May 08 - 4th shipment

8 new additions to my collection were included in the last shipment for May:

Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero #8

Inadiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull #2

Moby Dick #4

The Picture of Dorian Gray #6

Star Trek: Year Four - The Enterprise Experiment #2

Star Trek TNG: Intelligence Gathering #5 - Disgrace

Star Wars: Dark Times #11 - Vector p.5

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #29 - Exalted p.1

August solicitations - very dsappointing

This is the 1st time since I got into the comics world almost 2 years ago that the solicitaions are soooo disappointing. On one hand they included new Doctor Who, Flash Gordon and X-Files series. But on the other hand only 2 itmes each from Dynamite, Marvel Illustrated and Star Trek and nothing from Dresden Files, Stargate and The Godfather, not to mention all the other Dynamite titles that were put on hold ages ago. GRRRRR

Star Wars: Dark Times #1-5 - The Path to Nowhere

The 1st issue of Star Wars: Dark Times, Vector story is about to arrive in this week's shipment, so I decided that it's time to start reading this series. I'm not as versed in the Star Wars universe as I am in the Star Trek and Stargate universes, but I enjoy it anyway.

The 1st story arc - The path to nowhere is great and I'm very happy that I "gave in" and started reading Star Wars comics. The story is very touching and the fact that the Jedi didn't manage to save the youngling made it different.

I don't understand why killing the slaver means that the Jedi strayed from the Jedi path. Also I have a problem with the portrayal of Lord Vader. The writer goes out of his way to show that there is more of Anakin Skywaklker in Vader then was shown in movies 4-6.

May 08 - 3rd shipment

I was waiting for 6 new additions in this shipment but only 5 arrived including new Indiana Jones and Star Trek mini series. Dresden Files #2 is MIA:

CSI: Demon House

Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull #1

The Iliad #6

Star Trek: Assignment Earth #1

Star Wars: Legacy #24 - Loyalities p.2

Markosia in July & August

In July & August Markosia is offering the next 2 issues of the Starship Troopers ongoing saga with Tony Lee as one of the writers, which mean that the Tanner Tigers will be there too:

• Starship Troopers #9
• Starship Troopers #10

Dynamite & Arrden in August

Dynamite's offering for August is very disappointing. Only 2 new items for me:

• Battlestar Galactica: Origins #10
• Zorro #7

Arrden Entertainment has 1 new item in August:

• Flash Gordon #1

Marvel in August

Marvel's August solicitations are very disappointing cos they have only 1 new item for me:

• The 3 musketeers #3

They should have announced 2 new titles after The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Iliad are finished. I hope that this is not the end of the Marvel Illustrated line :(

Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic #25-28 - Vector p.1-4

WOW !!! The KotOR part of Vector is great. The story is very interesting. It also hints at how the Vetor story can span all 4 current Star Wars series and eras. My guess is that the common factor is Celest in that Sith box that can keep her alive for eternity. This way the story can move from era to era. Can't wait to read Dark Times part and KotOR #29 to see what happen next, both in Zane Carrick and Celest stories.

The art is great and annoying at the same time. The panels are very clear and it's easy to see what's happeneing. But the faces are annoying. The artist use the same approach to sketching faces as Flash Gordon's artist and sketch weird faces. At least the proportion between body and face is good unlike in the Flash Gordon comics.

DC/Wildstorm in August

In August DC/Wildstorm will add a new title to my reading list:

• The X-Files Special #0

I liked watching the series and have a few issues from the old X-Files comics. This is my 1st venture into DC comics and I hope that the 2008 DC comics are using better paper and printing quality then their old Star Trek comics.

IDW in August

IDW's August solicitation have 6 new items for me including the new Tony Lee's Doctor Who mini series:

• Angel: After the Fall #11
• Doctor Who: The Forgotten #1
• Doctor Who Classics #9
• Spike: After the Fall #2
• Star Trek: Assignmebt Earth #4
• Star Trek: Year Four - The Enterprise experinebt #5

For some reason there is no mention of Star Trek: Mirror Images #3.

