ERIC'S "LET'S SEE THAT AGAIN!" COMICS NOW! NEWSLETTER VOL. 6 #9 - September 2004

INTRODUCTION
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We're deep in the heat of the summer, and is always the case with the comic industry, the writers and artists are suffering from heatstroke and simply can't come up with new ideas. Either that, or it's because all the kids went back to school and no one's got time for comics. At any rate, if it weren't for Marvel this month, I'd have almost nothing to report on. Fortunately, Marvel's dived headlong into another huge mistake that's giving me lots to talk about. So, without further adieu...

IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE
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This month I'm all about the Black Widow mini-series. I love this character and I think it's one of the few characters Marvel has in their stable that they don't take out enough; she still doesn't have her own mini-series. Don't know her? She's the kickass redhead KGB agent with enough guts to do pretty much anything but actually retains a believability lost in a lot of other similar characters. She rocks. But don't just take my word for it, check out her mini:

JUL041957 BLACK WIDOW #1 $2.99 retail.

** 50%-OFF AT HTTP://WWW.COMICSNOW.COM **

THE BIZ
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BATGIRL GETS A WHOLE NEW TEAM

Yeah, she's not quitting and heading over to JLA or anything. Batgirl's getting a whole new creative team. As usual, DC hasn't given any word on who's picking up the reigns, but it's definite that Dylan Horrocks and his cohort-in-fighting-crime Rick Leonardi are on the way out.

MARVEL TEAM-UP AND WHAT IF? ARE BACK!

I loved the "What If?" series when I was younger. Marvel used to take major turning points in their comic series and ask the "What If?" question that would make a comic or two and then attack another question right after that. One of my favorites was "What if Spider-Man never married Mary Jane?" followed up the next month with "What if Spider-Man married Black Cat?" It's a great series (as is the Marvel Team-Up title) and I'm ecstatic to see it's on the way back in late 2004.

SPACE GHOST: YEAR ONE

Need I really say more? Everyone's favorite Cartoon Network's talk-show host (maybe their only one) is getting his own comic book where he's actually going to be a superhero. Go figure.

CATWOMAN: THE VIDEO GAME

Straight from the movie not based on the Batman character to video game, this one's pretty easy to read -- if the movie sucked, there's nowhere to go but down for the video game.

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

http://www.irxproductions.com/comics/aug04top100.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. (-) Wolverine: The End

2. (2) Ultimate Fantastic Four

3. (1) Superman

4. (4) Identity Crisis

5. (-) Secret War

6. (3) Superman Batman

7. (7) Astonishing X-Men

8. (8) Amazing Spider-Man

9. (5) Spider-Man

10. (-) Ultimate X-Men

TOP 10 INDEPENDENT COMICS

1. (1) Transformers G1 Vol 3

2. (-) Soulfire

3. (2) Transformers Micromasters

4. (3) Transformers Energon

5. (-) Youngblood Bloodsport

6. (7) GI Joe

7. (-) Youngblood Genesis

8. (4) Army of Darkness Ashes2Ashes

9. (8) GI Joe Reloaded

10. (5) 30 Days of Night

THE GOOD STUFF
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DC COMICS

ADAM STRANGE #1 of 8

Adam Strange is an old sci-fi character from the days of yore. Well, maybe not that long ago, but he's being recreated in this mini-series to become the most wanted man on Earth, hunted by both the police and aliens alike. Earth has been destroyed. His wife and daughter are missing. All hope seems to be gone. Is it?
By Andy Diggel with Pascal Ferry.
32 pages. 8-issue mini-series. $2.95 retail.

TEEN TITANS/LEGION SPECIAL

The Teen Titans team up with the 31st century Legion to fight a threat that may not even be defeated by their combined might. We've heard this storyline so many times before but it never really gets old when you throw two new superhero teams in the mix, does it. Well, does it?
By Mark Waid, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Marc Campos.
48 pages. One-shot special. $3.50 retail.

ALL-AGES TITLES

This month, DC Comics is taking a page from the Marvel marketing guide and creating a number of titles specifically targeted at younger audiences. Funny how the title "All-Ages" always means "those of you whose voices haven't changed yet." Ah, well. Here they are:
THE BATMAN STRIKES #1 $2.25 retail.
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #1 $2.25 retail.
CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #1 $2.25 retail.

ELRIC: THE MARKING OF A SORCERER #1 of 4

Standard fare here: Elric is a young man who dreams of a life of adventure. Except, his dreams ARE the adventures. His first one takes him on a quest through the Dragon Caves of Imrryr where he confronts pissy giants and cracked-out kingdoms.
By Michael Moorcock (hehe, love that last name) and Walter Simonson.
48 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $5.95 retail.

IMAGE COMICS

PSCYTHE #1 of 2

A mini-mini-series covering the legions of angels that were banished to Earth after Lucifer's war with a focus on one in particular, Pscythe. This dude has to inhabit the subconscious of a single mortal in order to understand the lessons on Earth. Angela is selected to be that mortal and is placed in the middle of a ferocious heavenly war. Sounds like loads of fun.
By Mark Texeira.
40 pages. 2-issue mini-series. $3.95 retail.

