Wednesday, March 31, 2010

SHIPPING LIST: MARCH 31, 2010
Disclaimer: You can probably find complete shipping list updates on most major comics sites. Consider this an opportunity to either do all your info-shopping in the one place, or get a speculative perspective on what might be worth checking out. These are untested reads. Secret Wars on Infinite Earths can offer no guarantee or endorsement of quality. These are simply titles that may be of potential interest. Some items may ship late.

The Infinite Wars now has a gift shop!
Now you'll find Amazon purchase links to hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and other collections, not only on regular entries -- but also new releases at the bottom of the Shipping List, and now a whole catalogue of potential purchases via the Infinite Wars: Amazonian Gift Shop. [Men are also welcome!] By shopping with Amazon via our purchase links, you not only find yourself a great deal, but also sponsor future entries on the Infinite Wars.

The Independents...
DEC090972 2000 AD PACK FEB 2010 $18.00
JAN100732 BETTY #185 $2.50
JAN100806 DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP #10 (OF 24) $3.99
DEC090733 DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP HC VOL 02 (OF 6) $24.99
JAN100962 DRAGON AGE #1 $3.99
JAN100959 HEAVY METAL MAY 2010 (MR) $6.95
OCT090422 GODLAND #31 $2.99
FEB100327 IMAGE FIRSTS WALKING DEAD #1 (MR) $1.00
FEB100326 IMAGE FIRSTS YOUNGBLOOD #1 $1.00
JAN100814 INCORRUPTIBLE #4 $3.99
NOV083737 JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC HC NEW PTG (MR) $44.95
FEB100666 LITTLEST ZOMBIE #1 $3.50
DEC090774 RASL #7 (MR) $3.50
JAN101172 TEZUKAS BLACK JACK TP VOL 10 $16.95
JAN100139 USAGI YOJIMBO #127 SWORD OF NARUKAMI $3.50

The Corporates...
JAN100255 ADVENTURE COMICS #9 $3.99
JAN100319 BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #14 $2.50
JAN100594 PUNISHER #15 $2.99
JAN100564 PUNISHER MAX MGC #1 (MR) $1.00
JAN100606 REALM OF KINGS INHUMANS #5 (OF 5) $3.99
JAN100522 SHE-HULK SENSATIONAL #1 $4.99
JAN100290 WONDER WOMAN #42 $2.99

The Spotlight...
- JAN100557 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #627 $2.99
The intrigue of The Gauntlet deepens as the Juggernaut steps into the spotlight, but is he the villain, or the victim? A three-part story entitled Something Can Stop the Juggernaut is interesting enough, but taking place in Amazing Spider-man over an X-Men book is all the more interesting! Of course, the appearance isn't without precedent. The joy of The Gauntlet has largely been it's ability to recapture the glory days of the seventies and eighties, not just by using classic villains, but by lining up a list of guest villains and heroes that make full use of the flowing fluidity of monthly (or in this case, weekly) comic books!

Given that Amazing #625 unleashed a merciless Rhino whose super-durable hide was hardened further by the death of his recently taken wife -- one wonders if it might be he who has taken down the unstoppable Juggernaut. Then again, with the legacy of Kraven the Hunter looming on the horizon, perhaps it's the daughter of one of Spidey's most deadly foes who's exercising her powers before hunting the web-slinger himself! I've got no idea -- and not knowing is half the fun!

- JAN100231 BLACKEST NIGHT #8 (OF 8) $3.99
This is it! After what was a jam-packed year of Blackest Night saga, the end is finally here! Sinestro has inherited the powers of all life in existence, making him the powerful White Lantern who leads the other New Guardians of the spectrum of light into battle! If you caught Green Lantern #52 you know just how big a deal the S-Man has become, surviving bifurcation to rally the personified entities of each light-type [Ion, Parallax, etc] in their final battle with Nekron!

It's almost impossible to imagine exactly what lies ahead for the heroes (and villains) of the DC Universe, but for the occasional moment of stagnancy, I'd have to say it's been another triumph for the company as a whole. Geoff Johns earns his role as architectural grand pubah of the DCU, since defined as some sort of Editorial position. With the Brightest Day lying ahead, I'm rather pleased to see characters like Atrocitus and Larfleeze still lurking around our humble sector of space, beautifully justified with trademark ease by the reveal that Earth is indeed the secret centre of the universe. At this point, I think the uncertainty of the future is actually more exciting than the final chapter of the Blackest Night!

