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Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Creepy PR follow-up

Another creepy PR from Marvel this morning, but with two key differences.

1. Uses even more 'loaded' language, to the point that the announcement doesn't make as much sense.
2. Darren Kane, Marketing and Sales Associate, Publishing, Marvel Enterprises, 212-576-4071, stripped his phone number off the bottom of this one.

It's nice to have readers.

- Christopher

Posted Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 11/30/2004 11:45:00 AM
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Monday, November 29, 2004

The Greatest Canadian

The CBC, Canada's national broadcaster (funded-GASP-by the Government) has been airing a pretty distinctly Canadian take on reality television, called "The Greatest Canadian". The idea is to decide who is/was the Greatest Canadian, through a series of nomination processes, history lessons, voting-contenders-off-the-island and, in the end, a heated Springer-style debate with ten Canadian celebrities (you have never heard of them) standing in for the ten final nominees. The winner, by the way, the Greatest Canadian is "Tommy" Douglas, founder of Canada's environmentally conscious and open-minded left wing political party the NDP (New Democratic Party), former premier of Saskatchewan (spelled that right on my first try!), and, oh yes, the founder of Canada's universal health care program.

Canada's greatest citizen is a left-wing commie pinko/ordained minister. God Bless Canada.

For those of you curious what the top ten looked like:

1. T.C. Douglas. (National, Universal Health Care)
2. Terry Fox. (Drew attention to Cancer, raised money to fight for it in a run across the country. Highest ranking philanthropist/sports person on our list).
3. Pierre Trudeau. (Probably our best Prime Minister.)
4. Sir Frederick Banting. (Co-inventor of insulin).
5. David Suzuki. (Environmentalist, author, and all-around good guy. Highest-ranking still-living person.)
6. Lester Pearson. (Prime Minister, co-creator of the United Nations.)
7. Don Cherry. (Outspoken Hockey Commentator. Living.)
8. Sir John A. Macdonald. (First Prime Minister.)
9. Alexander Graham Bell. (...)
10. Wayne Gretzky. (Hockey Player. Living.)

I was surprised to see Marshall McLuhan not on the list, but he might have been a bit too conceptual for most people.

Anyway, I think that's a pretty telling list, all-considered. So to my Amerikanski readers, don't be surprised when the photos of protestors against George Bush visiting Ottawa this week start to come back to you. I mean, just take a look at the NDP's homepage right now, and the store ranking ABOVE The Greatest Canadian victory.

For more on The Greatest Canadian, please visit http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/ which has more information on all of the winners.

- Christopher

Posted Monday, November 29, 2004 at 11/29/2004 09:40:00 PM
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Creepy PR Announcement From Marvel

I'm getting a very inappropriate vibe off of this recently issued Marvel PR. I mean, maybe they're nipping into the Egg Nog a little early or maybe "Marketing and Sales Associate: Publishing" Darren Kane has let his subconscious shine through a little brighter than he had intended, but...

NEW SOURCE OF ENERGY AT THE HOUSE OF IDEAS! TOM RANEY GOES EXCLUSIVE WITH MARVEL COMICS!

�I�m absolutely loving the energy that�s pervading Marvel these days!� says penciller extraordinaire Tom Raney. Tom, the artist of past mighty Marvel titles such as Thor, Mutant X, Warlock, and a bevy of X-Men projects has been rewarded for his efforts with a 2-year exclusive contract with Marvel Comics�and he�s one happy camper. �There�s so much cool stuff going on! I�m thrilled to be part of it!�
Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada is pretty happy himself. �Tom Raney can always be counted on to deliver high quality work, and the fans love him for it.�

�Marvel�s just as thrilled as Tom about his coming aboard,� says Dan Buckley, Marvel Publisher. �We�re ready to see some more of that beautiful artwork!�

Raney is currently working on a What If?! X-Men 5th week book with X-Daddy Chris Claremont, to be followed by a few issues of Uncanny X-Men, also with Claremont. Tom added �I�d love to tell you what�s up after that, but everybody�s got to have a few secrets.�

Darren Kane
Marketing and Sales Associate, Publishing
Marvel Enterprises
212-576-4071

I mean, the entire "Well you've toiled in the trenches on low-rent books long enough, I think we'll just buy you outright" people-as-commodity thing aside, X-Daddy?

Dude.

On the one hand, I'm fully aware that going to work for anyone else pretty much necessitates a power imbalance, on the other hand, really fucking creepy.

- Christopher
(For my favorite example of a publishing company dehumanizing and entirely objectifying an actual person and writing a really creepy PR, check this out.)

at 11/29/2004 02:01:00 PM
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Holy Updates Batman!

I have updated this week's SHIPPING REVIEW for items shipping December 1st, at http://www.previewsreview.com. Although it'll be too-late for pretty much everyone, I should be hard at work on the October and November catalogues tommorow evening.

Best,

- Christopher

at 11/29/2004 04:30:00 AM
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Saturday, November 27, 2004

Probably Going To Make Another Blog

So, four blogs and guest priviledges on FR isn't enough, I'll probably be starting another one for work in the next couple of weeks. I need an excuse to blog at work, I think, and I need something that's a bit more interesting/worthwhile for the customers than random posts on Christmas music and santa claus ASCII art.

Maybe I'll set it up so that all of the employees can post on it too. That'll be fun.

...

Or not.

The reason this came up is because if you look at the front page of http://www.beguiling.com right now, I've got it set up as a blog-style list of current events anyway. A real blog would allow me to have the benfits of the update-propogation thingy/xml feed, plus it would let me update easier (that's all hand-coded) and best of all, I could write at work. My biggest impediment to writing right now is finding time, so, for example, this afternoon when I wanted to mention that I had just finished reading Paul Hornschemeier's The Collected Sequential and had a short review to write, and that Paul had given the store new art that I could link for our customers and interested parties, it would've been perfect.

So, yeah. Off to set that up.

- Christopher

Posted Saturday, November 27, 2004 at 11/27/2004 03:39:00 AM
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Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Hawksley Workman - Almost A Full Moon

So, you like Christmas but, thanks to a tragic turn at Borders as a sales-slave during the holiday season a few years back, most Christmas-themed music sets your teeth entirely on edge? Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Frosty can all fuck off and it is not, in fact, A Marshmallow World. I understand.

I don't agree with you, but I understand.

What I'm offering you here is a chance to celebrate the sounds of the season in an earnest, little-kids-wrapping-their-presents-in-homemade-wrapping-paper kind of way, not in a "Fine, $4 a package, whatever, just wrap this shit so I can get the hell out of here" mall-wrapper sort of a way.

I present to you Canadian singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman's holiday album, "Almost A Full Moon". It's 10 tracks (watch out, there's also an 8-track version for some reason) of the best parts of the best type of holidays, the ones you spend with people you love. Almost A Full Moon is dripping not with schmaltz, like so many albums released this time of year, but with sincerity. It's almost shocking, so utterly different and yet entirely appropriate is this CD.

Opening with Workman's delicate love song to his favorite brand of paper, "Claire Fontaine," you're greeted with an incredibly crisp voice and a great little hook. The lyrics are clever too, "if the newspapers used/your paper for the news/things may seem less terrifying/just because of you" What does this have to do with Christmas, you ask yourself? A verse towards the end of the song, where he's worried that the love of his life won't make it over the border on his trip home to Canada for the holidays. It's a little quirky, but you'll have to trust me on this, it stays charming (rather than silly) throughout.

The CD continues with "Learn How To Knit", an earnest paean to the virtues of homemade presents; and "First Snow Of The Year" which eagerly recounts the childlike joy of seeing the snow flakes start to fall for the first time with lyrics like "I know that by February/my thoughts on snow will be contrary/but this is now and then is then/so...".

The fourth track, "Merry Christmas (I Love You)" has actually become one of my favorite Christmas tracks, and really, one of my favorite songs. It's probably the one that veers closest to schmaltz to be honest, but quite honestly Workman is laying it all out on this one. His feelings on war and leaving someone you love are evident in every note. It's really quite beautiful, with a similar tone and effect to Stevie Wonder's Classic "Someday At Christmas". Wonderful stuff.

The mood lightens considerably with "Common Cold" about being sick on your way home to visit family at Christmas, and "Three Generations", about the rare times when your extended family is together and it's not miserable. "play a chrstmas album/the elvis christmas album/three generations sing blue christmas all at once/and light another candle/come sit near the piano/three generations sing together all at once". "A House Or Maybe A Boat" celebrates spending your first Christmas in a new home with someone you love, and is quietly lovely, and thematically that carries over into the title track "Almost A Full Moon", which is just about spending good time together with people you love.

