2.22.12 Releases

The roster for Dark Horse Presents #9 (Dark Horse) makes me feel better. Just when I thought I was potentially only buying it for one story and essentially paying $7.99 for a single installment of Wood & Donaldson’s The Massive, they throw in a Paul Pope story, a Mignola Lobster Johnson story, and something called Annala’s Blade, which I’ve been encouraged to check out. I’m also happy to see the next issue of this title, with Prophet #22 (Image Comics) hitting shelves, and continuing this great new genre mash-up from Brandon Graham and Simon Roy. Both of these next titles were recently yanked from my pull list, but I’ll give them a flip at the LCS just to ensure I made the right call, even if temporary. I’m referring to the Marvel Irregulars, Secret Avengers #23 (Marvel) and Uncanny X-Force #22 (Marvel). The former hit an interesting high thanks to Warren Ellis, then slipped dramatically under Remender's watch, while the latter has been continually penned by Rick Remender with the problem stemming from varying quality in the scripting department, in additiotn to being totally hampered by a rotating artist stable, none of whom wow me like Jerome Opena. Yeah, inconsistency's a bitch. On the graphic novel front, I’m interested in My Friend Dahmer (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) by Derf Backderf, a guy who went to high school with young Jeffrey Dahmer and recalls, in very straightforward fashion without much hyperbole, his memories of his pal, and maybe a few 20/20 hindsight red flags along the way. Lastly, I can wholeheartedly recommend the next installment of the epic “Watchmen of Japan” in Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys: Volume 19 (VizMedia). It’s only going to 24 volumes, so there’s still time to catch up before the last translated edition hits American shores. This book made it on My 13 Favorite Things of 2011 list, so do yourself a favor and check it out if you haven’t already.