CD new releases April 1, 2008

Accelerate REM
Buy New: $9.99

Keep It Simple Van Morrison
Buy New: $9.99

Shine a Light Rolling Stones
Buy New: $14.97

Attack and Release Black Keys
Buy New: $9.99

Singles, Vol. 5 James Brown
Buy New: $26.99

Shadow Cat Robyn Hitchcock

DVD new releases April 1, 2008

Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Alvin and the Chipmunks
Buy New: $15.99

Father Knows Best
Buy New: $24.49

The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 1
Buy New: $44.99

The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 2
Buy New: $42.99

The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3
Buy New: $44.99

Doctor Who - The Time Warrior
Buy New: $18.99

Doctor Who - Timelash
Buy New: $18.99

The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder: John, Paul, Tom and Ringo
Buy New: $18.69

Flatt & Scruggs TV Show - Vol. 5
Buy New: $17.99

Flatt & Scruggs TV Show - Vol. 6
Buy New: $17.99

Sheena reprint collection on the way

Devil's Due Publishing will release "Golden Age Sheena: The Best of the Queen of the Jungle" in April.

According to a press release:

The remastered Sheena collection from Devil's Due Publishing features never before reprinted issues of Jumbo Comics and Sheena Comics.

Over 144 pages of Sheena stories from the 1930's, 1940's, 1950's comprise the new volume, accompanied by an essay from current Sheena: Queen of the Jungle writer Steven E. de Souza (Commando, Die Hard). The same comics were once decried by Dr. Frederic Wertham for "torture, bloodshed, and lust in an exotic setting" in his infamous 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent. The comics came from Eisner/Iger Studios, helmed by comic book legends Will Eisner and Jerry Iger.

You can pre-order the book now from Amazon.

Comic book cover conventions: Back to the drawing board

Underrated pop groups of the 60s: Buffalo Springfield

The Buffalo Springfield is one of those groups that's best known for what its members did after the band broke up.

Sure, this is the unit that gave us Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Jim Messina and Rickie Furay but its own music shouldn't be overlooked.



Outside of one big single--Stills' "For What it's Worth," a #7 hit in 1967--the group recorded two must-have albums, and a third less noteworthy release, before reported testiness between Stills and Young caused its split in 1968.

There's lots of good stuff on these LPs--early country rock, Beatles- and Byrds-influenced pop and listener's first exposure the songwriting talents of Stills and Young.

Buffalo Springfield CDs


Buffalo Springfield


Buffalo Springfield Again


The Last Time Around


Buffalo Springfield Box Set

Buffalo Springfield Books

There's Something Happening Here: The Story of Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth by John Einarson and Richie Furay

Buffalo Springfield on YouTube:

Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth -Smother Bros show

Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth (Monterey 1967)

Rock 'n' Roll Woman - Buffalo Springfield

Pop links

Doc Lehman posts another batch of vintage comic book photos and newsstand photos from the 1930s and 40s. Hey Doc, if you have room in that time machine, I'd like to hitch a ride!

---------

Longtime Beatles insider Neil Aspinall passed away while this blog was on break last week. Nobody had a greater claim to the title of Fifth Beatle than him, having started as the band's road manager in the early 60s and going on to oversee their Apple Corps empire. Paul McCartney pays tribute here, and Yoko Ono remembers here.

----------

Speaking of Beatles, here's comic book great Jack Kirby's illustration of Paul and Linda McCartney, and the story of how the King met the couple.

----------

The comic book world is abuzz over a recent court decision granting the heirs of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster partial rights to their creation, Superman. It remains to be seen how all this will affect future Superman movies, comics, etc., but you can get a pretty good overview on things from this New York Times article.

----------

In other major comic book news, DC Comics plans a hardcover reprint of the classic "The Monster Society of Evil" storyline, which first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #22-46. More than a year ago, I'd speculated such a project was in the works many months ago, so it's great to have official confirmation.

Comics scribe/historian Roy Thomas wrote a lengthy piece about the storyline in his fab Alter Ego mag last year. You can read it here.

Pop links

Golden Age Comic Book Stories posts Basil Wolverton's sole "Meteor Morgan" tale.

---------

David Hajdu's history of the 1950s comic book panic, "The Ten-Cent Plague" gets favorable reviews from The Forward and Harrisburg's Patriot-News.

