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Elfbytes April '08

(Note: this is not your average cut and paste, we actually write this stuff.)

This is for product starting to ship in June 2008.

This months Elfbyte credit goes to: Brock, Craig, James, Omar, Sean & Ethan.

For your convenience, click links below to jump to a certain Publisher.

Independent Comics | Dark Horse Comics | DC Comics
Image Comics | Marvel Comics | Toys & Stuff

Remember to get your orders in ASAP! Initial orders due Apr 24th!

INDEPENDENT COMICS HIGHLIGHTS

ARCHAIA STUDIOS

AWAKENING VOL. 1 HC

Written by Nick Tapalansky. Illustrated by Alex Eckman-Lawn.

The town crazy and a retired detective are all that stand between the tiny city of Park Falls and a swarm of zombies.

Oooooo Zombies!

Will this provide a new concept on how to use Zombies in a captivating story? Will this be the new Fell only with a strong desire to eat brains? Can you ever be satisfied with your thirst for more Zomberific Stories?

THE MANY ADVENTURES OF MIRANDA MERCURY #297

Written by Brandon Thomas. Illustrated by Lee Ferguson.

This series has gotten off to a strong start and has been alot of fun thus far. Yet another example of the high quality books being published by Archaia Studios. Note although this says Issue 297, don't be thrown as this is a one-shot book. Perfect for any new reader.

AVATAR PRESS

WOLFSKIN ANNUAL #1

Written by Warren Ellis & Mike Wolfer. Illustrated by Gianluca Pagliarani.

In this issue, a crazy guy wearing an animal skin with a bad habit of stabbing people in through the eyes with a great BIG sword, wanders into the forest home of someone called Feral Girl. Who probably doesn’t wear much of anything at all. I heard that Ellis took on this project as a bet in a pub. The bet was that nobody thought he could write a fantasy series... well here it is, in bearskin glory.

BOOM STUDIOS

HIGH ROLLERS #1 (of 4)

Written by Gary Phillips. Illustrated by Manoel Magalhaes.

It’s like “Scarface”. Except with black people.

NORTH WIND VOL. 1 TP

Written by David DiGilio. Illustrated by Alex Cal.

This one got decent buzz on-line and in its single issues (and as this newsletter is being written, just got optioned for a movie), and presents a tale of the survivors of a future ice-age living in Los Angeles. Worth seeing what the noise was all about.

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

MAN WITH NO NAME: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLIER #2

Written by Christos Gage. Illustrated by Wellington Diaz. Cover by Richard Isanove.

Western fans rejoice: The Man with No Name has returned in his own monthly series! Dynamite has proven they know how to tell good Westerns (look at “The Lone Ranger” and “Zorro” as prime examples), and this should be no exception as long they don’t dedicate an entire issue to a single stare down during a showdown. The first issue is due in May, and is still easy to order along with this one.

I just hope they don’t dedicate single issues to a single stare down during a showdown.

WITCHBLADE: SHADES OF GRAY TP

Written by Leah Moore & John Reppion. Illustrated by Stephen Segovia & Walter Geovanni.

Leah Moore continues her father Alan Moore’s proud tradition of bringing classic characters from English literature into modern comics. Only, instead of say, including Dorian Gray in a new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, she teamed him up with Witchblade, a woman dressed in a mystical battle-thong. Family tradition at its finest.

DESPERADO

ARCHETYPE: THE ART OF TIM BRADSTREET HC

Illustrated by Tim Bradstreet.

For your artistic viewing pleasure, here is a book full of people standing in front of a brick wall. In the dark. Probably holding a gun or smoking. And not smiling. And a single light source overhead.

FANTAGRAPHICS

THE TROUBLEMAKERS HC

Written & illustrated by Gilbert Hernandez.

A new hard-boiled crime graphic novel from one of the innovators of the indie comics scene.

With a name like Troublemakers it must have been hard to go thru school and not be constantly in the principles office. Maybe this series takes a serious look at the problems with our education system... yeah, maybe not.

GREAT BIG COMICS

THE VOYAGES OF SHE-BUCCANEER #1 (of 3)

Written & Illustrated by Bill & Heidi Hughes.

