Take two ticks to tinker with the thought of trying the Terrifyingly Tragic Treasury Edition of Joe Hill’s terrific terse tales.

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That’s a fair share of Ts, folks.  You’ll notice that one of the above T words is not “terrible”.  I would shudder at the idea of associating that word anywhere near Joe Hill’s work, as he is one of the most gifted writers in comics today.  Having made a name for himself on his masterpiece, Locke & Key, as well as The Cape miniseries, Hill has quickly become a respected name in the industry.  The fact that he’s Stephen King’s son also helps.  If you’ve devoured the five hardcover volumes of Locke & Key and are looking to fill the void in your life until volume six comes out, the TTTE special is a perfect option.  Containing his Kodiak one-shot, The Cape stand alone issue, and his Locke & Key short story “Open the Moon”, all of which are nominated or won industry awards.   

Fantasy adventure comics have been on the rise lately, what with Pathfinder, the Dungeons and Dragons series, Demon Knights, Conan, and, now, Amala’s Blade.  Striking a tone somewhere between humor and action, Amala’s Blade #1 is the first part of a four part miniseries following the titular assassin hero.  Amala is the head assassin in the kingdom of Naamaron, but has fallen out of favor due to her brash, boastful ways.  So, the emperor does the only logic thing:  send her on a mission that will likely result in her death.  Now, Amala’s skills are put to the test, with a failing grade equaling an end most fowl.  Illustrated in a style that bridges sketchy Indy artists like Becky Cloonan and cartoony pop like Avatar the Last Airbender, Amala’s Blade is feisty fantasy.

If you’re daughter’s ever tried to run past the rebel blockade in a giant spaceship shaped like a fist, Vader’s Little Princess might warm your heart.  You might also enjoy it if you and your daughter are huge Star Wars fans.  Jeffery Brown releases his second Star Wars children’s book detailing the awkward difficulties of raising a daughter who is your worst enemy.  Drawn in the same simplistically charming style of Brown’s Incredible Changebots, Cats Are Weird, and Vader and Son, Vader’s Little Princess is made up of vignettes detailing Vader’s struggle with common fatherly duties.  Tea parties, teaching Leia how to fly TIE fighters, and keeping her from leaving the house in only her slave girl bikini are the tasks of the day for Papa Skywalker.  Grab a copy and bond with your daughter over your shared geekiness.

A legacy can be an awful burden.

The legendary duo of Mark Millar and Frank Quietly (The Authority, WE3, New X-Men) reteam for the first time in years to bring you Jupiter’s Legacy.  This soon-to-be-hit series from Image Comics begins in the far future when all of Earth’s heroes have given up and left the world’s protection to their kids.  But being a better superhero  than your parents can be a demanding task.  Trust us when we say that this series will bring the violence, sexuality, and cinematic action unlike anything else out there (except maybe Saga, that book’s pretty raunchy).  Grab the hit comic of this year before it vanishes from the shelves.

 

Image Comics has been turning out bold, inventive series after bold, inventive series this last year and it shows no sign of stopping. However, when you have that many great series coming out at one time, some get lost in the shuffle. Pigs is one of those series.

An espionage book at its core, Pigs revolves around a sleeper cell of Cuban assassins who were assigned to positions in America during the Cold War. None of them have received word from their supervisors…until now. A mysterious notice awakens each member of the team, but for what nefarious purpose? Lovers of The Losers or Sleeper should definitely take a stab at this intriguing thriller.

What’s with all this Avengers merchandise lately? It’s like there’s a movie or something. But that’d be crazy, no one could ever make an Avengers…what? They’re what? Ohhhhhhh.

Well, in that case, gear up for the Avengers movie by reading the first thirty issues of the original series, created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. These thirty issues contain some of the most important, classic moments in Avengers history. Can you say, thawed Captain America? There is no better way to collect these key issues, in color, in hardcover, than in the first volume of the Avengers Omnibus. ASSEMBLE!!!!

Speaking of the Sentinel of Liberty, there’s no better way to light your Avengers Omnibus as you read it than with the new Captain America Neon Sign.

Glowing hot with justice and freedom, this sign, shaped as Cap’s classic shield, can be hung from a wall or placed, upright on a special dispaly stand that comes with the sign. Lighten up your man cave with this symbol of truth, justice, and nerdom.

