Comics stuff ahead...

Okay, before the beer completely wears off (although it pretty much has), here's the rundown of my November Previews order of new comics, as it currently stands...

HG Wells The War of the Worlds Hardcover from Dark Horse Comcs
An adaptatation of the classic novel which I have never read, and will probably never read, by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli. The guys who created the fantastic graphic novel, Kingdom of the Wicked. And the fantastic 2000AD series, Leviathan. (Hopefully to be reprinted in a single book at some point.) More to the point, they did the fantastic sequel to War of the Worlds, Scarlet Traces, first for a failed web comics site, then serialized in the Judge Dredd Megazine before finally being collected by Dark Horse. And if I thought the sequel by them was fantastic, how can I pass up their adaptation of the original?

Nexus Archives Volume 2 from Dark Horse
More reprints of the most brilliant superhero/sci-fi comic ever, which I foolishly lost in my travels.

Day of Vengeance Infinite Crisis Special from DC Comics

I know, I've been bitching about the Infinite Crisis lead-in miniseries pretty strongly. And this is another issue in one of them, by the exact same creative team. So why buy this one? Well... I had decided to stick with the Infinite Crisis story to the end, and this is supposed to explain how the Day of Vengeance miniseries connects to the Crisis. Perhaps more importantly, it is supposed to feature favorite DC mystical characters like the Phantom Stranger and Madame Xanadu. And I don't really expect it to avoid the miniseries flaws (too much superheroics, not enough mysticism), but I still want to read it. And I promise not to complain too much if it ends up on the same level of quality as the miniseries, because that's about all I can expect, right?

DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore from DC Comics
Hard to believe there was once a day when a big-name writer like Alan Moore could just come on and write one issue or one story about a DC universe character, do it incredibly well, and not completely revamp the character, isn't it? Well, the proof is now bound between covers. I hadn't purchased the earlier version of this book, but since this new edition includes Batman: The Killing Joke and the "Last Superman Story" (I forget the title), there's no reason to put this off any longer.

Seven Soldiers of Victory Volume 1 trade paperback from DC Comics
Ordinarily, a book reprinting stuff I already have wouldn't be a priority. But the Seven Soldiers series by Grant Morrison has been my favorite new DC comic (or comics) this year, and I'm happy to have it on my shelf as a collected book. And I know there are fans bitching about the format, about how it just collects the story in order and how it would be better if each individual miniseries got its own book. But the thing is, even though the series is structured as separate-but-related miniseries, it is all one big story. If a reader only wants the Zatanna story or whatever, that's fine, they can buy that. But if the story of the Seven Soldiers of Victory is being collected, it should be the whole story, so I'm glad they're taking that route.

Sgt Rock: The Prophecy from DC Comics
It's a new six-issue Sgt Rock miniseries, written and drawn by Joe Kubert. You'd have to be completely retarded to not buy that.

Elfquest: The Discovery from DC Comics
What I said right above? Replace "Sgt Rock" with "Elfquest" and "Joe Kubert" with "Wendy Pini" and I don't need to type any more, do I? (New, full-color Elfquest story by Wendy Pini from DC Comics? This truly is the most perfect of all perfect worlds.)

Body Bags: One Shot one-shot from Image
I'm sure I've waxed lyrical about Jason Pearson's Body Bags before. Yes, it's over the top, hyper-violent, and completely unsubtle. And yet, I love it so. His art and storytelling are fantastic, and his writing is wall-to-wall fun. And who would have thought we'd ever see new stories? Ever?

G0dand Volume 1: Hello Cosmic Trade Paperback from Image
G0dland is perhaps my favorite new comic right now. It seems hard for critics to look past the Lee/Kirby influence, but it really is an exciting, innovative, original take on the whole "cosmic superhero" subgenre. I find myself wanting to reread all the previous issues when a new one comes out. So, even though I own the original issues, I'm happy to buy this collection, just for ease of rereading.

Pulse #13 from Marvel
Just wanted to point out that this is apparently Brian Bendis' final issue as writer, and this is where I get off.

Essential Godzilla from Marvel
Let me just quote from Ninth Art:
"If you've ever looked for proof that the Marvel Bullpen put acid in the water coolers, look no further than ESSENTIAL GODZILLA. I'm not sure whose idea it was to have a comic about Godzilla rampaging through the Marvel Universe, but that's exactly what you get here. It's tough to get the ultimate strange moment here, but while many would point to a shrunken Godzilla rampaging through the New York sewer system, I'm going to have to place money on him getting teleported back in time to team up with Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur. This is a book sure to never be reprinted, so if you ever want to experience the insanity of Marvel's GODZILLA this is your one chance."

So there.

Marlene #1 from Slave Labor
It's a mystery one-shot from former Starman artist Peter Snejberg. And I like his art, and I like mysteries...

Roy Thomas' Anthem from Heroic
Okay, this may not be all that good. But, as a kid, I loved Roy Thomas' All-Star Squadron, telling the adventures of DC's Golden Age characters in WWII. Easily one of my favorite comics. And obviously, he loves telling stories about superheroes in WWII. So this is a new series along that theme. The characters are all new, but it's the same general idea. So I'm going to give it a shot.

Spike: Old Wounds one-shot from IDW
Liked the first Spike one-shot from IDW. This is the same artist, but not written by Peter David. But it deals with the Black Dahlia murder, which I've been interested in since reading the James Ellroy novel. So... okay.

Lucky Bamboo Presents from Lucky Bamboo
Okay, I must confess, I like what I've read of Fiona Avery's Arana series from Marvel. But not enough to actually buy it. But a comic that's created and owned by her, and not superheroes... And this book previews the new series from her own press. So I'll take a look, certainly. (Plus I like the artists.)

Past Lies from Oni
I liked the book, Skinwalker that Christina Weir and Nunzio DiFilliipis wrote. Didn't get their next two Oni graphic novels, but they sounded neat. (Can't buy everything.) This one sounds cool, too, about a detective helping a man solve the murder of one of his past lives...

Judge Dredd: The Chief Judge's Man from Rebellion
Read the second half of this story when it was serialized in 2000AD. Now I want to read the whole thing.

Rogue Trooper: To the Ends of Nu Earth from Rebellion
At this point, does it surprise anyone that I'll buy any old-school 2000AD reprints?

Sorcerers and Secretaries and MBQ from Tokyopop
I'll talk about these tomorrow...

Middleman Vol 2 #1: The Entering Dragon from Viper
What do I need to say? I loved the first one. It's like if Men in Black was good.

And this is all I feel like writing right now.