ERIC'S "SHOW ME THE COMICS!"
COMICS NOW! NEWSLETTER VOL. 9 #1 - January 2007

INTRODUCTION
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I'm not quite sure what's going on this month but it feels a little slow to me. Looking through the Previews catalog and accessing my resources seems to reveal a small number of new titles and mini-series being released in January. Maybe it's just because it's the beginning of the year and everyone's really tired from a jam-packed 2006? Who knows! But, as always, I'm willing to cover what we've got!

IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE
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This month's pick has got to be Superman Batman vs. Aliens Predators #1. I mean, come on! I love Aliens and Predators. Mix into that both Superman and Batman fighting them in a huge battle and you've got me so interested I'm literally sitting at the edge of my seat right now.

NOV060195 Superman Batman vs. Aliens Predators #1
** 50%-OFF AT WWW.COMICSNOW.COM **

HOLY COMIC PODCASTS, BATMAN!!!
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One of our partners has discovered the joys of technology (I still hand-write this newsletter by candle-light with a quill pen and whale ink blotter) and is releasing regular comic-book podcasts! Totally awesome, I
believe. Check out the podcast online. There are MP3s of all previous podcasts as well as XML feed links if you'd like to subscribe!

HUGE DISCOUNTS AT WWW.COMICSNOW.COM
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Aside from always offering 35% off the cover price of monthly comics with no minimum to buy, each month Comics NOW offers incredible deals on some of the newest titles out there. Just point your browser to http://www.comicsnow.com to order any of these titles below at huge discounts or any other comic at least 35% off the cover price.

Here are this month's deals:

50%-OFF COMIC DEALS:
NOV060186 Action Comics Annual #1 $3.99
NOV060203 Helmet of Fate Detective Chimp #1 $2.99
NOV060202 Helmet of Fate Ibis the Invincible #1 $2.99
NOV060289 Scalped #1 $2.99
NOV060195 Superman Batman vs. Aliens Predators #1 $5.99
NOV062268 Civil War The Return #1 $2.99
NOV062300 Iron Man Hypervelocity #1 $2.99
NOV062316 Silent War #1 $2.99
NOV062317 Sqaudron Supreme Hyperion vs. Nighthawk #1 $2.99
NOV062318 Thunderbolts #1 $2.99

40%-OFF TRADE PAPERBACK DEALS:
NOV060212 Firestorm Reborn TP $14.99
NOV060237 Seven Soldiers of Victory Vol 4 TP $14.99
NOV060191 Superman Chronicles Vol 2 TP $14.99
NOV060248 Teen Titans Around the World TP $14.99
NOV062359 Astonishing X-Men Vol 3 TP $14.99
NOV062367 Fantastic Four Books of Doom TP $14.99
NOV062363 Ghost Rider Road to Damnation TP $14.99
NOV062366 Iron Man Extremis TP $14.99

THE BIZ
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ALAN MOORE TO APPEAR ON THE SIMPSONS

Although it's not confirmed which episode this is going to happen, but comic legend Alan Moore will appear on an episode of The Simpsons, according to NorthantsNews. The producers of The Simpsons are lovers of all things comic, Moore's work in particular. When requested, Moore was more than willing to be on the episode saying, "I'm happy to do it. I'm a big fan of The Simpsons."

SIN CITY 2 GETTING CLOSER TO PRODUCTION

Frank Miller told If Magazine that "the script is almost completed, and we're just waiting for everyone's schedules to clear up." Not that any of us should be surprised, but that means Sin City 2 is well on its way to getting made.

SPIDER-MAN: BACK IN BLACK

It had to happen. Marvel loves to throw Spider-Man back in the black costume that created so much controversy back when he first received it from the Secret War. This upcoming February, he'll be donning the good old black & white when his life once again turns to crap and he needs to go underground. Guess it wasn't such a wise idea to reveal your secret identity, eh Spidey?

TOP-10 and TOP-100
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Check out Comics NOW! Inc.'s Top-100 on IRX Productions. Download the November 2006 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) Justice League of America
2. (1) Batman
3. (7) Superman Batman
4. (-) Justice
5. (-) Justice Society of America
6. (8) Astonishing X-Men
7. (-) All-Star Superman
8. (9) Detective Comics
9. (10) Superman
10. (-) Action Comics

TOP 10 INDEPENDENT COMICS

1. (1) Transformers Escalation
2. (2) Transformers Spotlight
3. (3) Transformers Movie Adaptation
4. (5) Soulfire
5. (7) Battlestar Galactica
6. (8) GI Joe America's Elite
7. (6) Red Sonja
8. (9) Transformers Generations
9. (-) Strangers in Paradise
10. (-) GI Joe Special Missions

THE GOOD STUFF
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DC COMICS

SUPERMAN & BATMAN VS. ALIENS & PREDATORS #1 of 2

Here we go! Batman discovers that the Aliens and Predators have been on Earth the whole time, locked away from prying human eyes... until now. He and Superman team up in an effort to remove both alien races from Earth before they destroy us all!
By Mark Schultz and Ariel Olivetti.
48 pages. 2-issue mini-series. $5.99 retail.

