New Comics For Wednesday 21st of December

 

And just before Christmas...one of the most wonderfully exciting and full shipments of comics and things for this year! What a treat! Let's take a look...

Currently stuck on Earth after the events of Civil War II, GAMORA #1 NOW goes into the  back story of what drives the  most danger woman in the Galaxy. 

A little less intense than Gamora, the new STAR-LORD #1 NOW by superstars Chip Zdarsky and Kris Anka tell the tales of how our favourite Space Rascal adjusts to being back and "trapped" on Earth for the first time in years.

Again set in a post CWII world, what does the public think of Carol now? Bestselling author Margaret Stohl takes on the new MIGHTY CAPTAIN MARVEL #0 NOW. 

What will the League do once they find out of the existence of Supervillain taskforce operating right underneath their collective super noses in the start of the new DC Rebirth event, JUSTICE LEAGUE SUICIDE SQUAD #1 (OF 6).

Investigating murder cases is a tough job, investigating murders that take place in jails is even tougher. John Arcudi shows us that even with limited suspects that they don't need to chase, nothing is black and white in DEAD INSIDE #1.

Not entirely sure when this tale takes place doesn't mean we are any less excited for the return to Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez spawling family horror drama in LOCKE & KEY SMALL WORLD. 

The fun and energetic, long out of print retelling of how DC's greatest sidekicks came into their own is finally back on the shelves in Amy Wolfram and Karl Kerschl TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE NEW EDITION TP.

If it wasn't hard enough being a teen superhero, how when Gwen manage with the return to daily life after the loss of her powers. The powers might be gone but the villains sure haven't in SPIDER-GWEN TP VOL 02 WEAPON OF CHOICE.

Go boldly into the brightest day and blackest night with the follow up sequel to the surprise hit, STAR TREK GREEN LANTERN VOL 2 #1.

Are villains born inherently evil or do that just suffer some trauma that sends them down darker paths. This and other existential questions about the behaviour of villains probably won't be answered in the new bad girl band series, JEM MISFITS #1.

Gal pal, Patsy gets caught in a bad ex-partner situation, while trying to fend off the Black Cat for cramping her cat motif style, all in the latest PATSY WALKER AKA HELLCAT TP VOL 02 DONT STOP ME-OW. 

Becky Cloonan comes out swinging with Steve Dillon in his final artistic role with the newest Frank Castle series, PUNISHER TP VOL 01 ON ROAD.

GUMBALLS #1 from Portland cartoonist, Erin Nations is a new slice of life anthology series with a bright artistic approach that matches it's name.

KLAUS & WITCH OF WINTER ONE SHOT could not be released a better time of year and serves as the perfect read for this festive season.

ADVENTURE TIME ICE KING TP gives you the chance to catch up with the greatest villain in the land of OOO's history or perhaps maybe the most misunderstood?

For an animated show that has such a strong design, a look behind the scenes in the ART OF ARCHER HC will no doubt be a real treat for fans.

And talking of strong design, see how the creatives behind the look of the latest Star Wars outing managed to walk that fine line between familiar and something still somehow new in ART OF ROGUE ONE STAR WARS STORY HC.

Combined with artwork from a cast of stellar comic talents, peer into some hard to find short stories from the great bearded one, Alan Moore with BRIGHTER THAN YOU THINK 10 SHORT WORKS BY ALAN MOORE.

It's the The Manchurian Candidate meets Spider-Man in the release of GEMINI COMPLETE SERIES TP from Copperhead's Jay Faerber and TMNT/Batman Adventures, Jon Sommariva.

It was only a matter of time before the worn and weary explorers of this excellent Image cryptozoologic horror series were confronted by one of the America's greatest folklore myths in MANIFEST DESTINY TP VOL 04 SASQUATCH.

Feel that dealing with the holidays is a bit of a horror? Junji Ito, one of comics most legendary horror storytellers has a new collection TOMIE COMPLETE DLX ED HC that might help take your mind off things by scaring the pants off you!

Jessica Abel, Mars, Roller Derby. Hard to imagine how these things would go together but it's from the mind of the aforementioned actress and you'll find them all in TRISH TRASH ROLLERGIRL OF MARS HC VOL 01 

Then it's a Christmas treasure trove of wonderful merch that would make lovely gifts either for you or someone else! Just take a look at, DC COMICS HARLEY QUINN HULA GIRL BOBBLE FIGURE , DC FILMS ARMORED BATMAN PREMIUM AF, DC FILMS SUPERMAN PREMIUM AF, DC TV ARROW FLASH 2 PACK AF, POP HEROES BATGIRL 2016 VINYL FIG , TLS X MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE MINI FIG 16PC BMB DS

AND THEN, there is ALL the new trade releases that were missing out of our shipment from 2 weeks ago too with BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 05 TRUE ATONEMENT, CAPTAIN AMERICA STEVE ROGERS TP VOL 01 HAIL HYDRA, DOCTOR STRANGE TP VOL 01 WAY OF WEIRD, FLASH BY MARK WAID TP BOOK 01, INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US YEAR FOUR TP VOL 02, JUSTICE LEAGUE TP VOL 08 DARKSEID WAR PART 2, ONE WEEK IN THE LIBRARY GN, SPREAD TP VOL 03 NO SAFE PLACE

Sooooo many books! If there is something extra you need us to put aside for you, just let us know before Wednesday morning to get it sorted for you.

