Recent E-bay Purchases

Here's what I've gotten here in the last month or so...
Price includes shipping.


SHOWCASE PRESENTS: METAMORHO VOL. 1
Continuing my collection of DC's SHOWCASE line of reprints. ($11.56)


THE VAULT OF MIKE ALLRED
The complete 4-issue career retrospective. ($13.45)


MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #1 (2nd Print), 2-4
I already have the first print of #1 and I was glad to find a set that included the 2nd print. ($15.90)


TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #50
The Kirby Award nominated wedding issue. ($4.73)


SWAMP THING VOL. 4: MURDER OF CROWS
Slowly completing this collection. Only two more trades to go. It's getting harder to motivate myself since I already own many of the issues that are reprinted in volumes 4 and 5. ($16.94)


ATOMICS #1-6, 15 and IT GIRL #1
I already have the ATOMICS JIGSAW trade that reprints #1-4 but I would rather have the actual comics for this collection. The set also included #15 and the IT GIRL one-shot. I only need to get #s 13 and 14 now. ($9.85)


THE SPIRIT #1 (2nd Print), 2-7
Another great set with another 2nd print first issue. I had been looking for the variant cover version for a while. This set also fills in some gaps since I only had #s 1, 2 and 5. ($13.49)


SHAZAM: MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #1-4
The complete mini-series. I was so looking forward to this. Glad I found it in a set. ($13.00)


COMICS AND SEQUENTIAL ART by Will Eisner
What a great find! I've had this on my wish list for some time now. ($12.27)

Comic Strips on the Web

I was reading the articles over at The Comics Reporter and discovered that King Features Syndicate has a new subscription service. For $15 a year you can have access to virtually all of their comic strips.

Granted, most of the other syndicates have a large selection of their comics avaialable online for free... But this does seem to be a rather large archive and it's a great way to support the format.

Go here to check it out and subscribe.

Meanwhile, I've compiled a list of links to where you can view the comics from each of the major syndicates.

King Features Syndicate (Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Prince Valiant, etc.)- DailyINK
Universal Press Syndicate (For Better or For Worse, Garfield, Boondocks, etc.)- GoComics
United Media (Dilbert, Tarzan, Alley Oop, etc.)- Comics.com
Creators Syndicate (Heathcliff, B.C., The Wizard of Id, etc.)- Comics.com
Tribune Media Services (Dick Tracy, 9 To 5, Gasoline Alley, etc.)- GoComics or Comics Page

And, of course, don't forget you can read all the daily Archies from 2000 to today here.

Go and enjoy some of the best works of comic storytelling.

My DCBS Order for January 2008

Well, after much debate... I finally settled on a list of comics to order this month.
I have a hard time ordering comics that I won't see for another two months. Especially since there's not a lot to go on this early.
However... it's the way things are. So here goes...


1. MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #8 (Image Comics)
I couldn't make an order without this one. Probably THE series that keeps me interested in comics right now. I'm just glad that Allred is back to Madman and his Snap City neighbors.
I am still trying to get used to the new art techniques that he's employing in this current run. I like it a lot but it was just a little jarring at first. I must say, though, that after reading the first four issues I find myself looking at the art in THE ATOMICS and MADMAN COMICS much differently. Gone are the simplistic lines we've become used to. I wasn't sure what to think at first but I now find the new art more substantial and a welcome change.


2. THE SPIRIT #14 (DC Comics)
When I heard that Darwin Cooke was leaving THE SPIRIT I was a little saddened. I love Cooke's approach to storytelling and The Spirit is a character that just fits him. Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier and Mike Ploog are no amateurs, of course. I still have my reservations about it but I fear that THE SPIRIT may be headed in the same direction that Kyle Baker's PLASTIC MAN went. We'll see if the upcoming movie can keep interest going.


3. TEEN TITANS THE LOST ANNUAL (DC Comics)
Years in the making. Literally. Jay Stephens and Mike Allred join orignal TEEN TITANS writer Bob Haney for a "lost" Titans adventure where they save JFK from aliens. Features a cover by Haney's TEEN TITANS artist Nick Cardy, too!


4. BAT LASH #2 (DC Comics)
I'm getting this one because it's the only other book being written by Aragones at the time. We'll see if I like it.


5. SAVAGE DRAGON #136 (Image Comics)
One part suggestion from other readers and one part preparation for the upcoming Madman appearance next month. The Dragon's popped up in THE ATOMICS before so this should be a fun comic to read.


6. YOUNGBLOOD #1 (Image Comics)
Now we're into the "trying out" books. The cover art looks promising, at least.


7. SUPERPOWERS #1 (Dynamite Entertainment)
The trend of bringing back old Golden Age or obscure characters and forming them into a team goes full force this month with SUPERPOWERS and THE TWELVE. I'm not sure if it was started by the success of LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN or ALBION but it's a hot concept at the moment.
Alex Ross serves up this batch with characters you may have actually heard of: Black Terror, Green Lama and select others.


8. SPEED RACER: CHRONICLES OF THE RACER #1 (IDW Publishing)
This just looks like fun. And a first issue to boot!


9. DOCTOR WHO #1 (IDW Publishing)
I haven't seen any of the episodes of the new series. Not sure if I really want to. I still like the old Doctor and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to accept a modern version. This, however, may change my mind. Another fun first issue comic.


10. STRANGE DETECTIVE TALES: DEAD LOVE #1-3 (Oddgod Press)
Speaking of fun... The cover alone makes me like it. Brian Domingos over at PopImage was speaking pretty highly of it and they have all three issues available. So why not?


11. JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS: THE KINGDOM OF HADES #3 (Bluewater Productions)
I like Ray Harryhausen's films and I like sword and sandal flicks so this is right up my alley. Bluewater Production's got a line of comics based on Harryhausen's properties and I hope they do well.
I don't know much about this one other than it features Jason and the Argonauts (which you can figure from the title).


