And what, pray tell, is arriving on shelves on the fifth shopping day of Christmas? A lot of minis and some reviews, of DC’s Before Watchmen books this week and Detective Comics #15.
- DC launches its next Freedom Fighters mini, The Human Bomb, and wraps up GI Combat as a going concern. It also has more Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Dial H, and Earth 2, as well as more of the Comedian and Minutemen minis.
- Marvel rolls out Avengers and Thunderbolts as part of Marvel NOW!, launches a Wolverine MAX book, and has more Hawkeye and All-New X-Men, a book Marvel seems to be publishing pretty much weekly at this point. Hey, we’re not complaining, it’s pretty fun stuff.
- Image debuts I Love Trouble, Blackacre, and mini The Legend of Luther Strode, and has more Creator Owned Heroes, Great Pacific, and Storm Dogs.
- Dark Horse debuts Hellboy In Hell and has more Colder, as well as another Star Wars two-parter.
- IDW launches Magic: The Gathering: Path of Vengeance and wraps up The Pound: Ghoul’s Night Out.
- And Boom! has more Hypernaturals.
Now, about those reviews…
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #5
Minutemen has always been the centerpiece of the Before Watchmen minis, and this issue is no exception. Essentially it expands on why Night Owl was driven to quit, which has some very dark reasons behind it. This keeps up the quality and ends on one very nasty cliffhanger; Darwyn Cooke is doing some spectacular work in both writing and art here.
Before Watchmen: Comedian #4
This book, meanwhile, is growing on me. The first few issues were set-up, to some degree, but Azzarello has slowly been building to a disturbing atmosphere; he’s tying it to music of the era in various ways and it starts getting creepy as he triggers those songs in your head. J.G. Jones largely keeps the art realistic, making it a vivid contrast to the writing.
Detective Comics #15
You can take or leave the ongoing plot threads John Layman is putting into the book; Emperor Penguin is a bit of a silly villain and he’s not going to be around for long once Cobblepot realizes what’s up. But this book is worth picking up for the plot about Clayface, who gets his heart broken. Artwise, Jason Fabok does solid work, and he knows his Batman history: One very funny moment features him sneaking in a Batman dressed as one of the cheesy action figures from the Batman: The Animated Series era. It’s nothing classic, but decent, fun comics.
Now, the releases!
DC COMICS
Action Comics #15 (Combo Pack Edition), $4.99
Action Comics #15 (Fiona Staples Variant Cover), AR
Action Comics #15 (Rags Morales Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Action Comics #15 (Rags Morales Regular Cover), $3.99
Animal Man #15, $2.99
Batman No Man’s Land Volume 4 TP (New Edition), $34.99
Batwing #15, $2.99
Before Watchmen Comedian #4 (Of 6)(Brian Stelfreeze Variant Cover), AR
Before Watchmen Comedian #4 (Of 6)(Combo Pack Edition), $4.99
Before Watchmen Comedian #4 (Of 6)(J.G. Jones Regular Cover), $3.99
Before Watchmen Minutemen #5 (Of 6)(Combo Pack Edition), $4.99
Before Watchmen Minutemen #5 (Of 6)(Darwyn Cooke Regular Cover), $3.99
Before Watchmen Minutemen #5 (Of 6)(Michael Cho Variant Cover), AR
DC Comics Cover Girls Catwoman Statue, $99.95
DC Comics Cover Girls Harley Quinn Statue, $99.95
DC Comics Super Heroes SHAZAM Bust, $69.95
