No fool — April’s gonna be AWESOME!

New books from — can you believe all these names? — Sam Kieth, Adam Hughes, Jim Steranko, Jeff Smith, Daniel Clowes (his first original graphic novel!), Jim Woodring, and Neil Gaiman!

And and AND: the New Avengers Finale with art by Bryan Hitch, a new Flash title by Geoff Johns, and a Fraggle Rock comic!

———-  MARVEL COMICS  ———-

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #25

Written by MATT FRACTIONPencils & 50/50 Covers by SALVADOR LARROCAFoilogram Variant by RYAN MEINERDINGMOVIE VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLEIRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT by JOE KUBERT

Double-sized issue! Co-released alongside this summer’s surefire blockbuster hit IRON MAN 2, this issue is the perfect jumping-on point for fans of the films and readers new and old alike! New year. New decade. New trade dress. New threats. New loves. New armor. New Tony Stark. New storyline: RESILIENT. Get onboard the Eisner-award winning INVINCIBLE IRON MAN here!48 PGS./Rated A …$3.99

NEW AVENGERS: FINALE

Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDISPencils & Cover by BRYAN HITCH

In the wake of SIEGE, an ALL NEW shocking conclusion to the landmark NEW AVENGERS series. NEW AVENGERS is coming to an end…but not without a bang. For the first time ever, series regular Brian Bendis teams up with the superstar artist that reinvented team books for this generation…Bryan Hitch. The entirety of the Marvel landscape has changed and many Avengers do not know their place in it. But before they can move on, some very important loose ends need to be tied up. A.K.A. it’s payback time!! All this and a bevy of super star artists stop by to pay tribute to the work they made famous over the course of this top-selling book.64 PGS./One-Shot/Rated A …$4.99

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2 #1

Written by MARK MILLARPencils & Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YUVillain Variant by MARC SILVESTRI Foilogram Variant by LEINIL FRANCIS YU

Some jobs are just too dirty for the Ultimates. For these, Nick Fury must gather the Avengers, a black ops team willing to do the missions that others won’t. What role will an infamous mass killer play in Fury’s plans? Find out here, as the Punisher returns to the Ultimate Universe! The blockbuster team of MARK MILLAR (ULTIMATES) and LEINIL FRANCIS YU (SECRET INVASION) presents the explosive beginning to ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT.32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

Written by JONATHAN HICKMANPenciled by DUSTIN WEAVERCover by GERALD PARELHistorical Variant by DUSTIN WEAVERBlack & White Issue Variant also available

Leonardo Da Vinci was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. So was Issac Newton. So were Imhotep and Zhang Heng and Galileo and many other geniuses throughout time. They were the first heroes to defeat Galactus and the Brood and turn Celestials back. They saved the world long before Captain America or Iron Man were ever born, but what does this mean to our heroes of today? What does this mean to Nick Fury? Do not miss this Marvel Comics masterpiece that fans will be talking about for decades to come. All the insanity is courtesy of JONATHAN HICKMAN (FANTASTIC FOUR, SECRET WARRIORS, Nightly News) and DUSTIN WEAVER (X-MEN).40 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL. 3:WORLD’S MOST WANTED BOOK 2 TPB

Written by MATT FRACTIONPenciled by SALVADOR LARROCACover by SALVADOR LARROCA

Tony Stark hits rock bottom! He lost his closest friends in the Civil War. He had his leadership of the Avengers taken away and his status as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. stripped from him. He’s been declared the most wanted fugitive in Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign. And if you thought that was as bad as it was going to get, you thought wrong. Tony Stark is a man on the run and pushed to his absolute limits — with his armor failing and his only friends left just as compromised as he — but he’s poised to lose the one thing that’s separated him from every other human on the planet: his mind! A centerpiece of Marvel’s Dark Reign event, WORLD’S MOST WANTED BOOK 2 concludes the sprawling epic that helped earn INVINCIBLE IRON MAN thecoveted Eisner Award for Best New Series! Collecting INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #14-19.160 PGS./Rated A …$14.99

———-  DC COMICS  ———-

BRIGHTEST DAY #0

On sale APRIL 14 • 56 pg, FC, $3.99 USWritten by Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi • Art by Fernando Pasarin Cover by David Finch1:50 Variant cover by Ivan Reis

The biggest event in comics continues as BRIGHTEST DAY burns back the BLACKEST NIGHT! Although the threat of Nekron appears to be over, the effects that the already classic BLACKEST NIGHT will have on the DC Universe will be felt for years to come. This issue not only sets the stage for the new ongoing bi-weekly DC Universe book, BRIGHTEST DAY, but also the next exciting era of the DC Universe!

