snap judgments

Okay, no preview books this week, my apologies.  BUT!  I have something else.

You see, as a brave and intrepid comic shop employee, I have the rather karmic hnor of not having to buy books.  It’s liberating, let me tell you.  To be able to read Avengers: The Initiative on my lunch break and just hang my head at the idea of sending ‘Girl Who Blew That Guy’s Head Off Home’ home after … well, blowing a guy’s head off on accident (OH BOY UNPREDICTABLE!  The guy was a little ‘too good to be true’, wasn’t he?   But shouldn’t she just go into a different training program to make sure that doesn’t happen again?  You’d actually let a girl who reacted lethally on accident in danger back on on the street?  Isn’t Initiative all a part of the Registration Act?  Shouldn’t training for those who need it be a part of Registration?  Am I the only one confused and disappointed?  Come on, Mr. Slott…).  but instead of feeling cheated out of my money based on hype, I can go put the book back at the end of my break (in fine condition, let me tell you) and spend my fat comic retail jockey check on something more satisfying.

Side note:  Yeah, I think I might have to do an article on the Avengers: Initiative book.  Suffice it to say, that and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man were sore spots.

So, in light of all this my purchasing power went towards the following:

The Amazing Screw On Head

An oldie but goodie.  It came out a long time back and since my copy’s a little worse for the wear and borrowing, I thought I’d spring for a fresh reprint.  I adore this story for it’s wacky seriousness, Mignola artwork and that the little air balloon ship has a skull on the balloon part.  Gold, I tells ya.  Maybe I’ll fire up the scanner and see if it can let me share how fantastic this comic one shot is.  Or maybe you can go rent the animated version on DVD.

Batman: Detective Comics #831

*gasp!*  There’s a DC in the house!  What can I say?  I’m a sucker for the animated series and Dini’s done a great job at writing a book for someone passingly interested like myself.  The Joker and Robin issue in the car was just what I’m looking for, an nice entry level story will drama and adventure.  And with the man who created the character behind Harley Quinn again, how could I refuse?  It’s a good issue, packed full of action and sympathies that makes me wonder sometimes at how anyone could really enjoy story decompression.  Harley is a good but off-kilter egg who seems to have matured a great deal from her time on the telly and in the end, we get a happy ending and a reward in the form of some honest storytelling for our reading time.

Fables #59

I tend to pick these up in trade, but there’s something about this one that was worth picking up to have on its own.   Now, Mr. Sims I think sums up why much better than I could, so scroll down and see.

Midnighter #5

One of the few characters outside the mainstream (wait, Wildstorm is mainstream now, isn’t it?) that I’m just a sucker for.  Garth Ennis to boot, suddenly I’m short $3.22 (tax and all).  But all in all, I’m not too sure on this one.  I promised myself I’d do the obligatory five-issues-trial, but while it did have Nazis, kicking and explosions, and a rather clever little ending twist, I’ll have to see how the character comes out of all this.  Still, now I have #1-5.

Omega Flight #1

I will be honest: I really only bought it because I was curious and didn’t think we’d last out our supply at work to be able to peruse it at my leisure.  And, I have a friend online who’s pop-culturally interested in Walter Langowski (you know, how some people really like Wonder Woman and have a lot of merchandise but couldn’t tell you a single member of her rogues gallery?), so I thought I’d read it and delight her with tales of the Sasquatch.  What I’ve read of Oeming has made me dazzle at his grip of mythology, so let’s see what he does with Canada’s premiere super-team.  And on the whole, it reminds me a lot of Warren Ellis’s Thunderbolts.  Weird, huh?  While Thunderbolts is a ticking time bomb, the obviously WRONG idea with hunted heroes just trying to do the tried and true Marvel idea of heroics, Alpha Flight has the obvious right idea of forming a group of people who want to do good, facing villains who have taken the upper hand.  It’s a slow build to something good, for all the right reasons.  Scott Kollins’s artwork’s going to take some time with me though.

Thunderbolts Presents: Zemo - Born Better #1

This got lost in my pull box as I have the mini right on my pull these days.  You can tell Fabian Nicieza really likes his characters and their archetypes and I respect that.  Not only am I learning a little about what a dynasty can do in the Marvel Universe to shape the character as Nicieza sees him but a little about German history too, as the store’s resident German History major can attest to.  Sure, you’re going to tell me you missed it, but wait until the trade if you must, it’s a solid story.

So, that’s what I paid for.  Preview books are in, including a Nova #1 (woo!), some X-Men stuff and other goodies, so we’ll be back to normal operation here in no time.