UNTIL YOUR HEART STOPS v11.6
by Brian Domingos

No Backsliding

December 7th, 2005

It dawned on me the other day that we were approaching a new year in a little over three weeks. I mean, I'm aware that it's happening, but the physical changes – like the need for a new database entry and, most of all, a new calendar – hit me hard and fast.

For the normal everyday uses, the calendar, obviously, comes in very handy. It hangs to the right of my computer monitor, sharing the lower-right hand tack with my Linda Carter as Wonder Woman poster and marks the passing of available time only. I'm not one to forget appointments and important dates, but sometimes I misjudge just how long it is until I can physically see it.

I also keep a loose track of my comic purchases with a series of calculator forms from Open Office dot org. Open Office is the freeware version of MS Office and the calculator works just as well as Excel for that purpose.

I track a couple things at this point:

First is the digital list, by shipment and shipping month, of my DCBS orders. There's a physical packing list sent with each shipment, but it's alphabetical and doesn't help me the way I need it. Using this form I can tell you that the oldest item yet to ship is the now-a-year-late AMERICAN FLAGG! HC from Image/Dynamic Forces. I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only one in that boat. But, I can also see that the first collection of Image's THE EXPATRIATE is three months late, and that Speakeasy's SHOTGUN WEDDING #1 is two months late. This whole thing makes sure that I can keep track of things easily.

Then there's the list of the 'storefront' books – things that I'm not necessarily going to order blindly or even things I'm just keeping an eye on. This list can be anywhere from ten items to 40 (one month) and can be trimmed and added as more previews become available through the various media outlets.

Both of these items are tracked by Shipping Date, then name, and marked as either single issue or collection.

I have a separate list for the raw facts of the orders: Order number, date/time order was placed, total cost, payments made and balances due. This is all taken directly from the DCBS site and shows me what I've done so far this year. I actually need to update it as I'm done with 2005. (See what I'm talking about?)

There's a smaller list of the items that have been canceled and refunded to me. A quick look shows me three Oni Press books (four, if you count FOLLOW ME CLOSELY twice), a couple AiT/Planet Lar books (one of which ships through a different publisher in February) and other small press companies.

The next form is the most important one, I think, as it lists all of the trade paperbacks/OGNs that I got in 2005. At this point I've acquired 217 different books. Last year I had 172 for the year. That's a difference of 45 books, which is quite a few more. A big part of this is likely due to the fact that I attended two conventions – which is two more than in 2004. We'll see how 2006 goes.

The last form is a listing of all the shipments I've received from DCBS by week and items shipped. There's a whole week's worth of comparisons to talk about alone right there.

And that's how I monitor my buying. I don't look at weekly/monthly spending in dollar amounts because my brain starts to smoke and it doesn’t go very well. I'm not as anal about the whole thing as some people are. I like how Dave Hovy does it, but it's a bit more intense than I am up for.

So I have a lot to do to get ready for the New Year. That's not to say that I don't have even more to do to prepare for the end of this one.

Okay, we have a lot of stuff coming out this week, getting in your hands before Christmas.

Upcoming
Items of note shipping December 7th, 2005

AUG053317 1 WORLD MANGA VOL 2 TP $3.99
SEP053072 2000 AD #1463 $4.10
SEP053073 2000 AD #1464 $4.10
OCT053155 2000 AD WINTER SPECIAL 2005 $5.99
AUG050018 AEON FLUX #3 (OF 4) $2.99
OCT051724 AGE OF BRONZE #22 $3.50

OCT050214 ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 SPECIAL EDITION #1
DC Comics
$3.99

I'm not interested in this so much for the artwork, but I'd love to see what Frank Miller's script looked like for the first issue. It's always nice to do those artwork/script comparisons.

SEP052979 ANGEL OLD FRIENDS #1 (OF 5) $3.99
SEP053269 ANGEL SANCTUARY VOL 11 GN $9.99
SEP052977 ANTIQUE GIFT SHOP VOL 1 GN $10.95
SEP052747 ARCHIE #562 $2.25
SEP052750 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #166 $3.59
SEP053270 BANANA FISH VOL 11 TP $9.99
SEP053271 BASARA VOL 15 TP $9.99

OCT050223 BATGIRL: KICKING ASSASSINS TPB
DC Comics
$14.99

The material here is the follow up stuff from the ROBIN/BATGIRL: Whatever book that came out earlier this year. The BATGIRL parts were the strongest, so I've got a good feeling about this volume. The Editorial Mandates sent Batgirl out of Gotham after the "War Games" fiasco so she's on her own for the first time. By this, writer Andersen Gabrych takes the Cassandra Cain character a little further into maturity, fleshing her out. It seems to work. Then there's artist Ale Garza who's shades of Jim Lee and that's good enough for me. I do wish that DC would go back and finish collecting the original run on BATGIRL (by Kelly Plunkett & Damion Scott) but I won't hold my breath.

