Monday, September 16, 2002

DARK HORSE COMICS FOR DECEMBER

Following are Dark Horse Comics' solicitations for December, with information coming from the company.

3 x 3 EYES: KEY TO THE SACRED LAND TP

By Yuzouzo Takada, produced by Studio Proteus.

Pai, the beautiful 300-year-old amnesiac mystic, and her companion-cum-immortal slave, Tokyo student Yakumo Fujii, search China for ancient relics to provide clues to the location of Pai's hidden Tibetan homeland, where Pai's memories can be restored. But the two are not the only ones in search of these objects. Both the dashing relic-hunter Jake McDonald and the nefarious Choukai, are trying to get their mitts on a certain mystic incense burner. And when Choukai traps Pai within a sorcerous binding circle, Yakumo is torn by the fateful decision of whether or not to pay the artifact as ransom to free Pai and by doing so, dooming Pai's memories and his own chance of returning to his mortal existence.

136 pages, black and white, $13.95, on sale Jan. 2.

ASTRO BOY VOLUME 11 TP

By Osamu Tezuka, translation by Frederik L. Schodt.

Fifty years after his creation, Astro Boy continues to lead the manga and anime charge, his adventures still as fresh and exciting as when first crafted by master storyteller/cartoonist/animator Osamu Tezuka. In this volume: Astro Boy must help a robot bomb escape his creators and prevent earth from being destroyed; Astro battles a deadly underground tank controlled by an evil general bent on world conquest; a famous police detective enlists Astro to help him solve a murder - with the detective's father as the prime suspect.

216 pages, black and white, $9.95, in stores on Jan. 22.

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #74

By Hiroaki Samura, produced By Studio Proteus

Fall Frost, part two of six. Nastier opponents and meaner battles are the two things that come to mind when trying to describe this story arc. You'd think by now Manji would have sliced his way through the most sinister personalities of feudal Japan. But instead of thinning out the vicious herd, removing the worst and most depraved, he's only shaken loose the meanest characters. And it looks like Manji and Magatsu are in for a killer collision with one of the baddest. They've been hunting down Shira, but they're not the only ones on the prowl. The hunters have become the hunted and Shira has nothing but dishonorable intentions for his prey. The fuse is burning fast on this confrontation and it's anyone's guess who will be left standing after it explodes.

32 pages, black and white, $2.99, in stores on Dec. 11.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #52

By Scott Lodbell, Fabian Nicieza and Cliff Richards, cover by Paul Lee.

"Viva Las Buffy," part 2 of 4. Before Buffy ever arrived in Sunnydale, she did a little stint in Vegas. Frightened and confused by her new-found powers as the Slayer, Buffy has picked up and left her mom and little sister behind. Hiding out in Sin City is no way to avoid trouble, though, especially when the city's gentle citizens are being terrorized by just a few of the many bodies buried without headstones in Vegas's seedier strips.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Dec. 26.

CANNON GOD EXAXXION #12

By Kenichi Sonoda, produced by Studio Proteus.

So you think it would be cool to control a giant, anti-matter powered robot? You think you can handle the ramifications of killing innocent bystanders in a struggle to keep an entire planet from being overrun by deceptive colonizing aliens? Like they say, with power comes responsibility, and young Hoichi is discovering exactly how difficult it can be to deal with his newfound heroism. From Kenichi Sonoda, creator of the fantastic Gunsmith Cats, comes the exciting and dramatic story of giant robot wars, but with a solid anchor in reality. Cannon God Exaxxion goes way beyond comics conventions, anime stereotypes, and typical storylines. And it promises to keep delivering for years to come. Get in on the action, because it just gets better and better.

48 pages, black and white, $3.99, in stores on Dec. 18.

DARKNESS FALLS: TOOTH FAIRY - THE TRAGIC LIFE OF MATILDA DIXON

By Joe Harris and Charlie Adlard.

Darkness Falls: The Tooth Fairy: The Tragic Life of Matilda Dixon serves as a prologue to the film, recounting the century-old events that set a horrifying cycle of violence in motion. The movie stars Emma Caulfield and is slated for January release. The comic focuses on a defining moment in the history of Darkness Falls, a small fishing village. Matilda Dixon, a once-beautiful, now-disfigured widow has developed a special relationship with the children of Darkness Falls. They bring her their recently shed baby teeth in exchange for coins. However, the mask-clad Dixon's familiarity with the town's children alarms their parents, and when two children go missing a lynch mob gathers to make Matilda pay. Unable to defend herself from the town's fury, Matilda is hanged from the nearest tree. No sooner is her neck broken than the two children reveal themselves: they had simply snuck off to go to the fair. The comic is as sorrowful as it is frightening and the events of the book clearly presage the curse that Matilda's death has cast on Darkness Falls and its children for decades to come.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Jan. 2.

GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE #3

By Masamune Shirow, translation By Frederik L. Schodt.

Cyborg cyber-agent Motoko Aramaki has dispatched a humanoid surrogate - call her "Clarice" - to investigate an apparent terrorist attack on a herd of genetically engineered pigs designed for human organ cloning. And no sooner does the surrogate hit the ground in a vehicle assembly plant halfway around the world than she's wrangling a herd of a different kind - no-nonsense security cyborgs bent on sending her to the cyber-scrapheap. But when Clarice/Matoko jacks into the brain of the facility's supervisor and breaks through network firewalls into the level 6 "ghostline," Motoko discovers that the pig slaughter may have been only a strike against a deeper conspiracy - and yet another hidden enemy. Special deluxe format with no interior advertising.

32 pages, $3.50, in stores on Dec. 18.

GRENDEL: RED, WHITE, & BLACK #4

By Matt Wagner, Cliff Chiang, Farel Dalrymple, Darick Robertson, John K. Snyder III and Michael Zulli.

It's the Devil you don't know that proves to be most deadly, and in this, the explosive finale to this compelling series, the light is shined on the never-before-seen moments in Hunter Rose's life. During the few short years Rose terrorized the city as his alter-ego Grendel, he left a trail of tragedy and a sinister legacy that echoes throughout following generations. From the early first sightings of the nefarious Devil to his final breath on a rooftop with his nemesis, writer/creator Matt Wagner and his team of artists illuminate the life of Hunter Rose and the death of Grendel. From start to finish, these stories will set your heart racing and blow you away.

48 pages, black, white and red, $4.99, in stores on Dec. 11.

ISOLATION AND ILLUSION: COLLECTED SHORT STORIES OF P. CRAIG RUSSELL TP

By P. Craig Russell.

Since the 1970s, P. Craig Russell has created some of the most sophisticated and lavishly drawn stories ever to hit comics shops. Dark Horse is proud to present a rare sampling of the work spread over his long career, including early masterpieces like "Dance on the Razor's Edge" and "The Starship Remembrance," along with more recent adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft's "From Beyond" and O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi." If you're a lover of fine illustration and masterful storytelling, these long out-of-print stories are an essential addition to your comics collection.

120 pages, $14.95, in stores on Jan. 2.

KISS #5

Written by Joe Casey, art and cover by Mel Rubi.

It's robot madness as our mad scientist sets in motion his plan for the ultimate revenge against the boys of KISS. Internal troubles are more dangerous, as the Starchild takes a psychedelic journey into the Celestial's alien mind to save him, and the Demon's evil robotic double has infiltrated the Simmons Foundation to take on the Beast King.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Dec. 18.

LONE WOLF 2100 #6

By Mike Kennedy and Francisco Ruiz Velasco.

Rumors of Sanctuary lead Itto and Daisy on a perilous journey across the open Asian desert in hopes of escaping the mercenary tracker Prescott and his deadly band of Vapor Fist Soldiers. But the enemy behind them is not as immediate as the enemy in front of them…When they cross paths with a nomadic tribe of cyborg outcasts, they learn many new lessons in survival, including the importance of finely-tuned paranoia…

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Dec. 26.

MAC RABOY'S FLASH GORDON VOL. 1 TPB

By Mac Raboy.

This tome is the first ever collection of Flash Gordon work by Raboy. Beginning his comics career in 1940, after taking government-funded drawing classes, Emanuel 'Mac' Raboy drew comics for the Harry "A" Chesler Studio and for Fawcett Publications. He's perhaps best known for his work on Captain Marvel, Jr. and the Green Lama in the 1940s. In the Spring of 1948 he signed on with King Features to illustrate the 'Flash Gordon' Sunday page, following in the footsteps of his idol, Alex Raymond, and drawing the strip until his death in December 1967.

256 pages, $19.95, in stores on Jan. 15.

MIKE MIGNOLA'S B.P.R.D. COLLECTION

By Mike Mignola and others.

Last spring's miniseries Hollow Earth, by Mike Mignola, Chris Golden, Tom Sniegoski, and Ryan Sook, revealed the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense's struggle to save agent Liz Sherman, and their struggle to deal with life without Hellboy. That story is collected here with rare Hellboy related stories, long sought after by fans of the Mignola's hit comic, which is soon to be a major motion picture! Reprinted here for the first time are the first solo Abe Sapien comic, Drums of the Dead, by Brian McDonald and Derek Thompson, as well as the short stories "Abe Sapien versus Science" and "Lobster Johnson: Killer Inside My Skull."