DC Comics Super Heroes Supergirl Bust, $69.95
Detective Comics #15 (Combo Pack Edition), $4.99
Detective Comics #15 (Greg Capullo Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Detective Comics #15 (Greg Capullo Regular Cover), $3.99
Dial H #7, $2.99
Earth 2 #7 (Ivan Reis And Joe Prado Regular Cover), $2.99
Earth 2 #7 (Ivan Reis Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Fairest #10, $2.99
G.I. Combat #7 (Final Issue), $3.99
Green Arrow #15, $2.99
Human Bomb #1 (Of 4), $2.99
I Zombie Volume 4 Repossession TP, $19.99
Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus Volume 4 TP, $29.99
Legends Of The Dark Knight #3, $3.99
Looney Tunes #210, $2.99
Phantom Stranger #3 (Brent Anderson Regular Cover), $2.99
Phantom Stranger #3 (Philip Tan Variant Cover), AR
Scooby-Doo Where Are You #28, $2.99
Smallville Season 11 #8, $3.99
Stormwatch #15, $2.99
Superman Grounded Volume 2 TP, $14.99
Swamp Thing #15, $2.99
Worlds’ Finest #7 (Kevin Maguire Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Worlds’ Finest #7 (Kevin Maguire Regular Cover), $2.99
MARVEL COMICS
All-New X-Men #3 (Ed McGuinness Variant Cover), AR
All-New X-Men #3 (Stuart Immonen Regular Cover), $3.99
Amazing Spider-Man #699, $3.99
Avengers #1 (Blank Variant Cover), AR
Avengers #1 (Dustin Weaver Regular Cover), $3.99
Avengers #1 (Esad Ribic Variant Cover), AR
Avengers #1 (J. Scott Campbell Retailer Personalized Variant Covers), AR
Avengers #1 (Mark Brooks Deadpool Gangnam Style Sketch Variant Cover), AR
Avengers #1 (Mark Brooks Deadpool Gangnam Style Variant Cover), AR
Avengers #1 (Skottie Young Baby Variant Cover), AR
Avengers #1 (Steve McNiven Sketch Variant Cover), AR
Avengers #1 (Steve McNiven Variant Cover), AR
Avengers X-Sanction TP, $19.99
Avenging Spider-Man #15, $3.99
AvX Consequences #1 (Of 5)(Patrick Zircher 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
AvX Consequences #2 (Of 5)(Patrick Zircher 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
AvX Consequences #3 (Of 5)(Patrick Zircher 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
AvX Consequences #4 (Of 5)(Patrick Zircher 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
AvX Consequences #5 (Of 5)(Patrick Zircher 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
Daredevil End Of Days #3 (Of 8)(Alex Maleev Regular Cover), $3.99
Daredevil End Of Days #3 (Of 8)(David Mack Variant Cover), AR
Deadpool #3 (Daniel Acuna Variant Cover), AR
Deadpool #3 (Geof Darrow Regular Cover), $2.99
Disney Junior Magazine #10 (Disney Publishing Worldwide), $4.99
Fury MAX #7, $3.99
Fury MAX Volume 1 My War Gone By TP, $19.99
Hawkeye #5, $2.99
Iron Man #3 (Carlo Pagulayan Design Variant Cover), AR
Iron Man #3 (Greg Land Regular Cover), $3.99
Iron Man #3 (Greg Land Variant Cover), AR
Marvel Universe The Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #9, $2.99
Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man Comic Reader #4, $3.99
Marvel’s Iron Man 2 Adaptation #2 (Of 2), $2.99
Moon Knight By Brian Michael Bendis And Alex Maleev Volume 2 TP, $19.99
Muppets The Four Seasons TP, $14.99
New Mutants Volume 7 Fight The Future TP, $19.99
Punisher War Zone #1 (Of 5)(Marco Checchetto 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99
Punisher War Zone #2 (Of 5), $2.99
Red She-Hulk #60 (Carlo Pagulayan Regular Cover), $2.99
Red She-Hulk #60 (Chris Stevens Variant Cover), AR
