New This Week: August 23, 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 later today:


The Pick of the Week is The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by veterans Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón, who attempt to bring the dense and dry commission report to life as a comic (and potentially to many more readers as well).

However, if you're looking for something not quite as series, I'd recommend as an alternate Pick of the Week the second Middleman collection by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
and Les McClaine (from Viper Comics). You'll find plenty of fun packed within its pages.


In other comics:

Amaze Ink/Slave Labor have a new issue of Rex Libris (#5).

Awakening Comics have the Origin of Sparky one-shot jam.

DC have the paperback collection of Promethea book 5; the expensive Absolute Dark Knight hardcover; new issues of 52 (week 16), Batman (#656), Birds of Prey (#97), Blue Beetle (#5), DMZ (#10), Jack of Fables (#2), Justice League of America (#1), Supergirl and the Legion (#21), Wonder Woman (#2); and the final issue of Swamp Thing (#29).

Drawn & Quarterly have the second volume of Walt & Skeezix.

Evil Twin have the latest Action Philosophers: The People's Choice.

IDW have the trade collection of their first Fallen Angel arc; and the final issue of Supermarket (#4).

Image have the second issue of Elephantmen (#2).

Marvel collection Dan Slott's Thing series in a trade; debut the latest iteration of Heroes for Hire; and have new issues of Astonishing X-Men (#16), Daredevil (#88), Eternals (#3), Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (#9), Ultimate Spider-Man (#99), and Ultimates Annual #2.

TokyoPop have a new volume of Beck (vol. 5).

Viz have the either volume of Tezuka's Phoenix.


If you cannot find anything to buy this week, you're just not trying hard enough!

Yet Another Fantasy League 2

It's that time of year again. Excitement is in the air as the battle of the gridiron begins!

Yet Another Fantasy League was a lot of fun last year, so I've decided to run it again this year.

It's a free Yahoo Fantasy Football league, where you are encouraged to join and name your fantasy team after a comic book team. (Once again I'm Kickers Inc.!)

To join follow this link. Registration will continue until all 12 team spots have been filled, or until August 31 (the date for our autopick draft) whichever comes first.

It should be grand.

New Library Comics: Week of August 14, 2006

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


Beard, George, 1966- The adventures of Super Diaper Baby : the first graphic novel /New York : Blue Sky Press, 2002.

Derf. Trashed : true tales from the back of a garbage truck /San Jose, Calif. : Slave Labor Graphics Pub., [2002]

Haupeur, J. H. Hot nights in Rangoon /Seattle, Wash. : Eros Comix, 1997.

Hooper, Terry. Maeve : 1 girl 4 women /Seattle, Wash. : Eros Comix, 1997.

Kleid, Neil. Ninety candles : a graphic novella /New York : Rant Comics, 2004.

Kuper, Peter, 1958- Eye of the beholder : [a collection of visual puzzles] /New York : NBM, c2000.

Mahfood, Jim. The further adventures of one page filler man /[Berkeley, Calif.] : Image Comics, c2006.

Mawil. Beach safari /Marietta, GA : Top Shelf Productions, c2003.

Morse, Scott. Littlegreyman /Fullerton, CA : Image Comics/Crazyfish, c1997.

Morse, Scott. Visitations : a graphic novella /Fullerton, CA : Image Comics/Crazyfish, c1998.

Paszkiewicz, Douglas. Arsenic lullaby : "the donut cometh" /[Milwaukee, Wis.] : Arsenic Lullaby Publishing, c2005.

Peterson, Cris. XXX files /Seattle, Wash. : Eros Comix, 2002.

Q-ray. Tha comic messiah /[Melb, Vic, Australia : Q-ray Comix, 1995-1997] vol. 1-2

Rolston, Steve. One bad day /Portland, Ore. : Oni Press, 2003.

Schmidt, J. Marc. Egg story /San Jose, CA : SLG Pub., c2004.

Smith, Ian. Emily & the intergalactic lemonade stand : a story of ponies, robots-- and world domination /San Jose, CA : AmazeInk, 2004.

Torres, J. Days like this /Portland, OR : Oni Press, c2003.

What's up underground! /Portland, OR : S.K. Josefsberg Studio, 1995.