Hajdu provides a captivating, insightful and detailed look at how American parents in the 1950s became convinced that the crime, horror and romance comics their kids were devouring would turn them into sociopaths.

He builds his history slowly, taking readers through a basic history of how the medium took shape in America and describing how artists such as Charles Biro and publishers such as EC's Bill Gaines saw a way to sell books by offering lurid, pulpy stories of criminals, killers, vampires and other monsters.

----------

The Disney Channel is doing an animated update of Enid Blyton's "Famous Five."

The animated series was given the seal of approval by Blyton's eldest daughter, Gillian Baverstock, before she died at the age of 76 last year.

"We tried to imagine where the original Famous Five would go in their lives," Jeff Norton from Chorion, which owns the rights to Blyton's books, told the Press Association.

"Because George was such an intrepid explorer in the original novels we thought it would be only natural that she travelled to India, to the Himalayas, where she fell in love with Ravvi. That's the back story (to Jo).

"We spoke to Enid Blyton's daughter and she thought her mother would love what we have done," he added.



---------

Dial B for Blog posts an interesting Easter offering from Neal Adams.

---------

Daily posts resume March 31 or so.

Buffy reunion details and pics!

Cast and crew members from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" got together for a panel discussion about the show at the Paley Center in Los Angeles last night. TV Guide has some highlights:

Dark Buffy : Gellar admitted that both Whedon and Noxon had to "talk her down off the ledge" a few times during the controversial sixth season, which saw Buffy morph from a butt-kicking heroine into a dark, bitter basket case. Ultimately, Whedon agreed that the real Buffy had "been gone to long" that season.

Unsung hero : Gellar agreed with Whedon’s assessment of Kristine Sutherland (aka Buffy’s mom) being one "of the most underrated" actresses working today.

More Buffy : Whedon acknowledged that "so many stars would have to allign" in order to pull off a Buffy movie. "But," he added, "I think it would be really cool."

Lost clues: Meet Kevin Johnson ep. 8, season 4

Episode summary:

Sayid and Desmond confront "Kevin Johnson," who is really their fellow crash survivor Michael, demanding to know how he came to be on the freighter. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn the story.

Although he and Walt did make it back from the island thanks to Ben, Michael is haunted, literally, by the deaths of Ana Lucia and Libby, who he killed when freeing Ben from the Hatch. He has visions of Libby a couple of times. Walt, apparently, won't talk to him because he knows what Michael has done.

After pawning the watch Jin gave him in exchange for a handgun, Michael creeps into a New York alley to shoot himself, but is stopped by, of all people!, Mr. Friendly/Tom from the island. Turns out Tom is one of those Others who comes and goes from the island (and lives well, staying in penthouse suites, when he does so), and he has a job for Michael to do. Michael must go undercover and kill those aboard Widmore's freighter before it can reach the island. Doing so will save everyone on the island.

Tom also claims Widmore is behind the staged Oceanic wreckage, having dug up 324 bodies from a mass grave in Thailand, buying a junked plane and sinking it in the ocean in order to cover up the location of the island, which he's somehow found and wants.

But once he's aboard the freighter, Michael gets a message from Ben, who tells him it's too early to do the deed. Ben wants a list of everyone on the ship, because some are innocent and can't be killed (there we go with these mysterious lists again). So Michael evidently goes about making his list. He's also the guy behind the destruction of the ships radio room and the disabling of its engines.

When Sayid hears all this, he grabs Michael and brings him to the freighter captain, outing Michael as a spy for Ben--after all, the Captain has given Sayid and Desmond the impression that it was Ben who staged the fake wreck, and they think Widmore is their key to rescue.

Meanwhile, back in Locke-town, Ben spills the beans to everyone about Michael being his spy and makes it clear to them that Widmore's people are there to seize the island and kill everyone on it. He also secretly urges Alex and Karl to go with Danielle to an area of the island called "the sanctuary." That's where the Others have vanished to, and it'll be a safe place when Widmore's people reach the island.

But as those three make their way to the sanctuary, both Karl and Danielle are suddenly shot and killed. Alex, fearing she's next raises her hands and calls out that she is Ben's daughter.

Questions/clues/observations:

* Who fired the shots that killed Karl and Danielle? Most likely it was the mercenary types shown doing target practice office on the freighter. Remember, we saw Frank leaving in the helicopter on a "mission" of some sort. I think he brought the mercenaries to the island and they've begun their attack.



