The Comics Reporter

April 30, 2013

Go, Look: Strange Tales #87

posted 11:55 pm PST | Permalink

Seattle’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood Gets Comics Shop

I'm always happy to see a comics shop opening, like this one in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle. It's right next to the Dick's on Broadway. This is my old neighborhood, from about 1997 to 2002. The last actual comics shop was probably the famous Fallout Records and Comics a bit down the hill; when Evan Sult worked at Bailey Coy in the early part of the 2000s they had an aggressive comics section for a while.

posted 11:50 pm PST | Permalink

Go, Look: Tales Of Suspense #1

posted 9:30 pm PST | Permalink

This Isn’t A Library: Notable Releases To The Comics Direct Market

Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.

I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.

*****

FEB131026 3 NEW STORIES ONE SHOT $3.99
Here's a novelty and fine-sounding comics besides: the talented Dash Shaw doing an honest-to-god alternative comic book format comic.

MAR130988 GREY MUSEUM GN $20.00
This is one of the promised Conundrum Press TCAF debuts. You can see a preview here.

MAR130019 47 RONIN #4 $3.99
MAR130049 ABE SAPIEN DARK & TERRIBLE #2 $3.50
MAR130015 MISTER X EVICTION #1 $3.99
MAR130573 INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE #2 [DIG] $2.99
FEB138534 SEX #1 3RD PTG (MR) $2.99
MAR130600 AGE OF ULTRON #7 $3.99
FEB130568 HAWKEYE #10 $2.99
This week's genre comics in comic book format offers up kind of a mixed bag within that not-necessarily expansive definition of what comics fall into that territory. This includes a Stan Sakai comic, the latest attempt at a secondary title ensconced in the universe presented in the comic book Invincible, and both Marvel's latest crossover installment and that company's best-reviewed current book.

JAN130122 KORAK SON OF TARZAN ARCHIVES HC VOL 01 $49.99
DEC120331 JACK KIRBY OMNIBUS HC VOL 02 $39.99
Two collections of material where I'd prefer the original comics. The Kirby material is required for every collection in one form or another.

MAR130426 MICHAEL KALUTA SKETCHBOOK SERIES SC VOL 04 $9.99
I'd certainly look.

MAR131159 ASTRONAUT ACADEMY ZERO GRAVITY GN $9.99
Ditto this. I'm actually not sure where this stands in the Astronaut Academy array of titles.

JAN131169 CASTLE WAITING HC VOL 02 DEFINITIVE ED $29.99
I'd be happy to have this material in a definitive edition, but I didn't have to pay for this edition or any other.

FEB131023 COMPLETE CRUMB COMICS TP VOL 05 HAPPY HIPPY (NEW PTG) (MR) $19.99
I have the old printing, but I can't imagine not having it -- so if you don't, you might want to check this one out. I would have to imagine that this is one of the must-have albums in that series.

DEC121117 PETER BAGGE OTHER STUFF TP $19.99
I've become a serious fiend for Bagge's work lately. While this book is probably the fifth or sixth I'd take off of a shelf, all things considered, that still makes it really, really good.

JAN131377 GARY BASEMAN DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN HC $45.00
I would also look at this one, just for the name in the title.

DEC120481 JACK DAVIS EC STORIES ARTIST ED HC PI
Finally, here's a timely reminder that Jack Davis may be our greatest living cartoonist.

*****

The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.

To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.

The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.

If I failed to list your comic, that's because I hate you.

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posted 9:00 pm PST | Permalink

If I Were In NYC, I’d Go To This

posted 8:30 pm PST | Permalink

Happy 64th Birthday, Tom De Haven!

posted 8:30 pm PST | Permalink

Go, Look: Robert Barker

posted 7:00 pm PST | Permalink

Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* the good folks at World War 3 Illustrated have put Magdy L Shaffee's first comic for the publication work up at their tumblr.

* Sean Gaffney on Unico. Robert Kirby on some different comics. Sean Gaffney on Bunny Drop Vol. 8. Rob Clough on Windy Corner 2. Todd Klein on Resident Alien Vol. 1.

* I'm not exactly sure what this is, but I think it's a way to put in for a free comic book. You have to have a Goodreads account.

* I don't know that I've ever seen a Reid Fleming page up for sale on eBay.

* Drawn and Quarterly has some nice photos up from a recent Tom Gauld signing. Gauld is a really fun cartoonist, and I'm glad he's going to do San Diego this year. Or at least he's scheduled to do that one. I really liked the book.

* Regina-area media reacts to the "news" that they were done blown up in some Avengers comic.

* the comments at this Robot 6 post about the departure of the ComicsAlliance site are an interesting read. I was dismayed by a number of tweets that went right to the personal relationship one had with the site rather than the people involved -- I mean, I get it, but in many cases I thought professional peers would have a greater degree of sympathy than a snap-appraisal of the site's utility. I bet that was half of the people that get to write about comics for a full-time living.

* K. Sturgess talks to Darryl Cunningham. Steve Sunu talks to Sam Humphries. A bunch of people at C2E2 talk to Patton Oswalt.

* finally, we take Ben Katchor for granted.

posted 6:00 pm PST | Permalink

Happy 46th Birthday, Chris Pitzer!