The following books are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling in Toronto, Canada, on Wednesday June 6th:

APR073799 30 DAYS OF NIGHT EBEN & STELLA #2 3.99
MAR071833 ALIEN PIG FARM #2 (OF 4) (MR) 2.99
DEC060035 ALIENS VS PREDATOR OMNIBUS VOL 1 TP (C: 0-1-2) 24.95
APR070185 ALL NEW ATOM #12 2.99
APR074098 ALTER EGO #69 (C: 0-1-2) 6.95
MAR073795 ANGEL SANCTUARY VOL 20 GN (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
MAR073756 ARANZI MACHINE GUN VOL 1 TP (C: 0-1-2) 9.95
MAR073151 ARCHIES CAMP TALES VOL 1 TP 7.49
APR074171 ART OF AL RIO VOL 1 TP (O/A) (MR) (C: 1-0-0) 9.95
APR073377 ART OF REBOOT HC 23.99
APR072292 AVENGERS INITIATIVE #3 CWI 2.99
MAR070175 BATMAN TURNING POINTS TP 14.99
FEB073328 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #10 2.99
MAR073335 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA CYLON APOCALYPSE #4 3.50
FEB073329 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEGOVIA VIRGIN CVR INCV #10 2.99
MAR073712 BECK MONGOLIAN CHOP SQUAD VOL 8 GN (OF 19) (MR) 9.99
MAR073158 BETTY & VERONICA #227 2.25
APR070188 BIRDS OF PREY #107 2.99
APR073708 BLACK DIAMOND DETECTIVE AGENCY SC 16.95
APR073421 BLACK SUMMER #0 (OF 7) (MR) 0.99
APR073423 BLACK SUMMER INCV #0 (OF 7) (NET) (MR) (C: 0-0-1) 6.00
APR073422 BLACK SUMMER WRAP CVR #0 (OF 7) (MR) 0.99
MAR073796 BOYS OVER FLOWERS VOL 24 TP (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
MAR073586 BREATHE CVR A #2 (OF 4) (C: 0-1-2) 2.99
MAR073744 BRUSH STROKES WITH GREATNESS LIFE & ART OF JOE SIN 17.95
MAR073336 BSG CYLON APOCALYPSE GOLDEN VIRGIN CVR INCV #4 3.50
APR070029 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #4 2.99
APR072371 BULLET POINTS TP 13.99
APR074195 CAN ROCK & ROLL SAVE THE WORLD ILL HIST OF MUSIC & 24.95
MAR070178 CATWOMAN WHEN IN ROME TP 12.99
APR072369 CIVIL WAR IRON MAN TP 11.99
APR072370 CIVIL WAR MARVEL UNIVERSE TP 11.99
FEB073453 COMICS JOURNAL #283 9.95
MAR073528 COMPLETELY DOOMED TP 19.99
APR070180 COUNTDOWN 47 2.99
APR070244 DANGER GIRL BODY SHOTS #3 (OF 4) 2.99
APR072296 DAREDEVIL BATTLIN JACK MURDOCK #1 (OF 4) 3.99
APR072272 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN #5 (OF 7) 3.99
APR072274 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN JAE LEE SKETCH VAR #5 ( 3.99
APR072273 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN LAND VAR #5 (OF 7) 3.99
JAN071957 DARKNESS LEVEL 4 DALE KEOWN CVR A 2.99
JAN071958 DARKNESS LEVEL 4 STJEPAN SEJIC CVR B 2.99
MAR073678 DEATH AND THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT DIE #1 (OF 4) 2.99
APR070161 DETECTIVE COMICS #833 2.99
MAR073647 DOCTOR WHO THE FLOOD TP (C: 0-1-2) 26.50
APR073607 DRAFTED PREVIEW 0.99
MAR073896 DUNGEON JUNE 2007 #148 (C: 0-1-2) 7.99
APR071865 DYNAMO 5 #4 3.50
APR072379 ESSENTIAL SILVER SURFER VOL 2 TP 16.99
FEB073250 EUREKA SEVEN VOL 5 GN (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
MAR073413 EXIT WOUNDS HC (MR) 19.95
APR070268 EXTERMINATORS #18 (MR) 2.99
APR072373 FANTASTIC FOUR INHUMANS TP 19.99
APR070011 FEAR AGENT LAST GOODBYE #1 2.99
APR070012 FEAR AGENT LAST GOODBYE 10 CVR B COPY INCV 2.99
APR070013 FEAR AGENT LAST GOODBYE 20 CVR C COPY INCV 2.99
DEC063613 FLARE ADVENTURES COVER A #19 (NOTE PRICE) 4.50
DEC063615 FLARE ADVENTURES COVER B #19 (NOTE PRICE) 4.50
MAR073428 FUN NEVER STOPS ANTHOLOGY OF COMIC ART 1991-2006 S 16.95
MAR070073 GHOST IN THE SHELL 1.5 HUMAN ERROR PROCESSOR #8 (O 2.99
APR072300 GHOST RIDER TRAIL OF TEARS #5 (OF 6) 2.99
APR073608 GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE #24 3.50
MAR070241 GO GO HEAVEN VOL 2 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
APR073694 HOUSE GN 12.95
MAY053361 HTDM CREATING STORIES (C: 0-1-2) 19.99
APR072299 HULK AND POWER PACK #4 (OF 4) 2.99
MAR073437 I SHALL DESTROY ALL THE CIVILIZED PLANETS SC 19.95
MAR073822 INU YASHA ANI MANGA VOL 21 GN (C: 1-0-0) 11.99
FEB071908 INVINCIBLE #42 (NOTE PRICE) 1.99
MAR072088 IRON MAN #18 CWI 2.99
APR072312 IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #9 2.99
