Wednesday, July 10, 2013

‘Astro City’ #2: The Comic You Should Be Reading This Week

Astro City is back, and firing on just about every cylinder you can name; it's a comic book not just for comics readers, but people who want to start reading comics. Our full review, and reviews of books from DC, Image, Dark Horse, Dynamite, Titan, IDW, and Valiant, as well as the full release list, on the next pages.



This issue actually makes a superb jumping on point, as it doesn't really follow from issue #1 of the relaunched series. Instead, it picks up with a member of the Honor Guard's support team. Superheroes get a lot of phone calls, and somebody has to screen them, after all




Kurt Busiek's series is beloved for a reason, and this book is a superb illustration as to why. Busiek carefully thinks out how superheroes would handle mundane situations, and the basic, human difficulties behind what's such an enormous task. Astro City is and always has been about people, and this issue is a beautiful illustration of that.



Brent Anderson's art is more than up to the task. Sure, there's all the superhero action and high technology you could want, but it's again the people where Anderson shines. The best moment in the book is not the admittedly great superhero stuff, but the heart-wrenching last panel. If you're not buying this, you're missing out, that simple.



DC COMICS

Absolute Blackest Night HC (resolicited), $125.00

Astro City #2, $3.99

Batgirl #22, $2.99

Batman #22 (Greg Capullo Black & White Variant Cover), AR

Batman #22 (Greg Capullo Combo Pack Cover), $4.99

Batman #22 (Greg Capullo Regular Cover), $3.99

Batman #22 (Mikel Janin Variant Cover), AR

Batman Arkham Unhinged #16, $3.99

Batman Li'l Gotham #4 (Dustin Nguyen Regular Cover), $2.99

Batman Li'l Gotham #4 (We Can Be Heroes Blank Variant Cover), $2.99

Before Watchmen Comedian Rorschach HC (Deluxe Edition), $29.99

Before Watchmen Nite Owl Dr Manhattan HC (Deluxe Edition), $29.99

DC Comics Cover Girls Platinum Statue, $99.95

Demon Knights #22, $2.99

Diablo Sword Of Justice TP, $14.99

Green Lantern Corps #22 (Bernard Chang Regular Cover), $2.99

Green Lantern Corps #22 (Rags Morales Variant Cover), AR

Green Lantern The Animated Series #14 (Final Issue), $2.99

Harlan Ellison's 7 Against Chaos HC, $24.99

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Volume 1 TP, $14.99

Justice League #22 (Brett Booth & Norm Rapmund Variant Cover), AR

Justice League #22 (Ivan Reis & Joe Prado Black & White Variant Cover), AR

Justice League #22 (Ivan Reis & Joe Prado Combo Pack Cover), $4.99

Justice League #22 (Ivan Reis & Joe Prado Regular Cover), $3.99

Justice League Dark Volume 2 The Books Of Magic TP, $16.99

Katana #6, $2.99

Nightwing #22, $2.99

Saga Of The Swamp Thing Volume 4 TP, $19.99

Smallville Season 11 #15, $3.99

Suicide Squad #22, $2.99

Supergirl Volume 2 Girl In The World TP, $14.99

Superman The Man Of Steel By Jim Lee Statue, $79.95

Superman Unchained #2 (Gary Frank 75th Anniversary Golden Age Variant Cover), AR

Superman Unchained #2 (Jim Lee & Scott Williams Black & White Variant Cover), AR

Superman Unchained #2 (Jim Lee & Scott Williams Combo Pack Cover), $4.99

Superman Unchained #2 (Jim Lee & Scott Williams Regular Cover), $3.99

Superman Unchained #2 (John Paul Leon 75th Anniversary 1930s Variant Cover), AR

Superman Unchained #2 (Jon Bogdanove 75th Anniversary Superman Reborn Variant Cover), AR

Superman Unchained #2 (Nicola Scott 75th Anniversary The New 52 Variant Cover), AR

