I LOVE COMICS ISLE OF MISFIT BOYS

- Donna Troy starts looking like her from Strangers With Candy

Note to self: visit George Perez site to scrub Huk-L's description of Secret Comic Wife from head.

Leeeeee, if ILC isn't back, you have to post your sketches and recap your stalkery behavior here. Very enjoyable.

BATMAN #663 very, very, very good - and astonishingly so, considering the 1997 "rawk!!!" album artwork which plagues it (should undermine, but functions reasonably well for the purposes of illustration).

Really? I got scared and left it on the shelf, which is the first time I've done that for a GM comic in a while.

The art kinda reminded me of that horrible computer-generated Batman comic from the early nineties. (Digital Justice?)

uuughh they are dragging out this montoya is the new question shit

I'm ignoring this Batman "booK" type bs.
Meanwhile hubba(2x) = http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Action/ActionPOwell.html

I'm gonna guess that there aren't that many L@ur@ Hud$0ns from NYC that read comix, work @ a comic store & used to (still?) post to ILC. The reason I mention this is her blog (fwabow) just got mentioned on ZEE BEAT (slorp), so, um, yeah? Yeah.

And I second the Eric Powell hubbaing - even GJ @ his most corny headpunchiest couldn't screw this up (& don't prove me wrong, duder).

OMG LOOK WHO'S LETTERING ARCHIE

SO WRONG

The art reminded me of John Van Fleet, because it was! I wuv JVF, though I don't know if he's actually done anything since Shadows' Fall.

You know, this might shock the one or two of you that actually read this book or care, but I don't think Ultimate Professor X is actually dead OMG! I think Kirkman's having the Prof pull that trick he did in the "real" X-books, where he pretended to die so he could prepare for the Z'Nox invasion! & maybe Magician is the Ultimate Mimic! Or something! Yeah! COMICS! BIG WHIFF ZOW!

Also - if someone could inform Yanick Paquette that teenage women, on average, do not have DD breasts, that would be AWESOME, as it would make his rather swank Kevin Nowlan nods easier to enjoy.

Why isn't Patrick Gleason drawing MORE comics?
MY SON IS A WILDCAT!
I just realized that Hannibal Tatu is really David Spade circa 1991.
AND I THOUGHT AQUAMAN SMELLED BAD ON THE OUTSIDE!

ooh, good for laura! she's also writing occasionally for publishers weekly too, i understand? and working for virgin comics in some undisclosed position. but she doesn't post anymore.. maybe she lurks still?

i STILL haven't been to the comic book store in weeks. i should go today. maybe i will go RIGHT NOW. hrmr. i bet i've already missed a lot of titles fer goods. i hate it when this happens. no comic shop close to my house means i don't want to make a stop in the wet & cold between work/home.

also of possible interest, peter bagge drew this ad for the store i work at:
http://a960.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/1/l_e618959c5b46d2b82997bfbdc806f23f.jpg

Wow Ian, that is godhead.

Ha - Huk, I was gonna ask you to 'splain what happened in GLC, because while it looked all cool & shit, I could barely make heads or tails of all the black hole / fighting shenanigans.

*lurk*

So, um, Chameleon Boy's dad and Infectious Lass's Great-Great-Grandmother and Darkseid beat up someone or other, and found the Dominators' station and, um, Guy Gardner doesn't kill so, like, he has to go back to the normal GL gang. I don't know how much I remember, but it was fun while it lasted. Very impressive outing from writer Keith Champagne, whose only previous writering was on a DEATHLY DULL JSA adventure in the Thunderbolt Dimension. High hopes for his WWIII stuff!

