COMICS NOW! INC. ERIC'S "WOULD YOU LIKE SOME CHEESE WITH YOUR WHINE?" COMICS NOW! NEWSLETTER VOL. 7 #7 - July 2005

INTRODUCTION
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By the time you read this, Star Wars: Episode III should already be in theaters and we'll all be either loving it or talking about what a whiney little snively piece o' crap Hayden "I'm the luckiest bastard there ever was" Christensen is. I still don't quite understand how that over-hyped, always whiney (have you SEEN Life as a House) awful actor ever landed one of the biggest roles of our generation... maybe he slept with one of the male producers? Who knows. Anyway, without any further diatribe on my part, let's head into the newsletter, eh?

IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE
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Ohhhh... sometimes the pick-of-the-month is just too easy for words! Pairing up Jim Lee with Frank Miller is an absolute masterstroke for DC, and the new All Star Batman and Robin comic is this month's pick. And who wouldn't pick it? The beautiful art of Lee mixed with the amazing scripts of Miller should result in one of the absolute best Batman and Robin stories of all time. In addition, Comics NOW! is offering 50% off the cover price. You just can't beat that!

MAY050190 ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 $2.99
** 50% OFF AT WWW.COMICSNOW.COM ***

THE BIZ
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1602 RETURNS, MUCH TO MY OWN ANGST!

Greg Pak is being brought in with artist Greg Tocchini to create 1602: New World. As my readers know (and many disagree), I feel that 1602 was one of Neil Gaiman's worst creations, but obviously Marvel and millions of readers disagree as this new series proves. I'll give it a shot but I'm not backing down from my original view of this creation. Only time will tell if Pak can pull it out.

SUPERGIRL IN AUGUST!

Talk about making August hotter than ever. Ian Churchill is hard at work penciling the new Supergirl series coming out in August 2005. The new ongoing series will feature the Supergirl first introduced in the absolutely outstanding Superman/Batman ongoing series. Mmmm... can't wait.

FAMILY GUY BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!

For those of you that didn't pay attention last month, the Family Guy returned to FOX on May 1. Family Guy is like the Simpsons only more erratic and, believe it or not, funnier. The opening line of the new season has the Family Guy himself run down more than 20 shows that have been started and canceled since the Family Guy is originally (and erroneously) canceled by FOX execs. Family Guy plays Sunday nights on your local FOX affiliate at 9PM EST / 8PM CST.

AMERICAN DAD FOLLOWS FAMILY GUY

From the creator of Family Guy comes American Dad Sadly, this series (which immediately follows Family Guy on Sunday nights) just doesn't cut the mustard quite the way Family Guy does. Maybe it's the overly homosexual alien in the house, the lack of a baby that wants to kill its mother, or the somewhat mundane storylines by comparison, American Dad just doesn't compete with its brother. I'll give it a few more chances, but it's starting to look like Family Guy is one of those beautiful flukes that just happens every once in awhile!

TOP-10 and TOP-100
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Check out Comics NOW! Inc.'s Top-100 on IRX Productions. Download the June 2005 Top-100 PDF file (it's 8KB!)

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 Batman

2. (4) New Avengers

3. (3) Astonishing X-Men

4. (-) House of M

5. (1) Green Lantern

6. (5) Amazing Spider-Man

7. (7) Ultimate Spider-Man

8. (9) Ultimate Fantastic Four

9. (-) Batman

10. (10) Teen Titans

TOP 10 INDEPENDENT COMICS

1. (-) Red Sonja

2. (6) Fathom

3. (2) GI Joe

4. (-) Strangers in Paradise

5. (4) Simpsons Comics

6. (5) Stray Bullets

7. (3) 30 Days of Night

8. (8) Donald Duck & Friends

9. (-) Shaun of the Dead

10. (-) Mickey Mouse & Friends

THE GOOD STUFF
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DARK HORSE COMICS

SERENITY #1 of 3

Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame returns to comics with a three-issue mini-series leading us on from where the sci-fi show, Firefly, left off. So, if you were a fan of Firefly, check out this comic. If you like sci-fi, give it a shot. If neither of these groups applies to you... move along, there's nothing to see here.
By Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Will Conrad, and Laura Martin.
32 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

EMILY THE STRANGE #1: THE BORING ISSUE

I wish I could say I know a little more about this character than I do, but, then again, that's why they're releasing the comic book now isn't it? I have to admit, the fact that Comic Debris has the balls to refer to the first issue with the truth -- first issues are often the boring ones. Emily Strange has been bouncing around pop culture for the last ten years or so, so it's about time we get to see what this character's actually about.
By Comic Debris.
48 pages. Ongoing series? $7.95 retail.

DC COMICS

ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #1

Mmmmmm.... Frank Miller and Jim Lee. What a combination.... Miller writes the all-new saga of Batman & Robin and Jim Lee, god of all things drawn, will be writing it up. Oooh... I just can't wait for this one.
By Frank Miller, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams.
32 pages. Ongoing series? $2.99 retail.

JSA CLASSIFIED #1

JLA Classified isn't quite the raging success that DC hoped it would be, however that doesn't stop them from releasing the JSA version. The first issue will cover the much-questioned origin of Power Girl. No one really knows where she comes from or why she's got enough superpowers to just be called "Power Girl" but this issue will hopefully explain all that and more.
By Geoff Johns, Amanda Conner, and Jimmy Palmiotti.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.50 retail.

