ERIC'S "MONTH O' MOVIES!" NEWSLETTER

VOL. 6 #8 - August 2004

INTRODUCTION
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As you'll be able to see from THE BIZ section this month, there are movies galore in the works based on comic books. Not only that, but as we are all very well aware, Spider-Man 2 is coming out in a few short weeks and if you're anything like me, you're absolutely salivating over this one (excepting for the fact that the computer graphics in the previews look... questionable). In the meantime, Halle Berry has entered the comic book fray with a very, very shaky loosely-based Catwoman. I haven't seen the movie yet but I have to be wary of Hollywood's take of Selina Kyle -- from prostitute to receptionist with, get this, super-powers? This is not the Catwoman we all know and love. At any rate, let's jump right in and see what's going on, shall we?

IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE
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This month I've got two picks for you; one for the art and the other for the storyline. The first one (art-based) is Tony Daniel's re-entry into the comics foray with HUMANKIND starring a gorgeous babe and her giant robot sidekick friend-thing. The other (story-based) would have to be the Ultimate Elektra series. I've been dying to see more Elektra in any of Marvel's series and if a mini-series is the way it's got to be, then so be it.

JUN041411 Humankind #1 $2.99 retail. JUN041569 Ultimate Elektra #1 $2.25 retail.

** ULTIMATE ELEKTRA IS 50% OFF AT COMICSNOW.COM**

THE BIZ
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SIN CITY: THE MOVIE Riding hot on the heels of Hellboy (pardon the pun), Dark Horse has once again landed another movie deal with Sin City in the works. There are a whole list of possible stars that will pop up in the movie, but like any comic movie, who can be sure? Some of the rumored ones include Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood, Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, and even Leonardo DiCaprio. Oh, and by the way, a Hellboy 2 is in the works, too.

ELEKTRA: THE MOVIE Yeah, yeah, it had to happen. Realizing that Daredevil was a horrible error in judgment, the moviemakers have decided to go with the only real reason any self-respecting guy went to see it: Jennifer Garner. She returns as Elektra for her own movie, and in case you were wondering: yes, she'll be in the original red duds.

DEADPOOL: THE MOVIE? It's all still just rumors for the Deadpool movie however because of the rumors, Deadpool comics are reputed to be increasing in value. That, and the fact that the good ol' "Merc with a Mouth" has an absolutely insane fan-base (including me). Be still my beating heart!

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

ttp://www.irxproductions.com/comics/jun04top100.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. (2) Superman

2. (3) Ultimate Fantastic Four

3. (5) Superman Batman

4. (4) Identity Crisis

5. (7) Spider-Man

6. (-) Avengers

7. (6) Astonishing X-Men

8. (8) Amazing Spider-Man

9. (10) Ultimate Spider-Man

10. (9) Supreme Power

TOP 10 INDEPENDENT COMICS

1. (1) Transformers G1 Vol 3

2. (2) Transformers Micromasters

3. (3) Transformers Energon

4. (-) Army of Darkness Ashes 2 Ashes

5. (7) 30 Days of Night

6. (4) Sojourn

7. (6) GI Joe

8. (5) GI Joe Reloaded

9. (9) Negation War

10. (-) Strangers in Paradise Vol 3

THE GOOD STUFF
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DARK HORSE

COMICS ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: THRILL OF THE HUNT TPB

Ah, yes, first it was Freddy vs. Jason, and then our friends over in Hollywood delve into the 1980s horror-movie archives to pull out two of my favorite horror characters of all time. Well, to coincide with the movie release, Dark Horse is blasting out their trade-paperback adaptation. Can't wait for the movie? Start with this first.
By Mike Kennedy and Roger Robinson.
96 pages. One-shot special. $6.95 retail.

