Tonight you’re all getting a two-fer, the chocolate and peanut butter, the Bert and Ernie, the Penn and Teller of Comic List Highlights. Because not only are you receiving highlights of comics, but games, too (mostly because we didn’t have time to write a post last night).

To start things off, lets recite the oath: In brightest day, in blackest night… Yup, the first hardcover collection of the New 52 Green Lantern comes out Wednesday. Easily one of the best ongoing series of the relaunch, Green Lantern has focused more on Sinestro than regular protagonist Hal Jordan, which has enlivened the book. And the reason for the shift in hero is due to Sinestro being allowed to wield the ring again, while Hal cools his jets on Earth. Until, that is, Sinestro comes a’knockin’. Geoff Johns has been writing some of the best Green Lantern stories ever since he got on the book around eight years ago, but this new volume offers a perfect jumping on point for anyone who’s wanted to read up on the character.

Keeping the superhero/comic base at a boil, but mixing in a smidge of gaming, next up is the second volume of Mutants and Masterminds DC Adventures: Heroes & Villains. As the first volume contained all characters ranging from A to K, this second edition picks up with L and runs it all the way to Z. That means you’re going to get classic characters like Lex Luthor, Superman, and Plastic Man, plus icon teams like the Justice League and the Secret Six. Offering gamers a shortcut into the DC Universe, these volumes contain all the stats, histories, and information you’ll need to BAM BIFF POW your way through the DCU.

Re-releasing in a new swanky graphic novel collection is BOOM Studio‘s 7 Psychopaths. A greater hook has never been created: what do you do when you want to kill Hitler and end WWII? Send in seven of the worst human beings ever to hunt down and murder the bastich. Of course, not everything always goes as planned. A grim, gritty spy series with artwork from exceptional Criminal and Incognito artist, Sean Phillips, 7 Psychopaths makes for a great, moody read.

As deck building games boldly go where no game has gone before they reach the Star Trek the Next Generation game. Using the base premise of deck building developed in games like Ascension, Dominion, and Resident Evil, Star Trek puts players into the role of a star ship captain, commanding their meager crew toward victory. Do you recruit further crewmen? Develop your ship’s equipment? Conquer worlds or make peace with them? These are the choices you will need to make in either the base version of the game or its Next Phase expansion. Both are stand alone and both go boldly yadda yadda blah blah.

 

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.

 

If it’s Comic List Highlights and it’s Pulp Fiction, then it’s time for your New 52 Update.  In the New 52 Update we, the comicly nerdy, employees of Pulp Fiction tell you, the hungry for information, customers which DC Relaunch books ship this week with a one word description of each.

*Batman & Robin – Nepotism  *Batwoman – Red  *Deathstroke – Eyepatch

*Demon Knights – British *Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE – FIRE!

*Green Lantern – Sinestro *Grifter – Nineties  *Legion Lost – Found

*Mister Terrific – Terrific?  *Red Lanterns – Rage  * Resurrection Man – Dead

*Superboy – Wires

DC isn’t the only kid in the schoolyard dropping the #1′s like they’re hot.  Marvel has their own relaunch occurring in the Ultimate Universe.  And if you haven’t heard, Spider-Man is dead, long live Spider-Man!  Yup, Peter Parker is dead, but Miles Morales is the brand new Spider-Man.

Where did he get spider powers?  How did he get the costume?  What’s his relation to Peter?  When did he decide to don the mantle?  Come for the mystery, stay for the teenager hijinks!  Plus there’s that sweet new black and red suit!

Can anything else restart this week?  Apparently, yes, because Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 begins next week, too.

“Wait” you say, “Buffy ended at season 7!  What is this season 9 you speak of?”.  Though Buffy did end, on television, after her seventh season, her story has been continuing for the last couple of years in comic form.  Basically picking up where the TV series left off, Buffy has been leading a literal army of slayers against a conglomeration of the show’s worst villains in battles across the world.  After the cataclysmic ending of season 8, Buffy is getting back to the basics in San Francisco in this new edition to the fan favorite story written by the series creator himself, Joss Whedon.

Solomon Grundy born on a Monday.  Died on a dark and dreary Tuesday.  Made into a statue on a nerdy and normal Wednesday.

Next in line for the DCU Online Statue treatment is indeed the grey Goliath of Gotham, Solomon Grundy.  These limited run statues have been sculpted off of Jim Lee’s adept pencils and have all been some of the slickest statues on the market since their inception.  Gaze upon him.

 

These posts are starting to be dominated by the Doctor!  Can’t say that’s a bad thing, though.

