Monkey Covers

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

Oh no! Look out! It's a giant gorilla jumping out of the cover of 1954's Picture Scope Jungle Adventures #7!

(Standard disclaimer about 3-D gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Dave's Dozen: Mainstream Comics

Each month (usually...) 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 October Previews (comics supposedly available in December) are the following dozen mainstream comics picks:


The Bakers Meet Jingle Belle
(Dark Horse, $2.99, p. 23)
Sometimes you don't even know that something will make you happy until you hear that it exists, at which point you then realize that there's at least one reason to go on living for the next couple of months. Kyle Baker drawing a Jingle Belle story--that'll do it for me!



All Star Superman #7
(DC, $2.99, p. 65)
Morrison! Quitely! Bizarro! That's pretty much all you need to know. Well, that and the almost certainty that given the delays this comic will not actually be coming out in December. Maybe by March?



52 week 33
(DC, $2.50, p. 71)
Phil Jimenez draws a special Christmas issue featuring Batwoman. And Mark Chiarello draws the origin back-up story. Should be a good looking comic.



Justice Society of America #1
(DC, $3.99, p. 80)
Not much of a reason to start over at a new #1, excepting for the name change to bring it in line with the new JLA title. But I have to say that I'm pleased with the large team line-up. I wonder who the new Liberty Belle is...?



Manhunter #26
(DC, $2.99, p. 84)
Kate Spencer returns from hiaitus to battle a deformed Wonder Woman. With a second trade collection and membership in the new Birds of Prey, DC is giving this book the push it needs; now it's you job to buy it!



The Spirit #1
(DC, $2.99, p. 88)
Yeah, I'm going into this with a bit of trepidation with the rest of y'all; but I'm hoping that Darwyn Cooke can capture the right, um, spirit of The Spirit.



Justice League Unlimited #28
(DC, $2.25, p. 94)
It's just not Christmas without the Phantom Stranger, now is it?



Fables #56
(DC/Vertigo, $3.50, p. 117)
An extra-long issue that promises to answer the question: Is Santa Claus a Fable? I'm guessing no, because fables aren't supposed to interact with the 'real world,' and Santa does all the time. But we'll just have to wait for the issue and see for ourselves.



Marvel Holiday Special
(Marvel, $3.99, p. M39)
Roger Langridge does a Fin Fang Four holiday story. That's worth your $4 right there.



Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #19
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M40)
You probably flipped right by the little quarter-page spot for this comic and didn't realize that Kano is drawing this issue. Yup, Kano!



newuniversal #1
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M43)
In the realm of things I never figured I'd see is Warren Ellis doing a reimagining of Marvel's New Universe.



NextWave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #11
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M47)
I chuckle every time I see this cover. Mark Millar Licks Goats. Heh.

YAFL2: Week 5

Here are the results from Week 5 of Yet Another Fantasy League 2:


Flex Mentallo 56
Kickers Inc. 62

Power Pack 66
www.rickgebhardt.net 68

The Defenders 50
Star City Archers 72

Delphi Oracles 86
Superteam 26


Current Standings:

   Team                 Record  Pct    Points  Streak
   -------------------- ------  -----  ------  ------
1. Kickers Inc.         5-0-0   1.000  357.00  W-5
2. Star City Archers    3-1-1    .700  346.00  W-1
3. Delphi Oracles       3-1-1    .700  292.00  W-1
4. Flex Mentallo        3-2-0    .600  280.00  L-2
5. www.rickgebhardt.net 2-3-0    .400  286.00  W-2
6. Superteam            2-3-0    .400  203.00  L-1
7. The Defenders        1-4-0    .200  306.00  L-3
8. Power Pack           0-5-0    .000  278.00  L-5

Week 6 Games:


Superteam (2-3-0)
vs.
Kickers Inc. (5-0-0)

Flex Mentallo (3-2-0)
vs.
www.rickgebhardt.net (2-3-0)

Power Pack (0-5-0)
vs.
Star City Archers (3-1-1)

Delphi Oracles (3-1-1)
vs.
The Defenders (1-4-0)


Good luck to all!

In my other leagues: I lost 68-62 in my friends and family league, dropping to 3rd place (3-2-0); Lost my third straight--63 to 58--in my pulib league, falling to 5th place (2-3-0); and scored 254.85 points in my Pass & Kick league (now in 5th place).

