YAFQ: The Ten Best Ideas in Comics

Yet Another Friday Question:

This one is Kevin's fault.

He recently claimed that the three best ideas in comics are:

1. Sole survivor from a doomed planet
2. Gorilla with a jetpack
3. A Nazi made out of bees

My question for you all on this Friday is:

What other ideas would you nominate to be in the Top Ten Best Ideas in Comics?

I've previously made claim to one that I think should be in the Top Ten: A giant ape with Kryptonite eye beams.

So, what are your nominations?

Dave's Dozen: Mainstream Comics

Each month I go through Previews to highlight twelve items worthy of attention in three categories: Mainstream Comics, Indy Comics, and Collections/GNs.

First up for the march Previews (comics supposedly available in May) are the following dozen mainstream comics picks:


Marvel Adventures The Avengers #1
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M41)

Marvel's all-ages line expands with an Avengers title from writer Jeff (Interman) Parker, who has quietly been making MA Fantastic Four the FF title to read over the past few months. Sure, the team's line-up (Storm, Wolverine, Giant-Girl, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America) doesn't resemble and 'real' Avengers team, but will that really matter as long as the stories are entertaining?



NextWave #5
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M52)

The first issue came out of nowhere to be one of the most entertaining super-hero comics of the young year. Okay, not exactly from nowhere, but it's been a long long time since Ellis's Marvel work was this enjoyable. Issue #5 kicks off a new storyline, which makes it a perfect place to jump on if you haven't already.



Punisher: The Tyger
(Marvel, $4.99, p. M81)

Legndary artist John Severin joins writer Garth Ennis to tell a double-sized tale of Frank Castle's dark youth on the street of Brooklyn. Sure to be worth it just for the art alone.




Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allan Poe #1 (of 3)
(Marvel, $3.99, p. 82)

Richard Corben adapts the stories and poems of Edgar Allen Poe. Could you ask for a better match?



Conan #28
(Dark Horse, $2.99, p. 33)

The Goon creator Eric Powell joins writer Kurt Busiek for a done-in-one tale of Conan doing those things that Conan does so well.



All Star Superman #4
(DC, $2.99, p. 68)

Jimmy Olsen, as filtered through Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely. The mind boggles!



Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #1 (of 3)
(DC, $2.99, p. 73)

Will Pfeifer & Cliff Chiang bring the Spectre to a new host, one who is closer to the character's roots: the late Detective Crispus Allen from Gotham Central. Hopefully we'll get a good deal of down-to-earth detecting along with the supernatural action. Plus, any comic that gives me Cliff Chiang's art is worthy--hopefulyl this will sell well enough to become a regular series.



52 #1-4 (of 52)
(DC, $2.50 ea., p. 77)

C'mon, you know you want it. Have Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid ever let you down? Okay, maybe on occasion, but I suspect that all four will be bringing their A-game to this.



Secret Six #1 (of 6)
(DC, $2.99, p.86)

They went in with six? What were they thinking?! You always go in with seven, or possibly five, but never six! Gail Simone returns to the mileau of her successful Villains United series with more tales of villains caught between a rock and a hard place.



Negative Burn #1
(Image, $5.99, p. 142)

The classic anthology series returns to monthly format. This first issue includes work from Brian Bolland, James A. Owen, and Eric Powell.



Archie & Friends #101
(Archie, $2.25, p. 224)

Andrew Pepoy returns to writing and drawing comics with a new Katy Keene feature.



Battlestar Galactica #0
(Dynamite Entertainment, $0.25, p. 259)

DE puts out a licensed comic I may actually be interested in--what the heck, it's worht a quarter to see if it approaches the quality of the tv series. Too bad about that photo cover though.



Look for the other two parts, Indy Comics & Collections/GNs, sometime over the next week.

New This Week: March 1, 2006

Based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond, here are a few things to look for at the local comic shop tomorrow:


The Pick of the Week is A Distant Soil: Coda, the fourth volume in Colleen Doran's fantasy epic.


In other comics:

Abstract Studios have a new issue of Strangers in Paradise (#80).

Antarctic have the third Gold Digger Color Remix, plus a print version of David Hutchinson's Mischief & Mayhem: Field Trip To Heck.

Boom! Studios have the debut of War of the Worlds: Second Wave.

Dark Horse have the Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic 25 Cent Flip Book--just two bits!

DC kick off One Year Later with Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis (#40), Detective Comics (#817), JSA (#83), and Outsiders (#34); but they're still back in the previous year with the delayed final issue of Adventures of Superman (#649) and the latest Infinite Crisis (#5); they also have new issues of Jonah Hex (#5), Ex Machina (#18), Swamp Thing (#25), and Y, the Last Man (#43); a second collection of Garth Ennis's War Stories; and two collections of the Dini-verse Superman Adventures (vols. 3 & 4).