Superman Unchained #2 (Rafael Albuquerque 75th Anniversary The Parasite Villains Variant Cover), AR

Superman Unchained #2 (Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson 75th Anniversary Modern Age Variant Cover), AR

Superman Unchained #2 (Victor Ibanez 75th Anniversary Bronze Age Variant Cover), AR

Superman Unchained #2 (Yanick Paquette 75th Anniversary Silver Age Variant Cover), AR

Threshold #7, $3.99

Wake #1 (Of 10)(Sean Murphy 2nd Printing Variant Cover)(not verified by Diamond), $2.99

White Lantern Ring (Promotional Item), AR

Worlds' Finest #14, $2.99



MARVEL COMICS

Astonishing X-Men #64, $3.99

Avengers A.I. Poster, $8.99

Avengers Arena #12, $2.99

Avengers Volume 2 The Last White Event HC (Premiere Edition), $24.99

Castle 2013 Mini-Poster (Promotional Item)(not verified by Diamond), AR

Daredevil #28, $2.99

Dark Tower The Gunslinger The Way Station TP, $19.99

Disney Girls Presents #15 (Disney Publishing Worldwide), $4.99

Essential Captain America Volume 7 TP, $19.99

Fearless Defenders #6, $2.99

FF Volume 1 Fantastic Faux TP, $15.99

Gambit Volume 2 Tombstone Blues TP, $15.99

Hawkeye #12, $2.99

Hawkeye Volume 2 Little Hits TP, $16.99

Indestructible Hulk #10, $3.99

Infinity By Marko Djurdjevic Poster, $8.99

Marvel Share Your Universe Sampler #1 (Promotional Item), AR

Marvel's Thor The Dark World Prelude #2 (Of 2), $2.99

Once Upon A Time Mini-Poster (Promotional Item)(not verified by Diamond), AR

Psylocke By Milo Manara Poster, $8.99

Secret Avengers #6, $3.99

Superior Carnage Poster, $8.99

Superior Spider-Man #13, $3.99

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #1 Postcard (Promotional Item), AR

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up Superiority Complex TP, $16.99

Thor Gods Gladiators And The Guardians Of The Galaxy TP, $19.99

Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #27, $3.99

Uncanny X-Men #8, $3.99

Wolverine #6, $3.99

Young Avengers #7, $2.99

IMAGE COMICS

68 Jungle Jim #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Jeff Zornow & Jay Fotos), $3.99

68 Jungle Jim #4 (Of 4)(Cover B Nat Jones & Jay Fotos), $3.99

America's Got Powers #6 (Of 7), $2.99

Chew #35, $2.99

Darkness #114 (Cover A Jeremy Haun & John Rauch), $4.99

Darkness #114 (Cover B Marc Silvestri), AR

Dawn The Swordmaster's Daughter And Other Stories (One Shot), $3.99

East Of West #3 (2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.50

East Of West #4 (Cover A Nick Dragotta), $3.50

East Of West #4 (Cover B Blank Sketch Cover), AR

Ghosted #1, $2.99

Great Pacific #8, $2.99

Peter Panzerfaust #12, $3.50

Prophet Volume 2 Brothers TP, $14.99

Savage Dragon #189, $3.99

Savage Dragon On Trial TP, $16.99

Sheltered #1, $2.99

Skullkickers Volume 4 Eighty Eyes On An Evil Island TP, $16.99

Storm Dogs #6 (Of 6), $3.50

Walking Dead #112, $2.99



DARK HORSE COMICS

Avatar The Last Airbender Volume 5 The Search Part 2 TP, $10.99

Breath Of Bones A Tale Of The Golem #2 (Of 3), $3.99

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #23 (Georges Jeanty Variant Cover), $2.99

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #23 (Phil Noto Regular Cover), $2.99