The full version of the CD has two bonus tracks (and it's confusing, as there's an 8-song and 10-song album with the same title); "Watching The Fires" is unassuming and usually I don't really hear it when I'm listening to the CD, actually... On the other hand, I really enjoy the last track, Workman's version of "Silent Night", which actually starts out featuring the chorus from "Angels We Have Heard On High" on piano. Nice slow piano-only build, with other instruments ebbing in at the beginning of each new verse. It's a wonderful version of the song.

All in all, it's the type of album you can put on after getting home from a long day of work, listening to 'Christmas Carols', and still really enjoy. If it isn't available at your local independently-owned record store (support your local independently owned record store!) then you can find it via Amazon.com for 27 bucks US!!! or, more intelligently, from Maple Music for about $17 Canadian ($12 US).

So there you go. It's probably too early for Christmas, for most of you, but I don't want you to be caught unprepared. I mean, I've been preparing my Christmas Music since November 2nd...

- Christopher

Posted Tuesday, November 23, 2004 at 11/23/2004 11:48:00 PM
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Sunday, November 21, 2004

The Continuing Dialogue About Manga - Informing the Customers

You may have seen a few glib asides here-and-there about how impossible it is for most of the non-die-hard fans to figure out what to read when it comes to manga, particularly from the solicitations in Previews. It seems like someone at Tokyopop heard this as well, as they've started up a new mid-month newsletter with info on some of their better titles, apparently. I can personally recommend both TOKYO TRIBES and PLANETES as being excellent, for what it's worth...

Mailing follows

++

TOKYOPOP Underground - November '04 Issue

We're the editors at TOKYOPOP. We've got the best jobs in the world 'cause guess what we get to do every day? Read, write, edit, and create ... manga!!!

At the BEGINNING of every month, our Mktg dept sends out a really cool newsletter to you via email that has lots of pretty pictures and interviews and surveys and stuff like that.

Starting now, in the MIDDLE of every month, we've decided that we're going to send you a really stripped-down text-based email msg that will have behind-the-scenes info on the manga that we care the most about and that we think merits your attention. And we shall call this mid-month missive -- TOKYOPOP Underground.

Here's the basic idea:

There's a ton of manga published now by a bunch of different companies and in spite of the fact that you are the best fans in the entire world (yes, even better than BoSox fans), you might be finding it hard to keep up with all the books hitting your local stores every month. So, TOKYOPOP Underground aims to help you in some small way by smacking you upside the head with inside info on selected books that we think are especially cool/unusual/innovative/challenging/choose-your-favorite-adjective-and-insert-here.

Enough said - pls see below for our 1st 4 choices. We hope you like our selections - and if you buy one or two of them, that would be great for us ... and even better for you since all the books below kick some major ass!

Yours very truly,

The TOKYOPOP Editorial Crew

---

TOKYO TRIBES
Most manga in Japan is published first in one of those weekly or monthly phone books; among the many ways in which Tokyo Tribes sets itself apart is the fact that it appears in the ultra-hip pages of the Sk8er fashion mag, Boon. Santa Inoue's hard-hitting tale of Tokyo street gangs battling it out in the concrete sprawl of Japan's capital raises the bar for manga storytelling, transcending genres, conventions and even hemispheres. Ornate with hip-hop trappings and packed with gangland grit, Tokyo Tribes paints a vivid, somewhat surreal vision of urban youth: rival gangs from various Tokyo barrios clash over turf, and when the heat between two of the tribes gets personal, a bitter rivalry explodes into all-out warfare.
BUY TOKYO TRIBES NOW AT:
(removed)

PLANETES
Makoto Yukimura's profoundly moving -- and graphically arresting -- Planetes posits a near future in which mankind's colonization of space has begun -- there are several space stations, a few cities on the moon and plans are already being drafted for a manned research mission to the Jovian worlds. This is the exciting frontier that our hero (the young Hachimaki) longs to be a part of -- instead, he's stuck with a gig as an orbital garbage man, he and his team responsible for clearing away the glut of junk mankind's initial foray into space has produced. His team includes Fee, a spitfire nicotine addict tomboy beauty with an abrasive edge; and Yuri, a veteran space-man with a tragic past in search of inner peace. Planetes combines the scope of Verne and Heinlein (two of Yukimura-sensei's primary inspirations) with the philosophical profundity of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
GET A COPY OF PLANETES TODAY FROM:
(removed)

DOLL
Mitsukazu Mihara's haunting Doll uses beautiful androids to examine what it means to be human. While the characters in Doll are draped in the chic Gothic-Lolita fashions that made Mihara-sensei famous, the themes explored are more universal: love, hate, lust, guilt, ambition, depression, angels, abusers. All emotions and walks of life have their day in Doll: There's a distasteful task one mousy woman can do better than any Doll...but how long can she keep it up? A guy who illegally alters Dolls lives next to an abused boy who's obsessed with Santa Claus and, when the law shows up, all find out what comes to those who have been naughty and those who have been nice! A controversial fortune teller/psychic finds a Doll that affects her vision of her own future. Terrorism and deception escalate when a Doll is assigned a search-and-destroy mission. Doll begins as a series of 'one-shot' stories, set in the same 'universe,' and gradually becomes an elegantly designed tale of a fractured family and corporate intrigue in which the android Dolls reveal more and more about the true nature of their human 'masters.' It's like The Twilight Zone meets Blade Runner!
BUY DOLL NOW AT:
(removed)

LEGAL DRUG
CLAMP - as of course most of you know - is the four-woman studio that creates the world's most popular manga. For the past 15 years they have worked non-stop on stories as diverse as the adorable shoujo hit Cardcaptor Sakura, the dark and brooding Tokyo Babylon, and the sci-fi romantic comedy Chobits. In Legal Drug, we meet Kazahaya and Rikuou who by day are two ordinary pharmacists; by night, though, their boss has them filling special prescriptions for clients with ailments that can't be cured using ordinary elixirs. Legal Drug is a perfect dose of mystery, psychic powers and those ornately drawn characters the femme-four CLAMP creators are famous for -- plus, a little gentle homoerotic tension thrown in for good measure.
TO SCORE A COPY OF LEGAL DRUG TODAY, VISIT:
(removed)
***

--

So, what do you think? Do you feel more informed?

- Christopher

Posted Sunday, November 21, 2004 at 11/21/2004 08:05:00 PM
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Something Else...

For more, visit this website: http://www.chris.com/ascii/




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Subject: Nice piece of ascii arts

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at 11/21/2004 02:14:00 PM
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Some Nice News

Just got this in the newest Top Shelf newsletter. I'm cleaning out my e-mail in preparation for starting on pre re, so enjoy this little tidbit and look for updates later this afternoon.

*******************************************************
BLANKETS SWEEPS THE
EISNER, HARVEY, & IGNATZ AWARDS
*******************************************************

Top Shelf would like to congratulate Craig Thompson for doing something that's never been done in the history of comics: Sweep the Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards in a single category -- and he did it twice! BLANKETS not only swept the awards in the "Best Original Graphic Novel" category, but Craig took home all three "Best Cartoonist/Outstanding Artist" awards as well. This is a rare feat indeed! If you haven't read BLANKETS yet, you really need to see what all the fuss is about. You're in for a real treat.

BLANKETS:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=12&title=194

***

- Christopher

at 11/21/2004 01:49:00 PM
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Friday, November 19, 2004

I know something you don't know?

Apparently, DC's trade paperback solicitations for March and April 2005 were not complete, which might explain the anemic offerings from Vertigo, for example. I stumbled on this by accident, and I don't want to say anything until I can find out WHY they only announced what they did, but here's a hint:

Posted Friday, November 19, 2004 at 11/19/2004 02:38:00 PM
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Thursday, November 18, 2004

Just a reminder...

I'm probably not going to remember to do this between now-and-then, but if you're in the Toronto area, be sure to check out the launch party for Brian McLachlan's new graphic novel from Oni Press, NO DEAD TIME. It's this Saturday.

--

NO DEAD TIME - Graphic Novel Release Party!
Saturday November 20th, 2004 @ 8pm
Bordello, 603 Markham Street, Toronto Ontario Canada (Next to The Beguiling)
Free

Please join The Beguiling in celebrating the release of a brand new graphic novel, set in Toronto and by a first-time Canadian Author! Brian McLachlan (aka Obi Wan Shinobi) is best known for his cartooning in Tribe Magazine, and for his writing in Vice, Sleazenation, & Yellow Rat Bastard. NO DEAD TIME is his first full-length graphic novel, a collaboration with artist Tom Williams. Set in Toronto (in the fall/winter, of course) it follows the lives of two groups of single 20-somethings trying to find happiness, in love or work or art or wherever they can. "A RECORD STORE, OFFICE SPACE, CULTURE JAMMING ROMANTIC COMEDY."

