New Comics For Wednesday 25th of May

So we blinked and May is nearly over! Still another week passing means for another week of great reads and here are but a few from this week to get excited about!

Steve Rogers returns to his roid rage finest, with Nick Spencer's new CAPTAIN AMERICA STEVE ROGERS #1. What would Batman be like in the Marvel Universe? NIGHTHAWK #1 should help give us an idea.

DC's new direction is nearly upon us with a whole new line up of #1's but what exactly IS the new status quo? DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1 will hopefully answer all our questions! Solving mysteries and busting ghosts, fake or otherwise has been given an update thanks to Jim Lee and now it's time for one of your favourite Saturday morning cartoons to get an upgrade in SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #1.

The wait between issues is over and now it's time to dive eyes first into some more amazing artwork from Tristan Jones on the latest, ALIENS DEFIANCE #2. No one does the little guy crime little David Lapham. So getting a tale of street level woe in his DAREDEVIL VS PUNISHER MEANS AND ENDS TP should be a real treat!

Because absolutely no one demanded it, JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 reveals the Joker's identity!!! After far to a long a wait the living dead return to Riverdale in the latest, AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #9.

In BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 04 GODWORLD, the next chapter of Remender's dimension hoping series, we are firmly grounded in one spot for a while...the inside of Grant's mind. What is it with Cullen Bunn and horror tales set on farms?! DEATH FOLLOWS TP is his next creepy as hell rural spookfest!

Either get up to date with one of Marvel's funniest series or maybe find out what you've been missing out on in UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL TP VOL 03 SQUIRREL REALLY GOT ME NO. And a new PREVIEWS for JUNE means the next Previews Album won't be far off either!

Anything else you think we can help with, just let us know before Wednesday.

MARVEL

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1.5

CAPTAIN AMERICA STEVE ROGERS #1

CAPTAIN MARVEL #5

CARNAGE #8

DAREDEVIL #7

DEADPOOL #12

DOCTOR STRANGE #8

DRAX #7

EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #10 AW

GUIDE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIV CA WINTER SOLDIER ANT-MAN

HYPERION #3

MARVEL UNIVERSE GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #8

MARVEL UNIVERSE ULT SPIDER-MAN CONTEST CHAMPIONS #3

MIGHTY THOR #7

MOCKINGBIRD #3

MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #7

MS MARVEL #7 RCW2

NIGHTHAWK #1

OBI-WAN AND ANAKIN #5 (OF 5)

PATSY WALKER AKA HELLCAT #6

RED WOLF #6

SPIDER-MAN DEADPOOL #5

STAR WARS #19

STARBRAND AND NIGHTMASK #6

TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #6

UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #8

UNCANNY INHUMANS #9

WEIRDWORLD #6

X-MEN WORST X-MAN EVER #4 (OF 5)

DC COMICS

ADVENTURES OF SUPERGIRL #2

BATGIRL #52 VAR ED

BATMAN 66 MEETS THE MAN FROM UNCLE #6 (OF 6)

CYBORG #11

DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #13

DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1

DEATHSTROKE #18

FLASH #52 VAR ED

GRAYSON #20

JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ROMITA VAR ED

JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #12

OMEGA MEN #12

SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #1

SECRET SIX #14

SUICIDE SQUAD MOST WANTED DEADSHOT KATANA #5 (OF 6)

SUPERMAN #52 (FINAL DAYS)

SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #8

TEEN TITANS #20

WE ARE ROBIN #12

VERTIGO

ART OPS #8

SUICIDERS KING OF HELLA #3 (OF 6)

BOOM

ADVENTURE TIME #52

BILL & TED GO TO HELL #4

JONESY #4

JOYRIDE #2 (OF 4)

MUNCHKIN #17

WELCOME BACK #8

DARK HORSE

ALIENS DEFIANCE #2

LOBSTER JOHNSON METAL MONSTERS OF MIDTOWN #1 (OF 3)

IDW

BACK TO THE FUTURE #8

DIRK GENTLY A SPOON TOO SHORT #4 (OF 5)

DISNEY MAGIC KINGDOM COMICS #1 (OF 2)

FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS #1

GHOSTBUSTERS INTERNATIONAL #5

JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS #15

JUDGE DREDD (ONGOING) #6

ORPHAN BLACK HELSINKI #5 (OF 5)

STREET FIGHTER X GI JOE #4 (OF 6)

