A Descent into Dullness

For two weeks worth of books, not a very big pile. Starting with the new Astro City about an old lady who runs a roadside attraction/museum of damaged robots.  Of the super-villainous lackey variety...

Then another Princess Ugg, where-in our titular character explains why she's attempting to get thru a "civilized" finishing school.  And then tries to engage in diplomacy with her roommate/archenemy...

The latest Lobster Johnson, mini "Get the Lobster" finishes up with a blimp-board fight to the death...

Another print issue of the Legend of Bold Riley.  Where Riley meets an old lady who invites her to take shelter from a coming storm.  And then goes on a vision quest while looking at some hand-woven rugs.  Also why smoking something...

The second issue of Rocket Raccoon is mostly Rocket jail breaking with the aid of a smuggled in twig-Groot.  Still think the vengeful exes plot-line is dumb...

The New Warriors continue their rescue mission for Haechi and Sun Girl from the new Inhumans.  Except I guess their were two groups of renegade Inhumans?  And one was attempting to use the "recruiting" of Haechi to impress the other?  I think?

Invincible sees the birth of Mark & Eve's daughter as Robot continues his bid for world conquest.  And as part of that he makes the Viltrumites an offer...

And finally Shutter with Kate sitting down with her newly revealed little brother.  And having his age make her realize something new and upsetting about her father...

Been really slacking on these again.  Which does highlight how little DC/Marvel I'm buying as singles right now.  If I don't count Vertigo imprint books, its a single title from each right now.  Mainline DC just isn't putting out much I want to follow and Marvel's $4 per issue thing is becoming more and more of deal breaker.  Including on the title I'm still getting in singles, New Warriors.  I'm liking this relaunch.  The characters, Yost's dialogue, the High Evolutionary based initial arc.  All good.  But I still may switch to trade waiting like I'm doing on Superior Foes, Ghost Rider, She-Hulk and the Daredevil relaunch.  'Cause $4 for a 20 page book is bullshit...

At least from the Big Two.  I'm ok with that price point for twenty pages of transgender action/adventure for IDW's Samurai Jack.  Plus shinier paper.  Or even better, $4 for twenty-TWO pages like kaboom!'s Adventure Time and Adventure TIme: the Flip Side.  Four bucks for Finn & Jake mistaking a nucleur silo for a traditional dungeon?  Or teaming with LSP to try and rig a prom election to get a monkey to kidnap a lady painting?  I'm down with that...

Hunh, Wonder Woman is only twenty pages as well.  Didn't notice that happening.  Still its sticking at the three dollar price point.  Plus its more cross-title setting with DC, and WW mostly avoids the general ongoing DCU stuff...

The Unwritten gang continue to try and make their way across broken London while avoiding the constant war stories.  But they do find out that Pullman is behind the whole thing, all part of another plot by him to try and slay the Leviathan...

Charles and Edwin and Crystal manage to avoid damnation and death and such in Dead Boy Detectives.  And someone gets to burn down their school.  Sure it was accident.  Mostly an accident...

Knights of the Dinner Table sticks to concentrating on the ongoing return of the uber-sword story.  With Brian and Sara getting an offer from said mad sword...

I'm pretty sure I missed an issue of Pretty Deadly at some point here.  Because there is otherwise an awful big jump in the story before it reaches the climax of this first arc...

In Invincible Universe, the Lizard King learns a valuable lesson.  Just 'cause you alter a person's DNA to make them a reptile, doesn't necessarily mean an alignment change.  And then IU goes on hiatus.  Again.  Hopefully when it gets started again it will have the same title.  I'd say even money on whether or not that happens...

Fatale picks back up with Jo and Nick and soon enough everything is all obsession and murder and stolen magic eyeballs...

This issue of Prophet gives some back-story on plant person Hiyonhoiagn and his race the Kinnian.  Plus..well plus the normal hard to accurately and easily describe scifi weirdness...

I'm starting to wonder if Police Chief Higgens' drive to arrest Lobster Johnson is entirely in the cause of Law & Order...

