ANDY’S PICKS: So broke, yet so happy…..the stuff of which Holiday gift lists are made.

CASANOVA COMPLETE ED HC VOL 01 LUXURIA| $29.99
For all fans of the writing of Matt Fraction as well as the magical art of Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, this edition of the First series starring superspy extraordinaire Casanova Quinn is required reading. Come for the story and art and stay for all the clever cultural references!

DUST COVERS THE COLLECTED SANDMAN COVERS HC NEW ED| $49.99
The new edition of the collected Sandman covers all created by the always innovative Dave McKean features annotations and a new short story by the Endless’ own Neil Gaiman. Innovation is an understatement; here be Gems!

TEEN TITANS A CELEBRATION OF 50 YEARS HC| $75.00
I don’t know what is collected in the Teen Titans 50th Anniversary, but DCs recent track record of solid Anniversary anthologies suggests this book will be worth a peek and maybe a purchase.

EC GEORGE EVANS ACES HIGH HC| $29.99
Does anyone draw airplanes better than the late great George Evans? Heck no! And the new Fantagraphics EC spotlight does this craftsman’s work proud. Outstanding comics presented in rich detail laden black and white.

All these volumes are choice but if I could only choose two (one? Shirley, you jest)…
SILVER SURFER EPIC COLLECTION TP WHEN CALLS GALACTUS| $34.99
Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #49, #55, #57-60, #72 and #74-77 – plus material from FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #48, #50, #56 and #61; FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL (1964) #5; and TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #92-93.
I would gladly exchange my hard earned tender for this Silver Surfer collection; the stories found within show off the mid-sixties Lee, Kirby and Sinnott magic as they managed to turn the comic world on its collective ear month in and month out. Glorious and more fun than any other book around.

Lastly and certainly not leastly
ART OF MODESTY BLAISE SC| $39.99
Modesty Blaise is the most fun, the most intelligent and most importantly the most consistent daily newspaper adventure strip of the past 40 years. Look through this gem of an artbook that features all 5 of Modesty’s great illustrators and then pick up any–ANY!!!- Modesty reprint volume that Sir Justin of Crowsely stocks on the bulging shelves of Heroeshire. Every single volume is great. I swear!

ANDY’S PICK :: ZENITH PHASE ONE: Before there was Animal Man, Doom Patrol, New X-Men, The Invisibles, Seven Soldiers of Victory, Batman & Son, Final Crisis, and Multiverse, there was Zenith. Grant Morrison along with designer Brendan McCarthy and artist Steve Yeowell created the first selfish Gen-X Superhero as rock star. Originally published in England in 2000 AD, between 1987 to 1992, ZENITH has not been reprinted for decades and that huge gaping absence in the era of classic reprints ends today. Back in the day, I was one of the few, lucky few in the colonies to read it and if memory serves, it is a marvelous read. Don’t miss it.

RICO’S PICK :: DRIFTER #1: Drifter is a new science fiction series from Image Comics written by Ivan Brandon (Men of War) with art by Nic Klein (Captain America). Abram Pollux has crash landed on a very dangerous planet. What will he need to do to survive? I don’t know but I’m going to find out this Wednesday just like you.

JUSTIN’S PICK ::  THE HUMANS #1: When this book was solicited, it appeared to be more of the genre mash-uppery we’ve come to crave from Image Comics. “Planet of the Apes meets Sons of Anarchy” was my small mind’s trifling conclusion. Imagine my surprise when The Humans #1 turned out to encompass a far more broad range of reference points. Steeped in the exploitative iconography of 70s cinema and lacquered (liquored?) with an appropriately underground sensibility, this book’s as entertaining as it is unclassifiable. The back cover by bountiful Benjamin Marra sums things up nicely, and it’s also hand-lettered, which always sends my heart aflutter. Take a bow, Keller/Neely/Collantes…you’ve crafted a thing of gritty beauty.

ANDY’S PICKS :: At this past weekend’s Discussion Group–and we had a blast, join us for the next one!!-two books were strongly recommended by our Discussioneers (c): WAKE the ten issue horror mini series from Batwriter Scott Snyder and artist Sean Murphy. It is set at the Arctic Circle and it sounds horrifying. And KINSKI the six issue miniseries from Gabriel Hardiman about a man and his dog, but that is not what it is really about. Both books are collected in book form and are well worth your time, money and effort.

SUPERMAN GOLDEN AGE SUNDAYS 1946-1949 HC| $49.95
WALLACE & GROMIT NEWSPAPER STRIPS HC VOL 02| $14.99
WALT KELLY POGO COMP DELL COMICS HC VOL 02| $60.00
BOB POWELL COMPLETE CAVE GIRL HC| $49.99
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE TP BREAKING STEPHAN| $14.99
MUTTS TREASURY LIVING THE DREAM SC| $19.99
GET FUZZY TP YOU CANT FIGHT CRAZY| $14.99

You can’t go wrong with any of these collections. Mutts, Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine are three of the most consistent and entertaining contemporary strips. So is Wallace & Gromit and these collections are the only place in the colonies to find this gem. Powell was a good girl art master to rival even Matt Baker. You can’t go wrong with Walt Kelly’s swamp folk in any medium. But it is those full page, full color Wayne Boring Sunday strips that really melt my butter. Yours too if you are so inclined to give them a try!

