These books are scheduled to ship Wednesday January 9^th.

MARVEL COMICS

HULK #1

This is the book Marvel has been hyping the past few months as INCREDIBLE. I can’t help but think that with the creative team of Jeph Loeb and Ed Mcguinnes it probebly will be. The fallout after World War Hulk has left Jennifer Walters and Len Sampson a little off balance. We get to see the two of them together tracking the Hulk and then a last page surprise that some folks may not see coming.

MIGHTY AVENGERS #7

My favorite creative team of the past few years are back together as Mark Bagley joins Bendis for a few issues to get the book back on a normal schedule. It seems as though New York City has been infected with the Venom symbiote and nearly everyone has a giant tongue and lots of drool. While the Avengers deal with that Wonder Man goes shopping! Or he gets some kind of makeover, its really unclear.

NOVA #10

Nova is finally able to reunite with his war time lover Gamora but since she’s been taken over by the Phalanx all she wants to do is kill him. Marvel has really churned out some top notch sci fi action since the first Annihilation and Nova is at the core of that. This book has been a pleasant surprise since the first issue with sharp writing and better than average artwork. The last two issues had a talking communist space dog. What did YOUR last two issues have? Yeah, I thought so.

THE TWELVE #1 (OF 12)

One would think that with the goings on in Spider-Man and Thor J Michael Straczynski wouldn’t have enough time to research a dozen different obscure heroes from World War Two but that’s whats happened. A dozen super heroes from all over the world who fought alongside the Invaders during WWII find themselves thrust into modern society. The ultimate fish out of water story as told by one of the premiere writers of our time.

DC COMICS

BAT LASH #2 (OF6)

As any fan of Stephen Colbert will tell you, bears are one of the biggest threats to Americans today so imagine how much more of a threat they were back in the wild west before we built all those citys. Bat Lash will find out as he searches for Dominique in bear country!

GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY #4

The end of the first story arc ended badly for Oliver Queen. You would think not being dead would be good enough for the emerald archer but no, he apparently wants his son to be alive too. What a whiner! This issue begins the next chapter in the life of my favorite newly reunited, possibly married and extremely under dressed couple.

SPIRIT #12

Thus ends Darwin Cooke’s incredible run on Will Eisner’s The Spirit. Rarely does a book come along that is so universally loved and respected. Cooke has been able to do what many, including myself, would have thought impossible. He made the Spirit his own. Never during his run on the book did I find myself wondering how it would have looked if Eisner had done it. Cooke’s Spirit was a perfect blend of style and substance, a phenominal blending of creator and creation and a new bar for the rest of the industry to try and raise themselves to. If you missed this landmark series the first time around DC has already published one hardcover collecting the first six issues and a second is sure to come.

TEEN TITANS THE LOST ANNUAL

The secrets of space and JFK are finally revealed in this never before told tale of the Teen Titans early years. Robin and the gang have to defy aliens to rescue President john F. Kennedy. Bob Haney, writer of some of the Titans classic adventures is joined by Jay Stephens and Mike Allred

INDY COMICS

BPRD: 1946 #1

World War 2 is over and Professor Trevor Bruttenholm along with his newly adopted demon son has started the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. In this early chapter of the BPRD we find the Professor and a tired group of allied soldiers digging into a Nazi plot with the sinister codename Project: Vampir Sturm. Who doesn’t love a mix of Nazi’s, demons and wacky hijinks?

EVIL DEAD #1 (OF 4)

Writer Mark Verheiden and artist John Bolton are taking Ash back to his roots in this fully authorized adaptation/director’s cut of the original Evil Dead film. They promise additional scenes and “unexpected new directions”. This is ramping up to be an important part of the Evil Dead mythology that started the careers of both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.

STAR WARS LEGACY #0 ½

The original Star Wars Legacy #0 sold out over a year ago. Because of the big events happening in the Star Wars universe this year Dark Horse is re-releasing the book with new bonus content. This is a perfect jumping on point for anyone wanting to learn about the Star Wars universe 100 years after Return of the Jedi.