MAR070274 JACK OF FABLES #11 (MR) 2.99
APR070207 JONAH HEX #20 2.99
APR070225 JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #34 2.25
APR073749 KEEPERS OF THE MASER VOL 7 YOUNG QUEEN HC (MR) (C: 14.95
MAR073823 LAW OF UEKI VOL 6 TP (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
DEC063487 LONE RANGER #6 2.99
DEC063488 LONE RANGER VIRGIN CVR INCV #6 2.99
APR072327 LONERS #3 (OF 6) 2.99
APR070230 LOONEY TUNES #151 2.25
MAR073303 LUCKY LUKE MA DALTON TP (C: 0-1-2) 9.99
APR070232 MAD MAGAZINE #479 3.99
MAR070253 MAN CALLED KEV TP (MR) 14.99
APR072316 MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #28 2.99
APR072319 MARVEL ZOMBIES ARMY OF DARKNESS #4 (OF 5) 2.99
APR070245 MIDNIGHTER #8 2.99
FEB070093 MPD PSYCHO VOL 1 TP (MR) (C: 1-1-3) 10.95
APR072320 MS MARVEL #16 CWI 2.99
MAR072096 MYSTIC ARCANA BOOK OF MARVEL MAGIC 3.99
APR072323 NEW WARRIORS #1 CWI 2.99
APR070166 NIGHTWING #133 2.99
MAR073824 O PARTS HUNTER VOL 4 TP (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
APR073387 OKKO CYCLE OF WATER #3 (OF 4) (MR) 3.95
FEB070100 OLD BOY VOL 6 TP (MR) (C: 1-1-3) 12.95
APR072325 OMEGA FLIGHT #3 CWI (OF 5) 2.99
APR074123 OTAKU USA MAGAZINE AUG 2007 (C: 0-1-2) 9.99
APR070208 OUTSIDERS #48 2.99
MAR070245 PIECES OF A SPIRAL VOL 8 (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
APR074122 PRISM COMICS LGBT GUIDE TO COMICS MAG 2007 (MR) (C 5.95
MAR073401 PS238 #23 2.99
APR072346 PUNISHER #48 (MR) 2.99
FEB073298 QUEEN MARGOT VOL 2 BLOODY WEDDING GN 13.95
MAR073343 RAISE THE DEAD #3 3.50
APR071857 RIDE VOL 1 TP NEW PTG (C: 0-1-2) 12.99
MAR073167 SABRINA VOL 2 #85 2.25
FEB073837 SADHU #8 2.99
APR070271 SCALPED #6 (MR) 2.99
APR073744 SEEKERS #1 (O/A) 2.99
APR072355 SEVENTH SHRINE TP 11.99
MAR073693 SHAUN THE SHEEP COMIC #3 (C: 0-1-2) 5.99
MAR073775 SHONEN JUMP JULY 07 #55 (C: 1-0-0) 4.99
MAR073252 SIMPSONS SUMMER SHINDIG #1 4.99
JAN070075 SOCK MONKEY THE INCHES INCIDENT #4 (OF 4) 2.99
APR074201 SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE HC (C: 0-1-2) 22.95
JAN071944 SPAWN #168 2.95
APR072286 SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #3 4.99
APR072288 SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #19 2.99
JAN073266 SPIDER-MAN SINISTER 6 ELECTRO MED STATUE (C: 1-1-4 85.00
MAR073591 STARSHIP TROOPERS #0 EXPO EXCLUSIVE ED (C: 0-1-2) 5.00
DEC063755 STARSHIP TROOPERS DAMAGED JUSTICE ENJETI CVR A #4 3.50
DEC063756 STARSHIP TROOPERS DAMAGED JUSTICE REYES CVR B #4 ( 3.50
FEB073634 STARSHIP TROOPERS ONGOING CVR A #1 3.50
FEB073635 STARSHIP TROOPERS ONGOING CVR B #1 3.50
MAR071821 STRANGE EMBRACE #1 (OF 8) (MR) 2.99
JAN071945 STRANGE GIRL #17 3.50
APR070177 SUPERGIRL #18 2.99
APR073292 SUPERIOR SHOWCASE #2 (MR) 2.95
MAR070183 SUPERMAN #663 2.99
APR070254 SUPERNATURAL ORIGINS #2 2.99
OCT061847 SUPERPATRIOT WAR ON TERROR #4 (OF 4) (RES) 2.99
APR073701 THREE PARADOXES GN (RES) 14.95
MAR073506 TRANSFORMERS GRTST BATTLES OPTIMUS PRIME MEGATRON 19.99
APR073767 TRANSFORMERS MOVIE ADAPTATION #1 (OF 4) 3.99
APR073774 TRANSFORMERS MOVIE PREQUEL TP 19.99
APR073773 TRANSFORMERS MOVIE TP 17.99
APR073782 TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT TP 19.99
FEB073300 TRUTH SERUM VOL 1 TP (O/A) (MR) 18.00
APR072341 UNCANNY X-MEN #487 2.99
JAN074073 VIDEO WATCHDOG #131 (C: 0-1-2) 7.95
MAR073688 WALLACE AND GROMIT PLOTS IN SPACE SC (C: 0-1-2) 12.95
APR071883 WARD O/T STATE #2 (OF 3) 3.50
APR073515 WARHAMMER 40K DAMNATION CRUSADE PX VAR CVR #2 2.99
APR070250 WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #7 2.99
MAR073838 WINTER DEMON VOL 2 GN (MR) 12.95
MAR073658 WIPE THAT CLOCK OFF YOUR FACE HC (C: 0-1-2) 29.95
FEB071923 WITCHBLADE PUNISHER 3.99
MAR071873 WITCHBLADE TAKERU MANGA #4 2.99
MAR073747 WORKING METHODS COMIC CREATORS STORYTELLING PROCES 21.95
FEB070102 XS HYBRID TP (C: 1-1-3) 10.95
APR073915 YOUNG BOTTOMS IN LOVE GN (MR) 22.00
MAR073825 ZATCH BELL VOL 13 GN (C: 1-0-0) 9.99

Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about.

