Take your wallet out of your pocket. Look at it. Compare it to the picture on the left. Now cry.

Don’t worry, I’m crying, too.

But there’s no reason to be crying after Wednesday, because that Batman Wallet ships along with many other Super Wallet options. For instance, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and more. Trust me, no will ever mug you with a wallet like this.

And when your money is carried in a wallet like the above it’s going to beg to be spent on a Batman comic. Luckily, a new miniseries called Batman: Arkham Unhinged launches this week. Tying into last year’s extremely successful Arkham City game, this miniseries will follow events leading up to the game’s storyline, focusing on Two-Face and Catwoman‘s rivalry.

Did you see who got voted off last night?

Probably not, because America’s newest popular reality show hasn’t launched yet.

But it does this Wednesday.

America’s Got Powers is a new creator-owned series from Jonathon Ross and Bryan Hitch (Ultimates, The Authority) that takes full advantage of America’s fascination with reality television and applies it to the superhero genre. Think The Hunger Games meets Running Man meets Survivor meets Teen Titans. Hundreds of teenage super powered kids will compete. One will win. All will cause property damage. Judging from the last couple of Image miniseries, this is a book you’ll want to pick up quick, because they will be gone soon after their release.

There has been a vast influx of horror comics over the last year, but none have been better than Scott Snyder’s Severed. A period book set during the Great Depression, Severed follows a young, musically-inclined boy who’s taken to the open road in search of his father. Along the way he runs into some very, very bad people. If you’ve been reading Swamp Thing or Batman by Scott Snyder, you understand how well Scott Snyder can write horror, as he posses a unique talent for pacing scares on the page. Back that up with extremely expressive artwork from Attilla Futaki and you’ve got the spookiest book of 2011.

Monster hunting can be a messy business. All sorts of fluids and grisley bits. Find out just how messy in the new Dark Horse miniseries, Alabaster Wolves. Based off of Catilin R. Kiernan’s best selling fantasy series, Alabaster Wolves stars a young girl named Dancy Flammarion who’s hunted creepy crawlies since she could walk. But she’s about to meet her match. Fans of Whiteout will be happy to see Steve Leiber’s gorgeous artwork return to comic pages, especially with a series that contains so much vivid imagery. Add to that the gorgeous painterly covers and you’ve got the whole package.

Finally, with so much horror and spookieness going about it’s only proper to end on a like-minded book for youngsters. Oni Press, after garner much acclaim for previous series, is launching an ongoing, color series for Courtney Crumrin. If you’re unfamiliar, Courtney’s adventures involve the dark, demonic, and nasty things of the world, making for a young readers book with a bit of bite to it. These new color issues look amazing and continue the series beloved by many. If you like the Series of Unfortunate Events novels, you’ll fall right into step with Courtney Crumrin.

 

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 – BIFF!  *Birds of Prey – Fempower  *Blue Beetle - escarabajo

*Captain Atom – Soulja  *Catwoman – Prrrr

*DC Universe Presents - Acrobatic  *Green Lantern CORPS – Plural

*Legion of Superheroes – Future  *Nightwing – speedo-less

*Red Hood & the Outlaws – Wanted  *Supergirl – Collar

*Wonder Woman – Spoooooooky

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.  Like, literally don’t, in this case, because the Venom displayed on the cover to the right is not exactly who appears in the story.  The statement could also apply to the protagonist of this new Rick Remender penned Venom Volume 1 Hardcover, though, as Flash Thompson is not your mild-mannered, wheelchair-bound, ex-soldier.  No, sir, he is, in fact, the government’s newest secret weapon:  Venom.  Having agreed to don the symbiote in limited forty-eight hour periods, Flash is sent on covert missions to take down the worst of the worst.  Illustrated by former KC-ian Tony Moore (and original Walking Dead artist), this book is a violent, gruesome, action-packed force to be reckoned with.  Do you dare?

So how about that new crack drug they’ve got these days?  Or that new Hubble Telescope?  Crazy stuff, right?  Ooo, ooo, and Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man?  Terrific!  Wait a tick, it’s not 1988, it’s 2011!  Then what the hey is The New Teen Titans:  Games HC doing coming out next Wednesday?  Yeah, just a bit late, George Perez and Marv Wolfman are finally (FIIIINALLLY) done with their epic Teen Titans story.  It’s been in the works for over twenty years, folks, and judging from the earlier Titans works of Perez and Wolfman that time can only mean this baby is perfection.

I know what you’re saying out there, “What is with all these collars on my Super Family characters?  Where are the good old days when costumes ended at the neck?”.  Well, I understand you’re pain (actually, no, but let’s say I do for this situation).  Luckily for all you cranky folk out on the Interwebs Pulp Fiction has a solution for your craz…um, reasonable complaints.  That would be the new Women of the DCU Supergirl Bust.  Stealing a move from her older cousin, Kara is busting out of those nasty chains that seem to continually end up wrapped around Super Family members.  Classic pose.  Classic costume.  Classic statue.

