ERIC'S "CURSED SLOW COMIC SEASON!"

NEWSLETTER VOL. 6 #3 - March 2004

INTRODUCTION
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Hey all. It's the beginning of the new year and we all know what that means, right? Slow comic season. Sort of. Dark Horse and DC are sort of taking breaks from releasing new stuff while Image is once again pulling the flush handle on its toilet of creativity to crap new stuff out onto a unwitting comic-buying public. Marvel, on the other hand, looks to have some interesting hits and misses so we might not be completely devoid of new stuff to read.

IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE
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Oooh.... this month was really, really tough to come up with a single pick out of two different comics. So... I picked both! Hah! What's the good of writing your own newsletter if you don't do what you want to do.

First up, out of the Image bin of destitutes comes one really beautiful story: Powers Volume 2 #1. You gotta love it. A pair of cops who partner up to keep the Powers of the city under control and investigate homicides of superheroes... and supervillains. It's really, really good stuff and it's one of the most adult-oriented comics out there (without just showing half-naked anime ladies running all over the place).

JAN041312 Powers Vol. 2 #1 $2.95 retail ** 50% OFF AT COMICS NOW! - http://www.comicsnow.com/ **

Next, is one of my favorite (if not my all-time favorite) Marvel character of all time - Deadpool. The black humor guy is back and this time he's teamed up with... Cable??? Okay. Not exactly my recipe for a match made in heaven but that's supposed to be exactly what this comic is about. These two are linked together for one reason or another and have to fight big guys with guns while cracking one-liners the entire time.

JAN041580 Cable Deadpool #1 $2.99 retail

THE BIZ
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TURNER TURNS OVER That's right. This year, Michael Turner returns to comics and actually works for someone other than Image (most logically because Image sued him for rights to Fathom, an ironic standpoint for a company that supposedly supports creator-owned comics). At any rate, Turner is going to do a six-issue arc for Superman/Batman as well as a number of other comics before jumping into his Aspen Entertainment's releases.

LEE IS SUPER Jim Lee is doing to Superman what he did to Batman. Alright, so that sounds super-dirty, but if you've been anywhere near comics in the last year and a half, you know all about the Hush Batman storyline that quite nearly redefined the character. Well, Lee's jumping on-board to do the same thing for Superman starting in April with issue #204.

SECRET WAR RECEIVES ITALIAN PAINT JOB Gabriele Dell'Otto, an unbelievably talented Italian painter, is going to team up with Brian Michael "I-write-everything-you'll-ever-read" Bendis to recreate the 1980s "Secret Wars" franchise (y'know, the one where Spider-Man got the alien symbiote costume and nothing else important happened). If you haven't seen Dell'Otto's stuff, you need to check it out. Talk about painting. Whew. The Sistine Chapel should be so lucky.

IDENTITY HITS HOME AT DC COMICS Seen the movie IDENTITY? Good flick. Nothing to do with this. Or does it? DC Comics is releasing its big story-of-the-year and it looks like it could be a really good one. The entire DC Universe is going to undergo major changes as a murder mystery unfolds that, according to Wizard, "promises many victims and a redefining of the entire DCU from top to bottom." Neato!

TOP-10 and TOP-100
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Check out Comics NOW! Inc.'s Top-100 on IRX Productions. Download the February 2004 Top-100 PDF file (it's 8KB!) at:

http://www.irxproductions.com/comics/feb04top100.pdf

It's Comics NOW!'s very own Top-10 and Top-100 lists. This list is based on the internal sales quantities of the titles with Premiere being the big guns who pay the extra bucks to be listed first in the ordering system: Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, and Marvel Comics. The Independent list is everyone else, all those pea-shooters who no one really pays attention to... or do they?

