Reading is fundamental. Read what you like; don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 4/11/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK

Dynamo 5 #2 (Image Comics)

AFTERBURN COMICS
Unit Primes Vol 1 GN (New Ptg), $11.95

I’ve never heard of this but the name caught my attention and the preview actually looks pretty good, impressively establishing its characters, tone and setting in the first 11 pages and piquing my interest to check out more. Kudos!

DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan & The Midnight God #3 (Of 5), $2.99

Yet another entertaining Conan spinoff.

DC COMICS
Fables #60, $2.99

Wow! I actually trade-wait Fables, so there isn’t a single DC release of interest to me this week. That’s sad.

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
Forgotten Realms Legend Of Drizzt Vol 1-3 Box Set, $49.99
Forgotten Realms Vol 4 Crystal Shard HC, $29.99
GI Joe Declassified TPB, $18.99

Devil’s Due is milking their licenses for all they’re worth, but at least they’re doing so via quality work. I hope the D&D stuff in particular is finding success outside of the direct market because they’re been pretty good and you can never have enough sword & sorcery as far as I’m concerned.

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Street Magik GN, $12.99

I flipped through this at Midtown last week and was mildly intrigued. The concept is interesting and the art seemed solid, so I might pick it up on a slow week, which this is looking very much like it’s going to be.

:01 FIRST SECOND
Garage Band GN, $16.95
Professors Daughter Collectors Ed HC, $29.95
Sardine In Outer Space Vol 3 SC, $12.95

First Second’s track record to-date has been impressive, so I’ll give anything the publish a looksee because I’ve found, even if it’s not necessarily my taste, it’s always quality work.

FOX ATOMIC COMICS
28 Days Later The Aftermath GN, $17.99

I flipped through this one at Midtown last week, too, and would have been more likely to buy it if not for the steep cover price. Anything over $15 needs to have a stronger hook than a throwaway tie-in to an enjoyable movie to make it home with home. That said, the slow week rule may apply here, though I’m much more likely to go with Unit Prime if it comes down to a choice.

GUARDIAN LINE
Seekers #1, $2.99

The Guardian Line is already running into scheduling problems, and as appealing as Joe & Max has been, the other two titles simply haven’t clicked for me yet, so hopefully this one delivers the goods.

IMAGE COMICS
Dynamo 5 #2, $3.50
Fell #8 (resolicited), $1.99
Ferro City Vol 1 TPB, $15.99

A rare Image trifecta as Dynamo 5 had one of the better spandex debuts in years, and Fell remains my favorite work from Warren Ellis. Ferro City piqued my interest a long while back, but I’ve sworn off of most Image floppies in favor of trade-waiting, so I’m glad to see this one get a collection.

MARVEL COMICS
Spider-Man Reign Premiere HC, $19.99

Woah…what’s up with the Big Two this week? Have I really drifted so far in my tastes that they can both ship a slew of comics in a given week and not a single one be of interest to me? I thought the first issue of Spider-Man Reign was pretty solid, but hadn’t checked out the rest of it thanks to Marvel’s almost immediate turnaround on collected editions. Still, I’ll probably just borrow my buddy Dan’s floppies to read the whole thing before dropping $20 on it, fancy hardcover or not.

ONI PRESS INC.
Wasteland Book 1 Cities In Dust TPB, $11.95

This is another one whose first issue was intriguing, though particularly decompressed, and I decided to wait for the trade to see if it was any good. Whole lot of that this week for me, no? Trend or mirage?

RENAISSANCE PRESS
Amelia Rules #17, $4.95

Woah! I’m always glad to see new Amelia on the shelves, but what’s with the $4.95 cover price!?!? Is this a special edition or something? No info on the web site… As much as I love Amelia Rules, $4.95/issue would pretty much guarantee I switch to waiting for the trade. *** UPDATE: Amelia creator Jimmy Gownley says this is the double-sized anniversary issue. Had I known that, it would have been my pick of the week!

Magazines
Greys Anatomy Magazine #2, $6.99

I’ve never been embarassed by anything I’ve ever taken to the cashier at a comics shop before, but when I bought the first issue of Greys Anatomy Magazine, I felt like the biggest dork in the world. I think I actually claimed I was buying it for my wife, which, while not an outright lie — she’s a fan of the show, too — came pretty close. For the record, I would not buy a Grey’s Anatomy comic book. Probably not…