EARTH PRIME TIME: LIZ PRINCE ‘ALONE FOREVER’ SIGNING AT BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH

Somerville comic artist Liz Prince celebrates the release of her first feature length graphic novel Alone Forever (Top Shelf Productions) at Brookline Booksmith on Tuesday, February 11. She tells us about the book, OkCupid dates, Valentine heart captions, and fleeting and awkward MBTA romances.

DIGBOSTON: Hey Liz! Thanks for joining us today. Wow, Alone Forever is actually a thing now. Congrats! How excited were to to open your advance copies?
Liz Prince: It was really exciting. The books came while I was visiting my mom in New Mexico, but my boyfriend sent me a photo of a pile of boxes that arrived, so I made him open it and send me photos of the book. Kind of funny that I saw my book for the first time over the phone, but it was awesome to get off the plane and come home and have 3 boxes full of Alone Forever: The Singles Collection waiting for me.

Now I can’t wait to show the world my comics about sadness and cats.

DIGBOSTON: I love the idea of a Singles Collection for your webcomic. Is there any new heartbreak in the book or are these all on your site?
There are about 20 pages of new material, including a comic essay on all of the OkCupid dates I’d been on, that’s embarrassing enough to make you want to get pick up the book for sure.
There are also some comics from other anthologies and zines in the book that never made it online, but definitely fit into the Alone Forever oeuvre. Plus, it’s way easier to read my books on the toilet in paper form. If that isn’t the ultimate endorsement, I don’t know what is.

DIGBOSTON: From Boom to Top Shelf, to making art for one of the most popular break-in related pop punk bands, Masked Intruder, you’ve gotten some great attention lately! How are you coping with the fame?
Easy: I agreed to write and draw a 250+ page graphic novel in under a year, so I really don’t leave the house much. I’m almost done with that project, which is a graphic memoir (buzzword alert) about my childhood called Tomboy; it will be out in the fall (like how I slipped that in there?). There is also more Masked Intruder stuff going on, that band got huge and I couldn’t be happier for them. I’ve always wanted to be a band’s Chris Shary, so I’m trying to take the Masked Intruder thing in that direction.

[READ MORE at DIGBOSTON.COM]

MIGHTY Q&A: Caity Lotz Talks Canary’s Turning Point in Wednesday’s ‘Arrow’ Episode, Heir of the Demon - 13th Dimension

No spoilers, but the actress who plays Sara Lance has a lot to say about her character’s future in anticipation of Wednesday night’s major episode of “Arrow.”

Caity Lotz as Canary in “Heir to the Demon” Photo: Cate Cameron/The CW

Last week, we gave you Stephen Amell, this week it’s Caity Lotz, who plays “Arrow’s” version of Black Canary. Tomorrow night’s episode (the last new one for several weeks because of the Olympics) promises a major turning point for the troubled heroine, and Lotz was very candid when talking with our Clay N. Ferno today about Sara’s place in Starling City — and Oliver’s personal life.

But that’s not all! We’ll have a post-mortem with Lotz right after the credits roll on “Heir to the Demon,” so bookmark13thDimension.com and make sure you see what she has to say then. Because you dare not miss it!

Katrina Law as Nyssa al Ghul and Caity Lotz as Canary. Photo: Cate Cameron/The CW

Clay N. Ferno: There’s a lot of buzz that tomorrow night’s episode will have some major developments for the show. Without giving anything specific away, what can viewers expect?

Caity Lotz: They can expect that Sara’s past is going to come back again. This time it is the real depth of it, the emotional core of her past is coming back. She’s going to have to come to a place where she feels like she has no options. I think it’s really about this big, gray area. It’s not figuring out what to do, and how to handle the situation, there’s a lot of emotions with it.

Another part of the episode, which is really cool, is we get some Lance family flashbacks. We get to see a little bit of the story of what their family was like before all the drama and everything that happened, before all the death. You’ll see the lightness that they had, which is a really cool thing to do, we had fun shooting it. It’s a cool thing to watch on screen.