Space Punisher TP, $12.99
Spaceknights #3 (Of 3), $3.99
Thunderbolts #1 (Billy Tan Variant Cover), AR
Thunderbolts #1 (Blank Variant Cover), AR
Thunderbolts #1 (Julian Totino Tedesco Regular Cover), $2.99
Thunderbolts #1 (Skottie Young Baby Variant Cover), AR
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man By Brian Michael Bendis Volume 2 TP, $19.99
Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #18.1, $2.99
Uncanny X-Men By Kieron Gillen Volume 2 TP, $19.99
Wolverine MAX #1 (Connor Willumsen 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
X-Factor #248, $2.99
X-Men #39, $3.99
IMAGE COMICS
Alpha Girl #5, $2.99
Blackacre #1, $2.99
Bloodstrike #33, $3.99
Butcher Baker The Righteous Maker HC, $24.99
Creator Owned Heroes #7 (Cover A Andrew Ritchie), $3.99
Creator Owned Heroes #7 (Cover B Dave Johnson), $3.99
Creator Owned Heroes #7 (Cover C Darwyn Cooke), AR
Cyber Force #2 (Cover A Marc Silvestri), AR
Cyber Force #2 (Cover B Marc Silvestri), AR
Cyber Force #2 (Cover C Marc Silvestri), AR
Cyber Force #2 (Cover D Stjepan Sejic), AR
Epic Kill #7, $2.99
Great Pacific #1 (2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99
Great Pacific #2, $2.99
Guarding The Globe #4, $2.99
Happy #1 (Of 4)(3rd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99
Happy #2 (Of 4)(2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99
Hoax Hunters Volume 1 Murder Death And The Devil TP, $14.99
I Love Trouble #1, $2.99
Invincible #98 (Cover A Ryan Ottley & John Rauch), $2.99
Invincible #98 (Cover B Chris Giarrusso), $2.99
Krishna A Journey Within GN, $29.99
Legend Of Luther Strode #1 (Of 6), $3.50
Perhapanauts Danger Down Under #2 (Of 4)(Cover A Craig Rousseau), $3.50
Perhapanauts Danger Down Under #2 (Of 4)(Cover B Joe Staton), $3.50
Pigs Volume 2 San Quentin Blues TP, $12.99
Revival #4 (2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99
Storm Dogs #2 (Of 6), $3.50
Think Tank TP, $14.99
DARK HORSE COMICS
B.P.R.D. Volume 18 Hell On Earth Volume 4 The Devil’s Engine And The Long Death TP, $19.99
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 Volume 2 On Your Own TP, $17.99
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Willow Wonderland #2 (Of 5)(David Mack Regular Cover), $2.99
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Willow Wonderland #2 (Of 5)(Megan Lara Variant Cover), AR
Colder #2 (Of 5), $3.99
Hellboy In Hell #1 (Mike Mignola Regular Cover), $2.99
Hellboy In Hell #1 (Mike Mignola Variant Cover), AR
House Of Fun (One Shot), $3.50
Neon Genesis Evangelion The Shinji Ikari Raising Project Volume 12 TP, $9.99
Star Wars Purge The Tyrant’s Fist #1 (Of 2), $3.50
IDW PUBLISHING
Adventures Of Augusta Wind #2 (Of 5)(Cover A Vasillis Gogtzilas), $3.99
Adventures Of Augusta Wind #2 (Of 5)(Cover RI Vasillis Gogtzilas), AR
Battle Beasts Volume 1 TP, $17.99
Chasing The Dead #2 (Of 4)(Cover A Dietrich Smith), $3.99
Doctor Who #3 (Cover A Mark Buckingham)(or Cover A Philip Bond?), $3.99
Doctor Who #3 (Cover RI Photo), AR
Dungeons And Dragons Volume 2 First Encounters TP, $19.99
G.I. JOE A Real American Hero #185 (Cover A Ron Frenz & Sal Buscema), $3.99
G.I. JOE A Real American Hero #185 (Cover RI Larry Hama), AR
Haunted Horror #2 (Cover A Basil Wolverton), $3.99
KISS Volume 1 TP, $17.99
Magic The Gathering Path Of Vengeance #1 (Cover A Dan Scott), $4.99