Something else that is most definitely not a bad thing is the new Doctor Who TPB, Ripper.  This collection contains the first four issues of the newest Doctor Who ongoing series, which introduced Matt Smith’s Doctor into the comics.  In these initial issues, the Doctor deals with uncovering the true identity of Jack the Ripper and helping Inspector Abilene catch the culprit.  Tony Lee, the author, has an excellent grasp on the voices of the Doctor, Rory, and Amy, so it feels like you’re reading an episode of the show.

I doubt anyone reading this likes comics (those things are for kids, right?), but we’ll push our luck and talk about a couple more new ones on here.  The first being a dark Japanese samurai graphic novel called The Last Ninja.  At base a revenge story, The Last Ninja follows Kenji, a wannabe ninja, from childhood to adulthood as he seeks vengeance on the corrupt government.  After the death of his grandfather, a trained ninja, Kenji seeks training and revenge against the government agents who killed his grandpa.

One more, if you please.  Mysterious Ways mixes the comic and video gaming worlds as Jason Rubin of Iron Saint and Crash Bandicoot fame teams with Top Cow to produce a dark mystery book about the hunt for a serial killer.  An ex-cop becomes tied to a series of murders which then leads him into being chased by the FBI.  Funny how that happens, right?  The mysterious part?  Magic.  Come on, what else?

Oh, okay, since you’re begging, one more.  Reprinted from the classic French serials is the first volume of comics master Jacques Tardi‘s The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec.  Some of the more worldly folks out there may have seen the Luc Besson film from last year based on this wild material.  I say wild, because not only do Adele’s adventures take place in an alternate reality 20th century Europe, but there’s a pterodactyl, too!  Basically, Adele is a writer he gets into crazy, sci-fi adventures dealing with mummies, mad scientists, and, as stated, dinosaurs.  The art is obviously terrific as Tardi is legendary in the industry.

Okay, enough comics.  How about some oddly deformed little superhero people?

Yes, tonight we end with two new sets of vinyl offerings from both Marvel and DC.  First up, is the first set of DC Mez-Itz.  These chunky little guys come two to a pack (paired in hero/villain combinations) and contain some of the greatest DC characters including Batman, Joker, Superman, and Green Lantern.  Look at the pictures to the left and marvel.

Speaking of a transition, Marvel also has some large headed vinyl dudes releasing this week.  They include the Pop Vinyl versions of Spider-Man, the Hulk, and two Thor Movie figures (Thor and Loki).  Feast your eyes on the two pictures below.  FEEEEEAAAASSSSST!

 

Wonder Woman‘s newest costume catches a lot of flack (personally, I don’t know why), but there is no way you can look at this first item and doubt its impressiveness.

Settle your eyes to the right and soak her in, gentlemen and ladies.  Soak.  Her.  In.

Done soaking?  Okay, now is that a cool looking statue or what?  This porcelain dandy is based off of Jim Lee’s recent redesigned of the costume and stands 9.75 inches high.  I don’t need a lasso of truth wrapped around me to say this is a sweet statue.

Speaking of redesign, DC complements its new #1 relaunch/simplifying by releasing a line of DC Universe t-shirts that are simple and sheik.  Basically parring the design down to the hero’s symbol and a striking action for the hero themselves makes these shirts look  sharp.

There’s the Batman one (modeled after the Batman, Inc. logo).  

The Superman one.

And, the man of the hour, Green Lantern.

Two new DC Eaglemoss magazine figures drop next week, as well.

The first is the next figure in the set of Blackest Night series.  White Lantern Sinestro floats off his base by a white strand of light.  As always, he ships with magazine detailing the history of the character.  If you’ve been keeping up with the series thus far, this is easily one of the most well designed figures of the bunch.  Gander to the left and check him out.

The second DC Eaglemoss statue is another edition to the JSA:  Dr. Midnight.  Oh, and his trusty owl.  Can’t forget the owl, guys.

Make some bangers and mash, check Big Ben for the time, and make sure the tea is on because the Knight and Squire trade paperback is here.  This was a seriously under appreciated mini-series when it was on the shelves and we’re trying to give it some love here.  Written by Paul Cornell (who penned the equally amazing, but equally unrecognized Captain Britain series), this book is loaded with inside-comics references and wry British humor.  If you’re a fan of Monty Python or, you know, fun comics like Nextwave, this book is chock full of the ridiculous.  For instance, a British superhero called the Milkman and a nude female hero called Birthday Girl.  For anyone out there looking for a quick, light, original read, this is your bread and butter.  Just remember British Joker = Jarvis Poker.

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