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Volume 14 #4
Take One!
“News, reviews and opinions from the world of comics”
August 2010
Big Planet Favorites Invade the Screen! More and more comics are getting turned into films and this month we have a new one, Scott Pilgrim, and a new TV show in October, Walking Dead. Both of these books are favorites of Big Planet and many of our customers. Take the time to check them out if you’ve missed them! Then you can impress your friends with your ahead-of-the-curve knowledge. Walking Dead The ongoing saga of survivors after a zombie apocalypse. How far will they go to survive? How inhuman will they become? And how many of them will die? Coming as an ongoing TV show from AMC in October. (Ongoing series) Scott Pilgrim Slacker Scott finally meets the girl of his dreams, only to find out she has 7 evil ex-boyfriends who want to fight him to see if he’s worthy. A great drama with lots of action, covered in video game references and manga stylings. (6 book series)
SHADOWLAND
Daredevil has had his share of rough patches. First, he’s blinded. Then his girlfriend dies. Then his girlfriend dies AGAIN. Then he goes to prison. You get the idea. So it should come as no surprise that ol’ Horn Head has gone completely off the deep end. What is surprising is how FAR off he’s gone. Becoming the head of the Hand, building a castle in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen and kicking out all of the cops so he can be judge, jury, and executioner? That’s the kind of thing that’s bound to get the attention of the bazillion super-heroes living in NYC. I know it got my attention! It got me reading Daredevil again!
2 | www.bigplanetcomics.com A Skeleton Story #1 New publisher GG Studios brings noir-crime-mystery to the afterlife in this new series reminiscent of Grim Fandango. The art looks amazing. The story looks engaging. It’s European! Recommended for fans of Blacksad and Last Days of American Crime.
vampyres into slaves! Throw in a few vampyre soldiers and a murder spree, you’ve got the newest Cinemax miniseries. Neonomicon #1 Some guy named Alan Moore wrote a short lil story called The Courtyard with lots of Lovecraftian goodness, now we’ve got the sequel. You might like it, he can write okay. Namor: The First Mutant #1 Gah! It’s vampire month or something! Namor heads into the depths to face the Atlantean Vampires. Plus he’s gotta choose Atlantis or the X-Men – since they come into conflict so often, you see. Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #1 DC’s Elseworlds line makes its triumphant return! Find out what would have happened if Superman’s parents escaped Krypton as well!
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1 Guy Gardner is off on a secret mission for everyone’s kindestnamed guy, Atrocitus! Of course Hal Jordan ain’t down with that, and the Corps will probably get messed up, and maybe a new color spectrum ring will appear. Or not. With Kilowog action! Ides of Blood #1 The non-boring parts of history – like when Julius Caesar conquered Transylvania to make
Guarding the Globe #1 Invincible spin-off! Everyone’s favorite team from the Invinci-Verse gets its own monthly book. Featuring Invincible, Brit, Robot, and everybody else! Deadpool #1000 Are there too many Deadpool books? At last count, there were two ongoing titles, two miniseries, and numerous one-shots. Wait! Maybe there really HAVE been a thousand issues of Deadpool! No? Deadpool #1000 is awesome either way. How could it not be? It’s by Dean Haspiel, David Lapham, and Peter Bagge!
Sullivan’s Slugger’s SC James Stokoe (Orc Stain, Wonton Soup) takes on America’s Favorite Pastime in his new original graphic novel, Sullivan’s Sluggers. It’s just like a regular book about a baseball game except for all the MONSTERS! Dante’s Divine Comedy HC Seymour Chwast retells Dante’s poem in noir-ish style. A Drunken Dream and Other Stories HC Moto Hagio, one of the pioneers of shojo manga, has her short stories collected.
Marvel Universe vs The Punisher #1 What would happen if a
Hotline: 301.718.1890 28-Days-Later-esque virus overtook the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe and turned them into flesh-eating monsters? The Punisher would kill them, of course!
Hotline: 301.718.1890
www.bigplanetcomics.com | 3
Halo: Blood Line HC Halo comics about Halo dudes doing Halo stuff. If you like Halo or Fred Van Lente, this comic is for you! Cages SC Multi-media artiste Dave McKean tried his hand at writing as well in his opus, a rumination on art and reality, following a painter, a writer, and a musician. Ambitiously cool.
