Top Selling Trades. September 2013

1. East of West Vol. 1 TPB (Image)

2. Justice League Vol. 3 HC (DC)
3. Star Wars Vol. 1 TPB (Dark Horse)
4. The Walking Dead Vol. 9 TPB (Image)
5. The Walking Dead 100 Project TPB (Image)
6. Justice League Vol. 2 TPB (DC)
7. Saga Vol. 1 TPB (Image)
8. Saga Vol. 2 TPB (Image)
9. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Vol. 2 TPB (IDW)
10. Superior Spider-Man Vol. 1 HC (Marvel)

You have to wonder at what point will Marvel and DC stopped being referred to as the big 2 and incorporate Image into the big 3. With a collection of Walking Dead covers selling considerably better than anything from Marvel and they've published around 50% of the top selling trades consistently every month. 

Without getting into the wider argument of quality of books produced by other publishers, it's worth considering how much Image's pricing policy affects peoples purchasing. Saga and East of West are not only the two best books on the list, they also are the two cheapest, with the first volumes RRP being just £7.50.

I've been meaning to pick up Dark Horse's new Star Wars title, based on the original script and written by Brian Wood, this is a really strong entry. I also had no Idea Geoff John's Justice League was so popular so perhaps I should revisit it as well. The time has come for me to stop glossing over My Little Ponies success as it's constant chart appearances can no longer be put down to a fluke and it's legions of fans are not going to rest until it is number one. Congratulations IDW.

Todays New Trades 03/10/13

Not much out this week but there's still loads to talk about. DC release The Court of Owls arc, the first 7 issues of the New 52 Batman and includes a white PVC owl mask. Pretty sweet deal for £15.

Also at DC, JLA Earth 2 from superstar Scottish creators Morrison and Quitely gets a new deluxe hardcover featuring a new cover by Frank Quitely, plus previously unpublished sketch material and more.

The first volume of Image's Non Human is out, a bit pricier than Image's usual v.1's, especially for 4 issues but I'm led to believe the sketchbook and bonus material is going to be excellent. The second Skullkickers omnibus Collecting SKULLKICKERS #12-23, including the five 'unbooted' issues Uncanny, Savage, Mighty, All-New Secret and Dark Skullkickers Dark. (still giggling at these.)                
Marvel's march in to the OGN market continues with Avengers: Endless Wartime by Warren Ellis and Thor Season One. The season one books are really well packaged in my opinion but never worth the price to established readers, I wouldn't even recommend a new ready pays £20 for a slim HC.

I will finish off with two great Omnibus from Marvel. Firstly a book which I constantly recommend, Hickman's Fantastic Four, gets it's first oversized collection. Right now you can get it all 800 pages on Amazon for £35 (RRP £75) if you have been putting off reading this title for some insane reason, you're never going to get a better chance than this to pick it up cheap.  Collecting: Dark Reign: Fantastic Four 1-5, Dark Reign: The Cabal, Fantastic Four 570-588, FF 1-5

The second omnibus I wanted to mention is the oversized Halo HC, I've read some of the books including and personally loved Van Lente's stuff. Collecting: Halo: Uprising 1-4, Blood Line 1-5, Helljumper 1-5. Depending on where you buy from it might still work out cheaper to buy the 3 individual trades so be sure to check them out first.




BOOM! STUDIOS

Suicide Risk Volume 1 TP

DC COMICS

Batman The Court Of Owls Book And Mask Set HC
Earth 2 Volume 1 The Gathering TP
Earth 2 Volume 2 The Tower of Fate HC
Fables Werewolves Of The Heartland TP
JLA Earth 2 Deluxe Edition HC

IDW PUBLISHING

Chilling Archives Of Horror Volume 4 Jack Cole's Deadly Horror HC
Doctor Who Series I Winter's Dawn Season's End HC
G.I. JOE The Complete Collection Volume 3 HC
Judge Dredd The Complete Carlos Ezquerra Volume 2 HC
Miss Fury Sensational Sundays 1941-1944 HC

IMAGE COMICS

Age Of Bronze Volume 3.B Betrayal Part Two HC
Carbon Grey Volume 2 Daughters Of Stone TP
It Girl And The Atomics Volume 2 The World Is Flat TP
MacGyver Fugitive Gauntlet TP
Non-Humans Volume 1 Runaway American Dream TP
Skullkickers Treasure Trove Volume 2 HC

