STAFF PICKS ROUND UP :: AUGUST 08, 2012

August 8, 2012 at 7:30 am By:

The gang here at Heroes is excited for a bunch of comics this week! Click through to see everyone’s Staff Picks and then come down to the store and see all these great new books for yourself!

ANDY’S PICK :: Scott Pilgrim Color Hardcover Volume 1: Precious Little Life: Two years ago the Heroes Discussion Group met to discuss Scott Pilgrim and we had a blast. Why? Because the black and white series is so fast paced, so fun and Bryan Lee O’Malley is terrific cartoonist who combines manga comics, rock music and video games. Now O’Malley has taken the first volume Precious Little Life and has reproduced it in full color. If you didn’t try Scott Pilgrim the first time through, now’s your chance. Read it, then see the movie, then thank me (in that order)

RICO’S PICK :: MICHAEL ALLRED’S IT GIRL AND THE ATOMICS #1 : Jaime S. Rich andMike Norton take the reigns on a few of Mike Allred’s creations in this new ongoing title from Image. Rich has a track record of working on quality projects with quality people dating back to his days as Editor-In-Chief at Oni Press and he has been editing Allred’s Madman family of comics for years now. If you’re looking for fun superheroes who ponder things like the silliness inherent in their own genre while fighting crime, beautifully drawn by Mike Norton, check this book out! (Image below is Darwyn Cooke’s alternate cover. Check out an interview with Rich and few preview pages of the book here.)

SETH’S PICK :: GRENDEL OMNIBUS: HUNTER ROSE  VOL. 1 TP: Like The Rocketeer, Love and Rockets and HeroesCon, Matt Wagner’sGrendel is also celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year.  With its numerous incarnations and span of eras covered, Grendel can be a tough series to tackle.  This first omnibus offers everything you need to enter the world of the author-turned-criminal mastermind, Hunter Rose.  This volume collects Devil By The Deed, the entire Behold the Devil series, and Black, White, & Red, and Red, White, & Black, two excellent miniseries featuring artists like Mike Allred, Duncan Fegredo, Stan Sakai, Scott Morse, Jill Thompson, Ashley Wood,Cliff Chiang and more.  Plus, the volume collects 600 pages of material for only $24.99.  This sometimes experimental, often times violent look at a man’s descent into crime is well worth your time and money this week.

KARLA’S PICK :: SAILOR MOON VOLUME 6: Sailor Moon and I go WAY back. All the way back to elementary school to be exact (and let’s not get into how long that’s been)! While this week’s release of Sailor Moon Vol. 6 may not necessarily be “new” material, it is a far better version than its previous incarnations! These new volumes have received the royal treatment with fresh translations, new cover art and have been reformatted to read right to left, in the style of traditional Japanese manga. Vol. 6 picks up after the “Black Moon” story arc and was roughly represented by season 3 of the popular Sailor Moon cartoon. I would recommend it for girls (and guys) of all ages, especially to those who think that true-love and bravery can transcend time.

HEATHER’S PICK :: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON 9 #12: Since the major world changes from Season Eight, Buffy has had a lot going on as she adjusts to life in post-Twilight era.  (That’s Season Eight’s Big Bad, not the sparkling vamp series.)  Supernatural foes have been replaced by typical post-college woes: maintaining steady employment and paying off student loans.  Slayer training is now put to practical use in a special security gig that brings back one of my favorite Big Bads from the Angel side of the Buffyverse: Wolfram & Hart (oh, those evil lawyers!!).  Come for the beautiful Phil Noto covers and stay for the storytelling within.

DOUG’S PICK :: BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS  #2: Jae Lee art!  Jae Lee art!  Jae Lee art!  Need I say more?  Ozymandias is the best of the Before Watchmen books and the closest in tone to the original series.

MATT’S PICK :: ADVENTURE TIME: MARCELINE AND THE SCREAM QUEENS #02: The girls take the show on the road and Jake is in charge of The Candy Kingdom?  Mathematical!

JASON’S PICK :: BATMAN #12: Scott Snyder started writing Detective Comics when it was Dick Grayson under Batman’s cowl (which he discussed in depth at this year’s HeroesCon!), but he didn’t miss a beat with Bruce Wayne’s return and the jump to writing Batman with the launch of DC’s “New 52.” This issue wraps up Snyder’s game-changing “Court of Owls” storyline/crossover and sets the stage for the coming year of stories. With the Joker’s return in the “Death of the Family” storyline coming soon, it’ll be exciting to see what kind of hints and teases Snyder throws at us in this issue.

BRIDGIT’S PICK :: ATOMIC ROBO and the FLYING SHE-DEVILS #2: A few months ago, myself and seven other artist ladies were asked to draw ourselves as characters for Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener’s new Atomic Robo arc. So we did, and Scott adapted them to the style of the comic. Now there’s a slew of rag-tag ex-World War II pilots turned airship pirate doppelgangers of us all, running around in one of the best comic book series on the shelves! Atomic Robo is an entertaining mix of science, history, and shenanigans, and it’s one of the few comics that makes me literally laugh out loud. The adventures are so much fun and light- a sort of relief to read compared to the darker tone in a lot of comics these days. It’s a title I read regularly, and now with the Flying She-Devils, well… I can’t wait to see what we’re up to next!

>BONUS PICKS :: GODZILLA: THE HALF CENTURY WAR #1, ANTI #1, CARDBOARD OGN, CREEP #0, DAREDEVIL ANNUAL #01, VENOM #22

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Filed Under: DISCUSS, Heroes Aren't Hard To Find, Staff Picks




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