Tim O’Neil at The Hurting has entered the contest fray with some nifty prizes and a rather unusual set of criteria. He wants to know why you think he’s full of s__t. Craft a compelling argument to that end, and you could win the DC Comics Encyclopedia, a collection of essays by Warren Ellis, or Andi Watson’s Breakfast After Noon compilation. (I don’t know if you really need to think Tim is full of s__t, any more than the contestants on The Apprentice need to be competent businesspeople, but there you go.)

Also, deadlines are looming on the following:

• Ed Cunard’s Salmon Doubts contest at The Low Road
• Shane Bailey’s Walking Dead: Days Gone By contest at Near Mint Heroes
• The Win Scott Pilgrim contest at Peiratikos

Fish… zombies… slackers… s__t-talking… it’s the blogosphere in miniature, plus prizes!

Okay, the Avengers Message Board is at it again, but this time the Avengers 503 spoilers come with corroboration from a couple of different posters. Be warned that spoilers are posted in thread titles, so if you don’t want to know, don’t visit the board. (Links in this entry are to specific threads with spoilers in them.) Here’s a thorough run-down, but it’s in all caps, so keep your eye drops handy. Here’s the corroboration.

Brian Bendis (or BENDIS!) dropped by the Avengers Message Board to debunk the alleged spoilers posted there. At least I think that’s what he did:

“i got a lot of email based on something that was posted here that is no longer here. I didnt see any of what was posted, but i heard about it and a lot of it is made up stuff. not a true spoiler. no one has read 503 yet except tom b.”

Couldn’t be any clearer… or could it?

In other news, Avengers 503 came this close to shipping on time:

“that is is. no big drama. i posted this a month ago. we missed a printing cycle by a day.”

The only question remaining is, do I dare subject myself to a second issue of Wizard in as many months?

My quest for Comics That Make Me Glad I Read Comics is going pretty well. It got a significant boost with the recent purchase of Street Angel 1-3. Boy, do I love this book. It’s precisely the kind of fresh, exciting comic I’ve been looking for. The next issue comes out in December from Slave Labor Graphics, and it’s increasingly obvious that I’m going to have to start using Previews to order books that will never otherwise show up at the shop. This bothers me, because every time I look at an issue of Previews, I can actually hear a healthy, mature tree being ground into pulp.

This actually looks like a pretty good week for both DC and Marvel.

DC offers the second issue of the appealing Adam Strange mini-series, along with Birds of Prey, We3, and two collections of the excellent Sandman Mystery Theater. I’m cautiously optimistic about Kurt Busiek’s run on JLA, even though the art on some of the preview pages has been a bit uninspired. (I also wonder about the wisdom of picking up a plot thread from the JLA/Avengers book, but it could certainly work.)

The Black Widow mini-series continues at Marvel, along with a new issue of Mystique. Hey, it’s Glamorous Women of Espionage Week at the House of Ideas! (If one were inclined, you could throw in Ultimate Elektra and make it “Shady Dames” week or something, but I dropped the mini after the first issue.)

The Avengers Message Board spoiler thread seems to have vanished, apparently due to a lack of spoiler tags and for some mild profanity. I kind of suspected that would happen, so I saved the text of the message. Here’s an invisible version. Click and highlight to see:

***

First of all, [worker] has seen MOST of the pages for Avengers #503, but was not able to see all of them because of the restrictions of [his/her] actual job, AND the order and the (sometimes reverse) way that a number of pages [in the folios] were printed for this issue.

AND, he has ONLY a GENERAL knowledge of the Avengers and Marvel Comics.

[He/She] says…

The Chaos storyline all ties into Chthon’s 4th attempt to return to Earth.
It involves the Scarlet Witch and her attempt to restore her children.
The nether dimension where Chthon resides—after fleeing Earth and (Atum the god-killer?)—was later breached by The Sentry/Void (The Avenger’s GREATEST FOE! bah!) apparently in the Sentry Mini Series. Wanda’s mutant powers have always been bonded with Chthon’s residual energies in Wundagore Mountain and with Chaos magic. Chthon uses the hidden fears, hatreds, etc of Wanda’s closest friends, the Avengers, and allows these inner thoughts to destroy them from within. This includes things like Pym wishing that Hawkeye was dead after sleeping with “his wife,” and, get this, Jocasta to take revenge on Stark, apparently since Jocasta’s brain waves are Janet’s and because of other “mistreatments”? Receptionist? Damn weak.

