Or - “Mortal Danger Brings Out The Best In Some People…”

Here’s something that strangely entertained me about this issue of Buffy, aside from the story (which is quite good.)  This book is called “Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 8.”  The words Season 8 are printed (though perhaps a bit small) on every cover so far.  Yet, on the inside of the front cover, there is a disclaimer that reads “This story takes place after the end of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 7.”

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I wonder who that warning is for, exactly?

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Last week, we posted an announcement about the forthcoming Elfquest busts from Dark Horse. Today the company sent a look at all three busts in all their glory. Take the jump to see Cutter, Leetah, and Skywise.

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Or - “This One Time?  At Band Camp?  I Totally Set My Hands On FIRE!“

Hey, whenever you can make an Allyson Hannigan…  Allisyn Hannigon?  Alisin Haniggin?  Alison Hanigon?  Forget it, I’ll just call her Willow…  Any time you can make a ‘Willow-doing-naughty-things’ joke, you have to make it. It’s in the Comic Geek Code, right after ‘Thou shalt not avoid a chance to argue Superman Vs. The Hulk’ and before ‘Lo, it is written that Greedo did shoot first, and thus shall it be spake.’  In either case, with this issue we officially see the return of the troika of characters that drove the earliest episodes of Buffy the television series, and coincidentally, the return of Buffy’s best friend and confidante.  With all the internalizing going on in the first three issues, do you suppose we’re finally ready for people to start TALKING?  Cue the music!  Boodly boodly boodly oow!  Doo DOO doo DOOOOOO… 

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WOOT! Dark Horse has once again slipped Major Spoilers the covers and issue solicitation information for titles shipping in August 2007. Fans of Buffy, get more vampire hunter goodness, BPRD promises a change, Richy Rich and Little Lulu make an appearance. Take the jump for the entire list, and click the thumbnails for the full cover.

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Unfortunately it isn’t another Indiana Jones movie, but Columbia Pictures has acquired the rights to The Ark graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics. The script will be written by Mark Verheiden with Neal Moritz and Mike Richardson will produce.

The Ark is a retelling of the biblical story but with UFOs thrown in to make it interesting.

If Verheiden and Moritz sound familiar they should, they have produced a slew of comic movies including Time Cop and The Mask. Moritz is currently developing The Green Hornet movie and I Am Legend, while Richardson is the producer for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army and executive producer for 30 Days of Night.

If you are going to do comic book adaptations, these two understand the frustrations of translating one form of art to another.

via Hollywood Reporter

Or - “The More Things Change, The More They Aren’t Like They Used To Be Anymore…”

There’s just something that’s irresistible about a cute, petite woman with a battleaxe big enough to dismember a diplodocus.  This sort of visual dichotomy is part of what makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer popular, at least to my mind…   She’s not an uber-buff American-Gladiators-type amazon warrior, (Not that there’s anything wrong with that…  Stop hitting me, Barda!), she’s just a woman, and a relatively small woman at that.  Sarah Michelle Gellar may be very slight, but this only serves to make Buffy’s superhuman agility and strength seem somehow more awesome compacted into her form, and I think that is part of the reason people love the character and her universe so much (though awesome writing doesn’t hurt either).

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Dark Horse Comics has announced it is working with the Library of Congress to release Eric Drooker’s Flood! graphic novel with an additional chapter.  Flood! explores big city life, while looking ahead into the not-so-distant future.

“At first I was amazed that the U.S. Government would invest in a set of images so overtly critical of itself,” says Drooker, “but the Library of Congress represents a progressive wing of the government. Over the years, various collectors have tried to purchase original art from the book, but I never wanted to break up the cycle of engravings. I think it’s fantastic that now, scholars of future generations will be able to examine the original work in its entirety.”

Flood!: A Novel in Pictures features art and story by Eric Drooker. This third edition arrives on sale April 25, carrying a retail price of $14.95.

Dark Horse has sent us the cover images and solicitation information for titles shipping in July. Promising titles include BPRD, Hellboy, Conan, and Star Wars. Take the jump for the complete list.

ALIENS: STEEL EGG
JOHN SHIRLEY (W)
On sale Sept. 26
SC, 250 pages
$6.99
Novel, 4″ x 6″

Someone on Earth knew about the aliens. Someone battled them, and survived. Before Ripley, there was a first encounter. Aliens and humans have fought before. . .

When a human spaceship discovers a vast egg-shaped vessel in Saturn’s orbit, the crew powers in to investigate. Thinking the ship might contain usable metal for Earth, they force their way aboard. Three teams split up to explore the ship. Already the aliens have awoken. The first of all the battles unfolds.

• By the author of Predator: Forever Midnight.

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There are changes coming to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Abe’s encounter in Indonesia has brought a new member to the Bureau, and Johann finds himself in possession of a very valuable commodity. The B.P.R.D. will need all of its resources to handle the sinister forces that have wormed their way into the heart of the Bureau itself, blurring the lines between the hunters and their prey!

