Ten Books You Should Buy: August 2007 (Part 2)

Picking up where yesterday's post left off... this is the second half of a rundown of ten books scheduled for August 2007 that aren't in the "front of the book" solicitations. As great as stuff from Dark Horse, DC, Image, and Marvel are, if you only look at those solicitations, you're missing a wealth of other great books. Check these out!

LIGHTSPEED PRESS

FINDER SIN-EATER 10TH ANNIVERSARY HC
by Carla Speed McNeil
This series and its creator have been nominated for the Eisner award seven times, won the Kim Yale once, and the Ignatz twice! Jump on at the beginning with this chunky 'manga-sized' volume collecting two previous TPBs into one! Also included is the 'lost' issue #22, "Fight Scene," reprinted for the first time (with a new scene added)! Jaeger is a Finder, which is an aboriginal detective. Jaeger is also a sin-eater, which is a ritual scapegoat. Jaeger returns to an old girlfriend only to find that her husband isn't really out of the picture and now appears to be dangerously crazy... but hasn't done anything to hurt her. Yet. On top of that, the husband isn't just some twerp Jaeger's girlfriend can't get rid of; he's Jaeger's former commanding officer. This complex story of conflicting loyalties sets the stage for the rest of Jaeger's life as told in the ongoing series, Finder.
384pgs, B&W, $29.95

Finder is that sort of series that is really hard to describe. The solicitation calls it a complex story of conflicting loyalties, and that's a better summation than I think I could ever come up with. Life isn't neat, simple packages, and neither is Finder. The good news is that it's a neat, fully-realized series with a futuristic world not quite like anything else you've seen, crashing high technologies and low-tech elements of the past all into one. "Sin-Eater" comprised the first 14 issues of the series, and to say that Carla Speed McNeil got better with each issue is an understatement. This collection, even more than the already-in-print two-volume edition, really shows a creator with a continual dedication to improving her craft. Probably one of the best series you aren't reading.

MAERKLE PRESS

LOVE AND CAPES #5
by Thomas F. Zahler
Spend some time with comicdom's favorite super-couple, and this time Abby's finding out that time is the problem. She's dating the world's mightiest workaholic, and getting some time alone with her boyfriend - the Crusader - is becoming as much of a battle as any menace he has to fight. How do you share your boyfriend with the world? Plus, learn how Darkblade stays sharp, and Amazonia continues to make her presence felt.
24pgs, color, $3.95

This is a really fun series, which could best be described as crossing Superman with a 30-minute sitcom. The art is crisp and iconic, and the dialogue flows quickly and snappily. Heroes may be one way to take superheroes onto the television screen and make them really work, but Love and Capes is absolutely the other way to do so.

ONI PRESS

JUMPER JUMPSCARS #1 (of 4)
by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, & Brian Hurtt
A prequel to the upcoming Hayden Christiansen and Samuel L. Jackson feature film from director Doug Liman (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Jumpscars pulls back the world we know to reveal a spectacular and ancient war being waged under our very noses! For centuries, Jumpers have lived among us - special individuals with the ability to teleport or "jump" nearly anywhere in the world. For almost as long, the Paladins - a secret and powerful order - have protected us from these dangerous and unpredictable individuals, sacrificing everything to keep humanity safe!
24pgs, color, $3.99

I'd never even heard of this upcoming movie, but if Doug Liman's directing it, I'm interested. Add in that DeFilippis and Weir are great writers, and Hurtt's art is always nothing short of gorgeous, and that pushes this from "interesting" to "must buy." Oni Press has also had a great track record with tie-ins (honest, their Blair Witch comics were a thousand times scarier than the actual movies and worth buying if you like anything horror-related) and I expect this to be no exception.

ONI PRESS

SCOTT PILGRIM VOLUME 4: SCOTT PILGRIM GETS IT TOGETHER GN
by Bryan Lee O'Malley
A couple months have passed since we last caught up with Scott, but what could change in a few months? Well, not much has - he's still living with Wallace and playing in a band. Most importantly, he's still dating the lovely Ramona and dealing with the gaggle of superpowered, superstylish, superevil ex-boyfriends determined to take him down. But something is different. Don't look now, but Scott might actually be getting it together - just in time to confront Ramona's most intimidating ex yet!
200pgs, B&W, $11.95

What can I say about Scott Pilgrim that hasn't already been said? Nintendo meets martial arts movie meets teen romance, but even that doesn't seem to really sum up the sheer insanity and wonder of this book. With each new Evil Ex-Boyfriend to appear on the scene, Scott Pilgrim just gets better and better. Come on, what are you waiting for? Where have you been that you haven't heard of this series?

VIZ

WHISTLE! VOLUME 17 TP
by Daisuke Higuchi
The members of the Tokyo Select Team must find out what they are made of as they prepare to take on the Seoul Select Team. Tatsuya is feeling depressed at seeing how much Shô has improved in recent months, while he himself has not. And when Katsurô goes down with a knee injury, Kentarô is thrust into the role of starting goalkeeper. Will the team find the courage to meet the challenge ahead?
200pgs, B&W, $7.99

No, really! I love this series. A comic about soccer can be exciting and interesting, honest. It's a nice mixture of stories about being part of a time and also getting better yourself, but in a way that never feels trite or unbelievable. Our heroes don't always win, so there's a nice air of unpredictability, and the "villains" are never over the top or unbelievable. And as an added bonus, it's super-cheap. 200 pages for under eight dollars? Come on, take a look.