120 pages, $17.95, in stores on Jan. 15.

OH MY GODDESS! #93

By Kosuke Fujishima, produced by Studio Proteus.

Traveler, part 3 of 5. Skuld labs, the folks who first brought you such magnificent modern marvels as the knowledgeable and nomadic greeting girl automaton, are proud to announce their latest invention. If your house is just too small, and your closets are busting at the hinges with your collection of Banpei marionettes, have we got the must have item of the year for you. We're excited to announce Skuld Lab's head designer Skuld's latest discovery, an extra-dimensional infinite room. You'll never run out of room again! You'll be the envy of all you friends as you accumulate more and more stuff.What do you get the man who has everything? A place to put it and finally that place is here. Like most ideas it works really well on paper, but the reality is an infinite nightmare in which Belldandy and Keiichi are trapped. How do you find the door out of a room that has no walls? It does give these two love birds a chance to be alone however.

32 pages, black and white, $2.99, in stores on Dec. 4.

REID FLEMING/FLAMING CARROT CROSSOVER #1

By Bob Burden and David Boswell.

Come take a spin in the sturdiest, dirtiest milk truck you've ever seen, as Flaming Carrot, Iron City crime fighter and founding member of the Mystery Men, and the World's Toughest Milkman, Reid Fleming, roll right through the traffic jam that is popular culture. Whether it's going toe-to-toe with the unholy trinity of Fabio, Pavarotti, and Christopher Walken on the TV game show Celebrity Standoff, or pillaging the vaults of the Major Motion Picture movie studios, Fleming and the Carrot find more than their share of high jinks and mayhem on their madcap journey of comedy and cognitive dissonance.

32 pages, black and white, in stores on Dec. 26.

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!: STRANGE INVADERS #4

By Haden Blackman and Cary Nord.

Strange Invaders, the fourth installment of the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! series takes a close look at otherworldly visitors to our planet. Join the Flatwoods Monster - an alien said to have visited the Earth in 1952 as it takes us on a tour of the strange and bizarre. Featuring topics including Atlantis, The Great Pyramids, The Face on Mars, as well as a menagerie of famous and infamous aliens throughout history.

24 pages, black and white, $2.99, in stores on Dec. 18.

SPYBOY/YOUNG JUSTICE TP

By Peter David, Norman Lee, Jamie Mendoza, Pop Mhan and Todd Nauck, cover by Mhan and Nauck.

The deadly duo of REMbrandt, the artist of dreams, and Annie Mae, the diminutive Japanese crime boss who looks like a child but is hundreds of years old, has hatched a plan to control the dreams of their victims and give these nightmarish incarnations physical form. Only SpyBoy, his spy-pals, and the Young Justice team have experience with these threats. They'll have to join forces if they hope to defeat this villainous alliance, thwart a plan to bring about international chaos, and discover REMbrandt's true identity. Super-teens unite in this first ever inter-title crossover featuring both creative teams from Dark Horse's SpyBoy and DC Comics' Young Justice. Featuring a new jam-cover by Mhan and Nauck.

80 pages, $9.95, in stores on Jan. 2.

STAR WARS: A LONG TIME AGO....VOL. 4: SCREAMS IN THE VOID TP

By Chris Clareomont, Carmine Infantino, Walter Simonson, Thomas Palmer, Ron Frenz, Al Milgrom, Michael Fleisher, Joe Brozowski and others.

Dark Horse Comics presents the latest volume of Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... featuring classic Star Wars stories not seen in more than 20 years. Originally printed by Marvel Comics, these stories have been re-colored and are sure to please both new and old Star Wars fans. Screams in the Void collects issues 54 to 67 of the original Marvel run, along with Star Wars Annual #2. These stories take place after The Empire Strikes Back, as Han Solo's friends continue to search for their lost scoundrel - and Lando Calrissian joins Luke, Leia, Chewie, and the droids on their continuing, galaxy-spanning adventures. Also highlighted are several tales focusing on Luke Skywalker and such classics as "Coffin in the Clouds," "The Mind Spider," and "Serphidian Eyes." Introduction by Geoff Johns.

376 pages, $29.95, in stores on Jan. 22.

STAR WARS: EMPIRE #4

By Scott Allie, Ryan Benjamin and Curtis Arnold, cover by Brian Horton.

A proposition is made for Lord Vader and a powerful young Jedi to join forces and overthrow the Emperor. But this offer comes from the young Jedi to the Dark Lord of the Sith. Meanwhile, the Emperor and his elite Royal Guards are facing other would-be usurpers - the secret, traitorous cadre of Imperial officers and their loyal Stormtroopers. This story reveals the events in the days and weeks just prior to A New Hope.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Dec. 4.

