On Friday I picked up three weeks’ worth of comics, including the latest Previews, which is why this is so late. But never fear, I haven’t abandoned you to suffer Previews alone. Here we go.

The Abe Sapien One-Shot (p. 23) is tempting, but I think I’m going to gamble that it will eventually end up in a trade.

Folks, we have a problem. There are TWO books fighting to be the Pick of the Month! I’m just going to let them be shield-brothers.

I actually don’t NEED the Electropolis TP (p. 35) because I was one of the three or four people who bought it when it came out from Image years ago, but I love Motter’s Terminal City/Mister X/Electropolis universe and don’t mind having them in trade. This is a good book for people who are fans of weird science/retro-futurism.

Let’s see if we can’t fix up this Superman: Secret Origin #2 (p. 78) cover:

“Hi, I’m Vertigo Comics and I’d like to tell you about this trade paperback of the hot TV series The X-Files! It’s written by…yes, I’ll show myself out.”

Vertigo also is releasing trades of Peter Milligan’s Shade the Changing Man (p. 119). Now, I like a lot of Peter Milligan’s stuff, and I read this series through to the end, but I gotta say, this is a really good opportunity to see how Vertigo was at the beginning: mediocre and, in retrospect, mighty embarrassing. And this series goes completely opaque towards the end. I literally felt as though I was only seeing every other panel.

Re: Haunt #1 (p. 136). Really, Image?

OH HOLY CRAP! THERE IS A JACK STAFF RELATED ITEM SOLICITED IN THIS MONTH’S PREVIEWS! IS IT ONE OF THE SEVEN SIGNS?

It’s The Timeless Adventures of the Eternal Warrior (p. 150) and I’m certainly going to go through the motions of ordering it. We’ll see if it comes out. According to its blurb, “The only man who can stop her is the Eternal Warrior. And he’s just arrived 10 minutes too late!” Oh no. He’s MUCH later than that.

Comic Book Comics #4 (p. 265) is resolicited.

IDW has the newest issue of Doctor Who (p. 278). And it also has

OH YES. The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures (p. 280). I’m only getting the regular version, though I would halfway consider the deluxe one. These are some gorgeous and fun comics here, and I can’t wait!

The Act-I-Vate Primer (p. 282) is also tempting, but I think I’ve already busted my budget for the month.

Lars Brown’s North World is a charming series based on an alternate Pacific Northwest that includes magic and monsters (but not guns and telephones, apparently). The first two volumes were a lot of fun, and I’m down for North World Stories (p. 293).

I loved Greg Rucka’s Queen and Country and didn’t care beans about his superhero work, so this new crime book of his, Stumptown (p. 294) is something I will keep my eye on to see if I want to grab the trade.

Wasteland #28 (p. 296) OF COURSE.

I like Jeffrey Brown’s stuff, so I’ll be grabbing Sulk #3 (p. 308).

And more Hikaru No Go (p. 310) is always good!

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel (p. 326): “What do the movies Ghost World, Road to Perdition, and Watchmen all have in common? Each started out as a graphic novel” created by a complete idiot.

Nothing against Ms. Foray, but I wished the Twilight Zone trading card she autographed would have been signed “Talky Tina” instead.

You know what Kirk and the Gorn captain are about to do?

Hint: it’s not “fight”.

And finally, I’m very much looking forward to seeing a totally legitimate and not at all scanned and downloaded copy of the Doctor Who RPG rulebook (p. 415) as it’s often hilarious how bad these things are. Assigning stats and rules to a series that has never worried about such things often has tragicomic results.

Next: HAVE YOU TASTED BLOOD?