Wednesday, April 14, 2010

SHIPPING LIST: APRIL 14, 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...
FEB100742 ANCHOR #7 $3.99
FEB100680 ARCHIE DIGEST #263 $2.69
FEB100679 ARCHIE NEW LOOK SERIES TP VOL 04 MY FATHERS BETRAYAL $10.95
JAN101086 ATOMIC ROBO REVENGE O/T VAMPIRE DIMENSION #2 (OF 4) $3.50
FEB100682 BETTY & VERONICA #247 $2.99
FEB100045 BPRD KING OF FEAR #4 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB100744 COLD SPACE #1 $3.99
NOV090376 EXISTENCE 3.0 #3 (OF 4) (MR) $3.50
OCT090420 FALL OUT TOY WORKS #4 (OF 5) $3.99
JAN100460 FORGETLESS #4 (OF 5) (MR) $3.50
FEB100395 GOD COMPLEX #5 $2.99
OCT090109 GUNSMITH CATS BURST TP VOL 05 (MR) $12.99
FEB100009 HELLCYON #1 (OF 4) $3.50
FEB100758 IRREDEEMABLE SP #1 $3.99
FEB100331 IMAGE FIRSTS AGE OF BRONZE #1 (MR) $1.00
FEB100330 IMAGE FIRSTS SAVAGE DRAGON #1 (MR) $1.00
DEC090974 JUDGE DREDD RESTRICTED FILES TP VOL 01 $32.99
FEB100959 KILL SHAKESPEARE #1 $3.99
JAN101055 PHANTOM CAPTAIN ACTION #1 (OF 2) ART THIBERT CVR A $3.99
FEB100401 SAVAGE DRAGON #159 $3.50
FEB101235 SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 36 $12.95
FEB100990 WEEKLY WORLD NEWS #4 $3.99

The Corporates...
FEB100150 ACTION COMICS #888 $3.99
FEB100501 DAREDEVIL #506 $2.99
FEB100154 DOC SAVAGE #1 $3.99
FEB100205 EX MACHINA #1 NEW PTG $1.00
FEB100582 PUNISHERMAX #6 (MR) $3.99
FEB100437 SIEGE LOKI #1 $2.99
FEB100485 SPIDER-MAN ORIGIN OF HUNTER #1 $3.99
FEB100530 SUPER HEROES #1 $3.99
FEB100271 UNWRITTEN #12 (MR) $2.99
FEB100577 X-FACTOR FOREVER #2 $3.99

The Spotlight...
- FEB100134 BATMAN #698 $2.99
With the long-running Black Mask mystery concluded, Tony Daniel looks to be moving on to smaller fare before the extravaganza of Batman #700. As mentioned previously, I have such a hard time getting behind the aesthetics of Daniels' work, which certainly has the gritty zing of a good Batman book, but lacks focus and design in it's visuals, and thorough writing in it's script. Even so, I find myself somewhat intrigued by the prospect of what I assume is a two-part Riddler story before the milestone. That intrigue comes with a conditional consideration for what Paul Dini has done with the Riddler character, transforming him in Detective Comics and Gotham City Sirens into an engaging and all together likeable sleuth. Here's hoping Daniels' nineties-style pencils only give cover-shots of Riddler the illusion of being something far less interesting than the reserved mentallist he has become.

- FEB100448 BLACK WIDOW #1 HA $3.99
As a none-too-subtle tie-in to the upcoming Iron Man 2 film sequel, it's tough not to be cynical about this launch. One of a fistful of titles baring Iron Man on the cover; Black Widow has perhaps the most potential for merit, but I wonder if that will appear on the page. Black Widow has spent the best part of the last few years acting as a peripheral character, reflected in our Eurohero Contest poll last year, where Black Widow scored a meager 2% of the votes below Morbius, Lilith, and Batroc. The thing that might interest me the most about this title is observing how the film effects the reception and popularity of the character over a long period of time. I'm predicting a short term investment, but you never know!

