HOLY FREE BOOKS, BATMAN!

I just got another package from Larry Young. Perhaps this is the prize for his unofficial "who mentions AIT/Planet Lar first" contest. Whatever it is, my hubby and I were both astounded at the size and weight of the package. We were more astounded when I opened it and the books kept coming out like clowns out of a car. I'm not going to rush reviewing these, but I'll certainly be putting up comments on them as I go. Anyway, here's what came out of the box...

• Colonia: Islands and Anomalies by Jeff Nicholson is the only book in the package I already owned. I've been buying Colonia since day one, and I was told by Jeff at the Emerald City Comicon that new issues are coming this summer. This copy will be a good loaning copy.
• Available Light by Warren Ellis. I've yet to really enjoy anything I've read by Warren Ellis. His style just has never worked for me. I'm looking forward to seeing if this book will break the string.
• Electric Girl Vol 1, Vol 2, and issue 10 by Mike Brennan. I don't know much about this series, but I seem to recall looking at it at San Diego once. It'll be good to actually read it.
• Scurvy Dogs 1-3 by Andrew Boyd and Ryan Yount. I don't know anything at all about this one, except that other bloggers have been reviewing it lately. And it has a little insert that says Randy Lander liked it, too.
• Johnny Dynamite: Underworld by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty.
• White Death by Rob Morrison and Charlie Adlard.
• Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden: Borrowed Magic by Dave Roman and John Green. This is one that I've heard about and was mildly curious about, but never expected to get a copy to read.
• The Annotated Mantooth! by Matt Fraction, Andy Kuhn, and Tim Fisher. This has got the comic, the scripts, and notes... a neat idea that I've seen done to some extent with novels (hubby has the Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Annotated Wizard of Oz, and goodness knows what else), but I've never seen applied to comics like this. And hey, it's got a gorilla, how bad can it be?
• Abel by William Harms and Mark Bloodworth.
• Codeflesh by Joe Casey and Charlie Adlard. I think I just read a review of this one, actually...
• Last of the Independents by Matt Fraction and Kieron Dwyer. Interesting design.
• The Couriers 02: Dirtbike Manifesto by Brian Wood and Rob G.
• Couscous Express by Brian Wood and Brett Weldele.
• Channel Zero: Jennie One by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan. Same team as Demo. Yeah, this one ought to be good. I may just have to save it 'til the end.
• Astronauts in Trouble: Master Flight Plan by Larry Young, Charlie Adlard, and Matt Smith. I've been wanting to read Astronauts in Trouble since I first heard about it. But back then I was a little less open-minded and less inclined to buy new stuff. Getting the whole story, in a hardback version no less, is like a dream come true.
• The Making of Astronauts in Trouble by Larry Young. A script book. I think I'll enjoy this one.
• True Facts by Larry Young. Well, someday hubby and I do want to publish our own comic books, but that day is way off in the future and requires a number of things to happen first. While we are waiting for/building toward those things, I've been reading up on comics publishing so that when we do it, if we do take the plunge, we'll do it the right way. I suspect this book will be interesting reading for that reason alone, as it claims to be "a pocket guide to self-publishing your own comic books".

And that's the lot. I won't be going through these fast, I don't think, but I'll try to throw in one or two during my normal weekly reviews. In the meantime, THANK YOU, Larry. This box made my day.