November 2011 Newsletter

Dear Friends:

    I've finished reading the November Previews catalog which features the comics and related products scheduled to begin shipping in January 2012. If you see anything that you'd like please try to let me know by November eighteenth.

    First, as usual, I'm going to list the top writers and let you know what books they'll be writing. If you have a favorite comic you might check who the author is and then see what else he or she is writing. I believe that it's the writers along with the editors who produce the best titles. We all have favorite artists but without a good writer we just have a poster book or a 'swimsuit issue' which may be nice to look at but doesn't inspire repeated readings like 'Watchmen' or 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'.

AARON: Jason broke onto the comic scene at Vertigo several years ago and is now writing mostly for Marvel. He'll be writing 'Incredible Hulk' #4 with Image co-founder Whilce Portacio illustrating. In this new series the Hulk and Bruce Banner are two separate individuals so, naturally, they're at war with one another. 'Wolverine and the X-Men' features the art of Nick Bradshaw and Logan is a teacher (?) of new mutants, one of which is pregnant. With Adam Kubert on art Jason writes the 56 page 'Wolverine' #300 with the Silver Samurai and Wolverine's daughter and a return to Tokyo. Jason's best book in my opinion is this one: 'Punisher Max' #21, the final chapter of the Kingpin arc and only one of them will survive. His collected editions this month include 'Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine TP' and 'Wolverine vs the X-Men TP' collecting 'Wolverine' #5.1 and #6-9.

ABNETT/LANNING: As part of the 'New 52' at DC Dan and Andy continue on the character they created with 'Resurrection Man' #5 and at Marvel they write 'New Mutants' #36. Andy writes 'Villains for Hire' #2 of 5 solo and the teams' work is collected in 'Fear Itself: Heroes For Hire Premiere HC'.

ADAMS: Legendary artist, Neal is writing and drawing 'Batman Odyssey II' #4 of 7 and he's one of the writers and artists featured in the 'Deadman TP' Volume 2.

AGUIRRE-SACASA: Roberto writes the final issue of the final chapter of the adaptation of Stephen King's opus with 'Stand: Night Has Fallen' #6 of 6 which is also offered as the 'Stand: Night Has Fallen' HC.

ARAGONES: The 'Batman: Black & White Statue' is based on Sergio's design, probably the silliest Batman statue ever produced. Most of his work is coming from Bongo Comics of late; he'll be one of the writers and artists working on 'Bart Simpson Comics' #67 this month and he'll be writing and illustrating 'Simpsons Illustrated' #1 as well as 'Sergio Aragones' Funnies' #7.

ARCUDI: John's long association with Mike Mignola continues as he co-writes 'Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand' #1 of 5, 'BPRD: Hell on Earth-Russia' #5 of 5 and a new 'BPRD' tale in 'Dark Horse Presents' #8. He also co-wrote the material collected in the 'BPRD: Plague of Frogs' TP Volume 1.

ASMUS: James co-writes 'Captain America & Bucky' #626 with Ed Brubaker and 'Astonishing X-Men: Children of the Brood Premiere HC' with Cristos Gage. On his own he continues his run on 'Generation Hope' #15.

AZZARELLO: Brian writes 'Wonder Woman' #5 in a single issue story with guest artist Tony Akins; he's taken the warrior Amazon Goddess in a new direction that the character sorely needed; Cliff Chiang will be back on art duties next issue.

BARKER: Clive is co-writing his own characters in 'Hellraiser' #1 as well as the material collected in the 'Hellraiser TP” Volume 2. IDW is also publishing a 'Hellraiser Masterpieces' series choosing the best of the old Marvel: Epic series'.

BEDARD: Tony continues writing two of the 'New 52' titles with 'Green Lantern: New Guardians' #5 and 'Blue Beetle' #5.

BENDIS: Brian is still my favorite writer working at Marvel and still manages to make the characters in his titles grow even in the midst of the never-ending cross overs. He continues to dazzle on 'Avengers' #21, 'New Avengers' #20, 'Avengers Annual' #1, 'Ultimate Comics: Ultimate Spider-Man' #6 and 'Moon Knight' #9. His work is collected in 'Fear Itself: Avengers Premiere HC', 'Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis TP' Volume 2 and 'New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis TP' Volume 2. New issues of both of his creator owned titles at Marvel's 'Icon' imprint continue with 'Scarlet' #7 and 'Brilliant' #4. The latter has only had one issue so far but the former is one of my current favorite titles.

