Flipping Through Previews...

Yes, it's that time again... time for "Things in Previews That Look Interesting But I Can't Afford To Get (with a list of things I am getting just for contrast)". I'm going to start with the bulk of the book, and then come back and cover the "big four" at the end. Please remember, I'm listing what looks interesting. My actual purchase list is going to be much smaller. The numbers after each title are usually the page number in Previews Magazine, so you can follow along at home.

Let's start with the covers. The front cover is done in orange-browns, and promotes a new Grant Morrison series. After reading Seaguy, I suspect this series will be truly odd. Described as "The Incredible Journey meets The Terminator", it looks like a very weird, possibly incredibly fun, story. I intend to pass on it... but the cover of Previews will inspire some second looks. The back cover looks so bland that I don't have much to say about it. It's just nothing new.

Moving on, let's hit the Splash Page (8-9). There's news about a Star Wars role-playing game from WOTC. I'm mildly interested in seeing what the figurines look like, but I'm not interested in getting any. The return of merchandise from Nightmare Before Christmas is noted, along with an image of a pretty cool Pumpkin King pewter statue. Beyond those, not much of interest for me.

Pages 12-15 have the books for Free Comic Book Day, and once again I urge those of you who have good retailers with whom you are friendly to go to your retailer and chip in a few dollars towards the purchase of the "free" comics. They are not free for the retailers, with prices ranging from 10-90 cents. If you chip in, it'll ease the burden on the retailer and allow more people to get free comics. Consider it! I contributed $20 and asked that my retailer give me a single copy of each book in the Gold and Silver range. If everything comes, that's 31 books! You can't beat that for $20, and she seemed surprised I contributed that much.

Skipping over the Premier Comics section, I'm now at page 198, the featured items for general Comics & Graphic Novels. Pretty much nothing on the four featured pages really catches my eye, so on to the main section.

The first publisher to stop me from flipping to the next page is every blogger's favorite, AIT/Planet Lar (210). First up is Bad Mojo, a book about baseball! Well, no, it's about a witch cursing a baseball player. Hmmm. I'm not sure. Also solicited, and highly recommended, is Demo #9.

Amaze Ink/Slave Labor has a book that looks mildly interesting called 15 Minutes #1 (212). This appears to be set in a superhero universe, and has two stories. I'm probably not going to get it, but it's worth pointing out.

Antarctic Press's Dictator series is moving on from Hitler to Hussein. That's right, a two-issue series called Dictators: Saddam Hussein (217) is starting, with the first chapter entitled "The Rising".

Two books I noticed are coming from Arcana Studio (224). 100 Girls #1 is about a 13 year old girl with a power just beginning to awaken inside here. Starkweather #1 is about a man with prophetic dreams who decides to act on those dreams to save a life. Both books have previews available at the website.

Archangel Studios (224) lists three collections of The Red Star.

Blind Wolf Studios (242) has a book that looks kind of cute: Jack & Jack #1. The solicit is a nicely confusing read.

Bloodfire Studios (242) solicits the fourth and final issue of Kindergoth. It's another odd, cute, but not overly-cute book.

Bries (244) is putting out what looks like a truly fascinating little book called The Exlibris. I wish I could justify getting it, but it's too expensive to make the list, I'm afraid.

Committed Comics (254) is soliciting the second issue of Java, set in Neo Seattle in the year 2073.

CrossGen still has a section, and still is soliciting books. Should it still exist, I'll certainly be getting Abadazad #6 (259) from them.

There's a book that looks vaguely different coming from Digital Noize. The book is called Delete #1 (279) and is about a future in which demons use the 'net to hunt for souls until a hero arises who can use technology against them. Could be fun.

Don't forget to order Digital Webbing Presents #17 (279) from Digital Webbing. Blogger Kevin Melrose has another magic mob story in it. Definitely worth checking out.

Monkeysuit Press has the second issue of Adventures of Mia (320), which is making me regret not ordering the first. It looks like a good series...

And I'm through the main comics section. It feels like there is a lot less than usual this month. Ah well.

In the toys section, there's a Justice League Watchtower Playset (436), based on the satellite in the cartoon. Um. Wow.

WizKids Games has more baseball figures coming out in an expansion pack this September (527). I like Sportsclix, and I've enjoyed trying to collect all the M's figures.

Jumping back to the Premier Comics section, first I'll note that Wizard Magazine is once again doing a strange numbering, with this issue being Wizard X (188). I'm not sure what that's in aid of, but it appears to be the regular issue for the month. Green Lantern fans may want to get this issue, as it has an "exclusive" preview of Green Lantern's Rebirth.

Marvel Comics (180) is next up, with the usual ordering from the shipping list. This month we see Thor #83, possibly Doctor Spectrum #1, although I don't want to get this since it's not by JMS and there are no promises that Marvel won't run another Supreme Power knock-off before this mini is through. Ahem. My friend who buys Thor is interested in Thor: Son of Asgard, and might be inclined to pick it up starting with issue seven. I'll be getting Amazing Spider-Man #70 and Powers #3.

