This Weeks New Comic Titles (from Vegas baby!)

That’s right faithful comic blog readers I am typing this entry from Las Vegas while at KillerCon! Want to try and stay on target so be on the lookout for a KillerCon post on Monday, and some of the stuff isn’t going to stay in Vegas.

The Bionic Man by Kevin Smith. Issue 2. Dynamite Entertainment

Colonel Steve Austin is at death’s door after the catastrophic crash landing of his experimental aircraft, and even as surgeons struggle to save his life, the shadowy figures in the upper echelons of the espionage service O.S.I. plot to augment him with dangerous, untested bionics. Meanwhile, the entity known as Hull amasses a secret army bent on wiping humanity from the face of the Earth. The only person capable of stopping Hull is Steve Austin, the Bionic Man, but will he survive his own genesis as the world’s first cyborg?

Just finished this issue and I am still hooked on the story. Well written, pretty good art and some kick ass action. I wasn’t sure if this was a series I was going to enjoy, but it almost makes me want to go and rent the original television series.

There were five covers done for this issue. The two above are the main covers and the ones below are some of the alternate covers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Issue 1.Dynamite Entertainment.

George R.R. Martin has been called “the American Tolkien” by Time Magazine, and now his landmark fantasy series is being adapted to a graphic format, starting with the first book of the series: A Game of Thrones. The premiere issue introduces readers to George’s world, adapting the prologue and first three chapters of the novel, and bringing onto the graphic stage such iconic characters as Eddard and Catelyn Stark, Jon Snow, young Bran Stark, and Daenerys Targaryen. This novel has also been adapted as a major miniseries by HBO – with HBO’s highest ratings to date, since having premiered on April 17, 2011!

I am a fan! I know surprise, surprise. I was eagerly awaiting this series and the timing of it couldn’t be better. This is a great series to get you through the hump between season. Faithful to the story, great pacing, and the art is nice to boot. It will be nice to see how the story progresses and if it continues to hold to the novel.

There were two regular covers and three alternate covers. There were also some exclusives that were done for Dynamic Forces, New York Comic Con and New England Comic Retailer Alliance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice. Issue 2. IDW Publishing.

Babylon. The city of gods and kings. Before he became a spirit of vengeance, Azriel was a young Hebrew who could talk to Babylon’s deity, Marduk. And it’s that unearthly connection that leads to his dark destiny, when the city priests and witch Arsenath prepare him to become a ‘living god.’
I am not quite sure where I stand with this series yet. I never read the novel so not sure how it follows the book, but the story seems interesting. I think that there is a lot of story that is being left out because there is just so much depth to most of Rice’s works, but I will give it another issue before I make up my mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Star Trek by Mike Johnson. Issue 1. IDW Publishing

The adventures of the Starship Enterprise continue in this new ongoing series that picks up where the blockbuster 2009 film left off! Featuring the new cast of the film, these missions re-imagine the stories from the original series in the alternate timeline created by the film, along with new threats and characters never seen before! With creative
collaboration from STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci, this new series begins the countdown to the much-anticipated movie sequel premiering in 2012. Join Kirk, Spock and the crew as they boldly go into a new future! Up first, a drastic new envisioning of “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

w00t! Yes I am super jazzed about this series. The first story arc is a re-make of the “Where No Man Has Gone Before” classic episode with the movie crew. The characters are familiar yet has the new. The dialogue is great, action great and art is great. In short it is great and a must read even if you were never a Star Trek fan, this series will make you one.

Two regular covers were done and a handful of alternate photo covers.

Well that is all for this week, hope you pick a few of them up. You won’t be sorry! All the comics can be found here at our eBay store.

DEMON BY ERIK WILLIAMS SIGNED LIMITED HARDCOVER UP FOR PRE-ORDER!

Demon HCDEMON by Erik Williams (signed limited hardcover)

*** 30 day reservation period with final print run based on pre-orders***

Mike Caldwell is a CIA assassin dealing with what may be an unstoppable pathogen that turns the infected into primal killing machines. The truth, though, is far scarier. Once he learns what he’s actually facing, Mike will wish he was dealing with hundreds of deadly pathogens.

