The latest Diamond Comics Order Form is online. I’ve
been trying to
get a hold of DC’s and Image’s solicitations for the
past few months, but I
haven’t had any response from the company. Marvel and
Dark Horse have
replied and signed me up for the solicitations, so
rather than
continue to wait for DC’s e-mail, I’ll just run with
the solicitations
that get leaked to rec.arts.comics.dc.universe and go
with that.
Anyway, here’s the first monthly column about upcoming
comic products
of interest. Enjoy!

Dark Horse

• Star Wars X-Wing Rogue Leader #1: This is the
  launch of a new Star
  Wars series.
• Serenity #3: This is the one I’m looking forward
  to. Covers by
  Middleton (of River), Yu (of Wash) and Phillips (of
  Simon).

DC

• All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #2: Frank
  Miller is back
  on Batman in this miniseries.
• Shazam/Superman: First Thunder #1: The first
  issue in a four
  issue miniseries by Judd Winick and Josh Middleton
  depicting the first
  meeting of Superman and Captain Marvel.
• Green Lantern #5: I’m quite pleased with most of
  Green
  Lantern: Rebirth and the first issue of this. (I
  really should
  review Rebirth soon.) I’ll be picking this up.
• Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1: Geoff Johns and
  Dave Gibbons
  share the writing credits while Patrick Gleason and
  Christian Alamy
  share the art credits. All I needed to know was that
  this is a five
  issue miniseries with Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and
  Kilowog rebuilding
  the Green Lantern Corps. I’ll be getting the
  mini.
• Green Lantern: Rebirth Hardcover: I still need to
  write the full
  review, but I’d say it’s certainly with the trade
  paperback, but I’m
  not sure about a hardcover. (It’s actually advance
  solicited for
  October.) The first five issues just kept getting
  better, but the
  sixth was a bit of a let-down.
• Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 1: DC’s newest
  initiative might
  cost me plenty. 560 black and white pages of Silver
  Age comics for
  $16.99. It sounds pretty much like the Marvel
  Essentials line to me,
  kicking off with two volumes that I can’t resist.
• Showcase Presents Green Lantern Vol. 1: This one
  excites me more
  than the Superman volume. Green Lantern and Flash are
  the two heroes
  that really interest me in the DC Universe, though
  Superman and Batman
  are somewhat tempting. I might give the JLA a shot,
  too, but I doubt
  I’ll get other titles.

Marvel

• Exiles #69 and 70: Tony Bedard is joined by Paul
  Pelletier. I’ll
  get the TPB.
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #23: Continues Mark
  Millar’s run with a
  crossover between the Ultimate and regular Fantastic
  Four. I’ll be
  getting it.
• Ultimate Secret #3: Continuing after the
  lackluster Ultimate
  Nightmare, this issue marks a change in artist from
  Steve McNiven to
  Tom Raney. I’ll be getting the trade.
• Ultimate Iron Man #4: Again, I’ll be waiting for
  the trade for
  this Orson Scott Card series.
• Ultimates 2 #8: More Mark Millar in the Ultimate
  Universe.
• Ultimate X-Men #63: Brian Vaughan’s run continues,
  with a story
  involving Ultimate Havok. I’m getting this title in
  TPB form now.
• Ultimate Spider-Man #82 and 83: Another title
  where I’ve switched
  to the trades, this one reintroduces Elektra and Black
  Cat.
• Amazing Spider-Man #524: JMS continues his run.
  I’ve got the
  first three trades sitting unreviewed on my
  bookshelf.
• Daredevil #77: Another title where I’ve switched
  to the trades.
  This is also #2 in the five issue arc that will
  complete the
  Bendis/Maleev run on the title.
• Sentry #1: Written by Paul Jenkins with art by
  John Romita Jr.
  This one is about one of the New Avengers, so I’ll
  take a look at how
  the character works in the team book and decide on
  getting the trade
  later.
• New Avengers #11: This one finally reveals the
  identity of the
  last hero seen in the original artwork for the series.
  Most of us
  were betting on Daredevil, but the solicitations tell
  us that Ronin is
  someone else.
• The Pulse #11: Bendis and Michael Gaydos reunite
  when Jessica
  Jones finally has her baby.
• Fantastic Four #531: Another title where I’m
  behind on reviews.
  (There are a lot of those, actually.) JMS is off to a
  good start on
  this so far.
• Supreme Power: Hyperion #1: The first issue in a
  five issue
  miniseries written by JMS about the lead character of
  Supreme
  Power. I’m definitely on board.
• Supreme Power: Nighthawk #1: Written by Daniel Way
  with art by
  Steve Dillon. I’ll give it a shot, mostly based on
  the strength of
  the parent title. I’m hoping it turns out better than
  Doctor
  Spectrum. (Speaking of overdue reviews…)
• Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Human Torch Vol. 1:
  If I could
  afford the Masterworks line, I’d be getting this.
• Runaways Vol. 4 Digest: I’m happy with the first
  three volumes,
  but I’ve got an expensive month coming in September,
  so I have to cut
  something I want. This didn’t make it this month, but
  I might pick it
  up later.
• Exiles Vol. 11: Time Breakers: This is a title
  where I’ve switched
  to the trades. I’ll stay on board this title for a
  while longer.
• Hulk Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 2: I would have
  considered this
  had it been a lighter month, but it just wasn’t the
  highest priority.
• Essential Spider-Man Vol. 7: I can’t say no to
  Essentials. This
  gets the series up to issue 160.
• Essential Ghost Rider Vol. 1: Again, I can’t say
  no to
  Essentials. This is the original Ghost Rider, and not
  the revival
  from the 1990s.
• Squadron Supreme: The fourth printing of this
  miniseries has been
  requested for review, but each printing comes out in a
  month where I
  can’t make space for it. Argh!