12. SINBAD, ROGUE OF MARS #5 (Bluewater Productions)
The last issue of this one. I just recently discovered the Ray Harryhausen comics and I'll be looking for back issues on E-bay I'm sure.
The first SINBAD comic is actually available for download over at Wowio (see link in sidebar). WRATH OF THE TITANS and 20 MILLION MILES MORE are also available there. For FREE! Not bad if you don't mind staring at your monitor.


13. TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE #1 (DC Comics)
One of the "on sale" books this month. The art looks fresh. We'll see if I like it or not. It's written by one of the writers for the TEEN TITANS tv series so it'll probably be light-hearted and fun. One can hope!


14. HULK #1 (Marvel Comics)
One of the "on sale" books this month. I'm getting this one solely because it's on sale. I don't see myself getting the next issue.


15. THE TWELVE #1 (Marvel Comics)
One of the "on sale" books this month. I was going to get this comic even if it wasn't on sale. Marvel's been pushing it for a while with character bios appearing at Newsarama to build interest. Straczynski has a penchant for long mini-series with a large cast (SUPREME POWER, RISING STARS) and he throws his hat into the "bring them back from the past in a new team" ring. It may not be Alan Moore or Alex Ross, or even AGENTS OF ATLAS, but Mr. Straczynski's bound to reel 'em in.

16. NEW EXILES #1 (Marvel Comics)
One of the "on sale" books this month. If you've seen the previews for Marvel's February comics then you already have an idea of who the New Exiles are: Mystique, Sabretooth, Rogue... Sound familiar? It's not definite, but it's a close bet that this is a reunion of sorts for the Freedom Force era of the Brotherhood of Evil. Written by Chris Claremont who sometimes tries too hard but doesn't really need to. He's one of the best plotters in the world. He just sometimes gets carried away with the dialogue. Still... i'm looking forward to reading it.

And that's the list for this month.

Madman-A-Go-Go!

Mike Allred has been the one creator that I've managed to stay interested in for over ten years. Most often than not, I tend to sway to and from different styles and tastes as the mood hits me (or if they don't bring anything out in a long time).

Here's what I have so far of his:

Madman-verse
MADMAN - THE ODDITY ODYSSEY
MADMAN ADVENTURES COLLECTED EDITION
MADMAN COMICS #1-14
MADMAN/JAM #1,2
MADMAN/NEXUS #1
SUPERMAN/MADMAN HULLABALOO! TP
DARK HORSE PRESENTS #100(0),100(5)
RED ROCKET 7 #1-5
KING SIZE ATOMICS JIGSAW #1 (reprints THE ATOMICS #1-4)
THE ATOMICS #5-12
MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #1-4
MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #1 (2nd Print)

X-Statix
X-FORCE #116-129
X-STATIX #1-26

Other Diversions
SANDMAN #54
SOLO #7 (still one of my favorites in this collection)
THE GEEK #1
VERTIGO JAM #1
ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP #4
COMICOLOGY #2 (the BEST Allred feature ever!)

(I have THE VAULT #1-4 and THE ATOMICS #1-4,15 heading my way right now. I should be updating this as soon as they arrive.)

Do note that I missed a few issues of MADMAN COMICS near the end of it's run. That was because it started coming out erratically and when the issues finally did come out, I couldn't find a copy.

THE ATOMICS, however, was a whole different problem as it came out while I was being discouraged in buying the issues of MADMAN I couldn't find. I ended up missing the entire series and had to go back and get them later. I still need the last few issues and I'll probably also be getting the spin-off one shots in trade paperback.

I still need RED ROCKET 7 #6 and 7, also. But I'm seriously considering just getting the trade because the unusual size of the comics makes it hard to store them with the others.

I'll be getting the X-STATIX: DEAD GIRL mini-series sometime soon. Not really in a hurry, though, since I haven't read all of the X-FORCE and X-STATIX issues.

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #5 should be out either this week or the next and I'm looking forward to it. Allred's Madman universe is a nice alternative to most of what's coming out these days. He seems to bring the fun back to comics even when he's having characters yank out eyeballs.

Image Comics for February 2008

Go here to view the comics coming from Image in February.

Highlight of the month:


SAVAGE DRAGON #137
By Erik Larsen.
It's a Madman/Amazing Joy Buzzards jamboree as the Savage Dragon drops by Snap City in search of his missing wife. Plus, the fate of She-Dragon revealed!
32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Feb. 27

Oh and Mike Allred does the variant cover for the PERHAPANAUTS ANNUAL that leads into the upcoming ongoing series.

Marvel Comics for February 2008

Solicitations can be found here.

The hightlight of the month:
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE LOST ADVENTURE
Written by STAN LEE
Pencils & Cover by JACK KIRBY
IT'S THE COMIC BOOK EQUIVALENT OF A LOST BEATLES TRACK! Together, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby produced 102 consecutive issues of FANTASTIC FOUR. But there was a 103rd story they'd begun in 1970, but never finished-until now! Working from copies of Jack's penciled pages, Stan Lee and Joe Sinnott have reunited, to complete the work they started almost four decades ago! Plus, this super-sized issue includes reproductions of Kirby's unlinked penciled pages, with border notes and analysis by John Morrow, and a complete reprint of FANTASTIC FOUR #108 by Stan Lee and John Buscema, which incorporated some of the material from the lost story as a flashback.
64 PGS./Rated A …$4.99

I may just have to get that one!

DC Solicits for February 2008

The solicitations for books coming from DC Comics in February can be found here.

I updated the SHOWCASE PRESENTS Index with the solicits for BOOSTER GOLD VOL.1 and PHANTOM STRANGER VOL.2.