BRUBAKER: While most of Ed's work is at Marvel this month he launches a very promising ongoing series at Image, 'Fatale' #1 that will please fans of his noir crime titles like 'Criminal' and 'Incognito' and he'll be working with long time collaborator Sean Phillips. At Marvel he writes 'Captain America' #7 and co-writes 'Captain America & Bucky' #626. His work is collected in the 'Captain America by Ed Brubaker Premiere HC' Volume 1 and the 'Daredevil by Brubaker and Lark Ultimate Collection TP' Volume 1.

BUSIEK: Kurt is working on Alex Ross's latest project at Dynamite Entertainment and writes 'Kirby Genesis' #7.

BYRNE: John writes and draws his latest project with 'Cold War' #4 at IDW. He co-wrote material offered in the 'X-Men: Mutant Genesis 2.0' HC which isn't scheduled to ship until April of next year. I'm not sure why but Marvel is offering a lot of collections that won't actually arrive for five months or more. Maybe they're just testing the waters and if the ordered numbers aren't high enough then they'll cancel the books. (Can you tell that I don't have a lot of faith in Marvel's solicitations?)

CAREY: Mike continues on his critically acclaimed literary fantasy with two issues this month as last: 'Unwritten' #33 and 'Unwritten' #33.5 while some of his older mutant stories are collected in the 'X-Men: Legacy-Aftermath' TP.

CHAYKIN: Howard completes his serialized tale 'Masked Man?' in 'Dark Horse Presents' #8 as well as his 'Avengers: 1959' #5 of 5, both of which he writes and illustrates.

CORNELL: A long time contributor to Marvel's titles Paul seems to have found a new home at DC of late. He's writing 'Demon Knights' #5 and 'Stormwatch' #5 in the 'New 52' and he wrote 'Superman: The Black Ring TP' Volume 1 with Pete Woods and Sean Chen providing the artwork.

COSTA: Mike writes 'Blackhawks' #5 at DC and 'Cobra Ongoing' #9 at IDW.

DANIEL: Long time 'Spawn' artist, Tony is also wearing the writer's hat at DC where he writes 'Savage Hawkman' #5 while writing and drawing 'Detective Comics' #5. He co-wrote the material collected in the 'Batman vs. the Black Glove' Deluxe Edition HC.

DAVID: Peter is one of the many contributors to the 'Fractured Fables' TP at Image while at Marvel he completes the movie prequel with 'John Carter: The Worlds of Mars' #4 of 4. He adapts 'Dark Tower-Gunslinger: Way Station' #2 of 5 and continues his long run with 'X-Factor' #230 while 'X-Factor Volume 12: Scar Tissue TP' collects the previous arc. He co-wrote both' X-Men: Fatal Attractions HC' and 'Dark Tower-Gunslinger: The Battle of Tull Premiere HC'.

DIGGLE: Andy's B&W crime tale from DC's Vertigo imprint, 'Rat Catcher TP' was previously only available in hard cover and his western tale at Marvel nears completion with 'Six Guns' #4 of 5.

DIXON: Chuck wrote the story collected in the 'Batman vs Bane' TP while, at Dynamite his Hasbro owned war stories continue in the 'Cobra Annual 2012: Origin of Cobra Commander', 'G. I. Joe II' #9 and 'Snake Eyes' #9. He co-writes with Robert Jordan on 'Wheel of Time-Eye of the World' #21 and Dynamite publishes their first prose novel with Chucks' 'Seal Team Six'.

EDMONDSON: Nathan continues on 'Grifter' #5, one of the Wildstorm characters who have joined the DC Universe, and his creator owned espionage series from Image continues with 'Activity' #2.

ELLIS: I've heard it suggested that Warren is following in Frank Miller's footsteps, leaving the comic industry for the film industry but he's still writing 'Secret Avengers' #21 at Marvel while one of his older works at Avatar gets colorized wit 'Warren Ellis' Atmospherics' Color Edition GN.

ENNIS: It appears that the next volume of the ultra violent series will be anthology style; Garth co-writes 'Crossed: Badlands' #0. He writes 'Boys' #62 this month but 'Garth Ennis' Jennifer Blood' #11 may have his name on the cover but the writer's name is Al Ewing.

FIALKOV: Joshua's writes 'I, Vampire' #5 while the first issue of the series is reprinted in 'DC Presents the New 52' #1, each issue reprinting four of the new titles. He also writes 'Doctor Who II' #13. One of his recently completed series at Image is offered as the 'Echoes Complete Signed Set' offering all the original issues autographed. Plus 'Last of the Greats' reaches issue #4.