The next chapter for the Bureau begins August 1.

via Dark Horse

Here’s a new twist on Shojo - Shizuka is dealing with a new disease that is literally turning her invisible. Along the way she gets a boyfriend who like her for who she is, not what she looks like.

Teen-centric, quirky, and romantic, Translucent will appeal to shojo fans who like a little twist with their gakuen mono. Translucent’s shifting variables—between what people see and wish to see—create an emotionally sensitive manga, peppered with moments of surprising humor, heartbreak, and drama.

Translucent hits stores July 18.

Eric Powell has been a busy guy, spending a lot of time working on The Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker graphic novel.  Dark Horse Comics has announced Powell will return to regular writing and art duties on The Goon series, starting with issue #19.

The brand-new story is the beginning of major upheavals in the Goon universe. The Zombie Priest and his latest abominations continue to plague the streets, but his madness and use of forbidden magic is drawing forces to Lonely Street that he may not be able to control. Plus the Goon comic is now offering 50% more poop jokes than all the Marvel and DC superhero titles combined. Suck on that, X-Men!

The Goon #19 hits stands July 17.

via Dark Horse

Val Castillo is a young gymnast with a strange hobby—looking through her neighbors’ windows. At first, no one knows the identity of the neighborhood peeper, only that the suspect wears a devil’s mask.

When a friend discovers Val’s secret, he joins her into a dark journey of spying and discovery that includes peering into the bedroom of Val’s own father and stepmother. Intimate details of neighbors’ lives, better left quiet, become chatter and threaten all involved, eventually snowballing into a dark journey that even the strongest soul would not care to endure.

Speak of the Devil #1 features story and art from Gilbert Hernandez (Love & Rockets). The miniseries arrives on sale July 25.

Dark Horse Comics has announced Korea’s 2003 Manhwa of the Year, Chunchu will soon be available for American readers.

Chunchu is the story of a young man saved from death by his mother, banished by his people, hunted by his brother, and tortured by demons from within. Living and fighting with a warrior tribe that can never trust him, Chunchu lives a life of blood and violence. Still, something mysterious lurks within his cold exterior, something that could be awakened by the touch of a woman.

Chunchu will be a trade paperback and will arrive in stores on July 25.

via Dark Horse

Or - “Waitaminnit!  That Ain’t Kristy Swanson!  I Call Shenanigans!”

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I can tell you right now where the real difficulty lies with each and every Buffy comic I’ve ever read.  Sure, that Joss Whedon dialogue is rough to reproduce, and the exact personalities of the various Scooby gang members can be a little amorphous (especially Willow), but the real difficulty, the thing that’s torpedoed my enjoyment of some previous Buffy comics is simple:  Sarah Michelle Gellar’s face defies any attempt to draw it.  There is some strange aspect of the way her features coalesce that makes Buffy look not-so-much like Buffy when drawn on paper.  The same problem with Gillian Anderson killed the X-Files comic, in my opinion.  But, that said, Georges Jeanty and Andy Owens have minimized, if not entirely overcome this problem, and there’s some interesting (and occasionally awesome) stuff going on here…

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It’s been quite some time since Matt Wagner wrote a Hunter Rose (aka Grendel) story, but he’s doing it again.

This July will see the prologue issue of Grendel: Behold the Devil, chronicalling an untold chapter in Rose’s life. The story is slated for an eight issue run.

A child prodigy, Rose grew up to become a bestselling novelist by day and a criminal mastermind by night. It was only after his death that Rose’s step-granddaughter, the noted journalist Christine Spar, discovered his private journals and uncovered Grendel’s true meaning as a symptom of society’s mediocrity and ceaseless lust for violence.

The prologue issue will sell for fifty-cents and arrive in stores on July 18.

via Dark Horse

Dark Horse Books has announced the first volume of a Dirty Pair prose novel will be available in the U.S. for the first time.

In Volume 1, the Angels are called in to investigate the cataclysmic destruction of the Gravus Heavy Industry facility on the planet Dangool. What they find there hurls the pair into a danger-filled trek across the galaxy. Created by popular science fiction author Haruka Takachiho in 1979, the Dirty Pair are among the most beloved characters in popular anime and science fiction circles.

The Great Adventures of the Dirty Pair Volume 1 will arrive June 13 for $8.95.

For a long time MPD-Psycho was deemed too shocking for American audiences, but this June, Dark Horse Comics will be rocking the free world with the uncut and uncensored version.

Police detective Kobayashi Yousuke’s life is changed forever after a serial killer notices something “special” about the detective. Kobayashi is stable police detective until he witnesses the killer he’s hunting mutilate Kobayashi’s own girlfriend. The event triggers several dormant personalities that push Kobayashi into a complex tempest of deviants and evil forces, ultimately creating a multiple personality detective.

MPD-Psycho is written by Eiji Otsuka with art by Sho-u Tajima. This is a 18+ title and will arrive in stores June 6 with a shrink wrapped price of $10.95.