DC COMICS

BATMAN: THE 12-CENT ADVENTURE

Ummm... yeah, here we go again. It's another $0.12 comic book dealie from DC Comics with Batman. It's an all new 3-month Batman event that starts off with this issue starring the all-new Robin, Stephanie Brown. Not so big about this "new Robin" thing but, hey, whatcha gonna do?
By Devin Grayson, Ramon Bachs, and Raul Fernandez.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $0.12 retail.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN: TRAIL OF THE GUN #1 of 2

Batman and Catwoman are both chasing after a gun that never misses its target. Catty wants it because it's a helluva score, of course, while Batty's a little more worried about the sociological implications of such a weapon. Y'know, it makes me wonder why they don't make an ongoing series called Batty & Catty...
By Ann Nocenti and Ethan Van Sciever.
48 pages. 2-issue mini-series. $5.95 retail.

MAJESTIC #1 of 4

Mr. Majestic is running around acting all cool in the DC Universe and Superman doesn't want anything to do with it. This mini-series continues where the January storyline "Strange New Visitor" left off.
By Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Karl Kerschl.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.95 retail.

DC COMICS PRESENTS... THE ATOM #1 THE FLASH #1 JLA #1 SUPERMAN #1

Just like last month, DC has raided their back-issue closet to remake previous issues of their original comics. This set includes a remake of Atom #10, Flash #163, Justice League of America #53, and Superman #264.
By Dave Gibbons, Mark Waid, Pat Oliffe, Dan Jurgens, Dennis O'Neil, Jeph Loeb, Doug Mahnke, Mark Farmer, Peter David, Harlan Ellison, Marv Wolfman, Joe Giella, Dustin Nguyen, Stan Lee, Paul Levitz, Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone, Keith Giffen, and more.
32 pages each. One-shot specials. $2.50 retail each.

MANHUNTER #1

Starring Spencer, a top federal prosecutor, Manhunter follows her adventures after losing a case that results in the death of innocent people causes her to raid the evidence locker of its metahuman techno-goodies and track super-villains down on her own.
By Marc Andreyko, Jesus Saiz, and Jimmy Palmiotti.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.50 retail.

ASTRO CITY SPECIAL

Astro City? What's that? Oh, right, wasn't that the really good series which got totally lost in a single storyarc for over a year? I remember now. At any rate, Kurt Busiek is finally releasing another special for the series, this one starring a superhero named Supersonic who retired in the 1960s but may now be Astro City's only hope.
By Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson.
40 pages. One-shot special. $3.95 retail.

TERRA OBSCURA VOL. 2 #1 of 6

Ah, the return of old series long since gone. Tom Strong and the heroes of his home planet, Terra Obscura (or "Obscure Earth" in English) are all back. If you liked the original series, then this title is up your alley. Otherwise... find another alley. By Alan Moore and Peter Hogan. 32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.95 retail. WE3 #1 of 3 Man, leave it to Grant Morrison to come up with some of the strangest combinations you've ever seen in comics. Previews describes this comic as "Incredible Journey meets The Terminator." It's a dog named Bandit, a cat named Tinker, and a rabbit named Pirate. They all team up with their cybernetic, unbreakable exo-skeletons, to make a last-ditch attempt to make it home. Strange? Maybe. But I'm intrigued.
40 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $2.95 retail.

IMAGE COMICS

FORSAKEN #1

Okay. Here we go. It's the year 2056 and an armageddon of sorts has caused the entirety of Earth's population to exist in a single massive city called Megalon (umm... neato name there, guys). Earth has developed a peaceful socioeconomic relationship with an alien planet called Krel in an attempt for both planets to rebuild what has been destroyed. In this issue, five individuals with, get this, "dark pasts" now hold the key to humanity's future. Go, Image go!
By Carmen Treffiletti and Kristian Donaldson.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.95 retail.

SYLVIA FAUST #1 of 4

So, there's this girl in Greenwich Village that can make people and matter do the things her mind tells her to and some guy who runs a movie theater named Tim Klass is hoping to get her to come help him increase his business. Yep, I'm serious -- that's the jist of the plot.
By Jason Henderson and Gregg Scott.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $2.95 retail.

