It’s a fairly busy week for fans of the smaller publishers. We’ve got the full retail list, as well as reviews of books from Dark Horse and IDW.
- DC rolls out The Green Team: Teen Trillionaires, and has more Green Lantern, New Guardians, and Aquaman.
- Marvel has more X-Men Legacy, Avengers, and Superior Spider-Man. Considering the heartbreaking finale of Superior’s last issue, what happens next will be… interesting.
- Image has a week rich in great books: They’re debuting Bounce, and have more Miniature Jesus, Nowhere Men, Revival, Five Ghosts: The Haunting Of Fabian Gray, and Sex.
- And Dark Horse will likely get the rest of your money: Akaneiro debuts, and there’s the new issue of Dark Horse Presents, Mind MGMT, The Massive, and the one-shots Deep Sea from Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and Lobster Johnson: Satan Smells A Rat.
- IDW debuts Half-Past Danger and has more Judge Dredd.
- And Boom! has more Adventure Time.
Reviews
Akaneiro #1
You probably won’t find a more unique comic this week. The concept of this book, or rather the video game it’s based on, is essentially throwing Little Red Riding Hood, Japanese mythology (specifically the Yokai), and video game tropes into a blender, hitting “gooify” and seeing what happens, hardly surprising considering the concept comes from American McGee. But Justin Aclin makes it work and then some. He never belabors any of the elements, and he sketches in his heroine and her father simply but effectively. Vasilis Lolos has a lot of fun with both the Yokai and tweaking the reader: One character looks suspiciously like Samus Aran. In all, a good launch to what might be an interesting miniseries.
The Deep Sea (One-Shot)
This isn’t a bad story, just… an incomplete one. The ends on a cliffhanger, and since this is a one-shot, that’s a bad place to tie it up. Hopefully Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti will finish this up.
House of Gold And Bones #2
This is pretty much like the last issue: For fans of Corey Taylor only, really. But at least the ridiculous ending of the first issue is clarified to some degree, and the book is becoming somewhat more coherent. Still, it’s difficult to recommend to anybody than those who were going to buy it sight unseen.
Lobster Johnson: Satan Smells A Rat (One-Shot)
While fun, this pulp story from Mike Mignola and John Arcudi is fairly generic stuff, story-wise, and considering their work on this franchise elsewhere it’s a bit disappointing. One suspects it was largely to let Kevin Nowlan have some fun with the art, and it’s undeniably a pretty book. Still, if you don’t pick it up you won’t be missing anything.
The Massive #12
Brian Wood reveals everything we didn’t want to know about Callum Israel in this issue, and it’s a bit stunning. The larger mystery of what the hell has happened to The Massive, though, is becoming more and more weird, and we’re curious to see what turn this book will take. Wood can’t keep the Massive a complete mystery forever, something this book highlights quite clearly. Still, it’s a good issue as part of a consistently great run.
Mind MGMT #11
Matt Kindt chooses to tell rather than show this book’s story, for some odd reason, but it doesn’t make the overall series less compelling, or Duncan, the new addition to the cast, less interesting. Again, not the greatest issue but a solid one in a great series.
Star Wars: Legacy #3
There’s not a book more fast-paced or smart-assed in Dark Horse’s stable than Star Wars: Legacy, and that’s a great thing. Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman are writing a book that feels a lot like A New Hope: The Next Generation. It’s fun, funny, and engaging, and if you’re not reading it yet, you really should, Star Wars fan or not.
Judge Dredd #7
Duane Swierczynski and Nelson Daniel are really enjoying themselves on this book, and the fun is infectious. And you have to love a book about robot rebellion called The Long Fail. If this isn’t in your sub list, consider adding it.
Kiss Solo #3
This weird miniseries continues with an appropriately Heavy Metal story about the Celestial. If you can get past how weird it is to see a KISS member on a space station shaped like an infinity symbol, Chris Ryall actually writes a pretty fun little slice of space opera here. Worth picking up, if you fondly remember SF books from the ’80s or Heavy Metal itself.
Half Past Danger #1
Leaving aside Stephen Mooney’s somewhat distracting tendency to name his characters after minor players in The X-Files, he actually delivers a fairly fun, pulpy book. It’s a little too enthralled with stock tropes: We literally have Nazis, dinosaurs, kung-fu, super-soldiers, and a smoky femme fatale stuffed into this book. But the pacing is solid, the art is quite good, and Mooney has a sense of humor about the proceedings; all in all, this book is promising.