THE FLASH #1

On sale APRIL 14 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 USWritten by GEOFF JOHNS • Art, cover and 1:100 variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL1:25 Variant cover by Tony Harris

A BRIGHTEST DAY tie-in! Get in on the ground floor of DC’s next epic in the making! The Flash races out of BLACKEST NIGHT and into his own monthly title as the all-new adventures of The Fastest Man Alive start with “Case One: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues!” Barry Allen runs back to his life in Central City, but when one of the Rogues turns up murdered under mysterious circumstances, it’s up to The Flash to not only solve this bizarre crime, but protect those that are still targeted by the elusive killer. Plus, don’t miss a peek into the future of the Flash universe in this special, extra-sized starting point issue!

BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM — MADNESS HC

Advance-solicited • On sale June 23 • 112 pg, FC, $19.99 USWritten by SAM KIETH • Art and cover by SAM KIETH

An original Batman graphic novel set in Arkham Asylum from Sam Kieth, creator of THE MAXX!It is the most feared house in all of Gotham City. It contains the worst that the city has to offer. It is the place The Dark Knight’s most dangerous and psychotic foes call home. Writer/artist Sam Kieth, creator of THE MAXX and artist of the acclaimed miniseries LOBO: HIGHWAY TO HELL, invites you to spend 24 hours in Arkham Asylum – the most unsettling house in the DC Universe.

COVER RUN: THE DC COMICS ART OF ADAM HUGHES HC

Advance-solicited • On sale JUNE 23 • 208 pg, FC 6.75” X 10.25”, $39.99 USWritten by ADAM HUGHESArt and cover by ADAM HUGHES

Collecting the best of Eisner Award winner Adam Hughes’s spectacular, sexy covers for WONDER WOMAN, CATWOMAN and other DC series. This amazing collection features the best of Hughes’ work for DC Comics, along with commentary from the artist, rarely seen preliminary material and much more!

BATWOMAN: ELEGY DELUXE EDITION HC

Advance-solicited • On sale JUNE 30 • 192 pg, FC 7.0625” X 10.875”, $24.99 USWritten by GREG RUCKAArt and cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III

In her first hardcover, collecting tales from DETECTIVE COMICS #854-860, Batwoman battles a madwoman known only as Alice, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, who sees her life as a fairy tale and everyone around her as expendable! Batwoman must stop Alice from unleashing a toxic death cloud over all of Gotham City — but Alice has more up her sleeve than just poison, and Batwoman’s life will never ever be the same.

THE VIKING PRINCE BY JOE KUBERT HC

Advance-solicited • On sale JUNE 30 • 296 pg, FC, $39.99 USWritten by ROBERT KANIGHER and BOB HANEY Art and cover by Joe Kubert

In fifth century Iceland, an amnesiac Viking warrior faces peril from the ruler of a neighboring village, as well as giants, sea monsters, witches and more. Collecting classic adventure tales from THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #1-5, 7-20, and OUR ARMY AT WAR #162 and 163.

DV8: GODS & MONSTERS #1

On sale APRIL 21 • 1 of 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 USWritten by BRIAN WOOD • Art by REBEKAH ISAACS • Cover by FIONA STAPLES1:10 Variant cover by JIM LEE

The fan-favorite series DV8 returns with the eight-part “Gods & Monsters” arc written by critically acclaimed writer Brian Wood (DEMO, DMZ, NORTHLANDERS) with art by up-and-comer Rebekah Isaacs (Drafted). In their short history, the mismatched band of superpowered losers, freaks and masochists of DV8 have seen a lot and done even more, but it’s nothing compared to this. As Gem Antonelli (a.k.a. Copycat) is debriefed in a holding cell, the story of how eight troubled teenagers were briefly gods to a prehistorical world unfolds against the backdrop of a cataclysmic disaster. “The Day I Tried To Live” is part one in this amazing and tragic story unlike anything set in the WildStorm Universe before.

EX MACHINA VOL. 9: RING OUT THE OLD TP

Advance-solicited • On sale MAY 12 • 160 pg, FC, $14.99 US MATURE READERSWritten by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN • Art by TONY HARRIS & JP LEON Cover by Tony Harris

In this volume collecting EX MACHINA #40-44 and SPECIAL #4, Mayor Hundred descends into the NYC sewers to learn why he was given the strange powers that helped him become the heroic Great Machine. Meanwhile, a powerful new foe reveals a terrifying plan that’s been in the works since the first issue!

NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE HC

Advance-solicited • On sale June 9 • 160 pg, FC, $19.99 US • MATURE READERSWritten by JOSHUA DYSART • Art and cover by CLIFF CHIANG

Legendary singer-songwriter, musician and activist Neil Young brings one of his most personal albums, GREENDALE, to comics.  Overseeing the work of acclaimed writer Joshua Dysart (UNKNOWN SOLDIER) and fan-favorite artist Cliff Chiang (HUMAN TARGET), they compose a graphic novel that explores a whole new dimension to the album that Rolling Stone voted as one of the best of its year.In the Fall of 2003, as the nation gallops into war, a politically active teenage girl named Sun lives, loves and dreams in a small California town named Greendale.Sun’s always been different. There’s been talk that the women in her family have all had a preternatural communion with nature.  And when a Stranger comes to town – a character whose presence causes Greendale to, well, go to hell – she’ll find herself on a journey both mystical and mythical.   To face the Stranger, she’ll unearth the secrets of her family in a political coming-of-age story infused with its own special magic.

SWEET TOOTH VOL. 1: OUT OF THE WOODS TP

“Writer and artist Jeff Lemire has created the new ‘must read’ book with SWEET TOOTH.” — GEOFF JOHNS“Spellbinding and offbeat . . . emotionally charged.” — USA TODAY“A grabber from the get-go…” — THE ONIONAdvance-solicited • On sale May 12  •128 pg, FC $9.99 US • MATURE READERSWritten by JEFF LEMIRE  Art and cover by JEFF LEMIRE

The first five issues of Jeff Lemire’s acclaimed new series introduce Gus, a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid who was raised in isolation following a pandemic that struck a decade earlier. Now, with the death of his father, he’s left to fend for himself . . . until he meets a hulking drifter named Jepperd, who promises to help him. Jepperd and Gus set out on a post-apocalyptic journey into the devastated American landscape to find ‘The Preserve,’ a refuge for hybrids.

———-  DARK HORSE COMICS  ———-

RED TIDE HC

im Steranko (W/A)On sale Jun 23FC, 128 pages $19.99HC, 7″ x 10″

After emerging as Marvel Comics’ most controversial superstar, Jim Steranko tackled his greatest artistic challenge: creating an entirely new medium, the visual novel—not an illustrated novel or novel-length comic book, but a seamless fusion of interdependent graphic and prose narratives forming a powerful and original new method of telling stories. An artistic tour-de-force, Red Tide is hard-boiled detective fiction in the bare-knuckle tradition of Hammett, Cain, and Chandler, as well as the dark, atmospheric milieu of film noir. Dark Horse is proud to reintroduce this landmark work, remastered with state-of-the-art digital colors by Eisner Award-winner Dave Stewart, in a collector’s quality hardcover edition.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MARTHA WASHINGTON IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Frank Miller (W), Dave Gibbons (A), and Angus McKie (C)On sale June 30FC, 600 pages $29.99TPB, 7″ x 10″

Just in time for the Fourth of July! A masterpiece nearly twenty years in the making, this archival volume contains the complete life story of Martha Washington, the twenty-first century freedom fighter created by comic-book megastars Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), now in a more affordable softcover edition.Our story begins in the squalid corridors of a maximum-security housing project, where a young girl will rise from the war-torn streets of Chicago to battle injustice in a world insane with corruption. Her fight will take her far, from the frontlines of the second American Civil War, to the cold, unforgiving reaches of space. She will be called a hero, a traitor, and nearly everything in between, but all along the way, her courage, her integrity, and her unwavering commitment to that most valuable of rights—liberty—will inspire a movement that will never surrender.• The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-first Century contains six hundred stunning pages of work from two of the top creators in comics!• Collecting remastered versions of every Martha Washington story and featuring the same extensive behind-the-scenes section by Dave Gibbons and introduction by Frank Miller as the hardcover edition.