Magic The Gathering Path Of Vengeance #1 (Cover RI Martin Coccolo), AR
Michael Wm. Kaluta Sketchbook Series Volume 3 TP, $9.99
Pound Ghoul’s Night Out #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Ibrahim Moustafa), $3.99
Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 1 TP, $19.99
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics Micro-Series Michelangelo (One Shot), $3.99
Transformers Regeneration One #86 (Cover A Andrew Wildman), $3.99
Transformers Regeneration One #86 (Cover B Guido Guidi), $3.99
Transformers Regeneration One #86 (Cover RI Geoff Senior), AR
Womanthology Space # 3 (Of 5)(Cover A Mengtian Zhang), $3.99
Womanthology Space # 3 (Of 5)(Cover RI Hanie Mohd), AR
BOOM! STUDIOS
Freelancers #1 (Josh Covey 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $1.00
Garfield #8 (Cover A Gary Barker), $3.99
Garfield #8 (Cover B Gary Barker), AR
Hypernaturals #6 (Cover A Francesco Mattina), $3.99
Hypernaturals #6 (Cover B Wesley Craig), $3.99
Hypernaturals #6 (Cover C Tom Derenick), AR
Hypernaturals #6 (Cover D Wesley Craig), AR
Planet Of The Apes Cataclysm #4 (Cover A Alex Ross), $3.99
Planet Of The Apes Cataclysm #4 (Cover B Gabriel Hardman), $3.99
Planet Of The Apes Cataclysm #4 (Cover C Mitch Breitweiser), AR
Planet Of The Apes Cataclysm #4 (Cover D Gabriel Hardman), AR
Planet Of The Apes Cataclysm #4 (Cover E Alex Ross), AR
Steed And Mrs Peel The Golden Game TP, $16.99
Valen The Outcast Volume 2 TP, $14.99
ARCHIE COMICS
Archie #639, $2.99
Archie And Friends Double Digest #22, $3.99
Jugheads Double Digest #187, $3.99
Kevin Keller #6 (Dan Parent Variant Cover), $2.99
Kevin Keller #6 (Dan Parent Regular Cover), $2.99
New Crusaders Rise Of The Heroes #4 (Ben Bates Regular Cover), $2.99
New Crusaders Rise Of The Heroes #4 (Rich Buckler Variant Cover), $2.99
New Crusaders Rise Of The Heroes #4 (Ben Bates Jackpot Hero Variant Cover), $2.99
Sonic The Hedgehog #243, $2.99
ASPEN COMICS
Soulfire Volume 4 #3 (Cover A Mike DeBalfo), $3.99
Soulfire Volume 4 #3 (Cover B Elizabeth Torque), $3.99
Soulfire Volume 4 #3 (Cover C Mike DeBalfo), AR
AVATAR PRESS
Fashion Beast #4 (Facundo Percio Haute Couture Incentive Cover), AR
Fashion Beast #4 (Facundo Percio Regular Cover), $3.99
Fashion Beast #4 (Facundo Percio Wraparound Cover), $3.99
Fashion Beast #4 (Paul Duffield Tarot Incentive Cover), AR
Ferals #11 (Gabriel Andrade Gore Cover), $3.99
Ferals #11 (Gabriel Andrade Regular Cover), $3.99
Ferals #11 (Gabriel Andrade Slashed Incentive Cover), AR
Ferals #11 (Gabriel Andrade Wraparound Cover), $3.99
Stitched #10 (Fernando Furukawa Ancient Evil Incentive Cover), AR
Stitched #10 (Fernando Furukawa Gore Cover), $3.99
Stitched #10 (Fernando Furukawa Regular Cover), $3.99
Stitched #10 (Fernando Furukawa Wraparound Cover), $3.99
BONGO COMICS
Simpsons Winter Wingding #7, $4.99
BOUNDLESS COMICS
Lady Death #24 (Jason Eden Regular Cover), $3.99
Lady Death #24 (Michael Dipascale Art Deco Incentive Cover), AR
Lady Death #24 (Renato Camilo Sultry Cover), $3.99
Lady Death #24 (Pow Rodrix Wraparound Cover), $3.99
COMIC SHOP NEWS
Comic Shop News #1329, AR
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Damsels #1 (J. Scott Campbell Dynamic Forces Purple Variant Cover), $14.99
Dark Shadows Vampirella #5 (Of 5)(Fabiano Neves Regular Cover), $3.99
Lone Ranger #11 (Francesco Francavilla Regular Cover), $3.99