[READ MORE at 13th DIMENSION.com]

DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for February 5, 2014

COMICS

The classic Gold Key line of comics returns at Dynamite, and first up is Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #1 from Greg Pak (Batman/Superman, Code Monkey Save World) with art from Mirko Colak. This issue is Turok vs. Man Eating Thunder Lizards! … Read the VERY early origin of Obadiah Archer as a member of Project Rising Spirit in Archer & Armstrong #0.2014. … Numbers mean practically nothing to a Marvel book these days, so strap on this new Wolverine #1, written by Paul Cornell and featuring new X-Costume by fan favorite Spidey artist Ryan Stegman! Picks today from LeaguePodcast.com!

MIGHTY Q&A: Tim Gibson Expands Moth City with ‘The Reservoir’

Tim Gibson is back to talk with us about his first Moth City expansion, The Reservoir. While still an amazing use of the digital and tablet comics page, this black-and-white stark Western is as home on the range as it is forward thinking. Meant as an introduction to the Moth City world, this standalone one-shot is coordinated with a ComiXology sale on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

By CLAY N. FERNO

Clay N. Ferno: Tim — thanks for joining us again and giving us a preview of your latest. You’ve returned to the frontier for a prequel to Governor McCaw’s Moth City years. What is different about this McCaw?

Tim Gibson: McCaw has been doing some pretty bad things in the Moth City series, I mean really reprehensible. In ‘The Reservoir’ he is a much younger man on the cusp of great things. Life is looking up — he has a new wife, baby on the way, and he and his brother are venturing into the plains of Texas to make their fortune.

McCaw is a messy and complicated guy, and this one-shot explores what makes a man what he is and looks at the events that create (or possibly just reveal) our darker tendencies.

Besides the landscape and webcomic format used to tell the story, you’ve chosen to keep this black and white, a change from Moth City. The change seems quite deliberate, care to tell us more?

The art is all full-screen — everything is a splash page from a moment of realization to a murder. It gives some real impact, both to the art and the writing. It just seemed a good fit for a Western, those expansive vistas and small figures in large landscapes. In New Zealand, we have our own Western sub-genre — ‘The Man Alone,’ which McCaw is, emotionally.

[READ MORE at 13th DIMENSION]

Cosmic Treadmill: RED LIGHT PROPERTIES by Dan Goldman (Review) at FORCES OF GEEK

Last December, we interviewed Dan Goldman about his psychedelic ghost hunting real estate comic Red Light Properties on the Cosmic Treadmill.

And you thought Jack ‘King’ Kirby could get weird!


Imagine the apartment or house you lived in came with a ‘Green Light Certificate’, after the regular inspectors do their thing, the folks at Red Light Properties come in and do a clean sweep to make sure poltergeists are not hanging around (quite literally in chapter one, double hanging suicide).

We’ve had some time with this 200 page remastered and recolored Red Light Properties — it had it’s first life as a webcomic — and on February 5th, IDW’s paperback version hits the stands.

Ahh Florida. My last trip there was mostly for the attraction parks, but I fondly remember the hours spent driving around in the muggy heat, the big box stores, trucks filled with oranges. When visiting new places I often imagine living there. That was tough to do for Florida. It was fine enough, I suppose, but so foreign to my snow-shoveling-Yankee-flannel ways that I couldn’t find myself there. 

But imagine if…I got a cheap place! What Red Light Properties the company does is provide a ghost busting service unlike the one you are thinking of. This Mom and Pop operation is a money making venture.

If you’ve seen The Wolf of Wall Street, think of these property lists as the pink sheets, or the leads from Mitch and Murray in Glengarry Glen Ross. The reason the apartments are undesirable is that they are haunted. Husband and father Jude has an extrasensory vision that allows him to break through the membrane and see the ghosts and eradicate them from the premises.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

2-BIT COMICS: Waid, Palmiotti and Conner’s Gatecrasher at 13th DIMENSION

We continue to expose the truth! This almighty truth is that there are plenty of neglected comic books and graphic novels hiding in your discount bins and long boxes at your favorite store just begging for attention. This week, Gatecrasher Vol. 1: Ring of Fire, from the sure-fire team of Mark Waid, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner.

This teenage tale of interdimensional invasion is exactly what I look for in a 2-Bit comic: There are space crews with big guns, angry mentors and broken dates with a hot girlfriend all in the first chapter.