MARVEL

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #22 CC

AVENGERS #2.1

BLACK PANTHER WORLD OF WAKANDA #2

CAGE #3 (OF 4)

CAPTAIN AMERICA SAM WILSON #16

DEADPOOL AND MERCS FOR MONEY #6

DOCTOR STRANGE #15

FOOLKILLER #2

GAMORA #1 NOW

GWENPOOL #9

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #2

MARVEL UNIVERSE GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #15

MIGHTY CAPTAIN MARVEL #0 NOW

OCCUPY AVENGERS #2

PATSY WALKER AKA HELLCAT #13

POWER MAN AND IRON FIST SWEET CHRISTMAS ANNUAL #1

PUNISHER #7 NOW

SILVER SURFER #8

SOLO #3

SPIDER-GWEN #15

SQUADRON SUPREME #14

STAR WARS DOCTOR APHRA #2

STAR-LORD #1 NOW

THANOS #2

ULTIMATES 2 #2

UNCANNY X-MEN #16 IVX

VENOM #2

DC COMICS

ALL STAR BATMAN #1 DIRECTORS CUT

AQUAMAN #13 VAR ED

BATMAN #13 VAR ED

CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE #3 VAR ED

CYBORG #7 VAR ED

GREEN ARROW #13 VAR ED

GREEN LANTERNS #13 VAR ED

HARLEY QUINN #10 VAR ED

HE MAN THUNDERCATS #3 (OF 6)

INJUSTICE GROUND ZERO #2

JUSTICE LEAGUE #11 VAR ED

JUSTICE LEAGUE SUICIDE SQUAD #1 (OF 6)

NIGHTWING #11 VAR ED

RAVEN #4 (OF 6)

SUICIDE SQUAD MOST WANTED #5 (OF 6) EL DIABLO & AMANDA WALLE

SUPERMAN #13 VAR ED

TEEN TITANS GO #19

TRINITY #4 VAR ED

VERTIGO

LUCIFER #13

BOOM

BACKSTAGERS #5 (OF 8)

JOYRIDE #8 (OF 6)

KLAUS & WITCH OF WINTER ONE SHOT

KONG OF SKULL ISLAND #6 (OF 6)

SLAM #2

STEVEN UNIVERSE 2016 SPECIAL #1

DARK HORSE

ALIENS LIFE AND DEATH #4 (OF 4)

BLACK HAMMER #6

BRIGGS LAND #5

BTVS SEASON 11 #2

DARK HORSE PRESENTS #29

DEAD INSIDE #1

DEPT H #9

ETHER #2

SPELL ON WHEELS #3 (OF 5)

TOMB RAIDER 2016 #11

USAGI YOJIMBO #160

DYNAMITE

GARTH ENNIS RED TEAM DOUBLE TAP #6 (OF 9)

GRAND PASSION #2 (OF 5)

KISS #3

IDW

BACK TO THE FUTURE #15

DONALD QUEST #2 (OF 5)

GUMBALLS #1

JEM MISFITS #1

LOCKE & KEY SMALL WORLD

MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #49

STAR TREK GREEN LANTERN VOL 2 #1

SUPER F*CKERS FOREVER #5 (OF 5)

TMNT UNIVERSE #5

X-FILES X-MAS SPECIAL 2016

IMAGE

DEMONIC #5 (OF 6)

FIX #7

HORIZON #6

HUNT #5

LAKE OF FIRE #5

PETER PANZERFAUST #25

SOUTHERN CROSS #10

ONI

NIGHTS DOMINION #4

VALIANT

BLOODSHOT USA #3 (OF 4)

DIVINITY III STALINVERSE #1

HARBINGER RENEGADE #2

MISC

4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK #3

ALTERS #3

ANIMOSITY #4

ARCHIE #15

DARK SOULS WINTERS SPITE #2 (OF 4)

DOCTOR WHO 10TH YEAR TWO #17

HERO CATS #14

HOOKJAW #1 (OF 5)

LADY MECHANIKA LA DAMA DE LA MUERTE #3 (OF 3)

SIMPSONS COMICS #235

STREET FIGHTER UNLIMITED #12

TANK GIRL GOLD #3 (OF 4)

THE MUMMY (HAMMER) #2 (OF 5)

TORCHWOOD #4

WARHAMMER 40000 WILL OF IRON #3 (OF 4)

WORLD WAR X #1 (OF 6)

TRADES

A&A ADV OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG TP VOL 02 ROMANCE AN

ADVENTURE TIME ICE KING TP

AFTER LAND GN VOL 01 (OF 3)

