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[Spike Spiegel]

...a new volume of GTO hits the streets!

Diamond's Shipping List for September 1, 2004

JUL040626 JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE #3 (Of 12) $2.50
JUN042794 GTO VOL 20 GN (Of 25) $9.99 (It's about damn freakin' time!)

Another quiet week for moi. Howzabout you?

 

[Willco]

What a shit week.

AVENGERS #501
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #65

... that's not even worth going to the store for.

 

[DarienA]

BIRDS OF PREY #73: I'm confused... didn't Superman just smack Brainiac around in the future a few months ago?

DETECTIVE COMICS #798: I must be one of the few people enjoying this War storyline.

MAJESTIC #2*: I think I read #1....

AVENGERS #501: Not a huge Avengers fan... but I am a huge fan of seeing them get their asses kicked... but what's up with She-Hulk and are they like totally acting like this storyline isn't going on in her book?

GAMBIT #1*: I have no idea where this fits in current continuity.

HULK AND THING HARD KNOCKS #1*: Meh...

THOR #84: Digging the slow but interesting storyline

UNCANNY X-MEN #448

I don't expect many of those * to turn in to actual purchases....

 

[FnordChan]

This week is going to kick my ass:

Birds of Prey #73 - Reasonably amusing, but not much beyond that. Here's to hoping this storyarc is a fluke and the book will be back on track when it goes back to being monthly.

Y: The Last Man #26 - Consistently excellent. This starts a new story-arc, but 24 and 25 are the real jumping on point for the curious.

Avengers #501 - Maybe. If I can be bothered. Eh.

Ultimate Spider-Man #65 - The Carnage arc has been just plain weak. If things don't pick up the next time around, I'll call it a day.

And now, a gang of manga jumps me in a back alley and takes my lunch money:

Lupin 3rd Vol. 1 (of 13) - "But, FnordChan," I hear you cry, "weren't you already buying this?" I was, but now TokyoPop is releasing the second Lupin series. Vintage Monkey Punch is a mandatory purchase, thus I belly up to the bar for another round.

Nausicaa Vol. 7 - This wraps up Viz's gorgeous re-release. While Nausicaa is a bona fide classic, I never managed to get around to reading it until now, so I'm positively jonsing for the final volume.

Five Star Stories Vol. 21 & 22 - But, even more than Nausicaa, this is the manga highlight of the week. At this rate, the US should be caught up with the Japanese releases within a year or so...at which point we get to wait forever for new volumes, just like everyone else in the world.

Finally, the definitive highlight of the week:

Street Angel #3 - The best skateboarding superheroine you could possibly imagine returns for another round versus the giant squid, plus anything else that dares to get in her way.

Street Angel is painfully good. Preview images a go-go await you here.

FnordChan

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

let's see....

BIRDS OF PREY #73 *what the..!?!?

DETECTIVE COMICS #798 * after having read the last issue of war, i've changed my mind.
i'm a flip-flopper and french and will now enjoy the rest of the "war" storyline. batman getting seen in public!? sacre bleu!!!

HARD TIME #8 *one anal rape is all this kid needs......*

FIRESTORM #5 *if we dont find out waht the fuck happened to ronnie raymond......

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #1 *i dont know what this is... but it says justice league. can anyone give me a rundown?

MAJESTIC #2 (Of 4) * i'm superman and a republican. but i still kick ass.*

Y THE LAST MAN #26 (MR) * sexy outback bitches in heat...*

 

[nomoment]

AVENGERS #501 (#86)
UNCANNY X-MEN #448

Nope, not heading to the shop this week.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #1 *i dont know what this is... but it says justice league. can anyone give me a rundown?

It's the cartoon tie-in.