THE HELMET OF FATE #1 & #2 of 5

Dr. Fate's helmet is getting around. This month, Ibis the Invincible wants to find a worthy successor for his mystical wand, however the guy he picks has a run-in with the Helmet of Fate. In issue #2, the "World's Greatest Simian Sleuth" is brought in to investigate the murders of a big group of newbie superheroes when he finds the Helmet of Fate. What is it with DC and Marvel and their strange obsession with monkeys, chimps, and apes, anyway?
By Tad Williams, Phil Winslade, Bill Willingham, and Shawn McManus.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail each.

SCALPED #1

A somewhat intriguing look at Native American culture, I suppose. Dashiell "Dash" Bad Horse ran away from the reservation 15 years ago and has now returned. Things have changed; a new casino is corrupting the population and the question is whether he's back to stop this from happening or to join in and get a piece of the action.
By Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera.
32 pages. Ongoing series. $2.99 retail.

IMAGE COMICS

'68

It's a month of zombies over at Image Comics for some reason. '68 takes us into Vietnam in the Fall of 1968 where a five-man U.S. fire team discovers zombies, yes, zombies in the jungle. Not sure how they're going to explain this but I'm pretty sure I haven't seen anything about Vietnamese zombies before so at least Image will get an "A" for effort.
By Mark Kidwell, Nat Jones, and Jay Fotos.
32 pages. One-shot. $3.99 retail.

PIECES FOR MOM

Okay, so this comic's premise has actually disturbed me to the core. The world has been overrun by flesh-eating zombies and two young boys have to take care of their rotting mom who's been turned into a zombie herself by, well, cutting up pieces of other humans and giving them to her. Grossed out, yet? Wait till you see the rest of it.
By Steve Niles and Andrew Ritchie.
32 pages. One-shot. $3.99 retail.

MARVEL COMICS

CIVIL WAR: THE RETURN

The Civil War continues while the Sentry and 42 both have to confront their inner demons from pasts long forgotten. The Sentry relives his past on Earth while 42 is in the Negative Zone and starts to remember elements of a past filled with superheroic actions.
By Paul Jenkins and Tom Raney.
32 pages. Oneshot. $2.99 retail.

IRON MAN: HYPERVELOCITY #1 of 6

An insurgent mecha subculture (whatever that is) is attacking and it's up to Tony Stark and his reconfigured Iron Man armor to stop them. However, the invading army's weapons are so ultra-advanced and highly-technological that Stark will have to push himself beyond his technological and biological limits in order to fight them off.
By Adam Warren and Brian Denham.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

MS. MARVEL SPECIAL

Now, this is kind of a neat idea. At one point in the past, Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel) was a novelist and wrote a book loosely based on her life among the stars. Well, this kid starts reading the book. No big deal, right? Except for the fact that this kid's ability is to turn anything he imagines into reality! Events from the book start to come to life and soon New York City is in big trouble!
By Brian Reed and Guiseppe Camuncoli.
48 pages. One-shot special. $2.99 retail.

SILENT WAR #1 of 6

In Son of M, Quicksilver stole the Terrigen Mists from the Inhumans... bad idea. Black Bolt retaliated to the event by declaring war on all of humanity. Gorgon leads a terrorist attack on New York so, naturally, old friends are pitted against each other as the Fantastic Four have to rise to defend their city.
By David Hine and Roy Allan Martinez.
32 pages. 6-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

SQUADRON SUPREME: HYPERION VS. NIGHTHAWK #1 of 5

You know that Marvel's been planning this one for a long time, of course. Hyperion is basically the Squadron Supreme version of Superman while Nighthawk is Batman. Naturally, it was just a matter of time before the two of them would be put against each other just like DC Comics likes to do. Nighthawk and Hyperion go toe-to-toe when they disagree with the handling of a genocide in Africa.
By Marc Guggenheim and Paul Gulacy.
32 pages. 5-issue mini-series. $2.99 retail.

X-MEN ANNUAL #1

Rogue and her team return to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier in order to try and return the twins, Northstar and Aurora, their sanities. Unfortunately, an enemy from the X-Men's past is trying to hijack the Helicarrier at the same time! ACK!
By Mike Carey and Mark Brooks.
48 pages. One-shot special. $3.99 retail.

FINAL NOTES
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Okay, so there you have the month. Not a bad month overall with a couple of really exciting titles coming out; I'm wondering if this isn't the calm before the storm of rampaging new comics, eh? And, always remember, if you ever run out of good ideas for your comics' storylines, there's always zombies!

And, as always, thank you for your business!

Eric Jacobson