February 2012 Newsletter

Dear Friends:

          The February Previews catalog features all of the comics and products scheduled to start arriving in April and I'm going to try and tell you about as much as I can about what's coming and what looks interesting. When you see something intriguing please send me an email or give me a call and I'll be happy to order it for you.

          Some of the codes and abbreviations that I use are HC (hard cover), TP (trade paperback), SC (soft cover), GN (graphic novel), AF (action figure) and ☼ (an excellent writer or creator or title deserving wider recognition in my humble opinion).

          Eight months into the 'New 52' at DC, the first round of cancellations shows which series' didn't find their audiences. Issue number eight of these six titles will be the final issues: BLACKHAWKS, HAWK AND DOVE, MEN OF WAR, MISTER TERRIFIC, O.M.A.C. And STATIC SHOCK. I hear rumors that there will be the 'New 52' Second Wave titles starting up in next months' catalog: DIAL H, BATMAN INCORPORATED, WORLD'S FINEST, GI COMBAT, EARTH 2 and the RAVAGERS. And the following month should have the new 'BEFORE WATCHMEN' titles that I sent you an email about earlier in the week (because I was so excited I couldn't keep it to myself).

          First I'm going to list the most popular creators and what projects they're involved with so if you have a favorite comic maybe you'd like to try some of the other works by that author or artist.

AARON: Jason Aaron writes the creator owned SCALPED #58 at Vertigo, with three issues left to go on this intense series about life, crime and corruption surrounding the operation of a casino on a reservation. At Marvel he is one of the writers of AVENGERS VS X-MEN #2 of 12, and he and Kathryn Immonen write the AVX: VS #1 of 6 with Adam Kubert and Stuart Immonen providing the artwork, he writes WOLVERINE & X-MEN #8, INCREDIBLE HULK #7concluding the 'Hulk vs Banner' story, WOLVERINE #304 and WOLVERINE & X-MEN #9 which is a tie-in to 'Avengers vs X-Men'. His recent work is collected in the PUNISHERMAX: HOMELESS PREMIERE HC, WOLVERINE & X-MEN BY JASON AARON PREMIERE HC VOLUME 1 and, in soft cover WOLVERINE: WOLVERINE'S REVENGE TP and T☼PUNISHERMAX: FRANK TP.

ABNETT/LANNING: Dan and Andy, respectively; sometimes referred to as DnA are a couple very prolific authors/artists who write novels and role playing rule books as well as comic books. At DC they're writing RESURRECTION MAN #8, a character they created, and their recent limited series is collected as the LEGION LOST TP. At Vertigo Dan writes the NEW DEADWARDIANS #2 of 8 and Andy inks the new 'Fables' spin-off, FAIREST #2. At Marvel DnA write NEW MUTANTS #41 while previous stories of the young mutants are collected in the NEW MUTANTS: DATE WITH THE DEVIL PREMIERE HC and the NEW MUTANTS TP: UNFINISHED BUSINESS. Dan also wrote some of the material collected in the FEAR ITSELF: WOLVERINE/NEW MUTANTS PREMIERE HC.

ADAMS: Legendary creator Neal Adams finishes writing, penciling and inking BATMAN ODYSSEY VOLUME 2 #7 of 7.

ALLRED: Michael provides the interior art as well as the cover art for I, ZOMBIE #24 at DC's mature Vertigo imprint.

ARAGONÉS: Sergio pits his barbarian against comicdom's original barbarian in GROO VS CONAN #1 of 4 at Dark Horse where he collaborates on both the story and art. At Bongo Comics he continues writing and drawing SERGIO ARAGONE'S FUNNIES #9 and also writes and illustrates one of the tales in BART SIMPSON COMICS #70.

ARCUDI: Long time collaborator with Mike Mignola, John co-writes LOBSTER JOHNSON: THE BURNING HAND #4 of 5, BPRD: HELL ON EARTH-LONG DEATH #3 as well as a story in DARK HORSE PRESENTS #11.

ASMUS: James co-writes CAPTAIN AMERICA AND HAWKEYE #629 with Ed Brubaker; the series was previously titles Captain America and Bucky.

☼AZZARELLO: Brian continues his relaunch with artist Cliff Chiang on WONDER WOMAN #8, perhaps the best take on the Amazon yet. He also writes SPACEMAN #6 of 9 with long time collaborator (100 Bullets) Eduardo Risso. I'm not a big science fiction fan but this is a book that makes me anxious for the next issue each month.

BARKER: Clive co-writes HELLRAISER #13 featuring his characters and his work inspired the stories in HELLRAISER MASTERPIECES #12.

BEDARD: Antony continues into the second arc on two of DC's 'New 52' titles with GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #8 and BLUE BEETLE #8.

BEECHEN: Adam writes one of the stories in BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #3; the series features a Justice League Unlimited story in each issue as well.

☼BENDIS: Having read a lot of comics I've become a bit jaded with super hero adventures but Brian's character development always interests me. He has a tendency to add the common place details about the heroes' lives that make them three dimensional regardless of how poorly these same characters are handled in other books. Brian is the reason that the Avengers franchise has eclipsed the X-Men franchise these past few years. This month he'll be writing AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1 of 12 and his AVENGERS #25 with new series artist Walter Simonson as well as his NEW AVENGERS #24 and NEW AVENGERS #25 are tie-ins to the Avengers vs. X-Men series. His new series spinning out of movie continuity. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #2 has Mark Bagley's artwork. Brian also continues with ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN #9 (which has been excellent even though no villains have shown up yet) and MOON KNIGHT #12 with artist Alex Maleev. In collected editions the GOLDFISH GN TP is back in print, a crime series that Brain wrote and illustrated, the POWERS PREMIERE HC VOLUME 6: SELLOUTS with art by Michael Avon Oeming, soon to be a major motion picture is a creator owned title. Brian co-wrote the material collected in the SECRET WARRIORS OMNIBUS HC and wrote ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN TP VOLUME 4: DEATH OF SPIDER-MAN. He's not only a great writer, he also meets all of his deadlines and, obviously, is quite prolific.