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION GREAT RESPONSIBILITY TP

ART OF ARCHER HC

ART OF ROGUE ONE STAR WARS STORY HC

BATMAN 66 TP VOL 05

BEAUTY TP VOL 02

BIG TROUBLE IN MOTHER RUSSIA HC ILLUS NOVEL

BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 05 TRUE ATONEMENT

BLACK WIDOW TP WEB OF INTRIGUE

BLAME GN VOL 02

BLUE MONDAY TP VOL 02 ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

BRAMBLE DLX ED HC

BRIGHTER THAN YOU THINK 10 SHORT WORKS BY ALAN MOO

CAPTAIN AMERICA STEVE ROGERS TP VOL 01 HAIL HYDRA

CHARLAINE HARRIS GRAVE SURPRISE HC

COLDEST WINTER HC

COMPLETE FRANK MILLER ROBOCOP OMNIBUS TP

CONAN OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 BIRTH OF LEGEND

DEADPOOL WORLDS GREATEST TP VOL 05 CIVIL WAR II

DISNEY MOANA MOVIE GN

DOCTOR STRANGE TP VOL 01 WAY OF WEIRD

DOCTOR WHO 10TH TP VOL 04 ENDLESS SONG

DOCTOR WHO 4TH HC GAZE OF MEDUSA

ELEPHANTMEN MAMMOTH TP VOL 02

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK TP VOL 04

FLASH BY MARK WAID TP BOOK 01

GEMINI COMPLETE SERIES TP

GIANT SIZE LITTLE MARVEL TP AVX

GOODNIGHT PUNPUN GN VOL 04

GUN THEORY HC

INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US YEAR FOUR TP VOL 02

IRREDEEMABLE PREMIER EDITION HC VOL 03

JUSTICE LEAGUE TP VOL 08 DARKSEID WAR PART 2

KIM AND KIM TP VOL 01

KUMA MIKO GN VOL 02

MANIFEST DESTINY TP VOL 04 SASQUATCH

MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS ULTRON REVOLUTION DIGEST TP VOL 01

MASTER KEATON GN VOL 09 URASAWA

MAXX MAXXIMIZED HC VOL 07

METAL MEN FULL METAL JACKET TP

MOORCOCK LIB HC VOL 04 WEIRD OF THE WHITE WOLF

MUTTS TREASURY YEAR OF YESH SC

ONE WEEK IN THE LIBRARY GN

PATSY WALKER AKA HELLCAT TP VOL 02 DONT STOP ME-OW

PUNISHER TP VOL 01 ON ROAD

SAVAGE DRAGON LEGACY TP

SILK TP VOL 02 NEGATIVE

SPIDER-GWEN TP VOL 02 WEAPON OF CHOICE

SPREAD TP VOL 03 NO SAFE PLACE

SUICIDE SQUAD TP VOL 05 APOKOLIPS NOW

SUPERMAN ACTION COMICS HC VOL 09 LAST RITES

SUPERMAN ACTION COMICS TP VOL 08 TRUTH

SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN HC VOL 05 SAVAGE END

SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 04 DARK TRUTH

SYMMETRY TP VOL 02

TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE NEW EDITION TP

THROWAWAYS TP VOL 01

TMNT MEETING OF THE MUTANIMALS HC

TOKYO GHOUL GN VOL 10

TOMIE COMPLETE DLX ED HC

TRISH TRASH ROLLERGIRL OF MARS HC VOL 01

TURNCOAT TP

ULTIMATES: OMNIVERSAL TP VOL 02 CIVIL WAR II

VAMPIRELLA HOLLYWOOD HORROR TP

VENOM SEPARATION ANXIETY TP NEW PTG

X-MEN EPIC COLLECTION LONELY ARE HUNTED TP

MERCH

DC COMICS HARLEY QUINN HULA GIRL BOBBLE FIGURE

DC FILMS ARMORED BATMAN PREMIUM AF

DC FILMS SUPERMAN PREMIUM AF

DC TV ARROW FLASH 2 PACK AF

POP HEROES BATGIRL 2016 VINYL FIG

TLS X MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE MINI FIG 16PC BMB DS

ALL STAR RECOMMENDS FOR DECEMBER 13TH

Hi again,

Year end lists of most excellent comics are beginning to circulate but like last year mine will come in early January, giving time for last minute stragglers to sneak in before the dust settles on December 31st. Quite a bit of reading to do before then and quite a few titles elbowing and shoving their way into my top 15. It's pretty much a given, however, that you'll find the below title on there.

Before we get to that, however, I keep forgetting to point out that fans Naoki Urarasawa's Master Keaton might want to check out Tokyo Stories: Midnight Diner on Netflix. It's the closest thing I've seen that captures the type of syrupy, over-the-top but completely charming Japanese sentimentalism that Keaton excels at. Set in a tiny, all-night diner, Tokyo Stories focuses on a particular dish every episode and ties the lives and struggles of the diner's customers into it. The mysterious owner/chef plays a bit part in his own series, like Keaton much of the time, and if you have any affection for Japan, you may well feel yourself pining for the place after watching. Great stuff. Master Keaton, by the way, is up to its eight volume, which kicked off with "Special Menu," the ripping tale of Keaton helping a Caucasian man working in a Chinese restaurant in London. Ruddy (that has to be a translation error surely) wants to cook Hong Kong style food, but his boss, an older Chinese gent, refuses to let the white boy cook. That is until Keaton helps him crack the secret ingredients to a very special recipe. Seriously, comics can do anything...