* What will happen to Michael, now that he's been outed as a spy?



* Miles has some pretty cool psychic powers. He knew that "Kevin" wasn't Michael's real name. But did he realize Michael that was a spy? If so, he kept it to himself. Maybe this was part of his con on Ben--he wants to get $3 million bucks out of him in exchange for saving him from Widmore.

* Frank tells Michael that he's aboard the freighter because he knows that the Oceanic wreckage shown on television isn't the real thing and Widmore evidently agrees. Does he really believe he's on a rescue mission?

* Libby, in Michael's first vision of her, is bringing him blankets. When he shot Libby in the Hatch, she was getting blankets.



* What's the story on the temple? Why is it a safe spot? What are the Others doing there?



* The tune on Michael's car radio when he tries to kill himself the first time is "It's Getting Better" by Mama Cass. In season 2, Desmond's listens to Cass' "Make Your Own Kind of Music" in the Hatch.

* Here's a translation of the inscription on the back of Jin's watch.



Also see:

Lost Season 4 Episode Guide
The Best Lost Sites on the Web
Lost: What we STILL don't know

Upcoming Showcase Presents collections from DC Comics

Here's a look at upcoming Showcase Presents volumes from DC Comics for later in 2008. Some may have been mentioned here before, others not. Click the links to pre-order them from Amazon.

Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 4 9/08

Showcase Presents Metal Men Vol. 2 9/08

Showcase Presents Blackhawk Vol. 1 10/08

Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Vol. 2 10/08

Showcase Presents World's Finest Vol. 2 10/08

Showcase Presents Sgt. Rock Vol. 2 11/08

Showcase Presents Supergirl Vol. 2 12/08

Pop links

Author David Hajdu chats about his new book "The Ten-Cent Plague," which looks at the anti-comic book/juvenile delinquent scare of the 1950s.

...the story of the controversy over comics has been told before, but on a certain scale. But there’s a great deal more to that story that has hasn’t been told. Especially the story of those people who suffered most from that purge…because they disappeared. And because they disappeared, because they haven’t done the comic-book conventions, they haven’t stayed in the scene; their stories were largely lost to time. The story of the purge is a tragedy, but what brings the tragedy to life is an understanding of how some people suffered by having their livelihoods taken from them, and being denied the ability to do something they were proud of and they treasured and they thought was important. Some of these people felt so wounded, they felt such a miscarriage of justice had happened, they felt so wronged, that they left comics and never looked back. They were bitter about their comics experience and they never looked back.

----------

Golden Age Comic Book Stories shares several posts-worth of lovely Michael Kaluta art.

-----------

Jon's Random Acts of Geekery presents a nice selection of found-on-eBay original comic book art.



---------

Deal alerts: Amazon is offering 50 percent off DVD season sets of sci-fi TV series such as "Buffy," "Angel" and "X-Files," and 58 percent off season set for class TV shows such as "Star Trek," "Wild Wild West," "Bewitched," "Hogan's Heroes," "Alfred Hitchock Presents," "Outer Limits" and more.

Entire Elfquest comics series going online - for free

Richard and Wendy Pini's long-running Elfquest comic is being made available for free online with new issues added every Friday. Five issues are available now.

You can get details here.

Don't forget Lost tonight!

Highlight the hidden text below for info about the March 20, 2008 episode of "Lost."

See a trailer for the show here (when available) and hear the official "Lost" podcast.

SAYID CONFRONTS BEN'S SPY ON THE FREIGHTER, AND BEN PLEADS WITH DAUGHTER ALEX TO FLEE LOCKE'S CAMP TO SURVIVE AN IMPENDING ATTACK,
ON ABC'S "LOST"
Cynthia Watros Guest Stars as Libby
"Meet Kevin Johnson" - Sayid confronts Ben's spy on the freighter, and Ben urges daughter Alex to flee Locke's camp in order to survive an impending attack, on "Lost," THURSDAY, MARCH 20 (9:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

"Lost" stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet, Terry O'Quinn as Locke and Harold Perrineau as Michael.