Cross “Pirates of the Caribbean” with any of the books featuring scantily clad women as their lead characters. It looks pretty, and might be fun. Arrrrrrrr! Say it with me... it's fun! Okay now say it with a "y" in front... Yarrrrrrrrr! See? It never gets old. Okay, lets move on.

THE HERO INITIATIVE

WHAT IF? THE FANTASTIC FOUR TRIBUTE TO MIKE WIERINGO

Written by Jeff Parker. Illustrated by Mike Wieringo, Arthur Adams, Paul Renaud, Stuart Immonen, Cully Hamner, Alan Davis, Brian Stelfreeze, David Williams, Sanford Greene, Humberto Ramos, Skottie Young, Mike Allred, & Barry Kitson.

Before he died, Wieringo was working on this “What if” comic. Marvel has generously donated the script and all proceeds of this issue to Wieringo’s family. There are some amazing artists lending their craft to this, and it for a very good cause. Don’t miss out on this. Please order this book.

IDW PUBLISHING

ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL HC

Written by Joss Whedon & Brian Lynch. Illustrated by Franco Urru.

The official Angel Season 6 comic gets its first collection, and no disrespect to the equally good Buffy Season 8 comic, but this book is packed with so many “Oh my God!” moments that your head is all but guaranteed to explode every time a new issue comes out. Thus, this collection is a must for any fan of the “Buffy-verse”.

STAR TREK: MIRROR IMAGES #1

Written by Scott & David Tipton. Illustrated by David Messina.

In the future, everyone who wears a goatee is evil. In the present, everyone who wears a goatee is just a douche bag who stinks like Axe body spray and hangs around in crappy dance clubs trying to laid on a Thursday night.

Sing it with me:
"What is love.... Baby don't Hurt me... Don't Hurt me... No more!"

Did you head move?

ONI PRESS

THE BIG BOOK OF BARRY WEEN, BOY GENIUS TP

Written & illustrated by Judd Winick.

Before “Titans”, before “Exiles”, but after his appearance in a season of television’s “The Real World”, Judd’s very own creator owned project. Who knew he could draw! Imagine Calvin & Hobbs after one too many cups of coffee, and you’ll get an idea. If you missed out on reading this series in single issues, this collection will be a great, laugh out loud read.

PANTHEON BOOKS

BLACK HOLE: THE COLLECTED EDITION

Written & illustrated by Charles Burns.

This series took forever to come out in individual issues (sometimes going a year or more between chapters), but is finally in one volume for your consumption. The story of a strange sexually transmitted plague that deforms those it infects, this is a dark and twisted examination of high school alienation (both literal and metaphorical). The art is this is quite cool. It almost looks like woodcuts as the inks are incredibly tight. All you wannabe inkers out there should really look at this book and learn something.

RADICAL PUBLISHING

MATEKI: THE MAGIC FLUTE HC

Written & illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano.

You might not know anything about new publisher RADICAL, but anyone who brings us new Amano artwork is welcome in our world. An adaptation of the classic Mozart opera about a boy who puts down his flute to pick up a sword, presented in Amano’s stunning visual style.

Amano brings his unique style to a visual telling of Mozart’s classic opera about a boy putting down his flute to pick up a sword. If not anything else this should be gorgeous and definitely worth checking out if you’re an Amano fan.

A sword certainly makes a different sound than a flute. Its nosier when you stick it into people.

RED 5 COMICS

ATOMIC ROBO TP

Written by Brian Cleinger. Illustrated by Scott Wegener.

One of the most pleasant recent surprises, this story harkens back to old-school comic books in the best possible way. Fun, intelligent, retro, and just plain cool.

Sweet art too.

TOKYOPOP

STAR TREK: THE MANGA VOL. 3

Written by David Gerrold, Troy Lewter, & Will Wheaton. Illustrated by EJ Su.

Star Trek meets manga. A must for pretty much all you trekkies. And perhaps some of you who are just a bit too curious for your own good.

TOP SHELF

JOHNNY BOO VOL. 1 HC

Written & illustrated by James Kochalka.

Unlike some of his other works, this collection of deceptively simple cartoons from Kochalka is all-ages friendly.