OCT050221 BATMAN AND THE MONSTER MEN #2 (OF 6) $2.99

FEB051584 BATTLE HYMN #5 (OF 5)
Image Comics
$2.99

The best thing about this coming out is that we're thiiiiiiis much closer to getting the BATTLE HYMN collection. It's been hovering in my DCBS queue since October. I've had a lot of interest in this series, but the delays have diminished that.

OCT052721 BEAR #10 $2.95
SEP053333 BECKETTS BASEBALL CARD PLUS JAN FEB 2006 #21 $9.99
SEP053335 BECKETTS BASKETBALL CARD PLUS WINTER 2006 #17 $9.99
OCT050241 BLOOD OF THE DEMON #10 $2.50
OCT051727 BONE REST #6 (MR) $2.99
OCT053121 BONEYARD #20 $2.95
SEP053272 BOYS OVER FLOWERS VOL 15 TP $9.99
OCT052827 BRIAN PULIDOS MEDIEVAL LADY DEATH NO PAWN CVR #5 (OF 8) $5.99
OCT052826 BRIAN PULIDOS WAR ANGEL DEADLY CVR #3 (OF 3) $5.99
JUN051774 CASEFILES SAM & TWITCH #20 (RES) (MR) $2.50
OCT053193 CAVEMAN ROBOT #1 $2.50
SEP052930 CHARLES BURNS LIBRARY VOL 1 EL BORBAH SC $16.95
SEP053295 CHASE VOL 1 TP (DEC042372) $9.95
OCT050088 CHIP N DALE NUTTYWEAR GACHA CAPSULE PI
AUG052671 CHISUJI #3 (OF 6) $2.99
OCT050015 CONAN & THE DEMONS OF KHITAI #3 (OF 4) $2.99
AUG052598 CRYPT OF HORROR VOL 1 TP $24.95
OCT050297 DANGER GIRL BACK IN BLACK #2 (OF 4) $2.99
SEP052934 DEADPAN #2 (O/A) (MR) $5.95

OCT052690 DEMO COLLECTION TPB
AiT/Planet Lar
$19.95

Publisher and all-around nice guy Larry Young sent me a copy of the DEMO COLLECTION .pdf and, honestly, it looks great. This 300-something page monstrosity is a stripped down version of the monthly title. There are no additives – no extras. It's all just story and artwork and with DEMO that's the best part.

OCT050216 DETECTIVE COMICS #814
DC Comics
$2.50

It's hard to believe that David Lapham's reign of terror on DETECTIVE COMICS is over. It's been sooooo long and sooooo convoluted and then there was that month interruption that was "War Crimes". Well, now we get to see how it all goes down. Batman Vs. The Body.

SEP052941 DILDO #10 (A) $3.95

OCT051769 DOWN #2 (OF 4)
Top Cow/Image Comics
$2.99

Wow, the first one of these came out like two weeks ago. This is a treat. The first one was a very cool set up and I think it's going to be a nice and tight four issue mini. Oh, and this time it's Cully Hamner and Gun Fights and what's better than that?

SEP052891 DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES KURTH CVR A #4 (OF 8) $2.95
SEP052892 DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES WALPOLE CVR B #4 (OF 8) $5.95
SEP052995 THE EASY WAY, VOL. 1 TPB (MR) $17.99
OCT052723 EMO BOY #4 $2.95
OCT052818 ESCAPE OF THE LIVING DEAD BLOOD RED CON CVR #1 (OF 5) (MR) $4.99
OCT052041 ESSENTIAL SPIDER-WOMAN VOL 1 TP $16.99
SEP053284 EXORCISMS AND POGO STICKS VOL 1 GN (MR) $12.95
SEP052765 FATHOM #5 $2.99
SEP058243 FELL 2ND PRTG #1 (PP #693) $1.99
SEP058244 FELL 2ND PRTG #2 (PP #693) $1.99
SEP053246 FIREFIGHTER DAIGO OF FIRE COMPANY M VOL 13 TP $9.95
SEP053247 FLAME OF RECCA VOL 15 TP $9.99
SEP052893 FORGOTTEN REALMS DARK ELF EXILE SEELEY CVR A #2 (OF 3) $4.95
SEP052894 FORGOTTEN REALMS DARK ELF EXILE WALPOLE CVR B #2 (OF 3) $8.95
SEP051738 FRESHMEN #4 (OF 6) $2.99
AUG051730 FRESHMEN YEARBOOK ONE SHOT $2.99
OCT051944 FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #3 $2.99
OCT053126 FSC VOL 5 THWAR AND THUS $3.25
AUG053070 FURRLOUGH #153 $3.50
SEP050286 GALS VOL 4 $9.99
AUG053072 GENUS #74 (A) $3.50
OCT052921 GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE #6 $4.50
SEP052942 GNOMES FAIRIES & SEX KITTENS (A) $3.95
OCT050251 GOLDEN AGE HAWKMAN ARCHIVES VOL 1 HC $49.99