TMNT AMAZING ADVENTURES #10

TMNT AMAZING ADVENTURES CARMELO ANTHONY SPEC

TRANSFORMERS #53

TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE #53

X-FILES (2016) #2

IMAGE

ALOHA HAWAIIAN DICK #2 (OF 5)

CRY HAVOC #5

DREAM POLICE #10

EAST OF WEST #26

EMPTY ZONE #8

LEGACY OF LUTHER STRODE #6 (OF 6)

MONSTRESS #6

SEX #28

STARVE #9

TOKYO GHOST #7

ONI

ANOTHER CASTLE #3 (OF 5)

HEARTTHROB #2

LETTER 44 #25

VALIANT

BLOODSHOT REBORN #13

DIVINITY II #2 (OF 4)

IMPERIUM #16

MISC

AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #9

DISNEY DARKWING DUCK #2

DOCTOR WHO 10TH YEAR TWO #10

DOCTOR WHO 12TH YEAR TWO #6

DOCTOR WHO 9TH #2

DREAMING EAGLES #5

JOHNNY RED #7 (OF 8)

PRINCELESS RAVEN PIRATE PRINCESS #8

RACHEL RISING #42

ROCK & ROLL BIOGRAPHIES IRON MAIDEN

SQUARRIORS VOL 02 SUMMER #1 (OF 4)

STRAYER #4

MAGAZINES

IMAGE PLUS EXTRAS #2 : WALKING DEAD HERES NEGAN

MARVEL PREVIEWS #11 JUNE 2016

PREVIEWS #333 JUNE 2016

TRADES

ASSASSINS CREED TP VOL 01 TRIAL BY FIRE

BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 04 GODWORLD

CROSSED TP VOL 16

DAREDEVIL VS PUNISHER MEANS AND ENDS TP NEW PTG

DAY MEN TP VOL 02

DEATH FOLLOWS TP

DEVILERS TP

DISQUIET GN

DRAX TP VOL 01 GALAXYS BEST DETECTIVE

FROM NOW ON GN

GARFIELD TP VOL 08

GREEN LANTERN NEW GODS GODHEAD TP

GROO FRIENDS AND FOES TP VOL 03

HERO COMICS HERO INITIATIVE BENEFIT BOOK TP

HOWLING COMMANDOS OF SHIELD TP MONSTER SQUAD

INCOMPLETE WORKS GN

JOHN CARTER WARLORD TP VOL 02 MAN MADE MONSTER

KING COLLECTION TP

KLAW GN

LONE SLOANE GN VOL 01 (OF 3) 6 VOYAGES

MARQUIS OF ANAON GN VOL 03 PROVIDENC

MASKS TP VOL 02

MAX RIDE ULTIMATE FLIGHT HC

MUNCHKIN TP VOL 02

NINJAK TP VOL 03 OPERATION DEADSIDE

OCTOPUS PIE TP VOL 04

ROOK TP

SKYLANDERS SECRET AGENT SECRETS HC

SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 TP VOL 08 CHAOS

SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 01 TOMBSTONE

STAR WARS EPISODE I PHANTOM MENACE HC

STRAIN HC VOL 03 NIGHT ETERNAL

SUPERMAN ADVENTURES TP VOL 02

SYMMETRY TP VOL 01

TECH JACKET TP VOL 04 ALL FALLS DOWN

THEYRE NOT LIKE US TP VOL 02

TEEN TITANS GO HEROES ON PATROL TP NEW ED

UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL TP VOL 03 SQUIRREL REALLY GOT ME NO

WAYWARD TP VOL 03 OUT FROM THE SHADOWS

WARCRAFT IMAX PREVIEW SCREENING DOUBLE PASS GIVEAWAY!

From Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures comes Warcraft, an epic adventure of world-colliding conflict based on Blizzard Entertainment’s global phenomenon. 

The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people and their home. 

So begins a spectacular saga of power and sacrifice in which war has many faces, and everyone fights for something.

Thanks to those mythical folks from Universal Pictures and Warcraft in cinemas June 16th, we are giving you the chance to win one of ten double passes to the special preview screening, happening on Tuesday 7th June from 6:30pm at IMAX Melbourne.

To go into the draw for your chance to win all you need to do is tell us, "Which character of Warcraft lore, Knight or Orc do you identify with most and why?"

SPECIAL NOTE: As these prizes are for a specific time and date, please only enter if you can attend the screening on the listed date. 

Terms and Conditions:

-Only entries made via the comments on the Facebook post will be included in the draw.

-All entries will go into the All Star Barrel and winners will be drawn at random.

