Closing out the week... Vince, too, is late, but he arrives to rebut his fangirl critics in the latest edition of OMNIUM GATHERUM. Plus: a look at THE SURREAL ADVENTURES OF EDGAR ALLAN POO, wherein the writer shits out his imagination and the turd takes on a life of its own.

I'm not making that up. Honest.

/Mason

A day late, but not a dollar short, Matt Maxwell's FULL BLEED returns to ask "Where do comics fans come from?"

Nothing to do with the birds and the bees, I'm afraid...

/Mason

Wednesday... FULL BLEED has been delayed this week due to illness, so it's role today will be played by a review of VAMPIRELLA QUARTERLY: SUMMER 2007.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. Send Matt your positive energy, won't you?

/Mason

Tuesday is a good day for mythology, as we take a look at DEVI from Virgin Comics.

Best book from them yet. Honest.

/Mason

Manga Monday! LE CHEVALIER D'EON is quite a nifty little police procedural/occult thriller about a boy whose dead sister inhabits his body in order to wreak vengeance on evildoers.

How can you pass up that description?

/Mason

A QUICK BIT OF COOL


Top Shelf is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year, and in response they’ve created a nifty little marketing tool. THE TOP SHELF SEASON SAMPLER is available through their website or at conventions, and like love, it don’t cost a thang.

Contained within is a number of previews of this year’s releases, including a number of books I’ve reviewed (LONE RACER, TALES FROM THE FARM, KORGI, FOX BUNNY FUNNY, DEATH BY CHOCOLATE, SUPER SPY), The entries include a summary and some art, along with the occasional pull quote. However, they don’t just restrict themselves to this year’s releases. The sampler also includes previews of the company’s perennial sellers like FROM HELL, LOST GIRLS, TRICKED, BOX OFFICE POISON, BLANKETS and others. Then they throw in some promotion for stuff coming next year, including the third volume of Alan Moore’s LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and Alex Robinson’s next book, TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN. (Can’t tell you just how much I’m looking forward to that one.)

If you’re stuck with a comics shop that doesn’t order from the back of the catalog, or have just been curious about breaking away from the superhero grind, Top Shelf has a healthy amount of material that should appeal to you. Getting your hands on a copy of this sampler could lead you to something interesting and maybe change your reading habits.

/Mason