BRUBAKER: Ed's Vertigo series comes back into print with the DEADENDERS TP, his new and violent series at Image continues with ☼FATALE #4 and, at Marvel he chronicles the patriot Avenger in CAPTAIN AMERICA #10 and WINTER SOLDIER #4 and he co-writes CAPTAIN AMERICA AND HAWKEYE #629. And he's one of the five writers contributing to AVENGERS VS X-MEN #2 of 12 and one of the three writing FEAR ITSELF: FEARLESS #12 of 12.

BUCCELLATO: Brian co-writes FLASH #8 with the series' artist Francis Manapul.

BUNN: Cullen writes the new ongoing CAPTAIN AMERICA AND HAWKEYE #629 and co-writes BATTLE SCARS #6 of 6 as well as FEAR ITSELF: FEARLESS #12 of 12. And he takes over WOLVERINE #305 from Jason Aaron; art will be Paul Pelletier.

BUSIEK: Kurt wrote some of the material collected in the AVENGERS ASSEMBLE TP VOLUME 3.

BYRNE: John's creator owned works at IDW continue with NEXT MEN AFTERMATH #42 while his latest series is collected in the COLD WAR TP. Marvel collects the first half of his series in the X-MEN: HIDDEN YEARS TP VOLUME 1 and John provides the art and cover for X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX SAGA TP which has been out of print for a couple of years.

CAREY: At Vertigo Mike continues his hit series with UNWRITTEN #36 while at Marvel he writes X-MEN LEGACY #265 and his recent arc is collected in the X-MEN LEGACY: LOST LEGIONS TP.

CASEY: Joe writes the Kirkman/McFarlane series with HAUNT #25.

CHAYKIN: Howard's great interpretation of the pulp character comes back in print with SHADOW: BLOOD AND JUDGEMENT TP which Howie wrote and illustrated. It's being reissued in conjunction with Garth Ennis' new ongoing Shadow series.  Howard also conducts the interview in the ART OF RAMONA FRADON HC.

☼COOKE: Darwyn returns with his third adaptation of the early hard-boiled noir novels with RICHARD STARK'S: PARKER-THE SCORE HC. Richard Stark was the pen name of late mystery novelist Donald E. Westlake and his Parker character was unusual as a main character because he's a professional thief and the first two adaptations are phenomenal. Westlake wrote more than twenty Parker novels so I hope that Darwyn can continue to put out one of these per year until they're all adapted.

CORNELL: Paul is into the second arc on his two 'New 52' titles at DC: DEMON KNIGHTS #8 and STORMWATCH #8 plus his first arc is collected in the STORMWATCH TP VOLUME 1: THE DARK SIDE. And his new politics and UFO's series continues in SAUCER COUNTRY #2.

COSTA: At DC Mike writes the final issue of the BLACKHAWKS #8 while the rest of his work is at IDW including TRANSFORMERS: IDW COLLECTION HC VOLUME 6 which he co-wrote, COBRA ONGOING #12 and the collection GI JOE: COBRA ONGOING TP VOLUME 2: COBRA CIVIL WAR. He's also co-writing the creator owned series SMOKE AND MIRRORS #2 of 5.

DANIEL: A new tee shirt, JOKER SKINNED is based on Tony's art and he co-writes SAVAGE HAWKMAN #8 with James Bonny; art and cover by Philip Tan. Tony writes and illustrates DETECTIVE COMICS #8 and provides the cover and his previous arc is collected in the BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS HC VOLUME 1: FACES OF DEATH.

DAVID: Peter co-writes the conclusion in DARK TOWER-GUNSLINGER: WAY STATION #5 of 5 and the material collected in the DARK TOWER: BATTLE OF JERICHO HILL TP. He writes X-FACTOR #234 and the X-FACTOR TP: HARD LABOR features a recent arc. Peter also co-wrote AMORY WARS: SECRETS OF SILENT EARTH 3 HC ULTIMATE EDITION with series creator Claudio Sanchez, front man for the band Coheed and Cambria.

DeFALCO: Tom co-wrote the dated material collected in the AVENGERS: ART OF AVENGERS HC SLIPCASE ED and AVENGERS WEST COAST: ZODIAC ATTACK PREMIERE HC.

DIDIO: Dan co-writes O.M.A.C. #8 with Kieth Giffen; this will be the final issue of the series.

DIGGLE: Andy's recent western limited series from Marvel is collected in the SIX GUNS TP.

DIXON: Chuck collaborated on the material coming back into print in BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL TP VOLUME 2: KNIGHTQUEST. At IDW he writes GI JOE VOLUME 2 #12 and SNAKE EYES ONGOING #12. At Moonstone he writes AIRBOY: DEADEYE #1 of 5 and he adapts ROBERT JORDAN'S WHEEL OF TIME: EYE OF THE WORLD #24.

EDMONDSON: Nathan writes GRIFTER #8 at DC and his own title ACTIVITY #5 at Image.

ELLIS: It seems that Warren is on a comic hiatus but some of the work that he collaborated on at Marvel is collected in the ASTONISHING X-MEN: EXILED PREMIERE HC.