Wood, Brian. Pounded : broken hearts, busted heads /Portland, OR : Oni Press, 2002.

Yohei, Kozo. Spunky knight /Seattle, WA : Eros Comix, 1999.

Monkey Covers

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

Joe Kubert draws the Challengers being chased off an island by a giant ape-beast on the cover of Challengers of the Unknown #79.

(Standard disclaimer about giant ape-beasts 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 August Previews (comics supposedly available in October) are the following dozen mainstream comics picks:


Seven Soldiers #1
(DC, $3.99, p. 87)
Finally Grant Morrison & J. H. Williams III bring the Seven Soldiers event to a close. Will it be worth the wait--I sure hope so. I just hope I can remember what happened in the previous 29 issues...



Tales of the Unexpected #1
(DC, $3.99, p. 89)
I really liked seeing Cliff Chiang's art on the recent Spectre mini. But he's drawing the Dr. Thirteen back-up feature here, not the main Spectre story. Still, anything that give Chiang work is good in my book.



The Authority #1
(DC/WildStorm, $2.99, p. 104)
Grant Morrison & Gene Ha on The Authority? Yes! Maybe finally DC can undo the damage they caused this once-top-selling title.



Gen13 #1
(DC/WildStorm, $2.99, p. 106)
Can a team with a character named 'Grunge' still seem fresh in the mid-aughts? Maybe, with writer Gail Simone at the helm.



Astro City: The Dark Age book 2 #1
(DC/WildStorm, $2.99, p. 109)
Another look at Astro City's dark 70s past from Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson.



Desolation Jones #7
(DC/WildStorm, $2.99, p. 112)
Warren Ellis is back with more Desolation Jones, and this time he's brough artist Danijel Zezelj along for the ride. Zezelj is an inspired choice; most American's are unfamiliar with his work, and hopefully this gig will expose him to more fans.



The Other Side #1
(DC/Vertigo, $2.99, p. 123)
I'm unfamiliar with writer Jason Aaron, but with Cameron Stewart drawing this war story is sure to at least look really good.



Gødland #13
(Image $2.99, p. 140)
The Kirby-Cosmic is back, as Joe Casey & Tom Scioli send Commander Adam Archer into The Negative Zone Dimension Z.



Ultimate Power #1
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M8)
Huh, whadoyaknow--The Supreme Power universe is actually the Utlimate version of the Squadron Supreme. Greg Land photo-references his way through a story by Bendis, Straczynski & Loeb that will probably be good reading when the trade comes out after this nine-issue series concludes.



The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M23)
Will Ant-Man finally be the Marvel series by Robert Kirkman that fans actually want to buy? After the sleeper hit Marvel Zombies, maybe...



Dr. Strange: The Oath #1
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M35)
I have no real affinity to Dr. Strange as a character. But with Brian K. Vaughn & Marcos Martin on this mini and I'm there in a heartbeat!



Criminal #1
(Marvel/Icon, $2.99, p. M80)
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips get to do hard-boiled crime stories, sans and super-heroes or other such nonsense. This makes me happy.



Angel: Masks
(IDW, $7.49, p. 304)
Angel Puppet returns in one of four Halloween-themed stories in this anthology.



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

New This Week: August 16, 2006

Sorry I'm a day late, but here are a few things to look for at your local comic shop this weekm, based on the NCRL list for this week's comics shipping from Diamond:


The Pick of the Week is Adventures in Oz from IDW, collecting several of Eric Shanower's original Oz adventures from the 80s and 90s. Good stuff.


In other comics:

Boom! have the first issue of the zombie-bashing Savage Brothers.

Clib's Boy Comics have the final pre-Image issue of True Story, Swear to God (#17).

Dark Horse have a new issue of Conan (#31) and another expensive Nexus Archives volume (vol. 4).

DC have a trade collection of the 70s Justice Society revival; the debut of Ennis & Robertson's Boys; and new issues of 100 Bullets (#75), 52 (week 15), Catwoman (#58), Hellblazer (#223), Manhunter (#25--buy Manhunter!), Shadowpact (#4), and Testament (#9).

IDW have the final Angel Spotlight one-shot: Conner.

Image have the debut of Phonogram and a new issue of Casanova (#3).