The Beguiling is proud to present the launch party for this cool new graphic novel at our favorite party hang-out, BORDELLO (located right next to the store). Join us for an author signing (starting at 8pm), drinks, munchies, and music in a laid-back atmosphere.

For more on NO DEAD TIME check out these links:

Interview with the author, and a 16-page preview of NO DEAD TIME:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=3836

Check out Three Original NO DEAD TIME Comic Strips:
1: http://www.onipress.com/sundaycomics/strip.php?id=98
2: http://www.onipress.com/sundaycomics/strip.php?id=99
3: http://www.onipress.com/sundaycomics/strip.php?id=100

See you there!

Posted Thursday, November 18, 2004 at 11/18/2004 11:53:00 AM
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Tuesday, November 16, 2004

DC's Spring Trade Paperback Listings

I just got my copy of KRAMER'S ERGOT VOLUME 5, which is awesome and I'll talk about it later. In the interim though, DC has released their schedule of trade paperback releases through the spring. Here ya go:

DC COMICS ANNOUNCES COLLECTED EDITIONS THROUGH SPRING 2005
DC Comics looks ahead to March and April 2005 with new collected
editionsfrom the DCU, VERTIGO, WildStorm, CMX, Humanoids and
more.

Upcoming DCU titles include:

March in-store:
BATMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 1 TP
Writers: Bill Finger and Gardner Fox
Artists: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson and Sheldon Moldoff
Collecting Batman stories in chronological order, beginning in this volume with stories from DETECTIVE COMICS #27-37 and BATMAN #1
$14.99 U.S., 192 pages

COMIC CAVALCADE ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC
Writers: Gardner Fox, William Marston, Bill Finger, Ted Udall and various
Artists: Irwin Hasen, Harry G. Peter, Frank Godwin, Sheldon Moldoff and various
Collects COMIC CAVALCADE #1-3
$49.99 U.S., 276 pages

JLA: THE PAIN OF THE GODS TP
Writer: Chuck Austen
Artist: Ron Garney
Collects JLA #101-106
$12.99 U.S., 144 pages

MAJESTIC: STRANGE NEW VISITOR TP
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Karl Kerschl, Renato Guedes, Oclair Albert, Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines
Collects ACTION COMICS #811, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #624, SUPERMAN #201 and MAJESTIC #1-4
$14.99 U.S., 176 pages

STARMAN: SONS OF THE FATHER TP
Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Peter Snejbjerg
Collects issues #75-80
$14.99 U.S., 160 pages

(Typo? Anyway, this is the second-last Starman Collection, not counting
the upcoming collection of the TIMES PAST stuff)

SUPERMAN: FOR TOMORROW VOL. 1 HC
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artists: Jim Lee & Scott Williams
Collects issues #204-209
$24.99 U.S., 144 pages

April in-store:
DC: THE NEW FRONTIER VOL. 2 TP
Writer: Darwyn Cooke
Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Collects issues #3-6
$19.99 U.S., 208 pages

(As we can see here, this is not an entirely accurate announcement...)

GREEN ARROW: CITY WALLS TP
Writer: Judd Winick
Artists: Phil Hester, Ande Parks, Manuel Garcia, Steve Bird, Brian Bolland, Marcos Martin, Alvaro Lopez and Javier Rodriguez
Collects issues #32, 34-39
$12.99 U.S., 176 pages

SUPERMAN VS. THE FLASH TP
Writers: E. Nelson Bridwell, Geoff Johns, Dan Jurgens, Dennis O'Neil, Martin Pasko and Jim Shooter
Artists: Neal Adams, Dan Adkins, Murphy Anderson, Ross Andru, Rick Burchett, Dick Dillin, Mike Esposito, Jos� Luis Garc�a-L�pez, Joe Giella, Carmine Infantino, Dan Jurgens, George Klein, Kevin Nowlan, Bob Oksner, Prentis Rollins, Curt Swan and Art Thibert
Collects ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #463, DC COMICS PRESENTS #1-2, DC FIRST: FLASH/SUPERMAN #1, THE FLASH #175, SUPERMAN #199 and WORLD'S FINEST #198-199
$19.99 U.S., 200 pages

Upcoming WildStorm titles include:

March in-store:
PLANETARY VOL. 3: LEAVING THE 20TH CENTURY TP
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: John Cassaday
Collects issues #13-18
$14.99, 144 pages

April in-store:
THE AUTHORITY: KEV TP
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Glenn Fabry
Collects THE AUTHORITY: KEV Special and THE AUTHORITY: MORE KEV #1-4
$14.99 U.S., 144 pages

Upcoming America's Best Comics titles include:

March in-store:
PROMETHEA BOOK 4 TP
Writer: Alan Moore Artists: J.H. Williams III & Mick Gray
Collects issues #19-25
$14.99 U.S., 192 pages

April in-store:
TOM STRONG'S TERRIFIC TALES VOL. 2 HC
Writers: Alan Moore and Steve Moore
Artists: Arthur Adams, Peter Bagge,
Steve Leialoha, Michael Wm. Kaluta,
Peter Kuper, Shawn McManus, Kevin
Nowlan, Jason Pearson, Andrew Pepoy,
Bruce Timm, Alan Weiss and Chris Weston
Collects issues #7-12
$24.99 U.S., 160 pages

Upcoming VERTIGO titles include:

March in-store:
FABLES: THE MEAN SEASONS TP
Writer: Bill Willingham
Artists: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Tony Akins, Jimmy Palmiotti and James Jean
Collects issues #22 and 28-33
$14.99 U.S., 160 pages

April in-store:
BITE CLUB TP
Writers: Howard Chaykin & David Tischman
Artists: David Hahn and Frank Quitely
Collects issues #1-6
$19.99 U.S., 144 pages

(Only one trade paperback a month in March and April?)

Upcoming SPIRIT ARCHIVES titles include:

April in-store:
THE SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL. 16 HC
Writer: Will Eisner
Artist: Will Eisner
Collecting stories from January 4 - June 27, 1948
$49.99 U.S., 216 pages

Upcoming Elfquest titles include:

March in-store:
ELFQUEST ARCHIVES VOL. 2 HC
Writers: Wendy & Richard Pini
Artist: Wendy Pini
Collects issues #6-10 and a story from Epic Illustrated #1
$49.99 U.S., 224 pages

April in-store:
ELFQUEST: THE GRAND QUEST VOL. 8 TP
Writers: Wendy & Richard Pini
Artist: Wendy Pini & Joe Staton
Collects ELFQUEST: SIEGE AT BLUE MOUNTAIN #3-4
$9.99 U.S., 224 pages, 5" x 7.362"

Upcoming CMX titles include:

March in-store:
THE DEVIL DOES EXIST VOL. 1
Writer: Takanashi Mitsuba
Artist: Takanashi Mitsuba
$9.99 U.S., 192 pages, 5" x 7.375"

MONSTER COLLECTION VOL. 1
Writer: Tsukuba Sakura
Artist: Tsukuba Sakura
$9.99 U.S., 168 pages, 5" x 7.375"

SWORD OF THE DARK ONES VOL. 1
Writer: Kotobuki Tsukasa
Artist: Yasui Kentaro
$9.99 U.S., 200 pages, 5" x 7.375"

April in-store:
MADARA VOL. 3
Writer: Tajima Sho-u
Artist: Otsuka Eiji
$9.99 U.S., 200 pages, 5" x 7.375"

FROM EROICA WITH LOVE VOL. 3
Writer: Aoike Yasuko
Artist: Aoike Yasuko
$9.99 U.S., 208 pages, 5" x 7.375"

LAND OF THE BLINDFOLDED VOL. 3
Writer: Tsukuba Sakura
Artist: Tsukuba Sakura
$9.99 U.S., 200 pages, 5" x 7.375"

PHANTOM THIEF JEANNIE VOL. 1
Writer: Tanemura Arina
Artist: Tanemura Arina
$9.99 U.S., 168 pages, 5" x 7.375"

TENRYU: THE DRAGON CYCLE VOL. 1
Writer: Matoh Sanami
Artist: Matoh Sanami
$9.99 U.S., 192 pages, 5" x 7.375"

Upcoming Humanoids titles include:

March in-store:
MISS: BETTER LIVING THROUGH CRIME TP
Writer: Philippe Thirault
Artist: Marc Riou & Mark Vigouroux
$19.99 U.S., 192 pages

FRAGILE TP
Writer: Stefano Raffaele
Artist: Stefano Raffaele
$19.99 U.S., 176 pages