Our hero is college jock Alec Wagner, who by day is swooning over girlfriend Mia. He’s got a bit of the Peter Parker luck, always being called in to fight bug-eyed aliens on his covert team — the Split-Second Squad — just in time to break their dates. Because of his human instincts and his age, he’s routinely given a hard time by his crewmates.

On the other side of the “gate,” the evil Solen Cagliar has stolen an important piece of technology — the Thinktank. When Alec steals it back, he is covered in a liquid computer goo. Will this new goo make Alec more valuable to the team? I think Vol. 2 has the answers!

[READ MORE AT 13thDIMENSION.COM]

Triple Shot Digital: 'WORLD WAR MOB' #1, 'VALHALLA CINDERMANE' #1 and 'THE SOLDIER' #1

Now that someone has an iPad, that someone (OK, its me!) is reading comics whenever, wherever and however he can! This Triple Shot takes us to more than one battlefield with Vito Delsante’s World War Mob and also to the Anglo-Zulu War in Guido Vrolix’ The Soldier. Don’t worry, we have aliens and huge axes wielded by a strong female hero in Valhalla Cindermane.

All of these books are submitted to the ComiXology platform via the creator-owned ComiXology Submit program, where independent creators can be discovered alongside the virtual shelves with mainstream books!

WORLD WAR MOB #1
Writer: Vito Delsante
Artist: Giancarlo Caracuzzo
Price: $1.99
Imprint: New Paradigm Studios
Page Count: 22
Digital Release Date: January 29, 2014
Age Rating: 17+ Only
BUY IT HERE
TWITTER: @incogvito

Issue #1 of Vito Delsante’s World War Mob hits the ComiXology store today. A quick review of the book in the platform’s new browser-friendly HTML 5 Beta reminds us what a great story we have here.

For fans of Band of Brothers and Goodfellas, this World War II story brings us from the collection rounds of gangsters on the Lower East Side to the front lines to the Battle of the Ardennes.

Capt. Vinny DiGreco is offered a secret mission while on leave in Sicily.

The circle of life as it where, even the Army owes Lucky Luciano a favor, so Vinny accepts a top secret mission, that will have affects on the outcome of the war!

Vito shared that no one in comics has touched on wiseguys joining the draft before, and we hope the concept catches on. Issue #1 is off to a great start, full of action, Nazi punching and also street level crime stuff happening in New York. 

Giancarlo’s art is great as well, he colors himself in watercolor washes. His line work reminiscent of great Sgt. Rock work by Joe Kubert. The realist illustration really helps set the tone and time setting. 

World War Mob takes comics back to classic storytelling, combining rather than mashing up genres to give the reader a one of a kind experience. This world can be built on in many different directions, and our hero in the first issue is one we can root for both as patriotic Americans and fans of organized crime stories. 

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]

DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for January 29, 2014

COMICS

Lying! Lying Cat is the star of the latest issue of the much lauded Saga #18. Remember it is good to buy in issues because of the amazing letters pages that will not be reprinted in the trade! … Dean Haspiel revives Red Circle family friendly hero The Fox in the hilariously adventuresome The Fox #4 as he takes on the King of Diamonds. …Aw Yeah, Lil’ Sonja! The tiny versions of our favorite Dynamite pals continue with Lil’ Sonja from Jim Zub and cover by famous cartoonist Art Baltazar! Picks from Leaguepodcast.com.

'DUPPY '78' Writer Casey Seijas Chats Aboard The Cosmic Treadmill at FORCES OF GEEK

This February British publisher Com.X releases a supernatural murder mystery in the midst of the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica, Duppy ‘78.

Ex-Vertigo editor Casey Seijas joins us to talk about Obeahman, reggae music, comics and writing for Com.X.

FOG!: Hi Casey, thanks for joining us today! What exactly is a Duppy Conqueror?

Casey Seijas: In Rastafarian culture, a Duppy is a ghost that can be benevolent, or more often than not, mischievous or even able to inflict bodily harm. A Duppy Conqueror — who’s also called anObeahman — has the ability to control Duppies, so they can defend against them, chase them away or set them upon people.

I come to this era in Jamaica by way of The Clash. Besides the obvious callout to Marley, what’s a good soundtrack for this comic?

Yes! I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me this!

I listened to a ton of old school dancehall, reggae and dub (not that Skrillex nonsense, I’m talking Lee Scratch Perry style here) while researching and writing this.