Eerie Comics #3, $3.99

Sky The Art Of Final Fantasy HC (Slipcased Edition), $89.99

Star Wars #7 (Alex Ross Sketch Variant Cover), AR

Star Wars #7 (Rodolfo Migliari Regular Cover), $2.99

Star Wars Purge TP, $17.99

Tokyo Babylon Volume 2 TP, $19.99

True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys #2 (Of 6)(Becky Cloonan Regular Cover), $3.99

True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys #2 (Of 6)(Gabriel Ba Variant Cover), $3.99

X #3 (Of 4), $2.99

IDW PUBLISHING

Best Of EC Volume 1 Artist's Edition HC, AR

Ghostbusters Volume 5 The New Ghostbusters TP, $17.99

Godzilla #13 (Cover A Bob Eggleton), $3.99

Godzilla #13 (Cover B Matt Frank), $3.99

Judge Dredd Classics #1 (Cover A Jim Fern), $3.99

Judge Dredd Classics #1 (Cover SUB Brian Bolland), $3.99

Locke And Key Volume 5 Clockworks TP, $19.99

My Little Pony Micro-Series #1 (Of 6)(Twilight Sparkle)(Comicfolio Edition), AR

My Little Pony Micro-Series #2 (Of 6)(Rainbow Dash)(Comicfolio Edition), AR

My Little Pony Micro-Series #6 (Of 6)(Applejack)(Cover A Amy Mebberson), $3.99

My Little Pony Micro-Series #6 (Of 6)(Applejack)(Cover B Brenda Hickey), $3.99

My Little Pony Micro-Series #6 (Of 6)(Applejack)(Cover RI Sabrina Alberghetti), AR

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles New Animated Adventures #1 (Cover A Dario Brizuela), $3.99

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles New Animated Adventures #1 (Cover RI Ciro Nieli), AR

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles New Animated Adventures #1 (Cover SUB Kevin Eastman), $3.99

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Ultimate Collection Volume 2 HC (Red Label Edition), AR

X-Files Classics Volume 1 HC, $29.99

BOOM! STUDIOS

Adventure Time Candy Capers #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Josceline Fenton), $3.99

Adventure Time Candy Capers #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Magnolia Porter), $3.99

Adventure Time Candy Capers #1 (Of 6)(Cover C Rebecca Mock), AR

Adventure Time Candy Capers #1 (Of 6)(Cover D Tessa Stone), AR

Adventure Time With Fionna And Cake #1 (Of 6)(Get-A-Sketch Variant Cover), $9.99

Bravest Warriors Volume 1 TP, $14.99

Freelancers #1 (Get-A-Sketch Variant Cover), $9.99

Grace Randolph's Supurbia #9 (Cover A Stephane Roux), $3.99

Planet Of The Apes Cataclysm #11 (Cover A Gabriel Hardman), $3.99

Six-Gun Gorilla #2 (Of 6)(Cover A Ramon Perez), $3.99



VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT

Quantum And Woody #1 (Andrew Robinson Variant Cover), AR

Quantum And Woody #1 (Marcos Martin Pullbox Cover), $3.99

Quantum And Woody #1 (Ryan Sook Regular Cover), $3.99

Quantum And Woody #1 (Tom Fowler QR Voice Variant Cover), AR

X-O Manowar #15 (Clayton Crain Pullbox Cover), $3.99

X-O Manowar #15 (Kekai Kotaki Variant Cover), AR

X-O Manowar #15 (Ladronn Variant Cover), AR

X-O Manowar #15 (Trevor Hairsine Regular Cover), $3.99



3 FINGER PRINTS

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #2 (Cover A Ryan Kincaid), $3.99

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #2 (Cover B Jason Pedersen), $3.99

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #2 (Cover C Matt Hebb), $3.99