OCT050225 GOTHAM CENTRAL #38
DC Comics
$2.50

So, here Greg Rucka starts the final GOTHAM CENTRAL arc. That's really quite depressing. It's been a good run, but I'm sad to see it go. This is supposed to wrap up all that 'Corrigan' stuff. Maybe now Montoya can give Allen a straight answer.

JUN050453 GREEN LANTERN VS SINESTRO STATUE $195.00
OCT052830 GYPSY DEFENSIVE CVR #1 $5.99
OCT050250 HARD TIME SEASON TWO #1 $2.50
SEP052978 HEAVENLY EXECUTIONER CHIWOO VOL 1 GN $10.95
MAY050320 HI HI PUFFY AMIYUMI MAQUETTE SET $125.00

OCT051717 IMAGE COMICS: HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2005
Image Comics
$9.99

I don't know all that much about this, but I do know that Joe Casey and B. Clay Moore and others are included, so it's worth a look.

SEP051664 IMAGE COMICS LTD SLIPCASE HC (RES) $75.00
OCT052650 INQUEST GAMER #129 $4.99
SEP053291 JINDAI #2 $2.99
OCT050258 JLA CLASSIFIED COLD STEEL #1 (OF 2) $5.99
OCT050260 JONAH HEX #2 $2.99
OCT050259 JSA #80 $2.50
AUG053081 JUDGE DREDD SATANS ISLAND TP $15.99
OCT050278 JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #16 $2.25
MAY052614 KAMUI GN #1 $9.99
SEP052996 KARNEY VOL 1 TP (MR) $19.99
AUG052890 KING OF FIGHTERS MAXIMUM IMPACT #5 (RES) $2.95
AUG052891 KING OF FIGHTERS MAXIMUM IMPACT #6 (RES) $2.95
MAY050318 KINGDOM COME SPECTRE GREEN LANTERN NORMAN MCCAY STATUE $89.99
OCT052831 LADY DEATH ABANDON ALL HOPE SAVAGE BEAUTY CVR #1 (OF 4) $5.99
AUG052840 LADY DEATH VS VAMPIRELLA II PREMIUM CREATOR FILE COPY $30.00
AUG052764 LADY DEATH WICKED #1 $3.99
OCT052832 LADY DEATH WICKED #1/2 HELLCAT CVR $5.99
AUG052768 LADY DEATH WICKED ADRIAN CVR #1 $3.99
AUG052766 LADY DEATH WICKED CONFLICT CVR #1 $3.99
OCT052890 LADY DEATH WICKED GOLD FOIL CVR #1 $5.99
AUG052767 LADY DEATH WICKED MARTIN CVR #1 $3.99
AUG052769 LADY DEATH WICKED NOUVEAU CVR #1 $3.99
AUG052770 LADY DEATH WICKED PREMIUM CVR #1 $9.99
AUG052765 LADY DEATH WICKED WRAPAROUND CVR #1 $3.99
SEP052656 LAGOON ENGINE EINSATZ MANGA VOL 1 TP $10.95
OCT051709 LOOKING GLASS WARS HATTER M #1 (OF 4) $3.99
OCT050284 LOONEY TUNES #133 $2.25
AUG052873 LOST SQUAD #2 (OF 6) $2.95
AUG052922 LOVE & ROCKETS VOL 2 #15 (MR) $4.50
SEP053267 MAISON IKKOKU VOL 14 2ND ED TP $9.95

OCT050301 MAJESTIC: WHILE YOU WERE OUT TPB
Wildstorm/DC Comics
$12.99

Being a total Wildstorm junky, I was excited for the new MAJESTIC series. Thankfully the material lived up to the expectations. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning started the new series off with a pair of immense obstacles: The World Ark and an infested Earth. The plots tap in to that thematic quality that Joe Casey and Brian Holguin instilled in the MR. MAJESTIC series. Then there's Neil Googe – the artist I never thought I'd like. He surprised me from top to bottom. And then the coloring by Carrie Strachan is fantastic in its own right. The story that follows this volume isn't so hot, so this is the Good Stuff. Hopefully when The Googe comes back so will the quality.