FRACTION: With no end in sight, Matt co-writes 'Fear Itself: Fearless' #6 and 7 of 12 and 'Battle Scars' #3 of 6. He also writes 'Mighty Thor' #10, 'Defenders' #2 and 'Invincible Iron Man' #512. Matt is a solid story teller but like a few of the writers at Marvel his work has been suffering lately from just having too many projects on his table.

GAGE: Christos is writing 'Angel & Faith' #6 while the bulk of his work remains in the Marvel Universe including 'Avengers Academy' #24 and 'X-Men Legacy' #260.1 and #261. He's a co-writer on the material collected in the 'Spider-Man: Spider-Island HC' and the 'Astonishing X-Men: Children of the Brood Premiere HC'.

GAIMAN: Neil is another of the comic creators recently seduced by the world of novels and movies but the 'Sandman Volume 8: World's End TP' is offered in the new edition with a new cover and the improved coloring that was used for the deluxe hard cover editions that came out a couple years back.

GATES: Sterling continues his solid writing with 'Hawk & Dove' #5 although Rob Liefeld's art has scared many away from the title. He's also working with Alex Ross on his new project by writing 'Kirby Genesis: Captain Victory' #4.

GIFFEN: Keith co-writes 'Green Arrow' #5 and, with editor in chief Dan Didio writes 'O.M.A.C.; #5 which will continue in the pages of 'Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.' #5.

GILLEN: Keiron is writing 'Journey Into Mystery' #633, 'Uncanny X-Men' #5 with Brandon Peterson and 'Uncanny X-Men' #6 with Greg Land, both of which tie into the 'Regenesis' cross over. His work is collected in the 'Fear Itself: Journey Into Mystery Premiere HC'.

GISCHLER: Victor is writing 'X-Men' #23 with Will Conrad's art, the conclusion of the 'Machines of War' story and a 'Regenesis' tie in; 'so many Sentinels they blot out the sky'.

GRAY/PALMIOTTO: Justin and Jimmy are writing the adventures of Jonah Hex who is in Gotham and teamed up with Amadeus Arkham in 'All-Star Western' #5 as well as 'Ray' #2 of 4 with Jamal Igle's art.

GUGGENHEIM: Some of Marc's work at DC is collected in the 'Justice Society of America: Monument Point' TP, his creator owned series continues at Dynamite with 'Nowhere Man' #2 of 4 and he co-wrote the material collected in the 'Super Zombies Oversized HC'.

HAMA: Larry wrote the 'G. I. Joe Yearbook TP' for Marvel and it's now being reissued from IDW. He also writes 'G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero' #174 and he co-wrote the material collected in the 'X-Men: Fatal Attractions' HC.

HEINBERG: Since Allan and artist Jim Cheung first began telling the tales of the 'Young Avengers' the story and art have been fantastic; Cheung has such a clean and meticulous style with beautiful layouts and the fact that they can't seem to get more than one issue out every other month has kept their work from being compromised by the endless cross overs. This month they (finally) finish with 'Avengers: The Children's Crusade' #9 of 9 and the whole thing is collected in the 'Avengers: Children's Crusade' HC.

HICKMAN: Although I prefer Jonathan's creator owned work at Image his Marvel work is certainly a cut above the rest. This month he's writing 'Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates' #6, 'FF' #14 and 'Fantastic Four' #602. His work is collected in the 'FF by Jonathan Hickman Premier HC' Volume 2 and the 'Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye by Hickman Premiere' HC.

HIGGINS: Kyle is writing 'Nightwing' #5 with Dick in New Orleans, 'Deathstroke' #5 with Joe Bennett's art. He co-wrote material collected in the 'Batman: Gates of Gotham' TP.

HILL: Joe writes 'Locke & Key: Clockworks' #5 of 6 and co-writes 'Joe Hill's The Cape' #4 of 4. IDW announced that Joe and his father, Stephen King will collaborate on a new series coming soon; I'll keep you informed.

HINE: David is the other writer of the previously mentioned 'Batman: Gates of Gotham' TP and, teaming up again with Shaky Kane, 'Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred' #1 of 6 is offered. The first series was a lot of zany fun and recommended.

HURWITZ: In between writing his best selling novels Greg is writing 'Penguin: Pain and Prejudice' #4 of 5.

HUSTON: In addition to Charlie's best selling crime novels his recent, very violent stories are collected in the 'Wolverine: The Best There Is-Broken Quarantine Premiere HC' and the 'Wolverine: The Best There Is-Contagion' TP.

JENKINS: Paul is writing 'DC Universe Presents' #5 which concludes the 'Deadman' story; I suspect he'll be joining the Justice League soon; 'Deadman', not Jenkins. Paul also co-wrote 'Batman: The Dark Knight' #5 with David Finch.