ENNIS: Garth is one of a bunch of good writers working on the bi-weekly CROSSED: BADLANDS #3 and #4, he writes the introduction to the HUGO TATE GN and he begins a new pulp series with SHADOW #1. He continues with BOYS #65 which now has two spin offs; GARTH ENNIS' JENNIFER BLOOD #14 and NINJETTES #3, neither are written by Garth.

FIALKOV: Joshua Hale is co-writing ACTION COMICS #8 with Grant and he's writing I, VAMPIRE #8 at DC as well. At IDW he writes DOCTOR WHO ONGOING VOLUME 2 #16.

FINCH: David provides interior art and cover art for BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #8 and also provides cover art for JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8, BIRDS OF PREY #8 and the BRIGHTEST DAY TP #2.

FRACTION: Matt supplies one of the stories for HERO COMICS 2012, an annual anthology benefiting creators without health insurance. At Marvel Matt writes MIGHTY THOR #12.1 and #13, DEFENDERS #5 and INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #515. And he's one of the five writers contributing to AVENGERS VS X-MEN #2 of 12 as well as BATTLE SCARS #6 of 6.

GAGE: At Dark Horse Christos writes ANGEL & FAITH #9 and the first arc is collected in the ANGEL & FAITH TP 1: LIVE THROUGH THIS and at Marvel he writes AVENGERS ACADEMY #28.

GAIMAN: SANDMAN TP VOLUME 9: THE KINDLY ONES: NEW EDITION is the latest of the bi-monthly reprints of this classic series now featuring the new coloring and remastered lettering created for the deluxe hard cover editions of a couple years ago.

GATES: HAWK & DOVE #8 is the final issue of that series. Sterling wrote the first six, then the series' artist Rob Liefield took on writing chores as well, writing this issue and the previous one. Sterling writes KIRBY GENESIS: CAPTAIN VICTORY #7 at Dynamite Entertainment.

GIFFEN: Keith co-writes O.M.A.C. #8 and also provides interior and cover art and co-writes SUPERMAN #8.

GILLEN: Keiron writes UNCANNY X-MEN #10 and UNCANNY X-MEN #11, issue eleven being a tie-in to the Avengers vs. X-Men series. He also writes JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #636.

GISCHLER: Victor writes X-MEN #27 and his previous work is collected in the X-MEN: WAR MACHINES PREMIERE HC.

GLASS: Adam writes SUICIDE SQUAD #8 for DC.

GRAY/PALMIOTTI: Justin and Jimmy write the main 'Jonah Hex' story in ALL STAR WESTERN #8.

HAMA: Larry writes GI JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #177, a series he wrote for Marvel from the early eighties until the mid-nineties.

☼HICKMAN: Jonathan has yet another new ongoing series at Image, an espionage story about the shadow world that exists between the government and private security firms titled SECRET #1 and MANHATTAN PROJECTS #2 continues the 'Infinite Oppenheimer' tale. At Marvel he writes ULTIMATE COMICS: ULTIMATES #9, FANTASTIC FOUR #605 and FF #17. He also wrote some of the material collected in the SECRET WARRIORS OMNIBUS HC. And he's one of the five writers contributing to AVENGERS VS X-MEN #2 of 12.

HIGGINS: Kyle writes NIGHTWING #8 and DEATHSTROKE #8 at DC.

HILL: Joe, in collaboration with his father continues the STEPHEN KING/JOE HILL: ROAD RAGE #3 of 4 which is actually a flip book telling two stories per issue.

HINE: David writes DARKNESS #102 at Image as well as BULLETPROOF COFFIN: DISINTERRED #4 of 6 with artist Shaky Kane.

JENKINS: Paul writes DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #8 which is a Challengers of the Unknown story, and BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #8 for DC. He also wrote some of the material collected in the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: SECRET ORIGINS TP.

JOHNS: It was just announced that Geoff will be writing a new story for the Free Comic Book Day book from DC, Jim Lee will illustrate it and the rest of the book will feature previews of the new titles being added to the 'New 52'. Geoff will write JUSTICE LEAGUE #8 with Carlos D'Anda's artwork, AQUAMAN #8 and GREEN LANTERN #8 and his work is collected in the GREEN LANTERN: BRIGHTEST DAY TP. He's a contributing writer to the ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN: SINESTRO WAR HC and the BRIGHTEST DAY VOLUME 2 TP. Geoff also wrote the BLACKEST NIGHT: SPECIAL EDITION #1 which collects Green Lantern issues 40 and41, two key chapters. This book was previously available only with the Blackest Night Action Figure Box Set.

JOHNSON: Mike continues to co-write SUPERGIRL #8 with long time collaborator Michael Green and he's writing STAR TREK ONGOING #8 for IDW.

JURGENS: Dan writes JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8 and collaborates on both art and story with GREEN ARROW #8 as well as SUPERMAN #8. The first arc is collected in the GREEN ARROW TP VOLUME 1: THE MIDAS TOUCH and Dan wrote the story in the JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL TP VOLUME 1: SIGNAL MASTERS. He also provides the cover art for the SPIDER-MAN: COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC TP VOLUME 4.

KIRKMAN: Robert continues on his own SUPER DINOSAUR #11 and ☼WALKING DEAD #96 as well as INFINITE #8 with Rob Liefield and ☼THIEF OF THIEVES #3 that he created and writes with the talented Nick Spencer.