 

[Semjaza Azazel]

I might flip through Jubilee #1, but I can't see myself buying it. Nothing this week for me.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

It's the cartoon tie-in.

might still pick it up. of not that then elite#3

 

[MASB]

MONOLITH #8 (after this issue, I think the original artist returns. Thank goodness!)
TALES FROM THE BULLY PULPIT ONE SHOT (this looks to be a great one!)
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #65
MICKEY MOUSE ADVENTURES VOL 1 TP (Buy it so they'll make this a regular series! For those of you with few comics to buy this week, this'll be your best comic book purchase decision ever!
WALT DISNEYS THREE MUSKETEERS

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

MONOLITH #8 (after this issue, I think the original artist returns. Thank goodness!)
TALES FROM THE BULLY PULPIT ONE SHOT (this looks to be a great one!)
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #65
MICKEY MOUSE ADVENTURES VOL 1 TP (Buy it so they'll make this a regular series! For those of you with few comics to buy this week, this'll be your best comic book purchase decision ever!
WALT DISNEYS THREE MUSKETEERS

MASB, what's the deal witht the monolith lately? i havent read it since issue three. can you catch me up?

 

[BuddyC]

Y THE LAST MAN #26

Not going to the comic shop either.

 

[Alucard]

Ultimate Spider-Man #65 - I think that Bendis may be seriously overworked. All of his stuff is suffering at varying degrees right now (except for Powers which is fucking awesome...but it's just the start and his beginnings are usually great). I think that killing Gwen was an error in judgment on his part, and I really hope Ultimate Spidey goes back to kicking ass and that it does it SOON. I don't want to wave goodbye to the book that got me back into comics in the first place.

Birds of Prey #73 - I think I'm done "trying" this title after this issue. This story arc hasn't done much for me, except provided big boobed heroes drawn really nicely. Yawn. I need to chop some titles and this is going down along with Mystique.

I really wish I could FIND Street Angel somewhere because I'm positive it's a book I'd love.

 

[HAOHMARU]

What is GTO about?

 

[lordmrw]

AVENGERS #501 (#86)
EXILES #52
THOR #84
UNCANNY X-MEN #448
FATHOM DAWN OF WAR #1
SUIKODEN III VOL 3 GN (Of 7)


Thank god this is a light week. My money's going to be extreeeeemely tight (as in next to nothing at all for myself) for the next two weeks, and I can't afford a large haul.

 

[Crazymoogle]

What is GTO about?

GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka (both the title and the self decided new name of the main character)

Feared 20 something leader of a Biker gang decides to give up and pursue a career as a high school teacher. His teaching methods are pretty unusual, and while he is a nice guy, if somebody calls him "trash", there is inevitably a beatdown (including a faculty member who gets the good o' german suplex early on).

There are all sorts of comedy threads that run through the series, from his heavy videogame habit, his initial reason for becoming a teacher (to look up skirts and get a young wife), or even the method in which he continuously (5+ times) destroys the Principal's Cresta...

Big thumbs up for this series.

 

[MASB]

MASB, what's the deal witht the monolith lately? i havent read it since issue three. can you catch me up?

Well in #4 and 5, Monolith and Co. were involved with a Catholic church that kept a monster in its basement, that the miafa or whatever fed victims to. Basically, whoever became the priest of the church has been forced to fed the monster victims, one generation after the other. Naturally Monolith tries to kill the monster. Pretty interesing story. Issues 6 to 8 have been the let's have a Batman cameo in order to try to save the series story arc. Batman and Monolith are after an arsonist. As fas as crossovers go, it's not been too bad, but I don't like the artist. I think the original guy begins again with issue 9 or 10.

All in all, I like the series, though it sometimes doesn't quite live up to its potential. The problem is, it seems like it's sales shrink little by little every month, so I keep expecting to hear some cancellation announcement anytime. Hopefully it'll at least have one more story arc after issue 8 before it goes (if it does).

 

[radios shipping overview]

Five Star Stories Vol. 21 & 22 - But, even more than Nausicaa, this is the manga highlight of the week. At this rate, the US should be caught up with the Japanese releases within a year or so...at which point we get to wait forever for new volumes, just like everyone else in the world.

Are there any online shops that regularly carry this, including back issues? I see it here and there, but Amazon lists most volumes as "out of print."

 

[FnordChan]

Birds of Prey #73 - I think I'm done "trying" this title after this issue. This story arc hasn't done much for me, except provided big boobed heroes drawn really nicely. Yawn. I need to chop some titles and this is going down along with Mystique.

Unfortunatly, I think you picked the wrong story arc of Birds of Prey to start with, as the bi-weekly run just hasn't been particularly good. If you see the first Gail Simone trade, "Of Like Minds, give that a go; I think you'll get a lot more out of it, and the big boobed heroines are drawn just as nicely.