MARVEL COMICS

Avengers Endless Wartime HC
Dark Tower The Gunslinger Last Shots TP
Fantastic Four By Jonathan Hickman Omnibus Volume 1 HC
Halo Oversized Collection HC
Supercrooks TP (resolicited)
Thor And The Mighty Avengers
Thor By Walter Simonson Volume 2 TP
Thor Season One HC (Premiere Edition)
What If AvX TP
Wolverine Blood Wedding TP

Todays New Trades 24/09/13

Long time no trades, my apologies to the masses who click on every Wednesday, desperate for the latest papery knowledge. Some cool stuff available this week,

The Walking Dead 100 project:

"Robert Kirkman and Skybound team up with the Hero Initiative to present 100 all-new covers envisioning the horrors of the bestselling The Walking Dead. This art book features brand-new pieces by The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard, Paolo Rivera, Ryan Ottley, Rafael Albuquerque, and more! This book will never be reprinted and all proceeds go to the Hero Initiative and comic book creators in need!"

Show More

Show Less

Over at DC follow SHAZAM'S new 52 reintroduction with the SHAZAM! HC collecting: JUSTICE LEAGUE #7-11, 0, 14-16 and 18-21. Who doesn't love shouting SHAZAM! There is also the second volume of Vertigo's Preacher TPB reprintings, collecting: PREACHER #13-26, it's a really affordable way to read a book you should have already read, I recommend volume 1 first though.

You can collect the whole Ultimate Marvel "Divided We Stand" event with the new TPB by the same name. Why would you not want a book written by Bendis, Hickman and Humphries? Collecting: ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #13-18, ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #13-18 and ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN (2011) #13-18. There's also some Spider-Man 2099 action, building on the recent buzz. The X-Babies vs Avengers Babies is a good place to collect all the Skottie Young baby variants.


BOOM! STUDIOS

Adventure Time Volume 2 HC (Mathematical Edition

DARK HORSE COMICS


Art Of Akaneiro HC
Criminal Macabre Final Night The 30 Days Of Night Crossover TP
Eerie Archives Volume 14 HC
Sin Titulo HC

DC COMICS


Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1
Justice League Volume 2 The Villain's Journey TP
Justice League Volume 3 Throne Of Atlantis HC
Legends Of The Dark Knight Jim Aparo Volume 2 HC
Preacher Volume 2 TP
Shazam Volume 1 HC


IDW PUBLISHING

Doctor Who Prisoners Of Time Volume 2

IMAGE COMICS

Cyber Force Rebirth Volume 1 TP
Hip Flask Unnatural Selection HC (10th Anniversary Elephantmen Edition
Soho Dives Soho Divas Limited Edition HC
Soho Dives Soho Divas TP
Spawn Origins Volume 19 TP
Walking Dead 100 Project TP


MARVEL COMICS

Dark Tower The Gunslinger Last Shots TP
Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Tales To Astonish Volume 1 TP
Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man Digest Volume 4 TP
S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury Vs S.H.I.E.L.D. TP
Spider-Man 2099 Volume 2 TP
Ultimate Comics Divided We Fall United We Stand TP
Young Marvel Little X-Men Little Avengers Big Trouble TP

Todays New Trades 28/08/13

BOOM! STUDIOS

Higher Earth Volume 2 TP

DARK HORSE COMICS

Crime Does Not Pay Archives Volume 5 HC
Number 13 TP
Savage Sword Of Conan Volume 14 TP

DC COMICS

Absolute Superman Batman Volume 1 HC
Fables Deluxe Edition Volume 7 HC
Hellblazer Volume 6 Bloodlines TP
Jack Kirby's O.M.A.C. One Man Army Corps TP
League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Omnibus TP
Legion Lost Volume 2 The Culling TP
Sandman Omnibus Volume 1 HC
Sword Of Sorcery Volume 1 Amethyst TP
Talon Volume 1 Scourge Of The Owls TP