HEATHER’S PICK :: ELEKTRA TP VOL 01 BLOODLINES: Until this recent series, my knowledge of Elektra was limited to the Daredevil movie starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.  I can’t even claim to have seen the solo movie.  Neither of those movies are a good ad for just how awesome and bad ass Elektra is in the comics.  This new series is a great  ad and the release of the first trade paperback is an excellent time to give it a read.  Written by Haden Blackman and drawn by Mike del Mundo, the art is gorgeous and the story is interesting with no prior knowledge needed.

 Bonus Pick: Rocket Raccoon #5: Are you reading Rocket’s stand alone series? If you said no, then why the heck not? This book is super fun and super funny and you are missing out if not picking it up monthly! BTW: This issue is drawn by the founder of last month’s InkTober, Jake Parker.

ANDY’S PICKS: Agggghhh!! It’s too much! Too many great classic reprints.

COMPLETE PEANUTS HC VOL 22 1993-1994| $29.99
COMPLETE PEANUTS TP BOX SET 1950-1954| $39.99
COMPLETE PEANUTS TP VOL 02 1953-1954| $22.99
DILBERT HC GO ADD VALUE SOMEPLACE ELSE| $19.99
PEANUTS EVERY SUNDAY HC VOL 02 1956-1960| $49.99
POGO COMP SYNDICATED STRIPS HC VOL 03 EVIDENCE CONTRARY| $45.00

You can’t go wrong with any of these titles, but if I was forced to buy only one (not gonna happen, Cap’n!!) my first recommendation would be the Peanuts Sundays followed this/close by Pogo. But any Peanuts or Pogo will do and even though Dilbert doesn’t belong in the league with those other classics, it is consistently one of the funniest strips being published today.

100 BULLETS TP BOOK 01| $24.99
BASIL WOLVERTON WEIRD WORLDS ARTISTS ED HC| $150.00
PREACHER TP BOOK 06| $19.99
HOWARD THE DUCK OMNIBUS| $99.99
DISNEY ROSA DUCK LIBRARY HC VOL 02 RETURN TO PLAIN AWFUL| $29.99
IRON MAN EPIC COLLECTION TP GOLDEN AVENGER| $34.99

Wow, what can I except Christmas is right around the corner. I will let our esteemed manager talk about HtD. My recs are 100 Bullets and Preacher–two great series that remain in print and deservedly so. But you gotta love the antique Iron Man tales and Don Rosa once again does Duckburg proud. Wolverton is a genius and just a passing glance at this Artists edition proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: DMC GN #1: DMC is like Marvel’s What If? mashed up with Ed Piskor’s Hip Hop Family Tree. Set in 80s New York, as hip-hop took root in the streets and branched out into the suburbs, DMC #1 examines what would have happened if Darryl McDaniels opted to become a vigilante superhero instead of an emcee. Upon further consideration, there isn’t a huge gap between superheroing and conscious rap: both strive to change the world around them for the better, usually employing some sort of colorful costume/shtick/moniker. That parallel is at the heart of this particular funnybook.

HEATHER’S PICK :: RASPUTIN #1: There were so many points in Russian history that I found absolutely fascinating when I was in school.  The Romanovs in particular were very interesting, especially in light of their association with Grigori Rasputin, rumored mystic and faith healer and adviser to the Tsar.  Rasputin’s rise in the Russian aristocracy has all the makings of a modern day soap opera: alleged affairs with the Tsarina and other princesses, the close friendship with the Tsar who brushes off all allegations, the seemingly miraculous healing of a sick and adored child, and multiple conspiracies to commit murder.  Even Rasputin’s death is still shrouded in mystery as who ultimately killed him and how. Poisoned, shot, stabbed, beaten, drowned, or all of the above? Was this mystical figure really that hard to kill?

I can’t wait to see this story brought to life in a comic.  Image has found excellent footing in the genre comics section with sound exploration outside of the tights and capes that many non-comics readers expect.  Writer Alex Grecian and artist Riley Rossmo sound like they have done their research into the convoluted world of Rasputin and it looks like they will have a twisted tale to share and I look forward to following along.

The Batman Files is a BIG book–308  13×10 pages!- crammed full of every bit of information known about the Dark Knight Detective. This clever reference book is presented in the form of a scrapbook or journal that details every known aspect of the Caped Crusader as if it had been compiled by Bruce Wayne himself. The author–Matthew Manning in concert with hundreds of artists have done a splendid job. The Batman Files offers hundreds of fun tidbits and delivers the Intel in a way that is both dramatic and personal. This is a must for all Bat-fans. And remember November 1st we will be spotlighting the Batman at the triumphant return of the Heroes Discussion Group.