HFSAC 10 Hype and Other Hype

As I mentioned before, we've got a new book over in the store, which is issue 10 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club". There's a Preview up over at www.torcpress.com/hfsac10prev.html or you can purchase it directly from the store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. It's an issue chock full of new stuff. New mutant dog soldiers. A new villain. A new giant monster. A new vision for the Clown and Penguin. But, there's some old in there as well. Much like how Issue 9 featured the surprise return of a classic TORCverse character, this issue features the sudden (and borderline inexplicable) return of a classic character that hasn't been seen since...jeez..."The Cosmic Norseman vs. New Super Duper Fun Comix" (?). It's a great issue, and it's not even the Climax of the three part "Pyramid" story arc.

I feel like hyping some other stuff while I'm at it. One of the things I decided to do this year was expand my comix reading. I've become very insular lately, reading only a very small handful of books. Although that's been good for my wallet, it's bad for my mind. So, after reading a bunch of "Best of 2010" Lists, I scribbled down any books that even remotely interested me, and began tracking them down in typical dogged Joseph fashion. I also decided to drop the long standing ban on Marvel Comics. I still don't like the company, and I still don't like Joe Quesada (at all), but that shouldn't prevent from reading the occasional decent book (or Silver Surfer comic) the big M (for Mickey...) farts out. So, here's the rundown:

Strange Tales 2: Well, this one sucked. I heard a lot of hype about this one, and it's mostly just a buncha guys screwing around, farting out poorly drawn crap with lame, one joke stories. The Wolverine story in front is okay, but the rest is lame. Not a good start.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger (I've scored Issues 1 and 3 so far): Everyone and their dog is hyping this series, mere seconds before it was cancelled. From what I've seen... it's not bad. It's not as good as the hype would lead me to believe, but it's not bad. I will say this, much like how "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" did the Impossible Task of making me like Aquaman, "Thor: TMA" does the impossible task of making me like Ant-Man. So kudos for that at least.

Spider-Man: Fever (Issue one acquired): Mark, if you're out there in Computerland, thank you for the recommendation on this one. Wild, tripadelic craziness featuring Spidey and Dr. Strange. Can't wait to score the rest of this mini.

American Vampire (Issue 3 acquired): We get so much Vampire Garbage shoved down our throats anymore that it's easy to ignore the good Vampire stuff sometimes (like HBO's "Tru Blood" for example). "American Vampire" is a pretty good example of that little problem. After a fair amount of digging, I found one issue of this series to try out, and was surprised at how pretty good it is. Vicious vampire that slaughter the hell out of stuff? Definitely worth watching.

King City (issue 12 acquired): Wowzers. Just absolutely wowzers. I need, need, need to find the rest of this series. I don't even know how to properly describe "King City" is the problem. It's an Americanized Punk Manga Comic about a Slacker who controls a Super Powered Cat in a City full of Demons and Spirits and Shadowy Characters and none of that does this wonderful, wonderful thing justice. Best New Comic I've Read in a Long, Long Time that didn't have the words "Grant Morrison" on the cover. Until...

The Bulletproof Coffin (Issues 1-4 acquired): I need to find issues 5 and 6, because this...THIS is IT. I was amazed when I read King City and was absolutely blown completely away, but to read another book that knocked me on my ass within the same month? Unheard of. A twisting labyrinth of a narrative, "Coffin" is a wild trip into a world of tattered, non-Code Approved Comix that gets so deep that the audience is as unsure of their footing on reality as the unfortunate protagonist is. Great stuff. Wish it wasn't a mini-series. Probably better that it is. The art reminds me of a rough cross between Geoff Darrow and Mike Allred.

X'ed Out: Uh... New Charles Burns. Instant Genius. Very Expensive. Totally worth it.