On The Shelves: 5/24/06

On The Shelves: 5/24/06, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Reprinted courtesy of Comic Book Commentary.

Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month.

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 5/24/06. The full shipping is list 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]

ASPEN MLT INC
Shrugged #0, $2.50

A: Shrugged; Q: What I did after reading the Fathom TPB? (Bought on deep discount last year via Mile High Comics.) Seriously, though, who's buying Aspen's stuff and why? It can't really just be about Turner's art, can it? I mean, Soulfire and Fathom took 3 spots on the Real Indie Top 10 list back in March, each selling more than 15k copies, while something like Strange Girl, a superior story with much more interesting (if not fan-friendly) artwork, barely sold 3k copies!?! You people are crazy!

DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan Book Of Thoth #3 (Of 4), $4.99
Scarface Novel, $6.99

Yay, Conan! Even my father-in-law loves Dark Horse's take on his favorite barbarian. *** Why is Dark Horse publishing a Scarface novel? (On a side note, I really despise that movie, no matter how much I love Pacino!)

DC COMICS
52 Week #3, $2.50
American Way #4 (Of 8), $2.99
Batman #653, $2.99
Blue Beetle #3, $2.99
Supergirl And The Legion Of Super Heroes #18, $2.99
Teen Titans #36, $2.99

52 gets two more issues to impress me before I jump ship. If this issue has too much Booster Gold in it, or anything about Supergirl's stupid internet cult, I'm bailing immediately. *** American Way is one of the best comics YOU'RE currently not reading. Why do you deprive yourself so? *** I hate that 52's Montoya/Question storyline has me asking the dreaded continuity question w/r/t Harvey Dent. Nevertheless, it's Batman and he's readable again, so I shall not look a gift horse in the mouth. *** Blue Beetle's been interesting so far, but something needs to happen this issue for it to stay on my pull list. The table's set, now it's time to eat! *** You have to wonder if the rumor about Mark Waid pulling out of 52 has anything to do with Supergirl being added to his Legion series. After Bill Willingham's strong implication that an editorial screw-up led to Superman appearing in Shadowpact #1 when he should have still been depowered, it wouldn't be hard to believe her addition to the masthead was a sales-driven editorial mandate. Personally, it makes me even less interested in the series. *** I was made a little nervous by Robin's science experiment at the end of Teen Titans #34, but after 52: Week Two, I'm officially jumpy and looking for a reason to cut it from my pull list. Superman, Superboy, Supergirl: I DON'T CARE!!!

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
Comics Journal #276, $9.95

I believe this is the issue with Michael Dean's coverage of the Soma/Brownstein incident. Might have to pick it up to compare notes when the other shoe finally drops.

MARVEL COMICS
Avengers & Power Pack Assemble #2 (Of 4), $2.99
Black Panther #16, $2.99
Daredevil #85, $2.99
Fantastic Four A Death In The Family, $3.99
Nextwave Agents Of Hate #5, $2.99
Powers #18, $2.95
X-Factor #7, $2.99
X-Statix Presents Dead Girl #5 (Of 5), $2.99

Busy week at the House of Ideas! In organizing my comics this weekend, I came across the copies of Power Pack #1-24 I bought a month or so ago from the guy who often sets up a table outside the subway station in front of my building (his sister-in-law was running things that day, actually). Haven't had a chance to read through them yet, but I'm curious to see how they hold up compared to Sumerak's entertaining take on them. Last issue's Captain America team-up was the usual bit of fun I've come to expect from these minis. *** Black Panther has been fun the past few issues, with Hudlin doing a solid job of making this whole wedding thing work. Hopefully Civil War doesn't completely derail things, though it'd be kind of cool to have T'Challa and Ororo join a revamped Avengers lineup. Only if a new writer comes onboard, though. I shudder at the thought of Bendis writing those two. *** Brubaker + Lark + Daredevil = Yet another Marvel hero I've never particularly cared for becoming extremely interesting. *** Sue Richards dies in a one-shot that's not connected to Civil War? I find that hard to believe. I'm going to check it out, though, because I'm a sucker like that sometimes. *** NextWave has been fun so far, but I'm not sure how long I'll stick with it as it feels a bit inconsequential; there's no real sense of direction coming from it, unlike Fell, where Ellis is balancing the done-in-one stories with underlying sub-plots that continue to play out with each issue. *** Powers...just when I was back on the bandwagon, it's delayed and I can't really remember where things stand and why I was excited about it again. *** Peter David's been spinning several plates at once in X-Factor, but it looks like he's finally about to let a couple drop. The first six issues have been among some of the best stuff Marvel's published over the past couple of years. *** Dead Girl has piqued my interest in X-Statix and delivered a much more interesting Dr. Strange than the recent Defenders mini-series did. Pretty good for a mini-series I almost didn't pick up.

MOONSTONE
Buckaroo Banzai #1 (Of 3), $3.50

I was never a fan of the movie, but there was always something appealing about the character. The mess of a preview issue, unfortunately, did nothing for me.

ONI PRESS INC.
Scott Pilgrim Vol 3 Infinite Sadness GN, $11.95

AWESOME!!!! I resisted the lure of Scott Pilgrim for a while, turned off by some of his more vehement fans in the comics blogiverse, but I was impressed that the first two volumes totally lived up to their hype. I'm with Knives Chau!

SPEAKEASY COMICS
Black Coat Call To Arms #2 (Of 4), $2.99

This is actually being published by Ape Entertainment now, which is a good thing because it should mean that it will complete its run. Check out my review in this month's Pull List Propaganda column.

SUPERVERSE PRODUCTIONS
Zoom Suit #2 (Of 4), $2.95

It's a shame that all that hype was wasted on one of the cheesier looking comics I've ever flipped through! Amateurish product + aggressive marketing = embarassment for all involved.

VIPER COMICS
Villains #1 (Of 4), $3.25

No idea what this is, but Viper has earned guaranteed flip-through status for everything they publish thanks to a unique sense of style that I can appreciate even when something isn't particularly up my alley.