Wednesday, January 27, 2016

End of January 2016 shipping addendum...

So well I just can't let this week go without mentioning...

 

SFX #4 Bang $7.99

So I tried not to mention this but I have to as anthologies very often I think get overlooked. There are several creators I love in this as Leila Del Duca and Christian Ward are among the creators in this volume. I don't do many of the DC Vertigo anthologies as my funds are rather tight but when there are people I enjoy among the creators I can't resist and usually there is someone new I discover when I do pick one up. This is a themed quartly project where creators are given a specific sound effect as the story seed and go from there... Anyhow I'm up for this at least...

Saga #33 $2.99

So this title is in no need of a signal boost but I do love the storytelling power of Brain K Vaughan and Fiona Staples quite honestly it doesn't appear on my pull list very often because my FLCS happens to get a large stack of it and I can often put it off till a small week to pick up but as I'm not going to be able to get to my shop for a month I have to grab it this week. This books cast keeps growing and changing as time goes by...

 

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Dead-wood Dispatch Comic Pull List Jan 27 2016

Well damn ... this weeks comic shipment will no doubt make me go well over my twenty dollar limit. Weekly I post up a list of what I actually intend to pick up and well I could lie and say I'll keep to my budget this week but I can't as there is so much good due tomorrow....

Monstress #1 $3.50

Marjorie and Sana have won my heart with this wonderful and oh so pretty book. As they have gone back to a third printing for number one if my memory serves I'm thinking that my signal boost is purely because I'm so charmed by this book that features magic, kaiju like monsters and weird science along with some of the best art I've seen in a long time. The book originally invisioned by Marjorie based on reflections about the experiences of her grandmother in China under the Japanese occupation reads like a story that has taken on a life of its own; the kind where passing character ideas demand attention all on their own. Anyhow if any of that intrigues you and your not on board takes look before any more issues go by. (Oh and today is the last day for the Image Humble Bundle that has so much great storytelling in it including the first issue of this series.)

Ringside #3 $3.99

I know what you may be thinking, a wrestling comic, but Joe Keating and Nick Barber are doing much more then just lifting the curtain on kayfabe here. They are telling a multi layered story with new blood entering the business, mentors trying to steer them, old wrestlers dealing with life and personal drama and we have got hints about stories happening in the upper management too and they are only getting started. Like the best of superhero books these days they main stories and the emotional heart of the book seems far from the four color battles and the life inside the ring. Joe is one of the writers who I look forward to as he is almost always unpredictable in his approach to his stories.

 

Cry Havoc #1 $3.99

Simon Spurrier is another of the writers who love Joe Keating often surprises in unexpected and wonderful ways. He has two books out this week the first being Spire from Boom which I'm also picking up but this is the one I'll spotlight as its not in the middle of a compex story already. Cry Havoc looks to be a modern war story involving a lesbian werewolf in among the troops along with other various were creatures if the cover solicitations. Little as of yet has been revealed other then the preview but I'm intrigued enough to pick it up given Simon's storytelling trackrecord.

 

Island #6 $7.99

I know that anthologies are not for everyone and given the price of admission here it may be a bit too far but for variety and quality in story telling and art I think Brandon Graham and Emma Rios have embraced a whole lot of cool stories. Island to me is the best successor to the old Heavy Metal magazine without dipping too far into the erotica pool. I don't have much else to say but if variety in comics is something your craving this is the book to look towards kits somewhere between European and Japanese in flavor and I think it's a pretty unique chance to support cool storytellers. Brandon Graham also has Prophet Earth War issue one out this week at $3.99 and its something the euro sci if comic lover in me just can not pass up.