Devil's Due have the fourth issue of Elsinore.

Fantagraphics have a new issue of The Comics Journal (#274).

IDW have four hefty collections, including the fourth volume of The Complete Jon Sable, Freelance; plus a new issue of Fallen Angel (#3).

Image have a new issue of Gødland (#8); and, if you missed them, 3rd printings of the first two issues of Fell.

Marvel weigh in with the second issue of the fun Next Wave; the phone-book sized Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition vol. 1; and new issues of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (#5), The Punisher (#31), X-Factor (#4), and Ultimates 2 (#10).

Oni have the fourth issue of Local and the long-delayed final issue of Queen & Country Declassified vol. 2 (#3).

Seven Seas debut a new OEL manga title, Captain Nemo.

Speakeasy have what may be their final comic: Beowulf #7.

TokyoPop have the second volume of I Luv Halloween, and also the second volume of Telepathic Wanderers.

Top Shelf have Max Estes' Coffee and Donuts.


Relatively big week this week (since you and I might think it's the first week of March, but for Diamond shipping purposes it's really the last week of February...)

Reader Mail

Sometimes we get mail from our readers here at YACB; sometimes I'll share it with you:

Todd Frye from Tennessee writes:

Hello -

When you have time, please visit my site

http://www.comic-covers.com/

and if you like it, I'd appreciate a mention in your
blog.

Thanks.

Consider it mentioned, Todd.


Ray Tomczak wrote in to let me know about an error that creeped into my SNAP! round-up:

I came across your "Yet Another Comics Blog" while running a vanity search on Google. Under other circumstances, I would be thanking you for the mention, but in this case the comic that you attribute to me--Are We On Mars Yet?--is not one of mine. It is in fact the work of Yul Tolbert, who lives not all that far from you (closer than I do, at least) in Detroit.

If my name is on it, it's because Yul was at the time a member of the Small Press Syndicate, a club for small press comics publishers of which I served as chairman from January 2001 to December 2003.

Also, I will soon begin posting my comic strip Wasted Potential on my blog--just as soon as I get the scans back from my friend Joe.

Sorry about that Ray. Thanks for the info--I've made the correction.


Stephen Frug writes to let us know about a unique project he's undertaken:

I've written a comics script, and released it under a creative commons license. What this means is that anyone who wants to can play with it (illustrate it, rewrite it, or whatever), and publish the result non-commercially (so long as I'm given credit, and so long as they release it under the same license). I think this is the first-ever creative commons comics script -- there have been comics before, but not a script, afaik... The info & script downloads are here: http://stephenfrug.googlepages.com/ContinuityIntro.html

So if you're an aspiring comic artist looking for something to draw, Stephan's got a script for you to play with.


Finally, Phil Ward, who was the manager at my former comic shop, The Underworld, back in the days when it wa a great comic & game shop (it is since deceased...) writes to tell me that he's now at Heroquest Comics and Games in Howel Michigan: 2608 East Grand River Ave, Howell MI 48843, 517-540-9790. I haven't been there yet, but Phil ran a good shop back when he was in Ann Arbor, so if you're in Livingston County it might be worth stopping by to check out what they have to offer.


(some letters have been edited for length or clarity)

New Library Comics: Week of February 20, 2006

Here are the comics we got in for our library collection last week:


Amano, Masanao. Manga design /Koln ; Los Angeles : Taschen, 2004.

Amrapali and Upragupta /Mumbai, India : India Book House, 1997.

Ancestors of Rama /Mumbai, India : India Book House, 1998.

Battle of wits : a Jataka tale /Mumbai, India : India Book House, 1998.

Blood orange. /Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, 2004- no. 1, 3-4

Burns, Charles, 1955- Black hole /New York : Pantheon Books, c2005.

Draupadi /Mumbai, India : India Book House, 1998.

Gravett, Paul. Graphic novels : stories to change your life /London : Aurum, 2005.

Mahiravana /Mumbai, India : India Book House, 1997.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

On the cover of 1980's Super Friends #30, Ramonda Fradon & Bob Smith draw Gorilla Grodd up to his old tricks, trying to turn people into gorillas. What is it with that guy?

(Standard disclaimer about gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

YACB Bulletins

ITEM! LEGO Pinball (via Steve Jackson)

ITEM! Wired has an article about the trials and tribulations of Richard Linklater's roto-animated adaptation of A Scanner Darkly: "Trouble in Toontown ".

ITEM! Chris Butcher is blogging up a storm out at the New York Comic Con. It's the next best thing to being there.