Another Thursday falls this month, and for March 17, these are the goods getting picked on:

Clearly there must be something wrong when starting a mini-series on its second issue. Unless of course that reason is due to having missed out on even remembering that the first issue was even released. And so it will be on reading Lions, Tigers and Bears #2, a four issue mini-series from Image about a kid and his toys. Calvin and Hobbes comes to mind, as does a really hard edged sword for no particular reason.

Hark! Another from the Mike S. Miller churn school, Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker #1 hits this week with hints of Fables all around it. Still, with the cover image looking a little strange, it's a pick on the basis that its only one issue of a four-parter that isn't tied down in some heavy continuity.

Not saying that Ultimate Spider-Man #74 is, but sometimes you want to test the waters out there. Along with teen Parker is Ex Machina #9 and a vague recollection that perhaps a tax write-off could be in order for a few of these issues. If only there was a receipt. Alas.

Fear not a rambling end, Freedom Force #3 should continue the rollicking fast-paced action of this limited series from Image/Irrational Games. And boy, what a pace, where's the room to breathe? This comic is nuts with all out action and a shaky plot that bounces too fast for it to even keep up. Really moved the video game in with a synch.

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Near to the point of toppling over, the last haul of comics should see hardly any reason to pick something new up. But, as always, there is ever the glint lining the new shipping crying out for some eyeball lovin' on March 10.

Crack heads, self-mutilation and killing sprees get a mention in the Armor X #1 write up on the Across the Pond site. Sounds intriguing enough. Not overtly crash hot on reading another "guy in a suit" comic, but if the rest holds, it could be a goer.

Spider-Girl #84 sees May Day in a fight against Venom. Might pick it up. It's an easy series to just jump in on every now and then. Short stories done mostly within a comic while still holding a few threads for issues later on. Previous tests were good, so it's hopeful.

A god killing gods sounds like the premise for Atomika #1 out of Speakeasy Comics. The cover image is nothing if not rippling with muscles. Most likely a tentative pick.

Having read the first two Stan Lee's Riftworld novels, Stan Lee's Alexa is remarkably similarly intoned. Real life superheroes with comics under license and the celebrity of it all. Sounds a bit like listening to Vince McMahon deliver the intros on that History of Wrestlemania DVD.

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So, on with the stuff coming on March 3:

Legend #1 and Seventh Shrine #1 both look good enough to pick up. Why? Just because they're number ones with no previous runs (as far as the memory will recall). Chaykin on one, Robert Silverberg on the other. Here's to something else.

Casefiles: Sam and Twitch #14 might be a pick only if it was sort of like in line with #13. That issue was all about Sam, his brother and their relationship. Fragile at that. Was a good read, but still unsure if that was right.

Ultimate Ironman #1 looks like it might have foil. Foil covers, how long has it been since one of those? Not long enough. Starting to feel no inkling toward just grabbing Ulimate line titles on the sheer power of the universe alone. Maybe.

Captain America and The Falcon #13 is the penultimate issue. After this there's no more fun and head work, gone is another fine buddy book from Priest. Here's hoping the art by Dan Fraga holds up well following the stint from Bennett. Squirmy art at a lie.

Ultimate Spider-man #73 is three issues away from the current read pile. What the hell was that Doctor Strange thing all about?

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February 27 is calling, and these are tempting some prawns to be hung out on the line. No, that's worms...

Futurama #1
Harking back to times when money was scant and fun was still around, the re-order of Futurama Comics #1 seems like a good chance to pick it up. Coming in on the end of the latest issue of said series, and at the end of a time-travelling arc, why not? Not like there's going to be any new Futurama cartoons being made now is there? Sure, the trades are all well and good, but this is a comic with a letters page. And you don't get that in trades. Unless of course you're waiting for that monster of a Cerebus letters collection later in the year.

The Matrix Comics volume 1
Missed this one the first time around. Lingering and conflicting thoughts and expectations: Get it. Don't get it. Pay for it, wait for a sale. Such indecision led to the eventual evaporation from the shelves. Like as if nobody really ordered enough to cover the demand. And there was a demand. Back before the Wachowski brothers started to introduce the rest of the mythology. Not to say that it was all bad. Just a little unwieldy at the seams. Feeling good things about this one.

Amazing Spider-Man #517
Falling a little behind on the reading of this one. Last issue read was the finale of that horrendously sacrilegious -- since canon is holy -- "Sins Past"

Invincible #20
Might grab this if the hands are quick enough. Short ordered. The strength of the taste based on the fact that the first trade, Family Matters, was a fun, solid and punchy read.

Following Cerebus #3
Not too sure about the zine. Haven't touched #1 and only read a few pages of #2. Also, haven't even read much Cerebus outside the very last issue. Still have those two free signed copies as part of that Dave Sim experiment carried out through Neil Gaiman's site.

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So what looks good coming in on February 17?

Out of the old pulp movie times in the crank house of Hollywood, Captain Gravity and the Power of the Vril #3 as a pick for the week harks back to those such times. Times when things were so bold and open, when dreams were just starting to soar into the air. That I still haven't read the second issue despite buying it over a month ago should not dissuade opinion. The first issue itself was a rock solid romp back into those times. The tone, the feel, the characters, these are like people lifted straight from the lot of The Rocketeer. Or the universe of. It's that kind of warmth.

Speaking of which, Freedom Force #1 was a rollicking mad train of outlandishing Silver-Age comicbook era fun. The garish costumes, the garish dialogue and the garish sudden introduction of new characters within a heartbeat of a panel. Fast and out of the blocks. The first issue was all things crazy and wild. Here's hoping number two keeps up the pace.

Regular hauls for this week include: Astonishing X-men #8, Captain America and The Falcon #12 and Ex Machina #8. Not too sure about grabbing Trigger #3. While the first issue was good and the second one sits waiting to be read, there's other places the mind is going right now. Could very well be a spur of the moment thing, picking it up on the way toward the counter.

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Straight into the standing order for this week of February 3 is Ultimate Spider-Man #72. A possible maybe would be Spider-Girl #83. The latter being one in which the black costume makes a return. At this stage it continues to be a maybe this month, or maybe the next. No real connection or desire to pick up each and every issue. Yet.

To the picks for this week: Creep #1 and Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Adventures TPB.

Whenever there was a comic convention around Sydney -- no matter how appallingly bad for actual comicbook readers -- there was an ongoing hunt for back issues of this 12 issue series by Evan Dorkin off the adventures of Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted "Theodore" Logan. Here and there, diving the back issues and long boxes brought over by the Yanks, pinching dollars to add another piece to the run. Over the course of the past few years, and with only 5 of the originals in hand, the hunt's gone soft. Now that there's a trade paperback collection -- stripped naked of interior colours -- it's most certainly gone to mush.

Then there's Creep. No real idea about it beyond the solicitation info that reads: "Adam, a freakish-looking bookworm, lets his rage take control, beating a date-rapist in a park on his way home." Most probably a black and white one shot, as have a couple of new tastes ventured. So why choose this as a pick? Maybe there's a super hero and spandex burnout that's going on right now. One that is actively looking for new stuff outside of Marvel and DC. This just happens to sound like the best new shot for the week.

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