King Conan returns to the sea in pursuit of the Heart of Ahriman, gets captured by slavers and meets some old friends amidst the rowers.  And just like that Amra the Lion is reborn...

Empowered: Internal Medicine is another one-shot.  With Warren teaming with Brandon Graham on this one.  Graham is pretty damn amazing drawing Emp and Ninjette doing super-surgery on an alien spaceship baby...

And another one-shot from Dark Horse, this time Beasts of Burden: Hunters & Gatherers.  With the animal guardians of Burden Hill facing off against an invisible giant lizard monster.    And ending with an alliance between the Crows and the Rats.  Who still have their Rat King...

And finally a new Dark Horse Presents.  The main things interest for my in this one would be the "Nexus" story, a Kel McDonald Revolutionary-era balloon crossing of the English channel and the monstery mystery story involving kids teamed with the ghost of Davey Jones...

This issue of Knights of the Dinner Table has lots of Weird Pete. First he finishes up his gig as a temp player to run Dave's character as the UT+1 narrowly avoid total disaster while scouting the region where uber-sword Carvin' Marvin is at rest (though Brian still thinks he has a way to game things to his advantage). And then Pete is with his regular Black Hand group as they spend some time gaming at Newt's swanked out game room...

Astro City continues with the character assassination of Winged Victory, although she gets ongoing assistance from Samaratin and the Confessor (and the Confessor's army of Altar Boy agents)...

The 2nd issue of Dead Boy Detectives is actually from January, but I managed to miss it then. Child of celebrity Crystal struggles to fit in at her new boarding school. Or the place that the titular leads were murdered. Which is part of what she is there to investigate...

In order to force Monkey Wizard to kidnap Princess Painting, Finn and Jake team with expert Princess kidnapper the Ice King in Adventure Time: the Flip Side. Which then involves a jewel heist. For reasons...

And a new Lobster Johnson mini, Lobster Johson: Get the Lobster. With the first issue having some berserk pro-wrestlers...

Invincible Universe has the wedding of Kid Thor and Knockout. And like nearly all super-human weddings it goes...less..than perfectly...

And a new arc of Fatale with Jo taking a more aggresive role and seeming to have a long-term plan that involves former writer Nicolas...

Not so shockingly, using the crazy third rate Dark Avengers to steal alien technology looks like it will break the world. Marvel shadow cabinets are always so dumb...

So besides someone trying to make Matt all crazy, Daredevil and Foggy are trying to clear a nurse from a locked room murder mystery. One where the victim was drained of blood. And no one can think what happened. 'Cause seriously? I mean you people just had a everyone-fights-Dracula thing like last year. And you can't make any guesses as to the locked room/no blood thing?

Avengers Academy draws a close to its current arc, with one student crossing over a line and deals permanently with the bad guy...

The Unwritten goes back a bit in time, to before the start of the current main arc, but just after the end of the first story. Leading to Savoy and Tom taking a break...

The zero issue of Wonder Woman has teen Diana meeting up with nuDC Ares for the first time. And fighting the Minotaur. So given the whole Daddy Zeus reveal, one of her brothers tricks her into almost killing another sibling...

Godzilla: Half-Century War goes from jsut post WW2 Japan to '67 Vietnam. With Big G wandering far off from his normal stomping grounds. Plus that spiny armadillo looking giant monster...

Mignola & Arcudi drop a Lobster Johnson one-shot. With the vigilante going up against some Pre-Nazi German nationalists looking to drop a chemical weapon on New York...

The highlights of the latest Dark Horse Presents are the latest "Finder", as usual, and the Richard Corben/Edgar Allen Poe stuff. Oh and the Nate Cosby "Buddy Cops" bit...

Oh right, bought comics this week didn't I?

Starting with the finale to the current Lobster Johnson mini, Lobster Johnson: the Burning Hand which has a trap involving cannibal sewer zombies...

And a new Dark Horse Presents. Some Finder and Cal McDonald as well as a new Nexus and Aliens story...

And from the pages of DHP comes the first issue of Resident Alien where an alien pretending to be a retired doctor is pulled into a small town's murder mystery...