VANGUARD

FRAZETTA: THE DEFINITIVE REFERENCE

Written by James A. Bond & Dr. David Winiewicz. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta.

This is the ultimate collection of all things Frazetta, which pretty much makes this one of the coolest books ever. We really don't need to plug this book as it sells itself.

VIRGIN COMICS

DEEPAK CHOPRA’S BUDDHA: A STORY OF ENLIGHTENMENT #3

Written by Deepak Chopra & Joshua Dysart. Illustrated by Harshvardhan Kadam.

It’s not too late to pick up this epic series that brings to life the mythology of Buddha. This series presents a more mature, less cheeky and humouristic version than was brought to you by Osamu Tezuka in his own excellent Buddha series. Buddha brings a mixture of realism and fantasy to life, as readers are brought into the world of Prince Siddhartha. Also, the first two issues of this series are still available for order, so don’t think you’ve missed the start of the story. Highly recommended.

VIS

REAL VOL. 1 GN

Written & illustrated by Takehiko Inoue.

A young basketball prodigy is forced to reconsider his values after getting in a car accident and paralyzing a young girl. A change in pace from the creator who brought you the stab-happy “Vagabond” manga.

DARK HORSE COMICS HIGHLIGHTS

BPRD: THE ECTOPLASMIC MAN #1 (One-Shot)

Written by Mike Mignola & John Arcudi. Illustrated by Ben Stenbeck.

Just in time for his appearance in this summer’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army (which incidentally, looks AWESOME), this one-shot explores the origin of BPRD agent Johann Kraus, the enigmatic Ectoplasmic Man.

A One-shot that is guaranteed to hit the mark.

BPRD: WAR ON FROGS #1 (One-Shot)

Written by Mike Mignola & John Arcudi. Illustrated by Herb Trimpe.

This one-shot delves into the past of the BPRD, examining their battle against the spread of the frog cult and solving one of the mysteries from the earliest Hellboy stories.

One-shot is all they needed and this is a really important piece to the Hellboy mythos.

CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #0

Written by Timothy Truman. Illustrated by Tomás Giorello & José Villarubia.

Conan returns with a brand new series to show that he’s grown as a person. Think “Wonder Years” meets “Kull the Conqueror”. Instead of merely stabbing and pillaging, Conan now uses “I Messages” that convey his inner feelings. Like, “I am going to stab you in the throat now.” That's gotta suck for anyone on the recieving end of it. The last you hear is something that was painfully obvious. Crom is cruel.

FEAR AGENT #22

Written by Rick Remender. Illustrated by Tony Moore.

Craig won’t read this book because Tony Moore is illustrating it, and he’s met the artist in question and thinks he is a jerk. But we’re recommending this title anyway, especially given that Dark Horse has declared June as “Fear Agent month”, and who are we to turn down a holiday.

GOON #25

Written by Eric Powell. Illustrated by Eric Powell & Dave Stewart.

If you haven’t picked up this series yet, or discovered it through the collection of trade paperbacks, may pigeons pick out your eyes and poo inside your skull.

In other words, you should read this s#!t for brains!

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #8 (of 8)

Written & illustrated by Matt Wagner.

Wagner’s exploration of the Hunter Rose era comes to its explosive conclusion. Several mysteries are explained, and the enigma of Grendel becomes even more complex. A must for any fan of Grendel or Matt Wagner’s work.

INDIANA JONES AND THE TOMB OF THE GODS #1

Written by Rob Williams. Illustrated by Steve Scott & Michael Atiyeh.

We wonder why George Lucas doesn’t write more comic books, considering he takes live, 3-D human beings and reduces them to 2-D creatures that can’t speak with anything resembling human emotion. This new comic is not directly related to the new movie, but promises to include all of the best elements of the film franchise. Doo da do dooo, Doo da doooo.... yes I am singing the sound track. I don't care, John Williams is a music god!

BUFFY OMNIBUS VOLUME 5 TP

Written & illustrated by various.

The latest instalment of the previous Buffy comic collections takes place immediately after Season 3 of the television series. This Omnibus is not only a great addition to your bookshelf, but great for new and old fans of the Buffy-verse who find themselves eagerly collecting the new series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Can you wait for FRAY? Me neither it's gonna be sweet.