JOHNS: Geoff co-wrote the material collected in 'BPRD: Plague of Frogs' TP Volume 1 and at DC he writes 'Justice League' #5, 'Aquaman' #5 and 'Green Lantern' #5. His work is collected in the 'Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns HC' Volume 2.

JOHNSON: Mike co-writes 'Supergirl' #5 with Michael Green and, at IDW he writes 'Star Trek' #5. IDW also has a contest: in 300 words or less tell why your retailer is the best and you'd take a phaser set to kill to protect them. The winner gets to be a redshirt on a variant cover of an upcoming 'Star Trek' comic protecting their retailer from certain doom.

JURGENS: The man who will always be known as 'the man who killed Superman' writes 'Justice League International' #5 and co-writes 'Green Arrow' #5.

KIRKMAN: Robert is writing 'Infinite' #6 with Rob Liefeld's art, 'Invincible' #89, 'Super Dinosaur' #8 and 'Walking Dead' #93 and his work is collected in the 'Invincible TP Volume 15: Get Smart'. Have you noticed that all the 'Invincible' trade paperbacks are named after cheesy old television sit-coms?

KRUL: J. T. Writes 'Captain Atom' #5 for DC and 'Soulfire III' #7 for Aspen Comics this month.

LANSDALE: Best selling horror writer, Joe completes 'H. P. Lovecraft: The Dunwich Horror' #4 of 4 and he co-writes a story with Keith Lansdale in 'Creepy' #7.

LAPHAM: One of my personal favorite creators since he wrote and drew the 'Stray Bullets' series, David seems to become more prolific every month. He'll be writing 'The Strain' #2 of 12, 'Kull: The Cat and the Skull' #4 of 4, he pens a story in 'Robert E. Howard's Savage Sword' #7, writes 'Supernatural' #4 of 6 and 'Deadpool Max II' #4 of 12. His new series is 'Ferals' #1, he completes the ultra-violent 'Crossed: Psychopath' #7 of 7, co-writes 'Crossed: Badlands' #0 and completes 'Damaged' #6 of 6.

LEE: Jim draws 'Justice League' #5 although he was already running behind schedule with issue #2 so we'll see if he learns how to meet deadlines, although it's doubtful. One of his older statues is offered with a new metallic finish, 'Batman patina Mini Statue' and he co-wrote material collected in the 'X-Men: Mutant Genesis 2.0 HC'.

LEMIRE: Jeff is doing a stellar job with 'Animal Man' #5 his 'Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.' #5 will conclude the story begun in 'O.M.A.C.' #5, 'DC Presents the New 52' #1 contains a reprint of 'Animal Man' #1 and he writes and illustrates his creator owned Vertigo title in 'Sweet Tooth' #29.

LEVITZ: Paul is writing 'Huntress' #4 of 6 as well as his usual future team stories in 'Legion of Super-Heroes' #5 (with guest artist Walter Simonson) and 'Legion: Secret Origin' # of 6. Paul's work is collected in 'Legion of Super-Heroes: The Choice' TP.

LISS: David only writes one comic, 'Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive' #528 but I tend to include him on this list each month because he's a brilliant writer of historical fiction novels and he's writing the only good Black Panther stories that I've ever read.

LIU: Marjorie continues writing the tales of Wolverine's cloned daughter in 'X-2' #20 and her work is collected in the 'X-23 Premiere HC Volume 2: Chaos Theory'; she also co-write the material collected in the 'Daken/X-23: Collision' TP.

LOBDELL: Scott was once a mainstay at Marvel but writes mostly for DC these days. He's writing three of the 'New 52' titles with 'Superboy' #5, 'Red Hood and the Outlaws' #5 and 'Teen Titans' #5. He co-wrote the material collected in the 'X-Men: Fatal Attractions' HC and the 'X-Men: Mutant Genesis 2.0' HC.

LOEB: Jeff is again teamed with long time collaborator Ed McGuinness on 'Avengers: X-Sanction' #2 of 4.

MANAPUL: Francis co-writes and illustrates 'Flash' #5 and illustrates '7 Warriors' #3 of 3 for Boom! Studios.

MARZ: Science fiction author Ron Marz writes 'Voodoo' #5, a Wildstorm character who is now part of the DC Universe. His Top Cow work is collected in the 'Artifacts Deluxe HC'.

McDANIEL: Scott writes and draws 'Static Shock' #5, once a DC Milestone character and now a regular DC Universe character.

McKEEVER: Ted writes and illustrates what looks like his best work since 'Transit' with 'Mondo' #1 of 3.

MIGNOLA: Mike co-writes 'Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand' #1 of 5 and 'BPRD: Hell on Earth-Russia' #5 of 5 and he co-wrote 'BPRD: Plague of Frogs' TP Volume 1. There is also the 'Batman: Black & White Statue-variant' based on his art and repainted in monochromatic colors.

MILLAR: Mark's work is collected in the 'Ultimate Comics: Avengers by Mark Millar Omnibus' Volume 1 and the 'Superior Premiere HC'. His latest work is in the British magazine 'Clint' #14 which also features other comics and articles.

MILLIGAN: Pete writes 'Red Lanterns' #5 and 'Justice League Dark' #5 and the first issue of his 'Justice League Dark' is reprinted in 'DC Presents the New 52' #1. At Vertigo he continues on 'Hellblazer' #287 while his previous arc is collected in 'Hellblazer: Phantom Pains' TP where Constantine loses his thumb as well as his trench coat.

MOORE: One of Terry's stories is featured in the 'Fractured Fables' TP and he continues writing and drawing his latest creator owned, self published title with 'Rachel Rising' #5.

MORRISON: Grant is writing 'Action Comics' #5 and other DC work is collected in the 'Batman vs the Black Glove Deluxe HC' and 'Batman: Time and the Batman' TP. Boom! Studios reissues his story from the 'Avengers' TV show with 'Steed and Mrs. Peel' #1 of 6.

NELSON: Arvid writes tales of Tarzan in 'Lord of the Jungle' #2 and also writes 'Warlord of Mars' #16 for Dynamite Entertainment.

NICIEZA: Another writer who left Marvel for DC, Fabian writes 'Legion Lost' #5 and he co-wrote the material in 'Batman: Time and the Batman' TP. He also wrote the material collected in the 'X-Force: Toy Soldiers Premiere HC' and co-wrote stories in the 'X-Men: Fatal Attractions' HC.

NILES: Crime and horror writer, Steve is writing his '30 Days of Night Ongoing' #4.

OSTRANDER: You may remember the great writing John did on the 'Starman' series with Tony Harris' art awhile back. He's writing 'Star Wars: Agent of the Empire-Iron Eclipse' #2 of 5.

PAK: Greg writes 'Alpha Flight' #8; this was a six part series, then Marvel announced it would be ongoing with issue seven but it didn't go too far; this is the final issue. The first four issues are collected in the 'Alpha Flight by Pak and Van Lente Volume 1 Premiere HC. Greg also writes 'Astonishing X-Men' #46 and his work is collected in the 'Red Skull: Incarnate TP'. At Aspen Studios Greg is writing 'Dead Man's Run' #1 of 6. This supernatural and hellish story was co-created by Gale Anne Hurd, the producer of the 'Walking Dead' television program and illustrated by Arizona's own, Eisner nominated artist Tony (Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep) Parker.

PARKER: Brad is writing 'Hulk' #47 and 'Thunderbolts' #168 and #169. He wrote the 'Fear Itself: Hulk' HC and co-wrote the 'Fear Itself: Thunderbolts Premiere HC'.

PEREZ: George is writing 'Superman' #5 and doing the cover art, but he's not doing the layouts as he had in the previous issues; Jesus Merino will provide the art. George co-wrote the material in the 'Justice Society of America: Monument Point' TP and provided the art for the 'Avengers: Serpent Crown Premiere HC' contents.

POWELL: No art from Eric this month although he co-wrote 'Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Volume 2' TP.

REED: Brian, who writes more video games than comics will write 'Halo: Fall of Reach-Invasion' #1 of 4.

REMENDER: Rick writes 'Secret Avengers' #21.1 and 'Venom' #12. 'Uncanny X-Force' #19.1 leads into 'Age of Apocalypse' #1, a new ongoing series while #20 is 'The Trial of Fantomex' part one as well as a 'Regenesis' tie in. Rick also contributed to 'Spider-Man: Spider-Island' HC.

ROBERSON: Chris writes 'I, Zombie' #21 plus issues thirteen through seventeen are collected in the 'I, Zombie Volume 3: Six Feet Under and Rising' TP. 'Memorial' #2 of 6 is Chris' supernatural thriller at IDW where he also writes 'Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes' #4 of 6. And at Boom! He continues his adventures of Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion in 'Elric: The Balance Lost' #7.

ROBINSON: James writes 'The Shade' #4 of 12, a stand alone issue with guest artist Darwyn Cooke; don't say I didn't warn you.

RODI: Robert writes 'Thor: Deviant's Saga' #3 of 5 at Marvel and 'Kirby: Dragonsbane' #1 at Dynamite, yet another addition to Alex Ross' Kirbyverse.