At a remote construction site in Iraq, the ancient prison of the fallen angel Semyaza is unearthed and opened. For the first time in thousands of years, Semyaza is free. Free to move in and amongst the humans he so dearly hates. And Hell follows with him.

Now Mike is on its trail, hunting a demon whose mere presence turns every living thing near it into a weapon of mass destruction. A demon who would love nothing more than to wipe out all of humanity. Both are merchants of death on a collision course.

Yeah, Mike wishes it was just an unstoppable pathogen.

“DEMON -like a hellacious cross between 24, The Exorcist and a videogame. Fast-paced and wicked fun.” -Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestseller and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE KING OF PLAGUES and ROT & RUIN

“Some things just won’t stay buried…no matter how sanctified the ground. Set amid the turmoil and terror of the present war, a much more ancient battle–the ultimate battle of GOOD versus EVIL in which Man is only a pawn–is resurrected…and God help us all.” -P.D. Cacek, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE WIND CALLER

This Weeks Comic Titles

Hellraiser by Clive Barker issue 5

BRAND NEW ARC! Great jumping-on point for new readers. One of the greatest horror franchises of all time returns, now under the control of its original creator! Clive Barker has touched HELLRAISER only twice: once to write THE HELLBOUND HEART, and once more to write and direct the original HELLRAISER film. Now witness Barker’s long-awaited return to tell a new chapter in the series’ official continuity—a trajectory that will forever change the Cenobites…and Pinhead! Kirsty Cotton faces her greatest foes…both new and old. And Pinhead is her greatest fear! But what could he have planned for her?

This is the start of the last four issues in the series. New story arc. It is Pinhead vs. Kirsty and this issue is bloody and gorey as hell (no pun intended). A must read for fans of the Hellraiser mythology.

There were three covers done for the issue, the two above and a sketch cover of the one on the left.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Nine by Joss Whedon issue 1

Season 8 ended with a bang when Buffy cut the world off from the hell dimensions and all supernatural influence. Great, right? Except Buffy has left her best friend, Willow, powerless, and ended the long line of vampire slayers, leaving her hated by the hundreds of girls who recently stood behind her. Newly relocated to San Francisco, Buffy can count on a fresh start, and focus on what she’s good at–slaying.

I had a falling out with Buffy after season 5 so I am kinda behind on what is all going on, so I don’t have too much to say in the way of back story knowledge. The art is ok and it has some of the goofy dialogue that I remember from the show, and the characters seem the same. If you are a fan of the show I am sure you will like the new season.

There were three covers done for the issue.

All this and more can be found here.

Four New PS Publishing Titles Up For Pre-Order

Long Shadows, Nightmare Light by Mark Morris. Introduction by Christopher Golden.

Two editions available, trade hardcover and signed limited hardcover.

Short stories are the lifeblood of the horror genre. I grew up reading the Pan and Fontana books of horror and ghost stories, the Armada books of ghost, monster and SF stories, numerous anthologies edited by the prolific Peter Haining, John Burke’s wonderful Tales of Unease collections, and many more. I still adore unearthing obscure anthologies, particularly if they contain unread stories by favourite authors. And it still gives me a huge kick whenever I sell one of my own stories to an anthology, because by doing so I feel as though, in my own small way, I’m contributing to a rich, proud and long-standing genre tradition.

The stories in Long Shadows, Nightmare Light span a period of eighteen years. Most have been published before—in anthologies, magazines and online—though a couple have been written specifically for this collection. One of the things I love about old anthologies is the one-line teaser trailers you often get for some of the stories—so here are mine.

Within these pages you’ll encounter: an amnesiac man who wakes to find himself alone in a mysterious town . . . a world in which seemingly bottomless holes begin to appear in busy city streets . . . a pair of lost dogs that return after nine years, having not aged a day… the Christmas haunting of a heavily-pregnant woman . . .

Ghosts Know by Ramsey Campbell

Two editions available, trade hardcover and signed limited hardcover.