G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #2
Mike Costa continues to impress with his mature, careful techno-thriller. While the G.I. Joe connection is tangential at best, the book itself is a pretty compelling read, and the art team executes an action scene in the middle of the book beautifully. I do wish the inks focused more on detail than shadow, but that’s a nitpick: This is a fun book well worth picking up.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro-Series: Baxter Stockman
Like the Krang story before it, Erik Burnham has quite the fun time telling a supervillain origin story; Stockman is possibly a lot more dangerous than Krang, as it turns out. IDW has been doing a superb job with TMNT, and this book continues that work admirably. It’s worth picking up, even if you’re not following the main story.
Full Retail List
DC COMICS
All-Star Western #20, $3.99
Aquaman #20 (Paul Pelletier & Sean Parsons Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Aquaman #20 (Paul Pelletier & Sean Parsons Regular Cover), $2.99
Arrow #7, $3.99
Batman Beyond Unlimited #16, $3.99
Batman Incorporated #11 (Chris Burnham Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Batman Incorporated #11 (Chris Burnham Combo Pack Cover), $3.99
Batman Incorporated #11 (Chris Burnham Regular Cover), $2.99
Batman Incorporated #11 (Guillem March Variant Cover), AR
Batman Li’l Gotham #2, $2.99
Batman The Dark Knight #20 (Ethan Van Sciver Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Batman The Dark Knight #20 (Ethan Van Sciver Regular Cover), $2.99
Demon Knights Volume 2 The Avalon Trap TP, $14.99
Flash #20 (Francis Manapul Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Flash #20 (Francis Manapul Regular Cover), $2.99
Fury Of Firestorm The Nuclear Man #20 (Final Issue), $2.99
Green Lantern #20 (Doug Mahnke Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Green Lantern #20 (Doug Mahnke Combo Pack Cover), $8.99
Green Lantern #20 (Doug Mahnke Regular Cover), $7.99
Green Lantern New Guardians #20 (Aaron Kuder Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Green Lantern New Guardians #20 (Aaron Kuder Regular Cover), $2.99
Green Team Teen Trillionaires #1 (Amanda Conner Regular Cover), $2.99
Green Team Teen Trillionaires #1 (Cliff Chang Variant Cover), AR
Grifter Volume 2 New Found Power TP, $16.99
Justice League #20 (Howard Porter Variant Cover), AR
Justice League #20 (Ivan Reis & Joe Prado Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Justice League #20 (Ivan Reis & Joe Prado Combo Pack Cover), $4.99
Justice League #20 (Ivan Reis & Joe Prado Regular Cover), $3.99
Justice League Dark #20, $2.99
Red Lanterns #20 (Miguel Sepulveda Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Red Lanterns #20 (Miguel Sepulveda Regular Cover), $2.99
Savage Hawkman #20 (Final Issue), $2.99
Superman #20 (Aaron Kuder Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Superman #20 (Aaron Kuder Regular Cover), $2.99
Talon #8 (Guillem March Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Talon #8 (Guillem March Regular Cover), $2.99
Teen Titans #20 (Eddy Barrows & Eber Ferreira Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Teen Titans #20 (Eddy Barrows & Eber Ferreira Regular Cover), $2.99
Unwritten #49, $2.99
MARVEL COMICS
A+X #8, $3.99
A+X Volume 1 = Awesome TP, $17.99
Age Of Ultron #4 (Of 10)(Bryan Hitch 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
All-New X-Men #10 (Stuart Immonen 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
Amazing Spider-Man #700 (Stan Lee Gold Series Signed Edition)(Dynamic Forces), $700.00
Amazing Spider-Man #700 (Ryan Stegman 4th Printing Variant Cover), $7.99