HELLBOY VOLUME 10: THE CROOKED MAN AND OTHERS

Mike Mignola (W/A), Joshua Dysart (W), Richard Corben (A), Jason Shawn Alexander (A), Duncan Fegredo (A),  and Dave Stewart (Cover)On sale June 23FC, 160 pages $17.99TPB, 7″ x 10″

The Eisner Award–winning miniseries The Crooked Man, by Mignola and Richard Corben, teams Hellboy with a wandering hillman in a devilish tale of Appalachian witchcraft. This volume also includes the rare “They Who Go Down to the Sea in Ships” by Mignola, Josh Dysart (B.P.R.D.: 1947), and Jason Shawn Alexander (Abe Sapien: The Drowning), never before available for purchase; Mignola and Duncan Fegredo’s “The Mole,” from Free Comic Book Day 2008; and Mignola’s most recent solo outing, “In the Chapel of Moloch.” • Also includes a look into the artists’ sketchbooks!

———-  IMAGE COMICS  ———-

TURF #1

story JONATHAN ROSSart & cover TOMMY LEE EDWARDS1:20 variant cover by DUNCAN FEGREDO1: 50 variant cover by JIM STERANKO1:100 variant sketch cover by TOMMYLEE EDWARDSAPRIL 732 PAGES / FC $2.99

A four- issue hard boiled noir crime thriller with girls, guns, fangs and aliens.New York, 1929. The height of prohibition. The cops turn a blind eye while the mobs run the city, dealing in guns, girls and illegal liquor. But the arrival of the mysterious Dragonmir Family from Eastern Europe with more of a taste for blood then booze co-incides with a series of brutal attacks on the gangsters themselves.  As the gangs fall before the fangs, only handful of mobsters survive. But an unlikely alliance formed between tough guy Eddie Falco and a character from a LONG way from New York City – a long way from Earth in fact – offers the humans a glimmer of hope. As the strong willed young reporter Susie Dale from the Gotham Herald tries to survive in the middle of the maelstrom, and an ancient prophecy unfolds, no one can guess who’s going to win the battle for this particular slice of Turf.

———-  OTHER PUBLISHERS  ———-

FRAGGLE ROCK #1

(W/A) Various

It’s time to dance your cares away as Archaia and The Jim Henson Company invite you to return once again to Fraggle Rock! Join Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober, and Red for a brand-new series of hilarious and heartfelt adventures written and drawn by some of the most imaginative creators in comics. Whether you’re a fan of the original series or new to the world of the Fraggles, this is one title you don’t want to miss. Just watch out for Gorgs!8×8, 32pgs, FC (1 of 4) $3.95

RASL VOLUME 2: THE FIRE OF ST. GEORGE TP

(W/A) Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith’s fast paced sci-fi thriller about an inter-dimensional art thief continues in this action-packed graphic novel. The secrets of RASL’s technology and his hidden past are exposed when a mysterious lizard-faced stranger starts killing the art thief’s girlfriends in multiple universes. The stranger knows that RASL used to work for the military-industrial complex on a project codenamed The St. George Array, and believes that RASL has stolen secrets that will unlock the power of the universe. Collects issues #4-7. Mature themes.SC, 9×12, 112pgs, B&W $15.00

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL GN

(W) Tony Lee (A) Cliff Richards

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies — Jane Austen’s immortal classic of Regency romance, brought to glorious, gory new life with zombie mayhem from Seth Grahame-Smith. The book quickly became a New York Times bestseller, and now the story is a graphic novel — the perfect format to bring this remixed masterpiece to zombie-loving pop-culture fans. Elizabeth Bennet is one of England’s most fearsome warriors, whose speed with a sword is only matched by her quick wit. But she faces her most formidable foe yet in the haughty, conceited, and yet strangely attractive person of Mr. Darcy. As the two lovers meet in the ballroom and on the battlefield, they’ll soon learn that nothing — not even bands of ninjas, disapproving aunts, and an army of ravenous zombies — can stop true love. (C: 0-1-2)SC, 7×10, 144pgs, B&W $14.99

THE STUFF OF LEGEND TP

(W) Mike Raicht, Brian Smith (A) Charles Paul Wilson III

A stunningly beautiful graphic novel, The Stuff of Legend is a wonderful and haunting tale of loyalty, friendship, and perseverance in the face of a nightmarish foe. When a child is taken by the fearsome Boogeyman, his loyal toys rally and stage a rescue operation to get him back. Led by the fearless Colonel, Max the Bear, Percy the Pig, Jester, and others must fight hordes of toys in order to save the boy from the absolutely fearsome Boogeyman. Can they unite and defeat their foe, or will internal divisions threaten to lose the boy — and themselves — forever? (C: 0-1-2)SC, 6×9, 144pgs, B&W $13.00