Guest appearance at the end by…the Void, who, apparently has been the hero all along, and it was The Sentry who was banished to Earth. WTF?

Oh, and that’s not Iron Man in the armor on the preview pages. It’s Magda, Wanda’s mother. I s___ you not! In yet another retelling of Wanda’s origin (it’s all done in the tradition of the Avengers, though!).

I can hardly wait for the next nine days to read this epic.

***

Or, just e-mail me, and I’ll send the text to you. Oh, and apparently the next issue of Wizard spoils the reveal with some preview pages.

Well, maybe. A poster at the Avengers Message Board claims to have seen pages from Avengers #503, and boy, are some of the spoilers bizarre. That doesn’t mean any of them are out of the bounds of possibility, of course. As another poster put it, “It sure does sound like a load of convoluted, platinum-embossed twaddle tho’, wether true or not.”

Click if you dare.

The Pulse wants to know whodunnit or, more specifically, who readers think is the mastermind behind the Identity Crisis crime spree. Some theories, like this one from Jack Norris (named after one of my favorite Defenders supporting characters, perhaps?) comes with a heaping helping of snark:

“My guess is Capt. Boomerang’s never before heard of son. The motivation?, To shock readers and sell comics. And to make long time readers feel like they’ve been reading about a bunch of jerks for all these years.”

Some posters can’t even be bothered to guess, but they still have plenty to say. Take Steve Bunche:

“Rather than giving a toss about the killer’s identity, I’m much more concerned about what this series means for the tone of the DCU. The Justice League are not the Authority and I think this story sets a distasteful precedent; there is a place for violent fascism and sensationalistic content in comics but it truly saddens me to see it coming from the company that one could previously count on for comic book heroes that you’d like for your kids to read about.”

All I can say is, thank heavens there’s a place for violent fascism and sensationalistic content in comics. How else would Mark Millar pay his gambling debts?

But are readers able to make reasonable guesses at who the killer is? sdelmonte doesn’t think so:

“I think that Meltzer has simply not done enough to make it possible to guess. Whatever strengths this comic has – and there are many – one big flaw so far is that there are no real clues as far as I can tell. Everything is a red herring. 5/7th of the way home, and I see nothing that seems to be of any real use… I am concerned that Meltzer, who like many of his peers in the suspense novel industry, is less interested in the mystery than in the effects of the mystery. As a result, he might leave us with an ending as contrived and dimwitted as that in ‘Hush.'”

It’s not all disapproval, though. Take EvilRick:

“While a lot of other series are filled with hype, but not much else, every issue of this series makes me more excited about the next. My wife told me I was literally talking about Identity Crisis # 5 in my sleep last night, so I know I’m going crazy, but the first thing any customer asks when they walk in my store is ‘When is the next issue out?'”

Maybe The Pulse should have asked which innocuous supporting character was going to be offed next.

I’ve added a few new links to the sidebar:

• Tom Spurgeon has launched The Comics Reporter, and it looks like it’s going to be an excellent resource. Spurgeon hopes “that the site works in service to the professional, retail, andreadership communities.”
• I’ve been meaning to add the link to the Howling Curmudgeons for ages. The curmudgeonly contributors offer “two-fisted comics commentary and criticism.”
• I really enjoy Christopher Butcher’s Previews Review. He covers a great range of titles and throws in some really interesting retailer perspective.
• Last but not least is Prism Comics, “a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the work of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) creators in the comics industry, as well as LGBT themes in comics in general.” I love the Queer Eye on Comics essays. (Found via Postmodern Barney.)

