Every week, I’ll be bringing you a comic book cover that I feel eclipses others out there—to the point I might just have to own it!

The BadAss Comic Book Cover for this week is for Batman: Volume 1: The Court of Owls. It is the new hardcover collection of the first six/seven issues of the new 52 run for Batman. When the 52 was first announced by DC Comics, I immediately latched onto Batman because of its creative team. Scott Snyder is a fantastic writer and the art of Greg Capullo is as good as anyone’s in the business. It made for a badass creative team and that has led to some unbelievable covers for the run. Not to mention great storytelling with the Court of Owls.

Why do I love this cover though? It’s the Issue #1 cover, for starters, Batman surrounded by the villainy of Gotham City. It’s Batman kicking ass. It’s an unconventional Batman pose, yet it works. It’s the new costume. It’s the action, the color scheme, and the setting—down and dirty on all accounts. It’s Batman punch slapping and kicking at the same exact time. It’s the various villain surrounding him and making them out—Scarecrow, Riddler, etc. Not to mention I love the new logo. All in all, it is a wonderful cover for a great new series.

Here is a bit more about Batman: Volume 1:

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo

Color/B&W: Color
Page Count: 176
U.S. Price: 24.99
On Sale Date: May 9 2012
Trim Size: Comic

The Story: Following his groundbreaking, critically acclaimed run on DETECTIVE COMICS, writer Scott Snyder (American Vampire) begins a new era of The Dark Knight with artist Greg Capullo (Spawn) and a new beginning for BATMAN! In this hardcover collecting the first six issues, a series of brutal murders rocks not only Gotham City to its core but also the Caped Crusader himself when the prime suspect is one of Batman’s closest allies – Dick Grayson!

Batman: Volume 1: The Court of Owls is in fine comic book stores now!

More next Saturday! In the meantime, go visit your local comic book store…

Every week, I’ll be bringing you a comic book cover that I feel eclipses others out there—to the point I might just have to own it!

The BadAss Comic Book Cover for this week is for Dial H #1. It is being written by fantastic writer China Mieville, who has written several award-winning novels and is genuinely seen as the king of weird, strange fiction that defies classification. Dial H is right up his alley. It is the story of a regular human being in the DC Universe who is given a talisman that bestows a different super power every time he uses it. It can be something as obtuse as turning the user into a human spring; it can be as awesome as having the power of Zeus. But it is perfectly random, leaving the user unable to be fully in control of his life. Read a Newsarama interview with China HERE to learn more!

Why do I love this cover though? It’s the physical act of the user dialing H-E-R-O. It is the strangeness of the other characters on the cover. It is the cross-hatching and patterns in the background. It’s the nervousness of the dialer and what power he might get—and how it might be absolutely useless against those who would see him harm. It is the type of cover that is perfect for the likes of China Mieville, who loves the weird more than anything.

Here is a bit more about Dial H #1:

Written by: China Mieville
Pencilled by: Mateus Santolouco
Inked by: Mateus Santolouco
Lettered by: Steve Wands
Colored by: Brian Bolland, Tanya Horie
Color/B&W: Color
Page Count: 32
U.S. Price: 2.99

Story: A brand new series by bestselling and Hugo award winning novelist CHINA MIEVILLE!• What would happen if you discovered the H Dial, an unbelievably powerful artifact that turned you into a super hero?• And what if you found out that the world is threatened by this very device that’s become your uncontrollable obsession?• These are just the first questions asked in this thrilling and inventive storyline that introduces the strangest super heroes and super villains in the DCU while exploring the boundaries of reality!

Dial H #1 is in fine comic book stores now!

More next Saturday! In the meantime, go visit your local comic book store…

Arrangement:

1. Demographic Group (Boys’, Girls’, Kids’, General, Matured Reader)
2. Series Title (Alphabetical), volume # – date of release – publisher/imprint – age rating – notes*
Age rating guide: A (All) – T (teen) – T+ (Older Teen) – M (Mature/Adult)

* New Series in Bold

KIDS’ manga (~10 and under)

Deltora Quest vol. 6 – 5/08 – Kodansha – A

Fluffy, Fluffy, Cinnamoroll [single volume] – 5/01 – Viz Kids – A

Pokemon Black and White vol. 7 – 5/01 – Viz Kids – A

SHONEN (“Boys’” manga; typically heavy in action, adventure, and camaraderie)
Bamboo Blade vol. 13 – 5/29 – Yen Press – T+/OT

