New This Week: November 3, 2004

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 the paperback collection of the second volume of Phil & Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius. It's gaslamp fantasy fun for the entire family, and in full color.



Running a close second--and only because it's already been out in bookstores--is the second volume of The Complete Peanuts from Fantagraphics.



From DC there's Fallen Angel #17; the first issues of The Intimates and Grant Morrison's JLA Classified; a hardcover of Jill Thompson's Little Endless Storybook; the collected edition of Road to Perdition 2; the first issue of The Question; and the fourth Tom Strong hardcover.



Marvel has the end of Joss Whedon's first arc on Astonishing X-Men (#6); the Marvel Age collection of Mary Jane; the latest Ultimate Spider-Man collection (vol. 11: Carnage); and the final issue of Avengers (#503).



Dark Horse has the first issue of the next BPRD series, The Dead; Image has the return (finally!) of Rising Stars (#22) and the second issue of Hawaiian Dick: The Last Resort; Arcana has the second issue of 100 Girls; Antarctic has the fourth Gold Diggers Perfect Memory.



Indy books of note include a Savage Henry one-shot from Aeon; Mike Allred's adaptation of the Book of Mormon, Golden Plates, from AAA Pop; another issue of Mark Oakley's wonderful Thieves & Kings (#45)--if you're looking for a replacement in your life for Bone, this is a good way to go!



Collections/GNs include No Dead Time from Oni; and Mister X vol. 1 from I Books.



Manga-wise, Tokyopop has Planetes vol. 4 pt. 1, new printings of the 2nd and 4th volumes of Paradise Kiss, and the first volume of Boys Be; Viz has the first volumes of Dolls and W Juliet; AD Vision has the third installments of Aria and Apocalypse Meow; Dark Horse has the fourth volume of Ring; Del Rey has the third volume of Tsubasa.



Again, there's something for just about everyone. So if you can't find something you like, you're not looking hard enough!

Monkey Covers

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

Superboy has been turned into a giant ape! And he's attacking Clark Kent! How can this be?! I've never read Superboy #142, so I have no idea how writer E. Nelson Bridwell managed to take this cover by Curt Swan and George Klein and turn it into a story. Perhaps I'll never know...

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

Image is courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a full-sized version.

Quick Super-Hero Comic Reviews

Power Pack #1
by Marc Sumerak, Gurihiru, & Chris Eliopoulos
I have previously declared my love for Power Pack, so I may not be the most objective reviewer here, but this was a very fine first issue of an all-ages comic, one that met my high expectations. Katie, the youngest, has written and drawn an essay on "My Best Summer Ever," which tells the secret origin of Power Pack, and the rest of the kids have to convince her to not turn it in as her assignment at at school. Oh yes, and they have to fight a young snark too. Sumerak's story hits every note just right, and the manga-tinged art by Gurihiru is wonderful and filled with vibrant colors. The bonus back-up story (and it is a bonus, being five extra pages on top of the main story's twenty-two) features honorary Packer and Fantastic Son Franklin Richards, with Eliopoulos doing a riff on Calvin & Hobbes. This whole package is just a fun, charming comic book; buy one for the kids, and another for yourself.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)


Seven Soldiers: Zatana #1
by Grant Morrison, Ryan Sook & Mick Gray
Zatanna by Morrison & Sook? I was sold on this as soon as it was announced, and it's just as good as I'd hoped it would be. Everyone's favorite fishnet-wearing magician has been having a tough time of it lately and has turned to a super-hero support group to deal with her self-esteem issues. I like how Morrison characterizes Z as a woman who is not quite at home as a magician or a super-hero (though maybe her self-esteem would be better if she wasn't always dressing up in fetish clothing...) Once again Morrison manages to quickly introduce us to several new characters, and he and Sook give us a wonderfully creepy Baron Winters as well. There are references to a lot of Alan Moore here, including the finale of "American Gothic" and a riff on Promethea (apt, with inker Gray along), but they never overwhelm the story. Sook turns in some great art, though at times Gray's inking is so strong that it threatens to overwhelm. This is my favorite so far of the Seven Soldiers series; the only bad thing is that we have to wait two months for the next issue.
Rating: 4 (of 5)


Superman/Batman #18
by Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco & Jesús Merino
Okay, so this whole "Absolute Power" story has been just one continuity riff after the other, but darn if I didn't turn into a gibbering fanboy when a certain super-group showed up near the end. If you look at it too closely, the whole story doens't really make one lick of sense, but I was having too much fun to care, and Pacheco & Merino sure to draw some pretty art (although, given the delays on this book, I worry about the schedule for the upcoming Green Lantern series...) A big fanboy geek-fest is Superman/Batman, but sometimes we old fanboys need to geek out.
Rating: 3 (of 5)

Luna-tics?