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

Masks Volume 1 TP

IDW PUBLISHING

Library Of American Comics Essentials Volume 3 Polly And Her Pals 1933 HC
Rip Kirby Volume 6 HC
Sam Kieth Samplings And Dabblings A Cartoon Art Museum Exhibition TP
Steve Ditko's Monsters Volume 2 Konga HC
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Animated Volume 2 Never Say Xever The Gauntlet TP
Transformers Classics Volume 5 TP
Visual Funk The Art Of Jim Mahfood HC

IMAGE COMICS

Progeny Volume 1 TP
Spawn Origins Volume 9 HC
Spawn The Dark Ages Complete Collection HC

MARVEL COMICS

Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Volume 1 HC
Daredevil By Mark Waid Volume 4 TP
Fury MAX Volume 2 My War Gone By TP
Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 1 Cosmic Avengers HC
Marvel Masterworks The Fantastic Four Volume 15 HC
Marvel Masterworks The Incredible Hulk Volume 3 TP
Secret Avengers Volume 1 Reverie TP X-Men Legacy Volume 2 Invasive Exotics TP
X-Men Magik Storm And Illyana TP
Young Avengers Volume 1 Style > Substance TP

Todays New Trades 21/08/13

Happy new comic day folks. I would imagine volume 7 of Chew will be a big seller for your LCS today. I've fallen behind myself so might just hold back for omnibuses.

Over at Marvel the NOW books continue to roll out with the latest Deadpool and Fantastic Four trades. Two end of an era books with Bendis' New Avengers and Slott's last Amazing Spider-Man trade Dying Wish, no spoilers! :p

I'm still to combine my love for comics and Star wars and the Knights of the Old Republic omnibus looks like a good buy. Collecting the first 18 issues (volumes 1-3) together for only £15. If you have any Star Wars recommendations then please feel free to comment bellow.



DARK HORSE COMICS

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Willow Wonderland TP
Dragon Age Volume 3 Until We Sleep HC
Nexus Omnibus Volume 3 TP
Sacrifice HC
Savage Sword Of Conan Volume 14 TP
Star Wars Omnibus Knights Of The Old Republic Volume 1 TP

DC COMICS

Captain Atom Volume 2 Genesis TP
DC Universe Presents Volume 2 Vandal Savage TP
Green Lantern Sector 2814 Volume 2 TP
World Of Warcraft Bloodsworn HC

IDW PUBLISHING

Berkeleyworks The Art Of Berkeley Breathed From Bloom County And Beyond HC
G.I. JOE The Complete Collection Volume 1 HC (Red Label Edition)
Judge Dredd The Complete Carlos Ezquerra Volume 1 HC (Red Label Edition)
Transformers Last Stand Of The Wreckers HC (Red Label Edition),

IMAGE COMICS

Chew Volume 7 Bad Apples TP

MARVEL COMICS

Avengers The Complete Collection By Geoff Johns Volume 2 TP
Deadpool Volume 2 Soul Hunter TP
Fantastic Four Volume 2 Road Trip TP
Marvel 1602 HC (10th Anniversary Edition)
Mighty Thor Omnibus Volume 2 HC (Esad Ribic Cover)
New Avengers By Brian Michael Bendis Volume 5 TP
Spider-Man Dying Wish TP
Superior Spider-Man #16
Superior Spider-Man Volume 2 A Troubled Mind TP,

Catabloguing Thor. JMS - Marvel NOW

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to help people collect in trade, especially books that are worth reading but nearly impossible to follow through renumberings and title changes. Thor is probably the best example of this about. I considered just doing from Siege up to Marvel now but to read the whole story you really have to start at JMS' volume 1 and I guarantee you will be rewarded with one of the best modern comic sagas on your shelves. 

Credit to Strazynski for the solid foundation and fantastic re imagining of this classic Avenger and hilarious ensemble cast but the real work here is from Gillen and Fraction, now two of the biggest names in comics because of the hard work they did on titles like this and Invincible Iron Man.  

Gillen doesn't just pick up the loose threads from JMS' run and try his best to tie them off. Instead he runs with it, adding layer upon layer that are still paying off right at the end of his JiM run. Fraction's Thor doesn't get the same recognition as his other Marvel works like Hawkeye or Iron Man but his incarnation of Thor will always be my Thor. *blushes*

Thor v.1

JMS/Coipel
#1-6.