Ody-C #9 $3.99

And on that topic I'll segue to Matt Fractions take of classic literature by way of science fiction in Ody-C. It started as a Odyessy like tale that has now spanned out to encompass the stories of the thousand and one nights and of all things Moby Dick it seems. Christian Ward's art spins out of the idea of pop art as storytelling and he has one of the most interesting takes on page design that I have seen in quite a long time to me he's a bit Barry Winsor Smith, a bit Jim Steranko, and hits that sweet Jack Kirby spot for me without being much like him style wise. Ody-c really isn't like much out there in that it's narrative is occasionally told via classical epic prose and sequential art with dialogue in a way only comics can.

Jem and the Holograms #11 $3.99

And the hits just keep on coming... sorry I could not resist that bad pun. I really can not pass this by anymore then I can all the others this week. Issue eleven signals the return of Sophie Campbell to the title, the story promises a more sinister Synergy, a Dark Phoenix like take on Jem, it continues the drama started in the wonderful holiday special with the car crash of Pizzaz that brought humanity to the Misfits. I'm quite curious as how the ongoing tale will unfold as Kelly Thompson is really treating this book as a continuing story with short twenty page intervals of raising the characters stakes and allowing them to grow and change; something some comics don't really allow to happen.

Angela Queen of Hel #4 $3.99

Marguerite Bennett had some big shoes to fill in taking over the mythological reins from Kieron Gillen and has proven to be more then bloody well up to the task. Angela is a title that embraces both creative mythology which is reminiscent of Jack the King from back in the silver age and is able to marry that craziness with modern day references and energy that in really a lot of fun. She didn't reinvent and reinvent the wheel when it comes to the story's of Leah and Hel and Loki from Kieron but more stomped on the gas and is running for all the tales are worth. This is one one my favorite of the all new marvel books along with Ultimaes as its about doing something new with the told they are given. Though I like Thor this title is more my kind of thing.

 

 

 

 

Black Canary #7 $2.99

In the new 52 I have found a few titles that click with me and this one is one of the few. This version of the Canary may not be the one that I grew up with, saw in the Justice League in different incarnations and enjoyed as a partner to Green Arrow but she is undoubtedly the Black Canary I'm enjoying. Brendan's take on Diane, her relationship with her band, with her friends and the friendship with Batgirl really are the heart of this book with addition of the deans and tour drama has been so so welcome fun. Annie Wu's art with Lee Loughbridge's colors have been brilliant energetic and very apt for the band and rock and roll story. With the prospect of Rebirth changing DC again in the near future I intend to enjoy this book for as long as they allow it to go.

Black Magick #4 $3.99

Greg Rucka writes great crime and noir stories and paired with the realistic mainly two tone art of Nicola Scott makes this hard to pass up. The story has been a show burn and is understated in its use of magic so may fall a bit below the radar for urban fantasy fans who have many good choices in books but they would be missing out on some great storytelling. A flip through this beautifully illustrated book will likely end up with it as part of your pile and it really should be. It's also one of the Image books that includes a bit of neat back matter that doesn't get collected so supporting the periodicals is a no brainier for me as I like the little Easter eggs that come after the story.

Moongirl and Devil Dinosaur #3

At both of the big two is the odder titles that really attract me and this is a pretty offbeat one but with Amy Reeder working on it and with its heritage coming from Jack Kirby how could you go wrong. The books has apparently won the heart of a lot of the kids of longtime Marvel readers and that's a great thing as I love the thought of parents and their kids enjoying this. Moongirl taps into the kid genius trope and ties into the ongoing Inhuman story now taking the marvel mutant story elements of the other. The stakes they are playing with are easy to relate too and I'm hoping this title will last.

 

So that is a bit of the great choices this week and it well breaks my budget even without adding the title I hope my FLCS ordered... that being Faith which adds another $3.99 to that crazy total up there already....

 

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Dead-wood Dispatch Comics Pull List Jan 20 th 2016

Another week another Wednesday another shipping day and a potential to support creators you love at least that is the way that I look at it. This is my weekly round up of the books that I'll be picking up and the ones that I think are worth noticing and are perhaps the cooler of the books out this week. I try to keep to a budget of twenty dollars and if I may bust the budget I'll at least post about the books I think may just be slipping notice among all the shiny.

