New vinyl, download, CD releases Jan. 24, 2011

Kiss Each Other Clean
Kiss Each Other Clean Iron & Wine

The Party Ain't Over
The Party Ain't Over  Wanda Jackson

The Love EP
The Love EP Corinne Bailey Rae

Content
Content  Gang of Four

Bill Frisell & Vinicius Cantuaria
Bill Frisell & Vinicius Cantuaria

Bing Sings the Sinatra Songbook
Bing Sings the Sinatra Songbook

Radio Sessions
Radio Sessions Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney

 Pure Desmond 
Pure Desmond  Paul Desmond


Hear Me Howling! Blues, Ballads, & Beyond: The Arhoolie 50th Anniversary Boxset
Hear Me Howling! Blues, Ballads, & Beyond: The Arhoolie 50th Anniversary Boxset


Southern Memoir
Southern Memoir Bing Crosby


Concierto (CTI Records 40th Anniversary Edition) 
Concierto (CTI Records 40th Anniversary Edition) Jim Hall


Sunflower (CTI Records 40th Anniversary Edition) 
Sunflower (CTI Records 40th Anniversary Edition) Milt Jackson


Easter Everywhere
Easter Everywhere 13th Floor Elevators

Wonder Woman series IS a go -- on NBC

After most everyone turned it down, a pitch for a Wonder Woman TV series pilot has been picked up by NBC.

The project is described as a reinvention of the iconic D.C. comic in which Wonder Woman -- aka Diana Prince -- is a vigilante crime fighter in L.A. but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life.

Archie Comics drops code too

As reported yesterday, DC Comics has followed Marvel's lead of several years ago in dropping the Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval from its covers. Now kid-friendly Archie Comics is following suit.

The code was created nearly 60 years ago as a way for the comics industry to self-police itself in light of pressure from those who felt funny books were a menace that led to juvenile delinquency. It's no doubt that the code has outlived its relevance. But, as I've mentioned before, I'm hopeful that comic book publishers will make an effort to clearly identify the intended audience for their titles. In can spare a lot of parental confusion and annoyance, and will help ensure titles that aren't kid-friendly don't fall into tiny hands.

Marvel has been pretty unsuccessful in developing and following its own clear ratings system. I hope DC does better. In the case of Archie, they've done a pretty good job over the years in staying true to the original intent of their characters. Ratings probably aren't necessary for them. As Archie President Mike Pellerito puts it:

"The code never affected us editorially the way I think it did other companies," he said. "You know, we aren't about to start stuffing bodies into refrigerators or anything. We have to answer to Archie fans."

Currently, everything Archie Comics publishes is "all ages." And Pellerito said that, if Archie comic ever skews to an older audience, the publisher will let the readers know.

Fantagraphics announces Prince Valiant Vol. 3 1941-42

I need to catch up on these annual collections of Hal Foster's legendary comic strip. They look glorious. Here are details on the latest volume, out next month:

With this volume, Foster reaches (by common critical consensus) the peak of his drawing and storytelling prowess – a peak at which he will remain for most of the run of this glorious strip.

Almost the entirety of 1941’s strips feature a single ten-month epic entitled “Fights for the Singing Sword,” a globetrotting adventure fueled by Valiant’s obsessive search for his bride-to-be Aleta throughout Northern Africa, with stops in Jerusalem, the Arabic deserts, and, inevitably, a harem which Val must infiltrate. Then finally, in “The Misty Isles” Valiant meets Aleta face to face but upon learning that she has had his crew killed (deservedly so, actually, but still), he flees in anger, vowing never to see her again.

“Homeward Bound,” Valiant continues his travels, with stops in Athens (where he meets the boisterous Viking Boltar, who will become his friend for life), North Africa, and Gaul (where Valiant liberates Gawain), before finally returning to Camelot. But his joyous return is short-lived as an alliance of Picts and Vikings threatens Britain’s security, and thus Valiant must journey forth with, as his ultimate destination, “The Roman Wall.”

The final pages of this volume boast a special feature: a gallery of images that were censored for being too sexy or violent (or subject to other editorial interference) prior to publication, plus another gruesome example of Foster's art being altered for publication, all with commentary by series editor Kim Thompson.

DC Comics solicitations April 2011

Some highlights from DC's April offerings:

Deadman Vol. 1
DEADMAN VOL. 1 TP
Written by ARNOLD DRAKE, JACK MILLER and NEAL ADAMS
Art by CARMINE INFANTINO, NEAL ADAMS and GEORGE ROUSSOS
Cover by NEAL ADAMS

Master comics artist Neal Adams illustrates the original adventures of deceased, revenge-driven hero Deadman, one of the heroes of BRIGHTEST DAY, from STRANGE ADVENTURES #205-213.
These are the stories that introduced costumed high-wire performer Boston Brand, who is assassinated by an unknown marksman in his first adventure, only to return when mysterious deity called Rama Kushna gives him a mission: find his murderer!

First Wave
FIRST WAVE HC
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art by RAGS MORALES and PHIL NOTO
Cover by J.G. JONES

Doc Savage, struggling with the loss of his father, has been blind to the advances of an evil cabal bent on world domination – until now. Central City’s mysterious Spirit has caught wind of their plans as well. But whose side have the Blackhawks chosen? What is the Red Right Hand? And where is The Batman?
This can’t-miss pulp fiction hardcover features FIRST WAVE #1-6 and BATMAN/DOC SAVAGE #1.

