DCnU Reviews, Week 3: Birds of Prey; Catwoman; Red Hood and the Outlaws

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Birds of Prey #1
by Duane Swierczynski & Jesus Saiz

Original Rank/Assessment: 48 (Definitely No) - I've bought every single issue of BoP up to this point. And now? Ugh.

Through all its iterations, Birds of Prey has long been one of my favorite super-hero titles.  But Swierczynski seems intent on turning it into a generic action title whose only defining feature is that it stars a group of women, only two of whom actually show up in the debut issue. Saiz's art is okay but fairly generic; he only seems to draw one female body type, which is a problem in an all-female team book, and his action scenes are stiff and at times hard to follow. Of the three comics in the post it is the best, but that's really damning with the faintest of praise.

Rating: 2 (of 5).

Catwoman #1
by Judd Winick & Guillem March

Original Rank/Assessment: 41 (Probably Not) - The cover indicates that this is everything I don't want in a Catwoman comic.


Well, you can't fault DC for false advertising. The cover promises a comic that revels in exploitation, and it certainly delivers. Unfortunately, my preferences in a Catwoman comic run in the Ed Brubaker/Darwyn Cooke mode, and this is about as far from that as you can get. There are actually about three pages of pretty good comics here, but those are far outweighed by the seventeen other pages of exploitative nonsense. Which is a shame, as it shows that the creators are capable of producing a much better Catwoman comic; they just choose not to.


Rating: 2 (of 5).

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1
by Scott Lobdell & Kenneth Rocafort


Original Rank/Assessment: 49 (Probably Not) - Absolutely no appeal here.

After Lobdell's surprisingly interesting turn on Superboy last week, I held out the slimmest of hopes that maybe I was wrong about this comic. I needn't have worried, as this turns out to be just about as bad as I thought it would be. I've never cared about the Red Hood, rarely cared about Roy Harper, the Starfire here is far removed from the previous iteration and high on the 'ick' factor, and who the heck is Essence and why should I care? If there's any bright spot here, it's that Rocafort is trying to do some interesting things with the opening action sequence, which zings with kinetic energy. It's for Rocafort's efforts that the extra 0.5 point exists in the rating:

Rating: 1.5 (of 5).
 

DCnU Reviews, Week 3: Batman; Nightwing

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Batman #1
by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion

Original Rank/Assessment: 17 (Yes, with Reservations) - I've really liked Snyder's writing on Detective as of late; I just wish he was being teamed with his 'Tec cohorts Jock and/or Francesco Francavilla here as well (I can take or leave Capullo).

So far, this first issue of Batman is one of the best surprises of the DCnU. I was expecting to like the story, having been greatly impressed by Snyder's previous work on Detective Comics. But he manages to step it up another notch here, giving us a great introductory issue with plenty of action and a few nifty ideas, like the holographic portable Bat-Cave. His Batman is still a creature of the night, but he's not all brooding and moody. An even nicer surprise is the art from Capullo & Glapion: there are some great layouts and the story flows easily. Capullo's McFarlane influence from years of drawing Spawn is still there, but he's made the style into his own. This is a very good first issue, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next (and pleased that there's at least one Batman title in the new 52 that meets what I want from a Batman comic).

Rating: 3.5 (of 5).

Nightwing #1
by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows & J.P. Mayer.

Original Rank/Assessment: 47 (Definitely No) - My level of not caring for any aspect of this is pretty darn high.


This comic almost pulled off the impossible and nearly won me over. Higgins re-establishes Nightwing without ignoring the long history of Dick Grayson, and possibly even ties things in to this week's cliffhanger in Batman. But then we get an out-of-nowhere villain with Wolverine-like claws, who promptly slashes and disembowels two police officers. This is supposed to be a Nightwing comic, not Sabretooth. So back to the bottom of the pack this goes.


Rating: 2 (of 5).

Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this morning. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (-). Sailor Moon 1
3 (+4). Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm *
4 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
5 (+40). Hark! A Vagrant *
6 (-3). Codename: Sailor V 1
7 (-1). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
8 (-3). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
9 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
10 (+9). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
11 (+1). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
12 (-3). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
13 (+1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
14 (+3). Batman: Year One
15 (-). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
16 (+14). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
17 (+4). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
18 (-8). Amulet #4: The Last Council
19 (+7). Batman: The Killing Joke
20 (+30). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
21 (-10). Brightest Day Vol. 3
22 (-9). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
23 (+18). Serenity Volume 2: Better Days and Other Stories
24 (-6). Feynman
25 (R). Holy Terror *
26 (+2). The Walking Dead, Book 7 *
27 (-2). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
28 (+3). Watchmen
29 (-6). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
30 (N). Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 26
31 (+13). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
32 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
33 (-17). Sailor Moon 2 *
34 (N). Negima! 31: Magister Negi Magi
35 (+3). V for Vendetta
36 (+4). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
37 (N). New Teen Titans: Games *
38 (R). Batman: Hush
39 (-10). Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary *
40 (+3). Big Nate Out Loud
41 (N). Hellboy Volume 11: The Bride of Hell and Others
42 (+3). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)
43 (+3). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
44 (+4). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1979-1982 (Vol. 15-16)
45 (-25). Codename: Sailor V, Vol. 2 *
46 (-24). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
47 (R). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
48 (R). Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
49 (N). Naruto, Vol. 52: Cell Seven Reunion
50 (R). Big Nate: From the Top


Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* Diary book 6 is still at #3 on the overall chart; Sailor Moon is #210...

* Hark, A Vagrant continues its roller coaster pre-order ride, hopping all the way up to the top 5 this week. Next week finally sees its release, along with the Castle graphic novel (which will likely be heavily promoted during the episode of Castle that airs on Monday—hello Disney corporate synergy!)

* The latest volume of Fullmetal Alchemist is the top debut this week. Joining it are fellow manga titles Negima and Naruto; along with the latest Hellboy collection and the long-long-long awaited New Teen Titans: Games OGN.

DCnU Reviews, Week 3: Green Lantern Corps; Supergirl

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Green Lantern Corps #1
by Peter J. Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin & Scott Hanna

Original Rank/Assessment: 15 (Yes, with Reservations) - Looks like business as usual, so I'll likely stick around for a while.

This comic opens with a four-page scene of graphic death and dismemberment, and ends with genocide and graphic disembowelment. Is this really what DC thinks we want from a Green Lantern comic book? The stuff in the middle is somewhat interesting, with both Guy Gardner and John Stewart learning that it is nigh impossible to have a normal life on Earth when their status as Green Lanterns is so well-known. The art by Pasarin & Hanna is richly detailed and nice (when it isn't showing Lanterns bloodily losing their heads and other body parts). But the first and last impressions that this comic gives are of needless graphic violence, the kind that I had hoped that the new DCU would be leaving behind, but by week three now I see that my hopes were misguided, and the chances of my sticking around with this and similar books are slim.

Rating: 2 (of 5).

Supergirl #1
by Michael Green & Mike Johnson, Mahmud Asrar & Dan Green

Original Rank/Assessment: 23 (Maybe/Provisional) - Not sure about the reboot here, but I've liked Green & Johnson's work on Superman/Batman, so this book gets the benefit of the doubt for now.

The newly-arrived Supergirl's rocket crashes on Earth (or rather, through Earth) and ends up in Russia, where she fights some guys in battle armor while carrying on a cryptic internal monologue, until Superman shows up on the last page. The biggest problem with this comic is that it reads way too fast. It poses—or rather hints at—a lot of questions about this new version of Supergirl, but at the end she's just as much a cipher as she was at the beginning. This is surprising coming from Green & Johnson, whose previous run on Superman/Batman often packed a lot of story into its pages. Supergirl so far gets an incomplete and it had better demonstrate quickly why I should continue to be interested.


Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

New Library Comics: August 2011

Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection in August:



Abnett, Dan. Star trek voyager : elite force / La Jolla, CA : Wildstorm Productions, c2000.