Guest starring are Cynthia Watros as Libby, M.C. Gainey as Mr. Friendly/Tom, Mira Furlan as Danielle Rousseau, Tania Raymonde as Alex, Blake Bashoff as Karl, Marsha Thomason as Naomi Dorrit, Ken Leung as Miles Straume, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Kevin Durand as Keamy, Anthony Azizi as Omar, Fisher Stevens as George Minkowski, Grant Bowler as Captain Gault, Jill Kuramoto as female anchor, Galyn Gorg as nurse, Starletta DuPois as mom, William P. Ogilivie as Gus, Francesco Simone as Arturo and James Locke as mechanic.

"Meet Kevin Johnson" was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff & Brian K. Vaughan and directed by Stephen Williams.

Also see:

Lost Season 4 Episode Guide
The Best Lost Sites on the Web
Lost: What we STILL don't know

First look at The Wolfman

Entertainment Weekly has a feature on the upcoming "Wolfman" flick starring Benicio Del Toro as the hirsute one. The story includes a chat with veteran makeup/special effects guy Rick Baker.

New Speed Racer movie posters

Wake me up when the Beatles are on iTunes

Last week saw another flareup of "The Beatles' catalog is going to be on iTunes!" rumors with absolutely no confirmation that the assertion was true. In fact, Apple (the iTunes' Apple, not the Beatles' Apple Corps) denied the whole thing.

That's not to say that it won't happen. Someday. But, until it does, why should we (or, more specifically, I) care?

After all, there's nothing at all to prevent you from loading up Beatles tunes on your music player right now. I have the whole works on mine. If you already have all the Beatles' albums on CD, this is easy to do, of course. But if you don't have any Beatles CDs (and why the hell don't you?), surely somebody you know does. Or you could buy used copies cheap--for less than it would cost you do download them at a $1 a pop if and when they become available online--and then load them up.

So, I don't really understand the hubbub. Unless you're talking about remasters.

The gist of the iTunes rumors is that the Fabs' albums are being remastered before being placed online. And that IS exciting news, because they need remastering desperately. Digital technology has come a long way in the past 20 years and the sound of the Beatles CDs, and their mixes, could be vastly improved. If they're done right, I'm excited about hearing them. On CD. I won't download them because CDs just sound better than downloads. Plus, I like cover art and liner notes and all that.

Before he stepped down as head of Apple Corps, longtime Beatles' aide Neil Aspinall said the albums are/were being remastered, so I'm sure it's happening. And I'm pretty sure that the albums will be made available on iTunes. And I'll be excited (not about buying all those CDs, but about hearing them) when it all happens.

But, until it does happen, or at least until Apple (either one) comes out and says for a fact that it's happening and when, why continue getting all worked up about it?

Comics shipping March 19, 2008

Here's what's in comic book shops March 19. Click highlighted items to order at a discount from Amazon.

DARK HORSE COMICS

NOV070050 AL CAPPS COMPLETE SHMOO HC THE COMIC BOOKS  $49.95
NOV070056 BLOOD PLUS NOVEL VOL 01 FIRST KISS  $8.95
JUL070072 CLASSIC COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS #8 GRENDEL  $49.99
SEP070087 DIRTY PAIR STRIKES AGAIN NOVEL $8.95
NOV070040 FEAR AGENT #19 HATCHET JOB (PT 3 OF 5) $2.99
DEC070112 GLOOMY BEAR CAMO T/S LG (NOTE PRICE)  $29.99
DEC070111 GLOOMY BEAR CAMO T/S MED (NOTE PRICE)  $29.99
DEC070113 GLOOMY BEAR CAMO T/S XL (NOTE PRICE)  $29.99
DEC070116 GLOOMY BEAR GREEN T/S LG (NOTE PRICE)  $29.99
DEC070117 GLOOMY BEAR GREEN T/S XL (NOTE PRICE)  $29.99
JAN080065 GRENDEL BEHOLD THE DEVIL #5 (OF 8) $3.50
NOV070095 KOTOBUKIYA YODA VS PALPATINE SOFT VINYL MODEL KIT  $175.00
NOV070043 LANKHMAR BOOK VOL 05 SWORDS OF LANKHMAR  $12.95
NOV070071 LENORE PVC SET #2 $19.99
OCT070045 PREDATOR NOVEL VOL 01 TURNABOUT  $6.99
JUN070063 SAVAGE SWORD COLLECTION BUST #1 CONAN  $54.99