THE RETURN OF SHADOWHAWK

I knew this character would come back, but I'm surprised to see him in a one-shot and not an ongoing series. Imagine a slightly darker Batman who takes greater advantage over new technologies and you've got Shadowhawk. If you don't know this character, it's because you're too freakin' young; Shadowhawk was one of Image's launch titles alongside Youngblood and Spawn.
By Jim Valentino, Joel Valentino, and Kristen Simon.
32 pages. One-shot. $2.99 retail.

MARVEL COMICS

STRANGE #1

J. Michael Straczynski strikes again. This dude is Marvel's King Midas - everything he writes turns to solid gold. This time he's taking on Dr. Strange re-envisioned by Strazzy as a young surgeon on a collision course with destiny. Forgive all the cheesy scripting, this comic's gonna be good whether the description is or not.
By J. Michael Straczynski, Sara Barnes, and Brandon Peterson.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $3.50 retail.

BLACK WIDOW #1 of 6

It doesn't how many mini-series they put this girl in, she just can't seem to break into her own ongoing role. I love this character; she's just awesome (and, no, it's not just because she's a redhead with big boobs -- she's got a Russian accent, too!) At any rate, it's another mini-series starring everyone's favorite KGB agent who gets caught up in an assassination attempt that gives her a reality check.
By Richard K. Morgan and Bill Sienkiewicz.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

HULK & THING: HARD KNOCKS #1 of 4

The Thing and the Hulk. You've simply got to love this match- up. No matter how you play it, it's fun to watch two giant behemoth invincibles going at it. This mini-series supposedly redefines their relationship (they're really star-crossed lovers!)
By Bruce Jones and Jae Lee.
32 pages. 4-issue mini-series. $3.50 retail.

ELEKTRA: THE HAND #1 & 2 of 5

Man, you've gotta love the balls of Marvel to release a mini- series starring a sexy lead with a suggestive title like "the hand." Of course it refers to the group of ninja assassins that originally trained Elektra to become the babe-a-licious killer that she is. Once again, they're after her hot bod. (I want her bod -- blatant ripoff of a body spray company for men).
By Akira Yoshida and Christian Gossett.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

BULLSEYE: GREATEST HITS #1 of 5

Bullseye. Daredevil's "greatest foe." After the complete destruction of this character by the recent movie, Bullseye is one of those characters that tries so hard to be really bad and often fails miserably. His secret skill? The ability to throw anything with deadly accuracy. This mini-series charts some of his greatest kills... and his untold origin.
By Daniel Way and Steve Dillon.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099

Good God. They're at it again. Way back in the early '90s Marvel tried a release of a number of different titles (including Spider-Man and Doom) with versions set in the year 2099 and now they're at it again. There's a whole bunch of stuff coming out (again) and if you're interested, feel free to take a look. Be forewarned, however -- there's a reason these series were cancelled so many years before:
MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099: DAREDEVIL #1 32 pages. $2.99 retail. Robert Kirkman and Steve Epting.
MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099: BLACK PANTHER #1 32 pages. $2.99 retail. Robert Kirkman and Kyle Hotz.
MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099: INHUMANS #1 32 pages. $2.99 retail. Robert Kirkman and Cliff Rathburn.
MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099: PUNISHER #1 32 pages. $2.99 retail. Robert Kirkman and Pop Mhan.
MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099: MUTANT #1 32 pages. $2.99 retail. Robert Kirkman and Khary Randolph.

MADROX #1 of 5

Another new X-Men series. Oh, be still my beating heart. Wait. I don't care. Anyway, some kid named Jamie Madrox gets stabbed and sets up a detective agency in the heart of the aptly and very unoriginally named Mutant Town. Woo-hoo, join him on the ride.
By Peter David and Pablo Raimondi.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

JUBILEE #1

Jubilee's back in her own series set in the West Coast. It's all about her and her life with the weirdos in Cali. I can't say I care for this title at all because I find her truly obnoxious (she reminds me of this psycho I used to hang out with in high school).
By Robert Kirkman and Derec Donovan.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

NIGHTCRAWLER #1

Nighty gets his own series. He's the spiritual mutant who looks like a demon and acts like an angel and is constantly torn by his own self-doubt into the facets of human nature that reveal the dichotomy of parallel emotional states. Ah, who cares, anyway. He's gonna fight stuff and BAMF around.
By Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Darick Robertson.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

GAMBIT #1 & 2

Gambit's back in his own ongoing series... AGAIN. Wow. It never gets old to read another recap of a character's origin. At any rate, Gambit's back in the New Orleans underground again where he's getting called a cheater. Hmmm... maybe it's because he cheats? Ah, well; he's in trouble.
By John Layman and Georges Jeanty.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail each.

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FINAL NOTES
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And there it is. Not too shabby a month overall as long as you watch your step and don't fall into too many of the comic cow paddies that are pockmarking the territory. It's all good, and next month I'll be back with all new comics to talk about.

As always, remember, if at first you don't succeed, reprint as many titles as possible until you completely run out of money or someone actually starts buying your comics!

And, as always, thank you for your business!

Eric Jacobson