Aguirre-Sacasa, Roberto. Marvel divas / New York, NY : Marvel Pub., c2010.

Akamatsu, Ken. Negima vols. 1-3 / New York : Del Rey/Ballantine Books, 2004-

Ambrosio, Stefano. Walt Disney's Wizards of Mickey. [vol. 1], Mouse magic / Los Angeles : Boom! Studios, 2010.

The American way. nos. 1-8 / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm Productions, 2006.

Archie : bronze age series / [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Graphic Imaging Technology, c2008.

Archie & friends double digest. nos. 1-5 / Mamaroneck, N.Y. : Archie Comic Pub., 2011-

Archie's girls Betty and Veronica : bronze age series / [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Graphic Imaging Technology, c2008.

Ariga, Hitoshi. MegaMan. Megamix. Books 1-3 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : Udon, 2010

Asprin, Robert. Thieves' world graphics no. 5 / Norfolk : Starblaze Graphics, 1985-1987.

Austen, Chuck. Captain America, v. 3 : Ice / New York : Marvel Comics, 2003.

Baldwin, Gregory S. Path / [S.l.] : Com.x, 2008.

Bernardin, Marc. Pilot season : Genius / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2008.

Billings, Bruce. Between the sheets : Castro comics / San Francisco, CA : Leyland Publications, 1989.

Black Olive. Outlook grim. [Vol. 1], The dead nasties / San Jose, CA : SLG Pub., c2004.

Blackburn, Jolly R. Knights of the dinner table : tales from the vault v. 1 / Menlo Park, CA : Kenzer & Co., c1998-

Breathed, Berke. Classics of western literature : Bloom County, 1986-1989 / Boston : Little, Brown, c1990.

Brereton, Daniel. Nocturnals : Troll bridge / Portland, Or. : Oni Press, 2000.

Brereton, Daniel. The gunwitch : outskirts of doom / Portland, OR : ONI Press, 2002.

Brubaker, Ed. The dead and the dying : a criminal edition / New York : Marvel, 2008.

Caliber core. / Plymouth, MI : Caliber Comics, c1998.

Card, Orson Scott. Ultimate Iron Man. [Vol. 1] / New York : Marvel, 2006.

Cherkas, Michael, 1954- Suburban nightmares. Childhood secrets : collected stories / New York : NBM Pub., c1996.

Cho, Frank. Zombie king / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2005.

Chrono, Nanae. Peace maker Kurogane v. 1. A stranger comes to town / Houston : ADV Manga, 2004-

Claremont, Chris, 1950- X-Men : the end. vols. 1-3 / New York : Marvel Comics, c2005-

Classic looney tunes comics. Vol. 1 / [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Graphic Imaging Technology, c2009.

Classic Star Wars, a long time ago. nos. 3, 6. / Milwaukie, Oregon : Dark Horse Comics, 1999-

Comic relief presents funny stuff. nos. 10, 12. / Eureka, CA : Page One Publishers & Bookworks, Inc., c1995

Comic relief. / Eureka, CA : Page One Publishers & Bookworks, c1989-

The comics that ate my brain / Newbury Park, Calif. : Mailbu Graphics, Inc., 1991.

Cornell, Paul. True story / New York : Marvel, 2009.

Crane, Jordan, 1973- Uptight no. 1 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics, 2006-

Crispin, A. C. Star trek : enter the wolves / La Jolla, CA : Wildstorm Productions, 2001

Daly, Joe, 1979- Scrublands / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2006.

Dark Horse twenty years. / Milwaukie, Ore. : Dark Horse Comics, c2006.

DeFilippis, Nunzio. Once in a blue moon. Vol. I / Portland, OR : ONI Press, 2004.

Denton, Shannon Eric. Tabula Rasa / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2006.

Disney Adventures presents Comic Zone. / New York : Random House Children's Books, 2005.

Dysart, Josh. Unknown soldier. [2], Easy kill / New York : DC Comics, c2010.