From Image Comics this month, just Noble Causes #2 (145). I really like the alternate cover by Rodolfo Migliari, and I hope my store manages to get that one in.

I'll cover Dark Horse Comics next so I can finish with the company I order most of my stuff from. GoGirl! Volume 1: The Time Team (27) is new material. I enjoyed the original book, I think I'll proabaly like this one. Usagi Yojimbo #78 is a no-brainer. I can't think of anything, off-hand, that would make me not order it.

And now it's time for DC Comics. DC has rearranged their solicits in Diamond, giving us an all-new Direct Currents to flip through. The change is jolting at first, but it wasn't as hard as I'd feared it would be to get used to.

The first thing to notice is that every solicit gets a full page, a half-page, or a quarter page. That makes each item a little easier to identify and recognize. Preview pages show up after the solicit for the book they are from. Any longer articles simply take the form of more wordy solicits. Everything is together, instead of a separate section at the front with promotional articles.

The listings have now been completely divided into their main sections, even the backlists. So all the Batman books including relists are on pages 59-65, and all the Superman books including relists are on pages 66-75.

They've also updated the shipping list from being a simple alphabetical list to listing books by section and shipping date. It's a little cleaner, and (IMHO) easier to read than past shipping lists.

Because of the more clear divisions, I'm going to go through the listings the way they are laid out. I'm not sure if this will reduce the number of items I comment on. We'll see how it goes the next few months.

Starting with the Batman section, the main attraction is Batman: The 12-Cent Adventure (59). Once again, DC is kicking off a long arc with an ultra-cheap book. The next two pages list the first eight parts of the story, which seems to thread through every Bat-book there is. I'll get the 12 cent book, but I don't intend to buy any of the rest. The next spotlight is on Batman/Catwoman: Trail of the Gun #1 (62). I'm not at all interested in the story, but it's got art by Ethan Van Sciver so it'll probably be good. There's a PDF preview at DC's website. Other boks listed that we're likely to get are Batman Adventures #17 (63), Birds of Prey #71, and Birds of Prey #72.

Moving on to the Superman section... there's nothing. Nothing I'm interested in, at least.

So it's on to the DC Universe section. Do I even have to say I'm getting Aquaman #21? (77) This is part one of a new three-part arc, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the new status quo will be like. I have to wonder how long Pfeifer intends to keep Aquaman located in San Diego. Maybe I'll ask him sometime.

Moving on, Bloodhound #2 (78) gets a half-page solicit and also makes our list. We'll just have to see if it lives up to expectations.

The next set of books all appear on page 79: DC Comics Presents: The Atom #1, DC Comics Presents: The Flash #1, DC Comics Presents: Justice League of America #1, and DC Comics Presents: Superman #1. Yes, we're getting all of them. When they come out, I hope somebody puts scans of the new covers next to scans of the old so everyone can compare.

Next on the list is Fallen Angel #14 (80). This issue appears to be a stand-alone, which could be a lot of fun. Moving on... Green Arrow #41 (82), Green Lantern #180, Identity Crisis #3 (84)... I notice that Deathstroke is getting involved in this mini now. He's got some recognition now, thanks to the Teen Titans cartoon. I wonder if that aspect can be played up by savvy retailers?

H-E-R-O #19 (84) is part one of a new four-part arc. We've already seen what a serial killer would do with the power of the device, now Robby has to clean up the mess. JSA #64 has to do with the search for Sandman. JLA #103 and JLA #104 (85) continue the single-character focus of the last couple of issues. These could be good, but I'm not holding out much hope. Maybe they'll seem better if my expectations are low enough. JSA: Strange Adventures #1 looks cool. It's set in the Golden Age, and features the original JSA. Six-issue mini. I'm getting it.

Justice League Adventures #34 (89) is the final issue. I'm not sure why the books based on the animated series don't do well. I've generally enjoyed them a lot, sometimes much more than the "real" books. We'll also be getting Outsiders #15 (92), and Plastic Man #9.

Teen Titans Go! #10 (93) makes the list only because of the appearance of "teen hearthrob Aqualad". Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. We'll also likely get Weird Secret Origins 80-Page Giant. Original origins of Dr Fate, Enchantress, Animal Man, Congorilla, El Diablo, Bizarro, and The Spectre? Yeah, don't want to miss this one.

Nothing in the Beyond the Universe section drew me in, but the Astro City Special (106) in the Wildstorm section is a definite yes.

In the Vertigo section, The Sandman: Endless Nights Softcover (115) sure looks like a good buy. Very, very tempting. I will be getting Swamp Thing #6 (117), as it's the end of the first arc.

Finishing up, the DC Direct section continues to have the neat Japanese Imports... I like the design on the Riddler figure (127), but I don't like the look of the figure itself. Beyond that, nothing jumped out at me.

So that's it for this month's "Things in Previews That Look Interesting But I Can't Afford To Get (with a list of things I am getting just for contrast)". Comments? Questions? Did I miss any really cool books that you know about and would like to point out? Do you disagree with something I wrote, and want to correct me? There's the comments, right below. Post something. And, yes, I accept review copies. I'm willing to give almost anything a try.