DC COMICS

JAN080156 BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #5 $2.99
NOV070226 BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC $17.99
JAN080176 BIRDS OF PREY #116 $2.99
JAN080178 BRAVE AND THE BOLD #11 $2.99
JAN080168 CATWOMAN #77 $2.99
JAN080179 CHECKMATE #24 $2.99
JAN080142 COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 6 $2.99
JAN080147 DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #7 (OF 8) $3.50
JAN080181 FLASH #238 $2.99
JAN088123 FREDDY VS JASON VS ASH #4 (OF 6) 2ND PTG $2.99
JAN080182 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #19 $2.99
DEC070265 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES IN 31ST CENTURY TP VOL 01 $14.99
JAN080225 MAD CLASSICS #21 $4.99
JAN080224 MAD MAGAZINE #488 $4.99
DEC070313 MOON CHILD VOL 10  $9.99
DEC070314 MUSASHI #9 VOL 14  $9.99
DEC070249 OUTSIDERS FIVE OF A KIND TP $14.99
JAN080235 PROGRAMME #9 (OF 12) $2.99
JAN080164 ROBIN #172 $2.99
JAN080223 SCOOBY DOO #130 $2.25
JAN080192 SHADOWPACT #23 $2.99
JAN080213 SUPER FRIENDS #1 $2.25
JAN080172 SUPERMAN BATMAN ANNUAL #2 $3.99
JAN080148 TANGENT SUPERMANS REIGN #1 (OF 12) $2.99
AUG070361 WOMEN OF THE DCU SERIES 2 STARFIRE BUST $49.99

IMAGE COMICS

JAN082073 CIRCLE #5 $2.99
JAN082043 DARK IVORY #1 (OF 4) $2.99
OCT072012 INVINCIBLE #49 $2.99
DEC072067 LIBERTY MEADOWS 10TH ANNIVERSARY ED HC $24.99
MAR071868 MADAME MIRAGE GREG HORN LTD ED LITHOGRAPH  $29.99
DEC072094 NEW WORLD ORDER #2 $3.50
DEC072061 PRINCESS AT MIDNIGHT GN $5.99
OCT072018 PVP #39 $3.50
OCT071971 SPAWN GODSLAYER #7 $1.99
JAN082087 SWORD #6 $2.99
JAN082099 WITCHBLADE #116 SEJIC CVR A $2.99
DEC078061 YOUNGBLOOD #1 2ND PTG (PP #801) $2.99

MARVEL COMICS

JAN082131 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #554 $2.99
JAN082134 AVENGERS CLASSIC #10 $2.99
JAN082139 CAPTAIN AMERICA #36 $2.99
DEC078193 CAPTAIN MARVEL #3 (OF 5) 2ND PTG VAR (PP #804) $2.99
DEC078127 CAPTAIN MARVEL #4 (OF 5) DODSON VAR SII (PP #803) $2.99
DEC072178 CAPTAIN MARVEL #4 (OF 5) SII $2.99
JAN082230 EARTH X TP TRILOGY COMPANION $29.99
JAN088033 FANTASTIC FOUR #554 2ND PTG HITCH VAR (PP #805) $2.99
JAN082145 FRANKLIN RICHARDS SPRING BREAK $2.99
JAN082147 GHOST RIDER #21 $2.99
NOV072142 IMMORTAL IRON FIST #13 $2.99
JAN082150 INCREDIBLE HERCULES #115 $2.99
JAN082154 IRON MAN #27 $2.99
JAN088032 LORDS OF AVALON SOD #1 (OF 6) 2ND PTG VAR $2.99
JAN082160 MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #22 $2.99
JAN082161 MARVEL ADVENTURES TWO-IN-ONE #9 $4.99
JAN082118 MARVEL ILLUSTRATED ILIAD #4 (OF 8) $2.99
OCT072175 MIGHTY AVENGERS PREM HC VOL 01 ULTRON INITIATIVE $19.99
JAN082204 MMW CAPTAIN AMERICA HC VOL 04 $54.99
JAN082205 MMW CAPTAIN AMERICA HC VOL 04 VAR ED VOL 93 $54.99
DEC072277 MOON KNIGHT TP VOL 02 MIDNIGHT SUN $14.99
JAN082213 NEW AVENGERS PREM HC VOL 07 TRUST $24.99
JAN088047 NEW EXILES #2 2ND PTG GRUMMETT VAR (PP #805) $2.99
JAN082176 ORDER #9 $2.99
JAN082228 PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL TP VOL 02 GOIN OUT WEST $17.99
JAN082236 SECRET INVASION POSTER $7.99
JAN082222 SPIDER-MAN REIGN TP $14.99
DEC072216 THOR #7 $2.99
JAN088034 TWELVE #2 (OF 12) 2ND PTG WESTON VAR (PP #805) $2.99
DEC078168 ULTIMATES 3 #1 BLACK AND WHITE GATEFOLD VAR (PP #804) $2.99
JAN088035 UNCANNY X-MEN #495 2ND PTG CHOI VAR (PP #805) $2.99
JAN088036 WOLVERINE #62 2ND PTG GARNEY VAR (PP #805) $2.99
JAN082191 WOLVERINE ORIGINS #23 $2.99
JAN082152 WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH WARBOUND #4 (OF 5) $2.99
JAN088037 X-FACTOR #28 2ND PTG RAIMONDI VAR (PP #805) $2.99
JAN082223 X-FACTOR TP VOL 04 HEART OF ICE $17.99
JAN088038 X-FORCE #1 2ND PTG CRAIN VAR PP #805) $2.99

WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT

DEC073291 CAPT AMERICA #34 ALEX ROSS CGC 9.8 CVR   PI
DEC073292 CAPT AMERICA #34 STEVE EPTING CGC 9.8 CVR   PI
JAN083278 THOR #1 3RD PTG SGN TURNER SKETCH CVR   PI
JAN083265 WIZARD ANIME INSIDER CODE GEASS CVR #55 $4.99
JAN083277 X-MEN MESSIAH COMPLEX #1 WWT SILVESTRI VAR SKETCH CGC 9.8  PI

**********

COMICS

DEC073857 2000 AD #1575  $4.50
JAN083848 2000 AD #1576  $4.50
JAN083856 AFTERBURN #2 $2.95
DEC074016 ALICE ON DEADLINES TP VOL 02  $10.99
JAN083687 ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #5 $3.99
JAN083375 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #159 $3.69
JAN083376 BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR #82 $2.25
DEC073331 BIRTH GN $9.95
JUL073696 BLOOD ALONE VOL 4 GN  $10.95
JAN083326 BOHDA TE #1 $3.50
JAN083284 BOY WHO MADE SILENCE #1  $3.99
DEC073999 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 22  $9.99
JAN083315 DANGERS DOZEN #3 $6.95
JAN083593 DF 08 BIG BANG STARTER SET $20.08
DEC073818 DUNGEON MONSTRES TP VOL 01 $12.95
JAN083695 EVERYBODYS DEAD #1 $3.99
DEC073891 FRUITS BASKET GN VOL 19 (OF 22) $9.99
DEC074001 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST TP VOL 16  $9.99
JAN083699 FX #1 (OF 6) $3.99
DEC073892 GAKUEN ALICE GN VOL 02 (OF 14) $9.99
DEC073749 GENE SIMMONS ZIPPER #4 $3.99
JAN083697 GHOST WHISPERER #1 $3.99
DEC073378 GOBLIN CHRONICLES #1 (OF 3) CVR A $3.50
DEC073379 GOBLIN CHRONICLES #1 (OF 3) CVR B $3.50
NOV073497 HACK SLASH HC VOL 01 OMNIBUS $34.99
DEC073554 HIGHLANDER LTD SGN ED HC VOL 01 PX CVR (RES)  $29.99
DEC073553 HIGHLANDER LTD SGN ED HC VOL 01 REG CVR (RES)  $29.99
DEC073882 HONOR BRIGADE #6 (OF 6) $2.95
DEC073943 JACK THE RIPPER GN $8.99
JAN083854 JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #269  $7.50
NOV073474 JUNGLE GIRL #5 PX ED $2.99
JAN083434 LOOKING FOR GROUP #3 $2.95
DEC073563 MY HEAVENLY HOCKEY CLUB GN VOL 04 $10.95
JAN083625 NEW TALES OF OLD PALOMAR #3 (O/A) $7.95
JAN083821 NORTH WORLD GN VOL 01 $11.95
OCT073350 ODYSSEY PRESENTS CAMELOT #1 $3.50
DEC073944 OF SCENES & STORIES TP $24.99
DEC074005 PHOENIX TP VOL 12  $14.99
DEC073567 PSYCHO BUSTERS GN VOL 02 $10.95
DEC073545 RED SONJA #31 $2.99
DEC073975 SHOJO BEAT APR 08  $5.99
JAN083449 SIMPSONS COMICS #140 $2.99
JAN083283 STARSHIP TROOPERS #7  $3.50
JAN083670 STRANGEWAYS MURDER MOON GN $13.95
DEC073835 TALES FROM THE CRYPT #5 $3.95
JAN083788 TALES OF TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #44 $3.25
DEC073479 TIGER & CRANE #1 (OF 4) $3.99
DEC073359 VAMPIRELLA QUARTERLY WINTER 2008 HALEY LTD ED $19.99
NOV073496 VOLTRON HC COMPLETE OMNIBUS $49.99
DEC073498 WARHAMMER 40K COVER GALLERY $3.99
DEC073499 WARHAMMER 40K COVER GALLERY IRONORC.COM ED $6.99
DEC074021 WITH THE LIGHT RAISING AUTISTIC CHILD GN VOL 02 $14.99

