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. Front cover is the Marvel MiniMates, featuring Wolvie, Punisher, and Cyclops. And yeah, they are pretty cute. I have the Spidey 2099 one. Back cover is from the official movie adaptation of Constantine. Fairly nice cover, with the slash of light effect, but I'm still not fond of the casting for that movie.

The first thing that hit me when I opened the book was on page 3... a full page ad for a half-sized "Angel as puppet" puppet. I was thinking about it until I noticed the fine print: "Sword not included". Oh, well, then what's the point?

Moving on, let's hit the Splash Page (8-9). Marvel's young blood interests me only very slightly, and most of the interest is on Araña, the spidey character from the new Amazing Fantasy. I'm not so interested that I'm likely to get it, but it does sound good. Tomb Raider, Sin City, Mech, and Kill Bill don't excite me, but I noticed the Courageous Princess trade in an article about Antarctic's 20th anniversary.

Page 10 has a list of titles to try in the new year. There's a lot of good stuff I already get on there, like Usagi Yojimbo. I notice that Dorothy is also on the list.

Time to skip over the Premier Comics section, all the way to page 188 and the Wizard Magazine bit. Wizard's December issue claims to have big DC news, we'll have to wait and see. There's also a Superhero Gaming Special, which includes information on the next DC Heroclix expansion (I'd given up hope of seeing another one).

I'll note that AIT/Planet Lar has a full-page ad at the end of the Wizard section, just before the Featured Items of the Comics & Graphic Novels.

Pages 196-199 are the Featured Items pages, and of note are The Courageous Princess trade I already mentioned once, and Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis Part II. More on that later.

AIT/Planet Lar (215) has the third volume of Couriers, a shoot-em-up style book that I didn't enjoy much but lots of other folks have found to be a great deal of fun. And if you've enjoyed Demo, you can get the Demo Scriptbook, which includes early notes on each issue. From seeing other "process" books by AIT/Planet Lar, I can say this is probably going to be excellent.

Amazing Moon Factory, who brought us Amazing Adventures From Zoom's Academy TP, has The ABC's of Superpowers (216) by Jason Lethcoe. I enjoyed Zoom's, and I'm sure I would enjoy this one, too. I hope we can swing it when the time comes.

Antarctic Press (222) has the Courageous Princess trade. That's the third time I've mentioned it.

Banana Tale Press (238) has the fun-looking Banana Tail #1 by former Aquaman artist Mark McKenna. This one definitely looks like something worth a second look.

I've been enjoying The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty (239) from Beckett Comics, and issue six is solicited this month.

Bongo Comics (240) is taunting us with a return to the ultimate crossover, Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis Part II #1. The apparent Carl Barks tribute in Simpsons Comics #102 is also worth mentioning. And we'll probably get Simpsons Classics #3, the oversized reprints of the original comic run.

While Cartoon Books doesn't have a proper solicit in this issue, they do have a full-page ad (246) for the Complete Bone, which hubby-Eric just got for me from Amazon.com using the credit from his Wizard of Oz store. If you haven't read this series, you can get this and read it in the original B&W, or you can get the Scholastic color reprints when they come out. Or both.

I'm really not sure what to think about this month's offering from Classics Illustrated Jr (248). The book is Classics Illustrated Jr #571: How Fire Came To The Indians. I'm just not sure what to think.

I couldn't find a website for Conspiracy Productions (250), but the idea of a "freakish-loooking bookworm" who takes out his rage on would-be rapists does seem to be an interesting concept when paired with the strange double-life the solicit indicates. I can't afford Creep #1, but I hope some other comic fans get it so I can hear if it's good as it sounds.

Dork Storm Press (268). PS238 #10. Of course I'm getting it. I wouldn't miss this book for ... well, for an awful lot. Indeed, my only problem with this book is that now I want to get Nodwick too...

Eureka Productions (284) continues their series of Graphic Classics with Volume 11 featuring stories by O Henry. It really does look pretty cool.

Illusive Productions (303) has the great Dorothy #1, already reviewed on this blog here. This is a recommended comic, particularly for open-minded Oz fans.

Saga of the Four Sons: The Perfect Cloth is described as "an ecliectic tale based on ancient mystic medrash stories". What are "mystic medrash stories"? The publisher is Mahrwood Press (306).

Meridian Arts (306) gives us another president in Masked Commander. Without some artwork it would be very difficult to determine whether or not to risk buying this one.

NBM Publishing (308) is putting out a book based on a webcomic called Cryptozoo Crew. I'll have to check out the webcomic to decide if this one is worth buying, but in general I like cryptozoology.

Rosen Publishing Group (312) has another set of biographies of famous folk, including Cleopatra, Hernan Cortes, Elizabeth I, Julius Caeser, Harriet Tubman, and Richard the Lionheart. I wish I could get these. They really look fascinating.

Starline Multimedia (316) has a book called Real Life: The Complete Year One Collection. Looks life something worth a read or two.

If you missed Daisy Kutter the first time, you can get the collection in January from Viper Comics (341). I've really enjoyed this book, and I can certainly recommend the collection.

