I had heard that Harris left Starman because they cloned Jack and in the process, removed his tattoos. Harris was pissed enough to walk. Could just be a good old fashioned urban legend though.

(This said, a lot of the stuff you see in Previews and the like is acquiring a bad reputation, even in Japan. There have been some anti-otaku books written lately, some conventions chased out of their venues because pornographic material will be sold there, and a growing feeling that the escapism promised in a lot of manga and its attendant culture is wildly unhealthy. I’ve heard some rumblings about legislation from the government but have yet to see anything come of that.)

So, basically: judging an entire culture by the nerdy things it sells to nerds is not a great idea.

I don’t really care about late books, but it does start to bug me when publishers continue with schedules that are clearly unrealistic. (Perhaps I’m wrong, the entire series is complete, it’ll ship like clockwork. I’ll believe that when I see it.)

Also Beyond! gets my recommendation. I really enjoyed it seeing as the cast is just basically a group of randomers.

The Hack/Slash cover- as little from column A and a little from column B. The series has never been afraid to throw in the occasional bits of titillation with Cassie (see the gratuitous panty shot on the cover of regular series #1), but it also does a great job of parodying the cliches of slasher flicks, which include a lot of the sexual elements to the movies, such as surviving virgins, slumber parties, teen sex, etc.

I don’t know if Empowered was the best graphic novel of the year, but I thought it was damn good. Volume 2 that just came out was a nice addition to the story and I’m already psyched about volume 3 because of a couple new storylines introduced in volume 2. For a series that began as a series of strips parodying superhero comics, Empowered has really come into its own with a good mix of humor and depth.

In a Wordballoon interview a few weeks ago Heinberg basically said his second season won’t be happening since he can’t clear his schedule for any comics work anytime soon, or maybe ever agan. My recollection is him saying the Wonder Woman situation made him realize he can’t do in-continuity stuff on a schedule and has to do separate mini-series and the like if he does decide to do anymore comics, and that he gave Marvel the go-ahead to do whatever with the team. But I heard it quite a while ago and might be off on the details.

Thanks for the info, Jason!

FF — Yeah, that cover IS horrible, isn’t it? Normally I like Turner, but his FF covers have left a lot to be desired.

Young Avengers — Supposedly, Heinberg is still working on a story arc (another 12 issue “season”) to the book, but I haven’t heard anything about it in a while.

Laika — One of my reviewers at the site I work at absolutely loved it, saying the book made her “teary-eyed.” More here: http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/6724/167/

My Inner Bimbo — Not sure what the deal is with the new co-credit, but considering Keith is also working on “Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious,” I imagine that’s why #2 has never come out. Why they’re still soliciting it is beyond me.