-Entries close 6pm Monday the 23rd of May and winners will be announced Tuesday the 24th.

-Winners will be notified how to collect their tickets shortly after the draw.

.

Thanks again to Universal Pictures and Warcraft In Cinemas June 16th

For more info head to:

URL: www.facebook.com/warcraftmovie

URL: www.warcraftmovie.com.au

ALL STAR RECOMMENDS FOR MAY 17TH

I woke up this morning (Sunday) to give this column a quick edit and send it to Mitch but then I heard that Darwyn Cooke had passed.

I was fortunate enough to spend time with Darwyn over the TCAF weekend of 2014, as I was tapped to moderate a noir night featuring both he and Ed Brubaker. I could go on for hours about the experience. It was…unique…but this is not about me, it’s about Darwyn so instead I’ll just share a little moment that I now think about whenever I see his work.

At the conclusion of a signing session, Darwyn stood, took his lovely wife Marsha by the hand, spun her around and ever so briefly danced with her, right there in the middle of the Toronto Reference Library as Festival goers came and went around them. He didn’t see me. He didn’t see anybody. All he saw was Marsha. This was not a performance. It was not a showy moment designed to grab onlooker attention. It was a private moment that happened to play out publically (I’m not even sure anybody else even noticed) and it was the happiest I had maybe ever seen…anyone. Now, whenever I look at his pages, that’s what I see: this Titan of his chosen field, a man who drew with such style, beauty, perfectionism and incomparable coolness, sweeping his wife off her feet in the middle of a comics convention for nobody’s benefit but their own. 

Darwyn Cooke re-wrote the DC myths of the Silver Age. He brought sass and power back to Catwoman. He gave crime comics a facelift with a potent reminder that the swagger and sharpness of ‘60s neo-noir was unmatchable. His lively figures moved on the page in their fully realised worlds of seedy neon signs or cosmic, intergalactic swirls. He could do it all. Beyond all this, however, I’m happy to report that he was a really lovely, sweet man who truly, deeply loved his wife as much as the worlds he spent most of his time creating. 

Thank you, Darwyn. You were the best of the best. My sincerest, most heartfelt condolences to Marsha and family.

On with our regularly scheduled programming. Forgive me for not polishing it as intended. I’m a bit too sad for that.

***

I was lucky enough to be gifted a promotional edition of the first book in Drawn & Quarterly’s new series of Kitaro translations, The Birth of Kitaro, by the late, great Shigeru Mizuki. Regular readers may recall my fumbling attempt at a eulogy for Mizuki last December and it’s such a wonderful thing to see his most famous creation in English once more from D&Q – complete with part one of an ongoing essay by translator Zack Davisson, a definition of yokai (the ghost/demon/spirit creatures that Kitaro both battles and is relation to), a “yokai knowledge challenge,” puzzles and more supplementing the manga. It’s such a fun, joyful package, strikingly designed and including seven spooky stories created between 1967-68 and I can’t help but imagine that its super sweet, junk food-loving, titan of a creator – one of the most versatile comics creators ever – would be nothing less than thrilled with its existence. Due at the end of the month, fans of classic manga, Scooby Doo-style thrills, Japanese mythology and beautifully crafted comics should put an order in.

COMIC OF THE WEEK : HEAVY METAL #280

By Various

Published By Heavy Metal Media

Well, well. Look who decided to finally show up. You made me look like a fool, Moz Metal, counting down to your arrival, having the actual date pushed further and further back as I burned through your periodical’s classic years at the clip of one issue a week. I had other anthology suitors come a‘knocking, oh yes. Both Island and Cinema Purgatorio vied and still vie for my attention and patronage with their blend of top-flight talent creatively let loose so why, now, should I still care?

Enki Bilal, you say. Massimiliano Frezzato, you say. Ryan Ferrier, you say. Benjamin Marra, you say. Grant Morrison, you say.

Sigh. Moz Metal. I can’t stay mad at you…

Okay. Let’s get this out of the way. This much-anticipated arrival is a mixed bag. A really mixed bag. You would think that with such a high-profile editor in chief in Morrison debuting and subsequent interest at a high not seen for some probable decades, that the slate would be wiped and this would be treated as if not a reboot, at least a restart. 2000AD is excellent at this, so let’s use them as an example.