Blood Blockade Battlefront vol. 2 – 5/09 – Darkhorse – T+Fairy Tail vol. 19 – 5/29 – Kodansha – T

Genshiken Omnibus vol. 1 – 5/22 – Kodansha – T+

Naruto vol. 56 – 5/01 – Shonen Jump/Viz – T

Nobari no Ou vol. 10 – 5/29 – Yen Press – T+/OT

Pandora Hearts vol. 10 – 5/29 – Yen Press – T+/OT

Psyren vol. 4 – 5/01 – Shonen Jump/Viz – T

One Piece vol. 62 – 5/01 – Shonen Jump/Viz – T

Soul Eater vol. 9 – 5/29 – Yen Press – T+/OT

Sumomomo, Momomo vol. 12 (final volume) – 5/29 – Yen Press – T+/OT

Tagami Bachi vol. 9 – 5/01 – Shonen Jump/Viz – T

Until Death do us Part vol. 1 – 5/29 – Yen Press – T+/OT

SHOJO (“Girls’” manga; typically deals heavily with relationships and romances)
Bride of the Water God – 5/16 – Darkhorse – T (12+) (Manwha – Korean manga)

Inuyasha vol. 11 (VizBig; ie Omnibus) – Shojo Beat/Viz – T+

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, The vol. 12 – 5/29 – Yen Press – T+/OT

Sailor Moon vol. 5 – 5/08 – Kodansha – T+

Story of Saiunkoku, The; vol. 7 – 5/01 – Shojo Beat/Viz – T

Wallflower, The vol. 28 – 5/22 – Kodansha – T

We Were There vol. 14 – 5/01 – Shojo Beat/Viz – T+

GENERAL

FLCL Omnibus – 5/09 – Darkhorse – T

Puella Magi Madoka Magica vol. 1 – 5/29 – YenPress – T+/OT

Saturn Apartments Vol. 5 – 5/15 – Viz Signature – T

ADULT (Matured Reader Recommended)

GenManga issue 11 – (late in the month) – genmanga.com – T to M

Omamori Himari vol. 7 – 5/29 – Yen Press – M

Every week, I’ll be bringing you a comic book cover that I feel eclipses others out there—to the point I might just have to own it!

The BadAss Comic Book Cover for this week is for The Dark Knight #8. News has it that May 4th’s Avengers movie will feature a brand new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. That’s all it takes for me to want to feature a Batman article on Suvudu. But David Finch is doing phenomonal work on The Dark Knight title. He has long been one of my favorite pencilers and he brings the right mood and edge to Batman.

Why do I love this cover though? How Batman is the absolute center. How he is dark and forbidding. How his stance is indomitable despite the apparent hallucinations that are rising behind him. Finch did a great job capturing the power in Batman’s figure—in his thighs, abdomen and arms. I really like the background and the attention to detail in the stonework and floor. A great piece of art by one of the best in the business.

Here is a bit more about The Dark Knight #8:

Written by: Paul Jenkins
Pencilled by: Ed Benes
Inked by: Rob Hunter
Cover Color by: Jeromy N. Cox

Story: A series of disturbing events captivates Gotham City as citizens turn on each other all across town. But when toxicology reports turn up negative, it’s left to Batman to determine the source of the problem, bringing him into an encounter with Tweedledum and Tweedledee at an entrance to the mysterious “Wonderland.” With Jim Gordon occupied on a tragic, high-profile case, and madness beginning to take root across the city, can Batman find the source of it all before it’s too late?

The Dark Knight #8 is in fine comic book stores now!

More next Saturday! In the meantime, go visit your local comic book store…

Deeming a manga as one a girl would like and one a boy would like should be as easy as violence vs romances, right? Not so fast. This is a potential misnomer: “made for girls” and “made for boys” are not so simple as “boys will like trucks” and “girls will like dolls.” Here are some interesting tibdits on why classifying a manga as “shojo” or “shonen” is more complicated than it first appears.

This past month, this blog began a monthly manga release blotter. In the interest of making it easy to navigate, a natural inclination is to split up the teen-demographic releases into two sections: boys’ (shonen), and girls’ (shojo). Manga publishers in the U.S. use the Japanese terms in part for flavor, but also because there are nuances held within the terms that may not otherwise come across.