Here’s my top 7 for this week, and links to more info cos I’m a bit too tired to do much more than that right now:

MAR073498 30 DAYS OF NIGHT EBEN & STELLA #1 3.99 - Props to my friend Kelly Sue DeFraction on her new mini-series with Steve Niles. More at: http://www.kellysue.com/blog/2007/04/11/hey-kid-wanna-buy-a-nine/

FEB070258 BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE VOL 3 HC 24.99 - I like superhero comics when they’re like this: artistically innovative, editorially hands-off, and continuityless. I’ve got the first two hard covers, and this one collected various shorts and back-up stories should be good. http://dccomics.com/comics/?cm=7136

DEC063568 MISERY LOVES COMEDY HC (MR) 24.95 - It’s Ivan Brunetti time! Schizo 1-3 plus a fuckload of other material. Hopefully this will be a big heavy reminder for him to keep doing comics… http://fantagraphics.com/artist/brunetti/brunetti.html

FEB073160 MOUSE GUARD VOL 1 FALL 1152 HC (C: 0-0-1) 24.95 - I’m not actually convinced that this holds together. That said, I’m looking to give it a go, and from what I hear the packaging on this one is gorgeous. http://www.davidpetersen.net/mouseguard/index.htm

MAR073788 NARUTO VOL 14 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.95 - I’m really going to have to catch up on this one day… For now though, I’ll just let it pay my salary.  http://www.shonenjump.com/mangatitles/n/manga_n.php

FEB070235 PLAIN JANES 9.99 - The first release in Vertigo’s MINX line-up. I’ve had an ARC of this for a little while and just haven’t found time to read it, but the reviews I’m reading all seem to be tending towards “Solid, if unspectacular” which seems very Vertigo-y in a lot of ways. Still, I’m rooting for this line for a couple of reasons: more comics for girls, more concerted effort to market comics at girls, more opportunities for creators working outside of the monthly superhero comic paradigm. http://dccomics.com/minx/

OCT062127 ULTIMATES 2 #13 3.99 - Who had May 16 in the pool? Despite myself, I want to see how this ends. Also this week: All Star Batman and Robin #5. Which I think is like “doubling down” at Blackjack. http://marvelcomics.com/catalog/?book_id=5715

Full list after the jump:  Read the rest of this entry »

Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about…

…I realised I rarely ever go back to a post, so if I don’t talk about this week’s books now I probably won’t. Here are some quick thoughts.

JAN072400 ASTONISHING X-MEN #21 2.99
MAR070018 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #3 2.99
MAR072108 RUNAWAYS #26 2.99
Wow, it’s like a Jossgasm. It’s nice to be able to get behind these books as well, because while none of them is perfect comics, they’re all at least pretty good, and very-much what Joss Whedon fans are looking for in a comic book. Nice thing #2? The new books are all bang on time, and that kind of regularity is important for an audience that doesn’t understand why they have to put up with monthly serialisation in the first place… Good stuff.

MAR072059 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN #4 (OF 7) 3.99
Speaking of which, hands-up if you thought a Jae Lee book was going to ship on time? Anyone who put their hands up is a liar.

FEB073807 KORGI VOL 1 TP 10.00
This would be Top Shelf’s next stab at a series of all-ages graphic novels, after the success of Owly. I think this is going to be a very different thing than that book, but the preview looked pretty good, all things considered, and tying Korgi and Owly together through this year’s FCBD will at least give the book a good head-start.

FEB070298 SHOWCASE PRESENTS WAR THAT TIME FORGOT VOL 1 TP 16.99
Ah cool. This collection reprints many of the classic war stories that inspired the opening chapter of Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier (if memory serves). This should be some pretty good reading for $16.

DEC061874 WALKING DEAD SORROWFUL LIFE VOL 6 12.99
JAN071930 WALKING DEAD VOL 2 HC (MR) 29.99
Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story! The new Walking Dead trade, AND the second hard cover (collecting issues 13-24 of the series).

That’s what I saw on the list this week, tell me whatcha think.

- Christopher, full list behind cut: Read the rest of this entry »

Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about…

… wow, another big week. I mean, the fact that we’re getting 2500 books for Free Comic Book Day (plus a bunch of Comics Festival’s) certainly doesn’t hurt, but there’s a ton of books of every shape and size coming this week too. Once again I find myself short on time, so with any luck I’ll get back on here this weekend and update this section to include some of my picks for the week.

- Chris (click the link to see the books that are shipping) Read the rest of this entry »

Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about……it’s a considerably smaller week than last time. There’s some good stuff out this week as well, but I can’t really spend too long writing right now. I’ll come back to it later.

- Chris (list behind the cut)

Read the rest of this entry »

Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about…

…Oh My Goodness, there are a lot of comic books coming out this week. It looks like all of the Tokyopop and most of the Viz (or vice versa?) in addition to a heavy week for comics and trades anyway. 65 manga! 200 line items! Who has money for all this stuff?

Here’s more than 5 picks for this week…

JAN073629 28 DAYS LATER THE AFTERMATH GN (C: 0-1-2) 17.99
The first release from “Fox Atomic Comics”, a comic company who exists to adapt movies into comics, and produce comics that could be adapted into movies. Funnily enough, I have absolutely no interest in this conceptually, or with the ‘products’ announced so far. Bleh.

FEB071900 AFTER THE CAPE #2 (OF 3) 2.99
The signing we had here at the store for After The Cape writer Howard Wong went really well, we completely sold out of the book! Which means I haven’t read it. But a few of the people guilted into buying the book because the guy was standing right there did add it to their pullfiles for issue 2, which is a positive sign. Congrats Howard.

