Hello, all--

Tommy Tom Tom is on vacation this weekend (is that wedding bells I hear?), so I'll be shepherding you through the delightfully muddy waters of what's what in comics this week. I'll try to be gentle, unless you tell me you want your comics minutiae harder. Let's get there!

OMG! Is this the new face of CAPTAIN AMERICA?!? http://www.flickr.com/photos/27855805@N07/2597088118/ Discuss amongst yourselves.

DRAW BATMAN VS. ________________ As of right now, Nick Arcaro is still the clear victor. Get your drawings in and try to dethrone him, as anyone who knows the guy'll tell you he will smugly taunt everyone in his path if he wins. Come on, it's $100 worth of comics to the winner. And it's fun?

ART BLOG OF THE WEEK: http://www.guydavisartworks.com/ Does anyone draw better monsters in comics than Guy Davis? I defy anyone out there to show me someone who does.

Makeout Creek, Richmond's very own print journal for literature and other stuff, is putting out a booty call for all fiction, poetry, comics, art, and even essays on cultural what's-its. Makeout Creek is now available in bookstores in Chicago, Nashville, Austin, Brooklyn, and at Chop Suey here in Richmond--as well as from our fancy-pants website, www.makeoutcreek.com .
We're looking for edgy, gutsy material that will make our (and your) mothers proud. Please submit now to submit@makeoutcreek.com

PICKS!
BLUE GN: Online Veloci-pal ELIZABETH GENCO delivers her first graphic novel about the "bloodiest of all fairy tales", invoking the feel of classic Vertigo comics while she's at it.

FINAL CRISIS: ROGUE'S REVENGE #1 (of 3): If it's not enough that the glory days team of Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins are playing in this particular sandbox again, howzabout this: EVERYONE in the DCU-- the heroes, the villains, the talking apes--want these guys dead, and as EVIL WINS everywhere the Rogues make a last ditch effort to survive and get a little payback. I want that in my brain.

MOON KNIGHT #20: This one looks interesting because it features the long-awaited rematch between MK and the Werewolf by Night. Does that guy really refer to himself like that? "I am... the Werewolf. By Night." Maybe he does that to get the jump on his opponent as they laugh their ass off at him.

SPIKE: AFTER THE FALL #1: Give a punk kid a shot by picking this one up.

TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN GN: Whenever Alex (Box Office Poison, Tricked) Robinson gets a book done, it's worth reading. Here he tackles a level of teen angst not seen since Peter Parker was introduced 46 years ago. Yeah, you heard me-- Screw you, "The Hills".

