Last solicitations for this year - Part 1

I thought that I should finally get to the solicitations before I write my last post. Of course this may very well be only wishful thinking on my part and not assuming that this is my last post for this year.


I try to post more often but going by my experience so far it may be a few days till my next post. The last few days I was busy with computer stuff and such. The second day of christmas I was mostly sleeping the whole day and now I´m again sorting through my picture files. I tried to make a new big banner to put in the blog title but I had to realize that I have no idea how to do it. Since my brothers keep reminding me constantly that CIVIL WAR is over I have thought about doing other banners but I´m not sure which way to go. It still makes a lot of fun and it has become kind of my signature to show the end of a post but maybe I will put them up at the beginning of each post from now on. Or at the end.

Who knows ?

Anyway I haven´t written in the last few days but today I read a thread in a german comic messageboard that reminded me why I started this blog in the first place. So again it´s time to get to the solicitations for the end of the year this month starting with DC.

Brave and the Bold 11


One of the best series this year has been THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. With Mark Waid and George Perez as the creative team and guest - stars like Wonder Woman and Power Girl this books leaves no wishes unfulfilled. In issue 11 George Perez is taking a break but with a high profile fill - in artist like Jerry Ordway they manage to keep the high quality level they have established so far.

And you can´t go wrong with evil Superman Doppelgangers. Wait, is that a kryptonite planet that Ultraman is using to crush Superman ? That´s gonna hurt.

Booster Gold 7


Yes, the blue and gold team is back in action. From all the new titles that were released this year this one flew completely under my radar. With two dozen new series following the events of CIVIL WAR and three dozen series that spun out of 52 there were just too many to keep track of them all. And that´s without paying to the two dozen new series spinning out of Countdown. Or the fact that I should be cancelling books instead of adding new ones to my pull list.

So it´s understandable that I kind of kept the series in the back of my mind but lost track of it when I didn´t come across any of the issues in the comic shop. After reading issue 5 I have been looking for back issues since the new series seems to be right down my alley with all the time travel and parallel universe stuff but so far I´ve had no luck. Yesterday I ordered some books but I only had enough money for the JLA issues I missed and two ACTION COMIC issues. I thought my brother had put the series on his pull list because of the new artist Gary Frank - which he didn´t. With a bit of luck the issues will arrive in a few days since they are part 1 and 3 of the SUPERMAN AND THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES storyline. So far I have only the second part and I hate to begin something with the second part. Anyway, in a few days I can hopefully put up more content about one of the main inspirations for the title of this blog ( yeah, you would guess that with a title like mine you would find more content about the Man of Steel ) since I still haven´t gotten around to read the SUPERMAN issues by Carlos Pacheco.

I know, that was one of the things I wanted to do during the holidays but I´m not sure if the stroyline is really finished. I like to read those long stories in one sitting.

AZTEC Trade Paperback 1


Before their collaboration on the JLA relaunch Grant Morrison and Howard Porter worked on a little book called AZTEC. Though being loved by critics the title was read on by a handfew and cancelled before it´s time. But since Grant Morrison is the new Alan Moore ( or is Alan Moore the old Grant Morrison ? ) DC is digging up all his old works. In this case it makes perfect sense since the book is unknown to most comic fans. I for one am anxious to discover the world of Aztec.

Justice League Unlimited Trade Paperback 1


A few months back I did a few posting called BEST LEAGUE EVER about the best JLA series and storylines ( at least in my opinion ) where I forgot to mention the JLA cartoon spinoff comic series. I already mentioned them in one post because this is really one of the best JLA books out there. While being written for a younger audience it can be enjoyed by older readers and it contains all the elements that made the cartoons such an success : the ability to boil every character down to his essence and what makes him cool paired with a focus on the individual characters and their problems.

So far I have only read the five poketbooks which contain some of the best JLA ever written. Every JLA fan should have them in his collection and if dirtcheap poket books are not your thing here´s the normalsized edition. I´m not sure which issues it contains but I hope this is a sign that DC wants to give this title more attention and possibly print more collections.

Starman Hardcover 1


A lot of collections from DC in this month´s solicitations. Starman is still one of the best superhero books DC ever made. And it still hasn´t been published in Germany. So if you live in Germany and still haven´t read the title because you don´t like the trades here´s your chance. Chris Robinson writes a captivating tale spanning the whole Ted Knight Starman legacy and reaching from the distant past of the wild west to the far reaches of the galaxy in the future. And I really don´t have to mention the great art by Tony Harris.

Amazing Spider - Girl 18


Or as I like to call it " Spider - Girl 118 ". You have to keep in mind that this title has 100 additional issues under his belt. From all the Spider - books published this year this was still the best written with the most consistent art. This books reminds comic readers why Marvel used to be called " The house of Ideas " which seems to be why they tried to kill it so often. But there seems to be a silver lining on the comic horizon. Because last month when I was at the comic shop and looking for issue 12 that my brother is missing because our old comic dealer went out of business there were already two trades available. The title is at number 15 and there are already trades available that contain the first twelve issues. You really can´t say that Mervel isn´t trying to make it as easy as possible for new readers to give Mayday Parker a chance. Judging from the cover there´s a bog mob war going on with Spider - Girl and the Hobgoblin caught in the middle of it forced to team up. Really takes me back to the great mob war storylines of Spidey involving such great characters like Rose, Silvermane, Manmountain Marko, Tombstone or such mainstays like Hammerhead and Kingpin. Great times, man.

Avengers classic 10


Yes, I know. Each month I keep drooling all over Art Adams fantastic covers ( or the Enchantress more specifically - masssitaa ! ) without having read one issue of the book. I´m such a fanboy. And each month I keep saying how I wish he would be doing some interior work. Maybe you´re already tired of hearing it. So this time around we will have none of the usual geekfest. Because yes, like always this cover is exceptionally well drawn and it features the voluptuous Enchantress. But this time I wanted to post the cover because this may well be the very first cover that Marvel ever printed that shows how Thor´s hammer SHOULD look. Not like a toy, not like a mace but like a deadly weapon that can crush your enemies. So for all the Avengerfans and collectors out there this will be the one and only Marvel book to ever show Mjolnir´s real appearance. Don´t miss out.

Captain Marvel 5


I really have nothing clever or witty or funny to say about this months cover by Ed McGuiness. So sue me. I already said stuff about this months Avengers classics issue. What else do you want from me ?

What´s that ? I HAVE to say something or I´m not allowed to post it ? Okay. In this month´s issue : Captain Marvel vs. the Batman ! Yes, I know, going by the green color of the pointy eared shadow it´s probably a skrull. I mean Captain Marvel and skrulls that´s like peanut butter and marmelade. Can´t have one without the other. But wouldn´t it be cool if it WAS Batman ? Most definitely Batman. Or a skrull. Or Batman. You decide. As long as you don´t open the actual comic this is the comic equivalent of Schroedinger´s cat. Till you have read the book it´s both at the same time - Batman and a skrull. Wait a minute. Now there´s an idea. Could it be.....Batskrull ?

Civil War chronicles 9


Okay, am I the only one who thinks it´s embarrassing that Marvel´s CIVIL WAR is so complicated to read with all the tie - ins that they have to print a series with all the issues in chronological order ? Back in the days when I was starting to read american comics they put little numbers in the corner of ACTION COMICS, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, MAN OF STEEL and SUPERMAN so that readers knew in which order to read them. I guess nobody told Marvel about it. Or they just want to use their readers confusion to earn money. This way they can sell it to all the Marvel Zombies out there who already have the trades but can´t figure out how to read them.

Since I never got used to read things in chronological order because there was no such thing when you only got scattered issues ( again : this was when I started reading american comics ) it´s not something I miss. But I guess for today´s comic reading audience that has grown accustomed to getting all issues in chronological order from online comic stores the reading experience of CIVIL WAR was nervewrecking. They are not used to it just like they are not used to start reading a new title with a number that´s higher than 1. I really have to say that when I look at the comic readers of today it´s a miracle that there are still new readers coming to comics.

Dark Tower : The long road home 1


On a more upbeat note the success of Marvel´s first DARK TOWER comic series has given me something to look forward to in 2008. Not that there´s not a plethora of comic goodness coming our way in the next year. But one of this year´s highlights for me was the Dark Tower series especially since I had no previous exposure to this particular part of Stephen King´s mindscape. I wanted to get it as a christmas present for my sister but she doesn´t read much US comics in the original version and the german translation of the comic will be coming out next summer. I just hope that they can manage a decent translation since it´s being done by a bookpublisher and not a comic company. So there´s a chance that they will see it as a part of Stephen King´s masterwork and not just as a silly comic book. Which would be the worst case scenario here in Germany. But let´s stay positive. The new Dark Tower comic will rule !

And with that I want to end the first part of the solicitations. Like always I have been writing for a few hours now and I´m starting to get tired and making more and more typos. There are still a few things left for the next part which will hopefully be up tomorrow. If not I want to wish all my readers a happy new year and I hope that you will stay healthy in 2008 and you will keep reading this blog.

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