Just a few comments about this month’s Previews catalog:

Marvel/Del Rey collaboration: I have two words for the Wolverine manga; Emo Logan.  Does the world REALLY NEED more emo Logan?  I mean, honestly…  The art looks great, I’m not gonna knock that.  The Marvel catalog had some pictures of pages, and they did look nice.  But this isn’t going to win anyone over from one side of the manga vs. comics camp, and really hope it was never meant to.  If anything, this will probably fan the flames, but that seems to be the way Marvel likes it.  Not that they want to come up with anything original…

Aspen Comics: Do you guys expect me to believe your GUARANTEE SHIP banner at the top of your two page ad?  Really??  I saw that last year for Soulfire #8, and it’s a year later, and what do I see?  The same damn thing all over again.  The only reason I am ordering this for a THIRD time is because I am now determined to read the end of this story!  While I can be sympathetic that Michael Turner was probably not up to drawing a lot in the last months, that is all the more reason NOT to tease readers with a “GUARANTEE SHIP that you just know you can’t keep.

Enough is Too Much!: Man, this is a hard month for ordering, and it’s mostly Viz’s fault!  Finally get a new volume of Bride of the Water God (thanks Dark Horse for keeping with that one).  Anime Works has another title I have to pass on that I would like to read, Doujin Work.  I watched the anime, and found it quite amusing, but basically because of Viz, I can’t fit anything new in.  If I were to order all the volumes I wanted to read/maintain, I would be ordering 19 volumes in this month alone!  I’m all for stimulating the economy, but not by myself!  The 2nd Naruto wave is a killer, and one I’ll have to pass on this time, which really sucks cause I hate reading my Shonen Jumps out of sequence, but there’s no getting around it this time.  Maybe someone will take pity on me and will want to trade…  Some shojo titles may have to be relagated to trade status as well.  It’s really hard to just keep the status quo anymore!

Missing Haruhi: Now, I know it may seem like I pick on Yen Press a lot, but I only do it out of love.  It’s the same for Viz.  But can someone please tell me, where was the solicitation for The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi Vol. 2?  I went back on order forms to Aug. 2008 when the first volume was solicited, and I saw NOTHING in the Yen Press section for this book.  But there is a full page ad in the catalog for Volume 2 coming in March.  And no solicitation in this issue either!  How are we (those that use Previews) supposed to order this thing??  I want to get keep getting Haruhi.  I did like the first volume, and loved the anime.  But I can’t order it if it never shows up on the order form!!  Come on guys, is it really that hard?

RIP? Gargoyles: I finally got the official cancellation notice (with refund) of the Gargoyles comics that Amaze Inc./Slave Labor Graphics was releasing.  This makes me really sad.  I enjoyed Gargoyles back when it was on TV in the 90’s.  I liked it so much that my husband and I ran a small fanfic mailing list for original characters in the universe.  And the comics were good too.  We were finally getting Greg Wiseman’s full 3rd season as he had originally envisioned it.  And it was an all-ages title to boot!  I don’t know why it got the shaft, but it bums me out majorly that it did.  Two less comics to look forward to.

More Xanadu: If you’re not reading Vertigo’s Madame Xanadu by Matt Wagner and Amy Reeder Haley, then you should be ashamed of yourself!  It’s been a great series so far, and I just love Haley’s art.  It’s got some fantastic fantasy, and the times that we see Xanadu hit are truly interesting.  Any fan of manga should be able to get behind this series!