COMIC OF THE WEEK : SUNNY VOL. 6

By Taiyo Matsumoto

Translated by Michael Arias

Published By Viz

Concluding in magnificent, tear-inducing fashion is Taiyo Matsumoto's Sunny, a series that, by manga standards, may seem slender at a mere six volumes but had depth and scope far greater than its total page count would appear to allow.

It's 1970s Japan. At Star Kids Home lives a group of children who have either lost or been abandoned by their parents. It's a combined orphanage/foster home of sorts, and the kids who reside there try to move on with their young lives even as they pine for families they no longer have. When the going gets tough for the kids, the tough kids get going. At least their imaginations do. On the property is an old Nissan Sunny and the kids, escaping the world and its perpetual angst, drive it as far as their dreams and their imaginations will allow in spurts of lovely magic realism. The car itself is something of an outcast, left to sit neglected on the property. A quick Google search will reveal the vehicle's generic, boxy design which may hold some retro appeal now, but looks essentially like any other '70s car, unremarkable and average -- it's great "casting" by Matsumoto, the perfect car for the kids to transform into something special through their imaginations and to use as a place to retreat from the world and feel safe in the confines of its chassis.

Volume 5 ended up on last year's Best Of list and it's been a long wait for the arrival of this concluding volume. Based, in part, on Matsumoto's own childhood experiences, there's a tremendously authentic feel to the project as a whole and the author's ability to get inside the minds of his young cast is remarkable. The kids are essentially a gang of misfits, the oversized, mentally challenged Taro, the rebellious, white-haired Haruo, the nerdy, bespectacled Sei, among many others, bound together in a semblance of family, and yet individually each is something of a societal castaway. It's heartbreaking, made even more so by just how lovingly each page is drawn.

Haruo's troublemaking tendencies reach critical mass in this final volume, with a group of local men travelling to Star Kids Home to tell long-suffering supervisor/father figure Mr Adachi to get him under control. "None of these kids is here at the home because they want to be," Adachi responds before bowing in apology to his unsympathetic visitors, "Sure, on the outside they're laughing and singing, but on the inside they're hollowed out. They're miserable because they feel alienated..." The reader is, of course, well aware of this fact, but Adachi spelling it out for his visitors reveals the emotional disconnect the world at large has with these forgotten kids who we are now so very close to. The men, of course, do not care. They have said their piece and, job done, are off to drink some beers.

Earlier in the volume, the kids are taken to Kiddyland on a daytrip. It's chance for them to indulge themselves, have fun and create some new, happier memories. The sprawling theme park, however, has the opposite effect, with the kids finding themselves surrounded by prototypical nuclear families. They rebound emotionally by playing Happy Family, acting out parental and grandparental and sibling roles for one another. It's yet another heart-punch in a book and a series full of them.

Considering the overall tone, it's a clear challenge for Matsumoto to end things upliftingly without squashing the overall realism with some optimistic plot contrivance. Enter, for the final time, the Nissan Sunny, this most unremarkable of cars, for a final trip, a final escape and one of the most singularly perfect images Matsumoto has ever made. Visually beautiful, rich in character, literary in writing, heartbreaking but radiating true warmth, I will miss this book and these very real characters dearly.

WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK :WHY IS THE GREAT BARRIER REEF DYING?

By Kate Moon

Melbourne artist Kate Moon arrived at The Nib a couple of week's back with "Why Is The Great Barrier Reef Dying?" an excellent webcomic that details the effects global warming and our government's seeming disinterest are having on the only living structure that can be seen from space. Beginning by outlining the problem, Moon brilliantly moves from cause of coral bleaching to effect, first on the marine life dependant on the reef, then to us humans. There's a lot of information crammed in here, but it's excellently structured and described, leaving readers with no doubt that this is a serious problem and we need to act.

Moon does some lovely work here, highlighted by a long, scrolling panel that details the marine life found around the reef. There's easily room for this project to be expanded into something like the work Maris Wicks and others are doing for Science Comics and, once again this week, we see the variety and flexibility, of comics on full display.

https://thenib.com/why-is-the-great-barrier-reef-dying

COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK : TAIYO MATSUMOTO'S UNIVERSE

And it's a hearty well done to this particular YouTube uploader who squeezed Taiyo Matsumoto's short story "Universe" into a perfect little 40-second video. Cosmic but simultaneously oh so human, "Universe" is perhaps a perfect introduction to Matsumoto's worlds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3VUXLBiqNk

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 14th of December

WOW! What a weekend. The Women In Comics Festival was a huge succcess and we couldn't be happier with the positive results. The group is already working on ideas for next year but until then if the weekend's festival has inspired you to get more involved in the comic community the next All Star Women's Comic Book Club Meet Up is this Saturday, the 17th. Celebrating her recent appearance at the Festival, the group is covering Hope Larson's Goldie Vance.