LOBSTER JOHNSON VOL. 1: THE IRON PROMETHEUS TP

Written by Mike Mignola. Illustrated by Jason Armstrong & Dave Stewart.

Fan-favourite BPRD member and pulp-style hero Lobster Johnson finally stars in his own series, collected here for the first time. A must for any fan of the Hellboy universe.

Lobster Johnson rules!

DC COMICS HIGHLIGHTS

DETECTIVE COMICS #845

Written by Paul Dini. Illustrated by Dustin Nguyen & Derek Fridolfs.

Detective Comics has been consistently well-written under Paul Dini, and with the recent addition of Dustin Nguyen’s wonderfully stylistic art, this title definitely delivers. And what a concept: Batman actually solves mysteries. You know, like a detective does.

CATWOMAN #80

Written by Will Pfeifer. Illustrated by David Lopez & Alvaro Lopez. Cover by Adam Hughes.

Catwoman is back from her stay on the prison planet from “Salvation Run” and plans on returning to her position as one of Gotham’s criminal elite, much to the displeasure of a certain Dark Knight Detective. As always, this one is brought to you by the excellent team of Pfeifer, Lopez, and Lopez.

ROBIN / SPOILER SPECIAL #1 (One-Shot)

Written by Chuck Dixon. Illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque & Victor Ibáñez.

In a world where dead very rarely means dead, has Stephanie – the Spoiler that Tim Drake knew – come back? Or is this someone entirely new? This one promises to reveal all you need to know about the identity of Spoiler, and also features the art-work of regular “Blue Beetle” penciler Rafael Albuquerque. For fans of “Robin” and “Gotham Underground”.

MANHUNTER #31

Written by Marc Andreyko. Illustrated by Michael Gaydos.

One of DC’s best, but also most underrated, series over the past few years finally returns, and now is the perfect time to find out what you (and nearly everyone else) have been missing! The series has an excellent new artist, which will only strengthen an already great title, but we’re question the decision by DC to not re-launch this title with a new #1 and gain some extra, and much needed, attention. Please help make sure this title sticks around this time – pick it up!

REIGN IN HELL #1 (of 8)

Written by Keith Giffen. Illustrated by Matt Clark & Stephen Segovia.

Attention DC fans...this is a spin off of Final Crisis! This mini-series focuses on the battle for the control of Hell, and will highlight nearly every mystical character in the DC universe as they are forced to choose sides in this significant conflict.

It's DC's version of the Marvel Universe, where you have to choose whose side your on and then stop fighting because something caught on fire.

ACTION COMICS #866

Written by Geoff Johns. Illustrated by Gary Frank.

One word: Brainiac! Okay, four words: Geoff, Gary, and Brainiac!

Can Geoff Johs do any wrong? Brainiac should totally try to steal Superman's brain! Speaking of which you should check out: SUPERMAN THEY SAVED LUTHORS BRAIN TP

TRINITY #1 - #4

Written by Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza. Illustrated by Mark Bagley. Back-up Stories Illustrated by Scott McDaniel, Tom Derenick, and Mike Norton.

DC launches its third weekly series, and like the saying goes, the third time is the charm. We know you’re scared, given what a disaster “Countdown” was quality-wise, but this is Busiek and Bagley! For the first time in his career, Mark Bagley illustrates a comic book other than a Marvel book, and over the next year he will illustrate not only the “big three”, but nearly every other DC character. And, AND, it’s self-contained! Which means there won’t be any Trinity spin-offs starring that stupid monkey wearing a Sherlock Holmes hat. That's right we said: NO TIE-INS!!! This is the series to get!

BATMAN: FACES TP

Written & illustrated by Matt Wagner.

This collection brings one of Wagner’s earlier Batman stories back into print, and examines Two-Face in an original and engaging manner. Well worth discovering. That's right, we said it, be your own detective!

BATMAN: GOING SANE TP

Written by J.M. DeMatteis, Eddie Campell, & Daren White. Illustrated by Joe Staton, Bart Sears, & Steve Mitchell.

What would happen to the Joker if his greatest nemesis were to seemingly die? Would it drive him … sane? This excellent collection poses the question and examines the result, and is strongly recommended for all Bat-fans and Joker-fans alike.