Anyway, Showcase Aquaman is Aqua-Awesome. VERY kid-oriented. Sorta like the Flintstones, where the most fun is in seeing prehistoric animals playing records, washing dishes, etc, only the underwater animals that do the same in Aquaman never make wisecracks. So far my favourite story is "Aquaman's Sea Animal Hospital", which is a very gentle and non-violent story about Aquaman opening a Sea Animal Hospital (duh) and helping his finny friends (many of which don't actually have fins--there seems to be a rather loose definition of "fish" in these stories). And then, quite suddenly and abruptly, SEA PIRATES SHOOT AQUAMAN DEAD! I won't spoil the story for you, but, um, I'm so happy I got this volume. I'm still not sure if I'll continue buying the Showcase series unabated, but, whatev.

I second the love for Showcase Aquaman. This is nearly as good as the Superman volumes - the Sea Animal hospital story, and the one set in New Venice are worth their entry alone, and then once Aqualad turns up there are Jimmy Olsen levels of goodness, especially the one where Aqualad loses his memory the day before his test for school, and the one where they arrange the Undersea Olympics.

AQUAMAN EVEN HAS THE POWER TO MAKE A STORY WITH THE SILVER AGE GREEN ARROW IN IT GOOD. That's saying something.

Oh God, I remember that Green Arrow/Aquaman from the DC Archives edition I own. Green Arrow and Aquaman notice that their respective foes have switched territories, so instead of doing the *logical* thing and having Aquaman defeat GA's underwater foe and GA fite with Aquaman's enemy on dry land, they decide that the best thing to do is get Green Arrow some diving gear and have Aquaman drive around the city with A GIANT FISH-FILLED TANK!

Also wonderful is the very first panel in the Aquaman origin story, where you see this frazzled old sailor type shouting incentive at a young kid locked in a tank with two sharks.

Yeah, Aqualad is way more from the Jimmy Olsen mold than the Robin mold. I like Aquaman's intimations in the Aqualad intro that he's really nothing but a drifter...in a way, he's Superman w/o Clark Kent. He's just this castoff orphan unequiped to live in The New World, but utterly alienated from The Old World. He's the (blond-haired and presumably blue-eyed) Jew who couldn't assimilate. I'm very pleasantly surprised at the pathos I've found in Aquaman.

Did I just blow ILC's mind with my intimation that Aquaman is the Wander Jew (eff one Phantom Stranger) or did everyone just take the rest of the weekend off?

anyway:
COUNTDOWN 51-48
Written by Paul Dini and others
Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
51 written by Paul Dini; art by Jesus Saiz
50 written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray; art by Jim Calafiore
49 written by Tony Bedard; art by Carlos Magno
48 written by Adam Beechen; art by David Lopez
Covers by Andy Kubert & Tim Townshend
The event of the year is here! This brand-new, year-long weekly series features a
cast of hundreds where anything goes! With head writer Paul Dini and a rotating team of
some of the industry’s best writers and artists, COUNTDOWN will serve as the backbone
of the DCU in 2007.
When a character dies in COUNTDOWN 51, it sets off an unexpected ripple that
will touch virtually every character in the DC Universe.
The COUNTDOWN is on…so begins the end!
COUNTDOWN 51 on sale May 9
COUNTDOWN 50 on sale May 16
COUNTDOWN 49 on sale May 23
COUNTDOWN 48 on sale May 30
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

+ing somewhere in above msg

written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

but Adam Beechen (the new Dan Slott???)

yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

also, RIP Bob Oksner
http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_02_18.html#012954

Because if you can't trust the people who gave you Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, you must be able to read.

I started drinking not long after you posted that, which is why I didn't pick up on it.

It's a good spot though. There's a story to be told as well of the sadness he seems to feel stumbling across the purple-eyed mutant offspring of Atlantis (which may well be why you see it most in the Aqualad stories). He probably needs more EMO STARING ACROSS THE SEA FROM ROCKY OUTCROPS.

Other things remembered about why the rest of you should buy this - Aquaman being able to control a water buffalo because it has... er... water in its name. And the one where Lois Lane gets turned into a mermaid because her legs hurt, only for Superman to memorise the whole history of medicine and turn them back into legs again.