AAM MARKOSIA

Infernal Fyre-Dragon GN, $17.99

Tales Of Discord GN, $17.99



ABSTRACT STUDIOS

Rachel Rising #18, $3.99



AC COMICS

Men Of Mystery #90, $29.95



ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT

Princeless Tales Of The Family Ashe (One Shot), $3.99



ALTUS PRESS

Doc Savage The New Adventures Volume 5 Skull Island SC, $24.95



AMIGO COMICS

Westwood Witches #2 (Of 4), $3.99



ANTARCTIC PRESS

Boneyard The Biggening #1 (One Shot), $3.99

Victorian Secrets Summer Special #1, $3.95



ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT

Mouse Guard Volume 3 The Black Axe HC, $24.95



ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS

Archie And Friends Double Digest #29, $3.99

Archie Meets Glee TP, $12.99

Jugheads Double Digest #194, $3.99

Mega Man #27 (Patrick Spaziante Regular Cover), $2.99

Mega Man #27 (Patrick Spaziante Pencil Ink Color Variant Cover), $2.99

Sonic The Hedgehog Archives Volume 21 TP, $7.99



ARSENIC LULLABY PUBLISHING

Arsenic Lullaby The Big Stall (One Shot), $11.99



ASPEN COMICS

Bubblegun #2 (Of 5)(Cover A Direct Market), $3.99

Bubblegun #2 (Of 5)(Cover B Aspen Reserved), $3.99

Dead Man's Run #6, $3.50

Fathom The Elite Saga #4 (Cover A Ken Marion), $3.99

Fathom The Elite Saga #4 (Cover B Talent Caldwell), $3.99

Fathom The Elite Saga #4 (Cover C Michael Turner), AR



ATTABOY'S YUMFACTORY

Hi-Fructose Magazine Quarterly #28, $6.95



AVATAR PRESS

Crossed Badlands #32 (Gabriel Andrade Wraparound Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #32 (Jacen Burrows Red Crossed Incentive Cover), AR

Crossed Badlands #32 (Jacen Burrows Regular Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #32 (Miguel Ruiz Torture Cover), $3.99

George RR Martin's Skin Trade #1 (Mike Wolfer Grisly Cover), $3.99

George RR Martin's Skin Trade #1 (Mike Wolfer Regular Cover), $3.99

George RR Martin's Skin Trade #1 (Mike Wolfer Skinned Incentive Cover), AR

George RR Martin's Skin Trade #1 (Mike Wolfer Wraparound Cover), $3.99



BIG DOG INK

In Crowd #1 (Of 4)(Cover A CB Zane), $3.50

In Crowd #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Corey Knaebel), $3.50

Legend Of Oz The Wicked West #9 (Cover A Alisson Borges), $3.50

Legend Of Oz The Wicked West #9 (Cover B Nei Ruffino), $3.50



BLACK LIBRARY

Warhammer 40K Ahriman Exile SC, $14.00

Warhammer 40K The Emperor's Gift SC, $14.00



BLACK MASK COMICS

12 Reasons To Die #2 (Of 6)(Garry Brown Cover), $3.50

12 Reasons To Die #2 (Of 6)(Jim Mahfood Cover), $3.50

Ballistic #1 (Of 5), $3.50



BLEEDING COOL

Bleeding Cool Magazine #5, $4.99



BONGO COMICS

Mylo Xyloto #6, $3.99



BOOK PALACE

Illustrators Magazine #3, $24.99



BRAINMACHINE COMIX

Unforgivable Experiment 1134 #1, $2.99



CHANTING MONKS

Bunker DVD And Sick N Twisted #1 Combo Pack, AR



CINEBOOK

Aldebaran Volume 3 The Creature TP, $19.95

Antares Volume 2 Episode 2 TP, $11.95

Blake And Mortimer Volume 14 The Curse Of The 30 Pieces Of Silver Part 2 GN, $15.95