JLA VOL. 1 DELUXE EDITION HC

Written by Grant Morrison & Mark Millar. Illustrated by Howard Porter & others.

Arguably the best JLA run ever put to paper gets a fancy new hardcover collection. That's right... we said it. it's the best JLA run!

DC / MINX

THE NEW YORK FOUR

Written by Brian Wood. Illustrated by Ryan Kelly.

Brian Wood can write serious political science fiction in books like “DMZ” and “Channel Zero”. He can write gut-stabbing Viking action in “Northlanders”. But can he write for girl comics? We guess we’ll find out here in this story of four young women in the Big Apple.

Demo is what got me back into comics, and seeing Wood return to teen drama is very exciting. His characters are very real and it’s great to see him aiming at a younger crowd again after books like DMZ and Northlanders. This should be a fun read, the story is about 4 girls in the big apple.

VERTIGO

FABLES #74

As the war between the Fables exiled in the Mundy world and the Empire continues, everything seems to be turning in the favour of the Fables, just like a storybook ending. Guess what? There’s no easy way out here, as this issue could be called the “Empire Strikes Back”.

MADAME XANADU #1

Written by Matt Wagner. Illustrated by Amy Reeder Hadley.

.... I know nothing of this book. Not really sure how to ask you to give it a try. But if you are looking for something new and different than this series may be the one to add to your pull list.

Can Wagner really disappoint? Hadley's artwork looks to be fantastic, so I'm going to give this one a try.

DMZ VOL. 5: THE HIDDEN WAR TP

Written by Brian Wood. Illustrated by Riccardo Burchielli & Danijel Zezelj.

The next volume of this fantastic series, that just keeps gaining momentum. Strongly recommended for anyone who has yet to experience this exceptional political treatise, and a must for everyone who has already discovered Wood’s genius.

WILDSTORM

CHUCK #1 (of 6)

Written by Peter Johnson & Zev Baron. Illustrated by Jeremy Haun & Phil Noto.

One of the strike-shortened season’s best new shows gets its own 2-D treatment with this six issue mini-series. If you didn’t get the chance to watch the show, don’t worry, the comic will give you everything you need to follow along.

THE AUTHORITY: PRIME TP

Written by Christos Gage. Illustrated by Darick Robertson.

The Authority and StormWatch Prime really kind of hate each other. But they both hate a guy called Henry Bendix even more, and both teams have killed the bastard at least once. So when they both find a secret bunker where Bendix made his superhumans (like Apollo & the Midnighter), both teams figure they deserve to be the ones who claim it for themselves. If you know anything at all about superheroes, it is that they don’t really know how to share.

WILDSTORM REVELATIONS TP

Written by Scott Beatty & Christos Gage. Illustrated by Wes Craig.

BIRDS OF PREY FANS PAY ATTENTION! In “Wildstorm: Armageddon”, six heroes were sent to an apocalyptic future in the hopes that they would gain the knowledge to prevent it from coming to pass. Only one of them, the alien assassin known as Nemesis found any clues. Now Nemesis recruits her fellow aliens Savant and Backlash and become the “Birds of Prey” of the Wildstorm Universe in a desperate search for answers. Will they prevent Armageddon, or ensure it comes to pass? This series leads into the “Number of the Beast” mini-series by Scott Beatty & Chris Sprouse.

IMAGE COMICS HIGHLIGHTSS

PROOF #9

Written by Alex Grecian. Illustrated by Riley Rossmo.

A stand alone issue, and the perfect place for you to discover the goodness of this surprising new series. When will you learn to trust us? Order it already. This is "proof" that we are not wrong. Okay we back to the cheese again, but this is good cheese. I love cheese.

PILOT SEASON: ALIBI #1

Written by Joshua Fialkov. Illustrated by Jeremy Haun.

John Stephens is always the prime suspect whenever a high-profile assassination has taken place, but he always has an air-tight alibi for being somewhere else. Only one man knows how this is possible, and sooner or later Stephens will have to address the consequences.

