Waiting for Wednesday, Volume 3, Issue 15

Some days you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed. And some nights, you go to bed on the wrong side of the bed. Both things happened to me in the last 12 hours or so, and as such, I'm in a pretty lousy, pretty anxious mood today.

Between the continuing problem of the Blog Thief (who has now officially made me Angry), and some other fun stuff swirling around my head today (and for the remainder of this week, most likely), I'm probably not the most pleasant human being to be around this morning.

Plus, it's raining.

Now, I should just go right into the comics (considering how annoyed I am, and all), but I wanted to mention some more unhappy news first. Just that kind of day, I guess.

It was reported last night that Dark Horse Comics have laid off a number of employees. Included among the layoff are editorial staff.

This hits close to home for me, and I know what those folks are going through today. I'm really sorry to hear that the publisher needed to make these cuts, and I hope everyone manages to land on their feet soon, because the the work they've done at Dark Horse has been great.

Right. Enough with the unhappy. Let's get to the new books.

Following up on an Image-heavy week last time around, this week looks like the publishers were shipping product made specifically for me. First off, today's the day I get my Goon shirt from Dark Horse.
So that's something, at least.

On top of that, though, there's an absolute barrage of quality titles from Image, including issue three of what is my early favorite for series of the year, Li'l Depressed Boy.
The first printing of issue one is long sold out, but there's a second print that you might still be able to find at your local comics shop. If not, though, several online stores are carrying this title.

I talked at length about the series here, and I suggest you check out that post and see if this book is something that should be on your radar. The book has some good press going for it, and there's a nice little buzz building about the series, and about the first trade that will ship in the coming months.

Anyway, here's the solicitation information from Image:

“YOU'RE NO ROCK N' ROLL FUN” The Li'l Depressed Boy takes a trip with his dream girl to the local thrift store, where he is thrust both into dead people's clothes and a forthcoming birthday party. Can he find the perfect gift in time? Guest-starring Los Angeles indie songstresses The Like!

Please do give this series a read.

Next up, we have Carbon Grey, issue 2, from Image. Another series that was mentioned here before, Carbon Grey featured a solid first issue, with well-paced writing and some stunning art.
It's an interesting title with a good premise and new, head-turning creative team. If you did steampunk fiction, you should give this series a shot.

Here's the blurb for today's issue two:

The General moves to arrest the sisters, as the twins turn to their mentors. The Baron has a hand in Pepper and Dina’s escape, and Howard is convinced he is blessed. As the Greys search for Giselle, Eva becomes concerned about her sister’s allegiances. Who is manipulating the Kaiser’s legacy?

Two other Image books worth noting are Butcher Baker, issue two, and Infinite Vacation, issue two. Both books were featured on previous WfWs, and both books are definitely worth your time.

Butcher sees a second issue right on the heels of the sold-out first issue, so the buzz for that title should continue. Infinite Vacation, meanwhile, suffered a looong delays between issues, so interest might have waned a bit.

Hopefully retailers upped their orders from issue one, though, because writer Nick Spencer has something good going with this book.

But since I'm running late (and still annoyed with things), let's jump now to Marvel, and to their latest news makers, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, issue 157, and the tie-in book, Ultimate Comics Avengers Vs New Ultimates, issue 3, both of which carry the tag line, "Death of Spider-Man."
Too-long titles aside, these two books are making some Big News today with regard to everyone's favorite (Ultimate) webslinger.
Even though this stuff isn't happening in the Marvel Universe Proper, Brian Bendis' Ultimate version of Spidey is a much-loved character in the Marvel mythos. And people are going to care if he gets offed today.

From the sound of it, something big happens today, and the endings of both books feature the same scene.

Here's the blurb from Marvel:

The Story: (hide) It is the shot heard around the world. Witness the issue comic fans be talking about all year. leave your cynicism at the door... this is the real deal. The Death of Spider-Man. Bendis and Bagley reunite for this historic Spider-Man event a decade in the making.

Should be interesting, that's for sure. Ultimate Spider-Man has been a constant in my comics reading the past decade, and I hold it up there with the very best super hero stories ever told.

We'll see what happens.

And with that, I'm out of here. Before I stop typing, though, what are you Waiting for?