Lone Ranger Snake Of Iron #4 (Dennis Calero Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Lone Ranger Snake Of Iron #4 (Dennis Calero Regular Cover), $3.99
Lord Of The Jungle #10 (Lucio Parrillo Regular Cover), $3.99
Lord Of The Jungle #10 (Lucio Parrillo Virgin Variant Cover), AR
Lord Of The Jungle #10 (Risque Variant Cover), AR
Red Sonja #72 (Walter Geovani Regular Cover), $3.99
Robert Jordan’s The Wheel Of Time The Eye Of The World #31 (Adam Moore Regular Cover), $3.99
Voltron Year One #6 (Admira Wijaya Regular Cover), $3.99
Warlord Of Mars Deja Thoris #18 (Dynamic Forces Red Risque Cover), $14.99
Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #19 (Fabiano Neves Regular Cover), $3.99
Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #19 (Paul Renaud Red Variant Cover), AR
Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #19 (Paul Renaud Regular Cover), $3.99
Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #19 (Risque Variant Cover), AR
EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS
Classic Marvel Figurine Collection Magazine #188 (Werewolf By Night), $14.00
Classic Marvel Figurine Collection Magazine #189 (Gamora), $14.00
FILMLAND CLASSICS
Freaky Monsters Magazine #13, $9.95
ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE
Illustration Magazine #39, $15.00
ITASCA BOOKS
MAD Art Of Caricature A Serious Guide To Funny Faces SC, $24.95
MOVIELAND CLASSICS
Famous Monsters Of Filmland #265, $9.99
ONI PRESS
Stumptown Volume 2 #4, $3.99
PANINI PUBLISHING
Doctor Who Child Of Time TP, $24.99
REBELLION
Ten Seconders American Dream GN, $19.99
RIZZOLI
Dark Knight Featuring Production Art And Full Shooting Script HC (Sale Edition), $12.98
SCREEM
Screem #25, $7.95
TASCHEN AMERICA
James Bond Archives HC, $200.00
TITAN PUBLISHING
Monster High Magazine #1, $4.99
Star Wars The Clone Wars Magazine #15, $4.99
TOHAN CORPORATION
Megami September 2012, $16.60
Newtype October 2012, $16.00
Newtype September 2012, $16.00
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT
Shadowman #2 (Dave Johnson Variant Cover), AR
Shadowman #2 (Patrick Zircher Regular Cover), $3.99
X-O Manowar Volume 1 By The Sword TP, $9.99
VIZ MEDIA
Arata The Legend Volume 12 TP, $9.99
Bakuman Volume 17 TP, $9.99
Black Bird Volume 15 GN, $9.99
Bleach Volume 52 TP, $9.99
Bleach Volume 53 TP, $9.99
D.Gray-man Volume 23 GN, $9.99
Dawn Of The Arcana Volume 7 TP, $9.99
Demon Love Spell Volume 1 GN, $9.99
Devil And Her Love Song Volume 6 GN, $9.99
Earl And The Fairy Volume 4 GN, $9.99
Natsume’s Book Of Friends Volume 13 TP, $9.99
Nura Rise Of The Yokai Clan Volume 12 GN, $9.99
Sakura Hime The Legend Of Princess Sakura Volume 9 GN, $9.99
Slam Dunk Volume 25 GN, $9.99
Toriko Volume 13 GN, $9.99
Voltron Force Volume 5 Dragon Dawn GN, $7.99
Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal Volume 2 GN, $9.99
ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT
Fly Volume II #2 (of 5)(Cover A Mike DeBalfo), $2.99
Fly Volume II #2 (of 5)(Cover B Eric J), $2.99
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Holiday Special 2012 (Cover A Giuseppe Cafaro), $5.99
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Holiday Special 2012 (Cover B Marat Mychaels), $5.99
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Holiday Special 2012 (Cover C Joe Pekar), $5.99
Wake The **** Up #1, $2.99
ZYO COMICS
Ultimate 7 Volume 3 TP, $19.99