Here’s the unofficial soundtrack:

Sister Nancy “Bam Bam”

Lee Scratch Perry “Heads of Government”

Smiley Culture “Police Officer”

Bob Marley “Mr. Brown” & “Small Axe”

Ken Boothe “Live Good”

Jimmy Cliff “The Harder They Come”

Alton Ellis “Willow Tree”

Peter Tosh “Stepping Razor”

Ernie Smith “Duppy Gun Man”

Melodians “Rivers of Babylon”

Tron $tyler “Untitled” — this is the song that’s featured in the Duppy ‘78 trailer that went around a few weeks back that my friend made. You can download the full track and more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/tronstyler

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]

DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for January 22, 2014

COMICS

Malcolm takes over in this all important, all new, all varsity direction for Savage Dragon #193! … The unreal creative team of Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto are back with the spyfi adventures of Black Widow as she resolves the ‘red in her ledger’ in Black Widow #2! Want some dirt cheap real estate? Try the homes of the recently deceased with Miami’s fuzzed out and drugged out ghost hunting real estate agents, Red Light Properties! Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

Daily Dig!

Why You MUST READ VALIANT at 13th DIMENSION

By CLAY N. FERNO

Valiant Comics‘ Must Read Valiant Greatest Hits Volume 1 is out now and the oversized comic is priced at $5.99 to get you into the increasingly popular Valiant Universe for the price of two regular comic books! Superheroes, space travel, top talent and an unflinching editorial eye for quality makes for a rich universe. Are you one of those fans that thinks the X-Men have too many books and The Avengers are cool on the big screen, but Avengers Mansion seems like a Spanx-filled flop house? Come on over to the Valiant side, there’s room for everyone over here and it all makes sense together!

Let us first take a look at the offerings in Greatest Hits Vol. 1. Back in MY day, we called this a 100-Page Giant. We’ll keep it short so you can start working on your Shadowman and Ninjak cosplays by the end of the article.

We start off with Valiant’s Iron-Prince-Out-Of-Water, X-O Manowar #5. The Visigoth from ancient Romania was taken away from the Vine aliens to toil on their farms before escaping and bonding with their most powerful weapon, the X-O Manowar armor. This issue reintroduces Ninjak, kind of like a Ninja Boba Fett. Killer issue!

Quantum and Woody #1 deals with two knucklehead step brothers who step into their late Dad’s  science lab when, of course, a life-altering scientific accident leaves them just as annoying to each other but all the more powerful! Who’s responsible for their Dad’s murder? What’s all this about a goat? For fans of snarky humor but also butt kicking!

[READ MORE at 13th DIMENSION]

DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for January 15, 2014

COMICS

Black Beetle is the more mysterious than the Shadow, has more gadgets than the Inspector, and his moody Colt City is plagued by murders! Check out our neo-noir hero from best-selling creator Francesco Francavilla in Vol. 2 starting issue Black Beetle: Necrologue #1. Golden Age hero Skyman gets a boost into the air from Dark Horse. Skyman #1 is written by Ultimates writer Joshua Hale Fialkov. The masterful John Byrne’s Triple Helix series comes to an end with Issue #4, further expanding the Byrne-verse of heroes that include Trio and of course Next Men! …Picks from LeaguePodcast.com!

2-BIT COMICS: Harlan Ellison’s “Phoenix Without Ashes” at 13th DIMENSION

In this new segment — 2-Bit Comics — Clay N. Ferno digs deep into back-issue bins and discount trade shelves, refusing to pay more for great comic stories found on discount! First up, Harlan Ellison’s IDW hardcover for “Phoenix Without Ashes.”Sharing his love for great stories found in the quarter bin may prompt you to revisit these books wherever you can find them, in a yellowed longbox or on your tablet!

By CLAY N. FERNO

The Seventies were a great time for science fiction, though the genius of Harlan Ellison’s stories were often mucked with enough to make him take his name off plenty of projects. A TV version of this graphic novel appeared on Canadian and American stations in 1973 under the new name, “The Starlost.” Audiences were told Ellison’s alter-ego Cordwainer Bird created and wrote the show.