TRADES/GRAPHIC NOVELS

BUFFY OMNIBUS VOL 3

The “high school as hell” metaphor was never better than Buffy’s third season and here we get to see the relationships as they were at that time in the shows history. Oz and Willow were the cutest thing ever as Buffy and Angel dealt with his resurrection and Xander and Cordelia… well they were Xander and Cordelia. We even get to check in on Spike and Dru after the events of the season two finale. Buffy is easily one of the best books out there today and its a whole lot of fun going back and seeing the gang in high school.

NEW WARRIORS VOL 1 TP

The new warriors are dead as we all saw at the very beginning of last year’s mega crossover event Civil War. So who are these new kids running around and defying authority and doing such criminal things like spray painting graffiti and saving lives without a license? Is that really Night Thrasher seemingly back from the dead or is there someone else pulling their strings. Guest starring a bevy of the Marvel U’s heaviest hitters. Now with 74% more Jubilee! This trade collects the first six issues.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS ROBIN VOL 1

You get over 500 pages of classic Robin stories from the 60’s and 70’s as Batman’s teen sidekick heads out on his own. Guest starring Batman, Superman, Batgirl and Jimmy Olson to name but a few. Featuring writing and art by some of the greatest of all time including Gardner Fox and Neal Adams and sporting a cover by legendary artist Carmine Infantino.

OWLY V4: A TIME TO BE BRAVE

This is one of the few books on the market that can be shared and loved by every member of the family, even those not old enough to read. Andy Runton uses a wonderfully fun mixture of expressions and symbols instead of the typical word balloons to get his “dialogue” across. In this volume the forst finds itself home to a frightening new animal and through some bravery by the cutest character in comics new friendships are forged. Starting with this volume all Owly books are printed on 100% recycled paper. I believe our little woodland friends would give that a resounding “!!”.

Now here’s a new feature. Every week we’ll check in to see what is the what in DC’s weekly series.

UPDATE TO COUNTDOWN

The search is finally over as we find Ray Palmer. I have to admit the whole “where is Ray Palmer” storyline was kind of lost on me. I’ve never really read much of anything involving Palmer with the exception of Identity Crisis so I had no kind of investment in his character. For me the journey was almost an inconvenience but the destination was so worth it. What we have here is the story of a man who has been so devastated by not only life but by those he loved most that he just disappeared. The best real world analogy I can think of is someone who has lived through some kind of horrible experience and spending a year in a state of schizophrenia believing the people who inhabit their head are real. In comics these trauma induced episodes tend to be a bit more fanciful. In Ray Palmer’s case he found a universe where his friend is still alive and his wife is perfectly sane and not at all a murderer.

Hey look, another new feature. This one will be monthly!

COOL STUFF WE SAW IN PREVIEWS–

In the DARK HORSE section:

SERENITY: BETTER DAYS #1 (JAN080041)

Joss Whedon brings back my favorite cowboys in outer space in this three issue mini series set in the time between the last mini series Those Left Behind and the Serenity movie. Whedon reunites with his co conspirators from Those Left Behind Brett Matthews and Will Conrad along with Adam Hughes who will once again be delivering multiple covers for each issue.

Also available: Serenity:Those Left Behind HC (JAN080043) and TPB (JAN080042)

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (JAN080049)

This is the graphic novelization of one of the most highly anticipated movies in years! If you’re a fan of Indiana Jones you won’t want to miss out on this one.

In the IMAGE section:

ELEPHANTMENT: WOUNDED ANIMALS HC

PREVIEWS CODE: JAN082093

The idea of creating a human/animal hybrid is older than civilization. Ancient cultures saw their gods as some sort of amalgamation of man and beast and worshiped these monstrous deities for centuries before more refined humanized versions of these benevolent higher powers showed up to preach love, understanding and genocide. It almost seems as if it is designed in our DNA that man and best should be able to merge as a single better creation. Current science is trying to force working animal parts into broken human bodies, giving people chances at life they wouldn’t have had normally. The cloning of animals is a big step towards a day when things like heart diseased and lung cancer are cured as simply as appendicitis. Elephantmen takes a closer look at the more military applications of these wondrous scientific advances and the cultural byproduct of using a man/animal hybrid as tools of war. The real questions about these manimals comes when the war is over and everyone asks themselves “what do we do with killing machines when all the killing is done?”

