Samson versus a monster with laser eyes (and more)

My favorite covers from the Dark Horse solicitations for June 2010:


Cover to Mighty Samson Archives Volume 1:

In a radioactive, nuclear-ravaged future, Samson is born into a tribe of peaceful yet desperate people struggling to survive in the desolate city of N’Yark. Surrounded by hungry, wild creatures—creatively mutated and brought to life by Thorne and subsequent artists—and the more savage, selfish remnants of humanity, life is precarious at best for the tribe until Samson displays amazing powers. Discovering that young Samson is a mutant himself, his mother trains Samson to value life, and on her deathbed Samson vows “to protect the weak from the powerful, the good from the evil!”

New edition and cover for Dave McKean's Cages.

*Previously: Cookbook illustrated by Dave McKean.

*Buy books illustrated by Dave McKean at Amazon.

Iron Man through the ages

Coming in April, "Iron Man By Design" variant covers:


Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7 variant cover by Adi Granov.



Uncanny X-Men #523 variant cover by Mike Perkins.



Deadpool Team-Up variant cover by Greg Tocchini.



Daredevil #506 variant cover by Mike del Mundo. Via.

*Previously: Papercraft Iron Man.

*Buy Iron Man toys at eBay.

Best DC Comics covers for May 2010

My favorites from the DC Comics solicitations for May 2010:


I, Zombie #1 cover by Darwyn Cooke.



Gotham City Sirens #12 cover by Guillem March.

*See more of my favorite comic book covers here.

*Buy Darwyn Cooke toys at eBay.

Best Marvel comic book covers for May 2010

My favorites from the Marvel Comics solicitations for May 2010:


Deadpool meets Lone Wolf and Cub on the cover to Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #11 by Arthur Suydam.



Sense and Sensibility #1 cover by Sonny Liew.



New Mutants #13 cover by Adi Granov.



On the other hand, covers like this make me embarrassed to like comics:



Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #1 by Kaare Andrews.

*At Toycutter: Lone Wolf and Cub custom action figures.

*Buy Deadpool toys at eBay.

Marvel Comics cover by Chip Kidd and Peter Bagge

Striking cover by Chipp Kidd and Peter Bagge for Marvel's Strange Tales. Chip is interviewed by Sean Kollins about the cover here. Their exchange includes this:

Marvel.com: When the folks at Marvel first sent me a copy of this cover, I immediately wrote back and asked, "Did you send me the right jpeg, or is this thing screwed up?"

Chip Kidd: Well, that's great! I mean, that's the goal.

*Previously: Chip Kidd shares his opinion of Amazon's new ebook reader.

*Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006 is 27% off at Amazon.

Best Marvel Comics covers for April 2010

My favorite covers from the Marvel Comics solicitations for April 2010:


Punishermax #6 cover by Dave Johnson.



Punisher #16 cover by Mike McKone.



Spider-Man: Return of the Hunter Saga cover by Michael Lark.

*At Toycutter: Franken-Castle custom action figure.

*Buy Punisher toys at eBay.

Best DC Comics covers for April 2010

My favorites from DC Comics solicitations for April 2010:


Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #6 cover by Chrissie Zullo. (Chrissie showed how she came up with the previous Cinderella cover here.)



Jack of Fables #45 cover by Brian Bolland.




Astro City: The Dark Age Book 4 #4 cover by Alex Ross.

*Previously: Plush Jack and the Beanstalk.

*Buy Fables collections at Amazon.

Best DC Comics covers for March 2010

Sandman Mystery Theatre Vol. 8: The Blackhawk and the Return of the Scarlet Ghost TPB cover by Gavin Wilson and Richard Bruning




Madame Xanadu #21 cover by Amy Reeder Hadley




Detective Comics #863 cover by JH Williams III




Azrael #6 cover Francesco Mattina


You can see all of the DC Comics Solicitations for March 2010 here.

*See more of my favorite comic book covers here.

*Buy Azrael toys at eBay.