Infinity Inc.: The Generations Saga Vol. 1
INFINITY INC.: THE GENERATIONS SAGA VOL. 1 HC
Written by ROY THOMAS and DANN THOMAS
Art by JERRY ORDWAY, MIKE MACHLAN, TONY DEZUNIGA, DON NEWTON, TODD MCFARLANE and others
Cover by JERRY ORDWAY

Shunned by their parents and mentors in the Justice Society of America, Infinity, Inc. is a team made up of the best and brightest new heroes from the next generation of DC Comics.
Collected at last from INFINITY INC. #1-4, ALL-STAR SQUADRON #25-26 and ALL-STAR SQUADRON ANNUAL #2, INFINITY INC. follows the adventures of the Justice Society of America’s sons and daughters as they pick up the role of crime-fighters from their parents. Denied membership by the JSA, the young cast of Infinity Inc. decides to train themselves – including heroes Power Girl, Huntress, Jade, Obsidian, Nuklon and more!

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes: The Early Years
SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: THE EARLY YEARS TP
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art by KEVIN SHARPE and MARLO ALQUIZA
Cover by SCOTT CLARK and DAVE BEATY

Witness new retellings of Superboy’s first meeting with Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad as they bring him into the future in these tales from ADVENTURE COMICS #515-520. How will The Boy of Steel handle it when he learns of his destiny as the World’s Greatest Super Hero? Plus, don’t miss the funeral of Legion benefactor R.J. Brande, who has a few surprises in his will.

Legion Lost
LEGION LOST HCWritten by DAN ABNETT and ANDY LANNING
Art by OLIVIER COIPEL, PASCAL ALIXE and ANDY LANNING
Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL

The Legion of Super-Heroes finds itself stranded in a distant galaxy, on the home planet of the vicious alien race known as the Progeny, in this new hardcover collecting the cult favorite 12-issue epic. While some of our heroes struggle to repair their damaged spaceship, the rest attempt to forge an alliance with the peaceful Kwai. But can the Legion help the Kwai defeat their oppressors and still make their way back home to Earth?

Justice League International Vol. 6
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL VOL. 6 TP
Written by KEITH GIFFEN, J.M. DEMATTEIS and BILL LOEBS
Art by ADAM HUGHES, BILL WILLINGHAM and others
Cover by ADAM HUGHES

Collecting JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #31-35 and JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #7-11! The two teams team up to face the threat of - vampires in the Balkans?


Yossel
YOSSEL TP
Written by JOE KUBERT
Art and cover by JOE KUBERT
In this harrowing yet inspiring “alternate reality” story, legendary artist Joe Kubert explores what would have happened if he and his family never emigrated from Poland to the US in 1926.
Yossel is a fifteen-year-old boy who could have grown up to be a great artist. But in Nazi-occupied Poland, he and his family are deprived of their rights, homes and possessions, and forced to live in the devastating conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto. YOSSEL, April 19th, 1943 is his story, told through Kubert’s raw and evocative pencilled art. Yossel’s sketches of super heroes ingratiates him to the Nazi guards, but it is through his journal drawn on scraps of paper that he depicts the full horror of his existence.
With great emotional power, YOSSEL draws a dark and brutal reality of ghetto life, of the stories he hears of the concentration camp atrocities, and ultimately portrays the final act of defiance and courage that drives the fatal uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto.


Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1965 
DONG XOAI, VIETNAM 1965 TP
Written by JOE KUBERT
Art and cover by JOE KUBERT

Joe Kubert, one of the most influential storytellers in comics history, tells the harrowing, true story of a detachment of Special Forces soldiers on a simple recon mission into the village of Dong Xoai, Vietnam, that turned suddenly deadly.
DONG XOAI, VIETNAM 1965 has a unique perspective, since Kubert based the story on extensive information gathered from the surviving members of the unit. It covers not only the action of the event but the details of deployment and build-up that led to the deadly encounter for these young American G.I.s.
For decades, Joe Kubert has shown readers the true face of war – all the suffering, horror, loss and heroism of our fighting forces. With DONG XAOI, he goes a step beyond to tell a gut-wrenching tale of sacrifice that will linger long after you are done reading.

 
Jew Gangster
JEW GANGSTER TP
Written by JOE KUBERT
Art and cover by JOE KUBERT
From famed comics creator Joe Kubert comes this moving coming-of-age story set within Depression-era New York City. Ruby is a handsome young man growing up in a poor Brooklyn Jewish family. When Ruby falls in with a local mobster called Monk, his initial eagerness to make a few dollars to support his hardworking parents ends up getting him in way over his head in the organized crime world. Now he’s caught up in both a war between the Jewish and Italian mobs over unionizing factories and an affair with his dangerous mentor’s gorgeous moll.


Saga of the Swamp Thing Book 5 
SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING BOOK FIVE HC 
Written by ALAN MOORE
Art by RICK VEITCH, JOHN TOTLEBEN and ALFREDO ALCALA
Cover by RICK VEITCH & JOHN TOTLEBEN
Continuing the hardcover collection of master comics writer Alan Moore’s award-winning run on SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING with issues #51-56, this volume begins as Swamp Thing returns from his journey to hell, only to learn that his girlfriend Abby is being persecuted for their “unnatural relations.” When she skips town for Gotham City, he follows and runs afoul of Batman, Lex Luthor and the Gotham City Police Department.