As a concept for sci-fi and comics, this merges the best of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Lost,” “Doctor Who” and of course a bit of “Star Trek.” All the action starts out in an Amish town, where our main man Devon is accused of being a heretic, speaking out against the Elders, who have lied to the villagers about the will of the Creator.

Devon is driven to the edge of the mountains by an angry mob after revealing the hoax to his beloved Rachel, to whom his love is forbidden as she has been promised to a man named Garth since birth.

The naturally curious Devon has had questions all his life about where the sky starts and ends, and why the Creator has only given his people 50 square miles of land on which to live.

Devon discovers, by his exile, an escape, in the quite literal form of a hatch that drops him into a most unusual place — the life support system of a very large space ship en route to certain doom into the heart of a nova!

[READ MORE at 13th DIMENSION]

FORCES OF GEEK - BEST OF 2013 (part 4

I’m at the top of the list! Who Knew?

Here’s a teaser…

Clay N Ferno
Twitter • LeaguePodcast.com • DigBoston.com

Best Movies: Man of Steel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, This is The End, White House Down, Red 2
Best TV Shows: Mad Men, Arrow, Dracula, Boardwalk Empire, Walking Dead…

Want to read the rest?

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK!]

EARTH PRIME TIME: INTERVIEW: MIKE KADOMIYA OF “LIFE IS POSERS”

Mike Kadomiya, aka Rufio (of War of Words), teams up with our very own Brian Connolly (Nothing Mattress) for a punk rock book release this Thursday at Lorem Ipsum. Rufio joins Earth Prime Time to let us know what we may expect from the event, including the live Q&A from alien expert Chris Pittman! 

DIGBOSTON: Rufio, thanks so much for joining us today! Tell us about your book release at Lorem Ipsum.
Mike Kadomiya: Thanks for having me! The book release party will be this Thursday, January 9th. We are celebrating the release of Life is Posers Volume 2: Aftermath, as well as Brian Connolly’s second book, How Come Nothing Mattress. Admission is FREE and there will be CHEAP BEER! It will be a rare, fun night in Adult Allston (Inman Square).

Life is Posers – MIKE KADOMIYA

DIGBOSTON: Do you expect a bunch of decked out punks there, or can I come as well? Who else is going to be there? Chris Pittman?

The last book release party was a healthy mix of boners, normaloids, punks, punx, hippies, and herberts.

I am anticipating a similar crowd. All with a willingness to laugh at moronic cartoons are welcome! Chris Pittman will be conducting a live interview with Brian and I, followed by an audience Q & A.

DIGBOSTON: When did the online version of Life is Posers start and why?
Life is Posers was born online at the very start of 2011. I believe Nothing Mattress started at almost exactly the same time.

[READ MORE AT DIGBOSTON.COM]

DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for January 8, 2014

COMICS

Peter David’s X-Factor has mutated into a new #1.NOW! Camine Di Giandomenico is on art, and Polaris is in charge of the team that includes Quicksilver and Gambit! Fox #3 from Dean Haspiel and Mark Waid takes Fox to an adventure time filled with dragons & dungeons! … Aw Yeah, Lil’ Vampi #1 one shot from Dynamite is the cute kid version of Vampirella! Cover by Art Baltazar, interior art by MLP’s Agnes Garbowska! … Picks from LeaguePodcast.com!

Triple Shot With a Digital Chaser: G.I. JOE: #12, SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #7, INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #17 plus KAMI #1

Happy New Year!  We hope you get to make your regularly scheduled trip to the comic store this week and when you do, take into consideration this Triple Shot! 

G.I. Joe gets a new writer that explores the origins of different Cobra Commanders past and present, the new Beetle’s origin starts at a birthday party years ago in The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, and Hulk gets mad when people start invading his space in Indestructible Hulk #17.

Kami is a nice quick chaser over at ComiXology.

G.I. JOE #12
WRITER: Paul Allor
ART: Alex Cal, Steve Kurth
Publication Date: December 31, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: IDW Publishing
UPC: 82771400431101211
Buy it HERE

It is no surprise to anyone that I am a fanatical G.I. Joe fan, I literally wear it on my sleeve in the form of an Arashikage tattoo.

Larry Hama’s Marvel run (continuing to date over at IDW) is what got me into comics, and the reboot of the franchise at IDW has impressed and compelled me to write about the multiple IDW series from the get go.