KRUL: J.T. Is writing CAPTAIN ATOM #8 and co-writing GREEN ARROW #8 and his previous collaboration on the Emerald Archer is collected in GREEN ARROW TP VOLUME 1: THE MIDAS TOUCH.

LANSDALE: Joe's recent limited series is collected as HP LOVECRAFT: THE DUNWICH HORROR TP.

LAPHAM: David is writing AGE OF APOCALYPSE #2 at Marvel and writing his own vicious werewolf tale at Avatar Press with FERALS #4.

LEE: Jim provides cover art for JUSTICE LEAGUE #8 and provides the cover to the INFINITE CRISIS OMNIBUS HC. His artwork inspired the sculptures of the JUSTICE LEAGUE AF's, SUPERMAN: PATINA MINI-STATUE, BATMAN BLACK & WHITE NEW 52 STATUE, and the BATMAN ARTFX BLACK & WHITE VERSION which is Kotokubiya's conception.

LEMIRE: Jeff writes FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #8 and ANIMAL MAN #8 and his first arc is collected in the ANIMAL MAN TP VOLUME 1: THE HUNT. He writes the main story in MEN OF WAR #8, which is the final issue of that series. He continues his creator owned series at Vertigo with SWEET TOOTH #32 and his long out of print, Xeric Foundation award winner is back in a newly remastered edition from Top Shelf; the LOST DOGS GN which Jeff wrote and illustrated before he won the Eisner award for his Essex County Trilogy.

LEVITZ: Paul writes LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #8.

LISS: In my opinion the best story in this character's history is collected in the BLACK PANTHER; MOST DANGEROUS MAN ALIVE-KINGPIN OF WAKANDA TP.

LIU: Marjorie takes over the writing on ASTONISHING X-MEN #49 with artist Mike Perkins.

LOBDELL: Scott is writing three of the 'New 52': SUPERBOY #8, RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #8 and TEEN TITANS #8 and at Aspen Studios he continues on FATHOM VOLUME 4 #6.

LOEB: Jeph's writing is collected in the AVENGERS: X-SANCTION PREMIERE HC and the ULTIMATE COMICS: X ORIGINS TP.

LOPRESTI: Aaron is the artist on JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8 and provides interiors and the cover for the JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL TP VOLUME 1: SIGNAL MASTERS.

MANAPUL: Francis provides the art and co-writes FLASH #8.

MARZ: Ron writes VOODOO #8 at DC, his WITCHBLADE #149 is offered in the VIRGINIA COMIC CON EXCLUSIVE EDITION and WITCHBLADE #150 in the TOP COW STORE EXCLUSIVE VARIANT COVER EDITION and Ron's SHINKU #6 begins a new arc in this ninja vs vampire tale.

McDANIEL: Scott pencils STATIC SHOCK #8 which is written by Marc Bernardin; this will be the final issue of this series.

MIGNOLA: Mike co-writes and provides the cover art for LOBSTER JOHNSON: THE BURNING HAND #4 of 5, B.P.R.D.: HELL ON EARTH-LONG DEATH #3, B.P.R.D.: HELL ON EARTH-PICKENS COUNTY HORROR #2 of 2 and the collected BALTIMORE HC VOLUME 2: CURSE BELLS.

MILLAR: Mark's work is featured in the VAMPIRELLA MASTERS SERIES TP VOLUME 7 and he writes SUPERCROOKS #2 with Lenil Yu drawing and his new ☼THE SECRET SERVICE #1 with Dave Gibbons on art which seems to deal with the political and economic conditions that have crippled America and inspired the Occupy movement. No information as to whether these are ongoing or limited series.

MILLIGAN: Pete writes RED LANTERNS #8 and JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #8 at DC and HELLBLAZER #290 at Vertigo.

MOORE: Besides the continuation of his supernatural thriller RACHEL RISING #7 which Terry writes and draws, he will also provide cover art for the OZ WONDERLAND CHRONICLES: JACK & CAT TALES #3 of 3.

☼MORRISON: Grant writes ACTION COMICS #8 featuring Rags Morales' art, Grant's BATMAN VS THE BLACK GLOVE HC is offered and a series that he wrote a couple of decades ago based on the British television espionage series 'The Avengers' comes back into print with STEED AND MRS. PEEL #4 of 6 featuring the art of Steve Leialoha. Also BATMAN AND ROBIN: BATMAN AND ROBIN MUST DIE TP collects issues 13-16 plus 'Batman: The Return' one shot.

NELSON: Arvid writes LORD OF THE JUNGLE #5 and WARLORD OF MARS #19 at Dynamite Entertainment.

NICIEZA: Fabian writes LEGION LOST #8 at DC and also wrote some of the material collected in the AVENGERS ASSEMBLE TP VOLUME 3.

NILES: Steve writes a new one shot about the drug addled supernatural sleuth in CRIMINAL MACABRE: DIE DIE MY DARLING and continues another Criminal Macabre tale in DARK HORSE PRESENTS #11. At IDW he writes 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: ONGOING #6 while the first arc is collected in the 30 DAYS OF NIGHT TP VOLUME 1. He also writes a side story in MONOCYTE #4 of 4.

NOCENTI: Ann writes GREEN ARROW #8, the second of a three part tale with Harvey Tolibao's artwork; hopefully Harvey will draw him with something other than a compound bow (or someone at DC may find themselves on the receiving end of an arrow courtesy of an annoyed customer who is also an archer).

OEMING: Michael Avon's artwork is featured in the POWERS: PREMIERE HC VOLUME 6: SELLOUTS and he also provides a variant cover to Dark Horse's new supernatural horror series, ALABASTER: WOLVES #1 of 5 written by horror novelist Caitlin R. Kiernan.

