Preview: Even the Giants



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Even The Giants by Jesse Jacobs. Published by AdHouse Books

Jesse Jacobs bursts onto the comic scene with his first published work EVEN THE GIANTS. The work beautifully captures the isolation of the Great White North while also giving the artist a sequential canvas to explore and experiment. This book will be printed in three Pantone spot colors. Jesse’s work has been nominated for the Doug Wright award and has won the Gene Day award.

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Shawn Says: Spotlight on New Releases February 23, 2011

In which Shawn looks at the New Releases and lets you know which books she is most excited about!

1) Detective Comics #874

When DC announced that they were Drawing The Line At $2.99 and thus were doing away with co-features it left me with one question, “What about the Jim Gordon storyline in Detective Comics?” Thankfully Detective devoted an entire issue to Francesco Francavilla and part three of Skeleton Cases. Francavilla’s art is perfectly paired with Scott Snyder’s dark and brooding story in this issue. Francavilla’s art is incredible, especially his rich and vibrant colors. I had very high expectations for this issue and I wasn’t disappointed. It was beautifully action-packed and left me wanting more. I really hope that Snyder and Francavilla will team up again soon! Also out this week by Snyder is American Vampire #12. Guest artist Danijel Zezelj is fantastic in this stand alone tale about Skinner Sweet’s visit to a Wild West show.

2) The Sixth Gun #9

The Sixth Gun gets better and better with each issue. I don’t know how Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt keep improving on greatness like this but they do. This was a really exciting issue. We are starting to find out more and more about the history and origin of the guns. There are a lot of villains out there who want to possess the guns and our heroes need to be careful who they trust. If you aren’t reading this then you are really missing out on one of the best comics around!

3) Who Is Jake Ellis? #2

This was a very satisfying issue where a lot of background information was revealed. I really feel like this comic is going someplace. It isn’t using the mystery as a gimmick to keep you reading. You are getting answers and the story is progressing. While we are getting closer to the truth about Jake Ellis we have more and more questions about him and his relationship to Jon. Nathan Edmondson is an excellent storyteller and when you mix that with Tonci Zonjic’s art you get a great comic. I seriously can’t wait to read the rest of this story.

Heather’s Favorite Graphic Novels Read in 2010

1.  Red Moon: A story in which an adorable family dog sets out to save the world couldn’t fit more solidly in my comic reading zone.  This is a well-crafted story with beautiful black and white art save the red moon of the title.  The novel fully delivered on the promise of last year’s prequel comic. Dave McAdoo’s art completely engages me and he nails the emotions of both animals and humans in this book.    

2.  FCHS: 90210 meets Archie.  I love a good teen drama.  I typically satisfy this love with my Netflix queue or my DVR.  Rachel Freire’s art brings writer, Vito Delsante’s story to life.  Together they create relatable characters that I care about.  The best part, there are more to come.  I can’t wait to find out what happens next for the students at FCHS. 

3. Crogan’s March: Chris Schweizer’s second story in the Crogan family series was as good as the first.  This time we join Peter Crogan in the French Foreign Legion.  Not only does Peter face the Tuaregs, but incompetent leaders who do more damage to his unit than the raiders. 

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Shawn Says: Spotlight on New Releases February 16, 2011

In which Shawn looks at the New Releases and lets you know which books she is most excited about!

1) Noche Roja HC

Fans of detective stories will love Vertigo Crime’s newest offering Noche Roja. Written by Simon Oliver with art by Jason Latour, it is a story about abductions, sweat shops and politics. I have been anxiously awaiting this book for some time now and I am pleased to finally be able to sink my teeth into it. I enjoy Oliver’s writing style but I must admit that the reason I am picking this up is because of Latour’s art. He is an incredibly talented artist and I can’t wait to see what else he brings to the table in 2011!

2) Edge of Doom #4

Steve Niles and Kelley Jones bring us stories in the vein of Twilight Zone or Tales From The Darkside. They are creepy, disturbing and delightfully entertaining. I am a big fan of the horror genre. Even as a child I was always drawn to scary stories. Niles always delivers. I have yet to be disappointed by anything of his I have read. Recently I picked up two of his novels, 30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead and Savage Membrane: Cal McDonald, Monster Hunter Book 1 and I can’t wait to tear through them. Niles is an incredibly prolific writer and I have only scratched the surface of his work.

3) Kill Shakespeare #1

Adam challenged all of us to try new series and to step out from our usually reading. This week I decided to try Kill Shakespeare #1. IDW has been doing a series of $1 reprints and this is the perfect way to give a series a shot. I have heard good things and the premise sounds interesting. Shakespeare’s heroes are fighting Shakespeare’s villains and they enlist the help of a wizard to help them. I am much more familiar with Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies than with his histories but from what I have read you only need a basic knowledge of his plays to be able to enjoy this book.

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Things I Have Learned While Working at a Comic Book Store

Pre-Orders are extremely important. They are the life blood of the comic book store. They help retailers know what books to order and how many. Adam Daughhetee and Steve Niles touched on this in the most recent show but I think this point deserves some explaining.

Given our recent economic troubles and the sheer volume of products out there it can be really difficult, nay, impossible for stores to order everything. This is where you, the consumer, come in. Tell your store what you want! You can do this by submitting orders using the Previews catalog and/or by maintaining a reserve bag or a subscription. It does require work on your part but if you don’t tell your store what you want how will they know to order it for you? It is especially important to pre-order or reserve titles from the smaller publishers. They can get buried in the back of Previews and they might not get ordered. A title like Stuff of Legend, which is totally awesome, is put out through a little known company that can be easily overlooked, but after I read the solicit for it I knew I had to read this book! If enough people pre-order or reserve a book it might give the retailer the confidence to order, and then sell, a couple extra copies of a book and that can mean the world to a smaller publisher.

The important thing is that you tell your store in advance! Tell them before the book comes out that you want it that way they can order it for you. Not only are you helping your store order and sell books but you are guaranteeing yourself a copy of the book you want. It is a win/win/win! Don’t be afraid to ask your store about pre-ordering or reserving books. Ask them what works best for them. I’m sure they will be more than happy to explain their system and help get you the books that you want.

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