OCT060165 ALL STAR SUPERMAN #7 2.99
DEC060188 ALL STAR SUPERMAN VOL 1 HC 19.99
Life is good again. This hard cover collects issues 1-6, a little bit of bonus material I think, and all in a lovely package. Also? Three cheers to whomever decided that a four issue hard cover was a stupid idea and gave us this much more intelligent, reasonable collection. It’s kind of fross how DC is making a grab for your wallet by breaking JUSTICE by Alex Ross up into three, four issue collections. Bleh.

JAN072436 CIVIL WAR TP 24.99
Oh, Civil War. You make no damned sense whatsoever. I honestly have no idea what anyone reading this mini-series is going to make of it, because as a narrative, it’s riddled with holes. There’s no conclusion, no finale. I don’t quite know what you have to offer to a reader besides lovely art… Disappointment, I guess.

FEB073454 COMPLETE PEANUTS VOL 7 1963-1964 HC (C: 1-0-0) 28.95
New Peanuts collection! Is anyone buying the single volume releases of these, or are they just going for the cheaper two-packs? I mean, you’ve gotta wait a little while longer and everything, and is that really worth six bucks, but? Just curious.

FEB073684 COMPLETE UNIVERSE OF DUPUY & BERBERIAN TP (C: 0-1- 55.00
From the Previews solicitation:

A beautiful retrospective of the work of Phillipe Dupuy and Charles Berberian, best known for their Drawn & Quaterly publication Monsieur Jean. Over tewnty years of collaborations are featured here including their portaryals of everyday Parisian life, homages to Billie Holiday and Jacques Tati, and their commercial art for book jackets and CD covers.

I’ve greatly enjoyed meeting Dupuy and Berberian, and their work is just phenomenal. If you haven’t read their recent collections Get a Life, a new Mr. Jean book (as previously seen in the Drawn & Quarterly Anthologies), or their autobio book Maybe Later, you owe it to yourself to run out and pick them right up, they’re marvelous. If this book has the same lush production values and beautiful art as their comics, it’ll be tough not grabbing one for myself on Wednesday.

JAN073681 CONLUVIO TP 19.99
When is a comic not a comic? Ben Templesmith’s unused art and sketches get the Popbot treatment here, as a narrative is woven through a bunch of bitch’n art on the subject of “The International Part-Time Assassins Guild.” Will quite likely sell very well.

FEB073859 DEATH NOTE VOL 11 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.99
Death Note! When I was in New York I had a good long talk with Viz VP of Publishing Alvin Lu about DeathNote. It seems that whenever their bookstore sales reps don’t “get” manga, they just hand them a copy of DeathNote and say “Just read this one.” They grab the rest themselves. It is to regular manga as crack is to cocaine. That should be on the SAT’s actually…

But anyway. This penultimate volume kicks the plot into overdrive, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m an idiot and went and spoiled the whole thing for myself on Wikipedia, because after reading the first 9 in a row I needed to know how it ended, but I’m looking forward to drawing my own nuances out of the last few volumes…

JAN073862 DRAGON HEAD VOL 6 GN (OF 10) (MR) (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
Whoo! Life continues to be awesome. Did you read that fifth volume? Holy shit. Actually, I saw “Grindhouse” this weekend and it totally reminded me of Dragon Head (and manga like Drifting Classroom, Death Note, etc.). The rising action and the ridiculous chapter-by-chapter cliffhangers, the fact that it’s constantly raising its own stakes. The idea that you never really know what’s going on with anything, and that the whole world has gone completely to hell. Dragon Head manages to incorporate the best parts of disaster flicks, zombie movies, and tense teen coming-of-age tales into one fantastic manga. If you’re not reading it, I can only assume that it is because you are too afraid.

JUL061702 FELL #8 (RES) 1.99
Now this is the Ben Templesmith I can sink my teeth into. I gotta say, it’s probably a lot of fun for him to get the relatively complete creative freedom of something like Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, but seeing him put into the service of an Ellis script is much more engaging for me as a reader. I’ve gone from being someone who could honestly say he didn’t much care for Templesmith’s work (and this is going back years and years, to when he was working with my friends Brad and Andrew) to someone whose work I anticipate. I think a lot of it is down to Ellis making him draw things that he normally wouldn’t. More subtlety of emotion, more realistic and consistant settings, and I’m sure the fact that the stories are all quite good doesn’t hurt either. Yeah, Fell is very close to the top of my list.

FEB071891 FERRO CITY VOL 1 TP 15.99
Gotta give props to my fellow Canadians. This is Torontonian Jason Armstrong’s Image mini-series from last year, now collected in a handy little tpb. I liked the first issue but sort of lost track of the rest (sorry), but hey, at least now I can pick up the collection. Oh, it’s a crime noir thing set in a city with Robots. Sort of like a humourless Tezuka’s Metropolis, but erring more on the side of Sam Spade (with a little bit of Darwyn Cooke and Guy Davis on the art). Check out a preview of the first issue over at Newsarama.

JAN073848 FRUITS BASKET VOL 16 GN (OF 20) 9.99
It was sheer hell reading the first volume of this, and I will likely never read another volume if I can avoid it. Also? The “Animated Maquettes” from this series in the new Previews? They are without a doubt the ugliest fucking anime merchandise I have ever seen. Seriously, that’s downright embarassing. That said? I love Fruits Basket, it sells a ton. :)

DEC063997 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 12 TP (C: 1-0-0) 9.99
This, on the other hand, was a fairly fun read. The first couple of volumes are exactly what they purport to be, action adventure stories for kids and teenagers. I don’t quite understand the adult attachment to the series–there really isn’t anything here that’s not right on the surface–but this sells as much as Fruits Basket… Maybe more. So: Great!

FEB073470 GARAGE BAND GN 16.95
Oo! One I’ve read. I’m gonna have a contest for this, and a real review, but I will say in brief that it’s every bit as good as you might’ve heard, and just as beautiful. This new release from First Second Books and artist Gipi is alternately moody, energetic, and with a great soundtrack… just how I remember MY teen years. It’s probably a little too… European… to follow in Gene Yang and American Born Chinese’s footsteps to the literary awards trail, but it is pretty amazing and likely should. Details on the contest later.