OCT051999 MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #10 $2.50
OCT051968 MARVEL TEAM-UP #15 $2.99
OCT052035 MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL 2 MASTER OF THE RING TP $17.99
OCT051977 MARVEL ZOMBIES #1 (OF 5) $2.99
SEP052984 MAZE AGENCY #1 (OF 4) $3.99
OCT052828 MEDIEVAL LADY DEATH BELLADONNA MAKING POINT CVR #1/2 $5.99
OCT052030 MEGA MORPHS DIGEST $7.99
SEP053234 NARUTO VOL 8 TP $7.95
AUG053019 NAT TURNER #2 (MR)(OF 4) $3.00
AUG051729 NECROMANCER #3 $2.99
OCT052005 NEW EXCALIBUR #2 $2.99
OCT051981 NEW WARRIORS #6 (OF 6) $2.99
AUG052986 NIGHT MARY #4 (OF 5) $3.99
SEP052729 NINJA HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK 2005 $4.99
JUN051799 NYC MECH BETA LOVE #4 $2.99
OCT052955 OPTIC NERVE #10 (MR) $3.95
OCT050264 OUTSIDERS #31 $2.50
OCT052683 PARTS UNKNOWN CONVENTION SKETCHBOOK (RES) $10.00
OCT050013 PENNY ARCADE 1X 25 CENTS $0.25
OCT050291 PIECES OF A SPIRAL VOL 2 $9.99
AUG053095 POISON ELVES DOMINION #2 (MR) $3.50
AUG051958 POWERS #15 (MR) $2.95
OCT052015 PUNISHER #28 (MR) $2.99
SEP052899 PURGATORI #2 (MR) $2.95
SEP052859 PURGATORI PRELUDE MICRO PREMIUM ED SGN $39.99
SEP053102 REAL GHOSTBUSTERS VOL 1 HARD DAYS FRIGHT TP $8.95
OCT052776 ROBOTIKA #1 (MR) $3.95

SEP051668 ROCK 'N' ROLL ONE SHOT
Image Comics
$3.50

More Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá is always a good thing. This book here, ROCK 'N' ROLL is more of their stuff mixed with a love story and the music that follows you through your life. It will be interesting to see how they pull this off on paper.

JUN052970 ROCKY THE BIG PAYBACK GN $12.95
AUG053082 ROGUE TROOPER EYE OF THE TRAITOR TP $16.99
SEP053235 RUROUNI KENSHIN VOL 21 TP $7.95
AUG041579 SAVAGE DRAGON GOD WAR #4 (Of 4) $2.99
AUG052683 SCIENCE FAIR #3 (OF 8) $2.99
JUL051662 SEA OF RED #7 (MR) $2.99
OCT051985 SENTINEL #2 (OF 5) $2.99

OCT050268 SEVEN SOLDIERS: MISTER MIRACLE #2 (OF 4)
DC Comics
$2.99

Okay, so Pasqual Ferry is out and Billy Dallas Patton is in… but just for one issue. I don't know what's going on with these dudes, but SEVEN SOLDIERS has been a blast so far, so hopefully they don't blow it for us.

SEP052991 SHADOWPLAY #3 $3.99
SEP053229 SHONEN JUMP JAN 06 #37 $4.99

OCT050255 SHOWCASE PRESENTS: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VOL 1 TPB
DC Comics
$16.99

The last few of theses SHOWCASE PRESENTS… books have been good. Hell, all of them have been worth the read. There's a lot to read in these suckers and I rarely have the time to give them the attention they deserve. I still have about a hundred pages of the METAMORPHO book and I only just barely cracked the JONAH HEX edition. *sigh*