Visually this book ranges from stunning futuristic cityscapes to murky underwater fights to the confusion and horror of being born in a lab that routinely tortures you to create a better killer. One would think the conflicting art styles would leave the reader with a bit of a disconnect. I know that I have been completely taken out of a multi part story if the art team changes mid plot line. Because of the out of time feeling of many of the books this never becomes a problem.

Elephantmen is science fiction at its very best, a morality tale cloaked under the guise of futuristic noir. The characters are richly detailed and I don’t just mean on the art side. We get to delve into the fractured psyches of these people who were taught from birth that they’re only function in life was to kill. How does a person, and lets face it, these elephantmen are all too human, come to grips with something like that? Not since Joshua on the too quickly canceled Dark Angel have I seen animal men with such human flaws and characteristics, not just as an allegory or a morality tale, but as a twisted mirror reflecting our own humanity back at us from a strangely familiar perspective.

Also available: ELEPHANTMEN: HIP FLASK HC (JAN082093)

In the DC section:

JL:NEW FRONTIER SPECIAL (JAN080154)

I just recently read New Frontier and I have to say it is easily one of the best stories to come out of any medium ever. The richness of the characters and history is truly a thing of beauty. Darwyn Cooke has a mastery of the sequential art form that very few have ever come close to. His ability to weave a compelling tale with characters long though obsolete or just forgotten is a wonder to behold. The New Frontier Special is 48 pages that includes several stories and special features from the animated movie.

Also available:

ANIMATED DVD SPECIAL EDITION(JAN084971) REGULAR EDITION (JAN084970)

BOOSTER GOLD VOL 1: 52 PICK UP HC (JAN080195)

How does one go about saving the multiverse? First, he needs a multiverse traversing vehicle of some kind and then he needs a hero who everyone thinks of as a joke, an idiot, an eternal screw up. He needs Booster Gold. Booster has ever been a silly sort of fellow. He and Blue Beetle were the stand up comedians of the Justice League and even though they were always the first to jump into any fray they were always considered second string. Plus there is that thing where Booster befriends wealthy octogenarians and… you know what. It’s better left unsaid. Booster and his new pal Rip Hunter: Time Master (along with Booster’s trusty robot sidekick Skeets) find anomalies in the multiverse and fix them. Every once in a while a book will come along and surprise you and the big surprise for 2007 was Booster Gold. Superbly written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz with art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund there really is no reason for anyone to be missing out on this book. It’s got adventure, excitement and Jonah Hex drinking Booster under a table. It rarely gets much better than that.

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN :BLACK DOSSIER – THE ABSOLUTE EDITION (JAN080240)

One of the most fascinating books of the year gets the absolute treatment from DC. Along with the various methods of storytelling already in the regular edition the absolute version comes with a 45-rpm vinyl recording of Alan Moore singing “Immortal Love”, an item Moore fought to have in the original edition but was deemed to cost prohibitive for a $30 book. Good thing for the absolute editions or the recording may have never seen the light of day.

In the MARVEL section:

THOR BY J MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI PREMIUM HC VOL1 (JAN082208)

One of the most talked about series from the past few years, Thor has defied expectations as Straczynski continues to weave a story that is captivating new readers with every issue. Thor is back from the dead and rebuilding Asgard in rural Oklahoma. Fun times ensue with the locals as well as those Thor locates who embody the essence of the Norse Gods.

In the COMICS section:

TERRY MOORE’S ECHO (JAN083295) PAGE 202

The creator of Strangers in Paradise returns with the story of a flat broke divorcee who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and some paranormal hijinks ensue. Lets be honest, the plot could be about a lady baking muffins for three weeks and napping between batches and Terry Moore would find a way to make it compelling, entertaining and just a little bit addictive.

DRAFTED VOL 1 TP (JAN083549) PAGE 273

For years myself and like minded individuals have thought that the only way to really unite the various peoples of the planet would be to find an external threat so vast and powerful that we would be forced to stop worrying about what makes us different and focus on what makes us all the same. That is the basic premise of Drafted and its one that seems particularly relevant in todays chaotic world. This collection includes issues 1-5 of the ongoing series as well as the 99 cent preview issue.

Also available: DRAFTED #6 (JAN083550)

Come back next week as we delve into the enigma that is Howard the Duck!