Before I can retreat a youth runs up the steps behind me. I haven’t time to think—I feel as if my clenched fists are swinging me around to punch him in the face. His lips split and squash wetly against my fist, and his chin bruises a knuckle. I would hit him again, but he flounders down a couple of steps until Si thumps his shoulders with an arm to steady him. They’re blocking my retreat, and Si lifts his knife as if I’ve given him another reason to use it. Jay’s helper has run to prevent me from jumping down onto the towpath, even if I could without breaking a leg. My only chance is to take Jay on. As I start along the walkway he jerks up his knife . . .

How did I get here? I’m Graham Wilde, the presenter of Wilde Card on Waves Radio. A few weeks ago I interviewed a psychic who was helping the police search for a missing girl. He seemed to know more about me than he should, but I knew more about him than he expected, and perhaps that’s where all my troubles began. He kept after me, first of all on my show and then at a funeral, and he wasn’t the only one there who did. What else could I do except find out who was responsible for what people seemed to think I’d done? But I didn’t realise how much danger I was putting myself in until it was too late . . .

Since Needing Ghosts Ramsey Campbell has been developing his own brand of comedy of paranoia. Is it humour so dark that it shades into horror, or horror that grins like a skull? You can find it in The Count of Eleven and Secret Stories and The Grin of the Dark, and now Ghosts Know joins his macabre circus.

Gutshot edited by Conrad Williams.

Two edition available, trade hardcover and signed limited hardcover.

The place of the cowboy in fiction is wrapped up in violence and elegiac beauty. Their stories are underpinned by misery and threat. But in among the guns, knives and blood, there was love and hope and glory. The 20 tales between these covers offer a bizarre take on the myths of the Old West. You are as likely to meet a villain from the 21st century as a varmint from the 19th. There are monsters, real and imagined. There are ghosts and gangsters, masked men and marauders. There are showdowns and final sunsets. Above all there is the kind of awe that we all yearn for in our stories. Gutshot is a Smith & Wesson gripped by a skeletal fist, chambers loaded with alien ice, muzzle pointed at your heart . . .

PS Showcase 10: Dark Dreams, Pale Horses by Rio Youers. Introduction by Brian Keene.

Two editions are available, trade hardcover and signed limited hardcover.

Dark Dreams: A plague decimates South America, and an infected survivor is hunted through the shanties of Rio de Janeiro; an asteroid strikes central Australia, triggering waves of unspeakable horror; a pink Cadillac, full of screams, rumbles toward the Promised Land.

Pale Horses: A girl dreams of escaping her black and white life, into a Technicolor world where she is the star; the Shepherd of Souls keeps vigil over a dying child, while civilization clings to faith on the edge of a ruined world; an elderly lady recalls her wondrous childhood, in a present where the walls are too close, and reality uncertain.

In his debut collection, Rio Youers presents six stories—glimpses of worlds, and lives, fraught with pain, love, and hope—where the things we trust are often fractured, and where the darkest places sometimes hold the brightest lights.

This Weeks New ComicTitles

Michael Moorcock’s Elric, The Balance Lost #3 by Chris Robertson

Legendary fantasy author Michael Moorcock and New York Times bestseller Chris Roberson (SUPERMAN, iZOMBIE, STAN LEE’S STARBORN) team up to bring the Pale Prince back to comics like you’ve never seen him before! The mystery deepens as each Eternal Champion begins to make his way toward the heart of the conflict across the Multiverse. Elric, Hawkmoon and Corum’s journeys have yielded more questions than answers, while Eric Beck struggles to trust that the role he’s been thrust into is real. But when Eric’s reality itself begins to unravel, will he have no choice but to face his destiny? Find out in this third issue of the hit new series that is taking fandom by storm!

Really liking this series. Makes me want to go and read Michael Moorcock’s novels to see who all these characters are. The cover art is great to boot! There were two main covers (shown above) and a limited edition alternate cover, which looks like the first cover above without the lettering.

 

 

 

True Blood: The French Quarter #1

In this sequel to the first NYT best-selling TRUE BLOOD miniseries, “All Together Now,” mind-reading waitress Sookie Stackhouse is in New Orleans, helping Vampire Sherrif Eric Northman track down an insane killer named Guerra. Eric and Godric killed Guerra in Paris, more than 200 years ago. Or did they? Bill Compton’s in town, too, making sure Eric doesn’t get fresh with Sookie, and investigating a local Hep-D outbreak that may be connected to Guerra’s latest victims. Meanwhile, back in Bon Temps, why is Pam hanging out at Merlotte’s—and what does she want with Lafayette? A sticky and sexy original adventure, based on the HBO mega-hit created by Alan Ball.