OSTRANDER: John completes STAR WARS: AGENT OF THE EMPIRE-IRON ECLIPSE #5 of 5 and continues on STAR WARS: DAWN OF THE JEDI #3.

PAK: Greg co-wrote the material collected in the ASTONISHING X-MEN: EXILED PREMIERE HC.

PARKER: Jeff writes one of the stories in Dark Horse's anthology CREEPY COMICS #8 and, at Marvel he writes HULK #50 and THUNDERBOLTS #172 and #173. His work is collected as RED HULK: HULK OF ARABIA TP.

PEREZ: George draws the cover and some of the interior of the AVENGERS ASSEMBLE TP VOLUME 3 and draws the cover to the ESSENTIAL AVENGERS TP VOLUME 8.

POWELL: Eric creates, writes, draws and provides covers for GOON #39, a sell-out issue with the Goon in tights(!) and introducing the multicolored goons: red Goon, blue Goon, yellow Goon. Also GOON TP VOLUME 11: DEFORMED BODY & DEVIOUS MIND collects issues 34 through 37 plus 'An Irish Wake' from USA Today.

REED: Brian completes HALO: FALL OF REACH-INVASION #4 of 4.

REMENDER: Rick writes SECRET AVENGERS #25 and #26, VENOM #15 and #16 as well as UNCANNY X-FORCE #24 and his recent writing is collected in the PUNISHER BY RICK REMENDER OMNIBUS HC.

ROBERSON: Chris writes I, ZOMBIE #24 for DC, MEMORIAL #5 of 6 and ELRIC THE BALANCE LOST #10 for IDW and his STAN LEE: STARBORN TP VOLUME 3 at Boom! Studios.

ROBINSON: James writes SHADE #7 of 12 while his fine series with artist Tony Harris is collected in the STARMAN OMNIBUS TP VOLUME 1.

RODI: Rob writes KIRBY GENESIS: DRAGONSBANE #4 at Dynamite Entertainment.

ROZUM: John co-writes STATIC SHOCK #8.

RUCKA: Great crime and espionage novelist, Greg writes PUNISHER #10 and co-writes AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #6, part one of the cross-over with Daredevil and Punisher titled 'The Omega Effect'.

SEELEY: Tim writes HACK/SLASH #15 and provides the cover art, he writes the HACK/SLASH OMNIBUS TP VOLUME 4. He writes WITCHBLADE #156 and the WITCHBLADE REBIRTH TP VOLUME 1 is offered again at the new sale price of $9.99. He writes and pencils the cover of BLOODSTRIKE #27 and also provides the cover art for ARMY OF DARKNESS ONGOING #3.

SHOOTER: Jim's Dark Horse work on the old Gold Key character is collected in DOCTOR SOLAR: MAN OF THE ATOM TP VOLUME 2: REVELATION and some of Jim's Marvel work from the mid eighties gets the deluxe treatment in the X-MEN: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PREMIERE HC.

SIMONE: Gail writes BATGIRL #8 for DC and she writes one of the stories in BART SIMPSON'S PAL MILHOUSE #1 for Bongo Studios.

SLOTT: Dan writes AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #683 and #684 and he co-wrote the material collected in the SPIDER-MAN: FLYING BLIND PREMIERE HC. He also co-writes the new all-ages series ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ADVENTURES #1 with Ty Templeton.

SMITH: Kevin co-writes KEVIN SMITH'S BIONIC MAN #9 which now has a spin-off title of the BIONIC WOMAN.

☼SNYDER: Scott continues to tear it up on BATMAN #8 and SWAMP THING #8 at DC, as he does with all of his titles so far. At Vertigo he writes AMERICAN VAMPIRE #26 and AMERICAN VAMPIRE TP VOLUME #2 reprints his second arc. Also his creator owned horror series is collected in the SEVERED HC.

☼SPENCER: At DC Nick completes his run with THUNDER AGENTS VOLUME 2 #6 of 6, at Image the FORGETLESS TP: LIVE TO SEE LAST CALL gets a new edition (as the previous one sold out quickly) and THIEF OF THIEVES #3, which he created and writes with Robert Kirkman continues. At Marvel he writes ULTIMATE COMICS: X-MEN #10. Sorry, no new issue of Morning Glories this month.

SPURRIER: Simon finishes the mutant mini series with X-CLUB #5 of 5 and he wrote one of the stories in JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #323.

STRACZYNSKI: The first half of Joe's run is finally in soft cover with the SUPERMAN: GROUNDED TP VOLUME 1 while at Marvel THE TWELVE #12 of 12 finally reaches completion; it began in 2008.

SWIERCZYNSKI: Duane writes BIRDS OF PREY #8 where we finally find out what Dinah has been up to for the past three years. At IDW Duane writes INFESTATION II #2 of 2 and INFESTATION II: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT ONE SHOT.

THOMAS: CONAN TP #11: ROAD OF KINGS collects the first six issues of the recent Dark Horse series featuring Mike Hawthorne's art; Roy did most of the Conan adaptations for Marvel when they held the license for the Robert E. Howard properties.

TOMASI: Peter writes BATMAN AND ROBIN #8 and GREEN LANTERN CORPS #8 for DC and he was also a contributing writer for BRIGHTEST DAY TP #2.

TRUMAN: Tim finishes KING CONAN: PHOENIX ON THE SWORD #4 of 4 for Dark Horse and, at IDW he completes HAWKEN #6 of 6 which he illustrates and which he co-wrote with his son.