When 2000AD tells you that a particular issue is a perfect jumping on point for new readers, it is exactly that. All new stories beginning from their beginning, with no stragglers allowed on-board their hyper-violent, super-satirical vessel. This, the 280th issue of Heavy Metal is not that. It comes saddled with two ongoing and pre-existing serials and as a result feels a little sloppy both editorially and creatively. It’s a missed opportunity. Morrison, in his otherwise wonderfully loopy, completely Morrisonian debut editorial, even has the temerity to say, “…don’t expect me to fill you in on what’s been happening. We have the internet now.” Gee, thanks, Grant.

This is a bittersweet complaint, mind you, as one of these features is illustrated by bande dessinee legend and virtual cornerstone of the publication, Enki Bilal with part seven (!) of his “Julia & Roem.” It seems crazy – even to me – to complain about Bilal’s inclusion in anything. If there’s a Mount Rushmore of HM, he’s on it. Yet here we are…part seven.

The other ongoing feature, “49th Key” by Erika Lewis and J.K. Woodward, hits part eight (sigh). Coming in cold, the new reader will likely find this as forgettable and unappealing as I did, in both story and overly posed, overly-photo-referenced (Hi, Don Cheadle!) and frequently ugly painted art.

Okay – Phew, I got that out of the way. On to why you really should actually read this thing. The unlikely pairing of Morrison and Benjamin Marra kick the issue off with “Beachhead,” a story of slug-like alien would-be conquerors that actually seems like an updating of Philippe Druillet’s most irreverent material for the magazine way, way back in the day. Morrison may not take advantage of Marra’s gift of crystallising 1980s sleaze into an actual, legit aesthetic, but it’s a fun, loose way to kick things off.

Anna Laurine Kornum’s “A Mind Bomb” reads like horror legend Richard Matheson via indie comics hero Ted McKeever and it’s a perfectly creepy little self-contained short that I was not expecting to appreciate quite as much as I did. However, Ryan Ferrier and artist Hugo Petris may well steal the show with “Goddess,” a story too good to spoil set during the Dark Ages in an Irish village populated by people who are anything but kind to their animals and wildlife. Petrus’ art may look a little stiff and his poses forced on a quick flip through, but upon reading you’ll just fall into his cleverly laid out and open pages, rich in both detail and expression. I really loved this.

The aforementioned Bilal’s “Julia & Roem” is, reasonable complaints about its ongoing status aside, typically beautiful work by its creator. Bilal’s pages are both murky yet lovely in their gloaming greyness. The tragedy here is that you and I, new reader, do not get to sample this story from the start. I’ve long promised a look at Bilal’s The Nikopol Trilogy (re-released in English by Titan last year) in this column and “Julia & Roem” is firm reminder that I need to get to that…

A profile of pop-surrealist artist Mimi Scholtz is next, filling the next few pages with weird, dreamy images of redheaded women with lemurs and cyclopean lambs as well as dense eye-popping collages and a brief but informative interview with the artist whose work is eminently suited to inclusion in this mag. Her black and white art is the stuff I gravitated the most to, however, exuding a Coop-esque cool and an alt-manga sensibility. There’s plenty to feast your eyes on here.

Frezzato’s short “The Key” is a smart inclusion, given the legacy this fantasy artist has with the many, many readers fond of the lively animated characters that populate his opulently designed “The Keepers of The Maser” series of graphic albums which send fans of this artist’s artist into frothing revelry. Unfolding with surreal, dreamy logic, “The Key” sees a young woman and a man firing arrows at each other from across the divide of their miniscule, individual mountain peak homes. Perhaps the closest we get to old-school HM this issue, I loved this for its oddness and its lush, gorgeous illustration – which is what HM is all about at its best: comics for your brain to tumble into, sober or otherwise.

A look at Century Guild’s Art Nouveau and Symbolist collection is also included, featuring some jaw-droppingly grim and beautiful work from the early 1900s as well as a glimpse at some pieces by Gail Potocki from earlier this century, included as part of her upcoming exhibition. Excellent. Mark the museum on your things to do in California list.

There’s much more here, but Mozchops’ “Salsa Invertebraxa” rounds out my own personal highlights from the issue. Part one of this strange six-part tale sees the battle in nature between insects and arachnids. Portrayed realistically, Mozchops (real name Paul Phippen) is fond of the worm’s-eye shot, lending his creatures a titanic, kaiju-esque quality. His spiders are monstrous and hairy things, his grub-grabbing dragonflies beasts of the air, and all of this warfare plays out as a strange but cheeky rhyming narration is laid over the top of the action. We personally may “sing the joys of spring” but there’s a horrorshow playing out beneath our feet and surrounding us in our plants as we welcome the end of winter. A unique and intriguing end to an issue that has its problems but is well worth the price of admission and, hopefully, the first step in an incremental process that returns Heavy Metal to can’t-miss status.

WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK : SHIELD

By Zoe Coughlin

Be warned: harrowing stuff this week from Zoe Coughlin, whose Shield (created in 2013) packs a lot of emotional weight behind its climactic gut-punch. A tale of bullying, harassment, lies and fractured friendship, this is mightily accomplished stuff from Coughlin, who depicts the torment her young protagonist goes through expertly as it manifests itself outwards from her psyche. Disarmingly cartoonish at first, Shield begins as a teen drama but morphs into an almost Junji Ito-esque nightmare of body horror and psychological destruction by its end. Absolutely terrific.

http://comicsworkbook.tumblr.com/post/143871046733/comicsworkbook-sweet-arts-zoe

COMIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK : BLACK PANTHER: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET

Smart stuff by Marvel here, as they debut what’s reported to be an ongoing series of monthly videos featuring writer Ta-Nehisi Coates breaking down his new and already highly successful run on Black Panther.

Coates, a writer for The Atlantic among other venues, is the perfect choice to relaunch Black Panther – a series where his ongoing pieces on the intersection of politics, social issues and African-Americans can be filtered and explored through the bright afro-futurism of King T’Challa’s country of Wakanda. Coates is a fan, and a long-term one at that, and brings a great deal of care and respect to a character he grew up reading. It’s the perfect time for Panther to return to its political roots as a title (I’m planning a column on the classic Don McGregor-scripted run of Jungle Action soon for further exploration of this) and Coates and illustrator Brian Stelfreeze seem poised to do just that. Stirring stuff from the writer here, exhibiting a solid grip on his protagonist and a strong desire to portray a powerful, unique and prideful nation of Wakanda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC6LbbtGqTE

See you next week. Love your comics.

Cameron Ashley spends a lot of time writing comics and other things you’ll likely never read. He’s the chief editor and co-publisher of Crime Factory (www.thecrimefactory.com). You can reach him @cjamesashley on Twitter.

New Comics For Wednesday 18th of May

Lots coming up around the store over the next few weeks. The next All Star Women's Comic Book Club Meet Up is this Saturday the 21st from 5pm. Keen to talk comics with like minded female fans? Then you definitely need to make it along. The group is covering Unbeatable Squirrel Girl TP Volume 1 this time around but even if you haven't read it, you are most welcomed to attend!

Also keep an eye out for more details concerning the launch of the All Star Comics Kids Club!

Of course there is always this week's comics to look out for too!

CIVIL WAR II #0 crashing into the Marvel Universe, tearing friendships apart, while making our favourite heroes question their very moral fibre. The start of DC re-vamp of the Hanna Barbara's biggest characters launches with a Super Team book with a difference from the king of Saturday cartoon writing, Jeff Parker in FUTURE QUEST #1.

Looking for something a little fantasy adventure? Gene Ha gives us a new writer/artist creation, MAE #1. Think of it as what if Dorothy spent extended time growing up in a far more dangerous Land of OZ and returned to her family after year's as a trained defender from creatures of dark fantasy realms but upon her return, she might have brought something back with her!

Aussie writer, Ryan Lindsay's beach side crime caper CHUM #1 will definitely make you scared to go back in to the water. Vertigo touches on a thriller for the social media generation in the first collection of UNFOLLOW TP VOL 01.

Some of the best adventures told from the Clone Wars period continues with the next collection of STAR WARS KANAN TP VOL 02 FIRST BLOOD. Like a crack of thunder right to the chest, the first hardcover for the latest Mighty Thor series MIGHTY THOR PREM HC THUNDER IN HER VEINS VOL 01 kick starts your heart with all it's godly action adventure.

New Flash trades can not get released quick enough at the moment for new fans, so FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS TP BOOK 02 could not come at a better time! The truly epic expanded Hellboy-verse series delivers another chapter of overwhelming odds and woe with BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 13 END OF DAYS. And just before the next X-Men film starts, get caught up on the Big A's origin story in X-MEN TP RISE OF APOCALYPSE.

Nice solid week, this one. Anything extra you need, just let us know before Wednesday to get it sorted!