PILOT SEASON: GENIUS #1

Imagine if the greatest military mind of our generation was born in the slums of LA. They wouldn’t be fighting a war against terror or drugs, but instead would likely unite all of the gangs and declare war on the LAPD. And nobody has the brains to stop her. This one is brought to us by the kick-ass writers of last year’s fantastic “Highwaymen” mini-series, which is a definite plus to an already interesting concept.

RED MASS FOR MARS #1 (of 4)

Written by Jonathan Hickman. Illustrated by Ryan Bodenheim.

Even if you haven’t read “The Nightly News” or “Transhuman”, it seems evident that Hickman is the next hot thing in comics. So give this a look if you want to be an indie comics snob. But since most of you are just people jerking off over Skrull women, so you probably won’t care. Maybe I should say the Women on Mars have three breasts. Now do we have your attention?

SCREAMLAND #4 (of 5)

Written by Harold Sipe. Illustrated by Hector Casanova.

The first issue of this series had a balding Frankenstein having to resort to gay monster porn in order to make end meet, and things have progressed from there. This issue focuses on a famous vampire who’s sexual orientation finally catches up with him. Be sure to pick this one up if you enjoy laughing at the absurd.

WAR HEROES #1 (of 6)
(A.K.A the Real Ultimates 3)

Written by Mark Millar. Illustrated by Tony Harris.

The Mark Millar Hyperbole Machine™ rolls on, bringing his particular view of super-heroes to Image, with what looks like the “Ultimates” without the spandex or leather fetish costumes. Actually, this story is an adaptation of what Millar had intended for “Ultimates 3”, before Marvel decided that they couldn’t afford the series to take several years to be produced. Add the artistic styling of Tony Harris, and this should be a visually stunning and very interesting six issues, and definitely worth picking up.

DISPLACED PERSONS GN

Written by Derek McCulloch. Illustrated by Rantz A Hoseley.

From the writer of the acclaimed “Stagger Lee”, this book follows a family through the most turbulent century in history (otherwise known as the recently departed 20^th Century). That’s just nuts. It will be interesting to see what they will show us.

DRAIN VOL. 1 TP

Written by C.B. Cebulski. Illustrated by Sana Takeda.

The original issues were plagued by delays, but now this lushly illustrated tale of vampire ninjas (no, really) is finally collected in one volume, with fully re-coloured artwork by Takeda.

Blood and Boobies! Are you interested now?

DUST VOL. 1 TP

Written by Mink & Paolo Parente. Illustrated by Paolo Parente & Davide Fabbri.

This alternate history WWII / Sci-Fi series got lost in the crowd last year, but the art alone is reason enough for picking this collection up. And it’s got Nazi-gorillas. We have sets made of this series currently on sale.

SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN: THE WHOLE SHEBANG! TP

Written by Rob Schrab, Dan Harmon, & Mondy Carter. Illustrated by Rob Schrab.

The moment in comics almost everyone thought would never happen has finally arrived (and no, we don’t mean issue #3 of “Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk”): Scud has been completed and is finally collected into one huge (almost 800 pages!!!) volume.

This is the missile of a series that you have been waiting for. This is the one that will blow you away. Can I say anything else that reeks of cheese?

Honestly this will be awesome.

MARVEL COMICS HIGHLIGHTSHTS

CAPTAIN AMERICA #39

Written by Ed Brubaker. Illustrated by Steve Epting.

Captain America meets … Captain America. ‘Nuff said.

I bet he kicks himself in the stomach, points at the "A" on his head and yells... "Do you know what this stands for?!"

CRIMINAL 2 #4

Written by Ed Brubaker. Illustrated by Sean Phillips.

If you haven’t been reading this fantastic series, and if you didn’t jump onboard for the start of the re-launch of the series (thus the “2” in the title, as in volume), this is the ideal time for you to see what you’ve been missing. Why? Because, if you like crime noir stories, you really should be getting this.

ETERNALS #1

Written by Charles Knauf & Daniel Knauf. Illustrated by Daniel Acuna.

The Eternals get their own ongoing series for the first time since Jack himself was chronicling their saga way back when. Not sure where they will fit into the scheme of things in the Marvel Universe, but Neil Gaiman gave the characters a relatively clean slate to start from in his 2006 mini-series, and Daniel Acuna’s art on this new book looks truly spectacular. Give it a try. And if you want to check out the essential stuff that’s gone before, pick up these collections offered this month: ETERNALS BY NEIL GAIMAN TP

HAUNT OF HORRORS: LOVECRAFT #1 (of 3)

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu f’htagn!: Ph’nglui mglw’nfah Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!