Edge vols. 1-13 / Oldsmar, Fla. : CrossGeneration Comics, c2002-

Edginton, Ian. Kane & Lynch / New York : DC Comics, c2011.

Eldred, Tim. Broid no.1 / Newbury Park, CA : Eternity Comics, 1990.

Ellis, Warren. Dark blue / Urbana, IL : Avatar Press, 2006.

Emissary. nos. 1-6 / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2006-

Espinosa, Rod. Battle Girlz. Pocket manga #1 / San Antonio, TX : Antarctic Press, 2004.

Espinosa, Rod. The prince of heroes v. 1 / San Antonio, Tex. : Antarctic Press, c2008-

The Eternals. nos. 6-7 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, c1976-

Faraci, Tito. Daredevil & Captain America : dead on arrival / New York : Marvel Pub., 2008.

Fernandez, Fernando, 1940- Bram Stoker's Dracula / New York : Del Ray Books, 2005.

The forbidden sands of Anauroch. Chapter one / [S.l.] : Twenty First Century Comics, [2000-]

Forge vols. 1-13 / Oldsmar, Fla. : CrossGeneration Comics, c2002-

Frank, Steve L. Zombies vs cheerleaders / Calumet City, IL : Moonstone, c2010.

Fringe : tales from the Fringe. / New York : DC Comics, c2011.

Gage, Christos. Dante's inferno / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm, 2010.

Gerber, Steve, 1947-2008. Stewart the rat / New York : Eclipse Enterprises, 1980.

Gibbons, Dave, 1949- Captain America : Cap lives / New York, NY : Marvel Comics, c2004.

Gibbons, Dave, 1949- Thunderbolt Jaxon nos. 1-5 / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm Productions, 2006.

Giffen, Keith. Hero squared / Los Angeles, CA : Boom! Studios, 2006.

Gischler, Victor, 1969- The death of Dracula / New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, c2010

Golden, Christopher. Star Trek the Next Generation : Embrace the wolf / La Jolla, Calif. : WildStorm Productions, 2000.

Goodwin, Archie. The official comics adaptation of Star wars, return of the Jedi / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, c1983.

Gray, Justin. The tattered man / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2011.

Greenberger, Robert. The essential Batman encyclopedia / New York : Del Rey/DC/Ballantine Books, c2008.

Gross, Allan. Cryptozoo crew nos. 1-3 / New York : NBM Pub., 2005-

Guggenheim, Marc. Civil war : Wolverine / New York : Marvel Comics, c2007

Gumby free comic book day special. / Walnut Creek, Calif. : Wildcard Ink, 2007.

Hancock, Larry, 1954- Suburban nightmares. The science experiment / New York, N.Y. : NBM Pub., 1990.

Harper, Charise Mericle. Fashion Kitty / New York : Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, c2005.

Harris, Micah S. Lorna : relic wrangler / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2011

Hartzell, Andy. Bread & circuses no. 1 / Las Vegas, NV : Moe Press, c1995.

Heinberg, Allan. Young avengers. vols. 1-2 / New York : Marvel Comics, c2005-

Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Geo. Herriman's Krazy + Ignatz v. 5 : 1920 / Forestville, CA : Eclipse Books/Turtle Island Foundation, 1988-

Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Krazy & Ignatz : "love letters in ancient brick" : continuing the complete full-page comic strips, 1927-1928 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2008.

Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Krazy & Ignatz : the "Krazy Kat" dailies, daily strips 1/1/1921-12/31/1921 / [S.l.] : Pacific Comics Club, c2003.

Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Krazy Kat : the "Krazy Kat" dailies : all the daily strips from 1923 / Long Beach, California : Pacific Comics Club, c2005.

Holguin, Brian. Spawn : Godslayer / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2006.

Holkins, Jerry. Penny arcade / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse, 2005.

Howard the Duck. nos. 1-4 / New York, NY : Marvel Publishing, 2007-2008.

Huizenga, Kevin, 1977- The wild kingdom : starring Glenn Ganges / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Farrar, Straus and Giroux ; Vancouver : Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books, 2010.

