New This Week: June 8, 2005

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 Eric Shanower's Age of Bronze, vol. 2: Sacrifice, the second collection of his retelling of the Trojan War, is now available in paperback. (I watched Troy on DVD this past weekend, and trust me when I say that Age of Bronze is much better.)


In other comics:

Amaze Ink has a new issue of Patty Cake and Friends (vol. 2 #14)

Antarctic has Fred Perry's new OGN, Peebomanga.

Archie has a new issue of Tania del Rio's Sabrina (#67).

DC has new issues of Action Comics (#828), Fables (#38), Gotham Central (#32), Majestic (#6), Rann/Thanagar War (#2), and Tom Strong (#33).

El Capitan has a new issue of David Lapham's Stray Bullets (#38).

Evil Twin has the Action Philosophers All Sex Special.

Fantagraphics debuts their new anthology, Bete Noir.

HK Comics has a 'revised and expanded' edition of the fourth volume of Andy Seto's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon adaptation.

IDW has a collection of Puffed.

Image releases a new issue of Age of Bronze (#20) as well; debuts Strange Girl and Ploog & DeMatteis' Stardust Kid; and the Negative Burn Winter 2005 finally shows up, now that it's June and 90 degrees ouside.

Marvel has the first issue of Gravity; the final issues of Mary Jane: Homecoming (#4) and District X (#14); new issues of New Thunderbolts (#9), The Pulse (#9), The Punisher (#22), Ultimate Spider-Man (#78), and Ultimate FF (#19); a third Ultimate Fantastic Four collection, N-Zone; and those of you who were waiting patiently for the trade of Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602 can finally read it.

Pantheon has Dan Clowes' new OGN, Ice Haven (which I predict will sell much better in bookstores than in comic shops).

Shooting Star has the debut of Nick Landmine vs. The World Crime League (with no BB in sight!)


Once again there's plenty of stuff to but and read; when will the madness end?!

More on Harlequin Manga

Via the GNLIB list, there's a Website with sample pages from a few of the Japanese versions of various Harlequin comics at http://www.cuppacafe.com/comics/

It's all very, um, generic... The best of the lot is All Male (no, it's not a yaoi title...) which at least has some decent backgrounds in the establishing shots.

Quick Super-Hero Comic Reviews

The Incredible Hulk #82
by Peter David & Jae Lee
David kicks it old school, telling a done-in-one mystery in which Banner/Hulk tries to help the ghost of a sorceress determine who killed her before her spirit dissipates. It feels like old times--ina good way--and the story draws on Lee's strengths as an artist, providing lots of opportunity for spooky, moody drawing. Yes the end may be a bit too pat, but it's such a novelty these days to read a Marvel comic that brings closure at the end rather than serving as prologue to a long decompressed slow-moving tale.
Rating: 3 (of 5)


Power Pack #3
by Marc Sumerak, Gurihiru, & Chris Eliopoulos
Those complaining about the lack of action in the previous issues of this mini will be pleased to know that there's plenty of action here, as the Pack family teams up with Marvel's first family, the Fantastic Four, to take on a bevy of Doom-bots while on a camping trip. Sumerak continues his accessible stories and spot-on characterization, and Gurihiru's art remains very attractive and looks like it jumped off of an animation cell and onto the page. It's good all-ages uper-hero family fun. The bonus story (that's 27 pages of story in all folks!) once again features young Franklin Richards messign around with one of his dad's inventions and continues the fun as well. I had high hopes for this latest Power Pack series, and so far Sumerak and company have lived up to those expections.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)


Superman/Batman #20
by Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines
It's the start of another story arc in Superman/Batman, and that means more incomprehensible stuff with alternate timeslines and people acting out of character for reason that hopefully may become clear before it is over. Supes and Bats seem somehow to have made their way to an analogue of Marvel's Ultimate universe where they face off against The Ultimates-lite. But the true joy in this comic comes from a seemingly unrelated section with Bizarro & Batzarro, where Loeb totally takes the piss out of his own pompous 'voice-ovr narration' style with Batzarro's narration; I chuckled big, so bonus points for that.
Rating: 3 (of 5)


Firestorm #14
by Stuart Moore, Jamal Igle & Rob Stull
Stuart Moore comes aboard the title, and his first order of business is too smooth things out to give us a straightforward super-hero title. He ably sets the new status quo for Jason/Firestorm, moving him out of the house with a new job and preparing him to start college. In the span of one issue, Moore sets the stage for further adventures and throws in some action besides. The series is still set in Detroit, but it actually looks like one of the many non-descript suburbs, with 'Lowrence' University (actually Lawrence Tech) and Star Labe Detroit taking up space in a strip mall. The art from Igle & Stull is good too; not flashy and a bit stiff in the non-action scenes, but their Firestorm looks nuclear powerful.
Rating: 3 (of 5)