Lucky Luke Volume 33 The One-Armed Bandit TP, $11.95

Lucky Luke Volume 34 The Daltons Always On The Run TP, $11.95

Thorgal Volume 9 The Guardian Of The Keys GN, $11.95

Valerian Volume 3 The Land Without Stars GN, $11.95

XIII Volume 18 The Last Round GN, $11.95

COMIC SHOP NEWS

Comic Shop News #1360, AR



COMIXTRIBE

Standard #3, $3.99



CREEPY CLASSICS

Monster Bash #19, $8.99



DANGER ZONE

Night Of The 80s Undead #1 (Of 3), $3.99



DENNIS DRUKTENIS PUBLISHING

Scary Monsters Magazine #88, $8.95



DEVILS DUE ENTERTAINMENT

Mercy Sparx #1 (Elizabeth Torque Knockout Variant Cover), AR



DIGITAL MANGA DISTRIBUTION

Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D Volume 7 GN, $13.95



DRAWN AND QUARTERLY

Animals With Sharpies HC, $16.95



DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

Black Bat #3 (Billy Tan Black & White Variant Cover), AR

Black Bat #3 (Cover A Jae Lee), $3.99

Black Bat #3 (Cover B Joe Benitez), $3.99

Black Bat #3 (Cover C Ardian Syaf), $3.99

Black Bat #3 (Cover D Billy Tan), $3.99

Black Bat #3 (Jae Lee Black & White Variant Cover), AR

Dark Shadows #18 (Francesco Francavilla Regular Cover), $3.99

Grimm #3 (Lucio Parillo Regular Cover), $3.99

Grimm #3 (Lucio Parillo Virgin Variant Cover), AR

Grimm #3 (Photo Subscription Variant Cover), $3.99

Jennifer Blood #29 (Colton Worley Regular Cover), $3.99

Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files Fool Moon Part 2 HC, $24.99

Kevin Smith's The Bionic Man #21 (Ed Tadeo Regular Cover), $3.99

Kevin Smith's The Bionic Man #21 (Mike Mayhew Regular Cover), $3.99

Lone Ranger #16 (Francesco Francavilla Regular Cover), $3.99

Miss Fury #4 (Ale Garza Risque Variant Cover), AR

Miss Fury #4 (Billy Tan Black & White Variant Cover), AR

Miss Fury #4 (Cover A Billy Tan), $3.99

Miss Fury #4 (Cover B Joe Benitez), $3.99

Miss Fury #4 (Cover C Colton Worley), $3.99

Miss Fury #4 (Cover D Sean Chen), $3.99

Miss Fury #4 (Joe Benitez Black & White Variant Cover), AR

Pathfinder #8 (Carlos Gomez Black & White Variant Cover), AR

Pathfinder #8 (Carlos Gomez Regular Cover), $3.99

Pathfinder #8 (Carlos Gomez Virgin Variant Cover), AR

Pathfinder #8 (Sebastian Cichon Regular Cover), $3.99

Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #10 (Cover A Alex Ross), $3.99

Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #10 (Cover B Jonathan Lau), $3.99

Red Sonja #79 (Lucio Parrillo Regular Cover), $3.99

Shadow Green Hornet Dark Nights #1 (Of 5)(Chris Eliopoulos Subscription Variant Cover), $3.99

Shadow Green Hornet Dark Nights #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Alex Ross), $3.99

Shadow Green Hornet Dark Nights #1 (Of 5)(Cover B John Cassaday), $3.99

Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #27 (Cezar Razek Risque Variant Cover), AR

Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #27 (Fabiano Neves Regular Cover), $3.99

Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #27 (Paul Renaud Regular Cover), $3.99

Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #27 (Walter Geovani Risque Variant Cover), AR



FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

Amazing Enlightening And Absolutely True Adventures Of Katherine Whaley HC, $29.99