Now for some comic goodness!

Don't pay any attention to the seemingly evil Prime in the trailer for the latest TF movie. IDW has got it right with the return of the greatest Autobot of them all, OPTIMUS PRIME #1.

"Farm Boy, colour in the new PRINCESS BRIDE A STORYBOOK TO COLOR TP"

"As you wish."

Spirit bullets and ghost guns go pew pew boo boo with one of Marvel "stranger" team ups of recent times in DOCTOR STRANGE PUNISHER MAGIC BULLETS #1 (OF 4).

Following with the theme of magic and fantasy, there are few other great series to catch up on.

The thrilling family/fantasy drama continues with the three generations of the Rhodes clan trapped in a dark magic siege situation in BIRTHRIGHT TP VOL 04 FAMILY HISTORY. 

BTVS SEASON 10 TP VOL 06 OWN IT wraps up this most recent Buffy season but will the Scooby gang be able to pull together to defeat this season's big bad?!

And finally the fantasy noir series from BOOM Studios gets collected in SPIRE TP

If you weren't already in the festive mood, the DC REBIRTH HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1 showcasing a number of talented creators telling Xmas tales with your favourite DC heroes should get you jolly.

Master of Horror, old Dicky Corben of Heavy Metal and Hellbanger fame returns to an all new super-spooky anthology in SHADOWS ON THE GRAVE #1. 

For fans of the recent HBO series Westworld, now would be a great time to check out and get up to date with Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's DESCENDER TP VOL 03 SINGULARITIES to help fill that artificial intelligence, existential crisis gap in your life.

Doomdoomdoomdoom...time for the new INVADER ZIM TP VOL 03.

70's rock band groupie murders connected to demonic possession? Just the normal life of the musically gifted in Joe Harris' ROCKSTARS #1.

The stage is set slightly differently for this new swords and sorcery classic, when Red Sonja wakes up in modern times in RED SONJA #0

Kate Bishop is back and tougher than ever. Armed with her bow and a P.I badge, she's got the criminals of Los Angeles in her sight, in HAWKEYE #1 NOW.

The Civil War begins to hit a little too close to home for Kamala, as she's forced to choose between her heroes and her family, in MS MARVEL TP VOL 06 CIVIL WAR II. 

A big week for Bat-fans as Scott Snyder's tenure comes to an end in BATMAN HC VOL 10 EPILOGUE and BATMAN TP VOL 09 BLOOM. 

Frank Miller's epic story that serves as a prelude to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is back in a new, oversized hardcover edition with DARK KNIGHT RETURNS THE LAST CRUSADE DLX ED HC. 

Then a week late and a comic short, Paul Dini's classic take on the Dynamic Duo is collected for the first time in BATMAN AND ROBIN ADVENTURES TP VOL 01 would look really nice next to your new DC DESIGNER SERIES HARLEY BY BRUCE TIMM STATUE. 

Continue that love of Bat-imation with the next issue of the hit BATMAN TMNT ADVENTURES #2 (OF 6).

Great week for gift ideas for Xmas or perhaps gifts for yourself! See something you need put aside, just let us know before Wednesday morning and we'll get it sorted!

MARVEL

ALL NEW X-MEN #16

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS #2

DAREDEVIL #14

DARK TOWER DRAWING OF THREE SAILOR #3 (OF 5)

DEADPOOL BACK IN BLACK #5 (OF 5)

DOCTOR STRANGE PUNISHER MAGIC BULLETS #1 (OF 4)

FOOLKILLER #2

GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #15 NOW

GWENPOOL HOLIDAY SPECIAL MERRY MIX UP

HAWKEYE #1 NOW

IVX #1 (OF 6)

JESSICA JONES #3

MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS ULTRON REVOLUTION #6

MOSAIC #3

OLD MAN LOGAN #15

POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #11

SILK #15 CC

SPIDER-MAN #10

STAR WARS POE DAMERON #9

TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #13

UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #15

UNCANNY AVENGERS #17

DC COMICS

ACTION COMICS #969 VAR ED

BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #5 VAR ED

BATMAN 66 MEETS STEED AND MRS PEEL #6 (OF 6)

DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #20

DC REBIRTH HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1

DEATHSTROKE #8 VAR ED

DETECTIVE COMICS #946 VAR ED

EARTH 2 SOCIETY #19

FLASH #12 VAR ED

GOTHAM ACADEMY SECOND SEMESTER #4

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #10 VAR ED

INJUSTICE GROUND ZERO #1

NEW SUPER MAN #6 VAR ED

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #5 VAR ED

SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #8 VAR ED

SUICIDE SQUAD #8 (JL SS)

SUPERGIRL #4 VAR ED

SUPERWOMAN #5 VAR ED

WONDER WOMAN #12 VAR ED

VERTIGO

CLEAN ROOM #14

LOST BOYS #3 (OF 6)