In Japanese, shojo (show-joe) means “youthful/young girl” and shonen (show-nehn) means “youthful/young boy.” Luckily, in manga, logic follows here: Shojo and shonen are terms applied to books written for readers between the ages of about ten and twenty. They feature teenage characters as the leads almost exclusively, as that is the expected reader base.

However, Shojo and shonen can be also used as genres as well as age markers. As genres, they have some identifying characteristics that play off of girl and boy stereotypes: For example, shojo (girls’) focuses on romance and life issues growing up as a girl. Shonen (boys’) manga focuses more on action, adventure, contests, and fighting. Both tend to be coming-of-age stories in some form or another because of the age group — but guess which one babies probably won’t ever appear in. Shojo as it is today has almost exclusively female main characters; likewise, shonen manga usually has male leads.

Furthering the issue of classification is that, in Japan, manga are classified as “for girls” or “for boys” based not on what’s inside the story, but by what magazine they are published in. Usually this proves an unremarkable distinction, but it has proven difficult in recent years: the most successful and enjoyable manga seem to mix elements, and so a manga that doesn’t follow the tropes of either demographic can be classified arbitrarily. A comic that focuses on overcoming school bullying with male and female characters may be deemed a “girls’” comic because it’s published in, for example, Flower and Dream Comics (Hana to Yume Comikkusu), rather than by looking at its content or readership. Luckily for the American buyer, but making classification harder on the blog list, when published in English, most manga are given shojo, shonen, or other classification by content alone.

Take, for example, D.Gray-Man. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, which is a boys’ demographic magazine. Even though it is written by a woman and most of its readership is female, it is still a “boys’” comic. In Japan, it is labeled “shonen” because of the magazine it is in (and by its content somewhat); in America, it is labelled “shonen” because of structure: It has a male lead, is an action/adventure, and romance is secondary, even tertiary to the plot. Yet, it is extremely popular among girls/women, because it has fully developed characters of both sexes, handles feelings and relationships realistically, and, of course, girls like explosions too.

Despite mainstream manga growing ever more gender neutral, there are generalizations that can still be made about what to expect from a “girls’” or “boys’” comic, along with what’s written above. Quite often themes of youth and growth overlap between shonen and shojo because they share an age group. A general rule of thumb is that ninety percent of readers who can connect to party-line shojo are female; ninety percent of readers who will enjoy “fan-service” shonen manga are boys; and socially-responsible shonen manga are enjoyed equally by male and female readers.

So when you, dear reader, see Suvudu’s manga updates, expect “boys’” and “girls’” to be used as a loose indication of what’s inside and who might like it, rather than a hard rule found in a dictionary. If you want a romance or girls’ empowerment, seek a shojo (or a shonen written by a woman). If you’re looking for something with action and adventure, and good doses of heroic angst and fight scenes — regardless of your gender — check through the shonen titles.

Check back again for further handy guides on different classifications of manga and their jargon!

Every week, I’ll be bringing you a comic book cover that I feel eclipses others out there—to the point I might just have to own it!

The BadAss Comic Book Cover for this week is for The Walking Dead #96. The Walking Dead has been a mega-hit for AMC, the television adaptation drawing millions of viewers. I came late to the game. I finished Season One on Netflix right when Season Two was having its climax. That one season thought made me interested in what was being done in the comic books, and here we are with this post.

Why do I love this cover though? It’s the simplistic aspect of it. Lots of gray. Lots of red. From the pattern of the spatter—no, I’m not Dexter but wish I were at times—you can easily see some serious carnage took place with that knife. Rick is obviously in some deep shyte. But by the look of his face, he’s ready for it. The composition lends itself to that world. And with issue #100 coming, I’m sure there will be plenty more badass covers to come!

Here is a bit more about The Walking Dead #96:

Story by: Robert Kirkman
Art By: Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn
Price: $2.99
On Sale: April 18, 2012
Genres: Horror, Zombies
Series: The Walking Dead

Story: THE ROAD TO ISSUE ONE HUNDRED STARTS HERE AS “A LARGER WORLD” CONCLUDES!
Will Rick’s community join the network? Will they enter into an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity – or has Rick ruined that for everyone? Has he now made more, deadlier enemies for them to deal with?

The Walking Dead #96 is in fine comic book stores now!

More next Saturday! In the meantime, go visit your local comic book store…

Every week, I’ll be bringing you a comic book cover that I feel eclipses others out there—to the point I might just have to own it!

The BadAss Comic Book Cover for this week is for Uncanny X-Men #10. All roads lead to the X-Men versus Avengers crossover that is about to happen, and this is one more chapter doing just that. Hope. Hope. Hope. What will happen to the time-traveling mutant? Will the X-Men, who think she is mutantkind’s salvation, save her from the Avengers, who deem her a threat to the world of the worst kind? What does Unit have to do with all of this and will he steal Hope for his own gain? Questions, questions, questions!

Why do I love this cover though? It’s an Adam Kubert cover. I’ve been a fan of his work since the 1990’s. He has such a clean style that is capable of evoking movement and emotion. He’s great here. It’s the arrangement of all the major players. Unit drawing the eye in the middle, his vertical body pointing toward those he has dominated. Cyclops laying unconscious in the middle; Magneto’s head in the foreground; Colossus taken down in the background. Just awesome art not overpowered by inks or color. It’s also the shattering of the Uncanny X-Men title and what that means for the X-Men.

Here is a bit more about Uncanny X-Men #10:

Story by Kieron Gillen
Art by Carlos Pacheco
Cover by Adam Kubert
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: Wed, April 11th, 2012

• The X-Men Vs. Unit, The Galactic Genocidal Fugitive!

• What Is Behind Unit’s Sinister Interest In Hope?

• Building Towards AvX!

Uncanny X-Men #10 is in fine comic book stores now!

More next Saturday! In the meantime, go visit your local comic book store…

While people are enraptured with the HBO show though, it’s not the only George R. R. Martin item to have released recently. Dynamite Comics in conjunction with Spectra have been adapting the novel A Game of Thrones in monthly comic book installments. They hired two of the best in the fantasy genre—none other than George R. R. Martin and Daniel Abraham. Along with fantastic artist Tommy Patterson, they have created a beautiful adaptation of the book.

The first six issues of the comic book series have been brought together into a single hardcover.

Here is a bit more about it:

You’ve read the books. You’ve watched the hit series on HBO. Now acclaimed novelist Daniel Abraham and illustrator Tommy Patterson bring George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy masterwork A Game of Thrones to majestic new life in the pages of this full-color graphic novel. Comprised of the initial six issues of the graphic series, this is the first volume in what is sure to be one of the most coveted collaborations of the year.

Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.

Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jamie and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.

I asked adapting writer Daniel Abraham a few questions about his work on the project and what he loves about it.

NEW RELEASE INTERVIEW: DANIEL ABRAHAM ON GAME OF THRONES

Shawn Speakman: The hardcover graphic novel for the first six comic book issues of A GAME OF THRONES is published now. Tell us a little bit about the book and your work on it?

Daniel Abraham: I’m the adapter, which is a term I’m much more comfortable with than “writer”. My job is to take George’s book and translate it into a comic book script.

SS: Comic book creation is usually a collaborative effort, with a writer exchanging ideas with his artist. What has it been like working with Tommy Patterson? Describe your work dynamic?

DA: Tommy’s great. He’s been pleasant, responsive, and professional from the word go. Once he’s done his first pass on the pages, I take a look at them (as do the editors Bantam), and we put together a list of changes and corrections. It’s almost always minor stuff. I think Tommy only really pushed back once, and he was right.

SS: What has been the hardest part in adapting A GAME OF THRONES to the comic book medium?

DA: There’s a depth of expository information in the book — the history and context of the action — that’s hard to bring across in a more visual medium. Finding ways to get the critical information in without putting pages of text in it tricky.

SS: Which issue are you working on now?

DA: I’m finishing up the script for issue 13.

SS: Season 2 of HBO’s Game of Thrones has premiered. As a writer and a friend of George R. R. Martin, what are you most looking forward to in Season 2?

DA: Honestly? Any time Tyrion’s on the screen.

SS: Thanks for the interview, Daniel!

DA: Always a pleasure, Shawn.

A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel: Volume 1 adapted by George R. R. Martin, Daniel Abraham, and Tommy Patterson is in fine bookstores now!

Congratulations to George, Daniel, and Ty for their Hugo Award nominations too!! Good luck!

This list includes major publishers; there are few others around whose releases proved a bit more elusive. If you’d like your manga to be on this list, send us a note. In the future, I’d like to be able to add if there’s digital distribution, and the genres involved; however, if there’s any other data you readers think would be helpful, please leave a comment to help improve this service.