John Carter warlord of Mars. nos. 3-4 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1977-1979.

Johns, Geoff, 1973- The Flash, blitz / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2004

Jughead : bronze age series / [Brooklyn, N.Y.] : Graphic Imaging Technology, c2008.

Kamachi, Kazuma. A certain scientific railgun. Vol. 1 / [Los Angeles] : Seven Seas Entertainment, 2011.

Karlin, Nurit. No comment : cartoons / New York : Scribner, c1978.

Kay, Stan. The Muppets take Manhattan / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, c1984.

Kids' liberation coloring book. / San Francisco, CA : Last Gasp, c1971.

Kiefer, H. C. (Henry Carl), 1890-1957. King Solomon's mines / New York : Gilberton, 1952.

Killraven. / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 2001.

Knaak, Richard A. World of Warcraft : shadow wing vols. 1-2 / Hamburg ; Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, 2010-

Kuroda, Kenji. Phoenix Wright, ace attorney. Volume 1 / New York : Kodansha Comics, c2011.

Lee, Stan, 1922- Stan Lee meets Doctor Strange. / New York : Marvel Pub., 2006.

Lee, Stan. Spider-man kingpin to the death / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1997.

Lewis, A. David, 1977- Mortal coils : bodylines / Arlington, VA : Caption Box/Red Eye Press, c2004-

Lex, Jasen. The science fair nos. 1-4 / San Antonio : Antarctic Press, 2005.

Lichius, Ben. The black coat : a call to arms / San Diego, CA : Ape Entertainment, 2006.

Lobdell, Scott. Galaxy quest : global warning! nos. 1-5 / San Diego, CA : IDW Pub., 2008-

Loux, Matthew. SideScrollers / Portland, Or. : Oni ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2006.

Maltaite, Eric. The 1001 nights of Scheherazade / New York : Eurotica, c2001.

Mami, Itou. Maleficarum / Thornhill, Ont. : Udon ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Marvel year-in-review ... 1989-1992 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics.

McKeever, Sean. Gravity nos. 1-5 / New York : Marvel, 2005

McKeever, Sean. Nomad. Girl without a world / New York : Marvel Worldwide, 2010.

Millar, Mark. Wanted : dossier / Orange, Calif. : Image Comics, Inc., 2004.

Millar, Mark. Wanted nos. 1-6 / Los Angeles, Calif. : Top Cow Productions ; Berkeley : Image Comics, 2003-

Miller, Daniel. Creased v. 1 / Orange, Calif. : Image Comics, 2004-

Moore, Stuart. Stuart Moore's Para. nos. 1-6 / Houston, TX : Penny-Farthing Press, 2004.

Morimoto, Sango, 1955- Taro and the carnival of doom / San Francisco, CA : VizKids, 2011.

Murder by Crowquill / Cleveland Heights, OH : Amazing Montage Press, c1999.

Mystery in space. nos. 1-8 / New York, NY : DC Comics, 2006-2007.

The mystic hands of Doctor Strange no. 1 / New York : Marvel Worldwide, 2010.

Nakahira, Masahiko. Street fighter alpha. Volume 2 / Richmond Hill, Ont., Canada : Udon, c2007.

Niles, Steve. 30 days of night : return to Barrow / San Diego, CA : IDW Pub., c2004.

Niles, Steve. 30 days of night / San Diego, CA : Idea & Design Works, LLC, c2003.

Nocenti, Ann. Daredevil : Typhoid Mary / New York : Marvel Comics, c2003.

O'Neil, Dennis, 1939- Batman : tales of the demon. / New York, NY : Warner Books, [1992]

Ogilvie, Michael. Hugs : bloodpond / [S.l. : s.n.], 2007.

Oh, comics!. no. 15 / Dublin, OH : Corby Visual Productions.

Oliver, Jose. Young Lovecraft / Philadelphia, PA : KettleDrummer Books, 2009.

Pak, Greg. The Incredible Hulks. Planet savage / New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, c2011.

