Beyond the Big 2: July 2008

by Matt

I love going through the Previews magazine every month. I spend hours going through every page, reading every solicitation and I usually find something that piques my interest. Each month I try to pick up a new book that is NOT part of the "Big 2". Here are a couple of new books that I am giving a try in September from the July 2008 Previews.





SOLOMON KANE #1
By (W)Scott Allie and (A)Mario Guevara
Published by Dark Horse Comics
$2.99
Product Code JUL080016
Robert E. Howard's vengeance-obsessed puritan begins his supernatural adventures in the haunted Black Forest of Germany in this five-issue adaptation of Howard's "The Castle of the Devil." When Solomon Kane stumbles upon the body of a boy hanged from a rickety gallows, he goes after the man responsible--a baron feared by the peasants from miles around. Something far worse than the devilish baron or the terrible, intelligent wolf that prowls the woods lies hidden in the ruined monastery beneath the baron's castle, where a devil-worshipping priest died in chains centuries ago.

My friend Zack is a huge Robert E. Howard fan and he introduced me to the concept of Solomon Kane and I was hooked. I am very interested to see how this goes.

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL HC
By Gilbert Hernandez (W/A)
Published by Dark Horse Comics
$19.95
Product Code JUL080023
There's a peeping tom prowling the neighborhood. Eyewitness reports vary, but one thing is agreed upon: he wears a devil mask. This is the story of Val Castillo, a promising gymnast with a strange hobby. She is secretly the neighborhood peeping tom. At first she is alone in this, but when a male friend discovers her doings he joins her into a dark journey of spying and making discoveries about their neighbors that may have been better left alone. Especially secrets that threaten all involved. Like Val spying on her own father and stepmother in their bedroom. This snowballs into a journey darker than even the most cynical would care to endure.

I was going to pick this series in singles but for some reason I decided to skip until it was collected. I heard good reviews of this book and I am really looking forward to reading it. I have never read anything produced by Gilbert Hernandez. It has a Stray Bullets feel to it which is what attracted me to this series.


PROJECT SUPERPOWERS VOL 02 THE SUPREMACY #0
By Various
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
$1.00
Product Code JUL083862
Project Superpowers was the blockbuster Dynamite Entertainment event of 2007, and the story continues with the all-new Project Superpowers: The Supremacy! Get ready for the excitement with this special Prelude issue, with previews of the superpowered characters Black Terror, Masquerade, and the Death Defying Devil! The future is now as we launch the second chapter of the Project Superpowers saga!

I liked the first Project Superpowers enough to get this next mini-series. Honestly, I was not impressed by the first series as much as I thought I would be, but superheroes from the past is something that I do enjoy, no matter what superhero universe. I will definitely give this series a try.

I get all my comics, trades and hard covers through Mailordercomics.com. Click on the banner below and you visit their site and you can order these books (and anything else from the July Previews) at huge discounts.




I'll see you next month with some more picks. Make sure you check out my other new column Beyond the Big 2: Preview Review where I will be reviewing picks that I made in earlier columns. Last month I reviewed Freddie & Me: Coming of Age, Charlatan Ball #1 and Fluffy. Next month I will review No Hero #0 and Modern Masters Vol 18: John Romita Jr and hopefully more!