Eye Of The Majestic Creature Volume 2 GN, $19.99

Lost Cat HC, $24.99

Love And Rockets Companion 30 Years And Counting SC, $29.99



FIRST SECOND

Death Of Haggard West (One Shot), $2.99

Genius GN, $17.99

Templar GN, $39.99



FUTURE PUBLISHING

Comic Heroes Magazine #19, $17.99



GRAPHIX

Silver Six HC, $22.99

Silver Six SC, $10.99



HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE

Heavy Metal #263, $7.95



HERMES PRESS

Buck Rogers In The 25th Century The Western Publishing Years Volume 1 HC, $49.99



HYPERION BOOKS

Artemis Fowl Volume 3 The Eternity Code HC, $19.99

Artemis Fowl Volume 3 The Eternity Code SC, $9.99



INSIGHT EDITIONS

Lone Ranger Behind The Mask HC, $45.00



MARRS MEDIA

Rue Morgue Magazine #135 (July 2013), $9.95



Zombiellenium Volume 1 Gretchen HC, $14.99



ONI PRESS

Helheim #5, $3.99



OSSM COMICS

Xenoglyphs #4 (Of 6), $3.99



PANINI PUBLISHING

Doctor Who Magazine #461, $9.99



PAPERCUTZ

Garfield Show Volume 1 Unfair Weather HC, $11.99

Garfield Show Volume 1 Unfair Weather SC, $7.99



PEAK BOOKS

Fever Pitch Volume 2 More Hot Girls From Elias Chatzoudis SC, $14.95



QUIRK BOOKS

William Shakespeare's Star Wars HC, $14.95



REBELLION

Judge Dredd Megazine #337, $12.25



SCREEN POWER PUBLISHING

Scream Magazine #18, $8.99



SEVEN SEAS ENTERTAINMENT

Alice In The Country Of Clover Cheshire Cat Waltz Volume 5 GN (not verified by Diamond), $13.99

Gunslinger Girl Omnibus Volume 7 TP (not verified by Diamond), $11.99

I Don't Like You At All Big Brother Collected Edition Volume 3 GN (not verified by Diamond), $16.99

World War Blue Volume 1 GN (not verified by Diamond), $11.99



SUBLIME

False Memories Volume 1 TP, $12.99

Hide And Seek Volume 1 TP, $12.99



TITAN PUBLISHING

A1 #2 (Of 6)(Rhoald Marcelius Carpediem Cover), $3.99

A1 #2 (Of 6)(Garrie Gastonny & Sakti Yuwono Odyssey Cover), $3.99

A1 #2 (Of 6)(Barnaby Bagenda Weirding Willows Cover), $3.99

Chronos Commandos Dawn Patrol #1 (Of 5), $3.99

Solid State Tank Girl #2 (Of 4), $3.99



TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS

Workburger International Comics Anthology GN, $20.00



TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING

Alter Ego #118, $8.95

Back Issue #65, $8.95

Brickjournal #24, $8.95



UNITED PLANKTON PICTURES

SpongeBob Comics #22, $2.99



UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI

Superhero Reader SC, $30.00



VERTICAL

Wolfsmund Volume 1 GN, $12.95



VIZ MEDIA

Case Closed Volume 47 GN, $9.99

Fullmetal Alchemist 3-In-1 Edition Volume 5 TP, $14.99

Loveless 2-In-1 Edition Volume 4 TP, $14.99

RIN-NE Volume 12 GN, $9.99

Tiger And Bunny Volume 2 GN, $9.99



WISDOM TREE PUBLISHERS

Yours In Music A Graphic Autobiography Of Ravi Shankar GN, $19.95



ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Demons The Unseen #2 (Of 3)(Cover A Harvey Toliboa), $3.99

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Demons The Unseen #2 (Of 3)(Cover B Giuseppe Cafaro), $3.99

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Demons The Unseen #2 (Of 3)(Cover C Richard Ortiz), $3.99

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Jungle Book Last Of The Species #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Jimbo Salgado), $3.99

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Jungle Book Last Of The Species #5 (Of 5)(Cover B Paolo Pantalena), $3.99

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Zombies The Cursed #1 (Of 3)(Cover A Anthony Spay), $3.99

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Zombies The Cursed #1 (Of 3)(Cover B Pasquale Qualano), $3.99

Zenescope Limited Exclusives Cover 4-Pack, $84.99
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