In the mean time, Spring has swept the country early, and that means a lot of good days for reading out in the sun. How about taking some manga with you next time you’re out? Here are manga releases in America for the month of April, 2012.

Arrangement:
1. Demographic Group (Boys’, Girls’, Kids’, General, Matured Reader)
2. Series Title (Alphabetical), volume # – date of release – publisher/imprint – age rating – notes
* Age rating guide: A (All) – T (teen) – T+ (Older Teen) – M (Mature/Adult)
* New Series in Bold (For this issue, I’m bolding all the one that are relatively new, releasing up to volumes 4)

KIDS’ manga (~10 and under)
Voltorn Force vol. 1 – 4/03 – Viz/Viz Kids – A

Of note: While not strictly manga, Viz Kids is also putting out these two comic titles this month:
Mr. Bump: Lights, Camera, Bump! – 4/17 – A – (Left to right format)
Little Miss Sunshine: Here Comes the Sun! – 4/17 – A – (L-to-R)

SHONEN (“Boys’” manga; typically heavy in action, adventure, and camaraderie)
Air Gear vol. 23 – 4/17 – Kodansha – T+
Bakuman vol. 10 – 4/03 – Viz/Shonen Jump – T+
Bleach vol. 39 – 4/03 – Viz/Shonen Jump – T+
Blue Exorcist vol. 7 – 4/03 – Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced – T+
Cage of Eden vol. 5 – 4/10 – Kodansha – T+
Cross Game vol. 7 – 4/10 – Viz – T+
Isuwaribito vol. 5 – 4/10 – Viz – T+
Katsuya Terada’s The Monkey King vol. 2 – 4/11 – Darkhorse – T
Kekkaishi vol. 31 – 4/10 – Viz – T+
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, vol. 20 – 4/17 – Viz/Viz Signature – T+
Love Hina Omnibus vol. 3 – 4/24 – Kodansha – T+
Maoh: Jevenile Remix vol. 10 – 4/10 – Viz – T+
Negima! vol. 34 – 4/24 – Kodansha – T+
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan vol. 8 – 4/03 – Viz/Shonen Jump – T+
Oh My Goddess! vol. 41 – 4/25 – Darkhorse – T+
Slam Dunk vol. 21 – 4/03 – Viz/Shonen Jump – T+
Tenjo Tenge vol. 6 – 4/17 – Viz/Viz Signature – T+
Toriko vol. 9 – 4/03 – Viz/Shonen Jump – T+

SHOJO (“Girls’” manga; typically deals heavily with relationships and romances)
A Devil and Her Love Song vol. 2 – 4/03 – Viz/Shojo Beat – T+
Arisa vol. 7 – 4/03 – Kodansha
Dawn of the Arcana vol. 3 – 4/03 – Viz/Shojo Beat – T+
Kamisama Kiss vol. 8 – 4/03 – Viz/Shojo Beat – T+
Magic Knight Rayearth vol. 2 – 4/11 – Darkhorse – T
Rosario+Vampire: Season II, vol. 8 – 4/03 – Viz/ Shounen Jump Advanced – T+
Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura vol. 7 – 4/03 – Viz/ Shojo Beat – T+
Skip Beat vol. 27 – 4/03 – Viz/Shojo Beat – T+
Toradora! vol. 4 – 4/10 – Seven Seas – T
X vol. 2 – 4/10 – Viz – T+

GENERAL
Biographical Comics: The Wright Brothers (PB and hardcover) (L-to-R) – 4/10 – Viz – A
Biographical Comics: Mother Theresa (PB and hardcover) (L-to-R) – 4/10 – Viz – A
Case Closed vol. 42 – 4/10 – Viz – T+
Excel Saga vol. 23 – 4/10 – Viz – T+
Gen Manga compilation vol. 10 – Genmanga.com – Digital and hardcopy – T to M
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney vol. 5 – 4/24 – Kodansha – T
Gon vol. 5 – 4/10 – Kodansha – T
Tokyo Mew Mew Omnibus vol. 3 – 4/24 – Kodansha – T+

ADULT (Matured Reader Recommended)
Dorohedoro vol. 6 – 4/17 – Viz/Viz Signature – M

Check back later in the month for an article on what it really means to classify something as “shojo” or “shonen.” Until next time: happy reading!