That was because names like Chuck Dixon, Hama, Christos Gage, Mike Costa and Fred Van Lente were carrying on the legacy.


Sure, the main series has had its low points but in general, overall I have been happy.

To my surprise, a guest on my podcast, a relative unknown writer in the scheme of things, Paul Allor was tapped to take over for Fred Van Lente on Season 3 after his departure. Allor cut his teeth in Comics Experience (online classes led by former Joe Editor Andy Schmidt) and quickly got pro work on several TMNT titles.

Allor is picking up on a Gage and Costa concept from G.I. Joe: Cobra in which the Cobra organization has been around for centuries. Like an anonymous Pope, one Commander is replaced by the next, hiding his identity.

This book tells the story of at least two Commanders, not including the present day as C.C. hires a Press Agent to tell the story behind Cobra.

Taking over for one of comics hottest writers, Fred Van Lente can not be easy, and I am delighted to say Paul Allor pulls it off! I can’t wait for the next issue, and more ghosts of Cobra Commanders past!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

TARDIS on The COSMIC TREADMILL – A Look at IDW's 'DOCTOR WHO 2013 SPECIAL #1' - FORCES OF GEEK

After a visit to the town called Christmas in the Time of the Doctor, Who fans are sure to miss Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor.

Just the day before, on Tuesday, December 45th, IDW Publishing marked its regeneration cycle by releasing a 53 page year end special in tribute not only to Matt but to the publisher’s claim to the Time Lord.

Since 2008, IDW was the first US publisher to have the comic rights through the BBC to new stories with the tenth and eleventh doctors, and this book is a sign off for them. Written by longtime Doctor Who television and comics writer Paul Cornell and drawn by Jimmy Braxton (Cornell’s partner on Batman: Knight and Squire).

Rarely does a single issue deem itself worthy of a run on the Cosmic Treadmill, but as the New Year, a new Doctor, and the next 50 years of Doctor Who are all converging on a timey wimey convergence, this one is definitely worth picking up.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for January 1, 2014

COMICS

Ahh, the first comics picks of the new year! Friend of the League Paul Allor takes over on G.I. Joe #12 revealing the secret origin of Cobra and Cobra Commanders of the past! … Another League Friendly, Jamal Igle draws blaxploitation send up Black Dynamite #1 in a new kung-fu mini-series, suckas! … Dynamite and Babylon 5’s J. Michael Straczynski bring back The Twilight Zone in a new #1 unlock this door with the key to imagination by going to your local comic book store! Picks for your mind this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

Triple Shot With a Digital Chaser: HARLEY QUINN #1, G.I. JOE: COBRA FILES #9, ILLEGITIMATES #1 plus DIARY OF NIGHT #1

Today, on a very special holiday edition of Triple Shot, we help Harley Quinnmove into her new place, mourn the loss of one of our favorite G.I. Joe titles, introduce the family to The Illegitimates plus read a different kind of vampire diary at ComiXology with Diary of Night #1.



  

HARLEY QUINN #1
WRITTEN BY: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti
ART: Chad Hardin
Publication Date: December 18, 2013
Price: $2.99
Publisher: DC Comics
UPC: 76194131887500111
Buy it HERE

Since Death of the Family, the Joker has been missing, presumed dead.  And Harley herself kicked off the New 52 by starring in Suicide Squad.

Last month, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti gave Dr. Quinzel her own book in the form of an anthology introduction, Harley Quinn #0 with too many guest artists to even fit on the cover.

This month, the story takes off as we recommend Conner & Palmiotti’s new Harley Quinn #1 with series artist Chad Hardin. Harley rides a Harley into her new apartment in Coney Island left to her by an Arkham patient. 

The series is off to a great start, and plenty of action and storytelling in this debut issue.

A Danzig lookalike Big Tony helps get her acquainted to the neighborhood just as she finds out she’ll still have some responsibilities in the building as landlord, mostly financial concerns. She applies to become a doctor in residence at a nursing home with some dangerous patients, and on the next page she is pwning a roller derby team tryout!

Fun stuff to watch Harley start over in the New 52, and also to explore her therapeutic side as she rekindles her practice.

But also this is fun because she hits people with a big wooden mallet.

Excited to see where this goes!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]