OCT052803 SOULFIRE DYING OF THE LIGHT #4 $2.99
AUG051695 SPAWN #151 $2.95
OCT051949 SPIDER-GIRL #93 $2.99
OCT051947 SPIDER-MAN BLACK CAT EVIL THAT MEN DO #4 (OF 6) $2.99
OCT052034 SPIDER-MAN BREAKOUT TP $13.99
OCT050051 STAR WARS EPISODES I - III SLIPCASED TP SET $29.95
MAR052725 STARGATE ATLANTIS PREVIEW GOLD FOIL ED $5.99
SEP052638 STRANGERS IN PARADISE #78 $2.95
SEP052639 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL 5 POCKET TP $17.95
SEP053213 STREET FIGHTER II #1 ALVIN LEE CVR A $3.95
SEP053214 STREET FIGHTER II #1 ED MCGUINNESS CVR B $3.95
OCT050232 SUPERMAN #224 $2.50
SEP050226 SUPERMAN IN THE NAME OF GOG TP $17.99

SEP050225 SUPERMAN: SECRET FILES 2005
DC Comics
$4.99

I usually try not to pick up these "Secret Files" books because they tend to be a lot of not-a-whole-lot. This new SUPERMAN one is in the "First Looks" this week and it looks like there are a few shorts written by people I've never heard of. That could be interesting. It'd be nice if "Secret Files" became one of those places where new creators tried stuff out. Most stories in these things are throw away as it is, so why not let someone cut their teeth on one?

OCT052017 SUPREME POWER NIGHTHAWK #4 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
SEP053204 SURROGATES #3 (OF 5) $2.95
OCT050326 SWAMP THING #22 (MR) $2.99
OCT052853 TAILS #1 (OF 3) (MR) $3.95
OCT052866 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #31 (O/A) (MR) $2.95
OCT052867 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE PX PHOTO SGN #31 (O/A) (MR) $15.00
OCT052865 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE SGN #31 (MR) $10.00

OCT050305 TEAM ZERO #1 (OF 6)
Wildstorm/DC Comics
$2.99

I was worried about Wildstorm/Chuck Dixon ruining the characters of my childhood for about ten seconds. I'm over it now, because Dixon did the original TEAM 7 book and, really, one duded called Deathblow killing dudes is no different than another called Deathblow. I love Michael Cray and all, but let's get some WW II killin' action. Plus, Doug Mahnke is all over the place and he's a Wildman. Yeah.

OCT051986 THOR BLOOD OATH #5 (OF 6) $2.99
OCT052834 THRESHOLD #45-50 CONNECTING CVR SET (MR) $34.99
OCT052833 THRESHOLD TALENTED TWOSOME CVR #53 (MR) $5.99

SEP051744 TOP COW/MARVEL: THE CROSSOVER COLLECTION TPB
Top Cow/Image Comics
$24.99

I like this for its novelty factor. Back before he was Warren Ellis, Ellis wrote an issue or two of the "Devil's Reign" Top Cow/Marvel crossover. He did Ghost Rider/Ballistic and it was pretty cool. Funny jokes and really slick artwork. I've never read any of the other stuff, but it's probably Top Cow Character/Miss-Placed Marvel Character a-go-go.

SEP053261 TUXEDO GIN VOL 15 TP $9.99
OCT051974 ULTIMATE MARVEL FLIP MAGAZINE #7 $3.99
OCT051940 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #87 $2.50
OCT051975 ULTIMATE TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #7 $3.99
SEP051900 ULTIMATES 2 #9 $2.99
OCT052737 VAISTRON #2 $2.95

OCT050328 VIMANARAMA TPB
Vertigo/DC Comics
$12.99

I thought VIMANARAMA was a blast. It's a romantic-comedy of sorts by Grant Morrison and Philip Bond about arranged marriages and Hindu superheroes. The artwork's great and the script is really funny. Good stuff.

AUG051661 THE WALKING DEAD: SCRIPT BOOK #1
Image Comics
$3.99

I'm interested in this because I don't think I've ever read one of Robert Kirkman's scripts before. He guy seems to be writing every other book these days so I should see how he's doing it.

OCT051991 WHAT IF CAPTAIN AMERICA $2.99
OCT052040 WHAT IF CLASSIC VOL 2 TP $24.99
OCT052648 WIZARD MEGA POSTERMANIA 2006 $5.99
OCT052002 X-MEN COLOSSUS BLOODLINE #4 (OF 5) $2.99
OCT052013 X-MEN UNLIMITED #12 $2.99
OCT050325 Y THE LAST MAN #40 (MR) $2.99
SEP053242 YU GI OH DUELIST VOL 11 TP $7.95

---

That's it for this week. See you next time. Thanks for reading.

 

Brian Domingos is the Columns Editor at Popimage.com. Questions? Comments? Love Notes? Email him via brian@popimage.com.


PopImage Forum - Discuss this message at the PopImage forum.


Industrial Archive - Read past Industrial articles