This is the third story arc for the comic series. Didn’t read this yet, not because I don’t like True Blood, but because I haven’t read the second story arc and I am a continuity reader person. There were two regular covers (shown above) and two alternate covers shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last of this weeks titles is…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness #3

The big moment finally arrives as Abbey and the Danger Girls come face-to-face with Ash, the alleged “Chosen One” who may be their pivotal weapon in recapturing the Necronomicon. But when Ash reveals his own offbeat tactics to the world’s most dangerous spies, will he be a weapon they’ll rush to unload? Find out as the year’s most explosive crossover event continues!

This was this weeks guilty pleasure for me. I loved Danger Girl when it was a monthly series by J. Scott Campbell and I love Army of Darkness. It’s like when you are eating peanut butter and then some other person is eating a chocolate bar and then fate steps in when you are out for a walk eating your peanut butter and then you turn the corner just when the person eating the chocolate bar is turning the corner and the bar flies up in the air and lands in your peanut butter jar and you get totally mad because the putz wasn’t looking where he was going!

Anyway this comic series is so much fun that it shouldn’t be legal. Three hot girls and Ash come on what more needs to be said.

Again there were multiple covers for the issue.

 

A Few New Pre-Orders

All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky by Joe R. Lansdale. First edition, signed by the author. $23

Jack Catcher’s parents are dead—his mom died of sickness and his dad of a broken heart—and he has to get out of Oklahoma, where dust storms have killed everything green, hopeful, or alive. When former classmate Jane and her little brother Tony show up in his yard with plans to steal a dead neighbor’s car and make a break for Texas, Jack doesn’t need much convincing. But a run-in with one of the era’s most notorious gangsters puts a crimp in Jane’s plan, and soon the three kids are hitching the rails among hoboes, gangsters, and con men, racing to warn a carnival wrestler turned bank robber of the danger he faces and, in the process, find a new home for themselves. This road trip adventure from the legendary Joe R. Lansdale is a thrilling and colorful ride through Depression-era America.

Four Legs In The Morning by Norman Prentiss. Signed Limited Hardcover. $30

Dr. Sibley, long-standing Chair of the English and Classical Literature Department at Graysonville University, has outlasted many of his detractors. In this collection of three linked stories, mysterious consequences await those who defy or disappoint him:

• a new colleague, whose avant-guard theories offend Sibley’s traditional critical sensibilities, uncovers a new answer to an ancient riddle (“Four Legs in the Morning”)

• a student plagiarist learns to regret his dishonesty (“Flannel Board”)

• a young administrator attempts to curtail some of Sibley’s power, until he discovers the fate of his predecessor (“The Mask of Tragedies”)

All of these characters eventually learn — sometimes too late — that Dr. Sibley may be far more powerful than he seems.

This is book 9 in the publishers Signature Series.

December by Phil Rickman. There are three editions of the title. Collector’s, Deluxe and Letter. $60/$225/$700

In December 1980 four psychically gifted musicians gather in the tower house of an isolated 12th century abbey. Intent on tapping into the Abbey’s dark history all are left deeply scarred by the terrifying events that take place on the night when, far away in New York, John Lennon is murdered. The tapes should have been destroyed . . . But in 1994 the Abbey tapes – known as the Black Album – resurface and a reunion that should never have been takes place amongst walls cemented in blood.

SPECIAL: It was never to have been released but each book comes with a CD of selected music from the notorious Black Album

Originally published by Macmillan in 1994 and out of print for many years, Phil Rickman’s classic tale of supernatural horror is now available to collectors and fans in a quality signed hardback edition.