FEB073404 LOOKIT VOL 2 YARG AND OTHER STORIES GN 11.95
Sort of badly titled, this one, because I actually got a copy of this from the author and it’s really pretty good. Cute kids stuff about a Penguin, and a pirate, I believe. Full colour too! I think that “VOL 2″ will probably disuede more people than not since this one stands on it’s own, but yeah, if you’re into the library sales scene or you like the kids books, check this one out.

Actually, you can check out a preview from the book as well as webcomics and more at the publisher’s website, http://www.donteatanybugs.net/.

FEB071878 MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #1 2.99
I like Mike Allred and Madman, but one of my friends read a preview of this (he loves the Madman) and was kind of unimpressed. I went and read Don MacPherson’s review of this issue and, while Don and I don’t ususally see eye-to-eye on the comic books, it seems like he saw the same things in it that my buddy did: it’s all recap. Apparently this really is a jumping-on point, bringing you completely up-to-date with the zany costumed adventurer through all of his zany costumed adventures. Sort of a Cliff’s-notes version of the forthcoming Madman Gargantua Hardcover, which will collect every issue of every series in one convenient package. For $147 more than this issue. I dunno, I’m kinda bummed now and I haven’t even read it… Stupid shipping list.

FEB072102 MARVEL ILLUSTRATED JUNGLE BOOK 2.99
Collecting the Gil Kane & Jo Duffy adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, under a new cover from P. Craig Russel. Incidentally, Russel did his own gorgeous adaptation of The Jungle Book, currently available from NBM. It’s worth tracking down, despite not being $3. This is apparently going to contain previews of all of Marvel’s forthcoming literary adaptations, which is an ambitious tactic for them… I shall reserve judgement.

JAN073618 MOME VOL 7 GN 14.95
Featuring the conclusion of Lewis Trondheim’s diary comic “At Loose Ends”, a collection of sketchbook material by Al Columbia, and new comics from Eleanor Davis, Tom Kaczynsk, David Heatley, Paul Hornschemeier, Anders Nilsen, Sophie Crumb, Kurt Wolfgang and Gabrielle Bell.

I’ve really been enjoying the Euro-Comix that Mome has been running here, the David B stories in particular were some of my favourite short stories from last year, but I’m not sure how promoting the book on the strength of established talent fits their mission statement, other than maybe goosing the sales a little (a noble pursuit). I’ll have more on this eventually and the success of the anthology, but I am still enjoying picking these up and tearing through all of the new work and ideas within.

FEB073427 OPTIC NERVE #11 (MR) 3.95
(I got to read a copy already) Wow, it turns out Ben Tanaka isn’t that much of an asshole after all. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s still an asshole, but his story ends a bit more complexly than it begins. Speaking of which, this serial began years ago, and I was surprised at how easily I slid back into the settings and conflicts. Despite explicity being a story about the Asian-American experience, the themes are universal (love, loss, stupid decisions) and I think it might be one of Tomine’s strongest and most personal works… Perhaps the best part of the issue is that the letters column (remember those?) reveals a twelfth issue in the works. Geez, Madman and Optic Nerve out on the same week, how nineties is that? :)

FEB072145 PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #6 2.99
New guilty pleasure book.

JAN070379 SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE VOL 5 DR DEATH TP (MR) 19.99
Oh man, I’ve totally fallen behind in buying these. They’re so good too, beautiful little pulp adventures. Dammit. Bonus: Features a story called “Night of The Butcher”. I think it’s a sign.

FEB073471 SARDINE IN OUTER SPACE VOL 3 SC 12.95
Another very-good Sardine collection. Did you know that there are thousands of pages of these stories? I asked First Second how many we could expect, and they just sort of laughed and said “as long as it keeps selling”. Look for a review of this one as well, soonish.

FEB072112 SPIDER-MAN FANTASTIC FOUR #1 (OF 4) 2.99
Jeff Parker and Mike Wieringo do a fun, all-ages Spider-Man comic in which no one has to cry or argue about moral relativity. Holy shit. Congrats, Jeff! I hope no one notices and cancels the series before it’s over or forces a back in black crossover on you in the last issue. P.S.: I really liked The Interman and promise to order 50 copies if you do another one. Maybe more!

FEB072185 SPIDER-MAN REIGN PREMIERE HC 19.99
I still get better than 50 hits a month looking for Spiderman’s Penis. Thanks, Marvel! (Image was accidentally deleted in the move to Wordpress, sadly. Maybe I’ll re-post it.)

FEB073675 WASTELAND #8 (MR) (NOTE PRICE) 3.50
JAN073790 WASTELAND BOOK 1 CITIES IN DUST TP (MR) 11.95
Antony Johnston and Christopher Mitten’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure story. I actually had a customer in last week, looking for post-apocalyptic comics. Now I can recommend him a good one! Heh. Actually, I got a little lost around the third issue… there’s a lot happening in this comic… and it might be one of the ones I need to invest a little more attention into. That’s what trade paperbacks are for! I think this will be Oni’s first full-size trade paperback in a little while too, as they’d mostly gone to digest-size for their releases. Hm.

Anyway, you can get an 8-page preview at http://onipress.com/display.php?type=bk&id=248.

–

Whew. There are another 180 books out this week under the cut, enjoy!

(Note: For whatever reason, shops being served by Plattsburgh aren’t getting the new Viz Signature releases, so no MONSTER, GOLGO, or DRIFTING CLASSROOM for us. Boo! Hiss!)