Marvel have new issues of Nextwave (#7), Runaways (#19), and Thunderbolts (#105). They may also have the Marvel Zombies HC (it's not on the NCRL, but is in my DCBS shipping list...)

Oni have the second issue of Wasteland.

Scholastic have the fourth color volume of Bone.

TokyoPop have the Star Trek Manga anthology (if your store didn't get it last week...)


Many good things to look for. Enjoy your new comics!

100 Comics Contest Results

It's time to announce the winners in the 100 Comics Giveaway Contest.

First, let me thank everyone who entered and shared their picks for an Undiscovered Gem. This part was a lot of fun. I hope that everyone reading learned about a new-to-them comic that they'll seek out.

Now on to the winners:

All winners were chosen randomly; I printed out the names on little slips of paper and had people in my tv group draw them out of a cup last night.

I received 22 eligible entries, so that means there are two runners-up prizes of five comics each.

The first runner-up is Martin M. The five comics he will be getting are:

All the Wrong Places #1
Childhood's End #1
Elk's Run #1
Lenore #11
The Norm #1

The second runner-up in TangognaT. The five comics she will be getting are:

Aquarium #1
Emma Davenport #1
Feather #1
Leave it to Chance #1
Mermaid's Dream #1

And now what you've all been waiting for, the winner of the Grand Prize 100 Comics Prize Package. The winner is... Jeff G.! Jeff will be receiving the following 100 Comics:

Advent Rising #1
American Century #1
American Century #2
The American Way #1
Amy Racecar Color Special #2
Aphrodiye IX #1
Apollo Smile #1
Athena Voltaire #1
Babyhead #1
Batgirl #1
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #88
Battlestar Galactica #0
Bio-Booster Armor Guyver #1
Boneyard #10
Cartoon Network Action Pack #2
Cartoon Network featuring Cow & Chicken
Creed: Utopia #1
The Creeper #1
Cursed #1
Cyber 7 #1
Cyberfrog #1
Deal with the Devil #1
Dear Julia #1
The Devil's Keeper #1
Dirtboy #1
Donald Duck Halloween Ashcan
The Exec #1
First World #1
Flare #1
The Flying Friar
Ghost Rider #1
The Ghouly Boys #1
Hack/Slash: Trailers
Happydale: Devils in the Desert #1
The Hoon #1
Imperial Dragons #1
The Invisibles v. 3 #7
Ion #1
Jack & Jack #1
John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles #1
Jubilee #1
Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Byrne creating Robin
Just Imagine Stan Lee with Scvott McDaniel creating Aquaman
Justice League Adventures #7
Kamikaze 1946 #3
Killer Stunts, Inc. #1
Lethal Instinct #1
Lost Stories #3
Lunar Donut #4
Magneto Rex #3
Marvel Nemesis: The Imperfects #1
Melby Comics #1
Mobile Police Patlabor #1
The New Avengers Annual #1
The New Invaders #0
The Next #1
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos #1
Nick Landime #1
Occult Crimes Taskforce #1
OMAC #1
Pantheon #8
Paper & Binding #1
Planetary Brigade #2
Raven #1
The Remarkable Worlds of Professor Phineas B. Fuddle #1
Robyn of Sherwood #2
RQW #1
Rune #1
Sabretooth Classics #10
Saffire #1
Sam and Twitch #14
Satyr #1
Scion #7
Shonen Jump #0
The Silent Invasion #5
Sixgun Samurai #1
Sol Bianca #1
Spirit & Image #1
Spirit of the Amazon #1
Star Wars: Legacy #0
Star Wars: Republic #80
Stardust Kid #4
Stark Raven #1
Steampunk #1
Superboy #64
Supergirl #40
Superman: The Man of Steel #94
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #14
Superosity #7
Tron #1
Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #1
Ultimate X-Men #1 (FCBD edition)
The Warlord #1
The Warlord #2
The Warlord #3
Way of the Rat #1
What Were They Thinking: Some People Never Learn #1
Wilderemere #1
Wizard in Training #0
Xenon #1

With all that variety, I figure that there must be something in there that Jeff will like!

(I should have the prize packages mailed off by the end of the week.)

Thanks again to everyone who participated. If you didn't win this time, be sure to check back to this blog regularly as I often run contests for free comics, including my big Free Comic Book Month in May.