Best Covers: DC Comics Solicitations for March 2011

My favorites from the DC Comics solicitations for March 2011:


Batman: Europa #3 cover by Diego Latorre



Batwoman #2 cover by J.H. Williams III



Xombi #1 cover by Frazier Irving



Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #2 cover by Chrissie Zullo



The Spirit #12 cover by Ladronn

*Buy Fables Covers by James Jean at Amazon.

Is California Sinking?

Aquaman #53 cover circa 1970. Several are available at eBay. Via these sites.

Link roudnup

1. 16 free tracks courtesy of Spin's best of 2010 issue.

2. Olly Moss posted a sketch for his Boba Fett/Empire Strikes Back poster.

3. Ta-Nehisi Coates:

Comics are so often seen as the province of white geeky nerds. But, more broadly, comics are the literature of outcasts, of pariahs, of Jews, of gays, of blacks. It's really no mistake that we saw ourselves in Doom, Magneto or Rogue.

Via.

*Buy Olly Moss's Star Wars posters at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Fascinating insight into how comic book stores manage to stay open:

Having very specific stores in very specific areas in Manhattan has been essential to the current comics industry, the publishing of which is still concentrated within a few blocks, and the industry has done its best to maintain these, despite rising rents, and 9/11 on one hand and late orders and financial problems on the other.

2.Santa/Krampus by M. S. Corley.

3. Hellboy as Santa Claus. And this is a good scifi Christmas pin-up.

*Buy Hellboy toys at eBay.

If Winsor McCay drew DC super villains

The origins of Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Brainiac and other DC Comics villains drawn by Stuart Immonen in the style of Winsor McCay. Via.

*Buy Immonen's Nextwave at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Video of a cat cuddling with a teddy bear.

2. "Satellite images indicate North Korea might have suffered considerable casualties when South Korea returned fire after the North shelled its frontline island last week, a lawmaker said Thursday." Via.

3. "Todd McFarlane worked Felix the Cat into issues of his comics as a treat for a friend of his." The reason why is pretty interesting.

New BPRD member

I don't usually post comic book previews, but since BPRD is easily my favorite ongoing comic, here's a look at B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Gods #1:

As Texas goes to Hell, a group of homeless outcasts--led by a young woman who appears to have second sight--evade volcanic eruptions, mass hysteria, and man--eating monsters. When the B.P.R.D. take notice of this, the results turn out to be deadly.

Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, and drawn by Eisner award winning artist Guy Davis, B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth--Gods is the first arc of the pivotal Gods and Monsters saga.

A B.P.R.D. arc unlike any other, jumping around in time, and introducing important new characters!

*Buy Hellboy toys at eBay.

Ghost Rider and Iron Fist as as 1960's DC Comics Heroes

Kerry Callen answers the question, what if DC published Marvel's 1970's characters in the 60's? See also: Spider-Man and Captain America given the DC treatment.

*Buy Kerry Callen's comics at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. In case you missed it, this is the best photograph of an astronaut in recent memory. Via these sites.

2. I absolutely loved Matt Kindt's Revolver. You're better off knowing as little as possible about the story. Basically, imagine an event tv miniseries that had a coherent plot and a satisfying ending. $17 at Amazon. (It's also not as relentlessly depressing as his (very good) 3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man.)

3. By comparison, I thought Matt's Super Spy was just ok. The World War II-era spy stories were enjoyable, but the comic suffered the same problem as most non-super hero comics with large casts - - it's impossible to tell the characters apart.

*Previously: The Escapist by Matt Kindt.

To Wake the Mangog!!

My favorites from the Marvel Comics solicitations for February 2010:


Thunderstrike #4 cover by Ron Frenz:

SPECIAL READER ADVISORY--This publication contains scenes of excessive action and angst in the mighty Marvel manner and is not for the faint of heart! As if they didn’t have their hands full with a power-mad demigod who is determined to destroy Olympus and Asgard, Thunderstrike and Gruenhilda the Valkyrie are traumatized by an unexpected death when they suddenly run into one of the greatest super-menaces of all--MANGOG, the merciless!

Deadpool Team-Up #884 cover by Skottie Young.

*Buy completed build-a-figures at eBay.

Tintin homage

Mark Frauenfelder posted a review and lots of interior art from Charles Burns's X'ed Out. (He liked it, but had the same criticism as everyone else - - it's very short). But here's his most interesting observation. Check out the homage to Tintin:





*Buy Tintin toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Here's an interesting flash game - - in a Mario-esque 2D platformer, you control the platform to assist the adventurer. Via.

2. Eric Merced is once again selling great sketch cards cheap - - "full color for $10.00 (+ $2.00 shipping/ $3.00 outside the USA) + $5.00 each additional character."

3. Robot 6 picks "six x-rated comics you can read without shame."

*Buy sketch cards at eBay.

Best covers: Dark Horse Comics solicitations for February 2011

Dark Horse Comics solicitations for February 2011:


Star Wars: Legacy-War #3 cover by Brad Anderson.



Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #2 cover by Tsuneo Sanda.



Conan: Road of Kings #3 cover by Doug Wheatley.

*Buy Darth Talon toys at eBay.

Comic book covers by Alex Schomburg

Paul Tobin says Alex Schomburg is his favorite comic book artist, and has posted a huge gallery of Schomburg's covers.

*Buy pulp magazines at eBay.

Delirium, Madman, Twin Peaks and more by Farel Dalrymple

I'm currently obsessed with Farel Dalrymple's art:












You can see more at Flickr. He has lots of affordable art on sale at Etsy, and lots of comics on sale at Amazon.

*Buy Madman toys at eBay.

Super Hero Cheesecake Statuettes by Mike Madrid

A small sampling of the custom statuettes on display at Mike Madrid's site:













There's many more on display at his site. He's also posted a few tutorials, like this one for Bouncing Boy:



And he has a few on sale, like this Batwoman, based on a painting by Hajime Sorayama:





His book, The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines, is on sale for $11 at Amazon.

*Buy Batgirl toys at eBay.