- FEB100116 BRIGHTEST DAY #0 $3.99
With some of their top titles sticking to $2.99 throughout the last couple of years, you can't accuse DC of rampant price gouging. Still, when you consider that "zero" issues usually serve as a primer to actual stories, it's a big ask to have us slide straight out of Blackest Night into a $3.99 overblown preview book. Particularly given that Blackest Night had such a successful start with a Free Comic Book Day #0! The lure will almost certainly be too much to overcome for consumers that bumped Blackest Night to the top of the monthly sales charts, but buyer beware. I suspect we might get a bit more than the teasing bait of the FCBD Blackest Night issue, but I wouldn't expect the pieces of the puzzle to be laid out just yet.

- FEB100123 FLASH #1 $3.99
Quite possibly the biggest release of the week; Flash returns to publication after what has been a garbled and confused few years of character-swapping and limbo. Barry Allen is our resident Flash in this bright new day, and after starring in Flash: Rebirth and Blackest Night, it's his first opportunity to finally get back to business as usual! I for one will be pleased just to know a Flash book is on shelves monthly after such a long hiatus! Fingers crossed Geoff Johns (with exciting new artwork by Francis Manapaul) comes out of the starting gates suitably fast with the Scarlet Speedster, because as much as a slow-build is appreciated, it's time for a post-event cleansing that can only come with quick-paced classical monthly superheroics! The vehicle is certainly there as we head in to a new storyline detailing the mysterious murder of one of The Rogues -- a shocking twist if Blackest Night's dead is dead mandate turns out to be true!

- FEB100165 GREEN ARROW #32 $2.99
Sigh. To indulge this fundamentally flawed concept, or not? That is the question! It's been quite a while since Green Arrow was one of my monthly must-reads, so the affectionate part of me really wishes, like Flash, I could just sit down and get back to basics.

For those who've been reading regularly throughout the shared Green Arrow/Black Canary era, basics is probably not the right word for what I'm looking for, but while I'm sure those issues had some great character-driven content, it was a very specific format that did not grab me. While the Fall of Green Arrow storyline isn't completely without merit, it's difficult to escape the way in which it began, in James Robinson's mortifying Justice League: Cry for Justice. So, really, I just don't know what to expect. At $2.99, it might be worth dipping a toe in the water to see how all of this is actually going to go down, but I've got my doubts.

- FEB100441 SIEGE CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 $2.99
A few weeks ago I was critical of the way events in Siege tie-ins have synced up with the rest of the event. While there have certainly been fairly significant oversights, based on the issues that came out that week [March 24], I have to suck eggs. Those issues did indeed satisfy a good level of cohesion, and I would be forced to ammend my claim of disinterest -- after Siege #3, I find that I'm bored the first time these brawls are happening, making the redux across each tie-in all the more dull. Captain America (either one) is probably the character that would pull me in to this round of tie-ins, especially with a reasonable price on them, but previews show more Siege redux, and I just can't muster the interest. Chris Yost writes, so there's a good chance this is worth a look as a peripheral piece, but even in terms of aligning the two Caps, there's a good chance this one is worth a miss. I might need to take that back next week, though.

READ THE PREVIEW - VISIT THE SITE - BUY THE COMIC

Know Your Trade...
FEB100679 ARCHIE NEW LOOK SERIES TP VOL 04 MY FATHERS BETRAYAL $10.95
FEB100635 ESSENTIAL IRON MAN TP VOL 04 $19.99
FEB100633 EXCALIBUR VISIONARIES WARREN ELLIS TP VOL 01 $19.99
DEC090207 GOTHAM CITY SIRENS UNION HC $19.99
OCT090109 GUNSMITH CATS BURST TP VOL 05 (MR) $12.99
DEC090974 JUDGE DREDD RESTRICTED FILES TP VOL 01 $32.99
FEB101235 SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 36 $12.95
FEB100614 SPIDER-MAN DIED IN YOUR ARMS TONIGHT TP $19.99
FEB100597 SPIDER-MAN GAUNTLET PREM HC VOL 02 RHINO & MYSTERIO $19.99
JAN100306 SUPERMAN CHRONICLES TP VOL 08 $14.99
DEC090253 TOM STRONG DELUXE ED HC BOOK 02 $39.99



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