Anyway, Countdown. I'm not sure what the linkage is, but one of the Teen Titans dies in the book shipping a week before the first Countdown. Or perhaps doesn't, but is dead by the time the next issue of Titans comes out.

What's the "major spoiler" mentioned in the comments field on 52 PickUp that's in the latest GLC?

Did Showcase HoM Vol 2 ship when it was supposed to, or has it been delayed?

I'm actually thinking about not buying this. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME etc.

BTW, finally caught up on 52. That fight = BALLS. Read like GJ all the way (cf. the speechifying about being a hero GOD SHUT UP) w/ the other folks adding dialogue flourishes. Also, smart me didn't realize the other woman in NP was Ms. Prince until I finished reading & looked @ the cover. Brains!

Oh yeah, the Lois Lane/Aquaman story, where Superman is given "every degree we have", and then NOT ONCE called "Dr. Superman".

Smart money's on Starfire to bite it (and then come back whenever Johns returns to TT).

GLC spoiler maybe "Great Darkness Saga" fakeout?

See, I might have thought Starfire, but the April issue of Titans features a "shocking conclusion to the Deathstroke saga". That's normally hyperbole, but given the next issue has SADFACE GRAVE WATCHING on the cover it being Starfire seems like a cop-out, or at least a missed opportunity.

What be "Great Darkness Saga"?

Classic Levitz-era LOSH story whose climactic reveal is SPOILED by the trade cover

Ha - I think there's a similar GOTCHA in the previous Legion series (by Abnett & Lanning) re: a modern DC villain mucking around in the future. Of course, they haven't traded a damn thing, so there's no spoilers to be had (lest I be spoilin arrrr) (or, um, you look @ one of the covers of the series).

Can anyone w00t or pfft on the P&G Uncle Sam stuff? I think Douglas (!!!) & Aldo were reading it...?

Butter for Bludhaven wasn't enough?

BTW - the last issue of CIVIL WAR! This week! AND the revelation of who makes Spidey cry (again)! And The Brave & The Bold! (Buy the Batman cover! Screw Green Lantern!) All this & more (possibly).

Oh, Huk - not you too.

ooh, fun week!

52 WEEK #42
KRYPTO THE SUPER DOG #6 (OF 6) - final issue! buy it or the dog gets it!
OMEGA MEN #5 (OF 6) - Flint Henry, where have you been all my life?
ROBIN #159
SPIRIT #3
SUPERMAN #659 - MORE KRYPTO!
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #4
SHE-HULK 2 #16
ACTION PHILOSOPHERS #8 SENSELESS VIOLENCE SPECTACULAR

No BRAVE & BOLD, Hukapoo! Waht is wrong!!1!!!?!?

I don't see it on the list?

The Uncle Sam book is shockingly meh. For every moment where it's really w00t (and there are a few) there as many where it's pfft. I can't really get to grips with the artwork either. I'd definitely read it as a cbr, but wouldn't recommend buying the issues or a trade if you weren't a MUG LIKE ME.

Midtown sez it's shipping!

Also, for those of you that haven't yet sipped @ the frothy glowing cup of goodness that is G0DLAND, the latest issue (ONLY 60 CENTS) is a fine introduction to what's already happened, & what's gonna happen. Douglas is sorta right, in that there might not be more than rampant Kirby love happening throughout (dig those carazy analogues for Lockjaw & the Celestials) (& the Omega Effect!), but Joe Casey's riff on the Funky Flashman's gift of gab is pretty inspired (especially when it concerns the dialogue of one Basil Cronus, a skull in a jar prone to tuning in & dropping out, currently ambulating around the world atop the body of a female assassin) - one of the plots involved ol' Basil kidnapping the Lockjaw stand-in so he could get high off the alien doggie's blood! (I'm 75% sure I didn't make that up.)