MARVEL

ALL NEW WOLVERINE #8 RCW2

ASTONISHING ANT-MAN #8

CIVIL WAR II #0 RCW2

DEADPOOL LAST DAYS OF MAGIC #1

DEADPOOL MERCS FOR MONEY #4 (OF 5)

HAUNTED MANSION #3 (OF 5)

INTERNATIONAL IRON MAN #3

KARNAK #4

OLD MAN LOGAN #6

POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #4

SCARLET #9

SILVER SURFER #4

SPIDER-MAN #4

SPIDER-WOMAN #7 SWO

SPIDEY #6

SQUADRON SUPREME #7

STAR-LORD #7

UNCANNY AVENGERS #9 ASO

DC COMICS

AQUAMAN #52 VAR ED

DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #4 (OF 8) COLLECTORS ED

DOCTOR FATE #12

FUTURE QUEST #1

HARLEY QUINN #28 VAR ED

INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US YEAR FIVE #10

LEGEND OF WONDER WOMAN #6 (OF 9)

MARTIAN MANHUNTER #12

POISON IVY CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH #5 (OF 6)

ROBIN SON OF BATMAN #12

SINESTRO #23

SUPERMAN AMERICAN ALIEN #7 (OF 7)

SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #29 (FINAL DAYS)

TITANS HUNT #8 (OF 8)

WONDER WOMAN #52 VAR ED

VERTIGO

ASTRO CITY #35

CLEAN ROOM #8

LUCIFER #6

RED THORN #7 (MR)

BOOM

GOLDIE VANCE #2 (OF 4)

LUMBERJANES #26

LUMBERJANES SPECIAL MAKIN GHOST 2016 #1

PAKNADEL & TRAKHANOV TURNCOAT #3

REGULAR SHOW #35

DARK HORSE

BPRD HELL ON EARTH #141

BTVS SEASON 10 #27

DARK HORSE PRESENTS 2014 #22

DEPT H #2

MAE #1

SHADOW GLASS #3 (OF 6)

TOMB RAIDER 2016 #4

USAGI YOJIMBO #154

DYNAMITE

GRUMPY CAT & POKEY #4 (OF 6)

XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS #2

IDW

ARCHANGEL #1

BRUTAL NATURE #1 (OF 4)

JUDGE DREDD (ONGOING) #5

MARS ATTACKS OCCUPATION #3 (OF 5)

MICRONAUTS #2

OCTOBER FACTION #16

STAR TREK MANIFEST DESTINY #3 (OF 4)

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE #2

IMAGE

BEAUTY #7

BLACK ROAD #2

CITIZEN JACK #6

DRIFTER #11

INVINCIBLE #128

MANIFEST DESTINY #19

MIRROR #4

SNOWFALL #4

SPAWN #263

ONI

MIGHTY ZODIAC #2 (OF 6)

SIXTH GUN #49

VALIANT

RAI #13 (4001 A.D.)

WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #7

X-O MANOWAR ANNUAL 2016 #1

MISC

AETHER AND EMPIRE #2

BLACK EYED KIDS #2

CHUM #1 (OF 3)

CROSSED PLUS 100 #16

DOCTOR WHO 11TH YEAR TWO #9

FRONTLINES REQUIEM #1 (OF 4)

FUTURAMA COMICS #79

INDEPENDENCE DAY #3 (OF 5)

JUGHEAD #6

PRINCELESS MAKE YOURSELF #2 (OF 5)

SABRINA #5

SECOND SIGHT #4

SIMPSONS COMICS #229

STREET FIGHTER UNLIMITED #6

TANK GIRL 2 GIRLS 1 TANK #1 (OF 4)