Paszkiewicz, Douglas. The thousand deaths of Baron Von Donut / [Milwaukee, WI] : Arsenic Lullaby Pub., c2004.

Reed, Gary, 1956- Bram Stoker's Dracula : the graphic novel / New York : Puffin, 2006.

Rhine, Robert Steven, 1958- Robert Steven Rhine presents Satan's 3-ring circus of Hell / Watertown, CT : Asylum Press, 2005.

The rising stars of manga : United Kingdom and Ireland. Vol. 1. / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, 2006.

The rising stars of manga. vols. 5-6 / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, c2003-

Robinson, James. Illegal alien / Northampton, MA : Kitchen Sink Press, c1994.

Rubenfeld, Jesse. Into the dust nos. 1-2 / [S.l. : Tool Publications], c2007-

Rucka, Greg. Batman : death and the maidens / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2004.

Saltares, Javier. David's mighty men / La Mesa, CA : Alias Enterprises/Community Comics, 2005.

Sawai, Yoshio. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. vols. 3-4 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Media, [2008-]

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. Classroom Peanuts / New York, N.Y. : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, c1982.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. Kiss her, you blockhead! / New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. You're weird, sir! / New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1982.

Seagle, Steven T. Green Lantern : brightest day, blackest night / New York : DC Comics, c2002.

Sekikawa, Natsuo. Hotel Harbour View / San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Spectrum Ed., 1990.

Sempé, 1932- Displays of affection / New York : Workman Pub., c1981.

Sen, Jai. Garlands of moonlight / [Delhi, N.Y.] : Shoto Press, c2002.

Sen, Jai. The ghost of Silver Cliff / [Delhi, NY] : Shoto Press, c2002.

Sim, Dave, 1956- Dave Sim-- the Usenet interview / [Kitchener, Ont. : Aardvark-Vanaheim], c1992.

Simonson, Walter. The official comics adaptation of Raiders of the lost ark / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, c1981.

Siu-Chong, Ken. Street Fighter legends v. 2. Chun-Li / Richmond Hill, ONT : Udon Entertainment, 2006-

Smith, John. Devlin Waugh : swimming in blood / New York : DC Comics, c2004.

Smith, John. Red tide / New York : DC Comics, c2005.

Sonic select. Book one / Mamaroneck, NY : Archie Comic Publications, 2008.

Sonic select. Book three / Mamaroneck, NY : Archie Comic Publications, 2010.

Sonic select. Book two / Mamaroneck, NY : Archie Comic Publications, 2008.

Spellbinders. nos. 1-6 / New York, NY : Marvel Comics, 2005.

Staros, Chris. Staros report. 1996, 1997 / [S.l. : The StarHouse, 1994-

Steinberg, David, 1962- Game on! / New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c2009.

Straczynski, J. Michael, 1954- Thor. [vol.2] / New York : Marvel Publishing, 2009.

Sutton, Ward. Tales of ambition. #1 / [S.l.] : Entertainment Weekly, [200-]

Taddeo, John. Zoom suit. nos. 1-4 / Boca Raton, Fla. : Superverse, 2006-

Tales of the Green Hornet. nos. 1-2 / Chicago, IL. : Now Comics, 1990-

Telgemeier, Raina. Mary Anne saves the day : a graphic novel / New York : Graphix, 2007.

TenNapel, Doug. Creature Tech / Berkeley, Calif. : Image ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Terasawa, Buichi, 1955- Goku : Midnight eye vols. 1-3 / Fremont, CA : ComicsOne Corp., c2001.

Thomas, John Rhett. Moon Knight saga / New York : Marvel Comics, p2009.

Toma. X diary / Jersey City, NJ : Netcomics, 2006.

Tommaso, Rich. Miriam issue 1 / Gainesville, Fla. : Alternative Comics ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2007.

Toole, Fred. Paul, God's traveler / Waco, Texas : Word Books, 1980.

Torres, J., 1969- Wall-E : Recharge / Los Angeles, CA : BOOM Kids!, 2010.

