Free time is a precious thing. Don’t waste it reading bad comics out of habit!

Have you seen Ratatouille yet? Amazing! Brad Bird’s a genius, bringing more humanity to his CGI creations than most directors bring to their live action efforts. It’s Pixar’s best yet, beating out previous faves The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, in spite of the whole rat thing still not quite working for me. (Ick!) I had my doubts going in, thinking it might be their first bomb — relatively speaking, that is — but now I think it’s going to have the kind of legs none of the other summer sequels have had and end up posting some very nice box office numbers.

You know what ongoing comics are working for me like Ratatouille did these days? Very few. :-(

That said, here’s my weekly look at select comic books being released Thursday, 7/5/07. 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

GI Joe: Americas Elite #25 (Devil’s Due)

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite #25, $3.50

It’s not that I’m tired of the “Big Event”, because I’m totally looking forward to “World War III” in the GIJU. The difference? It’s self-contained, it’s taking place within an ongoing series that I’ve already been enjoying, and it makes sense within the context of the series to-date. As long as Devil’s Due doesn’t get crazy with the spin-offs, I’m onboard for the full ride.

(Continued)

Free time is a precious thing. Don’t waste it reading bad comics out of habit!

I finally made it to MoCCA this past weekend and while it was a good time, it reinforced the sense that I’m steadily drifting towards becoming a casual comics reader with little interest in blogging on a regular basis. I’ll have a write-up later this week, including my impressions of the Comics Foundry preview and how its success or failure will play into the future of comics. [insert dramatic cliffhanger music here…]

Without further ado, here’s my weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 6/27/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. (Note: For the “just the facts, ma’am” crowd, ComicList impresario Charles LePage has launched a no-frills version of his invaluable list called The Bullpen Bulletin.)

[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*

Showcase Presents: Batman Vol 2 (DC Comics)

ANDREWS AND MCMEEL
Harry Potter Order of Phoenix 2008 Wall Calendar, $13.99

Like with Buffy, I swear I’m the only comics fan who doesn’t give a hoot about Harry. I saw the first movie, and while it was entertaining enough, I just don’t get the fuss and have never had any interest in the reading the books despite them seemingly being right up my alley.

(Continued)

Free time is a precious thing. Don’t waste it reading bad comics out of habit!

I don’t know if it’s just the nice weather, or the fact that I’m slowly edging my way back into the poetry scene and focusing on my own writing again, or that I’m buying less and less floppies and more TPBs these days, but my interest in comics has faded to that of a more casual reader. It’s not the first time, not by a long shot, but it feels less whimsical, more transitional this time around. Ironically, it was my fading interest in the poetry scene that got me back into reading comics in the first place, so it will be interesting to see if the two can peacefully co-exist, or if comics (or blogging about them, at least) will get kicked to the curb.

With that huge caveat emptor, here’s my weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 6/20/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. (Note: For the “just the facts, ma’am” crowd, ComicList impresario Charles LePage has launched a no-frills version of his invaluable list called The Bullpen Bulletin.)

[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*

Banzai Girl (Arcana Comics)

ARCANA STUDIO
Banzai Girl Manga Vol 1 TPB, $9.99
Banzai Girls #1, $3.95

Even as my tastes have drastically changed over the years, I’ll always have a soft spot for Arcana Studio (now called Arcana Comics), publishers of 100 Girls and Ezra, two of my favorite, non-Marvel/DC titles from a few years back when I started reading comics again. The former remains a personal favorite, while the latter (a “guilty pleasure” for which I have no guilt) garnered me my first significant blurb, which they used in Previews, miscrediting me as comiccommentary.com, which led to my registering the URL. My two-part interview with their publisher, Sean O’Reilly, was also my first “big” (in length, at least) interview. Sadly, I haven’t picked up an Arcana title in over a year now (Jova’s Harvest and/or El Arsenal) as they seem to have shifted towards a T&A art style for the majority of their releases, but Banzai Girl caught my eye for the interesting fact that its creator represents an interesting “Wha…Huh?!?” figure in light of recent events in the industry: “Its author is Jinky Coronado, who is also its artist, its main character, and its photo cover model. Jinky already has a burgeoning career as a calendar and lingerie FHM model, a recording artist (her music CD, the appropriately-titled BANZAI GIRLS), has just been released, and artist for TokyoPop’s upcoming AVALON HIGH project with best-selling author Meg Cabot.” Interesting enough to get me to give this a looksee, at least.

(Continued)

Free time is a precious thing. Don’t waste it reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 6/13/07. 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

Aviary (AdHouse Books)

ADHOUSE BOOKS
Aviary, $12.95

If AdHouse publishes it, it’s always worth a look, and the description of this one is certainly intriguing: “Enter the strange world of the Quiet Bird-Man; a world of mysterious corporations, foul-mouthed robots, drunken ghosts, amputee comedians, wealthy simian pornographers and canine scientists; a world of disasters, murders and masquerade balls.” Between AdHouse’s stellar track record of high quality, off-beat comics, and a very reasonable sticker price for a 312-page story, that’s enough to get me to give it a try and recommend it to others! Especially in what appears to be a surprisingly light week, even for me.