TRADES

20 X 20 TWENTY YEARS OF CONUNDRUM PRESS GN

ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA CAKE CARD WARS TP

ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 07 FOUR CASTLES

ALL NEW INHUMANS TP VOL 01 GLOBAL OUTREACH

APOCRYPHA NOW HC

ART OF ZOOTOPIA HC

AVENGERS K TP BOOK 01 AVENGERS VS ULTRON

BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS GALLERY ED HC

BATMAN WAR GAMES TP VOL 02

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA TP VOL 03

BIRD BOY TP VOL 01 SWORD OF MALI MANI

BOYS CLUB GN

BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 13 END OF DAYS

CLARENCE ORIGINAL GN VOL 01 CHICKEN PHANTOM

DEAD VENGEANCE HC

DEATH DEFYING DOCTOR MIRAGE TP VOL 02 SECOND LIVES

DOCTOR WHO 10TH ARCHIVES OMNIBUS TP VOL 02

DOCTOR WHO 8TH HC VOL 01 MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

DONALD DUCK HC VOL 01 TIMELESS TALES

EVE VALKYRIE HC

FABLES DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 12

FAKE EMPIRE TP

FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS TP BOOK 02

GOTHAM CENTRAL OMNIBUS HC

GUERILLAS TP VOL 03

HIGHBONE THEATER HC

HIPPOPOTAMISTER HC GN

HOWARD THE DUCK TP VOL 01 DUCK HUNT

ITTY BITTY HELLBOY SEARCH FOR THE WERE JAGUAR TP

JEKYLL ISLAND CHRONICLES GN BOOK 01

JOKER ENDGAME TP

LAZARUS HC VOL 02

MARVEL UNIVERSE ALL NEW AVENGERS ASSEMBLE DIGEST TP VOL 04

MIGHTY THOR PREM HC THUNDER IN HER VEINS VOL 01

MY LITTLE PONY ADVENTURES IN FRIENDSHIP HC VOL 05

ODYC TP VOL 02 SONS OF THE WOLF

PEPLUM GN

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN TP VOL 22

SILK TP VOL 01 SINISTER

STAR BRAND TP VOL 01 NEW UNIVERSE

STAR TREK NEW ADVENTURES TP VOL 03

STAR WARS KANAN TP VOL 02 FIRST BLOOD

STRAY BULLETS TP VOL 05 HI-JINKS & DERRING-DO

UNFOLLOW TP VOL 01

WALLY WOOD GALAXY ART AND BEYOND HC

WE STAND ON GUARD DLX HC

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD GN VOL 01

WONDER WOMAN HC VOL 08 TWIST OF FATE

WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 07 WAR TORN

X-MEN TP RISE OF APOCALYPSE

ZODIAC STARFORCE TP

MERCH

ORPHAN BLACK CARD GAME

BACK IN STOCK

HARLEY QUINN & SUICIDE SQUAD APRIL FOOLS SPEC #1

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Hi there, I trust you’ve managed to dig yourself out from under a mountain of free comics.Some good swag there, huh?

A shortish one from me this week, as I think reviewing 45 FCBD comics in eight days short-circuited some synapses.

COMIC OF THE WEEK : CINEMA PURGATORIO #1

By Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill/Garth Ennis

Published By Avatar

Like a jilted lover, I have rebounded from the constant delay of Grant Morrison’s debut as the Heavy Metal honcho (it was supposed to be February, then late April, then last week) over to the ever-dependable Alan Moore, who is spearheading his own anthology series, Cinema Purgatorio, which actually debuted last week from those rapidly reforming schlock-peddlers over at Avatar Press.

Initially, and monstrously, funded through a highly successful Kickstarter campaign – which I have mixed feelings about, honestly, as its huge success proves it wasn’t even really needed in the first place (unless Avatar couldn’t pay for it, which is the only assumption left to any reader going through the Kickstarter info) -- Cinema Purgatorio is chiefly a horror anthology presented in stark black and white, ad-free (yay) and perfect-bound in format.

Moore’s EC-inspired effort showcases some top-tier talent working on some really interesting material with narrative depth only hinted at by this first issue. Moore and O’Neill kick things off with the titular strip – promising to be a series of twisted “short films” that will slowly link together to reveal “the story of one woman forced to bare her soul.” It’s a nightmarish opening; the silent movie’s charm turned grotesque and cruel and fevered, with O’Neill amping up the cartoonishness of his work and heightening the strangeness in the process. I look forward to seeing where this heads.

Garth Ennis and Raulo Caceres debut their “Code Pru,” a character who is a paramedic for the paranormal, treating a suicidal, horribly sunburned vampire in this opening chapter. It’s not bad, with Ennis in his goofy mode and Caceres providing perfectly suitable art that’s as close to an Avatar house style as you’ll find. The true quality of “Code Pru” is to be proven over the coming months.

Max Brooks and Michael DiPascale’s “A More Perfect Union” is an alternate history tale with the Civil War being fought between the South and giant insects...none of which are seen in this opener, a puzzling decision by all creatively involved. Research-heavy (Brooks is annotating each chapter), this, like “Code Pru,” will prove itself with further development.

Christos Gage and Gabriel Andrade give us “The Vast” which sees a fighter pilot befriending a monstrous Lovecraftian-kaiju thing during a monster war and Andrade impressively draws it. Looks to have promise moving forward, the eventual monster brawls should be grotesquely brought to life.