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Updated April 2, 2007. Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about… 

Here’s my top 5 choices this week:

FEB070070 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #2 2.99
FEB072146 RUNAWAYS #25 2.99

Despite bumping up our orders on Buffy, I just don’t think we’re going to have enough copies in stock to meet demand (and so I put in a reorder on the weekend). It’s pretty incredible, how this book has taken off, and starting this issue we’ll start heavily cross-promoting this book with other works. Luckily, Marvel does a little bit of our work for us, by releasing writer Joss Whedon’s first issue of Runaways on the same day as Buffy #2. Despite not really digging his Astonishing X-Men run so much, I liked Buffy and am eager to see what he does with Runaways. Here’s hoping it hooks readers!

FEB072100 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN #3 (OF 7) 3.99
I enjoyed the second issue here as well, happily. It’s looking like a good series on the whole, and it’s shipped very promptly, which I think everyone appreciates.

JAN073935 DRAGON DRIVE VOL 1 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.99
JAN073552 SHUGO CHARA VOL 1 GN 10.95
I know ‘manga’ all seems like it’s “For Kids” to most readers over 18, but it’s actually really tough finding manga for actual children, as even many of the Shonen Jump titles have a 16+ rating on them. DragonDrive is a new Shonen Jump title, rated and aimed at the under-10 set, and while I have absolutely no interest in it I’m overjoyed that it exists, we’ll sell a ton of them just because there’s not that much out there for that market… Borders and B&N probably won’t do anywhere near as well with it because kids will always grab for the older material, but for librarians and educators? They need stuff on the shelves for kids, and Naruto with it’s booby-humour in volume one doesn’t make the cut.

On a similar note, Shugo Chara from Del Rey will do well for many of the same reasons. It’s about little girls, middle-school cliques, and Guardian Angels. We’re gonna sell a ton. :)

DEC063960 ELKS RUN GN (C: 0-1-2) 19.95
Now complete after it’s aborted run through Speakeasy, Elk’s Run got really good word-of-mouth during it’s release. I didn’t find out until recently that it’s illustrated by a Canadian, Noel Tuazon, which is pretty exciting. The Beguiling is teaming up with some local folks to throw a release party for Noel and the book on April 26th. Details forthcoming on the blog. Congrats Noel!

FEB072144 OMEGA FLIGHT #1 CWI (OF 5) 2.99
Speaking of Canadiana, seeing as how Alpha Flight has been treated over the past 10 years or so, at best I hope this just doesn’t out-and-out suck. I don’t have high hopes. Actually, it’s not so much that I care–am I a bad Canadian if I admit to not giving a shit about Alpha Flight?–but that I’d really rather not hear about how bad it sucks from the customers at the store. Actually, I probably didn’t order enough of this one either…

JAN070311 SGT ROCK THE PROPHECY TP 17.99
This was a pretty darned good little mini-series. Glad to see that there’s finally a trade paperback.

Complete shipping list behind the cut…

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Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about… 

Kind of a small week this week, overall, but there are some really solid books on the list. This looks to be the week that DramaQueen finally starts shipping their manga through Diamond, though due to Canadian customs issues I have no idea if any of their titles besides Audition are going to ship. But as far as graphic novels go, there are a couple of solid, high-profile releases worth noting.

OCT060027 ALICE IN SUNDERLAND GN (C: 0-1-2) 29.95
This is the new graphic novel by Bryan Talbot, but between the digitally painted cover art and the solicitation text that doesn’t actually say anything at all, I have no idea what this is actually going to be. It sounds completely outside of Talbot’s ouevre, at least so far as I’m familiar with it, and at least the solicit text is helpful enough to say that it’s “like no graphic novel before it”, so perhaps I’m not alone in feeling lost. The Beguiling is set to be doing an even with Mr. Talbot in April, which admittedly makes me even more anxious about this one, as we have an awful lot of fans of One Bad Rat looking forward to this new book and I’ve no idea whatsoever if it will appeal…

FEB078049 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER VAR CVR NEW PTG #1 (PP #7 2.99
JAN078263 CAPTAIN AMERICA 2ND PTG EPTING VAR #25 CW 3.99

Just a heads-up, the second printings on these titles are in fact shipping this week. We’re now out of our reorder of Buffy first prints, and probably a day or two away from sold-out on the Captain America #25s.

JAN073666 HOUDINI HANDCUFF KING CENTER OF CARTOON STUDIES HC 16.99
The first ‘work for hire’ from The Centre for Cartoon Studies makes it’s debut this week, a graphic novella on the life of Harry Houdini. Call it ‘confluence’ if you like, but this morning there was a feature on the news about the mysterious death of Houdini, and a new examination of it. Coupled with the popularity of modern day illusionists like David Blaine and Criss Angel, not to mention films like The Illusionist and The Prestige, and I think there might just be a groundswell of interest in this material, so good on Hyperion for being just at the top of the curve there.

The work is illustrated by Nick Bertozzi over layouts from Jason Lutes, and Lutes’ early graphic novel Jar Of Fools features themes of illusion and Houdini, making for a nice companion-piece to this new work. Bertozzi also has a controversial graphic novel named The Salon coming out later this year; my employer has read it and says it’s outstanding. So, confluence being what it is, it looks like a heck of a lot of factors are going to go into making this one a success. Let’s see if I call it correctly or not…

You can see a preview of the Houdini: Handcuff King as Nick Bertozzi’s website, http://www.nickbertozzi.com/comics/houdini/houdini.htm.

NOV063528 OH SKINNAY HC 24.95
I’ve had a chance to see this and it’s a lovely book; a new edition of the original lovingly restored by Drawn & Quarterly. I’ve read about 20 pages and it’s just sort of… lovely. A gentle, affectionate celebration of youth. Also, in the vein of D&Q’s lovely Gasoline Alley reprints, this edition features an excellent afterword on cartoonist Claire Briggs that will be of note to classic cartooning fans. Actually, I may as well just steal the photo from the Drawn & Quarterly blog:

Pictured: Tom Devlin’s hand, Claire Briggs’ book. Photo by Tom Devlin.