VAN SCIVER: Ethan co-writes FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #8 with Joe Harris and he provides the interior art and the cover. He also provided some of the artwork in the ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN: SINESTRO CORPS WAR HC.

☼VAUGHAN: After Brian finished his brilliant series' Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man I was sorry to see him return to writing film so when his new creator owned series was launched through Image last month I was excited and I'm looking forward to the first issue. With interior and cover artist Fiona Staples, SAGA #2 is offered this month.

WAGNER: Matt's creation, a modern retelling of the Beowulf epic comes back into print with the GRENDEL OMNIBUS: HUNTER ROSE TP #1 which Matt wrote and illustrated. At Dynamite he writes ZORRO RIDES AGAIN #10 of 12 and the first half is collected in the ZORRO RIDES AGAIN TP VOLUME 1.

WAID: Mark is writing DAREDEVIL #10.1 with Khoi Pham's art and #11 with Marco Checchetto and featuring Spidey and Punisher. He co-writes AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #6 which starts 'The Omega Effect' story; mark and Greg Rucka are writing this cross-over with Daredevil and Punisher. He's also a contributing writer for the SPIDER-MAN: FLYING BLIND PREMIERE HC. And he continues his creator owned series' with INCORRUPTIBLE #29 and IRREDEEMABLE #36.

WALLACE: Eric writes MISTER TERRIFIC #8 who teams up with the Blackhawks; this is the final issue of the series.

WAY: Daniel writes DEADPOOL #53 where the character tries to commit suicide to end his series. (Don't fret; no one stays dead in the Marvel Universe.)

WELLS: Zeb completes CARNAGE, USA #5 of 5 with artist Clayton Crain and he's apparently done with his arc on the Avenging Spider-Man.

WHEDON: Joss contributes to the AVENGERS: ART OF THE AVENGERS HC SLIPCASE which is more of a coffee table book about the film than a comic collection. Other books related to Joss' film work includes the BIG DAMN FIREFLY AND SERENITY TRIVIA BOOK and the JOSS WHEDON COMPLETE COMPANION.

WILLINGHAM: Bill is a contributor to the INFINITE CRISIS OMNIBUS HC and he writes FABLES #116 and the spin-off, FAIREST #2 and the first trade paperback comes back into print with the FABLES TP VOLUME 1: LEGENDS IN EXILE-NEW EDITION.

WILLIAMS: J. H. co-writes BATWOMAN #8 with W. Haden Blackman and the new artist is AMY REEDER who also provides the cover. I'm a big fan of Amy's artwork and I hope that J. H. does some better writing now that he no longer has to provide the artwork as well. The BATWOMAN HC VOLUME 1: HYDROLOGY is co-written by J.H. And he also penciled the contents. He also provided some artwork in the BATMAN VS THE BLACK GLOVE DELUXE EDITION HC.

WILLIAMS: Not J.H.; this is Rob and he co-writes material collected in the FEAR ITSELF/UNCANNY X-FORCE-DEEP PREMIERE HC. His last arc from the now canceled series is collected in the DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE-BIG BREAK TP. Also his MEGA CITY: UNDERCOVER VOLUME 2 is offered, Judge Dredd stories that Rob wrote in England a few years back.

WINICK: Judd writes BATWING #8 with Dustin Nguyen's art and CATWOMAN #8 with Adriana Melo and his work is collected in the CATWOMAN TP VOLUME 1: THE GAME.

WOLFMAN: Marv revisits his long ago horror suspense series with NIGHT FORCE #2 of 6 with Tom Mandrake's art and Marv co-wrote material in the SPIDER-MAN: RETURN OF BURGLAR PREMIERE HC.

WOOD: Brian writes the new CONAN THE BARBARIAN #3 series with long time collaborator Becky Cloonan, he finishes 'The Icelandic Trilogy' with NORTHLANDERS #50 which is the final issue of this Celtic barbarian tale and, at Marvel he writes WOLVERINE AND X-MEN: ALPHA AND OMEGA #4 of 5.

YOST: Chris writes the new all-ages title AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES ADVENTURES #1, he co-writes MARVEL'S AVENGERS: PRELUDE #3 of 4 and the collected edition: MARVEL'S AVENGERS: PRELUDE TP, a movie tie-in. He also co-writes BATTLE SCARS #6 of 6, FEAR ITSELF: FEARLESS #12 of 12, AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES: COMIC READER TP #1 and #2, for young readers. He also writes SCARLET SPIDER #4 with artist Ryan Stegman.

          That's one hundred and seventeen creators and probably covers more than three fourths of all the comics coming out. Now I'll tell you about new titles, series and projects one publisher at a time.

DARK HORSE: Tom Taylor writes STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES-BOBA FETT IS DEAD #1 of 4 with Chris Scalf's art, STAR WARS: KNIGHT ERRANT VOLUME 2: DELUGE TP is written by John Jackson Miller and is the sequel to his New York Times Bestselling novel and the STAR WARS OMNIBUS: DROIDS AND EWOKS collects the all-ages Marvel series from the eighties for the first time. Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse write RESIDENT ALIEN #0, a humorous mystery adventure with an alien doctor who crashes to Earth. MASS EFFECT: HOMEWORLDS #1 is written by Mass Effect 3 lead writer Mac Walters. Caitlin R. Kiernan writes ALABASTER: WOLVES #1 of 5 with Steve Lieber's art, a supernatural horror series. RESET #1 of 4 is a new series by Peter Bagge. Mark Evanier writes and Sergio Aragonés illustrates his character while Thomas Yeates draws the rest in the long awaited GROO VS CONAN #1 of 4 series. Larry Marder's TALES OF THE BEANWORLD VOLUME 3.5 HC collects the most recent stories plus one new one from this 'most peculiar comic book experience'. 3STORY: SECRET FILES OF THE GIANT MAN is a one shot by Matt Kindt, a sequel to the graphic novel, this is in production as a major film.