SILENT DRAGON #1 of 6

Japanese artwork and storyline come raging through in this new mystery from Andy Diggle. It looks promising so we'll have to see where this one goes. Renjiro was an advisor to a gangster and wanted to get out and now has been transformed into someone/something different but is in love with... well... it's one of "those" storylines.
By Andy Diggle by Leinil Yu, and Gerry Alanguilan.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

IMAGE COMICS

BODY BAGS: FATHER'S DAY #1 of 2

It's always funny when publishers think their books were a lot more popular than they actually were. Back by "overwhelming demand" is Image's Body Bags, "the most controversial book of the 90's." Alrighty. If you say so. I'm pretty sure that the majority of people reading this newsletter haven't ever heard of this series, including myself, and I was very seriously collecting comics during that time period (clones and apocalypse sadly included). At any rate, this two-issue mini-series brings the conflict of two "baggers" to the forefront of the current era with more... errr... controversial stuff, too. Go get 'em.
By Jason Pearson.
48 pages. 2-issue mini-series. $5.99 retail.

BONEREST #1

As always, you've gotta give Image kudos for unapologetically using the same catch phrases over and over again. "Brace yourselves... here comes trouble." Ok. Adam Bone is a man without... a mouth. WOOOOO!!! SCARRRRRYYYY!! At any rate, he has come to NYC for one reason or another and meets a waitress named Peace that makes him fall in love with her so he can't settle the score he intended to finish in the first place. And he still doesn't have a mouth! What a gimmick! What amazing creativity! I'm just floored! Sigh...
By Matteo Casali and Guiseppe Camuncoli.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.95 retail.

GROUNDED #1 of 6

Okay, so it's another high school of superkids except this one's got a small twist: the lead character, Jonathan, is sent to this school but actually doesn't have superpowers making him the only kid at school without them. It's the same... but different.
By Mark Sable, Paul Azaceta, and Michale Avon Oeming.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.95 retail.

GUNCANDY #1 of 2

Danger Girl meets Aphrodite IX in Guncandy, a mini-series focused on Laci, an assassin dressed in skimpy outfits and brining what appears to be an iPod into battle with her. Once again, I'm actually intrigued by this comic because I love the whole Danger Girl, Aphrodite thing... so I think this stands to be interesting.
By Doug Wagner, Chuck Dixon, and Brian Stelfreeze.
48 pages. 2-issue mini-series. $5.99 retail.

THE SILENCERS #1

So, it's another New York City gritty crime drama. This one has superpowered gangs of mob enforcers going toe-to-toe to figure out who's the best of the rest. That really sums it up.
By Fred Van Lente and Steve Ellis.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.95 retail.

FRESHMEN #1 of 6

So... a group of college freshmen suddenly get superpowers. At least this comic's got the chance to be a little more mature than the slew of high school kids with superpowers that have been coming out lately. It's also got a twist -- the superpowers they receive are based on exactly what they're thinking at the moment. If it happened to me, I'd have the power to write incredibly overdone comic books!
By Hugh Sterbakov, Leonard Kirk and Tyson Wengler.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

MARVEL COMICS

IRON MAN: HOUSE OF M #1 of 3

The House of M craze continues into the Iron Man storyline with this series. The House of M is using Tony Stark's technology to keep the Sapiens down and this drives Stark to create... you guessed it... the Iron Man armor and use it to fight the House of M. Cursed House of M!!!!
By Greg Pak and Pat Lee.
32 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

FANTASTIC FOUR: HOUSE OF M #1 of 3

It's an all-new Fantastic Four created in the House of M Universe. Go, House of M, go!
By John Layman and Scot Eaton.
32 pages. 3-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

MUTOPIA #1 of 5

Terrorists are trying to kill hundreds at a movie premiere so Ismael Ortega, an investigator of human and mutant affairs, has to team up with "ordinary" police officer, Lucas Bishop to try and make sure this doesn't happen! [Dramatic chords here]
By David Hine, Lan Medina, and Andy Park.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

DAREDEVIL VS. PUNISHER #1 & #2 of 6

Daredevil and Punisher go toe-to-toe in an effort to be the one to save Hell's Kitchen. Granted, Daredevil wants to be all goodie-goodie about it while the Punisher just wants to clean house and be done with it. Dave Lapham may actually be able to save this somewhat overused storyline by taking his Stray Bullets-approach to it. Here's hoping it all works out!
By Dave Lapham.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail each.

DEFENDERS #1 of 5

Every couple of years, Marvel tries to bring together the second-stringers into a supergroup. Defenders is the most recent attempt as it brings Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, the Silver Surfer, and Doctor Strange all together.
By Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis.

WEAPON X: DAYS OF FUTURE NOW #1 of 5

The popularity of future Wolverine has brought this mini-series covering what happens in the future when Logan must fight back against all that happens in the future!
By Frank Tieri and Bart Sears.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

FINAL NOTES
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Whew. There was a whole lot of stuff this month. Some good... some REALLY bad. But it's all good in the end because I'd rather have new stuff to write about than nothing at all! Am I right?! As always, remember, if you want to break into the industry just write a comic about superpowered (or non-superpowered) kids in high school or college. Those ALWAYS sell.

And, as always, thank you for your business!

Eric Jacobson