Aug 262011
 

The wait is over.

Come next Wednesday, August the 31st, there’s no turning back for the DC Universe.  The only two books shipping from DC this week will simultaneously end Flashpoint and begin the New 52.

The truly important portion of that equation is Justice League #1 by the dream team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee.  That’s right, Geoff “Blackest Night/Green Lantern/Teen Titans” Johns and Jim “Batman: Hush/X-Men/All-Star Batman & Robin” Lee!  Not only will this book be the most dynamically written and drawn comic to ship in months, but also a perfect jumping-on point for anyone who’s interested in DC characters like The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.  The reasons (yes, more than one!) Justice League #1 is a perfect jumping on point are:  one, the story takes place in the past, so you get to see all the members meet for the first time, and, two, it is being written so that anyone can pick it up and not get lost in continuity.  Remember there will also be a couple variant cover editions floating around as well as the Combo Pack which comes with a code to download a digital copy of the book.

Grrglle growl raga rag, rummma rum.  Sorry, for those who don’t speak Christian Bale Batman voice, allow me to repeat.  The next edition in the Black & White Batman Statues is design by David Finch.  There, that better?  Seriously, though, of the artists who have had B&W Batman Statues based off of their work there are few who can encompass every ounce of grit and grim that comprises the Dark Knight.  As somewhat of an added benefit, this statue based on Batman‘s most recent Incorporated costume.  So, as they say in Gotham City, mrggle meerrr growwlll grumppa.

Half of this next product’s appeal is it’s name alone.  Say it with me, folks, To-ki-doki.  Marvel Tokidoki Frenzies may sound like gibberish, but, if they are, they’re the most dagnabity cute gibberish I’ve ever seen.  Swinging from tiny chains which you can affix to an zipper in the immediate vicinity, these bright, cartoony renditions of all your favorite Marvel heroes and villains are just as well designed as the most artistic Munny or Dunny.  And just take a look to the right to see who all’s in the first series.  There’s Spider-Man and Punisher and the Thing and Wolverine and Dr. Doom and Red Skull and the Hulk and Thor and…well, there’s a butt load of’em.

And now, since we’re all 5-by-5, let’s get to the final shout out, B.

If you’re a fan of slayage then you’ll be happy to hear about the new Angel & Faith series.  Leading into season 9 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Wait, season 9?!  Yeah, it’s been continuing in comic form for the last few years), this series will follow the vamp with a soul and the slayingest slayer of them all and bridge gaps between last season and this one.  Not only that, but it’s written by the royally talented Christos Gage, who’s been doing a bang up job on Avengers Academy.  If you’re a Buffy die hard, how can you resist such a perfect pairing.

 

For your benefit, here’s a list of all the DC #1 issues that have been announced and their creative teams.  The revealed covers are at the bottom of the page.

Also, keep your ears, eyes, noses, and, uh, elbows peeled for upcoming information, exclusive to Pulp, that applies to all of these DC relaunch titles.

1. Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

2. Batgirl #1 by Gail Simone and Ardian Syaf (starring Barbara Gordon)

3. Batman #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo

4. Batwoman #1 by J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman, and Amy Reeder

5. Captain Atom #1 by J.T. Krul and Freddie Williams II

6. DC Universe Presents #1 by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang

7. Detective Comics #1 written and drawn by Tony Daniel

8. Flash #1 by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul

9. The Fury of Firestorm by Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone, and Yildiray Cinar

10. Green Arrow #1 by J.T. Krul and Dan Jurgens

11. Green Lantern #1 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke

12. Green Lantern Corps #1 by Pete Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin (focuses on Guy Gardner and John Stewart)

13. Green Lantern:  The New Guardians #1 by Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkham (this book would follow a group consisting of all the lantern colors lead by Kyle Rayner)

14. Grifter #1 by Nathan Edmondson and CAFU (Wildstorm character)

15. Savage Hawkman #1 by Tony Daniel and Philip Tan

16. Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee

17. Justice League International #1 by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti

18. Legion Lost #1 by Fabian Nicieza and Pete Woods

19. Mr. Terrific #1 by Eric Wallace and Roger Robinson

20. Nightwing #1 by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows

21. OMAC #1 by Dan Didio and Keith Giffen

22. Red Lanterns #1 by Peter Milligan and Ed Benes

23. Superman #1 written and drawn by George Perez

24. Teen Titans #1 by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth

25. Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang

26. Animal Man #1 by Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman

27. Batman and Robin #1 by Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

28. Batman: The Dark Knight #1 written and drawn by David Finch

29. Birds of Prey#1 by  Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz

30. Catwoman #1 by Judd Winick and Guillem March

31. Superboy #1 by Scott Lobdell and R.B. Salva

32. Swamp Thing #1 by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette

33. Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales

34. Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort

35. Batwing #1 by Judd Winick and Ben Oliver

36.  Supergirl #1 by Michael Green and Mike Johnson

37. Stormwatch #1 by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda

38. Justice League Dark #1 by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin

39. Demon Knights #1 by Paul Cornell and Diogenes Neves

40. Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #1 by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli

41. Resurrection Man #1 by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning and Fernando Dagnino

42. I, Vampire #1 by Josh Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino

43. Voodoo #1 by Ron Marz and Sami Basri

44. Legion of Superheroes #1 by Paul Levitz and Francis Portela

45. Static Shock #1 by Felicia Henderson, John Rozum and Scott McDaniel

46. Hawk and Dove #1 by Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld

47. Suicide Squad #1 by Adam Glass and Marco Rudy

48. Blue Beetle #1 by Tony Bedard and Ig Guara

49. Deathstroke #1 by Kyle Higgins and Joe Bennett

50. Blackhawks #1 by Mike Costa and Ken Lashley

51. Sgt. Rock and the Men of War #1 by Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick

52. All-Star Western #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Grey, and Moritat

 

Infinity is a very long time.  I know some books (COUGH-Ultimate Comics X-COUGH) take that long to come out, and are worth it when they do, but, luckily, S.H.I.E.L.D:  Infinity does not live up to its name by arriving next Wednesday.

If you’ve been keeping up with Jonathon Hickman’s opus, then you’d be quick to tell others how insanely captivating it is.  Secret societies, Leonardo da Vinci using a steam punk jet pack, Galactus attempting to devour ancient China, it’s all in S.H.I.E.L.DInfinity is the first collection of short stories for the series and features art by a various and sundry group of up and coming individuals, include one Kevin Mellon, artist of Gearhead.  His work only gets better and better with time, folks.  Combine Hickman’s high concept writing style with Mellon’s wild page layouts and angles and you’ve got a must-buy book!

When I say Duela Dent, you might immediately think Harvey “Two-Face” Dent’s daughter.  You’d be right, but also wrong.  She has taken the moniker of “Insert Batman Villain’s Name” Daughter for a number of the Dark Knight’s rouge’s gallery.  The new Ame-Comi statue for Duela Dent has her in her most famous costume (the one she wore during her stint in the Teen Titans), that of the Joker’s Daughter.  Personally, I think the design pops!  You can never go wrong with a can and top hat.

If you’re a Walking Dead fan you probably all ready have a survival guide written out in case of a zombie apocalypse.  The new Walking Dead Survival Guide, however, is not that.  Instead, it is an encyclopedic collection of character bios, location descriptions, and other detailed explanations of information from Walking Dead‘s 80+ issue run.  This first volume (of four) contains entries from A to C.  If you do some digging on the Intro-webs you might be able to find some images of the pages contain within this issue and you will realize that they look swanky.  For a series as packed with detail as this one, a collection of this magnitude is well worth it.

And one for the kiddies.  If Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (either the movie or the book) appeal to you or your children, then the first digest collection of Courtney Crumrin might be worth a look.  Setting a tone similar to the aforementioned Gaiman work, Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things follows Courtney as she explores and investigates her mysterious Uncle Aloysius’ house.  Creepy, monstrous ghoulish are discovered and dealt with in a manner only a spunky adolescent girl can manage.  Ted Naifeh both writes and illustrates this series in a style similar to Eduardo Risso and Gabriel Ba.

88 miles per hour.  Find a way to get this new Back to the Future DeLorean minimate up to that speed and…you probably still won’t be able to time travel.  But you’ll have an excessively cool miniature version of the time machine from Back to the Future and a Marty McFly in radioactive gear figure.  If you’ve purchased any of the previous BttF minimate releases, they all are usable with this mini.  Who knows, it may nab you 1.21 gigawatts if your in dire straights.

Let a black cat cross your path.  Why?  Because with this new Bishoujo statue of The Black Cat is slick, stylish, and screaming to be in your collection.  Following in a tradition of beautifully designed statues, Bishoujo releases Spider-Man‘s gal pal bounding around in her classic catsuit over a tiny building.  If you’ve seen the Psylocke or Jean Grey statues, then you know that Black Cat is perfect for this manga-style statue treatment.

Finally, whom ever wields this Travis Charest poster of the upcoming cover to The Mighty Thor #1 gains the power of ultimate awesomeness.  Travis Charest is easily one of the truly talented artists working in the industry currently, so, as you can see, his version of Thor is stunning.  If you’re planning to make a Thor smock to wear to the upcoming Thor movie, then this poster could serve that purpose.  Or, you know, if you just want to put it on your wall, that’d be fine, too.

© 2013 Pulp Fiction Comics & Games Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha