Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Martian Sightings for August, 2014



Martian Manhunter
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #4
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art and cover by MIKE McKONE
DC UNIVERSE SELFIE variant cover
JUSTICE LEAGUE CANADA variant cover
1:25 Variant cover by KARL KERSCHL
On sale AUGUST 13 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with five covers. Please see the order form for more information. This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

Justice League Canada’s first adventure comes to an explosive end!
It's funny to see Equinox attacked by the same blacked out solicitation figures she started out as on the early censored version of the debut issue's cover. Say, did you know Equinox was also the name of Power Girl's stupid insta-adult son that appeared at the end of one awful Gerard Jones storyline and was never mentioned again? Wasn't that Hal Jordan's lovechild. Anyway, forget I said anything. It just reminds me that Power Girl slept with Hal Jordan, which is sad.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER: RINGS OF SATURN TP
Written by JOHN OSTRANDER Art by TOM MANDRAKE, BRYAN HITCH, PHIL WINSLADE and PAUL NEARY Cover by TOM MANDRAKE On sale SEPTEMBER 3 • 224 pg, FC, $19.99 US In these tales from 1998’s MARTIAN MANHUNTER #10-17 and issue #1,000,000, after suffering colossal injuries at the hands of Malefic, the Martian Manhunter has returned to Mars in an attempt to heal himself. But while he’s away, Saturnian ships arrive to reclaim Jemm, Son of Saturn!
Given that the first volume sold less than 900 copies, I wasn't sure if the previously planned follow-up was still going to happen. Then again, that's still about $4000 profit, which sad to say, is probably alright money for a no frills reprint in the 2014 market. #10 has nice art and a despicable story. The collection editor was smarter than I gave credit for, combining #1,000,000 with its Hitch-in-his-prime continuation story in #11. Gypsy and some pre-fashionable zombie heroes turn up in #12. #13-16 is the well liked space opera story arc that gives the trade its title. #17 is a resolved-in-one, as it tied up story threads from a year prior running in this title, Chase, and various Secret Files & Origins strips.

FOREVER EVIL: BLIGHT TP
Written by J.M. DeMATTEIS and RAY FAWKES
Art by MIKEL JANIN, VICENTE CIFUENTES, GUILLERMO ORTEGO, JORDI TARRAGONA, DAN JURGENS, FERNANDO BLANCO, ACO, DIEGO OLMOS, MIGUEL SEPULVEDA, BENI LOBEL, FRANCIS PORTELA and STAZ JOHNSON
Cover by MIKEL JANIN
On sale SEPTEMBER 24 • 400 pg, FC • $24.99 US

After a battle between the three Justice Leagues, the heroes of the DC Universe have all gone missing! With the unspeakable evil known as Blight unleashed upon the world, it’s up to the Justice League Dark, Swamp Thing, Pandora and the Phantom Stranger to try and stop them from destroying everything around them. Collects JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #24-29, TRINITY OF SIN: PHANTOM STRANGER #14-17, CONSTANTINE #9-12, TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #6-9.
There's an evil Earth-3 Martian Manhunter in this, or something. I didn't read it.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 4: THE GRID TP
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by IVAN REIS, JOE PRADO, JESUS SAIZ, ZANDER CANNON, GENE HA, ANDRES GUINALDO and others
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale SEPTEMBER 10 • 176 pg, FC, $16.99 US

These amazing tales from JUSTICE LEAGUE #18-20 and 22-23 lead into “Trinity War,” and spotlight Cyborg, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman! Plus: Learn the secret behind Pandora’s Box!
Solid cameo appearances by Despero and Martian Manhunter in one story, taking turns stomping mudholes.

JLA: EARTH 2 NEW EDITION TP
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art and cover by FRANK QUITELY
On sale SEPTEMBER 3 • 144 pg, FC, $14.99 US

The legendary Crime Syndicate of Amerika stars in this new edition of this unforgettable tale, with a new cover by artist Frank Quitely! Nothing has ever seriously threatened the global corruption they proudly enforce, but now a twisted mirror image of the CSA has arrived from the flip side of reality. Can anything stop this so-called “Justice League,” or will the perfect evil of the Earth 2 fall victim to the tyranny of law, virtue and freedom.
Aside from a reversal of primary images and more obtrusive trade dress, I don't see how this is any different from the last new printing I bought in October, 2012.



Miss Martian
TINY TITANS: RETURN TO THE TREEHOUSE #3
Written by ART BALTAZAR and FRANCO
Art and cover by ART BALTAZAR
On sale AUGUST 6 • 32 pg, FC, 3 of 6, $2.99 US • RATED E

The Tiny Titans seek the help of Billy Batson to see if they can build their new treehouse on magical Mount Olympus! But what happens to the Tiny Titans when they say Billy’s magic word? Check out the latest issue in this Eisner Award-winning series to find out! SHAZAM!

3 comments:

LissBirds said...

Hal and Power Girl have a kid? Yikes. I must've erased that one from my memory.

Looks like Justice League United/Canada/whatever isn't living up to expectations. Unless one's expectations are really low. (Maybe that's the real secret to enjoying these books...)

Regarding the MM trades--I wonder if they'll keep publishing them despite the low numbers just so they can get to issue #24?

I didn't know about the cameo in the last Justice League series...I'll have to remember that.

Tiny Titans is back? That's good.

LissBirds said...

P.S. Saw this and thought it might be of interest. At least someone is pleading for J'onn o be a part of the Justice League movie:

Do's and Don'ts for the Justice League Movie

J'onn is coming in third (out of 5) in the quiz at the bottom of this article.

Diabolu Frank said...

I haven't heard a lot about JLU one way or the other. Some upvotes, some downvotes, no consensus.

"Son of Mars" came in #34 out of 59 DC books in the top 300. These numbers come from Diamond Comic Distributors, who if I recall correctly represent all North American book sales for Image, which might skew the numbers. I'm not sure if DC or Marvel has a separate network for booksellers from direct market comics. The top 100 is mostly populated with books selling over 1K, only the top 30 break 2K, and only the top 7 3K. "Son of Mars" sold about as well as any two books from the bottom 10.

I'm not sure what any of that means, but it might help contextualize the current market and its relative demand for Martian Manhunter trade collections.