HULK: RAGING THUNDER (One-Shot)

A one-shot with no real purpose other than an excuse to keep the green skinned Hulk around so that when the movie comes out, if by some MIRACLE someone actually wanders into a comic store looking for Hulk comics, there will be something to offer them.

Did anybody else feel that World War Hulk dropped all the momentum that Planet Hulk built?

SKAAR: SON OF HULK #1

Written by Greg Pak. Illustrated by Ron Garney.

Okay. So we all agree that Planet Hulk was pretty damn cool, and certainly the best story about the Hulk in WAY too long. Most of us likely agree that World War Hulk left a few things to be desired. So for those of you who enjoyed the former, Marvel offers a new ongoing series set on the devastated world of Planet Hulk, featuring none other than the son of Hulk - Skaar! And if that isn’t enough to grab you, the art work of Ron Garney (most recently of the Wolverine “Get Mystique” arc) looks like it is at the best of his career, and is worth checking out for its own merits.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #16

This issue gives us all a little bit of a breather after the wonderfully insane story that was “The Seven Capitol Cities of Heaven”, as Danny celebrates his birthday and tries to determine exactly where he is in his life. Because, you know, it’s tough being a billionaire super-hero. I'm too depressed about the future of this series. I'll let you know after I read #17.

KICK ASS #1 DIRECTOR’S CUT

More goodness from the Mark Millar Hyperbole Machine™, in case you missed it the first time around.

PUNISHER MAX: LITTLE BLACK BOOK (One-Shot)

Apparently, Gischler is a “celebrated crime novelist”. Obviously not all that celebrated as none of us have heard of him. James works in what some people call a "real" book store, and he’s never even heard of him. Anyway, this one-shot has the Punisher tagging along with a high-priced call girl to the supposedly impenetrable fortress of some mobster, where he will probably shoot everyone.

SECRET INVASION #3 (of 8)

Marvel’s summer epic continues, as a certain man with an eye-patch finally shows up to make everyone even more suspicious.

SECRET INVASION: WHO DO YOU TRUST? ONE-SHOT

Can we trust Marvel not to put out a pointless one-shot tie-in to gouge another $3.99 (well, $4.05 Canadian) out of loyal fans?

Plus, don’t miss these

SECRET INVASION TIE INS:

Mighty Avengers #15

New Avengers #42

Avengers: Initiative #14

Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #2 (of 3)

Secret Invasion: Runaways / Young Avengers #1 (of 3)

Captain Britain and MI 13 #2

Incredible Hercules #118

Ms. Marvel #28

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #561, #562, & #563

Written by Dan Slott & Bob Gale. Illustrated by Marcos Martin & Mike McKone.

Issue #561 finishes the arc from the previous two issues (written by the perfect Spider-scribe Dan Slott, and illustrated by Marcos Martin), while #562 & #563 deliver us to the talented Mike McKone’s pencils.

THOR: AGES OF THUNDER – REIGN OF BLOOD

This one-shot (there’s a whole bunch of them this month) is written by Matt Fraction, which pretty much guarantees something ridiculously awesome is going to happen.

ULTIMATE ORIGINS #1 (of 5)

Written by Brian Michael Bendis. Illustrated by Butch Guice.

Bendis & Butch present the story that promises to reveal all the conspiracies behind the entire Ultimate Universe, and tell how everything is connected. It’s the secret history of Ultimate Wolverine, Nick Fury, and the angry / shouty Captain America. But not quite all of the answers will be revealed, as this series leads into the next big Ultimate Universe event - Ultimatum.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #123

Written by Brian Michael Bendis. Illustrated by Stuart Immonen.

Ultimate Venom returns in the first part of the new “War of the Symbiotes” arc. Month after month this title delivers like few other comics on the stands.

ULTIMATE X-MEN #95

Canada, say hello to Ultimate Alpha Flight. All we have to say is there better be a guy wearing the Canadian flag somewhere on the team!