In Yu Watase’s tense, elegant Alice 19th, the heroine’s main difficulty is her inability to express her true feelings. The protagonist of Watase’s antic, charming Imadoki! doesn’t have any such problem. Tanpopo says precisely what’s on her mind, and she can’t understand people who don’t.

The manga opens with a great visual. Having barely won admission to the elite Meio Academy, Tanpopo is eager to get a look at her new school before the session starts. Since the school gates are locked, she just launches herself over the fence, crashing into golden boy Koki in the process.

The act is a nice summary Tanpopo’s outlook. She takes the direct approach to life, which causes no end of disruption at her regimented new school. Her fellow students are keenly aware of the social structures that govern their environment. Tanpopo, coming from a friendly, small-town school, doesn’t have the faintest notion of how things work at a place like Meio. When her classmates and teachers try and explain it to her, she never even considers conforming.

It quickly earns her the nickname “Weed,” which is perfect on a couple of levels. Tanpopo means dandelion; she may be a “weed,” but, like her namesake, she’s sunny, pretty, and can bloom just about anywhere. That isn’t to say the Meio environment doesn’t do its level best to stop her; even the plants at the school are plastic.

Learning that, Tanpopo takes it upon herself to start a gardening committee. She wants to bring a little life into her stiff new school, and she sees it as an opportunity to reach out to Koki, who has his own issues. Koki may be the top student at Meio, and filthy rich to boot, but he doesn’t have any friends. He’s too aware of his privileged position and too suspicious of his fellow students’ motives in trying to befriend him.

The first two volumes track Tanpopo’s efforts to launch the committee, doggedly enlisting Koki’s aid and gradually expanding her circle at the school. One of those new friends is scheming, ruthless Tsukiko, who’s exactly the kind of climber Koki expects to find. Tsukiko is so blatant about her motives, though, that it makes her almost adorable. And Tanpopo doesn’t hold the fact that Tsukiko is a witch against her. She’s too much of an optimist to think that Tsukiko is defined only by her greed.

Tanpopo takes a similarly long view of Aoi, a seriously unbalanced computer geek. Aoi thinks even less of Meio’s caste system than Tanpopo does, but he takes decidedly more destructive steps to upset the status quo. He can’t help but be charmed by Tanpopo’s enthusiasm and impressed by Koki’s integrity, though. Aoi’s still crazy, but at least he’s using his powers for good. Mostly.

It’s harder to start a gardening club than you might expect, even with Koki’s full support. But it provides for some charming plots and engaging character interaction. Surprising almost no one, Tanpopo realizes her feelings for Koki go beyond friendship. Surprising even fewer, there are complications keeping them apart. On the bright side, those complications are based in the characters’ decency and kindness. All in all, the blend of comedy and romance and the underlying will-they-won’t-they subplot make a very solid foundation for the manga.

Watase’s art is predictably lovely. I thought I’d miss the supernatural sequences that are the highlights of Alice, but her work with more mundane material is just as inventive. Imadoki! also gives Watase’s flair for visual comedy a freer reign. Exaggerated expressions and pratfalls can seem a little out of place in Alice, but they’re right at home here. And the comedy is tailored to the characters.

You probably know perfectly well whether you like shojo or not. I mean, a teen rom-com about a garden club, no matter how polished, won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s really, really charming. Tanpopo’s kindness and can-do optimism are hard to resist, much like the manga itself.

So I passed on New X-Men and Noble Causes yesterday, and filled the void with the first collection of Girl Genius: Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank. It’s a delight, and a bargain. I loved the sepia look of the reproduction of the first three issues, and the last chapter (a glimpse into Agatha’s future) was lovely in full color. Funny, imaginative, pretty… can’t wait for future collections to come out, as this is a really high-quality package.

I’m not quite up for a full review at the moment, but why not stop by iComics and see what Greg McElhatton has to say about the first and eighth issues of the ongoing? Or, you could pop over to creators Phil and Kaja Foglio’s pages. Or, you could just leave a comment wondering why it takes me so freaking long to pick up the interesting stuff.