Avengers #12 (Daniel Acuna Avengers 50th Anniversary Variant Cover), AR
Avengers #12 (Dustin Weaver Regular Cover), $3.99
Cable And X-Force Classic Volume 1 TP, $34.99
Daredevil #26 (Chris Samnee Regular Cover), $3.99
Daredevil #26 (Paolo Rivera Variant Cover), AR
Deadpool #10 (Tradd Moore Regular Cover), $2.99
Disney Pixar Cars Magazine #14 (Disney Publishing Worldwide), $4.99
Fantastic Four #8, $2.99
Fearless Defenders #4AU, $3.99
FF By Jonathan Hickman Volume 4 TP, $19.99
Iron Man #258.3, $3.99
Journey Into Mystery #652, $2.99
Journey Into Mystery Featuring Sif Volume 1 Stronger Than Monsters TP, $15.99
Marvel Masterworks The Fantastic Four Volume 9 TP, $24.99
Marvel Masterworks The Fantastic Four Volume 9 TP (Direct Market Variant Edition Volume 53), $24.99
Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man #14, $2.99
Powers Bureau #4, $3.95
Scarlet Spider #17 (Gabrielle Dell’Otto Variant Cover), AR
Scarlet Spider #17 (Ryan Stegman Regular Cover), $2.99
Secret Avengers By Rick Remender Volume 2 TP, $24.99
Superior Spider-Man #10, $3.99
Ultimate Comics Wolverine #4 (Of 4), $3.99
Uncanny Avengers #8AU, $3.99
Uncanny X-Men #6, $3.99
Uncanny X-Men By Kieron Gillen Volume 4 TP, $19.99
Wolverine The Best There Is The Complete Series TP, $29.99
X-Men Legacy #11, $2.99
Young Avengers #5 (Jamie McKelvie Regular Cover), $2.99
Young Avengers #5 (Jim Cheung Variant Cover), AR
IMAGE COMICS
Activity #13, $3.50
Artifacts Volume 5 TP, $16.99
Bounce #1, $2.99
Dia De Los Muertos #3 (Of 3), $4.99
Five Ghosts The Haunting Of Fabian Gray #3 (Of 5), $2.99
Invincible Universe #1 (2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99
Miniature Jesus #2 (Of 5), $3.99
Nowhere Men #5, $2.99
Revival #10, $2.99
Sex #3, $2.99
DARK HORSE COMICS
Akaneiro #1 (Of 3), $3.99
Dark Horse Presents #24, $7.99
Deep Sea (One Shot), $2.99
House Of Gold And Bones #2 (Of 2)(Jason Shawn Alexander Regular Cover), $3.99
House Of Gold And Bones #2 (Of 2)(Kyle Hotz Variant Cover), AR
Lobster Johnson Satan Smells A Rat (One Shot), $3.50
Massive #12, $3.50
Mind MGMT #11, $3.99
Star Wars Dawn Of The Jedi Prisoner Of Bogan #5 (Of 5)(resolicited), $2.99
Star Wars Legacy Volume 2 Prisoner Of The Floating World #3, $2.99
IDW PUBLISHING
Borderlands Origins TP, $17.99
Chasing The Dead TP, $17.99
Doctor Who #9 (Cover A Mark Buckingham), $3.99
Doctor Who #9 (Cover B Photo), $3.99
G.I. JOE Complete Cobra Command TP, $34.99
G.I. JOE The Cobra Files #2 (Cover A Michael Lark), $3.99
G.I. JOE The Cobra Files #2 (Cover B Antonio Fuso), $3.99
G.I. JOE The Cobra Files #2 (Cover RI-A Dan Matutina), AR
G.I. JOE The Complete Collection Volume 2 HC, $49.99
Ghostbusters #4 (Cover A Dan Schoening), $3.99
Ghostbusters #4 (Cover B Freddie E. Williams II), $3.99
Godzilla The Half-Century War TP, $19.99
Half Past Danger #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Stephen Mooney), $3.99
Half Past Danger #1 (Of 6)(Cover SUB Tommy Lee Edwards), $3.99
Judge Dredd #7 (Cover A Zach Howard), $3.99
Judge Dredd #7 (Cover B David Williams & Bill Sienkiewicz), $3.99
KISS Solo #3 (Of 4)(The Celestial)(Cover A Angel Medina), $3.99
KISS Solo #3 (Of 4)(The Celestial)(Cover RI Ash Newell Photo), AR
My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic #1 (Six Copy Set)(Dynamic Forces), $100.00
My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic #6 (Dynamic Forces Exclusive Cover), $10.00
My Little Pony Micro-Series #3 (Of 6)(Rarity)(Dynamic Forces Exclusive Cover), $10.00
Star Trek John Byrne Collection HC, $49.99
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #21 (Dynamic Forces Exclusive Cover), $10.00
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Works Volume 1 HC, $49.99
