April Previews Picks

Howza 'bout a new feature? Howza 'bout something other than TV for a change? Howza 'bout comics? Howza 'bout you bet?

Yes, this is the first in what I hope to be a long line of entries regarding the latest and greatest in the world o' comics.

First the history.

I've been reading comics since... hm, must have been around freshman year of high school, but I could be mistaken. I started collecting comics along with my brother Scott. Whenever possible we would head off to Gnu Books in Ajax Ontario, or to the Book Between in Oshawa to check out the latest in the world of superheroes. Fast forward to college. Around this time my interest became more focused on music and such, and my comic collecting waned. Post college, and after getting a job and some loot, I started picking up books here and there. Mostly filling in gaps in my collection from quarter bins and various Graphic Novels. Along the way my brother and I always made it to the annual Chicago Comicon, but neither of us really kept up to date on the current trends.

Fast forward to... I dunno, more recently. More recently the industry has seemed to have hopped on the Graphic Novel bandwagon, so there's tons of great stuff I've been picking up. So much so in fact (and fueled by the discount deals available on the internet) I've begun to peruse the latest comics listed in Previews each month.

So without any further ado, here are my April Picks:

NEIL GAIMANS NEVERWHERE #1 - I have the book, I have the DVD set, I might as well get the comic (plus it's only $0.75 at DCBS).

WE 3 TP - Heard good things about this... we'll see. Cyborg animals or something. Written by Grant Morrison who did Animal Man, so there you go.

CONCRETE VOL 1 DEPTHS TP - A cheap collection of early Concrete comics. A no brainer. Did I mention that my Concrete watercolor I got for ridiculously cheap online is one of my prized possessions? Cuz it is.

HOUSE OF M #1 - again, $0.75. Marvel's next big thing I gather. I think by Brian Bendis who I don't really like as a writer (yes, I prefer his art, even though he's made his fortune off of the writing.)

LIFE AND TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK TP - Oh, yeah... a new collection of Don Rosa Scrooge McDuck comics. I haven't ever read these but can't wait.

AEIOU GN - Pick of the month! The third of the Jeffery Brown
"girlfriend" trilogy. Genius! The first two volumes are Clumsy and Unlikely. Jeffery's work is scribbly and honest, and sometimes I like him and sometimes I want to punch him in the face. Mostly the former. My only complaint is that sometimes he comes off like a braggart, even if he is bragging about self-deprecating things. Kind of like being show-offy about how lazy you are. Not that Jeff's lazy. And not that I won't get this. I will. I love this stuff. It's my pick of the month, remember?

STREET ANGEL VOL 1 TP - Heard good things and liked the preview I read online. Getting it due to the hype. Sucka.

MARGES LITTLE LULU TP #2 - I used to like Richie Rich, Little Lulu and Little Dot comics so I figure I'll enjoy this collection of original comics put out by Dark Horse Comics (following in Fantagraphics Peanuts steps?). There are 4 of these out now, I'm starting with #2 cuz it was cheaper than #1 and I'm a #1 cheapskate. Now where are the Richie Rich tpb's? Seriously! Let's get with it people - it's Richie Rich, he's very popular! They made a couple of movies for pete's sake! Get with the program! Cummon Fantagraphics! Cummon Dark Horse! Cummon Image! Get it on!

That's it. See you next month.