The two main stories in the current Knights of the Dinner Table are more of the UT+2 vs. Knobby Foote and Weird Pete's journey into the non-sanctioned Hackmaster game scene...

Prophet is..still Prophet. Hard to explain but one of the coolest and most interesting scifi stories out there...

And finally the Unwritten begins its next big story, starting off with an arc called "the Wound" and involving the Cult of Tommy Taylor, missing persons and an Australian cop...

Lot of comics this week, even with my shop missing the new issues of Mouse Guard: the Black Axe and Adventure Time. Well, they had some AT, but only with the collectible covers. And while they were indeed sweet, I don't pay no 30 bucks for a single comic...

I did get the finale for Villains for Hire that I missed from last week. With a last act reveal of the plans of Misty and Puppet Master...

Picked up a couple new books. Brian K. Vaughn's scifi/fantasy mash-up Saga is definitely interesting enough to see where it will be going. And his artist, Fiona Staples, has some serious chops. Paul Cornell's Saucer Country on the other hand has a good high concept in its mix of politics and alien abduction. But it was more than a little difficult to follow...

The Joe Keatinge/Ross Campbell Glory relaunch is still crazy sweet. Very much looking to be shaping into something big and epic and awesome...

Lobster Johnson: the Burning Hand has the newly arrived spooky black fire/skull head bad guy running amok in the tenements to draw out Lobster Johnson...

Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan's adaptation of "Queen of the Black Coast" in Conan the Barbarian is still pretty damn perfect. This issue has a ship to ship archery fight. And then Conan lets loose on some pirates...

The Shade's current arc is still Spain and heroic vampires. Plus another local hero, Montpellier. Also a one panel bit of a fight between Sangre and the Inquisitor, bull-back during the running festival which is just a perfect piece of world-building...

Resurrection Man moves from Gotham to Metropolis, with Mitch pretty much stumbling into a police raid on one of his neighbors. Who is using some kind of hi-tech energy shield with possible links to Shelley's past...

Then the Unwritten finishes up the "War of Words" and the current big story. With secrets revealed and lives lost and plenty of questions and puzzles still remaining...

And finally a new Knights of the Dinner Table. The major focus here is on the PeeWee gaming group and Pete's plans to bring more people into the gaming fold. Though there is still more story movement with the UT+2 in Bag World and a brief look at Bob and Sheila at home...

This is probably the first issue of the new volume of Dark Horse Presents that I'm actually disappointed with. Yeah its got a wonderfully creepy Beasts of Burden ghost story. And the end to Chaykin's revenge crime story is generally satisfying. And the new post-apocalyptic Tarzan and the preview of Brian Wood's Massive are both intriguing. But the Hellboy tale is way dependent on having at least some idea of where the main titles for that is at currently. And the other stories are sadly forgettable at best...

Savage Dragon continues to focus on Malcolm and Angel Dragon's teen-adventures. And starts an arc that ties into the ongoing events of the Vanguard back-up...

Invincible and the Viltrumite leader almost manage to defuse the situation with Alan the Alien and Oliver through reasoned discussion. At least until the Global Guardians show up to try and arrest everybody. Getting everything back to the stage of capes punching each other...

Fatale continues as Brubaker and Phillips doing their normal amazing job of telling a noir/pulp story plus with some genuinely creepy horror elements mashed in...

iZombie moves closer to a CoC mythos Event, with Mummy Guy brokering a truce between the Dead Presidents and the monster hunter society. At the same time Horatio chooses sides between his job and his girlfriend. Plus Granpa Monkey! Gwen's Gay Brother! Ghosts and Frankensteins in Love! Vampires in Lust!

Static Shock finishes up what will likely be its only real story arc, since its being cancelled in two issues. But before that you get a rescue mission by Static, Hardware and Technique. But I'm not surprised to learn about the problems behind the scenes on this book, as the plotting is more than a bit sloppy...

Villains for Hire has the Purple Man's crew and the bought off members of the rival group going after Misty Knight. Setting up a final reveal that could help explain Misty's seeming heel turn...

And Avengers Academy has the students and faculty in an all-out brawl with the Dire Wraith/Human energy vampire Hybrid...