7 Psychopaths SC How do you kill Hitler? It seems like an impossible task, right? I mean, he died, like, 65 years ago! Well, the first step is: Be alive during WWII. Second step: Gather a group of psychopaths to go behind enemy lines and take him out! Third step: This book is awesome! Bone: Tall Tales SC Yay! Sort of a new Bone book! Bone: Tall Tales collects some old, long out-of-print Bone material and book-ends it with some brand-new material. Not exactly the new Bone book we’ve all been waiting for, but still pretty cool.
Johnny Comet SC Fifties hot rod comic strips by the immortal Frank Frazetta. Frazetta’s earlier comics work was much different than his later, more fantasy-driven paintings, but this collection proves him more than a match for guys like Raymond and Williamson! Showcase Presents: The Doom Patrol Vol. 2 SC Finally the other 20 issues of the classic 1960s Doom Patrol are here for your reading pleasure! And they were comics strangest superteam long before Grant Morrison ever got hold of them. Recommended.
Invincible 13: Growing Pains SC Invincible got smacked around quite a bit, so he’s gotta figure out what sort of hero he’s going to be – especially with the Viltrumite War looming! Epic! Zero Killer SC The superb Arvid Nelson (Rex Mundi) finally finished his apocalyptic adventure series, where Zero the bounty hunter gets caught up between the paramilitary and the crazed survivors of New York. Smurfs Vol. 1 & 2 SC The original Peyo Smurfs comics are finally in print again in the U.S.! I can guarantee that these Smurfs comics are way better than you think they are. Read these and skip the really crappy looking Smurfs movie! Kick-Ass SC You’ve read the comics. You’ve seen the movie. Wait! You haven’t read the comics? BUY THIS! It will kick your ass, eponymously.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec Volume 1 HC Sonn to be a major (French) motion picture! Set in Paris before WWI, this French adventure comic features a female novelist fighting a pterodactyl! That makes it automatically good! Strange Science Fantasy #2 In issue #1 we were introduced to The Gearheads and it was beautiful and kick-ass at the same time. In issue #2, we meet THE SHOGONAUT. I don’t know about you, but that sounds rad to me!
Fingerprints HC Will Dinski takes a science-look at our beauty-obsessed society in what is sure to be one of the most talked about graphic novels of the year. Seedless SC Um, okay – so grapes come to life, since they are from the distant planet Crazy, and only a new breed of grape warriors can stop them – the Seedless! With jetpacks and inventors and sabretooths and robots?! I’m in!
4 | www.bigplanetcomics.com
Hotline: 301.718.1890
SPX 2010 AND BALTIMORE COMIC-CON ARE BACK!
SPX time is always our favorite time of year, and guess what? It’s that time again! SPX has become the convention to go to if you’re looking for selfpublished comics and it’s right down the street in North Bethesda! Besides the legions of bearded mini-comics empresarios, this year’s show also features some top-tier talent from the indie comics world. Dean Haspiel, Kate Beaton, Jaime Hernandez, Raina Telgemeier, Lisa Hanawalt, Vanessa Davis, Dustin Harbin, and Will Dinski are just a a few of the amazing creators who will be there, so whatever you do, make sure you don’t miss SPX 2010! What: SPX 2010 Where: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center When: Open to the public Saturday and Sunday, September 11 and 12, 2010. As with every year, profits from SPX will go to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, protecting the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. www.spxpo.com
The best mainstream comic convention within 200 miles, Baltimore never disappoints, and this year looks to be just as jam-packed with top-tier guests as usual! Mike Allred, Todd McFarlane, Howard Chaykin, Geoff Johns, Sergio Aragones, Frank Cho, JG Jones, James Robinson, Walter Simonson, and Terry Moore and many more should make Baltimore 2010 one not to miss! Saturday and Sunday, August 28-29! www.comicon.com/baltimore/
I READ IT! ! ITSMITH I LOVEDBY JARED
THE SIXTH GUN #1
A cartoony European art style merged with over the top Western horror action. A zombie Confederate general and his goons going up against a gunslinger, a haunted pistol, a tale of revenge, and one innocent girl.
Big Planet Orbit
Volume 14 #4; August, 2010 is published by Joel Pollack, Peter Casazza, Jared Smith, and Greg Bennett for Big Planet Comics. www.bigplanetcomics.com.
Big Planet Comics, Inc. 4908 Fairmont Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814, 301.654.6856 Big Planet Comics of VA Inc. 426 Maple Ave. East, Vienna, VA 22180, 703.242.9412 Big Planet Comics of DC Inc. 3145 Dumbarton St. NW, Washington, DC 20007, 202.342.1961 Big Planet Comics of College Park Inc. 7315 Baltimore Ave. , College Park, MD, 20740, 301.699.0498