You’ve read The Stand. You’ve read The Shinning. You’ve read Locke & Key. You’ve loved them. You’ve craved more.

Now, read the mind meld of these two horror geniuses. Yes, folks, father and son, Stephen King and Joe Hill, have combined talents for a new comic series based off a short story the two co-wrote. This comic is called Road Rage and it is made of awesome. A group of rough and tumble bikers are taken to their limit by a crazy truck driver leads them on a made chase across the open road. Sound a little familiar to Duel? That’s probably becasue Richard Matheson’s short story was an inspiration for this tale, oh, and the fact that Matheson himself is working on the title too. This powerhouse of writing talent must be read to be believed!

 

Let’s see if our “beloved” distributor can accomplish a holiday miracle and actually ship us what we ordered this week. If they manage to do so, here’s some of the awesome items to drop next week.

Because it demands to be mentioned first, there is a plethora of Sonic Screwdriver merchandise coming in. And not just the normal 10th or 11th Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver, no. This time around you get them both…plus a whole lot more. Yes, folks, with the new Doctor Who Personalize Your Sonic Screwdriver kit you can build up to 80 different versions of the Sonic Screwdriver. That’s Matt Smith’s, David Tennant’s, and about every other Doctor you can think of. But wait because it comes in pieces it probably doesn’t make all the cool sound effects the other screwdrivers have, right? Wrong! And if that wasn’t enough, we’re also getting in the Master’s Laser Screwdriver (Pictured to the left) and a restock on River Song‘s Future Sonic Screwdriver. Pick these babies up while you can, because with gift giving in full swing they will go fast.

And if that’s not enough timey wimey-ness for you, then you’ll just have to check out the Doctor Who Ongoing v.2 trade paperback (and don’t worry if you didn’t get the first volume because we still have a copy). This volume contains issues #5-8, which is cool because #6-8 has been the best storyline thus far. That trilogy of issues carries the Doctor, Amy, and Rory to a recreation world where travelers can emerse themselves in whatever fantasy world they choose. Be a cowboy, be a gladiator, go to Atlantis, whatever suits you! But, as is always the case with the Doctor, things go haywire and the fantasy worlds become real. Eventually there’s a talking dinosaur and about a thousand versions of the Doctor running around. Pick up the collection and find out how it gets to that point!

To bridge the gap between comics, here’s some statues.

Ooooooo!

Awwwwww!

Ooooooo!

Awwwwww!

I know I’ve had a bunch of people asking about a White Lantern Sinestro, so here’s a mini bust for all you Sinestro nuts out there.

Hazzah!

Hooray!

The newest edition to the Batman Black & White line of statues comes from Patrick Gleason’s (Batman & Robin) exaggerated take on the character. Basic pose, but exceptional design.

Before he was writing the Dark Angel Saga in Uncanny X-Force or Frankencastle in The Punisher, Rick Remender wrote an epic series by the name of Strange Girl. Set in a post-rapture Earth, the lengthy adventure follows a young, emo girl and her demon buddy as they embark on a road trip across the country hoping to trick their way into the great hereafter by way of an open gateway to heaven. Any fan of Preacher or Y the Last Man will fall madly in love with this book. Luckily, you won’t have to search out any other volumes after it, because this is the Strange Girl Omnibus so it’s got every single issue of the entire series.

Finally, a new miniseries from the creator of iZombie, Chris Roberson’s Memorial. A blend of fantasy and horror, Memorial is the story of a young girl named Em who, after losing her memory and attempting to rebuild her life, must to battle with primal forces of the universe. Oh, and she’s got a talking cat on her side. Roberson has proven he can handle the fantastical through his Vertigo work, so I’m sure he’ll be up for the challenge of a series this demanding. Those who love iZombie or Locke & Key while probably find a comfortable fit in Memorial.

 

COOOOMMMMMIICCCC LLIIIIIIISSSSSTTTT!!!!

That’s what I like to imagine this new Atrocitus Blackest Night mini-bust is screaming at the top of his lungs.  It could also be COOKIES or, the ever popular, KHAN.

Or it could just be a primal scream over the fact that the Green Lantern movie kinda sucked.