RED THORN #13

BOOM

ADVENTURE TIME #59

NAMESAKE #2

POWER RANGERS PINK #5

SONS OF ANARCHY REDWOOD ORIGINAL #5

DARK HORSE

CHIMICHANGA SORROW OF WORLDS WORST FACE #3 (OF 4)

RESIDENT ALIEN #4 (OF 4) MAN WITH NO NAME

SHADOWS ON THE GRAVE #1

STRAIN MR QUINLAN VAMPIRE HUNTER #4 (OF 5)

DYNAMITE

AOD XENA FOREVER AND A DAY #3 (OF 6)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA VOL 3 #5 (OF 5)

JAMES BOND HAMMERHEAD #3 (OF 6)

RED SONJA #0

IDW

BATMAN TMNT ADVENTURES #2 (OF 6)

COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS #2 (OF 6)

JIM THOMPSON KILLER INSIDE ME #4 (OF 5)

MICKEY & DONALD CHRISTMAS PARADE #2

MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDS FOREVER #35

OPTIMUS PRIME #1

POWERPUFF GIRLS (2016) #5

STAR TREK BOLDLY GO #3

TMNT ONGOING #65

TRANSFORMERS LOST LIGHT #1

UNCLE SCROOGE #21

WALT DISNEY COMICS & STORIES #726

IMAGE

3 FLOYDS ALPHA KING #3 (OF 5)

DESCENDER #17

DRIFTER #15

FUSE #24

GREEN VALLEY #3 (OF 9)

HADRIANS WALL #4 (OF 8)

MAYDAY #2 (OF 5)

MOONSHINE #3

NO MERCY #12

REBORN #3

ROCKSTARS #1

SPAWN #268

ONI

ANGEL CITY #3 (OF 6)

INVADER ZIM #15

MEGA PRINCESS #2

MOTRO #2 (OF 10)

RICK & MORTY #20

VALIANT

BRITANNIA #4 (OF 4)

WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #14

MISC

B & V FRIENDS JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #252

BETTY & VERONICA COMICS DOUBLE DIGEST #249

BLACK #3

CAPTAIN KID #3

DIE KITTY DIE #3

IRWIN ALLEN LOST IN SPACE #6

MIRACULOUS #8

MOTOR GIRL #2

STREET FIGHTER UNLIMITED ANNUAL #1

SUN BAKERY #4

VOLTRON LEGENDARY DEFENDER #5

YOUNG TERRORISTS #2

TRADES

ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN ISLANDS

AGENTS OF SHIELD TP VOL 02 UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

ALEISTER ARCANE TP

ART OPS TP VOL 02 POPISM

BATMAN AND ROBIN ADVENTURES TP VOL 01

BATMAN HC VOL 10 EPILOGUE

BATMAN TP VOL 09 BLOOM

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SIX TP

BEE AND PUPPYCAT TP VOL 03

BIRTHRIGHT TP VOL 04 FAMILY HISTORY

BRUCE LEE DRAGON RISES TP

BTVS SEASON 10 TP VOL 06 OWN IT (C: 0-1-2)

DARK KNIGHT RETURNS THE LAST CRUSADE DLX ED HC

DEATHSTROKE TP VOL 04 FAMILY BUSINESS

DESCENDER TP VOL 03 SINGULARITIES

GOLD KEY ALLIANCE TP

GUARDIANS OF GALAXY NEW GUARD TP VOL 01 EMPEROR QUILL

HAPPINESS GN VOL 02

INVADER ZIM TP VOL 03

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA THE SILVER AGE TP VOL 02

LANTERN CITY HC VOL 03

LORDS OF THE JUNGLE TP

NEW LONE WOLF AND CUB TP VOL 11

MARSHALS HC

MARTIAN MANHUNTER TP VOL 02 THE RED RISING

MERCENARY FREELANCE ILLUSTRATION OF DAN BRERETON H

MICRONAUTS TP VOL 01 ENTROPY

MISS FURY MINOR KEY TP

MONSTER HUNTER FLASH HUNTER GN VOL 05 (C: 1-0-1)

MS MARVEL TP VOL 06 CIVIL WAR II

PRINCESS BRIDE A STORYBOOK TO COLOR TP

PUNISHER MAX TP COMPLETE COLLECTION VOL 04

RUMBLE TP VOL 03 IMMORTAL COIL

SCUMBAG LOSER OMNIBUS GN

SHADOWEYES SC DLX ED

SHOWMAN KILLER VOL 03 (OF 3)

SIMPSONS COMICS KNOCKOUT GN

SPIRE TP

TMNT NEW ANIMATED ADV OMNIBUS TP VOL 02

TOMB RAIDER ARCHIVES HC VOL 01

TRANSFORMERS TILL ALL ARE ONE TP VOL 01

UNCANNY INHUMANS TP VOL 03 CIVIL WAR II

UNWRITTEN DELUXE HC BOOK 01 (MR)