Newsarama have an interview with Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir regarding their new manga-esque series from Seven Seas, Amazing Agent Luna.

I reviewed Amazing Agent Luna earlier this week, and found it to be quite enjoyable. I suspect that it may be a tough sell to people though, as manga fans will consider anything produced domestically to be 'not real manga', and super-hero fans won't go near it because it looks too much like manga (art comix fans, of course, would never even deign to go near it...) But I do wish that people would give this all-ages book a try; it's some of the best work I've read from DeFilippis & Weir (much better than their New X-Men - Academy X) and the art by Carmela "Shiei" Doneza is very good too. You can read a preview at the Seven Seas Website. I encourage you to give it a try and see if it's to your liking.

Monkey Covers

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

Finishing off our salute to National Library Week, we have what is perhaps the greatest comic book cover ever. From 1956, Gil Kane & Bernard Sachs draw the cover for Otto Binder's story "Secret of the Man-Ape" in Strange Adventures #75. Who is this ape? Why does he need those three books? And doesn't he know that the reference librarian will help him fulfill his information needs without having to brandish a gun?

In fact, this cover is so great that it was recreated by Nick Cardy in 1973 for the cover of From Beyond the Unknown #23, wherein the story was reprinted.

(standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies)

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

YAFL: Week 11 Results

Here are the results from week 11 of Yet Another Fantasy League:



Inferior 5 plus 6 60
Kickers Inc. 61

Nine Pound Hammers 69
The Inferior Five 65

Danger Limited 52
www.rickgebhardt.net 64

Secret Six 72
Moon Knights 80

The Maxx Squad 70
B.P.R.D. 67

Tomorrow Syndicate 80
Power Pack 65


Current Standings:

Team                 W-L-T  Pct   Pts  Streak
-------------------  -----  ----  ---  ------
*1.B.P.R.D.             8-3-0  .727  729  L-1
*2.Power Pack           8-3-0  .727  702  L-1
3.Kickers Inc.         7-4-0  .636  653  W-1
4.Nine Pound Hammers   7-4-0  .636  642  W-3
5.Inferior 5 plus 6    6-5-0  .545  715  L-5
6.www.rickgebhardt.net 6-5-0  .545  543  W-4
7.Secret Six           5-6-0  .455  715  L-2
8.Tomorrow Syndicate   5-6-0  .455  681  W-1
9.Danger Limited       4-7-0  .364  670  L-1
10.The Maxx Squad       4-7-0  .364  588  W-2
11.The Inferior Five    3-8-0  .273  556  L-3
12.Moon Knights         3-8-0  .273  552  W-1

Week 12 Games:
(Remember: games start on Thursday this week!)

The Inferior Five (3-8-0)
vs.
Kickers Inc. (7-4-0)

Nine Pound Hammers (7-4-0)
vs.
www.rickgebhardt.net (6-5-0)

Danger Limited (4-7-0)
vs.
Moon Knights (3-8-0)

Secret Six (5-6-0)
vs.
B.P.R.D. (8-3-0)

The Maxx Squad (4-7-0)
vs.
Power Pack (8-3-0)

Inferior 5 plus 6 (6-5-0)
vs.
Tomorrow Syndicate (5-6-0)


Good luck to all!


In my other Fantasy Leagues, I lost--again, no big suprise--64-36 in my friends & family league (3-8-1, still seventh place); scored a solid 63-42 win in my public league (6-5-0, moved up to sixth place); and scored a sad 239.95 points in my Pass & Kick league, which dropped me to fifth place (I was winning this league at one time...) In Fantasy Basketball I went 3-3-2 and stayed in seventh place (9-13-2 overall).

Monkey Covers

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

From 1953, here's Atlas's The Monkey and the Bear #1, with a cover by Howie Post.


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