EL NINO TP
Writer: Christian Perissin
Artist: Boro Pavlovic
$17.99 U.S., 144 pages

Upcoming 2000 A.D. titles include:

March in-store:
JUDGE DREDD: DREDD VS. DEATH TP
Writers: John Wagner & Alan Grant
Artist: Brian Bolland
$12.99 U.S., 112 pages

NIKOLAI DANTE: THE GREAT GAME TP
Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artists: Charles Adlard, Andy Clarke and Simon Fraser
$17.99 U.S., 200 pages

SLAINE: WARRIOR'S DAWN TP
Writer: Pat Mills & Angie Kincaid
Artists: Angie Kincaid, Massimo Belardinelli and Mike McMahon
$14.99 U.S., 200 pages

April in-store:
ROBO-HUNTERS: DAY OF THE DROIDS TP
Writer: John Wagner
Artist: Ian Gibson
$14.99 U.S., 160 pages

STRONTIUM DOG: THE EARLY CASES TP
Writer: John Wagner & Alan Grant
Artist: Carlos Ezquerra
$14.99 U.S., 192 pages

THIRTEEN TP
Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Andy Clarke
$12.99 U.S., 96 pages

Upcoming MAD titles include:

March in-store:
MAD ABOUT THE NINETIES TP
Writers: The Usual Gang of Idiots
Artists: The Usual Gang of Idiots
$9.99 U.S., 288 pages, 8.375" x 10.5"

Posted Tuesday, November 16, 2004 at 11/16/2004 05:20:00 PM
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Manic Pop Thrill

Some very lovely covers on some very lovely comics this February. I'm quite happy.

More at http://dccomics.com/comics/?dat=20050223&s=32.

- Christopher

at 11/16/2004 02:26:00 PM
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Monday, November 15, 2004

Why Retailers Are Often Grumpy, Part Four Hundred and Seventy-Four

If you've been reading me for any length of time, you'll note that a recurring theme in my posts is "Dark Horse is pricing their books, particularly their manga, too high." This flared up over the last few weeks with the announcement that the new Sin City editions would be in a smaller trim-size and be printed much heavier in anticipation of the upcoming movie (lowering Dark Horse's printing bill considerably) and yet the price was staying the same--a whopping $17.00 for a 200 page black and white trade paperback. And people wonder why the kids are off downloading comics (black & white = smaller file sizes!).

Luckily, it seems that Dark Horse has listened to consumer, retailer, and pundit complaints and is going to be lowering the prices on several of the next editions of their books. Lowering Them A Lot. And Improving The Edition.

Over the next year, get ready for Katsuhiro Otomo's AKIRA 1-6, in hardcover, for only $15 a volume (instead of the between 25 and 30 DH was charging for the softcover), TRIGUN 1 & 2 for $12 in Hardcover (instead of $15 each in soft) and Hellsing 1 & 2 for $10 in Hard Cover (instead of $14 a pop in soft). While this is pretty shitty if you've already bought these in softcover, you paid between $20 and $60 too much apparently (PS From Dark Horse: Fuck You!), at least future purchasers will get a break and it will make it easier for retailers to sell (particularly when every one of DH's competitors is pricing their books at $10 or less).

Unless of course, you aren't Barnes & Noble, or can't get to a Barnes & Noble. Then, fuck you.

That's right, all of these hardcover deals? Barnes & Noble exclusives!

Dicks.

- Christopher

Posted Monday, November 15, 2004 at 11/15/2004 01:54:00 PM
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Sunday, November 14, 2004

This House

THis house is MOTHERFUCKING WARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRM.

Aw yeah.

- Christopher

Posted Sunday, November 14, 2004 at 11/14/2004 01:14:00 AM
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Friday, November 12, 2004

Mental Health Break

Work is being fucky and I can't concentrate. So, here's some stuff:

I really liked Viz's SAIKANO manga. It's one of the few comics over the past few months that I haven't read with a critical eye, just for entertainment. It was a good read not just because of professional art and an engaging plot, but because it really set the mood for the story remarkably well. It's the growing melancholy/unease that something like Evangelion had managed early on in the series, and the peripheral war adds a sort of discomforting tension (think: European indie films about the apocalypse) that was nice. I don't mind being a little uncomfortable in my reading. The reason I bring this up is that, while I enjoyed it I never got around to reviewing it. Luckily, AnimeOnDvD has put up a review. This title came out of the remnants of Viz's PULP line, it's worth your time (and only 10 bucks...).

I came across the partial creative listing of volume 2 of Chris Polkki's BLOOD ORANGE anthology on the web a little while back, and it went in the links file. The reason I'm particularly interested is that it looks like BLOOD ORANGE will be publishing a bunch of alt-alt-alt-manga from overseas. Here's the quote:
Chris Polkki: Particularly impressive is the Japanese lineup, which includes superstar Junko Mizuno (4 pages per issue = a new 16-pp. story), underground legend Takeshi Nemoto, innovative Yuichi Yokoyama, the very dark surrealist Ichiba Daisuke, and (drumroll please) the great Suzy Amakane, who will be drawing 6 new pages per issue. Manga connoisseurs are already salivating over this lineup -- it really represents the best of the best. Hot stuff! (For the sake of continuity, the manga in BO 2005 will be presented in the "Western" (i.e., read left-to-right) format. )

Which is very interesting to me. The real bleeding-edge of manga is very poorly represented here in North America, I only recognize Junko Mizuno out of that lineup actually. Unless you've read SECRET COMICS JAPAN and COMICS UNDERGROUND JAPAN I'd say you're likely to be unprepared for "art manga". Still, I'm really looking forward to this collection.

According to Irresponsible Pictures, ADV Manga has cancelled Fantasy Land Vol. 2, Sky Blade, Sword of the Heavens Vol. 3, and Taimashin SP Vol. 1. Responsible publisher growth or just missed deadlines? U-DECIDE!

Speaking of which, does anyone really think that the big YOU DECIDE on Marvel's front page is terribly intelligent, considering what an absolute fucking fiasco their U-DECIDE competition was, and the recent fixed voting on the Mark Millar WOLVERINE arc? Of course, legions of people keep buying the books despite the contempt that the company shows for them (and kudos to Jesse Baker for being so crippled by addiction that he's not able to put his money where his mouth is to save his life; Thanks Jesse, you make the internet stupider!) so I guess it doesn't matter what they do at all...

...and on that note, I've just been informed that ANIME ON DVD has only been posting positive reviews for months and getting rid of moderators who say anything negative about anything, because the site's proprietor wants to continue swimming in free product from the anime companies. So, you know, now I feel sort-of bad about recommending you check out the glowing review of Saikano there. Ah well. If my credibility is worth anything to you, trust me, it's a good book.

- Christopher
PS: You can also trust Greg McElhatton, he quite liked it.

Posted Friday, November 12, 2004 at 11/12/2004 02:54:00 PM
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Sometimes I Think They Do These Things Just So That If Anyone Complains, They Can Turn Around And Point At DC And Say "Well, You Didn't Give Them Shit For It!"

From my inbox:

NEW AVENGERS�3rd NEW COVER! MARVEL ANNOUNCES THIRD VARIANT COVER FOR NEW AVENGERS #1
The response to Marvel Comics� make-over of their blockbuster super hero team the Avengers has been nothing short of phenomenal. As unveiled in USA Today, Marvel�s �Dream Team� of costumed classics like Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Spider-Woman, and Luke Cage has set fire to fans� imaginations and has led to intense interest in The New Avengers #1. Due to popular demand, Marvel will go back to press on this introductory issue�and they�ve got it covered with yet another spectacular treat for frantic followers of this newest super-team.

The third variant cover of The New Avengers #1 will feature an extra-special new cover by none other than Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada.

The variant cover�s amazing origins are linked to the star-studded alternate covers for The New Avengers #1-6; it�s Quesada�s original sketch for the complete six-part art that�s formed by the covers. Fans will be able to possess this titanic image in two distinct formats: Quesada�s new cover and by linking the 6 alternate covers
together as one.

Marvel is also pleased to announce that retailers orders are not tied in to any of the other variant printings of The New Avengers #1 �but fans will still want to grab theirs fast because when word gets out, this new printing of the introduction of the greatest super-team ever is going to FLY!

This additional version of The New Avengers #1 is due in comic shops on Dec. 15th. Please visit Marvel.com to view every one of these legend-in-the-making covers.

at 11/12/2004 01:45:00 PM
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Thursday, November 11, 2004

Sweet, Merciful Jesus Has Smiled On Me

So here's my history with the internet, in convenient point-form for those with small attention spans.

- Accessed BBS via 1200baud modem from a Commodore 64. Primarily for comics-related discussions via message packet-swapping systems. Was 11 or 12, can't remember.