WEB WARRIORS OF SPIDER-VERSE TP VOL 02 SPIDERS VS

X-MEN INFERNO CROSSOVERS TP

X-MEN X-CUTIONERS SONG TP NEW PTG

MERCH

DARKSEID AND GRAIL ACTION FIGURE 2 PACK

DC COMICS BATMAN ARTFX+ STATUE ANIMATED VER

DC COMICS DESIGNER SER CAPULLO GREEN LANTERN AF

DC COMICS DESIGNER SER CAPULLO SUPERMAN AF

DC DESIGNER SER AQUAMAN BY CAPULLO AF

DC DESIGNER SER BATMAN BY CAPULLO AF 2 PACK

DC DESIGNER SERIES HARLEY BY BRUCE TIMM STATUE

HARLEY QUINN RED WHITE & BLACK ARKHAM ASYLUM STATUE

POP LABYRINTH HOGGLE VINYL FIG

POP LABYRINTH LUDO 6IN VINYL FIG

SUICIDE SQUAD BLU-RAY GIVEAWAY!

It feels good to be bad. Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?

With a huge thanks to the DVD & Blu-Ray release of SUICIDE SQUAD, available from December 7th, we have 3 copies of the Blu-ray to give away!

To go into the draw for your chance to win all you need to do is comment "Will you be part of my Squad," and tag the person you'd most like to be on a team of bad guys with and you'll be entered in the draw.

Terms and Conditions:

Only entries made on the Facebook Page will be included in the draw, then entries will go into the All Star Barrel and winners will be drawn at random.

Entries close 6pm Monday 12th of December and winners will be announced Tuesday the 13th. Winners will be notified by Facebook as to when their prizes will be available to be collected. 

Winners must produce photo ID upon pick up. 

Prizes MUST be picked up no later than a week after the draw. 

Any remaining prizes after this date will be given away at our discretion to make sure they don't go to waste.

A huge thanks again to the DVD & Blu-Ray release of SUICIDE SQUAD, available from December 7th.

ALL STAR RECOMMENDS FOR DECEMBER 6TH

December 10th and 11th sees the Women in Comics Festival hit the store, headlined by several hours of Hope Larson signing as well as a female creator's market, a Q&A with some top flight talent, and local fave Jess Parker teaching a kid's drawing class. 

I really can't write a better intro that that, can I? 

So it's an all female creator week here at the Recs and if you're wisely thinking about popping along, you might also want to check in and see if the crew can get you a copy of The Complete Wimmen's Comix, published at the top of the year by Fantagraphics. Collecting more than 20 years worth of the long out of print Underground Comix classic over two beautifully designed and slipcased hardcover volumes, The Complete Wimmen's Comix is a real publishing highlight from the year - arguably the most historically significant project of 2016 and, no, I have not forgotten it's the year that the rights to Moebius' work were finally untangled. 

Featuring work by Trina Robbins, Phoebe Gloeckner, Alison Bechdel, Melinda Gebbie, Carol Tyler, Mary Fleener, Lynda Barry, Lee Marrs, Aline Kominsky-Crumb and many, many more, the 17 issues (plus extras) of The Complete Wimmen's Comix collected within still feel fresh and subversive, dated only by certain colloquialisms but even they have their charm in the context of historical feminist documents. 

It's the most punk rock book of the year and the earliest material dates back to 1970. There's something a little strange about that and I hope that as we celebrate the female voices of our medium, we can look back as well as forward and keep pushing creatively into, as with Wimmen's Comix, sometimes challenging places. Judging by this week's webcomics, I'm pretty confident that many artful and angry women are sharpening pencils and preparing to let their comics speak. And loudly at that. 

(Artwork above by Carole, from "Breaking Out" found in The Complete Wimmen's Comix)

COMIC OF THE WEEK : WONDER WOMAN: THE TRUE AMAZON

By Jill Thompson

Published By DC Comics

What a tremendous year Wonder Woman has had. From Greg Rucka returning to her main title along with Nicola Scott and Liam Shape handling the art, to the trailer to her long-overdue debut solo film looking, easily, like the best DC Comics translation to the big screen so far. However, capping 2016 off as a highpoint in the character's history is Wonder Woman: The True Amazon by Jill Thompson, a seven-time Eisner award-winner, who writes and paints (*swoon*) an original graphic novel chronicling the early years of Princess Diana of Themyscira. 

We all may be suffering a bit of origin overkill thanks to the proliferation of comic book movies, retcons, reboots, parallel timelines and alternate worlds, and the idea of once again revisiting Diana's birth, as well as Amazonian history prior to it, may immediately cause some justifiably burned out readers to stifle a yawn. But the draw here is Jill Thompson who, through her watercolours alone, brings a completely fresh aesthetic to the character and packs the storytelling skill to make even the most bored origin reader forgive the project's tired premise and willingly tumble into her beautiful pages.