Star Trek: Alien Spotlight II news

Andrew Harris posted this advert to the new Align Spotlight comics. It will feature the following 5 races: Klingons, Betazoids, Ferengi, Tholians & the Q. Mr, Harri also added that:

• There'll actually be a sixth book in the series, but IDW is keeping it a surprise for now... .

Doctor Who Classics #4-6 - Doctor Who and the Star Beast

Another very cool Doctor Who story. The art and new coloring is just great. What bothered me in the story is how the Doctor was portrayed as kind of dumb. One would have thought that the Tardis's data banks have info all on the races in the universe, so the Doctor shouldn't have been taken in by the Meep's act. And it took the Doctor too long to realize that he has a bomb in his tummy.

Kudos to IDW for coloring and re-printing these old Doctor Who comics. I'm looking forward to see what they'll do with old Star Trek comics.

May 2008 - 2nd shipment

3 new additions in May's 2nd shipment:

Doctor Who Classics #6 - Doctor Who & the Star Beast, Doctor Who & the Dogs of Doom

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #28 - Vector p.4

Zorro #3

Star Trek comics news

John Byrne has announced the title of his forthcoming Romulan miniseries sequel to his Romulan issue in the first Alien Spotlight series. The series is "Star Trek Romulans: The Hollow Crown" and starts in September. Mr. Byrne also hinted that there will be more Romulans mini series.

CSI: Serial

Great CSI mystery. I realised who the killer is only in the last pages. Loved all the bio details about Jack the Ripper. The penciled art is great and so are the likemesses. On the other hand Ashley Wood's pained art is horrible as usual. It's very hard to dechiper what's going on the in flashbacks cos of it.

Dark Horse in August

A new month of solicitaions has begun and as usual the 1st installment is from Dark Horse:

• Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #3
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #32
• Star Wars: Legacy #27
• Star Wars: Rebellion #16

Flash Gordon #0

The 1st ever issue from a new publisher is always a risk. I liked it a lot. The story is very short - only 10 pages. No Flesh Gordon in it, only Ming doing his worst. But I liked it. The art is a bit weird due to disproportion in the way characters were drawn, as can be seen in the cover. Small ellogonated heads / faces in contrast to very muscular upper torsos. I'm lookign forward to issue #1 abd hopefully Flash's appearance.

May 2008 - 1st shipment

Just returned from the local comics shop with 4 new additions from May's 1st shipment:

Angel: After the Fall #7 - First Night p.2

Battlestar Galactica: Origins #5 - Adama p.1

Doctor Who #4

Star Wars: Legacy #23 - Loyalities

Although we are already a week into May, there still no sign of August solicitations :(

Free Comic Book Day 2008

FCBD 2008 was yesterday in my neck of the globe and I maged to collect 12 new additions to the FBCD section of the collection:

April 08 - 5th shipment & bonus

April's last shipment arrived on Wendsday but due to real life commitments only now I got around to posting about the 4 new additions to my collection, including the signed New York Comics Com Flash Gordon #0 that Youval brought from his visit there:

Battlestar Galctica: Season Zero #7

Flash Gordon #0

Moby Dick #3

Star WarsL Rebellion #13

More from writer Rob Williams on Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods

From CBR:

• Though “Temple of Doom” was the second film in the Indy film franchise, the film was set in 1935, a year before the events of the inaugural “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Illustrated by Steve Scott with covers by Tony Harris, “Tomb of the Gods” is set sometime in between those two films. “It's an interesting time in Indy's development,” Rob Williams told CBR News. “One of the things we talked about from the offset is the dichotomy in Indy's character between ‘Temple’ - where his mantra is ‘Fortune And Glory’ - and ‘Raiders,’ where it's ‘That Belongs In A Museum.’”
• In a pivotal scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Indy’s rival, Belloq, along with a caravan of Nazis, transports the Ark of the Covenant through a desert pass before our titular hero levels a bazooka at their cargo and threatens to blow it to kingdom come. But Belloq calls Indy’s bluff, knowing Jones’ intellectual curiosity would not allow him to lose the secrets of the Ark to to history.
  “In ‘Tomb of the Gods,’ Indy’s not yet at the point in his life where he'll lower the bazooka and let Belloq have the Ark,” Williams said. “The younger, more driven Indy wouldn't do that.” Williams believes it is Indy’s newfound humility that saves his life at the end of “Raiders,” when he chooses to close his eyes rather than gaze upon the contents of the Ark. “Our story is another part of Indy's development on the way to ‘Raiders.’”
• “We wanted to make the stakes huge, so it's something that could put the entire human race in peril, along with Indy's soul,” Williams said. “There's a MacGuffin - something that could mean that everything Indy has studied all these years is a lie - a chase across the globe, and, eventually, a major revelation. You'll have to read the series to see just what Indy's looking for. But it's something that goes to the very heart of who Indy is.”
• Parts of the story are based on actual events. “There's a factual basis behind our inciting incident - an occurrence that did actually happen, and the evidence for it can still be seen today. But we're also adding in some aspects that are an homage to the writings of a certain author.”
• At least one member of Indy’s supporting cast features prominently in “Tomb of the Gods” -- Marcus Brody, Jones’ colleague and occasional benefactor. In the films, Brody was played by Denholm Elliott, and Williams was brimming over with praise for the accomplished actor. “Denholm Elliott is superb in ‘Raiders’ and ‘Last Crusade.’ He's probably the best thing in ‘Last Crusade,’ actually. So, he's too good a character not to have along for the ride.” Whether or not fans can expect to see any other familiar faces from the Indy films remains to be seen.arts of the story are based on actual events. “There's a factual basis behind our inciting incident - an occurrence that did actually happen, and the evidence for it can still be seen today. But we're also adding in some aspects that are an homage to the writings of a certain author.”
• For “Tomb of the Gods,” Williams made the conscious decision to introduce a number of expanded universe characters into the mix, if for no other reason than to have a supporting cast that he could put in real peril. “Even if you know Indy's going to make it out okay, you don't know if they will,” Williams said. “Also, recurring expanded universe characters help us give this run a distinct personality of its own.”
• The series once again pits Henry Jones, Jr. against Hitler’s Third Reich, but Williams told CBR News that Indy’s adversaries in “Tomb of the Gods” aren’t just any Nazis. Indy crosses paths with the Ahnenerbe, a real-life section of the SS started by Heinrich Himmler in 1935. “The Ahnenerbe was the ancestral heritage branch of the SS, dedicated to archaeology surrounding the superiority of the Aryan race and the occult.,” Williams said. “This is, to all extent and purposes, Hitler's private team of Ghostbusters. I felt that was a pretty cool angle. So it's not just Indy verses your typical Nazi goons, it's Indy up against his counterparts from within the Nazi party.”

An Indiana Jones expanded univers is a great idea. Dark Horse's Star Wars expanded universe is great and so is Pocket Books Star Trek expanded universe. Can't wait to start reading !!!

Angel: After the Fall news

From Brian Lunch's blog:

• Betta George makes a fairly Earth-Shattering discovery in issue 10.
• Angel gets a new yet oddly familiar nickname in issue 9.
• Connor reveals a whole hell of a lot to Angel in issue 9.
• We find out who turned Gunn in issue 8.
• Death is coming.

Although I would have prefered not so many monsters, I'm still lloking forward to these issues.

Spike: After the Fall news

From writer Brian Lynch blog:

• Even though this is my and Franco's third SPIKE series, there are no appearances from Beck or Betta George or Tok or even Trots the Evil Horse Puppet. George premiered in SPIKE:ASYLUM # 2 and then came back to life in SPIKE:SHADOW PUPPETS #2, so it would have been nice to have him appear, however briefly, in SPIKE:ATF # 2, but the story is king and the fish had no place.I miss Beck and Tok and Mosaic. I think I'll visit them again, AATF.

Cool, there are going to be more Spike comics.

• Illyria is a full-on supporting character in this, and we deal with her current situation. However, if you don't SPIKE:ATF you'll still understand what's going on with her in ANGEL:ATF. And vice versa, actually. Illyria isn't the only character from the ANGEL TV show that makes an appearance.
• Gunn is not the villain in SPIKE:ATF. The villain in SPIKE:ATF would make Gunn wet his pants.

Sounds good !!! Also I;m crossing my fingers that the older Spike comics will be re-printed by IDW in the smaller & cheaper version, or they'll appear in a bargain bin somewhere :)