- Accessed Gopher/Archie via University of Toronto from same Commodore 64 at 1200 baud.

- Got first PC and shiny 9600 baud modem. Due to shittiness of technology, could rarely get connection above 4800, to first ISP in Toronto. Managed to avoid the clusterfuck that was the Toronto Freenet, for the most part. Mostly spent on Usenet.

- New computer comes with 14.4 modem when everyone else is using 28.8.

- Got shiny 28.8 modem when most people were using 56.6.

- I never owned a 56.6 modem. Was stuck with ancient 28.8 modem, particularly at Parents' house who, for some reason, only got DSL and CABLE access like 3 years ago, despite most other places in Southern Ontario swimming in it for nearly 10 years.

- Moved in with Mal, and the DSL went through his computer as it was the best/fastest. Side effect of this was fairly slow speeds, a lot of IP problems due to a badly set-up local network, and the side effect was that for no reason I could tell, I could not access about %10 of various websites and no file-transfers via messenger.

- Moved into last place that had a wireless connection that frequently dropped out and, despite being "highspeed", my fastest download was slower than 30k/second. Fun Fact: I could not access PreviewsReview.com the whole time I was at my last apartment. I have no idea why.

TODAY: I have super-highspeed goodness, plugged right into my computer, and so far in 20 minutes of intensive browsing, it looks like the rest of the internet is slower than my connection (Particularly blogger...). This is awesome and, at the risk of Hubris, deserved. Regular updates/snarkiness/previewreview/everything should resumre shortlyish, what with me having THE INTERNET and all. Motherfucking FINALLY.

Love,

Christopher

Posted Thursday, November 11, 2004 at 11/11/2004 02:44:00 PM
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Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Unintentional Hilarity of the Day

From a press release in my inbox:

"After 63 years of publishing, if there�s one thing Archie Comics is famous
for, it's longevity."

Yes, as opposed to quality, or treating the people who created your works equitably. Bravo.

- Christopher

Posted Wednesday, November 10, 2004 at 11/10/2004 02:24:00 PM
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Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Conflicting Emotions

So, like, lots is happening. Whenever lots is happening, I always get a bit stressed and the emotions are all-over the place. It's been a generally up day... I got to work like 40 minutes early and I'm going to Ikea tonight to buy bookshelves (apparently, I now have three "Billy's" of graphic novels. I have no idea how this happened). Everything's swell. Except.

As reported in the comments last week and confirmed Sunday, The Achewood Collections Aren't Happening. I really, really like Achewood, and am sad to hear this as I had blocked-out three or four of these as Christmas gifts. I guess everyone is getting Scott Pilgrim instead.

Speaking of which, Rose and Steven's Scott Pilgrim Contest wrapped up Friday, and they announced the winners. Among them, people I've been badgering to buy the book for months now, so this makes me sort of happy and sort of sad. At least they'll read it instead of, say, crap. This is no specific comment on any of the winner's reading tastes, of course. I love you all. :)

And speaking of which again, according to Mr. O'Malley, someone has put up the bittorrent file to get the English 'scanlation' (fan-scanned and translated Japanese comics) of MILK CLOSET, the delightfully morose comic from the creator of ALIEN NINE that I mentioned earlier. That someone? Patachu (heh) at Irresponsible Pictures. I had meant to add IP to the sidebar earlier, but am lazy. Sorry. Still, it's a really great site, check it out.

Work is very busy still. I was right, it looks like two more events before the end of the month. I'll post here when they are confirmed. Oh, and Neil Gaiman linked to Torontocomics today, which was neat.

- Christopher

Posted Tuesday, November 09, 2004 at 11/09/2004 03:20:00 PM
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Monday, November 08, 2004

Just a couple of quick things to link to...

I'm working on a couple of longer pieces of writing, so in the interim here are some of the cooler things I've been working on.

Dave Sim and Neil Gaiman are auctioning some artwork to benefit the CBLDF. If you honestly believe that protecting the American First Ammendment won't be of the utmost importance in the years to come... Well, you probably didn't mean to show up at this site...

I'm helping to put together the release party for Brian McLachlan's new graphic novel NO DEAD TIME, which is being held on Saturday, November 20th 2004 right next to The Beguiling. Come on out, have a drink, buy a book. All in good fun, and the flyer follows.

My friend Scott Robins has resumed his all-aged blogging and in addition to some excellent reviews, he's spectacularly unimpressed with the first issue of NBM's comic-adaptation of THE HARDY BOYS. The Hardy Boys always seemed like a skit that the cast of ARCHIE would put on, to me, so if they can't at least manage an ARCHIE level of quality I don't know why they bothered to publish the comics in the first place.

All kinds of crazy shit going down at The Beguiling right now. Remodelling, sales, stuff like that. At least two more personal-artist-appearances are in the offings and they would occur before December... Yikes. Even if you think it wouldn't be applicable to you, you really oughtta sign up for the mailing list, in my humble opinion. You can do so at the bottom of this page.

Working on PREVIEWSREVIEW.com, both monthly and weekly this evening. There won't be internet at home for a couple of days so that might slow things down a little... Still, onwards and upwards.

That's it, sorry for being boring. :)

- Christopher

Posted Monday, November 08, 2004 at 11/08/2004 03:58:00 PM
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Thursday, November 04, 2004

Genki Manga

Over at Completely Futile, Adam posts a review of a Japanese Language manga series called Milk Closet, by the creator of English Language manga Alien Nine. Those of you who haven't read the four-volume Alien Nine series are missing out, it's sort of like The Authority back when Warren Ellis was writing it, only if The Authority were a team of three nine year old girls. Terrible, disturbing things happen, and it's all quite a bit of fun, and psychologically damaging too! The Japanese-only Milk Closet seems to up-the-ante a bit, and I remember Mal telling me all kinds of shit about this series, it was one of his favs. Adam seems to think it won't be translated, but I kept hearing rumblings that CPM was on the fence (and to be honest, it's not like Alien Nine was seriously intended for the kiddies anyway...).

Adam also reports that Kare Kano will be ending in Japan soon. I wish I kept up with the manga news sites more...

Here's something else:

Whenever I have a few moments to spare, I write up a little thingy on the new manga series in the months PREVIEWS catalogue for other retailers. You see, there is very little reliable or concise information for your average retailer to order manga with. It just doesn't exist, unless you're someone like me, who spends too much time invested in the whole subculture of the thing. I wrote up a piece on last month's offerings Monday morning, and I figured I'd post it here to give you a little insight into how, and why, I recommend certain manga, and how retailers as a whole order what they order.

--

Picks Of The Month: Do Not Miss These (These will find less penetration in bookstores, and will do better within the Direct Market. Get on board early!)

VIZ: Blue Spring Volume 1 GN, by Taiyo Matsumoto
Set in a Japanese boys' school, and has been adapted into a popular live action movie. This is the book that you give to people who want to know when "Good Manga" is going to come out. The creator has a strong cult-fan-following here in North America, and the book is comperable to BATTLE ROYALE in terms of tone, but not nearly as excessive. Also recommended to people who don't like, or don't think they like, manga. We're matching our BATTLE ROYALE orders on this, if not going higher, and I'd advocate doing the same. Best part? It's only one volume, so there'll be almost no customer resistance. For mature readers.

(For more on the manga and the creator, check out my write-up at Previews Review, and the comments field at comics.212.net where there seems to be quite a bit of enthusiasm for it...)

VIZ: TOUGH Volume 1 GN, by Tetsuya Saruwatari
This is a 'typical' boys manga, along the line of what you'd find in Jump, but both more realistic and more mature. Think of it as an intermediate step between DRAGONBALL Z and FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, with less of an emphasis on fantasy. Attractively drawn, and will appeal to the boys outgrowing the JUMP stuff (though I don't know that anyone is).

FANFARE/PONENT MON: The Building Opposite, by Vanyda
A young european graphic novelist trained in Europe and Japan, and telling really lovely stories. Mature, less melodramatic romance/slice-of-life stuff. Combines the sales power of manga with the die-hard hipster fanbase of EIGHTBALL or OPTIC NERVE. In fact, I'd say match this one dollar-for-follar with the last issue if OPTIC NERVE and you'd probably be bang-on, orderwise. Also falls into the category of "good manga", and even if you order only one copy to have on the racks, you'd be one of less than 100 retailers who did.

COMICSONE.COM: Category Freaks Volume 1, by Sakurako Gakurakuin
This one is from the creator of JUVENILE ORION: AQUARIAN AGE which is one of the new titles from a new publisher (Broccoli) that's been doing very well. Sexually ambiguous teenagers solve paranormal crimes, hijinks ensue. Lovely art, match to your orders for mid-range Tokyopop stuff (only because it doesn't have a Viz or Tokyopop brand, otherwise it'd sell really well off-the-bat).