I really wish I could FIND Street Angel somewhere because I'm positive it's a book I'd love.

Trust me, you'd love Street Angel. If you can't find it at your local shops, PM me and we'll work something out; my favorite stores here have plenty of Street Angel and I hate to see a potential convert do without.

Are there any online shops that regularly carry this, including back issues? I see it here and there, but Amazon lists most volumes as "out of print."

A local comic shop that gives a shit should be able to order them for you. On the off-chance you live in a major city that has a Kinokuniya Japanese bookstore you can find the English language edition there without much difficulty. It looks like Mile High Comics is having a sale and is selling the first 15 issues new for $7 a pop; I've ordered online through them before, so I reckon this is your best bet.

A couple of quick notes on the Five Star Stories. First of all, while they aren't a cheap buy, they're definately worth the money. Each US volume is $10 and is around 80-100 pages. However, these are lavish, oversized (11.66" x 9.30") editions, with color inserts in the back, nice paper, top quality printing - the works.

Also, once you've read the first three US volumes, you're can pick up just about any other storyarc and enjoy it. You'll get more out of the series by reading them in order, but Nagano's storytelling is non-linear, and there's a detailed timeline in the back of the first few volumes. So, if you enjoyed the first three volumes and then see volumes 9-10 on the shelf, don't let the lack of 4-8 stop you.

Finally, just so you know: Mamaru Nagano is completely insane, but in a good way.

Oh, yeah.

FnordChan

 

[distantmantra]

I picked up Tsubasa vol. 2 and xxxHolic vol. 2 at Kinokuniya last night.

I cannot find the sixth or seventh volumes of the new edition of Nausicaa anywhere. I picked up volumes one through five a few weeks back when Borders had a 20% off with student ID sale, but I've been completely unable to snag the last two volumes.

 

[FnordChan]

I cannot find the sixth or seventh volumes of the new edition of Nausicaa anywhere. I picked up volumes one through five a few weeks back when Borders had a 20% off with student ID sale, but I've been completely unable to snag the last two volumes.

Volume Seven isn't out until tomorrow, but hopefully there's a copy of Six somewhere in your area. Otherwise, I'm sure Borders would be happy to special order it for you.

FnordChan

 

[distantmantra]

Volume Seven isn't out until tomorrow, but hopefully there's a copy of Six somewhere in your area. Otherwise, I'm sure Borders would be happy to special order it for you.

FnordChan

I've been to Borders and Barnes and Nobles all over the greater Seattle area, and no luck. Not a single store I visited has ever received volume six.

 

[FnordChan]

I've been to Borders and Barnes and Nobles all over the greater Seattle area, and no luck. Not a single store I visited has ever received volume six.

Bizzare. Try your local comic shop.

FnordChan

 

[FortNinety]

Street Angel #3 - The best skateboarding superheroine you could possibly imagine returns for another round versus the giant squid, plus anything else that dares to get in her way.

Street Angel is painfully good. Preview images a go-go await you here.

Wow, this comic looks awesome! Thanks for the heads up; gotta check it out.

 

[FnordChan]

Wow, this comic looks awesome! Thanks for the heads up; gotta check it out.

Street Angel is truth and beauty. Be sure to check out the preview pages for issues One and Two also.

FnordChan

 

[Alucard]

I'll call around my area to see if I can find Street Angel somewhere. I never see it on the racks so I just assume the shops here don't really go out of their way to carry it. If worse comes to worse, I'll just wait for the first trade.

As for Birds of Prey, I'm sure it's better than the current story arc. Even so, it's a book I can afford to let loose. When you're debating whether to drop Astonishing X-Men, Ex Machina, or Birds of Prey, the choice becomes obvious to me.

 

[FnordChan]

I'll call around my area to see if I can find Street Angel somewhere. I never see it on the racks so I just assume the shops here don't really go out of their way to carry it. If worse comes to worse, I'll just wait for the first trade.

Dunno when a trade is coming out, but it's popular enough that I'd be suprised if one didn't show up eventually. Good luck tracking it down locally; if you (or anyone else jonsing for their Street Angel fix) can't find it, just PM me.