- JAN100569 CLOAK AND DAGGER #1 $3.99
Hey, check it out! I'm completely ignorant about this, a new one-shot from Marvel, but I'm pretty pleased to see it show up on the shipping list! Fans of the early nineties Spidey event, Maximum Carnage, will no doubt remember Cloak and Dagger fondly, but that's hardly their only claim to fame as a duo. Along with a string of solo adventures throughout the eighties and nineties, the pair recently showed up as covert operative within the Dark X-Men, not to mention their role as underground fighters during Civil War!

It becomes all too easy to criticize Marvel (and DC) of not making full use of their properties, so it's wonderful to see the initiative being taken here. Granted, it hasn't been a hasty transition from Dark X-Men to spin-off, and it's only a one-shot, but you take what you can get. I have an affection for these characters, if only for nostalgic reasons. Not sure what they'll be up against, but here's hoping it's strong enough to see them find their way back into regular rotation!

- JAN100245 GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #10 $2.99
Despite rather enjoying the first half-dozen issues, I have to confess to having fallen out of the Gotham City Sirens loop. I find there's a vague sense of meandering at play as the title drifts from the novelty of the Batman: Reborn relaunches, to occupy a strange space of uncertain relevance. Paul Dini, whenever present, is bound to be a lure, particularly as The Riddler's age as an altruistic private investigator type continues to be explored. Looking over previous incarnations of the riddling former-villain, it dawned on me just how significant a change the recast has been, but also how perfectly it positions a character that had to compete with the zany gimmick antics of more immediately threatening Bat-villains, like the Joker and Two-Face. Which isn't to detract from the significance of the titular heroines, whose roles aren't nearly as marginalized as the hyper-sexualized artwork of Gotham City Sirens covers might suggest. Glamour model-esque artworks aside, it's clear that Catwoman remains the firm foundation of GCS, despite struggling to maintain a central role to the depth of the solo series this book replaced. One wonders if there isn't a better way to have cake and eat it too, but then, as I said, I'm rather out of the loop. Finances willing, I'll probably take the fifth-week opportunity to pick this issue up and reacquaint myself with the book, hopefully without finding a Riddler reverted to sub-standard villainy.

- JAN100281 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #43 $3.99
It doesn't seem productive to labour on the point, but I don't think it can be overstated how truly, utterly, disgracefully terrible Justice League: Cry for Justice was. That said -- based on the "Rise" and "Fall" issues that have followed the conclusion of James Robinson's bizarrely awful mini-series, the event that it birthed might actually managed to be worth it, inspite of it's origins. I, of course, refer to the exile of Green Arrow as an outlaw who killed Prometheus and is on the run from the JLA, which runs concurrent to the rebirth of a one-armed Red Arrow. It's still a bloated concept that has a long way to go before it justifies the destruction of Star City (along with more acceptable deaths of superfluous children), but at least we've seen the concept from a perspective that was character-driven and coherrent.

After the truly horrendous Cry for Justice, it's difficult to have faith in James Robinson, even if the storylines he initiated have found some justification. In announcing his take on the JLA, the point of "revealing" Prometheus to have been replaced by an incompetent double, one that would absorb responsibility for a string of defeats in order to reboot the reputation of the original, was heavily laboured upon. What we've wound up with, instead, is a Prometheus of even less value than the previous, killed-off with a simple arrow to the head. It's the antithesis of what was described as one of the key objectives of the series, and a mistake that won't be soon forgiven. Not by me, at least. The Rise and Fall might be worth a look, but under Robinson, I'll be unlikely to investigate too thoroughly, or forget the sins of the past too soon.

READ THE PREVIEW - VISIT THE SITE - BUY THE COMIC

Know Your Trade...
JAN100681 CAPTAIN AMERICA WINTER SOLDIER ULTIMATE COLLECTION TP $24.99
OCT090244 CREEPER BY STEVE DITKO HC $39.99
DEC090733 DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP HC VOL 02 (OF 6) $24.99
JAN100691 ESSENTIAL RAMPAGING HULK TP VOL 02 $19.99
DEC090580 IRON MAN EXTREMIS HC $24.99
NOV083737 JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC HC NEW PTG (MR) $44.95
AUG090177 ROBIN ARCHIVES HC VOL 02 $59.99
DEC090610 SPIDER-MAN COMPLETE CLONE SAGA EPIC TP BOOK 01 $34.99
JAN101172 TEZUKAS BLACK JACK TP VOL 10 $16.95
DEC090223 WONDER WOMAN ENDS OF THE EARTH TP $14.99



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