FEB070001 PREVIEWS VOL XVII #4 (NET) 4.50
It’s Previews time again… I think I’m going to do a Previews Review on this if it kills me. Hopefully it won’t. As for the covers? Fear Agent and Sinestro Corps. At least one of them is creator-owned…

JAN073851 TACTICS VOL 1 GN (OF 8) 9.99
Giving hope to manga fans, TACTICS is one of the many manga started by ADV and then abandoned after a volume or two, when ADV figured out they didn’t know what the hell they were doing, and now it’s back! From Tokyopop! Rejoice! Maybe ADV will finally drop the license for Yotsuba, and a publisher who actually, you know, publishes, will put out volumes 4 through 6. And maybe a new printing of 1-3… that certainly wouldn’t hurt…

The rest of this week’s shipping list is behind the cut:

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Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about… 

…no time right now to do much in the way of commentary on these books, though there are some good ones in there. If things get a little lighter later in the day, I’ll come back and edit this space to include actual recommendations. The full list is after the cut, so click on the link:
Read the rest of this entry »

Hi there folks. These are the comics that are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada this week. These books may not show up at all retailers at the same time, but if you see a title here it’s probably at least worth asking your local retailer about…

Jesus H Christ. I usually try and keep the ‘my picks’ section to just five books because otherwise I won’t get this list up until… well, never, actually. But this is the biggest shipping week in recent history, with a truly shocking number of big books as well. I dunno, I hope you all decide to take out second mortgages before coming into the shop this week. But honestly, there seems to be something for more-or-less everyone on the shipping list and that never happens… So without further ado, here we go.

OCT060255 AUTHORITY #2 2.99
The second issue of Gene Ha and Grant Morrison’s Authority is shipping. I don’t know if I ever told you my theory of this incarnation of The Authority. I didn’t read much on it, but I think the idea here is that they’re in “our” world, a world with no superheroes and badly in need of “fixing”. The first issue with it’s murky “realistic” colour pallette, the shocking appearance of the ‘door’, the complete absence of the title characters, it all points to a very different status quo, and really the only one that I could think of that would work. Let’s see if I’m proven right!

DEC062304 CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 CW 3.99
This issue! Something happens but we can’t tell you what! Maybe someone dies! Maybe not! We’ve been letting you down for five years, true believer! Let’s see how far your faith extends.

DEC063562 CASTLE WAITING VOL II #5 3.95
Continues to be strong. Someone mentioned that this volume seemed a little “off” as compared to the first volume, but Castle Waiting has always been a bit wierd in installments, really only garnering any critical acclaim in its (multiple) collected editions. I do think that Linda Medley is one of the few comics auteurs that you could accuse of “writing for the trade” (or gorgeous prestige hardcover as the case may be), but at the same time I very much feel that without the self-imposed deadline of serialization, this material might not ever materialise at all, which would be the real shame. I certainly hope that whatever format Medley and Fantagraphics decide to collect this new material in, that it’s both compatible in both design and formatting with the first hardcover. Mostly because they’re getting close to the point where we could see a collection, what with that first issue having been better than triple-sized.

DEC062306 CIVIL WAR INITIATIVE 4.99
Yeah. I dunno. It’s an interesting concept, but then so was Civil War, and look how that turned out. This one shot sort of… explains… the post-Civil War Marvel Universe in a way that was only hinted at at the end of CW #7. To echo Jeff’s comments over at The Savage Critic, I really can’t see Marvel following this through to its natural conclusion as a publisher, and I don’t think Mark Millar in particular is a good enough writer to pull it off either. His idea of satire being “This is the face of me fucking you in the ass.” Er, yeah.

DEC062361 CRIMINAL #5 (MR) 2.99
Meanwhile: This? Awesome! Buy.

DEC062364 DAREDEVIL BY FRANK MILLER & KLAUS JANSON OMNIBUS H 99.99
Christ almight. Both Marvel AND DC are smart enough to capitalise on that Frank Miller movie coming out, but the company who publishes the book its based on can’t keep it in print. I suppose I could just quit fucking bitching about how stupid this is, but it is honestly shocking and even a little upsetting to me. Dark Horse, where’s the rest of Miller’s catalogue? Martha Washington, Hard Boiled, Rusty & Big Guy… This Is Not Rocket Science.

JAN072346 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN #2 (OF 7) 3.99
That first issue was alright, actually. Looking forward to #2, and I appreciate that it’s on time too! I did forget to bring a copy to my dad. Maybe I’ll send him the first two, see what he thinks.

DEC063983 DEATH NOTE VOL 10 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.99
What, you thought the manga would take a week off? The manga never stops. Here’s something interesting, we do better with Death Note than we do with Naruto. Why? Because Death Note has not only more cross over potential, but actual cross over with our existing customer base. The people buying Naruto buy a lot of other manga, but generally aren’t picking up much in the way of non-Japanese comics. Death Note, on the otherhand, is manga crack, each chapter ending on a ridiculous cliffhanger, leading up to the ridiculous cliffhanger at the end of each book; that’s something that no comics reader can resist.

DEC063437 DISGAEA 2 VOL 1 GN 9.99
This manga has done surprisingly well for us, thanks to it coming out from a smaller publisher (Broccoli) with less distribution amongst comic and book stores, and the fact that the art is just adorable. Broccoli also released an art-book of the series last week that was really pretty too. I have no idea if it reads well at all. :)

DEC063785 DUNGEON PARADE VOL 1 TP 9.95
NBM continues doing God’s own work by releasing brilliant graphic albums from Sfar, Trondheim, et al. If you’re curious, NBM has even put up a preview of the series at their website. This volume features art by Manu Larcenet, whose brilliant Ordinary Victories was also released by NBM a few years back, an unrecognised gem of a book.