All The Other #1s:

ADV
Dream Gold Volume 1: Think TRIGUN or COWBOY BEBOP, with no licensing tie-in (yet). This looks like an enjoyable, well-drawn book that, like the rest of ADV's output, just won't do as well as if it were published elsewhere. Unless this gets an unbelievable push or becomes a sleeper hit, order low (but don't not-order it, it is a good, saleable product).

Tengai-Retrogical Volume 1: Same as above, mostly. Kids with strange powers, decent anime-style art, good-enough but unremarkable.

Chrono Crusade Volume 3: Not a new title, but just a heads up: You should be ordering heavily on this, it's doing really well. At least as good as a mid-range Tokyopop.

Taimashin Volume 1: There was another Taimashin thing that just came out this week. We ordered one and it hasn't sold yet. Apparently it's got good credentials, but... Full-line store only.

More Starlight to Your Heart Volume 1: Fantasy Romance, in the vein of Tokyopop's young-romance series. I would say match your orders on this exactly to your sell-through on DREAM SAGA 1 and 2 from TP.

Mystical Prince Yoshida-Kun Volume 1: Nice anime-inspired art, wacky hijinks, sort of a third-generation photocopy of an old Rumiko Takahashi comic (LUM, RANMA 1/2). Along the lines of DREAM GOLD up top there, nice and potentially appealing, but without a fanbase behind it it won't go anywhere.

The First King Adventure Volume 1: The easiest way to tell of the potential salability of a title you haven't encountered before is to look at the size of the advertising. In a month with 7 new titles, the one that gets the full page advert is the one they're throwing their weight behind. Very popular young-readers manga, that will keep boys and girls up to maybe 12 entirely entranced. Of particular note if you're doing a lot of K-8 or middleschool sales, or need solid, safe manga for your kids rack. Order at mid-range Tokyopop.

SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS

Loyola Chin... & Gordon Yamamoto...: These are excellent YA graphic novels. There are reviews and things around the interweb, but make sure you're ordering these eh?

ANTARCTIC PRESS

Dragon Arms Volume 2: Dragon Arms is one of the few North American titles that is selling as well as 'authentic' manga, and I think that's espescially worthy of note. Volume 1 is also re-offered this month, and it's an easy recommendation for anyone who used to like BATTLE CHASERS, or the boys reading swords & sorcery manga (Ragnarok, King Of Hell, Etc).

COMICSONE.COM

888 Volume 1 TP: Comicsone's manga has been doing better for us lately, but it isn't setting the world on fire. Seems decent, Private Detective agency stuff, but order conservatively until you get a better idea of quality.

INFINITY STUDIOS

Adrenalin Volume 1 GN: Korean Love Hina, where all the girls are Vampires. Seems like a decent sex-comedy, but nothing spectacular that's going to raise it above the crowd. Order conservatively pending sales.

RADIO COMICS

Havoc Inc Volume 1 Digest TP: Thoroughly unDirty 'furry' comic, manga-influenced before there was even much manga on the racks. Wacky sci-fi adventure stuff, for the people that like that sort of thing (but thanks to the lovely art, it has the potential to attract new readers). How well did you do on the Tokyopop reoffers of REALITY CHECK? That's your answer for the sales here.

TOKYOPOP

DearS Volume 1: Take a look at the image on Page 332. Now, this book is supposedly for 13 year olds. Therefore, it will be ridiculously popular. Think LOVE HINA MEETS CHOBITS, but don't go overboard on it. Stupid and sexist, but near-guaranteed to be enormously popular.

Hyper Police Volume 1: Strictly low-mid range filler manga.

Lagoon ENgine Volume 1: Would be the same as above, but is an earlier work from the creator of the extremely popular DNAngel manga. So, compare your LOVE HINA sales to your AI LOVE YOU sales (an older work from the same creator), and then input your numbers for DNAngel to figure out your lagoon orders.

Peach Fuzz Volume 1: From the winner of Tokyopop's RISING STARS contest. I honestly have no idea how this well do, it looks good-enough though. We're ordering conservatively on it.

PHD Phantasy Degree: Mid-range filler manga.

Soul to Seoul Volume 1: Seems interesting, actually. The press describes it as "MARS with an urban twist", although with a male protagonist I don't know if the girls will get on board quite as effortlessly. Still, seems decent. Mid-range romance title to start, with a lot of potential, I think.

That's it. Hope this has been helpful to you. Better still, I hope you check out the manga I recommended up top...

So you can see, a little something about writing to your audience there. Comparissons to books that your audience already knows, hard tracking data, a little bit of behind-the-scenes. Anyway, now you know what I'm doing when I'm not updating here.

- Christopher

Posted Thursday, November 04, 2004 at 11/04/2004 07:22:00 PM
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Marvel's Official TPB Release List For Winter/Spring 2005

This just arrived in my e-mail, so, here you go. Apologies for any formating fuckery.

(I have decided to comment on the releases in italics - Chris)

IN HONOR OF ITS 65TH ANNIVERSARY MARVEL PLANS AN UNPRECEDENTED LIST OF CLASSIC AND MODERN COLLECTIONS!

Marvels aggressive policy of producing key hardcovers, trade paperbacks, graphic novels and digest continues in 2005. Highlighting this list of Marvels 92 new offerings to celebrate its 65th Anniversary is MARVEL VISIONARIES: STAN LEE, a deluxe edition hardcover, featuring some of Stan �The Man� Lee�s most historic and influential work. On November 3rd Marvel released its complete list of collections shipping in January to May, 2005.

JANUARY 2005

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 8: SINS PAST TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1509-9
$12.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 509-514

(I guess that, once this abomination of a storyline is over, it will in fact be in "the past", making this an accurate monkier... I kid! I kid! I kid because I honestly couldn't give a fuck about this. Spider-Man stopped being my "special friend" a long time ago.)

ARANA VOL. 1: HEART OF THE SPIDER DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1506-4
$7.99
144 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Amazing Fantasy 1-6

AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1482-3
$17.99
192 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Avengers 500-503, Avengers Finale

DISTRICT X VOL. 1: MR. M TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1444-0
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: District X 1 - 6

ELEKTRA: THE HAND TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1594-3
$13.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback
Collects: Elektra: The Hand 1-6

ELEKTRA: THE MOVIE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1713-X
$12.99
136 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Collects the ELEKTRA movie adaptation, DAREDEVIL #168, DAREDEVIL #181 and ELEKTRA MINUS 1

(That's awesome! I honestly thought everyone at Marvel had completely forgotten the "Minus 1" event, their completely stupid answer to DC's ZERO HOUR. Kudos to whichever intern brought that up in the meeting.)

ESSENTIAL PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL. 1
ISBN: 0-7851-1682-6
$16.99
568 Pages Trade Paperback B&W
Collects: Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man 1-31

HULK VISIONARIES: PETER DAVID VOL. 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1541-2
$19.99
224 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Incredible Hulk 331-339

LOKI HC
ISBN: 0-7851-1652-4
$17.99
104 Hard Cover Color
Collects: Loki 1-4

(This was actually quite pretty, and Marvel's oversized 100 page hard covers for eighteen bucks are a better value than DC's regular sized 100 page hardcovers for twenty-five...)

MARVEL AGE EMMA FROST VOL. 2: MIND GAMES DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1413-0
$7.99
144 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Emma Frost 7 - 12

MARVEL AGE HULK VOL. 1: INCREDIBLE DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1616-8
$5.99
96 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Marvel Age Hulk 1-4

MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP VOL. 1: A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1611-7
$5.99
96 Pages Digest Color
Collects: MA Spider-Man Team-Up 1-4

MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1613-3
$13.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: MK Daredevil 2099, MK Inhumans 2099, MK Mutant X 2099, MK Punisher 2099 and MK Black Panther 2099

(Hahahaha....)

MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 VOL. 2: THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1472-6
$13.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Marvel Knights 4 8-12

MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN VOL. 2: VENOMOUS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1675-3
$9.99
96 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Marvel Knights Spider-Man 5-8

MARVEL MASTERWORKS HC: THE UNCANNY X-MEN VOL. 5
ISBN: 0-7851-1698-2
$49.99
304 Pages Masterworks HC Color
Collects: X-Men 132-140, Annual 4 The Dark Phoenix Saga

MARVEL MASTERWORKS HC: THE UNCANNY X-MEN VOL. 5 - VARIANT
ISBN: 0-7851-1699-0
$54.99
Variant Jacket
Collects: X-Men 132-140, Annual 4 The Dark Phoenix Saga

MARVEL VISIONARIES: STAN LEE HC
ISBN: 0-7851-1693-1
$29.99
304 Hard Cover Color
Collects:

�Captain America Foils the Traitor�s Revenge,� CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #3, Stan's first story, a two-page text piece!
�The Red Skull�s Deadly Revenge,� CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #16, the defining Golden Age Red Skull story!
�The Raving Madman,� SUSPENSE #29, Stan's satire on Frederick Wertham and the comics witchunts of the '50s!
�Your Name Is Frankenstein!� MENACE #7, a modern Frankenstein story, featuring many of the elements of the later Marvel books!
�Where Walks the Ghost,� AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #11, a short, twist-ending story by Lee and Ditko!

Plus: �Spider-Man,� AMAZING FANTASY #15; �A Visit With the Fantastic Four,� FANTASTIC FOUR #11; �How Stan and Steve Create Spider-Man,� AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1; �In Mortal Combat with Sub-Mariner,� DAREDEVIL #7; �The Final Chapter,� AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #33; �Bedlam in the Baxter Building,� FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #3; �And Who Shall Mourn for Him?� SILVER SURFER #5; �Brother, Take My Hand,� DAREDEVIL #47; �And Now, The Goblin,� �In the Grip of the Goblin,� �The Goblin�s Last Stand,� AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #96-98; No More the Thunder God,� �When Gods Go Mad,� �One God Must Fall,� THOR #179-181; �While the World Spins Mad,� MARVEL PREMIERE #3; and �The Circle of Life,� SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN SUPER-SPECIAL 1995

(This seems genuinely interesting. Here's hoping that, as per Johanna's comments, this one has more text and info on Stan than the recent Jack Kirby release in the same format. And no Ravage 2099? Shame.)

POWERLESS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1511-0
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Powerless 1-6

ULTIMATE ELEKTRA: DEVIL'S DUE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1504-8
$11.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Ultimate Elektra 1-5

FEBRUARY 2005

BLACK PANTHER BY JACK KIRBY VOL. 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1687-7
$19.99
136 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Black Panther (1977) 1-7

(I'm not assuming the worst here, I'm genuinely curious: Does anyone know if the Kirby estate is receiving anything for this stuff? I would assume yes, but I remember there was a pretty big flap with Steranko when they started reprinting collections of his work a few years back.)

ESSENTIAL LUKE CAGE POWER MAN VOL. 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1685-0
$16.99
544 Pages Trade Paperback B&W 33
Collects: HERO FOR HIRE #1-16 and POWER MAN #17-27

FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 2 HC
ISBN: 0-7851-1775-X
$29.99
264 Pages Hardcover Color
Collects: Fantastic Four 503-513

HULK & THING: HARD KNOCKS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1576-5
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Hulk & Thing: Hard Knocks 1-4; Marvel Giant-Size Super Stars 1

Interestingly, this is neither "HULK LEGENDS" volume 6 or "INCREDIBLE HULK" volume 9...

MARVEL AGE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 3: THE RETURN OF DOCTOR DOOM DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1622-2
$5.99
96 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Marvel Age Fantastic Four 9-12

MARVEL AGE RUNAWAYS VOL. 3: THE GOOD DIE YOUNG DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1684-2
$7.99
144 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Runaways 13-18

MARVEL MASTERWORKS HC: DAREDEVIL VOL. 3
ISBN: 0-7851-1696-6
$49.99
304 Pages Masterworks HC Color
Collects: Daredevil 22-32, Annual 1

MARVEL MASTERWORKS HC: DAREDEVIL VOL. 3 - VARIANT
ISBN: 0-7851-1697-1
$54.99
Variant Jacket
Collects: Daredevil 22-32, Annual 1

MARVEL WEDDINGS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1686-9
$19.99
200 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: FF Annual 3; Incredible Hulk 319; Avengers 59-60, 127; FF 150; ASM Ann 21; X-Men
30

(Huh...)

NEW MUTANTS: BACK TO SCHOOL TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1242-1
$16.99
152 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: New Mutants (2003) 1-6

(I'm kind of shocked that they're not collecting this as the first "New X-Men Academy" book. Actually, I'm kind of shocked that they're collecting it at all.)

ROGUE: GOING ROGUE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1336-3
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Rogue 1-6

SABRETOOTH: OPEN SEASON TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1507-2
$9.99
96 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Sabretooth 1-4

ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL. 10: CRY WOLF TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1405-X
$8.99
96 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: ULTIMATE X-MEN #50-53

ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL. 4 HC
ISBN: 0-7851-1251-0
$29.99
304 Hard Cover Color
Collects: Issues # 34-45

UNCANNY X-MEN - THE NEW AGE VOL. 2: THE CRUELEST CUT TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1645-1
$11.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Uncanny X-Men 450-454

WHAT IF...? Vol. 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1593-5
$19.99
192 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: What If? (New Series) 1-7

(Does that mean that the forthcoming fifth-week event is already set to be collected?)

X-MEN: DAY OF THE ATOM TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1534-X
$19.99
224 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: X-Men 157-164

X-MEN: THE END BOOK 1: DREAMERS AND DEMONS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1690-7
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: X-Men: The End - Dreamers and Demons 1-6

MARCH 2005

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE VOL. 2 HC
ISBN: 0-7851-1773-3
$29.99
336 Pages Hardcover Color
Collects: Avengers 12-22, 0, and Annual 99

DAREDEVIL VOL. 11: GOLDEN AGE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1395-9
$9.99
96 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Daredevil 66-69

ESSENTIAL DOCTOR STRANGE VOL. 2 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1668-0
$16.99
592 Pages Trade Paperback B&W 33
Collects: Doctor Strange #169-178 and #180-183, Avengers #61, Sub-Mariner #22, Incredible Hulk #126, Marvel Feature #1 (backup story), and Marvel Premiere #3-10 and #12-14

ESSENTIAL TOMB OF DRACULA VOL. 4 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1709-1
$16.99
592 Pages Trade Paperback B&W
Collects: Stories from Tomb of Dracula Magazine #2 and #4-6; and Dracula Lives! #1-13

EXILES VOL. 9: BUMP IN THE NIGHT TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1673-7
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Exiles 52-57

FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONARIES: JOHN BYRNE VOL. 4 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1710-5
$24.99
264 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Fantastic Four 258-266; Alpha Flight 4, Thing 10

GAMBIT: HOUSE OF CARDS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1522-6
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Gambit (2004) 1-6

MADROX: MULTIPLE CHOICE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1500-5
$13.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Madrox 1-5

(That's good news, I think.)

MARVEL AGE SPIDER-GIRL VOL. 3: AVENGING ALLIES DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1658-3
$7.99
144 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Spider-Girl 12-17

MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN VOL. 5: SPIDEY STRIKES BACK DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1632-X
$5.99
96 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Marvel Age Spider-Man 17-20

MARVEL MASTERWORKS HC: THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 8
ISBN: 0-7851-1694-X
$49.99
272 Pages Masterworks HC Color
Collects: FF 72-81, Annual 6

MARVEL MASTERWORKS HC: THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 8 - VARIANT
ISBN: 0-7851-1695-8
$54.99
Variant Jacket
Collects: FF 72-81, Annual 6

SUPREME POWER VOL. 1 HC
ISBN: 0-7851-1369-X
$29.99
352 Hard Cover Color
Collects: Supreme Power 1 - 12; Avengers 85, 86 Plus extras

SPIDER-MAN/DOCTOR OCTOPUS: YEAR ONE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1532-3
$13.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One 1-5

ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1497-1
$11.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Ultimate Nightmare 1-5

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL. 12 SUPERSTARS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1629-X
$12.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Ultimate Spider-Man 66-71

X-FORCE & CABLE VOL. 1: THE LEGEND RETURNS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1429-7
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: X-Force (2004) 1-6

X-MEN: THE COMPLETE AGE OF APOCALYPSE EPIC BOOK 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1714-8
$29.99
360 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: X-Men Chronicles 1-2; Tales from the AOA: By the Light, X-Man -1, X-Man �96 Annual, Tales from the AOA: Sinister Bloodlines, Blink 1-4

(Well fuck, it's not like people didn't ask for it, over and over and over and over. And they aren't kidding when they say "complete" either, those are some bad motherfucking comics, for the most part. Heh.)

APRIL 2005

ALPHA FLIGHT VOL. 2: WAXING POETIC TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1569-2
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Alpha Flight 7-12

(This kills me. Both as a comic retailer selling 2 copies of this a month, and as a Candian comic retailer who can't sell Alpha Flight. Does anyone know if they're cancelling Alpha Flight at 12?)

AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1438-6
$19.99
192 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest 1-8

BLACK WIDOW: HOMECOMING TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1493-9
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Black Widow (2004)1-6

BULLSEYE: GREATEST HITS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1512-9
$13.99
120 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Bullseye: Greatest Hits 1-5

CABLE/DEADPOOL VOL. 2: THE PASSION OF THE CABLE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1571-4
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Cable/Deadpool 7-12

CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON VOL. 2: BROTHERS AND KEEPERS TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1568-4
$9.99
96 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Captain America & The Falcon 8-12

DOCTOR SPECTRUM: FULL SPECTRUM TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1586-2
$14.99
Parental Advisory
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Doctor Spectrum 1-6

ESSENTIAL HULK VOL. 3 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1689-3
$16.99
592 Pages Trade Paperback B&W
Collects: Incredible Hulk 118-142, Captain Marvel 20-21, Avengers 88

INHUMANS VOL.1 CULTURE SHOCK DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1755-5
$7.99
144 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Inhumans (2003) 1-6

(Wow, congrats to Sean McKeever. That's a little unexpected...)

MARVEL MASTERWORKS HC: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 7
ISBN: 0-7851-1636-2
$49.99
320 Pages Masterworks HC Color
Collects: ASM 62-67, Annual 5, Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine 1 (B&W) and 2 (color)

MARVEL MASTERWORKS HC: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 7 - VARIANT
ISBN: 0-7851-1637-0
$54.99
Variant Jacket
Collects: ASM 62-67, Annual 5, Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine 1 (B&W) and 2

MARVEL VISIONARIES: STEVE DITKO HC
ISBN: 0-7851-1783-0
$29.99
336 Page Hard Cover Color
Collects: STRANGE TALES #94 , Help!, STRANGE TALES #97 , Goodbye to Linda Brown, TALES TO ASTONISH #42 , I Am Not Human!, AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #12 , Something Fantastic, AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #14 , The Man in the Sky , AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1, The Chameleon , HULK #6, The Metal Master , STRANGE TALES #110, Dr. Strange, STRANGE TALES #115, Origin of Dr. Strange , TALES OF SUSPENSE #48, Mister Doll , AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1, "The Sinister Six" , AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1, How Stan and Steve Create Spider-Man , STRANGE TALES #126, The Domain of the Dread Dormammu , STRANGE TALES #127, Duel with the Dread Dormammu, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #31, If This Be My Destiny, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #32, Man on a Rampage!, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #33, The Final Chapter, STRANGE TALES #146, The End--At Last, DAREDEVIL #162, Requiem for a Pug, HULK #249, Jack Frost Nipping at Your Soul, MARVEL SUPER-HEROES SPECIAL, Iron Man and Squirrel Girl, SPEEDBALL #1 , Origin of a Masked Marvel, and more

(Heh.)

MYSTIQUE VOL. 4: QUIET TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1475-0
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Mystique 19-24

NIGHTCRAWLER: THE DEVIL INSIDE TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1428-9
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Nightcrawler 1-6

SHE-HULK VOL. 2: SUPERHUMAN LAW TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1570-6
$14.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: She-Hulk 7-12

SPIDER-MAN: INDIA TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1640-0
$9.99
96 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Spider-Man: India 1-4

THOR: SON OF ASGARD VOL. 2: WORTHY DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1572-2
$7.99
144 Pages Digest Color
Collects: Thor: Son of Asgard 7-12

WOLVERINE: ENEMY OF THE STATE VOL. 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1492-0
$12.99
144 Pages Trade Paperback Color
Collects: Wolverine 20-25

MAY 2005

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 9: SKIN DEEP TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1642-7
$9.99
96 Trade Paperback
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 515-518

ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS VOL. 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1547-1
$16.99
544 Trade Paperback B&W
Collects: Doctor Strange 183, Sub-Mariner 22, 34-35, Hulk 126, Marvel Feature 1-3, Defenders 1-14, and Avengers 115-118

ESSENTIAL THOR VOL. 2 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1591-9
$16.99
584 Trade Paperback B&W
Collects: Thor 113-136, Annual 1-2

HULK: GRAY TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1346-0
$14.99
144 Trade Paperback
Collects: Hulk: Gray 1-6

MARVEL AGE EMMA FROST VOL. 3: BLOOM DIGEST
ISBN: 0-7851-1473-4
$7.99
144 Digest Color
Collects: Emma Frost 13-18

MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN VOL. 3 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1676-1
$9.99
96 Trade Paperback
Collects: Marvel Knights Spider-Man 9-12

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL. 2
ISBN: 0-7851-1771-7
$49.99
240 Masterworks
Collects: Tales of Suspense 51-65

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL. 2 (VARIANT)
ISBN: 0-7851-1772-5
$54.99
4 Masterworks Variant
Collects: Tales of Suspense 51-65

MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL. 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1595-1
$14.99
144 Trade Paperback
Collects: Marvel Team-Up 1-6

NEW AVENGERS VOL. 1: THE RAFT TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1479-3
$11.99
120 Trade Paperback
Collects: New Avengers 1-5

NEW THUNDERBOLTS VOL. 1 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1565-X
$14.99
144 Trade Paperback
Collects: New Thunderbolts 1-6

PUNISHER MAX VOL. 3: MOTHER RUSSIA TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1603-6
$14.99
144 Trade Paperback
Collects: Punisher 13-18

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL. 5 TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1628-1
$14.99
144 Trade Paperback
Collects: Spectacular Spider-Man 21-26

ULTIMATE SECRET TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1660-5
$9.99
96 Trade Paperback
Collects: Ultimate Secret 1-4

X-MEN: EVE OF DESTRUCTION TPB
ISBN: 0-7851-1552-8
$14.99
152 Trade Paperback
Collects: Uncanny 391-393; New X-Men 111-113

GIANT SIZE MARVEL TPB
0-7851-1784-9
$24.99
216 Page Trade Paperback
Collects: In celebration of the 30th anniversary of GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1. Collecting GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #4, GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #1, GIANT-SIZE DEFENDERS #4, GIANT-SIZE SUPER HEROES #1, GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #1, GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING #4 and GIANT-SIZE CREATURES #1.

BEST OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR HC
0-7851-1702-2
$29.99
360 Page Hard Cover Color
Collects: FANTASTIC FOUR #1 - "The Fantastic Four,� FANTASTIC FOUR #39-40 - "Battle of the Baxter Building,� FANTASTIC FOUR #51 - "This Man, This Monster,� FANTASTIC FOUR #116 - "The Alien, The Ally and Armageddon,� FANTASTIC FOUR #176 - Impossible Man by Roy Thomas and George Perez, FANTASTIC FOUR #236 - "Terror in a Tiny Town,� FANTASTIC FOUR #267 - Sue loses the baby, MARVEL FANFARE #15 - Barry Smith Thing story, FANTASTIC FOUR #347-349 - "The New Fantastic Four,� FANTASTIC FOUR v3 #56 - Ben is Jewish, FANTASTIC FOUR v3 #60 - Imaginauts.

These releases supplement Marvel�s regular trade paperback schedule. There may be changes to this schedule prior to publication.

at 11/04/2004 11:11:00 AM
|

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Good News

The new Xeric grant award winners have been announced:

Andrew Drozd - Coexisting
Ryan Dunlavey & Fred Van Lente - Action Philosophers!
David Heatley - Deadpan #2
Nick Jeffrey - Centerfield
Craig McKenney & Rick Geary - The Brontes: Infernal Angria #1
Fay Ryu - HELLO
Rob Sato - Burying Sandwiches

Congratulations to my new friend Craig McKenney (creator/publisher of THE MAGIC IF and the STALLAGMITE anthology) for getting the grant to do his Bronte sisters biography. Congrats also to David Heatley, whose hyper-confessional dream comic DEADPAN #1 was very good, and who is DEADPAN #2 was coming out through Fantagraphics I thought, and who is having a very good year thanks also in part to his recent inclusion in ubernaught MCSWEENEY'S #13.

I don't really know anyone else, but I'm sure they're all nice, talented folks. Congrats to all involved, really. :)

For more on the Xeric Grant, check out: http://www.xericfoundation.com/

- Christopher

Posted Wednesday, November 03, 2004 at 11/03/2004 01:06:00 AM
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Tuesday, November 02, 2004

"Not Depressed Yet? Stay tuned for more coverage..."

No PreviewsReview this week. Too much going on, and despite the plethora of great books, I can't imagine not being either too-distracted or too-annoyed to write very much. Sorry.

- Christopher

Posted Tuesday, November 02, 2004 at 11/02/2004 10:19:00 PM
|

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