DC: BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED #1 is written by Derek Fridolfs and the contents of this first issue is a prequel to the game that was previously available as a digital release, exploring the Catwoman/Two Face rivalry. BATMAN: BRUCE WAYNE-THE ROAD HOME TP collects the eight one shot specials and BATMAN: PREY TP collects two tales by Doug Moench from the 'Legends of the Dark Knight' series. DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES TP collects the ten issue series by Len Wein telling the history of five generations of DC heroes. The new all-ages series begins with GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES #1. It looks as if DC DIRECT will be releasing their new JUSTICE LEAGUE action figures one at a time featuring the new costume designs of the 'New 52'; the first one will be (of course) the BATMAN ACTION FIGURE. There is also a MAD: SPY VS SPY VINYL TWO PACK offered.

DC: VERTIGO: At DC's mature readers imprint the original graphic novel GET JIRO! HC is a send up of food culture by renowned chef, author and TV personality Anthony Bourdain. There will also be a free preview of STIEG LARSSON'S THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO SPECIAL #1 by Denise Mina and featuring Leonardo Manco's art.

IDW: I know that I already mentioned it in Darwyn Cooke's listing but ☼RICHARD STARK'S PARKER: THE SCORE HC is just too cool not to mention again. The first volume won the Eisner for best adaptation, the Harvey for best writer/artist and five other awards, the second volume won the Eisner for best writer/artist and two Harvey's for best artist and best cartoonist and the writer Donald E. Westlake using the pen name Richard Stark also won countless awards. IDW begins a new series, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORGOTTEN REALMS #1 and there will also be a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORGOTTEN REALMS 100 PAGE SPECTACULAR with two new stories and two from the DC series of the nineties. Roger Langridge writes POPEYE #1 of 4 with original stories that look like the classic newspaper strips. The TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: ARCHIE 100 PAGE SPECTACULAR collects the three issue limited series that adapted the first five episodes of the animated series plus the cross-over with Archie. ANNE RICE'S SERVANT OF THE BONES HC adapts the novel of the same name. EDGAR RICE BURROUGH'S: A PRINCESS OF MARS HC adapts John Carter's Barsoom experiences with the gorgeous artwork of Michael W. Kaluta. NEVSKY: HERO OF THE PEOPLE HC by Ben McCool and artist Mario Guevara adapts the 1938 film. The V WARS HC features many different stories from the world of Jonathan Maeberry's novels of the Vampire Wars. The ☼OZ TREASURY EDITION reprints Eric Shanower's brilliant 'The Forgotten Forest of Oz' in the oversize 'treasury' edition for ten bucks, a great gift for any children in your life.

IMAGE: Jonathan Ross writes and Bryan Hitch illustrates AMERICA'S GOT POWERS #1 and #2 of 6 and I think the title gives away the subject. And I'll mention Jonathan Hickman's new ongoing series, ☼SECRET #1 just because I think it's going to be excellent. SUPREME #63 is written by none other than Alan Moore; it's his final tale of the character and the jumping on point for future stories. Erik Larsen and Cory Hamscher provide the art. The zombie Vietnam war story continues with '68: SCARS #1 of 4 with the usual team. DANGER CLUB #1 is by Landry Q. Walker with Eric Jones' art and is a story of teen heroes trying to fill the boots of their predecessors who never returned from an intergalactic crisis.

MARVEL: The previously mentioned AVX: VS #1 of 6 will expand on the battles in the regular series; the first issue is Iron Man vs Magneto and Thing vs Namor. AVENGERS: ROLL CALL is one of those Official Handbook titles, AVENGERS: THE COMING OF THE AVENGERS #1 is a remastered and recolored edition of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's first issue. An original graphic novel in the mid eighties AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: HOOKY is reissued in a 64 page comic sized format, written by Susan Putney with art by horror master Bernie Wrightson. The 'Season One' series are introductory all-age 136 page comics and this month there is X-MEN SEASON ONE PREMIERE HC, SPIDER-MAN: SEASON ONE PREMIERE HC, DAREDEVIL: SEASON ONE PREMIERE HC and FANTASTIC FOUR: SEASON ONE PREMIERE HC; each volume also includes a reprint of a first issue of the character(s). Also for all-ages are the series of young readers novels: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOLUME 1: BEHIND THE MASK, THE AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES ADVENTURES #1 and #2, the Spidey book is 64 pages for $6.99 while the Avengers ones are 32 pages at $3.99 each.

          Those are the 'Big Five' publishers; here are some highlights of what the smaller publishers are offering.

ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT offers the PRINCELESS VOLUME 1: SAVE YOURSELF TP based on the first story of the successful series. AIRSHIP ENTERTAINMENT offers the latest installment of Phil Foglio's steampunk saga with the GIRL GENIUS VOLUME 11; AGATHA HETERODYNE AND THE HAMMERLESS BELL available in HC and TP. AMAZE INK also know as Slave Labor Graphics offers the KNIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD VOLUME 1 GN, a story of zombies in King Arthur's Court by Rob Wolfe with the art of Dustin Higgins. ANTARCTIC PRESS tends to follow trends so they've been big on zombies and steampunk lately; this month the have a one shot STEAMPUNK SWIMSUIT issue and a one shot story by David Hutchison titled STEAM CRAFT. APE ENTERTAINMENT offers RAMIEL: WRATH OF GOD #1, the most fearsome angel in God's army written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, creator of televisions' 'The Middleman' and a writer for 'Lost'. Also, for the kids, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE VOLUME 1: BERRY FUN TP. ARCHAIA has THE WONDERLAND ALPHABET: ALICE'S ADVENTURES THROUGH THE ABC'S AND WHAT SHE FOUND THERE HC, a poster book featuring the art of Janet K. Lee. ASPEN STUDIOS has FATHOM: KIANI-VOLUME 2 #1 of 4 by Vince Hernandez with Oliver Nome's artwork. AVATAR offers LADY DEATH ORIGINS: CURSED #1, a twentieth anniversary special. BONGO COMICS has BART SIMPSON'S PAL: MILHOUSE #1 featuring one story by Pat McGreal and Bob Smith and a second by Gail Simone with Carol Lay's art. BOOM! STUDIOS offers FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES #1 of a new, ongoing series; the first issue has four different covers and an introductory price of one dollar and Rich Johnston, comics journalist for Bleeding Cool has four one shot mash-up titles, CAPTAIN AMERICAN IDOL, IRON MUSLIM, SCIENTHORLOGY and THE AVENGEFULS. DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT relaunches the legendary pulp character with ☼THE SHADOW #1, a new ongoing series written by Garth Ennis, with art by Aaron Campbell and four covers by Alex Ross, Howard Chaykin, John Cassaday and Jae Lee. Yet another spin off of their John Carter series', DEJAH THORIS AND THE WHITE APES OF MARS #1 begins and spinning out of their Flash Gordon series comes MERCILESS: THE RISE OF MING #1. Five months ago 'Voltron' #1 began; this month they offer VOLTRON: YEAR ONE #1. The latest of Guy Delisle's journalistic travelogues is JERUSALEM: CHRONICLES FROM THE HOLY CITY HC published by DRAWN & QUARTERLY; his previous volumes, the BURMA CHRONICLES, PYONGYANG: A JOURNEY IN NORTH KOREA and SHENZHEN: A TRAVELOGUE FROM CHINA are all available as well. FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS offers a collection that will appeal to the LGBT community: NO STRAIGHT LINES: FOUR DECADES OF QUEER COMICS. Also THE ADVENTURES OF VENUS HC is an all ages book by Gilbert Hernandez collecting the 'Measles' series plus one new story. NBM has THE FAIRY TALES OF OSCAR WILDE VOLUME 5: THE HAPPY PRINCE HC which is again adapted and illustrated by great fantasy artist P. Craig Russell; the four previous volumes are also in print: 'The Selfish Giant and the Star Child', 'The Young King and the Remarkable Rocket', 'The Birthday of the Infanta' and 'The Devoted Friend and the Nightingale and the Rose'. ONI PRESS offers ☼COURTNEY CRUMRIN #1, an ongoing, full color, all age series by creator, writer, artist Ted Naifeh. ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT has their third GRIMM FAIRY TALES: APRIL FOOLS EDITION 2012 which is kind of like the 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' in that they use the past years comic stories but change the dialogue to make it irreverent and humorous. Also their zombie series gets a second arc with THE WAKING: DREAMS' END #1 written by Raven Gregory.

          And that's the highlights of the small press offerings this month and the end of the comics section. There's also a BOOKS & MAGAZINES section featuring the 100 BADDEST MOTHER F***ERS IN COMICS TP, a full color 'Who's Who' with Wolverine, Batman, Luke Cage, Galactus, etc., KIRBY: THE KING OF COMICS HC, THE WALKING DEAD CHRONICLES and DRACULA ILLUSTRATED NOVEL HC with art by Becky Cloonan. The TRADING CARD section has sports cards, the MARVEL 2012 GREATEST HEROES TRADING CARDS and the MARVEL AVENGERS ASSEMBLE MOVIE TRADING CARDS, the APPAREL section has new tee shirts featuring PUNISHER, a retro design for PLASTIC MAN, two new BOBA FETT tee shirts, a BATMAN BEYOND hoodie, and SPIDER-MAN caps, the TOYS AND MODELS section with an exclusive KICK-ASS: HIT-GIRL DOLL, the MUNSTERS action figures, SOUTH PARK SERIES 4 action figures and the HUNGER GAMES MOVIE action figures, the IMPORT TOYS section with a BATMAN: BLACK COSTUME VERSION ARTFX STATUE and the MARVEL COMICS BLACK WIDOW COVERT OPS VERSION BISHOUJO STATUE, the COLLECTIBLES & NOVELTIES section with the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE SURVIVAL KIT IN A SARDINE CAN, the ASSEMBLED: AVENGERS COLOGNE SET, the DC and MARVEL MIGHTY WALLETS, and a STEAMPUNK TAROT KIT. Plus the GAMES section and the DVDs & DIGITAL MEDIA section.

          As usual I didn't cover half of the comics and products in the 450 page catalog so feel free to browse the catalog next time you visit the shop and be sure to let me know what you'd like so I can be sure to have it on hand as soon as it's available. I welcome advise and suggestions for this monthly newsletter so if I'm not listing your favorite writer or artist, please let me know.

          I thank you all for your friendship, support and orders. I'm honored that you trust me to maintain and help expand your collections and further enjoy your hobbies and will continue to do my best to justify your trust. I hope that you and yours are happy and healthy. See you on Wednesday!

Peace,

Charlie