Viz Comics is putting out the 19th volume of Vagabond (348) which I loved when I checked out all the volumes the library has. I hope I can someday afford all these.

Whew... all the way through the Comic Book section now, and moving on into the back of the book stuff.

So I have to decide if I'm going to get Comic Book Digest #4 (356). I thought the first issue definitely gave value for money.

In the book section, I noticed Broadway Musicals: A History In Posters (369). I can just imagine the cool artwork that would be in that one. There is a stack of Doctor Who related books, including Doctor Who: Dalek Empire: The Scripts (372) and a number of the Short Trips books (373). There's a new Myth Adventures book, Myth-Taken Identity (374) with the standard artwork by Phil Foglio.

Seeing the "Gotham City Police Department" T-shirt (399) made me want a "New Venice Diving Squad" shirt, even though nobody but fanatical Aquaman fans would get it. Maybe "Sub Diego Swim Team" instead...

So there's a Justice League Chess set (484)... but it's based on the Animated series so I can't tell if Aquaman is in it. And it's really expensive. Hrm.

Everything old is new again on DVD, including Fat Albert (504). I'm not really sure I'd want that one.

And it's time to go back and hit the big four.

Let's start with Image Comics this month. I'm pretty sure we ordered the first issue of Battle Hymn (130), so we'll probably get the second issue too. Beyond Avalon (131) also looks interesting. I'm not sure if I want to start another ongoing series, but it might make the list.

I'm told that I must flog Four-Letter Worlds (139) or I'll be off the happy-lists of some people. To flog it, I'll just give you the names of some of the people who are contributing: Joe Casey, Kieron Dwyer, Jay Faerber, Matt Fraction, Phil Hester, Steve Lieber, Jim Mahfood, Scott Morse, Jeff Parker, and Andi Watson. And that's not even half of them. Sixteen short stories in a big anthology. I want.

Lions, Tigers & Bears (142) looks like a winner, and it'll make our pull list for sure. Noble Causes #7 (145) is a no-brainer. I'm loving the book, and I liked Firebirds too. I loved the short story "The Seventh Shrine" by Robert Silverberg, but the price of the comic book adaptation (150) is off-putting. I may put it on the list, but it probably won't make the cut. Two-Bits (154) is one of those books that I would like to support just on principle, as it's a sampler at a price of 25 cents. I'm not entirely sure about it, though, as I've already seen a sampler of "The Imaginaries" from Comic Book Digest. Then again, it's only a quarter. Rising Stars #24 (162) finally finishes off the epic.

Scooting back to Dark Horse, we've got Conan #12 (18) along with the first of the collections of the new Conan series. I think I'll wait and see if they put out a trade, because the hardcover price is a bit steep for me. We'll be getting Usagi Yojimbo #81 (25) despite the recent worrying absence of Usagi from the book. I ordered the first issue of Samurai: Heaven and Earth (29) so I'll probably get the second. And, speaking of Japanese warriors, we'll also get Samurai Executioner Volume 4 (33). We might also get Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Volume 3 (37).

Almost done... next up is Marvel Comics who would get a lot more attention from me if they actually bothered to put their previews in Previews. I know I'll be ordering: Captain America & The Falcon #11, Marvel Age Fantastic Four #11, Marvel Age Fantastic Four #12, Amazing Spider-Man #75/516, Spider-Man: India #3, and Powers #8. No certainty on any other books. Araña is a possibility, but I'm not sure.

And finally, it's time for DC Comics. Once again, I'll cover these by section.

Batman (55-61): Nothing. Not a thing. Our one Bat-book has been moved to the regular DCU.

Superman (62-69): I'm slightly wanting Superman: Strength #1 as I like Scott McCloud in general. I'm just not sure with it at $5.95. The three page preview makes me want it more... but I'm still wavering.

DC Universe (70-90): Aquaman #26, the second issue by Arcudi, and a cover without Aquaman on it that echoes the cover of #23. I'm not sure I like where the preview is leading me, but I'll wait and see. Also up for grabs: Bloodhound #7, Bizarro World, Birds of Prey #78, Green Arrow #46, Green Lantern: Rebirth #4, JLA #110, JLA: Classified #3, JSA: Strange Adventures #6, JSA #69, Plastic Man #14, and Outsiders #20. I'd love to get the Seven Soldiers of Victory Archives, but the price is too high and there are too many ones I'd like to get in front of it on my wantlist. Wonder Woman #212 features the Justice League, but unless I know for sure that Aquaman is in it, I'm not interested. Yes yes, one-track mind and all that.

Johnny DC (91-92): That is one creepy looking Scarface in The Batman Strikes #5. I'm not sure I want to read about him. Justice League Unlimited #5 focuses on Blue Beetle. This oughta be a trip and a half.

Beyond The Universe (93-100): Nothing for us.

Wildstorm (101-108): So, should I get Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days trade? Anyone got an opinion on this one?

Vertigo (109-120): Wow, lots and lots of Hellblazer stuff. I wonder why. The only other thing of note is the Seaguy trade. Very very odd, but extremely nice artwork.

DC Direct (121-126): Nothing here for us, though the Composite Superman looks pretty funky.

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.