 

Poison Ivy #1 $2.99

Amy Chu who I heard speak on the panel on intersectionality at RCCC in 2015 is getting to explore Ivy's life outside of Batman and Harley stories in this six issue series set in Gotham. She was one of the panelists who I didn't know much about before but left being very exited about her work as much as David F Walker and Erica Henderson and knew this was on the horizon. Plot wise it sounds like a good twist on a noir murder mystery and I expect that will be a good read as I've enjoyed Amy's writing that I picked up at RCCC but I'm really exited to see how she developed Ivy's personal relationships I'm particularly wanting to see her side of her interactions with Harley.

 

Wayward #13 $3.50

I have made no secret as to Ayane being my favorite character in Wayward and the ronin joining her on the cover here who became part of the cast last issue I found pretty enjoyable too so the cover alone is a must. Wayward is not at all the urban fantasy fighting book I thought it was in the beginning and it's always fun to be surprised in what your reading. Jim Zub and Steve Cummings are creating a pretty vital modern mythology out of manga tropes in this book and I'm exited to see where they take us next. In a way this is akin to what Geoff Johns has been doing with a certain superhero group but without all the trappings and baggage that they are burdened with through the lens of cool, unique, Japanese yokai or ghost stories. I'm biased but I really love this weird fiction stuff.

Captain Marvel #1 $3.99

This may not need a signal boost as well doesn't everyone love Carol Danvers but as its no longer headed by the amazing Kelly Sue Deconnick some may take a pass but I'm willing to take a chance on a new team behind one of my favorite heroes. The writers behind this are two of the women behind the Agent Carter show that I found better then Agents of Sheild and worlds better then the second Avengers film that pretty much put me of the MCU for a while. Kris Anka is handling the art for this and he is one I've been waiting to have a regular book to support and so many hints as to how they have set up the book make it sound like that although things have changed it may just be a bit like to last volume that I loved. As comics are expensive I've had to become a bit more choosey but this is certainly one I would give a try.

Patsy Walker aka Hellcate #2 $3.99

Though I love superhero books it seems that it's the superhero books that are much more conserved with the not so punchy side of the story; though I like action in the end there is a pretty predictable outcome so stories that go well beyond that are more my thing. Patsy Walker as written by Kate Leth looks to be the kind of book that is somewhere between the wacky adventure of Squirrel Girl and the personal drama that was at the heart of Matt Fraction's Hawkeye and the first issue really did set the tone. Hellcat, Patsy has been around for a long time in comics and has seen many incarnations between Superhero and romance star across the ages and Kate seems to be playing with all of it in about the same manner as the Jessica Jones show did; it's both funny and dramatic and she is very easy to like and identify with, Patsy that is. The initial issue was really a lot of fun so I'm pretty in for this. Oh and the art is really very charming to.

Phonogram The Immaterial Girl #6 3.99

As this is the end of the story and it's hard to drop into something like this so late in the game I had to spotlight it as I have really enjoyed this book a ton. As this is the end of a story that really did tap into a lot of my memories being a big watcher of music videos and having both lived and come to loath some of the music of my teens Phonogram has really felt very personal. Last week on his Twitter feed Kieron Gillen posted something about David Bowie gets referenced in this one and knowing as I expect this book to be fairly sad and I expect to be a bit broken up after reading it. I happen to like books that make me feel something even if it is hurt. So well I could be wrong and it could be all rainbows and puppies but I expect not. So if your a goth at heart or someone who recalls when Mtv played music videos and your not reading this um I'd ask how'd you miss it. Really excellent book.

 

So that brings me to right around eighteen dollars for the week and I've not mentioned Ms. Marvel #3 which for me is a must and will put me well a bit over twenty followed by I Hate Fairyland #4 which after all is a lot of sick fun is not at all for the little ones that it's art makes it look geared to. Anyhow this week as were starting to get solicits for April I'm going to be adding a feature on the books I'll be ordering as preorders have become a very important thing given the vagaries of the direct market. I'm hoping to be getting more regular features going this year. Drop me a line and let me know your out there...