Praise for Phil Rickman:

“Remarkable . . . something new and creepy. Even my wife enjoyed it . . . and she doesn’t usually like horror,” – Stephen King

“No one writes better than Phil Rickman of the shadow frontier between the supernatural and the real world.” – Bernard Cornwell

It Knows Where You Live by Gary McMahon. Signed Limited Hardcover. $30

The modern world is a place ripe with fears. The city, the suburbs, and even the fringes of the countryside: all present opportunities for unease. The way people act when they are together, or when they are alone; the beats, the pauses, and the words we use to communicate reveal a primal darkness at the heart of the modern human experience.

And whatever this darkness is, it knows where you live . . .

In these fifteen tales, acclaimed horror author Gary McMahon casts a light into the shadowy corners of contemporary life, and brings those fears to the page.

This book will only ever appear in a limited hardcover signed edition. Each copy will include a unique message handwritten by the author on the title page, making each numbered copy additionally distinct.

The Devil’s Coattails edited by Jason V. Brock & William F. Nolan. There are two editions of this title. Trade Hardcover Edition and Signed Limited Hardcover. $45/$190

A unique anthology: contains original, never before published works by Ramsey Campbell, John Shirley, Jason V Brock, Marc Scott Zicree, Norman Corwin, Gary Braunbeck, Steve Rasnic Tem, Melanie Tem, Earl Hamner, Jenny Brundage, Nancy Kilpatrick, Jerry E. Airth, Sunni K Brock, Richard Christian Matheson, Paul J. Salamoff, Paul G. Bens, Jr., William F. Nolan, Dan O’Bannon, Max Brand, Richard Selzer, James Robert Smith, and Wilum Pugmire/Maryanne K. Snyder. Opaque vellum pages, printed with 100% vegetable inks using windpower; printed and bound in the USA. Trade has a Smyth-sewn binding in cloth boards.

Two New Harvey Horrors Collected Works Up For Pre-Order

PS Publishing has added two new Harvey Horrors titles to the roster!! WOO HOO!!

THE TOMB OF TERROR Volume One. Introduction by Stephen Jones. Contains issues 1-6 originally published in June – November 1952.

It will be published in three editions, but we will only be carrying the trade and signed limited slipcase editions.

The limited edition will be limited to 300 copies and have a signed print of Stephen Jones.

There will be three volumes in the series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WITCHES TALES Volume One. Introduction by Ramsey Campbell. Contains issues 1-7 originally published in January 1951-January 1952.

It will be published in three editions but we will only be carrying the trade and signed limited slipcase editions.

The limited edition will be limited to 300 copies and have a signed print of Ramsey Campbell.

There will be four volumes in the series.

DEMON BY ERIK WILLIAMS PRE-ORDER DUE 9-15

DemonDEMON by Erik Williams (trade paperback edition)
Mike Caldwell is a CIA assassin dealing with what may be an unstoppable pathogen that turns the infected into primal killing machines. The truth, though, is far scarier. Once he learns what he’s actually facing, Mike will wish he was dealing with hundreds of deadly pathogens.

At a remote construction site in Iraq, the ancient prison of the fallen angel Semyaza is unearthed and opened. For the first time in thousands of years, Semyaza is free. Free to move in and amongst the humans he so dearly hates. And Hell follows with him.

Now Mike is on its trail, hunting a demon whose mere presence turns every living thing near it into a weapon of mass destruction. A demon who would love nothing more than to wipe out all of humanity. Both are merchants of death on a collision course.

Yeah, Mike wishes it was just an unstoppable pathogen.

“DEMON -like a hellacious cross between 24, The Exorcist and a videogame. Fast-paced and wicked fun.” -Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestseller and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE KING OF PLAGUES and ROT & RUIN

“Some things just won’t stay buried…no matter how sanctified the ground. Set amid the turmoil and terror of the present war, a much more ancient battle–the ultimate battle of GOOD versus EVIL in which Man is only a pawn–is resurrected…and God help us all.” -P.D. Cacek, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE WIND CALLER

This Weeks New Comic Titles

Well let’s jump right into the fracas shall we…

Locke & Key: Clockworks #2 by Joe Hill

Terror runs wild, and the Locke family comes to grief in the smash-ingest story of the series yet!

Only 11 issues to go til the end of the series and man things are starting to get crazy good! This issue gives us a new key to figure out and shows Kinsey using the Angel Key. Some great character development and the bad guy gets closer to his goal. Love Gabriel Rodriguiz art, he is able to convey so much emotion.