As for Birds of Prey, I'm sure it's better than the current story arc. Even so, it's a book I can afford to let loose. When you're debating whether to drop Astonishing X-Men, Ex Machina, or Birds of Prey, the choice becomes obvious to me.

Can't argue with that. However, if you find yourself with extra scratch and a hankering for Gail Simone, the first BoP trade is pretty good, and definately an improvement over the current storyarc.

FnordChan

 

[Semjaza Azazel]

How many of these FiveStarStories are there? I'm hesitant to start if it's insanely long at $10 a pop... but the cover alone had me interested heh.

 

[FnordChan]

How many of these FiveStarStories are there? I'm hesitant to start if it's insanely long at $10 a pop... but the cover alone had be interested heh.

There are currently eleven volumes of Five Star Stories available in Japan. These are being released in the US as 2-3 seperate volumes per Japanese volume. So, with this week's release of volumes 21 and 22 in the US, we're up to about volume 9 of the Japanese editions.

I mention this because the US run has almost caught up with the Japanese...and Mamoru Nagano is really, really slow. Really amazingly slow. We're talking Art Adams slow.

So, if you're interested in FSS, you can take your time picking up the US editions, without worrying that Nagano's output is going to be so overwhelming you'll never caught up. It's really quite the opposite, and once the US volumes are up to around 30 we'll be waiting months, possibly years at a time for the next installment.

On the flip side, you don't have to worry that Nagano's never going to finish the story at this rate, because that's not really how the FSS works. The timeline gives a rough outline (spanning thousands of years) of what happens over the course of the entire series, so we already know the ending. The pleasure is in seeing Nagano fill in the details.

Again, while the series is a bit pricey at $10 a 100 page volume, you really do get your money's worth; it's a really lovely package. Besides, you've gotta love the art.

FnordChan

 

[DarienA]

My Thoughts:

BIRDS OF PREY #73: <sigh> Well I'm glad that is "over" with.... I enjoy the characters but this is the first storyline on this book that I thought really stunk up the joint. - Thumbs Down.

DETECTIVE COMICS #798: I continue to enjoy the War storyline although this issue was pretty much all setup and little to no action. - Thumbs Middle

AVENGERS #501: Meh.... kill em already. - Thumbs Down

HULK AND THING HARD KNOCKS #1: I didn't pick this up but I took a look at it in the store... slow start, some humor, but I'll have to wait to see if I want to "bring it home". - Thumbs Middle

THOR #84: And just like that Loki vs. Thor is over... geez Loki's lost a few pounds... I can't say that the Odinforce having an embodiment is what I call interesting... but hey any glimpse of Odin again IS pretty cool... as for Those Above or whatever the hell they are called... meh... - Thumbs Middle

UNCANNY X-MEN #448: I'm sitting here at work trying to remember what happened in this issue.. I know I bought it... Oh yeah I remember now Murderworld... I've never been a fan of the Murderworld storylines, and this one is no exception. Rachel has no fighting ability? Bishop loses in a hand to hand fight too? I'm not familiar with this character Viper... the name vaguely rings a bell... but this issue is tired, as I think most Murderworld storylines are. X-men must survive different tests without the help of their powers, blah, blah, blah.... - Thumbs Down

 

[FnordChan]

BIRDS OF PREY #73: <sigh> Well I'm glad that is "over" with.... I enjoy the characters but this is the first storyline on this book that I thought really stunk up the joint. - Thumbs Down.

I'm still working through my comics pile, but I did read this last night and can offer the following review: Birds of Prey #73 is crap on a stick. The whole storyline has been sub-par at best, and this was a particularly lame conclusion. Bah. I have enough faith in Gail Simone to give her another storyarc, but if it's as bad as this one, I'm bailing.

FnordChan

 

[Spike Spiegel]

JLE kicked ass, so I'm happy.

GTO didn't come in, so I'm sad.

I guess that makes me...

Seriously, this issue of JLE was really good; the back-and-forth between Green Arrow and Dawn was worth admission price alone. But what made Major Disaster have to go ahead and f*ck everything up? IF he did, I mean... oh hell, his name's "Disaster," of course he did.

 

[Chesapeake Silt]

Bendis was terrible this week. Two bad comics. I had to reread We3 just to get my mind back together.

Y was really good, though.

Man, those were some awesome, in-depth reviews.