ROZUM: The 'Xombi TP' collects John's six issue series of the Milestone character with Frazier Irving's art plus the one shot meeting with the Spectre from 'Brave and the Bold' #26 with Scott Hampton's art. Even if you're not a fan of the undead hero the artists are spectacular.

RUCKA: Greg is only writing 'Punisher' #7 this month so hopefully we'll see a new novel from him soon.

SEELEY: Tim finishes his magical horror tale in 'The Occultist' #3 of 3 at Dark Horse while continuing 'Hack/Slash' #12 at Image.

SHOOTER: One time editor at Marvel, Jim's new tale of the golden age Gold Key character is collected in the 'Mighty Samson: Judgment' TP.

SIMONE: Gail co-writes 'The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men' #5 and continues chronicling her favorite in 'Batgirl' #5. She is also one of many contributors to the 'Womanthology: Heroic' HC.

SLOTT: Dan writes 'Amazing Spider-Man' #678 and is a contributing writer to material collected in the 'Spider-Man: Spider-Island' HC.

SNYDER: Scott continues his winning streak with 'Batman' #5 featuring Greg Capullo's art and 'Swamp Thing' #5 with Yanick Paquette at DC and the first issue of 'Swamp Thing' is one of first issues reprinted in 'DC Presents the New 52' #1. Scott also co-wrote the material collected in the 'Batman: Gates of Gotham' TP. At Vertigo he continues his award winning 'American Vampire' #23 and at Image the series he co-created and co-writes with Scott Tufts approaches it's suspenseful conclusion with 'Severed' #6 of 7.

SPENCER: Most of you know that Nick knocked my socks off when he first came on the scene and his 'Morning Glories' (#17 this month) is still one of my favorite current books. I think that Marvel is giving him so much work that his quality has dropped a bit on their titles. At DC he continues 'Thunder Agents II' #3 of 6, Nick is one of the many contributors to the 'Fractured Fables' TP and at Marvel he writes 'Ultimate Comics: X-Men' #6 and 'Victor Von Doom' #3 of 4. His work is also featured in the 'Fear Itself: Secret Avengers Premiere HC'.

SPURRIER: Simon writes 'X-Club' #2 of 5 and is one of the writers for 'Crossed: Badlands' #0 at Avatar.

STRACZYNSKI: Michael's second arc is collected in the 'Wonder Woman HC Volume 2: Odyssey' which he plotted but had others script after the success of his 'Superman: Earth One' HC which caused DC to tell him to get to work on a second volume. Also his still unfinished work at Marvel is collected in the 'Twelve' TP Volume 1. Quesada dished Michael enough dirt that I don't expect he'll ever finish this or do any work for Marvel while Quesada is still editor.

SWIERCZYNSKI: Duane writes 'Birds of Prey' #5 at DC with Jesus Saiz' pencils and 'Infestation II' #1 of 2 at IDW; the series will cross into the 'Transformers', 'Dungeons & Dragons', 'G.I. Joe', 'TMNT', '30 Days of Night' and 'Danger Girl' this time.

THOMAS: After all of his years doing the same thing at Marvel, Roy hasn't improved much when it comes to adapting Robert E. Howard's work to comics. 'Conan: Road of Kings' #12 of 12 ends this uneven series. The few issues that featured Dan Panosian's art sold twice as well as any others; too bad they couldn't find an artist to commit to the book.

TOMASI: Peter is writing two of the 'New 52'; 'Batman and Robin' #5 and 'Green Lantern Corps' #5.

TRUMAN: Timothy is writing 'King Conan: Phoenix on the Sword' #1 of 4 and he illustrates and co-writes (with his son) 'Hawken' #3 of 6.

VAN LENTE: Fred co-writes the final issue of the series with 'Alpha Flight' #8 and he also co-wrote material collected in 'Spider-Man: Spider-Island' HC and 'Alpha Flight by Pak and Van Lente Premiere HC Volume 1'.

VanSCIVER: Ethan co-writes and provides the cover for 'The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men' #5.

WAGNER: Matt writes and provides a cover for 'Zorro Rides Again' #7.

WAID: Mark writes 'Amazing Spider-Man' #677 and 'Daredevil' #8 which are a two part cross over story. He also writes Irredeemable #33 and Incorruptible #26 which are parts three and four of a four part cross over. Collections include 'Daredevil by Mark Waid Premiere HC' Volume 1, 'Irredeemable TP' #8 and the 'Definitive Irredeemable HC' Volume 1.

WALLACE: Eric writes 'Mister Terrific' #5 and his work is collected in the 'Titans: Broken Promises' TP.

WAY: Daniel is a contributor to the 'Ghost Rider: Cycle of Vengeance' which reprints 1971's 'Marvel Spotlight' #5, 'Ghost Rider' #1 from 1990 and 'Ghost Rider' #1 from 2006. He also writes 'Deadpool' #49 and #49.1. His work is collected in the 'Ghost Rider by Daniel Way Ultimate Collection' TP and he write the 'Daken' issues in the 'Daken/X-23: Collision TP'.

WELLS: Zeb writes 'Carnage USA' #2 of 5 with Clayton Crain's digital artwork.

WILLINGHAM: Bill just has 'Fables' #113 this month; is he writing another novel?

WILLIAMS: JH co-writes and illustrates 'Batwoman' #5 and he also was a contributing writer on 'Batman vs. the Black Glove Deluxe Edition' HC.

WILLIAMS: Rob writes 'Ghost Rider' #8, 'Darken: Dark Wolverine' #19 and #20 and 'Robocop: Road Trip' #2. His work is collected in the 'Daken: Dark Wolverine-Pride Comes Before a Fall Premiere' HC and the 'Fear Itself: Ghost Rider Premiere HC.

WINICK: Judd is writing two of the 'New 52': 'Batwing' #5 and 'Catwoman' #5 and he wrote the 'Justice League: Generation Lost' TP Volume 1 and co-wrote the 'Power Girl: Old Friends' TP.

WOOD: Brian begins a new serialized tale in 'Dark Horse Presents' #8 entitled 'Massive' with artist Kristian Donaldson, writes 'Supernatural' #4 of 6, 'Northlanders' #48 and 'Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega' #1 of 5.

YOST: Chris co writes 'Fear Itself: Fearless' #6 and #7 of 12 and 'Battle Scars' #3 of 6. He's writing the new 'Scarlet Spider' #1 with Ryan Stegman. This third ongoing Spider title will take place in Houston, Texas. Also Chris' adaptation of George R.R. Martin's work is collected in the 'Ender's Game Ultimate Collection' TP.

    Okay, that's over one hundred creators who are responsible for a lot of the big companies' titles. Here's a run down by company of some of the stuff that I haven't already covered:

DARK HORSE: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season IX' #9 is written by Andrew (Dollhouse) Chambliss with art by Karl Moline, 'Monstermen and Other Scary Stories' HC is a collection of Gary Gianni's work and 'Dark Matter' #1 of 4 is a star spanning science fiction tale by Joseph Mallozzie and Paul Mullie of 'Stargate' fame. 'Star Wars-The Clone Wars: The Enemy Within' TP is an all ages appropriate story described as the 'Dirty Dozen in Space' while 'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic-War' #1 of 5 is a good introduction for newcomers and those playing the new game due in December. The 'Compleat Terminal City' TP collects the original series along with the sequel by Dean 'Mister X' Motter and Michael 'Daredevil' Lark. The 'Afrika' HC is written and illustrated by the legendary Belgian creator, Hermann. The third 'Axe Cop' TP is offered and pre-code golden age crime stories are collected in the 'Crime Does Not Pay Archives HC' Volume 1. There are also four embroidered patches from the world of Mass Effect offered.

DC: One of the five all time best ever Batman stories comes back into print with the 'Batman: Year One Deluxe Edition HC' by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli, the 'Hawk and Dove: Ghosts and Demons' TP collects the original five issue series that was Rob Liefeld's break out title and the 'Showcase Presents Young Love' TP collects the best of DC's romance comics. The 'I, Vampire' TP collects the early stories from 'House of Mystery' as well as one from the 'Brave and the Bold' #195.

DC VERTIGO: The beautiful 'Gone to Amerikay' HC tells the story of Irish immigrants' in New York from 1870 to 1960 with the gorgeous period artwork of Colleen Doran.

IDW: 'Transformers: Robots in Disguise' #1 starts a new ongoing series as Bumblebee and the Autobots try to maintain a world without Optimus Prime and 'Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye' #1 is another new ongoing series by the team that brought you 'Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers' HC. The 'Danger Girl: Danger Sized Treasury Edition' is a very large reprint of the first issue as they did with 'Rocketeer' a couple of months back. It's timed to coincide with 'Danger Girl: Revolver' #1 of 4. The 'Womanthology: Heroic' HC is 300 pages with over 150 creators both newcomers and established professionals with all proceeds to go to 'globalgiving.org' with all stories 'heroically ' themed. Both 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' #6 and 'Ghostbusters' #5 begin new arcs. 'Mark Twain's Tales of Mystery HC' is a prose collection of Twain's often overlooked mystery tales and 'Popbot: Big Beautiful Book' is a slip-cased collection of all eight volumes in hard cover, just a few left of this limited edition from San Diego Comic Con. Probably the last chance for fans of Ashley Wood's art.

IMAGE: In 'Prophet' #21 John Prophet awakes from cryosleep on a mission to restart the human empire. I guess this picks up after the previous issue from the summer of 1996. 'Whispers' #1 begins a new supernatural thriller by Joshua Luna who, with his brother did 'Ultra', 'Girls' and 'The Sword'. 'Nancy in Hell (on Earth) #1 of 4 picks up after the previous series with Nancy and Lucifer vs. Hell. The 'Cover Girls HC' collects the artwork of Guillem (Catwoman, Gotham City Sirens) March. 'Avengelyne: Devil in the Flesh' collects the six issue series by Rob Liefeld, the 'Spawn Compendium, Volume 1' TP collects the first 49 issues in black and white.

MARVEL: 'Defenders: Tournament of Heroes' collects three issues from 1972, 'Strikeforce: Morituari' #1 is a ninety nine cent reprint of the first issue while the 'Strikeforce: Morituri Volume 1' TP collects the first thirteen issues. The 'Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: A to Z' Volume 3 has been updated. 'Deadpool Classic: Volume 6' TP finishes the characters 1997 comics and begins on 1998. The 'Marvel Firsts: The 1970's' TP collects first issues like 'Marvel Spotlight', 'Tomb of Dracula', 'Hero for Hire', Outlaw Kid', 'Shanna the She-Devil', 'Monster of Frankenstein' and more, not one of which is still in publication.

INDIES: Here are some titles of interest from some of the smaller publishers; I can't mention them all so, please, next time you're by the shop feel free to look through the catalog yourself. 'My Friend Dahmer' is a sympathetic look written and drawn by a childhood friend, available in soft cover and hard cover editions. 'Cavewoman: Mutation' #1 begins a new story by Devon Massey and includes a four page preview of Budd Root's Werewolf story that we may actually see someday. 'Last Zombie: Neverland' 1 of 4 picks up in the mid-West with the team battling hordes of ravenous rats, 'Mouse Guard: Black Axe' #4 of 5 is offered for those that forgot; we saw issue two in April and still waiting for issue three, but at least it's worth the wait. The third of the four part 'Archie Meets Kiss' is offered and the 'Jinx GN' is an all new coming-of-age story with Jinx as a freshman in high school and 'Kevin Keller' #1 is the first solo issue for the new gay Riverdale student. Punk rock, quantum mechanics and the living dead causes a young slacker to question his sanity in the Xeric Award winning graphic novel, 'Fantastic Life'. The biographical comic series' from Bluewater covers Gabrielle Giffords, the cast of Doctor Who, Jack Kirby, Rick Perry among others this month. 'Peanuts' 1 of 4 features all-new original stories and 'Bone: Quest for the Spark-Book 2' is the second chapter book continuing and expanding Jeff Smith's wonderful universe. 'Warlord of Mars Annual' #1, 'The Lone Ranger' #1 and the 'Vampirella vs. Dracula' #1 need no explanation, 'Red Sonja: Raven' is a one shot. 'The Avalon Chronicles' is an all age hard cover fantasy series by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir. 'Sex Pistols: The Graphic Novel' is by Jim McCarthy and Steve Parkhouse. 'The Sunday Funnies' #1 is a full size 32 page comic section featuring the best of Sunday comic strips from the 1890's through the 1950's with Flash Gordon, Prince Valiant, Little Nemo and lots more in the full sized format for ten dollars. 'Bettie Page in Danger' is a photo fumetti comic with the pin-up girl fighting zombies and mad scientists. The 'Girl Genius Omnibus-Volume 1: Agatha Awakens HC' collects the multiple award winning web comic. Adventures of Great Teacher Onizuka continue in this new series with 'GTO: 14 Days in Shonan' Volume 1 GN. The first of the two volumes adapting the first book in a Shojo manga style is offered in soft cover for the first time with 'Twilight: The Graphic Novel' Volume 1 TP. The 'DC Superhero Chess Figure Collector Magazine' offers the first four issues each featuring hand painted pieces: issue one has Batman as the white king, two features Robin as the white bishop, three is Joker as the black king and four is Commissioner Gordon as a white pawn. New tee shirts include a chrome 'Thundercats' logo, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Logo, the Spider-Man round logo, an Avengers logo and lots more.

    I hope that you and yours are happy and healthy. Talk to you soon.

    Peace,

    Charlie