 

Monday, January 18, 2016

Martin Luther King Day

This Martin Luther King weekend there were events celebrating comics and media created by and about people of color held at the Schomburg Center in NY and at several locations in San Francisco all of which I would love to have attended and did so virtually at least where livestream allowed. Karama known for her site theblerdgurl online has excellent coverage of the NY event posted here on her website and I highly encourage checking it out. Shows like this are a chance to be exposed to books or shows you might not otherwise get clued into and to find that all important thing you didn't know you would absolutely love.

The Schomburg event which the link will connect you to the live streams featured creators I had been familiar with such as Guy Sims who created Brotherman during the ninties, Bill Campbell who is behind Rosarium Publishing as well as writing a bit himself, David F Walker the writer for Cyborg and the coming Powerman and Iron Fist among other great things...

.... I could go on but they say it better and more clearly then I will...


 

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Dead-wood Dispatch Comics Pull list Jan 13,2016

As I'm still pretty melancholy from the death of David Bowie who's been a musical and artistic presence in my life for as long as I can recall I have to mention how hard the news hit me my gratitude for being here to witness his art and wish his loved ones well.

Ok now in to what sillyness I do here weekly in putting up the comics I'll be buying for my budget of twenty dollars. I try to support and signal boost books I think may not be on many peoples radar yet....

 

Insexts #2 $3.99

So this book qualifies as a mature title that is not safe to read in your work lunchroom unless your alone or just brazen enough to well possibly defend your diverse interests. Marguerite Bennett and Ariela Kristantina mice no words in this body horror revenge tale that I'm hoping takes it to the Victorian patriarchy as ruthlessly as they gave. Ok I'm actually hoping for a deep exploration of character and the mythology behind this story too as well as interested in the fallout of the actions taken in just issue one. I'm very curious as to where this book is heading as I am with the other Aftershock books I have taken a look at. This new company deserves attention as they seems not to be pluming the same depths as the major two and their spandex obsessions. Check it but beware as well it's as I said NSFW.

Codename Boaboushka #4 $3.99

As issue three ended in quite a cliffhanger I'm not going to ruin that bit of predictable turn but we'll even if you see something coming it can still be thrilling and make you wonder how the writer will solve this. I personally like stories that follow the b story you know like Rosencrants and Gildenstern explores the other tale behind what is a well trodden path Johnson and Chankhama follow the life of a spy story antagonist an the run put in harms way in a setting of their own creation. I love that this is a book with art done by a woman known for her colors on Fuze showing another side to her craft. Image encourages a sense of community and sharing in some books and this one includes essays that are as worth reading as the heroes story itself. ... This is my choice for spy title to support it has a look like some of my favorite manga books and reminds me of the old story it takes a thief....

Descender # 9 $2.99

Issue eight told the tale of a new character who is in pursuit of our robot hero Tim-21 and exposed us to more mysteries of Jeff Lemire's setting and this one returns us to our story of Tim and his companions abducted by yet another group interested in him and this time around its his people. Descender I hits that hard science fiction story that posits ancient mysteries that drive the plot but focus in the stakes of the characters rather then the mystery itself. Jeff Lemire has for sure entered his cast of characters to me in this story as each have internal needs and stakes that keep me coming back... I'm particularly invested in one of the characters on this cover and the sometimes verbally limited Driller who for some reason really captured my heart. I do not know if it's just me but between the art of Dustin Nguyen and the story I put in mind of Tezuka' Tetsuwan Atom when I read this book.