Here's an example of how to read the format:

1. (3) The Amazing Eric Comic

"1." - the place of the title in the list this month

"(3)" - where the title was LAST month ("-" if it wasn't)

the title - this one should be pretty obvious

TOP 10 PREMIERE COMICS

1. (1) Wolverine The End

2. (2) Ultimate Fantastic Four

3. (3) Ultimate Six

4. (4) Marvel 1602

5. (5) Ultimate Spider-Man

6. (6) Batman

7. (8) New X-Men

8. (-) Secret War

9. (10) Amazing Spider-Man

10. (7) Ultimate X-Men

TOP 10 INDEPENDENT COMICS

1. (1) Transformers G1 Vol. 3

2. (3) Transformers War Within Vol. 2

3. (4) Transformers Energon

4. (6) Sojourn

5. (9) Frank Miller's Robocop

6. (7) GI Joe

7. (-) GI Joe GI Joe Reborn

8. (-) El Cazador

9. (-) Mark Millars The Unfunnies

10. (-) Brian Pulido Lady Death Wild Hunt

THE GOOD STUFF
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DC COMICS

BATMAN/POISON IVY: CAST SHADOWS

A new skyscraper in Gotham blocks Poison Ivy's ability to grow plants in the Arkham Asylum while, at the same time, a number of developers die from a strange toxin that also infects the Batman. Though the story seems obvious, well... hell... it is obvious. But if you love Ivy, then you're going to love this.
By Ann Nocenti and John Van Fleet.
64 pages. One-shot special. $6.95 retail.

KINETIC #1

Tom's a sick kid with superpowers, but he doesn't know it yet. Sound sort of familiar. Well, it's a little different - he is sick. I've seen a couple of pages from the first issue and for some reason, this one intrigues me. Tom's a diabetic, he's got low blood sugar, and his blood doesn't clot. All he wants to do is grow up and be normal (for once, someone who deserves to say that all he wants is to be a normal teenager unlike the five million stories about teenagers with superpowers who want to be normal). Anyway, it looks like it has promise and might be a good book.
By Kelley Puckett, Warren Pleece, and Tomer Hanuka.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.50 retail.

IT'S A BIRD... HC

You'll have to forgive me; it's a slow month and I'm focusing on things that I normally probably wouldn't talk about... except maybe this one. This HC is a semi-autobiographical tale told about Steven Seagle getting the assignment most writers would give their right leg for (or at least one of their pinky fingers) - to write Superman. The problem is Seagle's own fears of death prevent him from getting into it. Sound strange? Maybe, but at least you can tell everyone you read nonfiction, right?
By Steven Seagle with Teddy Kristiansen.
136 pages. One-shot special. $24.95 retail.

IMAGE COMICS

BLACK FOREST #1

It's a forest. It's black. Moving on... during World War I, two allies, a Brit and a Yank, join forces to fight off werewolves, sorcerors, and the Frankentstein monster in order to prevent the German's from using the Frankenstein monster as a guide to create super-soldiers.
By Todd Livingston, Neil Vokes, and Robert Tinnell.
96 pages. Graphic novel. $9.95 retail.

PHANTOM JACK

Jack Baxter is a newspaper reporter with the ability to turn invisible which helps him, of course, to get all the big news stories. However, he's wracked with guilt because he a let a friend die in a foreign country instead of getting off his lazy butt and saving his friend. This comic discusses his story and looks at how he lives his life in an effort to make up for past wrongdoings.
By Mike Sangiacomo with Mitchell Breitweiser.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.95 retail.

DESPERATE TIMES #1

Two guys are friends. One's married and one's single and they both envy each other's lives. Is it the plot for a new NBC sitcom or, just maybe, a new Image comic? Could it be both? Wait and see...
By Chris Eliopoulos.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.95 retail.

PATIENT ZERO #1 of 4

There are certain stories that I simply hate reporting on. For example, Alex Grant and several other folks are imperfectly mutated psychics who have to fight a computer AI for all of humanity. Holy regurgitated gerbil food, Batman! This is bad. Next, we're going to have to depend on "the one" named "New-oh" who needs to save us all. Gag me with a spoon covered in cow s#it!
32 pages. Four-issue mini-series. $2.95 retail.

POWERS VOLUME 2 #1

Insert glorious sound of success here --- AHHHH. One of Image's only remaining surviving comics worth reading, Powers is finally out of the funky story arc it's been following for months and ready for not just a new story, but a new volume. Go, Bendis, Go!
By Brian Michael Bendis with Michael Avon Oeming.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.95 retail.