WILSON HC

(W/A) Daniel Clowes

In his all-new graphic novel, one of the leading cartoonists of our time, Daniel Clowes, creates a thoroughly engaging, complex and fascinating character study of the modern egotist, outspoken and oblivious to the world around him. Working in a single-page-gag format and drawing in a spectrum of styles, the cartoonist of Ghost World gives us his funniest and most deeply affecting novel to date. Wilson, an opinionated middle-aged loner, loves his dog and possibly no one else. After his father dies, Wilson sets out to find his ex-wife with the hope of rekindling their long-dead relationship, and discovers he has a teenage daughter, born after the marriage ended and given up for adoption. Wilson eventually forces all three to reconnect as a family — a doomed mission that will surely, inevitably backfire. Wilson is Clowes’ first all-new graphic novel that has not been serialized and is being presented in book form for the first time.MATURE THEMESHC, 8×11, 80pgs, FC $21.95

WEATHERCRAFT HC

(W/A) Jim Woodring104 pgs / BW / 7.5 x 9.5 / HC $19.99THE FIRST GRAPHIC NOVEL FROM A MASTER OF THE FORM

For over 20 years now, Jim Woodring has delighted, touched, and puzzled readers around the world with his lush, wordless tales of “Frank.”Weathercraft is Woodring’s first full-length graphic novel set in this world—indeed, Woodring’s first graphic novel, period!—and it features the same hypnotically gorgeous linework and mystical iconography.As it happens, Frank has only a brief supporting appearance in Weathercraft, which actually stars Manhog, Woodring’s pathetic, brutish everyman (or everyhog), who had previously made several appearances in “Frank” stories (as well as a stunning solo turn in the short story “Gentlemanhog”).After enduring 32 pages of almost incomprehensible suffering, Manhog embarks upon a transformative journey and attains enlightenment. He wants to go to celestial realms but instead altruistically returns to the Unifactor to undo a wrong he has inadvertently brought about: The transformation of the evil politician Whim into a mind-destroying plant-demon who distorts and enslaves Frank and his friends. The new and metaphysically expanded Manhog sets out for a final battle with Whim…Weathercraft also co-stars Frank’s cast of beloved supporting characters, including Frank’s Faux Pa and the diminutive, mailbox-like Pupshaw and Pushpaw; it is both a fully independent story that is a great introduction to Woodring’s world, and a sublime addition to, and extension of, the Frank stories.Weathercraft will be a defining graphic novel of 2010.

PRIME BABY TP

(W/A) Gene Luen Yang

A tale of math, aliens, and sibling rivalry from the pages of the New York Times and the pen of Eisner Award-winner Gene Luen Yang. Thaddeus doesn’t like his new sister (she’s not that smart — and she gets all the attention). He likes her even less when he discovers that she’s an inter-dimensional conduit for peace-loving aliens (who are totally lame — all they want to do is knit socks for the homeless and have sing-a-longs!). But what’s even worse is that no one will believe him about any of this! How is he ever going manage to grow up to become the President of Earth?SC, 8.25×6, 64pgs, FC $6.99

THE LAST UNICORN #1

(W) Peter S. Beagle, Peter B. Gillis (A/C) Renae De Liz

Whimsical. Lyrical. Poignant. Adapted for the first time from the acclaimed and beloved novel by Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn is a tale for any age about the wonders of magic, the power of love, and the tragedy of loss. The unicorn, alone in her enchanted wood, discovers that she may be the last of her kind. Reluctant at first, she sets out on a journey to find her fellow unicorns, even if it means facing the terrifying anger of the Red Bull and malignant evil of the king who wields his power. Adapted by Peter B. Gillis and lushly illustrated by Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon.32pgs, FC $3.99

NEIL GAIMAN: INSTRUCTIONS HC

(W) Neil Gaiman (A) Charles Vess

Award-winning author Neil Gaiman and acclaimed artist Charles Vess reteam with Instructions, a fantastical new picture book about the rules to follow and how to get around if you happen to find yourself traveling in a fairytale world. Gaiman’s lyrical poem guides a novice traveler through the enchanted woods of a fairytale as he travels through lush gardens, a formidable castle, and over a perilous river, to find his way home again. Illustrated in full color by Charles Vess, Instructions features lush images of mythical creatures, magical landscapes, and beautiful princesses as it spreads its message of the value of courage, wit, and wisdom. (C: 0-1-2)HC, 11×9, 160pgs, FC $14.99