STAR WARS: REPUBLIC #49

By John Ostrander and Jan Duursema.

With the Battle of Geonosis, the galaxy is officially plunged into war. As the Jedi Council struggles with their new role as leaders of the Republic's clone army, other Jedi operatives have taken on the job of intelligence gathering. On a vast space station known as "The Wheel," Jedi knight Aayla Secura is searching for a notorious gun-runner who can help her intercept the Separatist's latest secret plans. But spying is a dirty business, and operatives are often more expendable than the information they possess. Is this what being a Jedi has come to? With this issue, Star Wars: Republic jumps into the as yet unrevealed events in the time period between Episode II and Episode III - the Clone Wars.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Dec. 18.

STAR WARS TALES #14

By Stan Sakai, Jimmy Palmiotti, Ramon Bachs, Raul Fernandez, Jason Hall, Christian Read, Clayton Henry and others, covers by Pat Lee.

Who shot first? Han or Greedo? Depending on which version of Star Wars: A New Hope you watch either answer is correct. Now, for the first time in Star Wars Tales #14, the question goes before a court of law! Han Solo is sued for the wrongful death of Greedo by the Rodian's mother in "The Emperor's Court." Also featured is Stan Sakai's tale of a young Anakin Skywalker in "Urchins" and a unique look at the battle of Endor in "We Were Stormtroopers." Plus more. Featuring a cover by Dreamwave's Pat Lee.

64 pages, $5.99, in stores on Dec. 4.

STAR WARS: TALES VOLUME 3 TP

By Ron Marz, Rick Leonardi, Terry Austin, Dave Mccaig, Jay Stephens, Garth Ennis, John Mccrea, Jimmy Palmiotti, Mike Kennedy, Francisco Ruiz Velasco, Christian Read, Chris Slane, Jason Hall, Christina Chen, Brett Matthews, Vatche Mavlian, Kia Asamiya, Jon Foster, Amanda Connor, Leinil Francis Yu, Chris Brunner, Jan Duursema, Kevin Rubio and Rick Zombo; cover By Tsuneo Sanda.

Collecting issues nine through twelve of the quarterly anthology smash sensation. Star Wars Tales Volume 3 features the thrilling Vader versus Maul story "Resurrection" as well as comics sensation Garth Ennis' take on the life of a Stormtrooper in the riveting "Trooper." Tales has explored every corner of the Star Wars galaxy and kept readers coming back for more. Collected for the first time into one prestigious volume.

224 pages, $19.95, in stores on Jan. 2.

SUPER MANGA BLAST! #28

By Masamune Shirow, Mohiro Kitoh, Makoto Kobayashi, Yuzo Takada, And Hiroyuki Utatane and Yo Morimoto, produced By Studio Proteus.

Let's face it your Aunt Eleanor isn't going to get you anything you want for the holidays. It will probably be another sweater, like the one last year that she found at a garage sale. And your siblings aren't gonna do much better with the piece of crap they grabbed at the dollar store at the last minute. It's time to take matters into your own hands and get what you really want! This year the frustration will the soothing knowledge that you can retreat to your room having already purchased the one thing you really wanted, 128 pages crammed so full of manga goodness. It's like opening 128 presents you really want. With an Appleseed Hypernotes story that's never been published in English, the brightly wrapped Club 9, Shadow Star which is always the perfect fit, Seraphic Feather that wont clash with anything in your wardrobe and the always tasteful 3x3 Eyes you'll be set.

128 pages, black and white, $5.99, in Dec. 18.

USAGI YOJIMBO: THE SHROUDED MOON TP & LTD. ED. HC

By Stan Sakai.

Throughout his journeys across feudal Japan, rabbit ronin Usagi has faced many dangers, crossed paths with some who have become his sworn enemies, and forged bonds of friendship stronger than any threat that might cross his path. Collected here are six tales featuring those companions Usagi holds dear. "Showdown" finds Usagi traveling with master swordsman Gen, as the two disrupt the dueling influences of a pair of corrupt families. Neko ninja clan leader Chizu finds herself betrayed and on the run in "Escape!" In "Three Seasons," Usagi is forced to defend himself with the most unlikely of weapons. The beautiful thief Kitsune's tragic history is revealed in "The Shrouded Moon" and "Kitsune's Tale." And in "Lesson in Courtesy," a hot-headed young Usagi incurs a debt that takes nearly a lifetime to repay! Once again, Stan Sakai masterfully weaves together the many threads of intrigue, adventure, humor, and heart in another endearing Usagi Yojimbo collection.

184 pages, black and white, $15.95, in stores on Jan. 8.