MARVEL COMICS

MARVEL AGE: SPIDER-MAN #1

Okay. So, now Marvel's got Marvel Age - a new imprint that's targeting "all ages." Ick. I hate that "all ages" stuff. Sure, I'm a bit older than I was when I started reading, but even when I started, I didn't want comics that pandered to me. I wanted comics that challenged me. Dared me to rise to a more mature level. At any rate, Marvel wants money so here we go -- Spider-Man #1 retells the story of Spidey's first encounter with the Vulture. The rest of the series appears to be retellings of old stories, too. So, on the other hand, maybe it won't be so bad after all.
By Lee & Ditko, Daniel Quantz, and Mark Brooks.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.25 retail.

SHE-HULK #1

She's big, she's green, and she's back. Banner's cousin (or is it nephew, half-sister, wife, aww... who knows) is back and it looks as though Marvel's taking a more humorous approach to this one by focusing on She-Hulk's sense of humor and making it feel, at least in description, a little bit... Sex and the City-ish?
By Dan Slott, Juan Bobillo, and Adi Granov.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

THOR: SON OF ASGARD #1 and 2 of 6

I must admit, I'm not a fan of Thor. For some reason, all of that Greek & Roman God stuff just gets on my nerves (though I must admit that I love Age of Mythology on the PC). At any rate, this series tells the story of who Thor was before he claimed the throne and earned the right to carry a big hammer.
By Akira Yoshida, Greg Tocchini, and Adi Granov.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail each.

AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS #1 & 2 of 6

It's the Thunderbolts, the odd group of criminals turned superheroes against the Avengers, the odd group of superheroes who would make really cool criminals. Um... here we go again?
By Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza with Barry Kitson.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail each.

CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON #1

It's The Falcon versus Captain America. Obviously, Marvel's going all-out on the versus thing this month. Have you ever noticed that when it's two superheroes (or superhero teams) fighting each other, the title of the comic is always so-and-so AND whatsisname instead of so-and-so VERSUS whatsisname? What's up with that?
By Priest with Bart Sears.
32 pages. Ongoing (?) series. $2.99 retail.

IRON FIST #1

He's back. Again. The guy with the really ... um... colorful costume and the fist of, well, iron. He's a martial artists/superhero/businessman and his whole world is... wait for it... about to be turned upside down. That's right, Iron Fist is back, and I know that you've all been waiting a really long time ... ah, who am I kidding? Is ANYONE really going to read this comic before it gets canceled again?
By Jim Mullaney and Kevin Lau.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

WOLVERINE/PUNISHER #1 of 5

Now this is what I'm talking about. Take the guy with big claws and mix him up with the guy with big guns and you've got a story. At the very least, you've got MY kind of story. But, just like I said earlier, it's not a team-up so much as it is a versus. At least Marvel's staying true to the rule that it's so-and-so AND whatsisname, right?
By Peter Milligan, Lee Weeks, and Mike Deodato, Jr.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

ALPHA FLIGHT #1

It's back. Everyone's favorite mutant Canadian-funded superteam from the Great White North. It's the same only different with a whole bunch of new characters thrown in with the old ones. At least we've got the promise of a decent writer in Scott Lobdell.
By Scott Lobdell with Clayton Henry.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

CABLE & DEADPOOL #1

Okay, so Marvel's striking out on its own with this one. My absolutely favorite comedy character from the Marvel universe, Deadpool, is teamed up with Cable and now they're stuck together in an effort to fight big men with guns. Kickass.
By Fabian Nicieza, Mark Brooks (Udon) and Rob Liefeld (sort of).
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

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FINAL NOTES
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Isn't it funny how the newsletter starts off by talking about what a slow season it is for comics in the first quarter of the year, but oddly the newsletter is the same length with the same number of issues? Oddities abound in Eric's Newsletter, don't they? Anyway, let it be known that all is well and we shall return next month to regale you with stories of all-new comics coming out two months from then. Strange.

Until then, remember... dancing chickens may beguile you with their wiley ways, but Wyle E. Coyote never beguiled chickens... only roadrunners.

And, as always, thank you for your business!

Eric R. Jacobson

Eric's Newsletter and IRX Productions are copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 to Eric R. Jacobson