Thompson holds to the version of Wonder Woman's origin that has her created from clay by her mother Hippolyta. The pages detailing Diana's creation are some of the book's loveliest as Hippolyta's lullaby to the unmoving sand sculpture of her ideal child reaches the heavens of Mount Olympus and stirs the emotions of the assembled gods to such an extent that tears filled with divine power rain down and bring the sculpture to life. From Poseidon depicted as almost a gargantuan and luminous fighting fish, to ocean waves frozen in time as they crest similarly to those of a classic Japanese print, to tears of gold, copper and silver cascading down, this is the Wonder Woman birth scene to immortalise -- it's as epic and richly symbolic as Martha Wayne’s free-falling pearls.

From here, we look on as Diana grows quickly and disappointingly into Wonder Brat, coddled and spoiled by her status as the island's princess and all that comes with it - wealth, finery, servants who enable rather than correct. It reads rather wonderfully like an expanded take on one of those children's books about learning to share or ceasing to say "no" all the time and, as in those books, Diana's brattishness is tempered by Thompson visually imbuing the character with such expressive life that she's difficult to truly dislike even as she torments her tutors and humiliates her servants. 

From here, Diana grows into an arrogant but adventurous teen, still unaware of her hubris and determined to conquer Themyscira's plentiful mysteries. More mythic energy can be found in this section as Diana completes an almost Amazonian version of the Herculean Labours, slaying monsters, reclaiming treasures and all the while remaining thoroughly cocky and oblivious to the impending tragedy that's about to unfold even as she falls for the one person who refuses to fawn over her - Alethea, the Queen's stable girl.

This all might sound kind of like a female version of the original Marvel Thor Odinson who, let's not forget, was banished to Earth for his arrogance on Asgard and tied to form of a physically challenged mortal until he earned his karmic comeuppance. However, Thompson's ironic twist is cruel, dark and so shockingly unsentimental that it makes Spider-Man failing to stop the criminal who subsequently murders his Uncle Ben look like a My Little Pony story. Diana's actions are so unforgivable in fact that readers may even have a difficult time moving past them - I certainly did -- but this inevitable humbling is powerful in execution and fitting given how self-obsessed and blind to her actions this incarnation of the character is.

Visually Wonder Woman: The True Amazon is flawless. Thompson's character designs, from her Amazons to her gods to her monsters, are perfect and her painted artwork is warm and rich and never less than striking -- there are simply too many excellent visual moments to spotlight. The action sequences are fluid and thrilling and its quieter narrative moments are touching. My one problem is that, perhaps inevitably, it does feel very much like prologue (perhaps it is) and as such it lacks a truly compelling conclusion. This quibble aside, however, Wonder Woman: The True Amazon is a terrific book, possibly as perfect an introduction to the character as we will get. Readers dissatisfied with Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette's 2015 Wonder Woman: Earth One should take particular note as they would almost certainly, and enthusiastically, gravitate to Thompson's far more mythically and chronologically classic work. Side by side, however, both books showcase Wonder Woman's striking flexibility as a fictional character.

Finally, it's heartening to see DC showcase Thompson's work in such a premiere way and kudos to them for continuing to stick with the original hardcover graphic novel format (something Marvel appears to have all but abandoned, sadly). Hopefully their support endures for subsequent volumes of Jill Thompson's lushly, lovingly illustrated take on comics flagship female character, for as much as I gripe about this feeling like all prologue, I would certainly come back for Act One.

WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK : RESIST!

By Various

Although submissions have closed for all you aspiring artistic revolutionaries, Resist! seeks to help mend hearts, minds and souls broken by the recent U.S election through the wonder of comics and I think we can all get behind that. I'm not going to pick a single comic from the "Daily Image" section of what will eventually be a tabloid-sized comics newspaper to be distributed on The Orange Goblin's Inauguration Day in January, but the creators are overwhelmingly identified as female and have quite a lot to say, sometimes with very minimal visual language. There's some great stuff here and I can't think of a better way to showcase the diversity of female talents currently hacking away at their comics-making stations. Have a scroll here:

http://www.resistsubmission.com/daily-image

COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK : CHANTAL MONTELLIER, LA PART D'ENFANCE

I say it all the time - we are spoiled. This is arguably the greatest period of English-language comics availability ever. From the manga we can read, to the rights to Moebius' work being untangled, to the arrival of Guido Crepax in gorgeously oversized hardcovers, to Hugo Pratt's canonical Corto Maltese stories being presented as they truly should be read, this really is a period embarrassing in its funnybook riches.

However. 

How. Ever.

2016 has almost ended. Announcements for 2017 are rolling out and there is still not a sniff of freshly translated Chantal Montellier comics on the publishing winds. The last time, to my knowledge, her classic work appeared in English was the 1980s in Heavy Metal (feel free to peruse old instalments of this column for my recaps of her work there). The last time we saw new work by her in English was her 2008 adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Trial. It's fast becoming one of the great mysteries of comics - why and how is the work of this woman, evergreen in its relevance and stylishness, continuing to be ignored by American publishers? It's baffling.

Here is Montellier still at work and speaking in French without subtitles, which is embarrassingly fitting given the untranslated status of the bulk of her work. For over 40 years she's been at it, blending pop art with dystopian SF with a searing social conscience. We should ask HER about her feminist agenda. I imagine we'd get quite the response.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf39SIhT-5s

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.