NOV063594 EC ARCHIVES TWO FISTED TALES VOL 1 HC (C: 0-1-2) 49.95
I really hope that the market continues to be healthy enough to bear the cost of these reprint projects. Because honestly, I’ve never read almost any of this stuff and I really feel like I ought to.

JAN073894 ESSEX COUNTY VOL 1 TALES FROM THE FARM TP (MR) 9.95
Readers of this blog may remember about a month’s worth of advertisements for this book on the right side of the screen there, so feel free to assume I’m compromised. I’m not though, because while Tales From The Farm creator Jeff Lemire is a friend of mine and a fellow Torontonian, he’s also crafted a pretty excellent graphic novel here, and I’m glad that Top Shelf agreed and picked it up. Lemire’s really good at pacing and mood, and espescially at setting, and if you check out the preview at his site you’ll see what I mean right away. I’m personally unsure about his figure work, not that I think it’s too rough or anything, but I worry that while appropriate for his stories that it’s also a little… uncommercial I guess? I dunno. People like to look at other attractive people, generally, so I always worry that Jeff’s renderings of awkward and gnarled characters will turn people off before they get to the actual story. If that sort of thing is keeping you on the fence about his work, do me (and yourself) a favour and at least check out the preview, I think it’s the kind of thing that readers of quiet, contemplative, small-town set fiction will really enjoy.

DEC060271 EX MACHINA VOL 5 SMOKE SMOKE TP (MR) 12.99
That trade paperback cover is both ridiculous and amazing (see: top). Great reading though, I’m finally caught up on this series and enjoying it a lot. Although this does feature the single most… surprising… full page illustration in a comic from the last 12 months. Enjoy!

SEP062108 FANTASTIC FOUR #543 CW 3.99
This is, I think, an anniversary issue for the Fantastic Four, featuring buckets of guest artists. This issue Paul Pope does a new Human Torch / Spider-Man story, which is always fun, but really I’m only mentioning this at all because I want to show a gorgeous piece of Paul Pope art from the book.

Nice, eh?

JAN073896 JEFFERY BROWNS FEEBLE ATTEMPTS #1 (MR) (C: 0-1-0) 5.00
“Collects some of Jeffrey Brown’s favourite anthology and mini-comics stories,” according to the Top Shelf website. I hope it includes that really good comic he did about Andrew Bird (musician), because despite not really “getting” his music when I first heard it Brown’s story was really compelling, and I want to read it again before settling in with the music. Anyhow, this should be a nice little surprise/bonus for fans of Brown’s work.

JUL063808 KANA DE MANGA SPECIAL SOUND FX (C: 0-1-2) 9.99
This should be a cool little book for manga fans. With fewer and fewer manga being released with translated or re-drawn sound effects, who wouldn’t want to be able to decode their books with a handy guide like this? I also imagine that now that a hand guide to Japanese sound-effects exists, we’ll start seeing a lot more of them in fan and OEL work… Here’s hoping there are no humourous errors in this. I can just see a legion of creators adding in what they think is the sound effect for “crying softly in the rain” and instead using the one for “large boobies bouncing in place”.

(The humour here is in the fact that the Japanese have a sound effect for everything. Just in case the preceeding paragraph made no sense to you.)

NOV063557 LIVING AND THE DEAD GN 9.95
Hey, new Jason! Apparently this is a solid, though unspectacular, addition to Jason’s catalogue, but the time I spend reading Jason’s work is just wonderful, and I’m always looking forward to a new release.

JAN070307 MANHUNTER #29 2.99
This has actually been pretty good. Have I said that already? Anyway, this is one of those “read while exhausted” comics I mentioned a while back, primarily so you don’t really need to think about any of the ridiculous implications of the series in a larger, completely broken superhero universe. Instead, you just get to turn off that part of your brain and giggle at Wonder Woman being unable to deal with Hollywood press. I’m glad to hear that the series got picked up for another go-round, Marc Andreyko’s a good writer who really deserves a steady gig (if anybody does).

JAN072384 MARVEL ZOMBIES ARMY OF DARKNESS #1 2.99
Fuck, will this week ever end? Anyway, the dude from Army Of Darkness fucks up a bunch of zombie super-heroes with a chainsaw. It Sells Itself.

JAN072385 MIGHTY AVENGERS #1 3.99
Finally, it only took 10 years but we’ve got another West Coast Avengers.

DEC063972 NARUTO VOL 13 TP (C: 1-0-0) 7.95
…which isn’t to say that Naruto doesn’t sell phenomenally, amazingly well. It does. A lot.

DEC061863 NAT TURNER BOOK 2 REVOLUTION TP 10.00
The long-awaited conclusion! Nifty! I hope that I don’t get too much blow-back from folks who bought the first two “issues” only to see the series conclude in book format. Because… dude… it’s all comics, you know? Anyway, this is a very good thing to even see in print, let alone the quality with which Kyle Baker constructed it. I hope it gets its due, and that Kyle Baker can get nominated in something other than the “humour” category at the Eisner’s for a change.

JAN070316 SHAZAM THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #2 (OF 4) 5.99
Quote of the week: “Both signings were crowded, and I think everyone at DC was surprised by the amount of kids that showed up.” That’s Jeff Smith, talking about his signing at the New York Comic Con for the first issue of Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil. I think Tom Spurgeon had something to say about that, but his site is down at the moment. At any rate, yeah, I’m not surprised that DC was surprised, for whatever that’s worth to you.

As to the book itself? Perfect.

DEC060250 UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #8 (OF 8) 2.99
Last, and probably least of the books listed, is Uncle Sam. I… I’ve really enjoyed this ridiculous farce of a comic. I think anything with Uncle Sam as a superhero character has to be at least a little over-the-top, and this is that in SPADES. So, yeah, nice art, a crazy story, objectionable characters trying to get their shit together, stupid crazy superhero fun like it should be. I have no idea what’s going to happen with these characters next though.

That’s what I thought! Rest of the list behind the cut:

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