Injection #6 $2.99

Warren Ellis and Duncan Shalvey's modern day.... well what I can only call and singularity story returns with its second story arc. Injection is one of the two or three books I can honestly say I have no real clue where they are going and don't at all mind my sense of confusion but chalk it up to a sense of wonder. Declan is one of the artists who's work gets better the more that I look at it as the depth of his detail is often not obvious at first glance and it took Kate Leth's podcast to make me take a deeper look. Injection combines the feel of a lot of stories I have loved over time including Sherlock Holmes, The Invisibles, League of Extraordinary Gentelmen, the books of Charlie Stross and William Gibson to name just a few not to forget hints of Michael Moorcock... It's my kind of thing actually

 

So this week also brings From Under Mountain #4 which I happen to really love for its art and its connection to the first 8House storyline and Silk #3 and even including those I'd be under my twenty dollar budget...

 

In the realm of collections...

 

Southern Cross Volume 1

Collecting the six issue storyline that should be exiting for both existential horror and science fiction fans comes out this week at the small price of $9.99. The book looks as good inside as it does on its covers and for me is reminiscent of both Aliens and Space Cruiser Yamato and reads like a well constructed murder mystery as much as it does a sci if horror. I'm jealous of Becky Cloonan as much for her writing ability as her artistic one as the covers are all her. It's more then we'll worth tracking down and supporting as soon the second arc should start.

Shutter Vol 3 Quo Vadis

This is among the books I would not go without monthly and I'm sorely tempted to get the collections too. Keating Del Duca Gieni and Workman combined talents create a book that is personal, beautiful, engaging and above all a well told tale of personal discovery. This book captures the spirit of exploration, adventure and fun that Joe Keating must have felt when reading the Adventures of Tintin and distillate it through multiple other influences to create such a fantastic magical world. Ok I got on but I do love this book. It's $14.99 and brings to a close many of the initial storylines in a pretty shocking ending setting the stage for something new in the next arc that is actually just about to start...

 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Dead-wood Dispatch Jan 6 2016

So a free days late with this but hope everyone has had a happy new year so far. No resolutions for me really except that this year I do intend to actually keep to the budget I set here of twnenty dollars a week for the books I plan to pick up, some weeks will particularly sting but as I really do have to keep to a budget is best to be honest about things.

 

Bitch Planet #6 $3.99

Kelly Sue Deconnick and Valentine De Landro's subversive science fiction story that casts an unflinching eye pretty much in the mirror of out ugly hateful violent society. My girlfriend asked me what Bitch Planet was and the best quick answer to that wild be a look at the ills of the modern patriarchy, his it's toxic masculinity is ruining us all through the lens of a women's prison drama in space. I love the fact that they have essays in the monthlies that detail treat world experiences of people subjected to the ills of our western world. This is another character spotlight with art done by a guest artist and I fear that like with many of Kelly's stories it's likely to draw some tears from me. Honestly love this book for its raw strength and honesty of storytelling and well the best stories make you feel something.

Paper Girls #4 $2.99

Sometimes the best place t set a science fiction story is in the resent past as William Gibson did with his lasted series of espionage stories and what Brian K Vaughan is doing in Paper Girls with its eighties setting. There is a lot of weird going on in this book and I honestly I think I have less of a clue as to the real story going on here then I do in Warren Ellis's Injection. What I can say about this is that Brian is pretty great and getting me to invest in his characters as I'm very interested to see what happens to his cast of courageous heros as much or more then I really want to know WTF is really happening.

Midnighter #8 $2.99

Steve Orland and ACO finished up their first story arc with a bang that I very much appreciated as M proved to be changeable yet consistent at the same time. They are doing great justice to a character I liked right from his first appearance at the hands of Warren Ellis and am glad to say he's not a bit like another vigilante in black the many compare him to. This story arc looks to be pitching him into the path of Spyral again and not with his old sparing partner and team up buddy Dick Grayson but the leader of the organization. Somehow he worked in the sense of a superspy story in ways I'd not have assumed before. Wish I had all those Authority issues still as I'd like to see what I think of them now and how they fit into the new view on Midnighter.

 

And tha is just short of ten dollars and next week will like be a bear as many of the books I expected this week will be out then ...l as well as hopefully the finale of Zodiac Starforce....