ULTRA #1 of 8

It's Spring City and superheroes are basically celebrities. One, in particular, logically named Ultra (alias: Pearl Penalosa) works for Heroine, Inc. and is nominated for "Best Heroine of the Year." Then, she runs into a fortune teller who tells her big, scary things and Ultra's world is turned upside-down. Did I mention that Image likes to reuse stories over and over again this month? No? Well, Image does and this is just one of over two million examples.
By Jonathan & Joshua Luna.
32 pages. 8-issue mini-series. $2.95 retail.

HUMANKIND #1

Tony Daniel's back and he's got another series with a hot chick starring in it. At this point, would you expect anything less? Alia Sparrow leads the "Human Crimes Bureau" on some planet named Thera, which, oddly enough, "steals its culture and patterns itself after Earth." Well, no one ever said Daniel had great plot ideas -- just great art.
By Tony Daniel with Kevin Conrad and Richard & Tanya Horie.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

MAGDALENA/VAMPIRELLA #1

Not that you really need to know the wheres and whys of this storyline, basically, it's two babes duking it out over a Church artifact - an ancient mystical amulet. Magdalena needs it for the Catholic Church but for Vampirella, it could mean an end to her blood-lust forever.
32 pages. One-shot special. $2.99 retail.

MARVEL COMICS

ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE #1 of 5

Warren Ellis is coming along to "shake every Ultimate book to its core." Okay. We're talking about a series of comic books that just came out a couple years ago and although I love Ellis, isn't it a little bit early to shake the Ultimate universe to its core? I mean, we're just doing that to the Avengers now and that damn book has been cruising on auto-pilot up till issue #500! At any rate, Nick Fury, Captain America, Black Widow and Sam Wilson are sent to investigate a communications breakdown in Tanguska, Russia at the same time as Xavier's X-Men. Let the hijinx ensue, eh?
By Warren Ellis with Trevor Hairsine.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.25 retail.

ULTIMATE ELEKTRA #1 of 5

Ooooh... another Elektra mini-series. Gotta love 'em. Daredevil wants to get in touch with Elektra again so he puts the word out and gets stuck as a target of the biggest crime boss in New York City. Woo-hoo!
By Mike Carey and Salvador Larroca.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.25 retail.

INVADERS #1 of 3

It's World War II and a whole bunch of super-soldiers and super- heroes have formed a superteam called the Invaders. The original Human Torch (some weirdo named Jim Hammond) comes back to lead the team to stop a mysterious terrorist cell from ressurecting the Loch Ness monster (or something of that sort) in the Arabian Sea. Whoop-dee-doo. I don't know about you but I've had about all I can take of World War II comics. Weren't there enough of these things made back when the whole WWII thing was actually going on?! Ah, well.
By Allan Jacobsen and C.P. Smith.
32 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

X-MEN: THE END BOOK ONE: #1 & #2 of 6

Wow. I'm not sure how many different The Ends Marvel is intending to do for the X-Men series but apparently this is just Book One. You know the drill: it's the last X-Men story ever told... in six parts.
By Chris Claremont with Sean Chen.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail each.

X-FORCE #1

They're back! Oddly, X-Force hasn't really been gone long enough to be making a comeback already but apparently someone at Marvel disagrees with me. Cable, Domino, Cannonball, Shatterstar, and Warpath all return to make this relaunch very much like the first one.
By Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

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FINAL NOTES
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So, there you have it. There are an absolute ton of new comics coming out this month and although many of them won't be worth the cost of the paper they're printed on, I'm happy to admit that I'm actually excited to see a lot of the stuff that's coming out. Wow. It's been a long time since I could say that. But, that's all she wrote for this month so we'll see you next time. As always, remember, if the comic's even halfway good, leave it to Hollywood to make a really crappy movie loosely based on it!

And, as always, thank you for your business!

Eric Jacobson