SHIPPING Wednesday, July 16th:
AFTERBURN #4 (OF 4) 2.95
ALTER EGO #79 6.95
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #566 2.99
ANGEL AFTER THE FALL HC VOL 01 24.99
ASTRO CITY THE DARK AGE HC BOOK 01 29.99
BACK ISSUE #29 6.95
BASTARD TP VOL 17 9.99
BATGIRL #1 (OF 6) 2.99
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #9 2.99
BATMAN FACES NEW ED TP 12.99
BIRDS OF PREY #120 2.99
BLUE GN 9.99
BOMB QUEEN V #3 (OF 6) 3.50
BROTHERS IN ARMS #2 3.50
BUDDHA STORY OF ENLIGHTENMENT #4 2.99
CAPTAIN AMERICA #40 2.99
CASEY BLUE BEYOND TOMORROW #3 (OF 6) 2.99
CHARLATAN BALL #2 2.50
CHECKMATE #28 2.99
COMICS JOURNAL #291 11.99
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #1 2.99
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS TP VOL 02 19.99
DC WILDSTORM DREAMWAR #4 (OF 6) 2.99
DOCK WALLOPER TP VOL 01 14.99
DOCTOR WHO STARSHIPS AND SPACESTATIONS SC 12.99
DOMINION TP 15.99
DREAMLAND CHRONICLES IDW #1 3.99
ELEPHANTMEN WAR TOYS TP VOL 01 NO SURRENDER 9.99
FALLEN ANGEL TP VOL 05 19.99
FINAL CRISIS ROGUES REVENGE #1 (OF 3) 3.99
FLASH #242 2.99
FOOLKILLER WHITE ANGELS #1 (OF 5) 3.99
FORGOTTEN REALMS THE LEGACY #3 (OF 3) ATKINS CVR A 5.50
FRANK FRAZETTAS SWAMP DEMON (ONE SHOT) 3.99
GENTLEMAN JIM HC 14.95
GHOST RIDER #25 2.99
GHOST TALKERS DAYDREAM TP VOL 01 10.95
GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE TP VOL 05 WWIII OMNIBUS 34.99
GODLAND #24 2.99
HACK SLASH TP VOL 04 REVENGE OF THE RETURN 18.99
HELLBLAZER #246 2.99
HELM #1 (OF 4) 3.50
HOW TO DRAW STUPID SC 16.95
HULK WWH TP WARBOUND 12.99
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #119 SI 2.99
IRON MAN DIRECTOR OF SHIELD #31 2.99
JEFF SMITH BONE & BEYOND HC 24.95
JOKERS ASYLUM POISON IVY #1 2.99
MARVEL 1985 #3 (OF 6) 3.99
MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #26 2.99
METHOD MAN GN 13.99
MICE TEMPLAR #5 2.99
MIGHTY AVENGERS #16 SI 2.99
MOON KNIGHT #20 3.99
MOON KNIGHT #20 DEODATO SKETCH VAR
OMEGA UNKNOWN #10 (OF 10) 2.99
PERHAPANAUTS #3 3.50
PUNISHER #59 2.99
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL TP VOL 03 HUNTER HUNTED 14.99
ROUGH STUFF #9 6.95
SARDINE IN OUTER SPACE SC VOL 05 14.95
SCALPED #19 2.99
SCREAMLAND #5 (OF 5) 2.99
SHOWCASE PRESENTS HAWKMAN TP VOL 02 16.99
SIMON DARK #10 2.99
SIMPSONS COMICS #144 2.99
SKY DOLL #3 (OF 3) 5.99
SOULFIRE CHAOS REIGN TP 9.99
SPARROW GLENN BARR HC 11.99
SPIDER-MAN PREM HC VOL 02 BRAND NEW DAY 24.99
SPIKE AFTER THE FALL #1 (OF 4) 3.99
SPIKE AFTER THE FALL #1 (OF 4) 10 COPY
SPIKE AFTER THE FALL #1 (OF 4) 25 COPY VIRGIN INCV
SUPERMAN AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES HC 24.99
TANGENT SUPERMANS REIGN #5 (OF 12) 2.99
TANK GIRL VISIONS OF BOOGA #3 3.99
TINY TITANS #6 2.25
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN HC
TORCHWOOD MAGAZINE #6 6.99
TRANSFORMERS MOVIE SEQUEL REIGN OF STARSCREAM #3 3.99
TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT HARDHEAD 3.99
TRIALS OF SHAZAM TP VOL 02 14.99
TRINITY #7 2.99
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #56 2.99
ULTIMATE X-MEN TP VOL 18 APOCALYPSE 13.99
UNEARTHED CEMETERY BLUES TP VOL 01 16.99
UNIVERSAL WAR ONE #1 (OF 3) 5.99
VASSALORD GN VOL 01 (OF 2) 9.99
VOLTRON A LEGEND FORGED #1 3.50
WAR IS HELL FIRST FLIGHT PHANTOM EAGLE MAX #5 3.99
WORLD OF WARCRAFT #9 2.99
WORLDS OF DUNGEONS & DRAGONS TP VOL 01 18.99
X-FACTOR #33 SI 2.99
X-FORCE #5 DWS 2.99
ZMD ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION #1 (OF 6) 3.25
ZORRO #5 3.50
ZOT TP VOL 01 COMP BLACK & WHITE STORIES

That's it for now--see you soon!
PKG