luna

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The Locust Moon Top 40: July 2014

40. THE WICKED + THE DIVINE

The new Image series from McKelvie & Gillen, a sort of bottomless bonus track to their dark-magic rock opera PHONOGRAM, is one of the most promising series to debut in 2014.

40 wicked divine

39. This NSFW Spider-Man Statue

This baffling statue, atop a South Korean shopping mall, gives new meaning to the phrase “web fluid.”

40 spiderbone

38. CHARLES SCHULZ’S PEANUTS: ARTIST’S EDITION

This beautifully designed collection of unaltered original Peanuts artwork brings us Charles Schulz’s earliest strips just as he made them — raw, unfiltered, and a little bit mean.

40 peanuts

37. OUTCAST

The world-weary horror of Robert Kirkman’s story is brought to life by the atmospheric, choking tension of Paul Azaceta’s moody, worrisome artwork. A promising debut for what looks to be a truly frightening series.

40 outcast

36. This Animated Lobster Sculpture

Very lifelike. Keep it far away from butter sauce.

40 lobster
35. THE LEFTOVERS

This off-beat, darkly funny, sprawlingly intimate HBO series, based on Tom Perotta’s novel of the same title, follows life in a small town in the years following the Rapture.

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good this week

the white suits #1 : this is a down and dirty crime book, with an intriguing high concept, and that’s all well & good. what sets this book apart though is the work of toby cypress. his hyperkinetic lines flow like muhammad ali punches in his prime.

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we’re pleased as punch to have toby at the shop, come get in on this runaway train of a book.

https://www.facebook.com/events/508391562607039/

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zero volume #1 : ales kot’s CHANGES, the first work i read from him, was a hot mess, and i wouldn’t have guessed the same writer would turn around in under a year and produce this lean, mean, absolutely tight & intelligent spyworld masterpiece. here’s to being surprised.

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alex + ada #4 : this issue gets us to the beginning of what i imagine will be the meat of the story. if you haven’t checked this book out you’re missing a surprisingly sweet and sophisticated love story.

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and that’s it this week, folks. UPS delivered the goods way late and i only had time to read a handful of books. these are the ones that stood out. my apologies to anyone i might have missed.

–chris stevens

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good this week

prophet #42 : ron wimberly jumps in and delivers one of the best issues of the entire turned-on-its-head relaunch led by brandon graham & co.

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afterlife with archie #3 : the most improbably awesome book of the year rolls on.

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alex + ada #3 : the romance heats up!

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miracleman #1 : one of the greatest and most influential superhero comics of all time is also one of the least read due to over 20 years worth of legal shenanigans. but starting here alan moore’s masterpiece rolls out monthly.

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black dynamite #1 : ron wimberly double dips this week, here providing the kinetic pencils that fuel this blaxploitation-era romp.

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amazing x-men #3 : bamf! more ed mcquinness goodness.

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–chris stevens

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good this week

alex + ada #1 : on the surface this book could easily fall flat on its face; a wallflowerish dude in a high-tech future can’t get the girl, so his rich grandmother surprises him with a top of the line female android to tend to his needs. but, like everything else, it’s all in the execution. there’s nothing salacious or dorky-guy fantasy fullfillment here; in fact, there’s a real tenderness at play that is underscored by the clean, controlled-yet-warm art from jonathan luna. looking forward to seeing what develops here.

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satellite sam #5 : a nasty piece of work in all the right ways.

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parker: slayground : more virtuoso cartooning from darwyn cooke, throwing it down in the dark, cruel world of crime fiction giant richard parker. this series of books represents some of the finest comics of the last decade.

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rai vol. #1 : the much-loved early 90’s publisher VALIANT put out a tight line of books that fans of that era still pine over. rai was one of the best. a spiritual, robot-smashing 40th century japan classic. the only bad thing i can say about this collection is they left out the #0 issue, which had one of the most iconic covers of the time…

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the immortal iron fist complete collection : a complete renovation of a once marginal character, matt fraction and ed brubaker bring myth and mystery, and some bad ass kung fu movie action courtesy of the hugely gifted artist david aja, to the marvel universe. fans of the current HAWKEYE series take note.

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this book is cool enough someone took the time to make these action figures of the seven deadly weapons…

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rage of poseidon : anders nilsen breaks out an accordion-style exploration of a wisconsin-bound poseidon wherein greek myth and christian allegory are updated with insight and wit.

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–chris stevens