Paul's Picks - Princeless Vol. 1 (by Action Lab Comics)

Welcome back to Paul's Picks! By way of a rapid introduction, This is the column where I (Paul) would typically review my favorite book from this week's releases. However, since I am currently living an hour from my nearest comic shop, I don't usually get to my books the week-of anymore. So instead of a weekly pick, I will be bringing all of the readers a glowing review of a recent title that should be read by all! Starting with...

Princeless, Book One: Save Yourself

- written by Jeremy Whitley with art and colors by M. Goodwin,

and letters by Jung-Ha Kim and Dave Dwonch.

The guys at AC delved into this title from the publisher Action Lab Comics for our All Ages Bonanza (specifically Part One, which can be found here online or here in iTunes). The story begins with a Disney-esque opening, with a queen telling a typical bedtime story to her young princess, Adrienne. This bedtime story is the age-old tale of the Princess, trapped in the top of the tallest tower, where only the bravest and strongest of princes can save her by slaying the dragon that holds her captive. As one might expect, this wasn't simply a bedtime story: it was an explanation for how Adrienne's life is going to be by decree of the king. But as the reader will quickly discover, the princess mold was broken with our protagonist. The first line that she delivers comes off of the tail of the fairytale, "That story was complete hogwash."

Buy This! - Feb 23rd, 2012

Every Monday Seth picks out three items that are due to ship on Wednesday and directs you toward your best bets for a quality purchase. Some times it's a single issue of a comic, other times a massive omnibus edition of a beloved series, and occasionally a figure or shiny bauble that caught his eye. Read on to find the three items you shouldn't leave your comic shop without this week.


Forgive the lack of a new column last week and the lateness of this week's but I've just returned from a week-long vacation down in the swamps of Florida... or Disney World if you prefer. It's sort of a light week, almost to the point where I was going to bail on this week's column and instead write about my trip to the House of Mouse and how it was surprisingly Marvel-free. However, after a bit of searching I did manage to dig up three purchases that would be worth anyone's time.

Before I get to that I'd just like to take this opportunity to again commend Marvel on their omnibus editions. I just picked up the Wolverine by Jason Aaron one this past week and it's definitely impressive. Not only for the wonderful knack Aaron has for writing Logan and the stories he places him in but for the package itself. While light on extras I'm still pleased every time I open a Marvel omnibus. The books lays flat when opened (none of that page-bleeding-into-the-gutter crap that DC pulls) and they're printed beautifully in an oversized format. With artists like Ron Garney and Yanick Paquette contributing to the issues contained therein it's a great book to have in a larger scale like this.