Thor v.2
JMS/Coipel/Djurdjevic
#7-12 & Giant Sized 600.

Thor v.3 
JMS/Djurdjevic
#601-603 & Giant sized finale.

Thor: Latverian Prometheus
Gillen/ Tan
#604-606, Sif #1 & Mini Marvels.

Siege
Bendis/Coipel
#Siege 1-4 & The Cabal.

Siege: Thor
Gillen/Tan/McKelvie/Elson/Braithwaite/Henrichon
#607-610, New Mutants #11 & Siege:Loki.

Thor: Siege Aftermath
Gillen/Elson/Braithwaite
#611-614.

Thor: The World Eaters
Fraction/Ferry
#615-620.1 & Thor Spotlight.

The Mighty Thor v.1
Fraction/Coipel
#TMT 1-6.

Journey into Mystery v.1 Fear Itself
Gillen/Braithwaite
#JiM 622-626, Thor & Fear Itself Spotlight.

Fear Itself
Fraction/Immonen
#Fear itself 1-7

The Mighty Thor v.2
Fraction/Ferry/Kubert/Larraz
#TMT 7-12 & Fear Itself 7.2 Thor.

Journey Into Mystery v.2 Fear Itself  Fallout
Gillen/Rodi/Portacio/Ferry/Elson
#JiM 621.1 & 627-631.

Journey Into Mystery v.3 The Terrorism Myth
Gillen/Breitweiser/Elson
#JiM 632-636

The Mighty Thor v.3
Fraction/Kitson/Larraz
#TMT 13-17 & 12.1

Journey Into Myster/New Mutants: Exiled
Gillen/Abnett/Lanning
#Jim 637-638 & New Mutants 42-43.

Journey Into Mystery v.4 The Manchester Gods
Gillen/DeMatteis/Elson
#JiM 639-641 & TMT Annual #1.

Journey Into Mystery & The Mighty Thor: Everything Burns
Fraction/Gillen/Davis/Hans/Kitson/Di Giandomenico
#JiM 642-645 & #TMT 18-22

What to read next.

Thor: God of Thunder by Aaron/Ribic
Journey Into Mystery by K. Immonen.

Other reading.

Dark Avengers.
Thor: Secret Invasion.
Siege tie ins.
Fear Itself Tie ins.
Avengers (Heroic Age onwards)
Chaos War.

Todays New Trades 13/08/13

Never thought I would be most looking forward to a comic based on Smallville but after loving volume 1 I can't wait to read v.2. Never been a fan of the show though. The latest offering promises a showdown between Superman and some mysterious bat guy :)

I don't usually mention books to avoid but please, I beg of you not to pick up The First X-Men. Praised as the return of Neal Adams. Having already read through the Panini reprint I can assure you that it is pointless and truly awful. Plus $20 is too dear even for 5 issues of a decent comic 

DARK HORSE COMICS

B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth Volume 6 The Return Of The Master TP
Ex Sanguine TP
Mike Norton's Battlepug Volume 2 This Savage Bone HC

DC COMICS

Flash Volume 1 Move Forward TP
Flash Volume 2 Rogues Revolution HC
Nightwing Old Friends New Enemies TP
Smallville Season 11 Volume 2 Detective TP

IDW PUBLISHING

Amelia Cole And The Unknown World TP
G.I. JOE Volume 1 Homefront TP
Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales Artist's Edition HC
My Little Pony Digest Volume 1 TP
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Classics Volume 1 TP
Transformers 30th Anniversary Collection HC
Transformers Dark Prelude TP
Zombies Vs Robots Diplomacy SC

IMAGE COMICS

Frank Cho Women Drawings And Illustrations Volume 2 TP
Invincible Compendium Volume 2 TP
One Trick Rip-Off Deep-Cuts TP

MARVEL COMICS

Alpha Big Time TP
Avengers Assemble Science Bros TP
Dr. Strange And Dr. Doom Triumph And Torment TP
Essential Fantastic Four Volume 9 TP
Fearless Defenders Volume 1 Doom Maidens TP
First X-Men TP
Wolverine Volume 1 Hunting Season TP
X-Force Phalanx Covenant HC

ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Jungle Book Volume 2 Last Of The Species TP