That's right. I said 110,000 people.
More on that tomorrow, though, when we finally get around to post our Official Exfanding Recap (of the convention that will, by then, already be over for four days).
Because there are SO many books shipping today, I figured I'd skip the preamble, and get right to the product. Wait. That didn't come out right. What I mean is, let's get right to the books.
Like I said, there's a ton of stuff coming from all of the publishers today, including a ridiculous amount of hardcovers and trades. And the thing is, a bunch of the trades releasing today were never actually offered in single issues (in the US, at least).
As I'll note in hilarious detail tomorrow, I spent a lot at Comic Con this weekend. Still, I have a hefty pile of books I'm looking to pick up today, which I'm trying very hard to justify this morning.
They're for review purposes--You have a blog!
When the zombie apocalypse comes, books will be the currency of choice!
Despite my irrational rationalizations, I probably won't buy everything that's on my list. Even if this huge shipping week didn't follow the second-largest convention on the planet, I'd probably cut back a bit. Still, poor planning on the part of the publishers. (That sounded like a sentence constructed by Stan Lee.)
And, with that, let's get to the books.
Despite Nathaniel's many protestations, the Halloween Season is in full bloom, and comics start getting into the act this week with some horror-themed books. Both Marvel and DC are putting out special issues dedicated to the season, and Dark Horse, IDW, and Image are getting into the act, too.
Image releases their Hack/Slash 2010 Annual, Dark Horse has three horror collections coming out today, and IDW ships out issue two of the latest Locke & Key mini-series.
But for my money, we'll start with the best bet of this year's Halloween books. And it comes from Vertigo's excellent House of Mystery series in the form of their second Annual issue.
I've talked about it many times on the blog, but I think House of Mystery is one of the finest comics being published today. Writer Matthew Sturges has taken this book to places I could never have imagined, and the art by Luca Rossi displays some of the very best linework in all of comics.And even though no one seems to ever talk about this title, I think the fact that the regular series is now on issue 30 speaks to the quality of the book. Here's the solicitation information from Vertigo:
The haunting began last Halloween, but this year, Matt Sturges, Peter Milligan, Mike Carey, Jill Thompson and a hoary host of guest creators deliver even more spine-tingling thrills in the HOUSE OF MYSTERY HALLOWEEN ANNUAL #2!
The annual House of Mystery Halloween Party is in full swing when the doorbell rings, which is unusual because a) it's never happened before and b) there isn't a doorbell at the House of Mystery!
What does Fig find when she opens the door? A warped trio of kids cursed to trick or treat until the end of time who will spin a tale spanning the years involving many Vertigo favorites such as Hellblazer, Lucifer, Madame Xanadu, iZombie and loads of others!
If you're into any of the other Vertigo books, or even avante-garde books like Chew, then i think you'll really enjoy House of Mystery. This Halloween Annual is a one-shot, self-contained story, so it's the perfect place to give the series a try.
Next up, we have a no-brainer. From Image Comics, the sixth hardcover volume of the unstoppable Walking Dead series by Robert Kirkman hits today. (Ha! "No-brainer." I just got that...)
Anyway, The Walking Dead is probably the hottest comic property on the planet, and with the AMC television show right around the corner, expect to see this latest hardcover volume all over comic shops and bookstores.This series is one of those that actually deserves all of the hype that surrounds it--while there's plenty of cringe-inducing physical horror in the book, it's the physcological terror and the day-to-day survival stories of the characters that makes the book what it is.
Here's the blurb from Image:
JUST IN TIME FOR THE ALL-NEW TELEVISION SERIES ON AMC!
This hardcover features another 12 issues of the hit series along with the covers for the issues, all in one oversized hardcover volume. Perfect for long time fans, new readers and anyone interested in reading a zombie movie on paper that never ends.
Collects THE WALKING DEAD #61-72.
These big hardcovers are the best way to read the series--I don't buy the single issues, and I skip the paperback trades. The hardcovers are over-sized and they collect 12 or 13 issues at a clip.
Buy yourself a Halloween present this year--read The Walking Dead.
Finally today, we have an interesting book from Marvel called Tomb of Terror, issue 1. I'm such a sucker for these big horror compilations--probably because I missed out on all the great ones, like Eerie and Creepy.
But the House of Ideas is trying to rectify all that with their latest offering of all-new stories by creators like Joe R. Lansdale (!) and Mark Texeira. Here's the blurb on the one-shot:THE STORY: Marvel's most terrifying monsters star in four tales of harrowing horror!
Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night stalks a killer werewolf in the mountains while searching for a cure that will end his curse. The mal-formed Man-Thing, temporarily in possession of his mind, attempts to save a man from certain death at the hands of racist hunters. And Son of Satan battles a possessed child killer along with the murderous voices in his head.
All this and much more in this all-new, all-black-and-white one-shot in the spirit of the Mighty Marvel Magazines of yore, but ALL-NOW in style!
Like I said, I'm a sucker for this stuff, so I'll certainly give it a chance. And with that (and since I'm almost two hours late in posting this), I need to stop there. Before I head back to work, though--what are you Waiting for?
2 comments:
Neil Gaiman interview: http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/10/the_vulture_transcript_neil_ga.html
He has two responses on the subject of the iPad and comics, which I can't copy/paste due to length. But definitely check it out.
Thanks, Scott.
From the article:
"When I was handed my first iPad, the friend who showed it to me said, “Look at this,” and promptly showed me my Eternals story for Marvel on the iPad. I loved, was shocked, delighted, and amazed by the fact that the first best seller that DC comics had on the iPad was Sandman No. 1. Just sort of going, this is a comic I wrote 23 years ago, and you’ve got this new technology, and it’s here right now. I think they’re brilliant. I really do. And I think that I do not have the allegiance to paper that I ought to. Perhaps I don’t have the allegiance to paper that I ought to because anybody who invests in The Absolute Sandman, all four volumes, is now carrying 40 pounds of paper and cardboard around with them. And they hurt and they complain, “Oh, I feel guilty.” And I look at it and go, you’re not getting anything that is quantitatively or qualitatively better than the experience you’d be getting on an iPad, where you can enlarge the pages, you can move it around, it’s following the eye, and you can flip the pages. By the same token, I’m loving the fact that the Kindle software on my little iPod touch and the Kindle software on my Nexus phone talk to each other, which is the equivalent of having fairies that run around behind me inserting bookmarks in random copies of books that are at wherever I need them to be. It doesn’t matter what I was reading it on, when I pick it up, it’s on the page that I’m on."
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