It may look like I double posted the cover image, but there were two covers done for the issue. The one on the right is the regular cover and the one on the left was a special limited cover.

If you haven’t read Locke & Key yet you are missing out! But never fear we do have the first four collections available so you can get caught up and we still have copies of issue one of Clockworks.

Hellraiser #4 by Clive Barker

One of the greatest horror franchises of all time returns, now under the control of its original creator! Clive Barker has touched HELLRAISER only twice: once to write THE HELLBOUND HEART, and once more to write and direct the original HELLRAISER film. Now witness Barker’s long-awaited return to tell a new chapter in the series’ official continuity—a trajectory that will forever change the Cenobites…and Pinhead!

In this issue, Pinhead and Kristy Cotton collide in a way that neither of them could possibly imagine. And when these two face off, no one is safe!

Now I have only seen the first two Hellraiser movies so I have to admit I was a bit lost when the introduced other objects that could open the portal to the Cenobite universe and I don’t know all the details of Kristy coming back to Earth, but this story definitely has the feel and pace of the original movie. Dark, violent, moody, and gorey. It is also interesting to see more of the Cenobites and their world and to see Pinhead be more than the guy with chains and hooks. Clive has done a great job with this series and I look foreword to the next issue.

There were two regular covers for issue 4 and a special limited edition cover. The two colored covers are the regular and theblack & white sketch cover is the special edition.

How about those damn dirty apes! 

Planet of the Apes #5 by Daryl Gregory

The series takes place before the original 1968 Planet of the Apes movie in the continuity of the first five films! Ape society has reached a new golden age. But there are ripples of dissent in both the ape and human ranks. Tensions will rise and soon all will be caught in chaos! And amidst all this uncertainty, what is the fate of…The Lawgiver?

I missed out on getting the first four issues of the series, and when I say missed out I mean kicking myself in the nose (which is harder than it looks) bonehead decision I have made in the last five minutes. Yes I watched the original movie and, much to my dismay the Tim Burton one as well,  have a little background to draw from. This issue is a great starting point to pick up the series, plus bonus! it is only a buck! You don’t need to read the first four issue to understand what is going on in the series, but it helps.

I opted for getting the Planet of the Apes: The Long War trade paperback that also came out this week and contains the first four issues of the series. Plus another bonus it is a pretty cheap way to read those issues since they are out of print and cost a few bucks to get. This is a great read and I will say I was pretty surprised how good it is.

There were two regular covers and this special edition cover for the issue.

To round out this weeks offerings is

Angel & Faith #1 by Christos Gage and executive produced by Joss Whedon

Left in a near-catatonic state following the events in Buffy Season 8, Angel will need a seriously rude awakening if he’s to make amends for his ill-conceived deeds. Enter rebel Slayer with a cause–Faith Lehane. Together they’ll have full access to the Watcher files and opportunities to make amends for all they’ve done . . . and will do.

I admit I was on the Buffy bandwagon for a long time, but I stopped watching after season 6 of Buffy and missed the last season of Angel. So I am kinda outta the loop on all things going on in the Buffy universe. Missed out on the comic season 8 and didn’t follow Angel in his IDW Publishing years. But never fear this series gives you an original story and gets you sort of up to date on the haps. It is being marketed as part of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 9 (which the first issue of that is due out in a few weeks) and follows Angel & Faith during the season. I always like Angel and Faith better than Buffy and the gang and this is a nice way to see them back in action again. The story is a little slow, but that is to be expected since it is a first issue and is setting the scene for the rest of the story arc.

There were three covers done for this issue. The one on the left was the regular cover and the one on the right was a variant that was offered in limited quantities. Plus this being Dark Horse Comics 25th year in the biz they have been releasing special edition 25 covers for each of their series and they did one for this issue. 

Wow it looks like there was a bunch of stuff based off movies and television shows this week! If you are a fan of the tv shows or the movies they are based on you will for sure enjoy the comics.

Next week there the Army of Darkness will be fighting Elric while drinking True Blood….huh? Guess we have to tune in next week to find out what the heck I am saying.

You can find all the above titles and more at our eBay Store.