Fantasy and Science Fiction/Theory Reading Group

Last night was the book selection meeting for the Fantasy and Science Fiction/Theory Reading Group to which I belong. Once a year we meet to decide what the books will be for the coming year; basically everyone brings a few recommendations, makes pitches, and then we vote.

It's become a tradition to use one selection for a graphic novel; two years ago we did The Dark Knight Returns, and last year we did Seaguy & We3. This year at my suggestion the group has opted for Charles Burns's Black Hole, which I think will make for a very interesting discussion.

The other (non-graphic) novel readings for the year are:

Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
Kim Stanley Robinson, The Years of Rice and Salt
Toni Morrison, Beloved
Italo Calvino, If on a winter's night a traveler
Maureen F. McHugh, China Mountain Zhang
Philip K. Dick, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (also my suggestion)
Russell Hoban, Riddley Walker
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Kelly Link, Magic for Beginners
Clive Barker, Weaveworld

Looks like an interesting mix of books.

New This Week: October 11, 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 Dork #11 by (who else?) Evan Dorkin. Issues of the very funny Dork come around about as often as presidential elections, so each one must be savored.


In other comics:


Arcana have the third (and final) issue of Koni Waves.

Boom! have the third issue of X Isle.

DC have the first Desolation Jones collection; the big-ass Absolute Sandman vol. 1 hardcover; the debut of Gail Simone's Gen13; and new issues of 52 (week 23), DMZ (#12), Fables (#54), and Firestorm (#30).

D.E. have the second issue of Battlestar Galactica.

GRaphix have the second Baby Sitters' Club volume.

Image have the seventh Invincilbe collection; and a new issue of The Emissary (#5).

Knopf release the mainstream-attention-getting Cancer Vixen to comic shops.

Marvel have the third collection of The Pulse; the debut issue of Ultimate Power; and new issues of Civil War Front Line (#7), Powers (#20), The Punisher (#39), Thunderbolts (#107), and Ultimate X-Men (#75).

Pantheon have a graphic novel version of A Scanner Darkly, which would appear to be a 'cinemanga' type of book that uses frames from the animated feature. I like the movie and all, but if you're looking to read A Scanner Darkly, I'd strongly recommend going instead to Dick's original novel instead.

TokyoPop are all about the OEL manga this week: they have the highly anticipated second volumes of both Dramacon and Steady Beat (eoither of which could have been picks of the week had it not been for Dork...); plus the second volume of Peach Fuzz and the first volumes of Earthlight and Snow.

Too Hip Gotta Go Graphics have the collected edition of Wahoo Morris (fans of BEck may want to check it out...)

Viz might have new volumes of Nana and Banana Fish (not on the NCRL, but they're on my DCBS shipping list...)


Lots of stuff to spend your money on this week. Enjoy your new comics!

The Nietzsche Family Circus

Take random Family Circus panels, pair them with random quotes from Friedrich Nietzsche, and hilarity ensues in The Nietzsche Family Circus.

(What is it about The Family Circus that inspires this kind of stuff?)

(link via Wired)

New Library Comics: Week of October 2, 2006

Here are the comics we added to our library collection last week:


Barry, Lynda, 1956- Come over, come over /New York, NY : HarperPerennial, c1990.

Barry, Lynda, 1956- Girls and boys /New York, NY : HarperPerennial, 1993, c1981.

Clowes, Daniel. Pussey! /Seattle : Fantagraphics, 2006.

Feiffer, Jules. Boy, girl, boy, girl /New York : Random House, c1961.

Giard, Luc, 1945- A village under my pillow /Montreal : Drawn & Quarterly Books/Petits livres, 2005.

Sakurazawa, Erica. Angel /Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, c2003.

Sakurazawa, Erica. Between the sheets /Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, c2003.

Suehirogari. Sexhibition /Seattle, WA : Eros Comix, [1997], c1996.

Takahashi, Rumiko, 1957- Ranma 1/2 /San Francisco, CA : Viz Communications, c2003- vols. 33-34

Torres, Daniel. Opium /Barcelona : Norma Editorial, 2006.

Utatane, Hiroyuki. Countdown : sex bombs /Seattle, WA : Eros Comix, c1996.