buggery | Comix Preview (Reply)

DC Comics does this cool thing (Marvel does too, actually, but I don't read any of those books) where direct-sales retailers -- that's your local comix shop; call 1-800-COMIC BOOK to locate it -- can sign up to receive one copy each of select comics that will be available for sale the following week along with the books they've ordered for the current week.

Thanks to this practice, I have seen (among others) Green Lantern #176 and the first issue of the three-part Harley and Ivy miniseries, both hitting stores next Wednesday, 28 April.

I only flipped through the preview copy of Harley and Ivy; I'll probably wait until I have all three parts to actually read it, as I often do with miniseries and short storylines. What I saw was enough to bring rushing back all that Bruce Timm/Paul Dini (or do I mean Bruce Timm-Paul Dini?) love that I first developed back in the days of the first Batman animated series in the early 90s.

Also? Naked Harley. Yes. Naked. Cartoony-style, like the TV series animation and the tie-in comics that have come before, but while there's a lot of potential brain-hurtiness in porn drawn in that style... no, this was just nummy. And I don't even like Harley that way. Harley and Ivy are also very, very gay with each other, naturally. I can't comment on the plot or anything, but I think we can trust Timm and Dini based on their past projects, and I do seriously, heartily recommend the miniseries based on my little peek.

GL #176 I actually sat and read. I'm not a regular reader of the series, though I do pick it up and drop it from time to time based on storyline. The last time I read it was during the 6-part weekly-format crossover with Green Arrow (the "Black Circle" storyline) last year.

This month begins a new six-part storyline, "Homecoming," in which Kyle returns to Earth from a year out in space. (I hadn't even realised he was away until I saw the solicits for this issue, what with not following this title or, say, JLA, which I expect must've had something about Kyle's absence.) There's not a whole lot of action in the first installment -- indeed, part of the story turns on Kyle having a hard time finding anything "useful" to do -- and I'm not sure yet what to make of Ron Marz's return to the title.

Terry is only mentioned, in Kyle's internal monologue; maybe someone can tell me whether we saw him in the previous issue? There's a nice appearance by J'onn, for Manhunter fans, though no good news for Kyle/Jen shippers. Big marks in the "pretty" column, though, for the way the book opens and closes on a down, woobie Kyle; standing out in the rain, with his dark hair and blue eyes, he looks like a transplant from the Bat-books.

The issue establishes that, after being away for a year, Kyle may have to start over fresh with everything in his life. If you're another sporadic GL reader like me, or if you've been meaning to start reading Green Lantern, now's an excellent time to pick it up.

Most comics shops will be happy to put you on a "hold list" for comics you think you'll want to read each month, and so long asyou're getting at least one ongoing series they're usually good about letting you add and drop other titles and miniseries. This helps ensure that you don't have to hunt for the comics you want if high demand causes one to sell out.

edited to add: cross-posted to