WOLVERINE #66

Written by Mark Millar. Illustrated by Steve McNiven.

The Mark Millar Hyperbole Machine™ rolls on, as Millar & McNiven bring us “Old Man Logan”, an eight part arc looking at a bleak future in which all of the heroes have died or disappeared, and the man once known as Wolverine has sworn off violence and quietly raised a family. Until something gets him angry once again.

X-FORCE: AIN’T NO DOG (One-Shot)

Written by Charlie Huston & Jason Aaron. Illustrated by Jefte Palo & Werther Dell’edera. Cover by Bryan Hitch.

Another one-shot, starring the character that Marvel is convinced that we can never get enough of. This one should be worth picking up though, as Aaron has proven he can write Wolverine.

Normally I don’t get very excited by one shots featuring Wolverine, because, well, they just tend to be cash ins. BUT nobody writes wolverine like Aaron, and Huston knows the true definition of Hardcore. If you like your wolverine brutal and hard hitting, then this is sure to hit you like a hammer to the brain.

ASTONISHING X-MEN SKETCHBOOK

New character designs, blueprints for the new x-Mansion in San Francisco, and probably a few rambling incoherent sentences that Warren Ellis wrote while drunk in a pub somewhere.

TOYS & MISC. HIGHLIGHTS

BATMAN “THE DARK KNIGHT” MOVIE MERCHANDISE

Leading into the upcoming Batman movie sequel, “The Dark Knight”, DC has released a whole toy box full of choices to whet your appetite and feed your collector cravings:

JLA Trophy Room: Bat-Signal Prop Replica
The Dark Knight: Joker 1:6 Scale Deluxe Replica
The Dark Knight: Batman 1:6 Scale Deluxe Replica
The Dark Knight: Joker Statue
The Dark Knight: Batman Statue

And although not tied into the movie, don’t forget two new Batman: Black & White statues based on the art from the upcoming Batman Gotham Knight animated movie and the classic style of Jim Aparo.

DILBERT PVC SET

This set has all of your favourites, ready to sit on your desk and inspire you to mediocrity at your job.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 4^TH EDITION

It’s finally here! With simplified game play, your campaigns should flow much more smoothly. Now all you need is a little Mana Energy Potion (see below) and all of your role playing needs will finally be complete.

Now all you need is a little Mana Energy Potion and all your role playing needs will be complete.

FINAL FANTASY VII GAME EDITION PLAY ARTS VOL. 2

The earlier figures based on the advent children were great, but it’s nice to see the characters in all of their gaming glory. These figures have been designed by Tetsuya Normura, the character designer from the actual video game, so you know they’ll be good! This series contains Sephiroth, Yuffie, Vincent and Red XIII, and Cait Sith.

IRON MAN MOVIE MINIMATES

These will be by far the best toy tie-ins from this summer’s big comic book blockbusters. Seven characters in all, including three different Iron Man armours! The only way this set could possibly be any better is if the Tony Stark minimate will have a mini glass of scotch to hold.

MANA ENERGY POTION

This is an energy drink made by gamers for gamers, which is “the equivalent to 2 Red Bulls”, and claims to have only 20 calories! So it won’t weight you down while you’re casting spells.

I can’t say it better then the distributor, “A premium energy shot made by gamers for gamers… the shot is equivalent to about 2 red bulls? (That’s crazy!)… and at only 20 calories it won’t weigh you down while you are casting spells.” C’mon, you know you want it.

SERENITY: MAL REYNOLDS STUNT PISTOL REPLICA

This is for all of the Brown Coats out there that need to collect all things Firefly. This beautiful limited edition replica of Mal’s pistol is the only licensed one out there, and will make a great showpiece. Guaranteed to make you feel the need to wear some tight pants.

STAR WARS ANIMATED DARTH MAUL MAQUETTE

Another fantastic statue in the series of Star Wars animated maquettes from Gentle Giant, this one depicting Darth Maul in all his evil animated glory.

SUPERMAN / BATMAN SERIES 6 ACTION FIGURES

A great looking new line up of figures featuring the homo-erotic trinity of Batman, Green Lantern, and Superman, with their old pal Despero along for the ride. Based on the art of Ethan Van Sciver.

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