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Villain Microseries #2 (Of 4)(Baxter Stockman)(Cover A Tyler Walpole), $3.99
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Villain Microseries #2 (Of 4)(Baxter Stockman)(Cover RI Andy Kuhn), AR
Torpedo Volume 3 TP, $17.99
Transformers Robots In Disguise #17 (Cover A Livio Ramondelli), $3.99
Transformers Robots In Disguise #17 (Cover B Casey Coller), $3.99
Transformers Robots In Disguise #17 (Cover RI Phil Jimenez), AR
True Blood #13 (Cover A Michael Gaydos), $3.99
True Blood #13 (Cover B Photo), $3.99
BOOM! STUDIOS
Adventure Time #16 (Cover A Mike Holmes), $3.99
Adventure Time #16 (Cover B JJ Harrison), $3.99
Adventure Time #16 (Cover C Sophie Goldstein), AR
Adventure Time #16 (Cover D Meredith McClaren), AR
Adventure Time With Fionna And Cake #5 (Of 6)(Cover A Natasha Allegri), $3.99
Adventure Time With Fionna And Cake #5 (Of 6)(Cover B Coleman Engle), $3.99
Adventure Time With Fionna And Cake #5 (Of 6)(Cover C Gigi D.G.), AR
Adventure Time With Fionna And Cake #5 (Of 6)(Cover D Chrystin Garland), AR
Bravest Warriors #1 (Of 6)(Jason Ho Long Beach Comic Con Variant Cover), $9.99
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser The Dark Watch #4 (Cover A Ibraim Roberson), $3.99
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser The Dark Watch #4 (Cover B Lorena Carvalho), $3.99
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser The Dark Watch #4 (Cover C Ibraim Roberson), AR
Grace Randolph’s Supurbia #1 (Russell Dauterman Long Beach Comic Con Variant Cover), $9.99
Regular Show #1 Complete Cover Box Set, $24.99
Steed And Mrs Peel #8 (Cover A Joe Corroney), $3.99
12-GAUGE COMICS
Anti #4 (Of 4), $3.99
ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT
Double Jumpers #4, $3.99
AMRYL ENTERTAINMENT
Cavewoman Uncovered Pinup Book, $3.99
ANTARCTIC PRESS
Gold Digger #200, $3.99
Nazi Zombies TP, $14.95
Steampunk Snow White TP, $5.99
Victorian Secret Collection TP, $14.95
ARCANA STUDIO
Black List GN, $14.95
Breather GN (not verified by Diamond), $6.95
Koni Konfidential GN, $9.95
Ninja Named Stan SC, $14.95
Zoo Dot Com GN, $9.95
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS
Archies 1000-Page Comics Digest TP, $14.99
Sabrina The Teenage Witch The Magic Within Volume 2 TP, $10.99
Sonic Universe Volume 5 The Tails Adventure TP, $11.99
World Of Archie Double Digest #29, $3.99
ASPEN COMICS
Jirni #2 (Of 5)(Paolo Pantalena Direct Market Cover), $3.99
Jirni #2 (Of 5)(Philip Tan Aspen Reserved Cover), $3.99
AURUM PRESS
Terry Nation The Man Who Invented The Daleks SC, $14.95
AVATAR PRESS
Crossed Badlands #28 (Jacen Burrows Red Crossed Incentive Cover), AR
Crossed Badlands #28 (Jacen Burrows Regular Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #28 (Jacen Burrows Torture Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #28 (Raulo Caceres Wraparound Cover), $3.99
BLACK MASK COMICS
Occupy Comics #1, $3.50
BLUE JUICE COMICS
Accelerators #1 (Of 6), $3.99
BONGO COMICS
Bart Simpson Comics #83, $2.99
BROADSWORD COMICS
School Bites Independent Studies Collection TP, $19.99
BROADWAY
World War Z TP (Movie Tie-In Edition), $14.95
CINEBOOK
Antares Volume 2 Episode 1 TP, $15.95
Betelgeuse Volume 2 The Caves TP, $11.95
Blake And Mortimer Volume 12 Atlantis Mystery GN, $15.95
Lucky Luke Volume 29 The Grand Duke TP, $11.95
Lucky Luke Volume 30 The Dalton’s Escape TP, $11.95
Thorgal Volume 7 The Master Of The Mountains GN, $11.95
COMIC SHOP NEWS
Comic Shop News #1353, AR
DRAWN AND QUARTERLY
My Dirty Dumb Eyes GN, $22.95
Property HC, $24.95
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Damsels #7 (Joseph Michael Linsner Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Damsels #7 (Joseph Michael Linsner Regular Cover), $3.99