Also, re: the Big Reveal in the Dr. 13 story backing up Spectre: Life on the Streets as the Spirit of Vengeance

1) get Cliff Chiang on She-Hulk yesterday (tho I heart Rick Burchett)
2) I would be fine w/ Genius Jones being all meta, except for the godawful "didn't make CENTS" pun
3) FUNKY FLASHMAN!

yeah, B.Azz going ONE STEP over shocka.

52 WEEK #42 - sounds like it's the last Ralph issue.
AQUAMAN SWORD OF ATLANTIS #49 - Last issue before Tad Williams turns it into Lord Of The Sadface
BOYS #7 - Hahaha Diamond GET ONE CLUE
CATWOMAN #64 - Hmm. This is one patchy book.
HELLBLAZER #229 - NOT MINE
OMEGA MEN #5 - I have missed one of these somewhere down the line, I think.
SPIRIT #3 - OH NOES ORIGIN ISSUE
WONDER WOMAN #4 - Has this been deliberately delayed to avoid 52 spoilerage?
JACK STAFF #13 - The last issue of this seemed to be the very last one, so quite what this might contain I don't know
POWERS #23 - Losing patience with this tbh
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #4 - This had better have mini Iron Men in it this month
SHE-HULK 2 #16 - Now with added Wolfering
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #39 - See Powers

aldo nooooooo re: UFF! It's totally enjoyable & stuff! Shut up!

As for Wonder Heinberg - I guess "scheduling delays" have prompted DC to push off the final part of his story into some special one-shot / annual thing - #5's gonna be a fill-in, #6 is going to start the Jodi Picoult run, & to make it up to the fannies (according to AH), the final part of Where Is McSteamy? is gonna feature loads of special bonus goodies (hopefully not drawn by C-list fill-ins).

Note to Big Two - when working w/ TV & movie folks, plz get the scripts IN THE CAN before you start soliciting.

With UFF, it's just I can't remember what's been in it for what seems like ages. Actually, that's bollocks isn't it because the last arc introduced ULTIMATE THANOS who's possessing Reed.

IGNORE ME.

I'm waiting until the real list goes up (non-shocker), but I will note that, as much as I hated BATTLE FOR BLUDHAVEN and boy did I hate it, there have been some very good bits in the UNCLE SAM mini. Not quite enough to endorse it wholeheartedly at cover price, but if you see it in the 25-cent bin, snap it up.

That KRYPTO kiddie miniseries has been surprisingly fun.

COUNTDOWN, uh, DEVELOPING.

52, krypto, pwj, she hulk!

(um hi, can anyone spot hidden gems in this potentially awful but intriguing ebay list of minis? sorry to waste time/divert conversation.)

The real list is up: http://www.diamondcomics.com/shipping/shipping_022107.txt

For me:
52 WEEK #42: mother of mercy, is this the end of Dibny Diary?
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #1: Waid and Perez together--this looks like big fun
THE HELMET OF FATE: BLACK ALICE: just because I like the character
THE SPIRIT #3: origin time!
CIVIL WAR #7: I have a joke I'm not going to be able to crack until Wednesday
NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #2: and wait, is #3 coming out in 2010?
HOUSE OF SUGAR GN: really terrific project from imprint Hope Larson started to publish it
HEARTBREAK SOUP TP: actually I have this already--the fourth or fifth incarnation I've owned this material in--but holy crap it's great
MAGGIE THE MECHANIC TP: ditto--the Hernandez-curious who don't want to drop $50 on the "Locas" or "Palomar" hardcovers should really try these two

Minty Fresh: in that list, I'd say DC's "Invasion" is curiously entertaining in an over-the-top semi-awful way; the sadface 1979 "World of Krypton" mini is worth a look; and the 7 Soldiers things are wonderful if you haven't read 'em, especially Zatanna. Otherwise, total grimness: almost nothing I'd rescue from a quarter bin.

Dopey request: could someone w/ eBay access post a list of the minis minty's asking about, so those of us that have eBay BANNED from our work browsers can goof off properly?