The idea here is, if you make this nifty mini-bust your new shelf buddy, you can imagine him screaming whatever you want.

Oh, and if we’re conversating about Atrocitus, it’s also important to note that the Red Lantern Light-up Prop Lantern and Ring is also coming in this week.  If you’ve been up to the store recently, you’ve probably seen the Green Lantern and Orange Lantern versions of these.  They rock the casbah.

Up, up, and destroy!  If you picked up The Cape one-shot from last year, you probably understand how that paraphrasing of the famous line fits in here.  A devilishly twisted superhero book, the new The Cape four issue mini-series is a must buy thanks to Joe Hill‘s talented penmanship.  Some of you might have heard us Pulp folk spouting off about Hill‘s incredibly brilliant series Locke & Key and that’s because this guy knows how to write a comic.  His grasp of panel usage, character, dialog, and theme prove that a his papa’s (Stephen King) writing talent seeped into his gene pool.  So, The Cape is basically Hill taking that same talent and applying it to the superhero genre the only way he knows how:  gory, dark, and sinister.

Will you open The Vault?  I’d leave it to the professionals, frankly.  Luckily, that’s exactly what The Vault #1 is about.  In the tradition of The Abyss, Sphere, and Alien, The Vault involves a crack team of archaeologists and treasure hunters who travel to the bottom of the ocean in search of a lost item that they believe will bring them fortune and glory.

That’s never the way, is it?  No, the item is a veritable “Pandora’s Box” that will bring about untold destruction and death.  So, it’s for kids.

So, you’ve got David Tennant‘s screwdriver and Matt Smith‘s (which is an actual screwdriver, by the way), but something’s missing.  The future, that’s what!  Next Wednesday the Future Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver travels back to the past and lands on the shelves of Pulp Fiction.  First seen in the “Silence in the Library” episode being wielded by River Song, this screwdriver is a perfect replica of the one seen in the show!  That level of detail includes a break-away panel that reveals a switch that changes the screwdriver’s LED color from blue to red.  Oh, and each color makes different sounds.

 

Merry Larfleeze-mas!!!!!  You say you don’t know who Larfleeze is?  Well, you need to pick up the new Christmas Special one-shot that comes out this week.

Over that last couple of years, Geoff Johns has been developing the world of Green Lantern by adding other lantern corps to the universe.  One of those corps is the Orange Lanterns, lead by and comprised by Larfleeze.  He is an alien being who, basically, is the greediest being in the entire universe.

In this issue, specifically, Larfleeze searches 0ut Santa Claus because he, not surprisingly, wants all his presents.  And maybe, just maybe, he’ll learn a lesson or two on the way.

Another fan favorite character, this time from the Mavel-ous competion, gets his very own snazzy action figure.  Yes folks, Deadpool gets the Marvel Select treatment.  He’s completely articulated with ball joints and so forth, which is a good thing because you’re going to want to put him all sorts of poses with his massive amount of weapon accessories.  If you’re a fan of the character and looking for a nice statue-like version of the character, that doesn’t cost as much as an actual statue, then this badboy is what you’re looking for.

Continuing in the action figure category, DC unleashes another set of their popular Blackest Night figures.  Series 6 offers two more of the Lantern Corps replacements (Blue Lantern Flash and Pink Lantern Wonder Woman), Hal Jordan in a spiffy, shiny Green Lantern costume, and Black Lantern Hawkwoman.  Simply put, these figures rock!  If you’ve seen or purchased any of the past series you know the sculpting quality has been impressive and the assortment of characters is pretty much unrivaled by another other current or past figure assortment released by DC.

Today we’ll bookend with another book.  If you’ve been reading Locke & Key, which, tangent, is one of the best written comic series currently being released (seriously, the book is incredible!), then you know Joe Hill is DA MAN!  Being Stephen King’s son has obviously given Hill some sort of natural writing talent because for never having written a comic before Locke & Key the guy is a master of the craft.  If you want to get a sampling of what he can do outside of a horror book, then you should check out this week’s The Cape.  A one-shot that brings to the comic page an adaptation of one of Hill’s short stories.  It does not have anything to do with the new show starting up this spring, by the way.  It has everything to do with kicking booty.

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