MAGAZINES

JAN084019 ALTER EGO #76  $6.95
JAN084020 BACK ISSUE #27  $6.95
JAN084032 COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #1641 MAY 2008  $5.99
DEC074051 COMICS NOW #2  $5.99
DEC074052 COMICS REVUE #263  $6.95
DEC074053 CRIKEY MAGAZINE #3  $9.99
JAN084054 FANGORIA #272 APR 2008  $8.99
DEC078198 GIANT ROBOT #52 (PP #804) $4.99
DEC074199 HOBBY JAPAN MAR 2008 #51  $12.99
NOV078039 HOBBY JAPAN MAR 2008 #51  $12.99
NOV074060 MEGAMI FEB 2008  $14.99
NOV074062 NEWTYPE FEB 2008  $10.99
JAN084045 NON SPORT UPDATE VOL 19 #2  $4.99
DEC074084 SCARY MONSTERS 2008 YEARBOOK MONSTER MEMORIES #16  $8.95
JAN084073 SPOTLIGHT TRIBUTE DEPP CVR  $9.99
JAN084068 TV ZONE #226  $7.99

Marvel Comics June 2008 solicitations

Click here to see the complete list of Marvel Comics 2008 solicitations.

Best DC Direct action figures

We slagged their worst, now here's a look at some of the best action figures DC Direct has produced to date.

As mentioned in the "worst" post, the New Frontier series includes a pretty ugly Superman and a downright hideous Wonder Woman. Somehow, Darwyn Cooke's cool comics depictions just translate well into plastic. But that's not the case for the entire series. Check out this nice Batman and Doctor Fate. I like that there are wrinkles in the costuming--it's not that typical "painted-on" look. The anatomy is groovy and cartoony, yet not outrageous. I also like Batman's "eyebrows." And Doctor Fate has one of the niftiest costume designs in the history of comics. I love that helmet.





The Wonder Woman series 1, um, Wonder Woman is another nice recent figure. Based on Terry Dodson's art, which tends to be a tad, well, "over the top" in the anatomy department, the result is actually pretty attractive and normal looking. Yeah. Not many real-life women look like this. But it's not grotesquely exaggerated. And the face is nice.



The entire New Gods series looks great, in my opinion. They really capture that Jack Kirby look right down to the square knee caps and flat-ended fingers.





Most of the First Appearance series is very loyal to the comic book depictions, too. The Batman, for example, looks like he did on the cover of Detective Comics #27. I like the cloth cape.



The Shazam series is also pretty nice, although a bit generic. I would've loved to see Captain Marvel and Family depicted mid-40s style as drawn by C.C. Beck and co.
These figures look nice, but not cartoony enough. (Well, I guess at least Hoppy Bunny looks pretty cartoony).





Probably on account of the comics I love most (I'm a Silver- and Bronze-Age guy when it comes to superheroes), I think the Silver Age Batman and Superman series are the best work DC Direct has done to date. This Batman and Robin look like they stepped off a Carmine Infantino-drawn cover. And I prefer the Silver Age Superman to the newer Showcase presents version, which is supposed to be based on Curt Swan. To me, this one looks more like Swan's take on the character. And I think this Jimmy Olsen looks just great--I love the camera.







I'm looking forward to seeing what DC Direct does next, particularly now that the new Showcase Presents series is underway. I'm looking forward to a Kubert Sgt. Rock, a Kirby Challengers of the Unknown, a Nick Cardy Teen Titans, etc.