It’s all solid stuff, but what really elevates Cinema Purgatorio#1 is Kieron Gillen and Ignacio Calero’s “Modded”.  Basically a bonkers satanic Pokemon story set on a wasteland Earth “38 years after the Etheric invasion” (a kind of demonic post-apocalypse), “Modded” sees a young girl named Fringe and her adorable pet daemon Fluffbumble (a kind of winged dog-lynx-daemon whose only power seems to be growing new vegetation suited to this ruined climate) wandering the earth.

Approached by “Daemonatrix” Tommy Zero, a daemon collector who simply must collect “them all”, Fluffbumble is forced to fight a technologically-enhanced daemon of Zero’s choosing or be simply forfeited into his epic collection of daemon battle beasties. There’s more here, but I’ll not spoil it. Suffice it to say that this is a killer spin on the Pokemon concept --arriving just in time for the original’s 20^th anniversary –and it’s even fun and actually quite sweet (surely the first time that adjective has ever been used to describe an Avatar book).

Calero’s artwork resembles something like Darick Robertson inking over Doug Mahnke and Gillen wisely lets his artist do the heavy lifting. It’s beautifully detailed with superb post-apocalyptic Mad Max-esque costume design and wonderfully expressive characters. This particular animal lover is already a fool for Fluffbumble (who I’m pretty sure is my spirit animal) and the first chapter’s terrific climax will get its hooks in deep. Damn you, Gillen!

Head and shoulders above the rest of the pack (except for the titular tale which gives it a run for its money), Cinema Purgatorio#1 should be picked up for “Modded” alone. Everything else is a terrific bonus. You’ve got your work cut out for you in winning my affections back when you finally do arrive, Moz Metal...

WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK THEORY: FRANK MILLER’S RECENT WORK IS GOOD BUT IT IS NOT GETTING THE RIGHT COLOUR TREATMENT

By James Harvey

Not a webcomic per se this week, but easily some the most interesting comics related art criticism I’ve seen online in a while with James (Bartkira) Harvey recolouring some of Frank Miller’s much maligned DKIII work to prove a rather particular point: that Miller’s most recent art does not suck.

I’ve actually been of the opinion that Miller’s just been taking the piss with DKIII. His figures have been consistently monstrous, stretching the bounds of human anatomy in ways perhaps only Plastic Man could really manage. Is he burning his own legend down in some kind of apocalyptic late-life, eff-you crisis or perhaps reacting poisonously to Kubert and Janson doing their best recreation of his and Janson’s original DK style, I wondered?

Some of the comic’s actual narrative would seem to back both theories up, such as the below panel from issue #3, which John Kane over at Savage Critics also featured:

There’s nothing subtle about that.  Seriously, you could write a thesis on the self-reflexivity of this   weird, fascinating comic and it’s only halfway done...

While I personally have found the colour treatment of Miller 2016 to be really ugly (and before you bring it up - Lynn Varley’s digital colouring of DKII was ugly in an ironic way, hilariously prefiguring the now near ubiquitous use of flashy and garish computer colouring methods), I’m not a huge fan of the colouring of *most* modern mainstream comics anyway. Even still, I had no idea just how much of a deleterious effect this “bad” colouring was having on Miller’s work overall.

But James Harvey did. He recoloured some pages to prove it, transforming Miller’s art from the horrorshow self-pastiche that seems to exhibit signs of hatred for his subjects and possibly even himself into gristly, sinewy works of transgressive Pop Art. Is Frank Miller 2016 being misunderstood? Maybe, maybe not, for as Harvey points out, Miller did select his own colourist but just take a look at this and tell me that the entire aesthetic of the work is not given an immediate overhaul and upgrade.

http://harveyjames.tumblr.com/post/143735873863/theory-frank-millers-recent-work-is-good-but-it

COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK : FROM SYDNEY TO SHELLY BOND

No, I’m not ready to let it go just yet.

From 2015, an Australian girl named Sydney reads an open letter to Shelly Bond expressing her admiration for Vertigo’s departing Executive Editor and her love of one of the titles she edited, iZombie. It’s really sweet. It also shows Bond’s reach and influence as one of the most important women in comics and I hope she actually got to see this – Sydney looks like she’s actually cosplaying as Shelly, all she needs is that mod haircut and a rad V-neck sweater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KrqKO2irEQ

See you next week. Love your comics.

Cameron Ashley spends a lot of time writing comics and other things you’ll likely never read. He’s the chief editor and co-publisher of Crime Factory (www.thecrimefactory.com). You can reach him @cjamesashley on Twitter.