(Continued)

Free time is a precious thing. Don’t waste it reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 6/6/07. 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

The Black Diamond Detective Agency (First Second)

ADHOUSE BOOKS
Superior Showcase #2, $2.95

Maris Wicks, Farel Dalrymple and Joey Weiser team up for AdHouse’s always enjoyable showcase of independent-minded takes on “heroes that are super”, a spin-off of their excellent Project: Superior anthology from a couple of years ago.

(Continued)

Free time is a precious thing. Don’t waste it reading bad comics out of habit!

***** This featurette has evolved over the course of the 2+ years I’ve been doing it, starting as a well-intentioned, straightforward listing of “Independent comics (and manga)” — aka, everything except Marvel & DC — shipping in a given week called “Try Something Different”, to the snarky, more open-minded commentary of its most recent incarnation as “On the Shelves”. In light of some recent changes in my buying habits and reading interests, and in the spirit of “be the change you want to see”, I’m changing things up once again, focusing on the increasingly varied offerings from publishers of all shapes and sizes, genres and formats — except for Marvel, DC and its imprints.

The “Big [Fish in Small Pond] Two” have been giving me heartburn more often than not the past year, so I’m quitting them cold turkey, effective immediately, except for Fables, which I’ll continue to follow in trade, and any Essential or Showcase TPBs of interest that come down the pike, like the recently announced Suicide Squad. There’s plenty of other places to find tips on what they’re publishing in any given week, and I’m a firm believer in focusing one’s limited energies where one thinks they can make the biggest difference, and even moreso in spending their limited money on the things that give them the most pleasure.

With that in mind, each week I’ll offer up recommendations, speculations, and ruminations on comics that might not currently be on your (or my) pull list, or even your radar, but are worthy of consideration. And, of course, there will still be snarky commentary and straightforward marketing observations peppered throughout. Feel free to do the same in the comments, and point out anything I might have overlooked. So, without further ado… *****

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday Thursday, 5/31/07. 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

Fun Home (TPB) (Houghton Mifflin)

AKA COMICS
Miscellaneous Adventures of Stykman #2, $2.95

You have to wonder what Diamond saw in this title that they thought there was a significant audience for it and saw fit to distribute it, but creator Jonnie Allan apparently busted his ass to get it done, so kudos to him. The first issue wasn’t bad, per se — I’d have no problem picking it up out of curiousity from Allan at a convention — but it’s not nearly ready for prime time and calls into question Diamond’s criteria for determining what will and won’t sell in the direct market. It’s almost like rejection sometimes means no, and sometimes means try harder. Nevertheless, I’d be surprised to see it still listed in Previews by its 4th or 5th issue.

(Continued)

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, 5/23/07. 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

CASANOVA v1: LUXURIA (Image Comics)

CHRONICLE BOOKS
Art of Ratatouille HC, $40.00

Am I the only one thinking this will be Pixar’s first real box office disappointment? I know it’s Brad Bird, but the previews I’ve seen so far haven’t had quite the same zing of their past efforts. Of course, I wasn’t expecting Cars to be as good as it was based on its previews, so who knows?

(Continued)

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

My weekly look at select, non-gender-specific comic books being released Wednesday, 5/16/07. 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

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 (Archaia Studios Press)

ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS
Artesia Vol 3 Artesia Afire HC, $24.95
Mouse Guard Vol 1 Fall 1152 HC, $24.95

Archaia takes the Pick of the Week two weeks in a row, and does so with two excellent efforts, both of which are well worth your hard-earned $50 as their hardcover collections are absolutely beautiful. Mouse Guard and Artesia offer compelling fantasy worlds that defy initial expectations, taking basic genre tropes and putting a refreshing spin on them. The former is an especially good representative of “all ages doesn’t mean kiddified”, while the latter is strictly for mature readers only.

(Continued)

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, 5/9/07. 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

Okko: The Cycle of Water #3 (Archaia Studios Press)

ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS
Killer #4 (of 10), $3.95
Okko Cycle of Water #3 (of 4), $3.95
Secret History Book Two, $5.95

Do yourself a favor and tell your friendly local retailer to pull anything Archaia publishes for you. Mark Smylie and company have an eye for great comics, and a blind pull of their stuff is almost always a better guarantee of good reading than anything else on your pull list. Okko: The Cycle of Water is particularly good.

(Continued)

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, 5/2/07. 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


Star Wars Legacy Vol 1: Broken TPB (Dark Horse)

ABRAMS
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid SC, $12.95
Graffiti La Street Styles And Art HC, $35.00

Both of these look interesting, continuing Diamond’s recent stretching of the definition of “comics” as Wimpy Kid is a collected webcomic that is more of an illustrated “novel” while Graffiti is a coffee table art book. Both seem worth a peek, though.

(Continued)