad, and in many ways Cap arguably worse). (But dude, Sentry is on the cover and not in the issue.)

(And having finally read Sentry now -- sans #6 -- I'm not sure why Bendis is going to use him.)

Young Avengers -- huh. Okay. I'll stick with it for awhile.

Ultimate Spidey -- Harry's back! Cool stuff. The first few pages made me want to punch him, irrationally.

Rebirth -- I'm digging it, and yeah it's a good issue, and ... I don't know. I like the idea of bringing Hal back. I think DC has the right kind of talent in its fold these days to make it worthwhile, people who'll be able to come up with good Hal stories to tell. But the battery impurity coming to life as Parallax? Enh... it just reads so much like exactly what it is: a way to exonerate Hal Jordan and attempt to provide one thing to undo a dozen decade-old events to set up a new status quo for the monthly.

What I don't like is this credit card commercial with the superheroes in it where Spider-Man sounds like Nick, Your Company's Computer Guy.

xpost

I've been offered the $50 Promethea, and have told them I'll think about it during the next week. Biggest downside is that Diamond screwed up royally with the posters though - there were 50 shipped to the UK, but only 49 sets of posters. My shop got 2, with 3 of one type of poster and 1 of the other and Diamond don't know whether they can sort out the error.

Yeah, exactly -- presumably the yellow weakness will be gone, and Parallax with it, so I'm not gonna let something bother me that's only going to be around for another two issues of what is otherwise a good story.

But Johns has laid the groundwork for Hector Hammond and Black Hand (who I kinda liked better as a three-time loser in Guy Gardner romance issue of Justice League), and in an interview on The Pulse, Van Sciver says his first arc on the ongoing (which will be the second arc) will feature the Shark...who is perfectly suited, visually, to EVS's strengths.

MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR
Introduction and afterword by WALTER MOSLEY
Commentary by MARK EVANIER
Designed by PAUL SAHRE
FANTASTIC FOUR #1 Written by STAN LEE & Illustrated by JACK KIRBY
Ushering in momentous change in comic-book illustration and ingenuity, Jack Kirby's immense artistic contribution to FANTASTIC FOUR #1 revolutionized visual storytelling and brought the art of reality to the extraordinary lives of super heroes. The ripple effects of that single issue continue to influence comic-book art to this day. As a tribute to Kirby's rendering of Marvel's First Family and their first adventure, MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR re-presents FANTASTIC FOUR #1 AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE - highlighted by a super-size, digitally remastered, panel-by-panel exploration of the entire issue that captures every single detail and nuance of Kirby's groundbreaking artwork. The book also contains a substantial introduction and afterword by bestselling author and comic-book enthusiast Walter Mosley; art commentary by Kirby expert Mark Evanier; the stunning design of Paul Sahre; and a scale-sized, high-resolution reproduction of FF #1. This immaculately packaged coffee-table masterpiece is must-have for any Jack Kirby enthusiast, Fantastic Four fanatic, or sequential art fan!
224 PGS./All Ages …$49.99
Format: Jacketed hardcover
Trim size: 8 7/8" x 11 7/8"
Special effects: four-color matte lamination, spot UV gloss jacket with embossing and foil, four-color matte lamination, spot UV case.

Didn't Alan Moore explain that in one of those Tales of the Green Lantern Corps stories he wrote?

Er, apart from the second. And it's not clear what real difference it would make to an info-dump like this if you read it in poster form (except the backgrounds form two emormous Promethea posters)