Vitaliano, Fausto. Double Duck. [Book 1] / Los Angeles : Boom Kids!, 2010.

Voltaire, 1967- The book of deady. Vol. 1 / Unadilla, N.Y. : Sirius ; London : Diamond [distributor], [2006], c2004.

W.I.T.C.H. graphic novel. nos. 1-4 / New York : Volo, c2005-

Waid, Mark, 1962- Strange. The doctor is out! / New York : Marvel Worldwide, Inc., 2010.

Waid, Mark. Incorruptible vols. 1-2, 4 / Los Angeles, CA : Boom! Studios, 2010-

Wakasugi, Kiminori. Detroit Metal City. 1 / San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Media, 2009.

War of kings saga / New York, NY : Marvel Publishing, 2009.

Warcraft : Legends vols. 2-5 / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, c2008-

Ward, Lynd, 1905-1985. Lynd Ward / New York, N. Y. : Library of America, 2010.

What were they thinking?!. [Vol. 1] / Los Angeles, CA : Boom! Studios, 2006.

Winick, Judd. Batman under the hood vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2005-

Winick, Judd. Love on the lam / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2001.

Winick, Judd. The trials of Shazam! nos. 1-12 / New York, NY : DC Comics, 2006-

The Wizard WildStorm special. / Congers, NY : Wizard, c1999.

Wizard Witchblade special. / Congers, NY : Wizard Entertainment, c1998.

Young, Janine Ellen. Star Trek voyager. Avalon rising / La Jolla, CA. : WildStorm Productions, 2000.


As always, this listing is available as an RSS Feed.

Sure Is Quiet...

Hey IITS Readers,

Just a quick project update since I noticed I hadn't posted in awhile. We're in the middle of making some pretty substantial changes to the Kayli in-game model, which will then need to be re-rigged and also needs a facial rig for facial animations, and finally...I'm pretty close to finding a VO actress for the role of Kayli! More on that soon, hopefully. =)

Thanks for stopping by!

- Joseph

DCnU Reviews, Week 2: Batman and Robin; Batwoman

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Batman and Robin #1
by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray

Original Rank/Assessment: 24 (Maybe/Provisional) - If this can maintain the punch and action I expect, then I'll stick around.

The last time we had a first issue of Batman and Robin it was by Morrison & Quitely, and they quite simply knocked my socks off. Tomasi & Gleason can't match that, but then I wasn't really expecting them to. They do perfectly fine job here, establishing the plot and characters and the new status quo while inserting plenty of action. However, I found the coloring to be too dark (yes, even for a Batman title!) And a plot point bothered me: While Gleason was absolutely correct to depict the research reactor at Gotham U. as a swimming pool reactor (I visited the one in the building next door to where I work, back before they dismantled it a few years ago...), there's a reason why security is light at such reactors: there is nothing there worth stealing! That aside, I'm interested enough to stick around through the first arc; after that, we'll see.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5).

Batwoman #1
by J. H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman

Original Rank/Assessment:  3 (Definitely Yes) - Finally! And with Williams switching off story arcs with Amy Reeder, this will likely be the best looking book on DC's slate.

One of the most anticipated of the New 52, the first issue of Batwoman finally sees the light of day after several delays. A handful of changes will obviously have to be made to align the story with the new reality; the most major here being the recasting of Maggie Sawyer from a captain to just a detective, which should change the dynamics of her relationship with Kate Kane somewhat. Oddly other key plot points are not adjusted, notably Bette's former career as a Teen Titan. It's probably best to just ignore such things and go with it. Last month the book our graphic narrative discussion group discussed by Batwoman: Elegy, and while I liked it a lot before we discussed it, after our discussion I really really liked it. That book had layers and there was plenty to sink our teeth into. So I was very interested to see how Willaims & Blackman would do taking over the writing duties from Rucka. They do a good job. It won't be the same book as it would have been with Rucka at the helm, but it still looks fantastic and is easily one of the strong entries in the DCnU. So far so good, and I have no reason to expect anything less from the forthcoming issues.

Rating: 4 (of 5).