February 2010 Marvel Comics Solicitations

My favorites of the Marvel Comics solicitations for February 2010:


Uncanny X-Men #521 cover by Phil Jimenez.




Black Widow: Deadly Origin #4 cover by Adi Granov.




X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain #3 cover by Dennis Calero. (Check out that Nightcrawler mask.)





Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #8 cover by Arthur Suydam.





Halo: Blood Line #3 cover by Francis Portela.

*See more of my favorite comic book covers here.

*Buy Halo toys at eBay.

Wizard of Oz propaganda image (and more)

Lots and lots of great covers in Marvel Comics solicitations for January 2010. Here are my favorites:


The Marvelous Land of Oz #3 cover by Skottie Young: War comes to Oz as the sassy General Jinjur and her army of amazonian milkmaids storm the city gates. And what do the ladies want? Gems, Fudge, and Sandwiches with the crusts cut off! Well, that and the head of King Scarecrow. Join the best-selling team of Eric Shanower and Skottie Young as the revolution heats up!




X-Babies #4 cover by Young



Punishermax #3 cover by Dave Johnson




Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7 cover by Arthur Suydam: Special double-sized issue with art by ROB LIEFELD, KYLE BAKER, DAS PASTORAS and regular series artist BONG DAZO. What do you do with a homesick zombie head? Take it back to the zombie universe, of course! Hopping through an interdimensional portal in the Florida swamp with Headpool tucked under his arm, Deadpool soon finds himself bouncing through a series of outlandish alternate realities, each more warped than the last. Wade Wilson, say hello to Major Deadpool, the Deadpool Kid and – va-va-voom – Lady Deadpool.





Punisher #13 cover by Mike McKone: Trapped in the dank tunnels under New York, surrounded by a savage team of Japanese monster hunters, filthy in the blood of his friends, Frank Castle turns, lifts a giant rifle and smiles. They aren’t prepared for this, you aren’t prepared for this, an entire issue loaded full, completely dedicated to bleeding, sweet, revenge-splattered murder in traditional hardcore Punisher style. Frank’s been through hell -- time to give a little back.



Daredevil #504 cover by Esad Ribic.

You can see the rest of Marvel Comics solicitations for January 2010 here.

*Previously: Los Angeles as the Emerald City.

*Buy Deadpool toys at eBay.

Cinderella, super-spy (and more)

My favorites of the DC Comics solicitations for January 2010.



Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #3 cover by Chrissie Zullo. Check out the glass slipper logo:







Jack of Fables #42 cover by Brian Bolland. (The summary doesn't explain what's chasing Jack.)



The Atom & Hawkman #46 cover by Ryan Sook. As I understand it, the reverse negative look is a Blackest Night tie-in, running through various one-shots based on classic series.


Here's another:


Catowman #83 cover by Guillem March.

You can see all of the January 2010 DC Comics solicitations here. The big news is that the Planetary Vol.4 Hardcover is now available for preorder, issues #19-27 for 34% off at Amazon.

*Previously: Steampunk Cinderella.

*Buy Cinderella snowglobes at eBay.

Iron Man covers (link roundup)

Iron Man covers by Rian Hughes. Of course, it seems like only yesterday that Stark was disassembled by Tony Harris. Via.

And a few more links:

1. $12 t-shirt sale at Threadless.

2. Where the Wild Things Are design a fort contest. I was going to put together a fort photo gallery for inspiration, but found almost nothing worth posting.

3. Interesting analysis of the 2016 Summer Olympics vote. It was probably a lot closer than you think.

*Previously: The original Chicago 2016 Olympics logo.

*Buy Iron Man toys at eBay.

Best Marvel and DC Comic Covers December 2009

Magog #4 cover by Glenn Fabry.



DC Holiday Special 2009 cover by Dustin Nguyen.

You can see all of the DC Comics solicitations for December 2009 here.




X-Babies #3 cover by Skottie Young.



The Torch #4 cover by Alex Ross.

You can see all of the Marvel Comics solicitations for December 2009 here.

*Previously: Namor vs. a giant octopus.

*Buy Magog toys at eBay.