Damsels #7 (Joseph Michael Linsner Virgin Variant Cover), AR
Dark Shadows Year One #2 (Patrick Berkenkotter Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Dark Shadows Year One #2 (Patrick Berkenkotter Regular Cover), $3.99
Dark Shadows Year One #2 (Patrick Berkenkotter Virgin Variant Cover), AR
Flash Gordon Volume 1 Zeitgeist TP, $29.99
Masks #7 (Of 8)(Alex Ross Regular Cover), $3.99
Masks #7 (Of 8)(Alex Ross Sketch Variant Cover), AR
Masks #7 (Of 8)(Alex Ross Virgin Variant Cover), AR
Masks #7 (Of 8)(Ardian Syaf Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Masks #7 (Of 8)(Ardian Syaf Regular Cover), $3.99
Masks #7 (Of 8)(Francesco Francavilla Regular Cover), $3.99
Masks #7 (Of 8)(Stephen Segovia Regular Cover), $3.99
Red Sonja #75 (Cover A Mel Rubi), $3.99
Red Sonja #75 (Cover B Erik Jones), $3.99
Red Sonja #75 (Cover C Walter Geovanni), $3.99
Vampirella Archives Volume 7 HC, $49.99
FUTURE PUBLISHING
Comic Heroes Magazine #18, $17.99
GOLDEN BOOKS
Lone Ranger A Little Golden Book Classic HC, $3.99
HERMES PRESS
Phantom The Complete Series The Charlton Years Volume 2 HC, $49.99
INKLIT
Patricia Briggs’ Cry Wolf Volume 2 TP, $24.95
KETTLEDRUMMER BOOKS
Rocky And Hudson The Gay Cowboys SC, $19.95
LOCUS MAGAZINE
Locus #628 (May 2013), $7.50
METROPOLITAN BOOKS
Journalism TP (not verified by Diamond), $22.00
MOONSTONE
Avenger Roaring Heart Of The Crucibel Novel HC (Limited Edition), $32.95
Avenger Roaring Heart Of The Crucibel Novel SC, $18.95
Red Menace Novel SC, $6.99
NON-SPORT UPDATE
Non-Sport Update Volume 24 #3, $5.99
ONI PRESS
Sixth Gun #31, $3.99
Wasteland #45, $3.99
OSSM COMICS
Xenoglyphs #2 (Of 6), $3.99
PAPERCUTZ
Ninjago Volume 7 Stone Cold SC, $6.99
Ninjago Volume 7 Stone Cold HC, $10.99
PM PRESS
Drawn To New York An Illustrated Chronicle Of Three Decades In New York City HC, $29.95
RENEGADE ARTS ENTERTAINMENT
Tales Of The Buddha Before He Was Enlightened TP (not verified by Diamond), $14.99
SLOTH PUBLISHING
Booyah GN, $7.99
TITAN PUBLISHING
DmC Devil May Cry The Vergil Chronicles #1 (Of 2), $3.99
Solid State Tank Girl #1 (Of 4), $3.99
TOHAN CORPORATION
Hobby Japan #112 (April 2013), $16.60
VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS
Alluring Art Of Margaret Brundage HC (Deluxe Slipcased Edition), $69.95
Alluring Art Of Margaret Brundage HC, $39.95
Alluring Art Of Margaret Brundage SC, $24.95
Jeffrey Jones The Definitive Reference HC (Deluxe Slipcased Edition), $69.95
Jeffrey Jones The Definitive Reference HC (not verified by Diamond), $39.95
Jeffrey Jones The Definitive Reference SC (not verified by Diamond), $24.95
Wally Wood Eerie Tales Of Crime And Horror HC (Deluxe Slipcased Edition), $69.95
Wally Wood Eerie Tales Of Crime And Horror HC, $39.95
Wally Wood Eerie Tales Of Crime And Horror SC, $24.95
VISIBLE INK PRESS
Horror Show Guide The Ultimate Frightfest Of Movies SC (2nd Edition), $19.95
VIZ MEDIA
Noble V Greylancer SC, $14.99
Saturn Apartments Volume 7 TP, $12.99
Sunny Volume 1 HC, $22.99
WILLIAM MORROW
Make Good Art HC (by Neil Gaiman), $12.99
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Ivan Brunetti Aesthetics A Memoir HC, $25.00
ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Hunters The Shadowlands #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Anthony Spay), $2.99
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Hunters The Shadowlands #1 (Of 5)(Cover B Paulo Siqueira), $2.99
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Werewolves The Hunger #1 (Of 3)(Cover A Anthony Spay), $3.99
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Werewolves The Hunger #1 (Of 3)(Cover B Mike Krome), $3.99