Tuesday, April 26, 2011

This Weeks Comic Book Releases - 04/27/11


ComicList: New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, April 27, 2011. This work, a list of the comic books, graphic novels, and other products that should be available in your local or online comic book shop this week, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, and is © 2011 by Charles LePage.

Information provided by our friends at Things From Another World. To find a local comic book shop, please browse The Master List of Comic Book & Trading Card Stores. Check out the Comiclist Community Page and FriendFeed ComicList Room for discussions about your favorite comics.

PLEASE NOTE- Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. Let me know if any of the names or numbers are wrong. Items being released this week per sources other than Diamond Distribution are individually noted.

PUBLISHER
TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS ("AR" means "ask your retailer for the price")

ABRAMS COMICARTS
Empire State A Love Story Or Not HC, $17.95

ABRAMS IMAGE
Steampunk Bible HC, $24.95

ADHOUSE BOOKS
Remake Special Volume 2 GN, $9.95

AMRYL ENTERTAINMENT
Cavewoman Snow #1, $3.75
Cavewoman Snow #1 (Budd Root Special Edition), AR

AMULET BOOKS
Page By Paige GN, $9.95
Page By Paige HC, $18.95

ANTARCTIC PRESS
Last Zombie TP, $14.95

APE ENTERTAINMENT
Freakshow #2 (Of 3), $2.95
Shrek #4 (Of 4), $3.95

ARCHIE COMICS
Archie #620, $2.99
Betty & Veronica #253 (resolicited), $2.99
Betty & Veronica Double Digest #190, $3.99
Life With Archie Married Life #9 (May/June 2011), $3.99

BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT
Code Geass Lelouch Of The Rebellion Queen Volume 2 GN (New Printing), $10.99

BARRONS EDUCATIONAL SERIES
Writing And Illustrating The Graphic Novel SC, $23.99

BLANK SLATE BOOKS
Sleepyheads GN, $24.99

BLUEWATER PRODUCTIONS
Political Power #9 (Bill Clinton)(Foil Edition), $19.99

BONGO COMICS
Bart Simpson Comics #59, $2.99
Simpsons Classics #28, $3.99

BOOM! STUDIOS
Amory Wars In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth 3 #10 (Of 12), $3.99
Dracula The Company Of Monsters #9, $3.99
Dracula The Company Of Monsters Volume 2 TP, $12.99
Hellraiser #1 (Tim Bradstreet 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
Incorruptible #17 (Cover A Garry Brown), $3.99
Incorruptible #17 (Cover B Matteo Scalera), $3.99
Incorruptible #17 (Cover C Garry Brown), AR
Insurrection V3.6 #2, $3.99
Planet Of The Apes #1 (Cover A Karl Richardson), $3.99
Planet Of The Apes #1 (Cover B Carlos Magno), $3.99
Planet Of The Apes #1 (Cover C Karl Richardson 'Damn Dirty Apes' Variant), AR
Planet Of The Apes #1 (Chad Hardin Larry's Comics Variant Cover), AR
Traveler #6 (Cover A Scott Clark), $3.99
Traveler #6 (Cover B Chad Hardin), $3.99
Traveler #6 (Cover C Scott Clark), AR
Walt Disneys Comics & Stories #718, $3.99

BUSTA TOONS PRODUCTIONS
Cereal Geek Magazine #1 (New Printing)(not verified by Diamond), $15.00
Unofficial Cartoon Guide To He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe SC (not verified by Diamond), $24.00

CARTOON BOOKS
Rasl #10, $3.50

COMIC SHOP NEWS
Comic Shop News #1245, AR

DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan The Road Of Kings #4 (Of 6), $3.50
Doctor Solar Man Of The Atom #6, $3.50
Doctor Solar Man Of The Atom Volume 1 TP, $15.99
Eerie Archives Volume 7 HC, $49.99
King Conan The Scarlet Citadel #3 (Of 4), $3.50
Mighty Samson Archives Volume 3 HC, $49.99
Outlaw Prince HC (Alan Lathwell Deluxe Limited Edition Cover), $49.99
Star Wars Darth Vader And The Lost Command #4 (Of 5), $3.50
Star Wars Legacy War #5 (Of 6), $3.50
Strange Case Of Mr Hyde #1 (Of 4), $3.50
Turok Son Of Stone #2, $3.50
Turok Son Of Stone Archives Volume 8 HC, $49.99
Vampire Hunter D Volume 16 Tyrant's Stars Parts 1 and 2 TP (resolicited), $14.99
Goon Vs Mr Wicker Womens T-Shirt LG, $24.99
Goon W/Logo Womens T-Shirt LG, $24.99
Goon W/Logo Womens T-Shirt XL, $24.99


DC COMICS
Action Comics #900 (David Finch Regular Cover), $5.99
Action Comics #900 (Adam Hughes Variant Cover A), AR
Action Comics #900 (Alex Ross Variant Cover B), AR
American Vampire #14, $2.99
Batman Black & White Statue The Joker By Lee Bermejo, $80.00
Batman Incorporated #5 (J.H. Williams III Regular Cover), $2.99
Batman Incorporated #5 (Yanick Paquette & Michael Lacombe Variant Cover), AR
Blackest Night Portfolio Set #2, $29.99
Brightest Day #24 (David Finch Regular Cover), $4.99
Brightest Day #24 (Ivan Reis Variant Cover), AR
Cartoon Network Action Pack #59, $2.99
DC Comics Presents Night Force #1, $7.99
Detective Comics #876, $2.99
Flash #11 (Francis Manapul Regular Cover)(resolicited), $2.99
Flash #11 (Scott Kolins Variant Cover)(resolicited), AR
Flash Rebirth TP, $14.99
Green Arrow #11 (Rodolfo Migliari Regular Cover), $2.99
Green Arrow #11 (Tyler Kirkham And Batt Variant Cover), AR
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #9 (Felipe Massafera Regular Cover), $2.99
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #9 (George Perez Variant Cover), AR
inFamous #4 (Of 6), $2.99
Jonah Hex Tall Tales TP, $14.99
Justice League Generation Lost #24 (Aaron Lopresti Regular Cover), $4.99
Justice League Generation Lost #24 (Kevin Maguire Variant Cover), AR
Justice Society Of America #50 (Felipe Massafera Regular Cover), $4.99
Justice Society Of America #50 (Darwyn Cooke Variant Cover), AR
MAD Magazine #509, $5.99
Mass Effect Series 1 Grunt Action Figure, AR
Mass Effect Series 1 Shepard Action Figure, AR
Mass Effect Series 1 Tali Action Figure, AR
Mass Effect Series 1 Thane Action Figure, AR
New York Five #4 (Of 4), $2.99
Sandman Volume 5 A Game Of You TP (New Edition), $19.99
Scalped #48, $2.99
Showcase Presents Green Lantern Volume 5 TP, $19.99
Wonder Woman #610 (Don Kramer And Jay Leisten Regular Cover), $2.99
Wonder Woman #610 (Alex Garner Variant Cover), AR
Xombi #2, $2.99
Y The Last Man Deluxe Edition Volume 5 HC, $29.99

DIAMOND PUBLICATIONS
Previews #272 (May 2011), $4.50

DK PUBLISHING CO
Star Wars Battles For The Galaxy HC, $12.99

DYNAMIC FORCES
Dean Koontz's Nevermore #1 (Of 6)(Dynamic Forces)(Darick Robertson Virgin Variant Cover), $19.99
Godzilla Kingdom Of Monsters #1 (Dynamic Forces)(Alex Ross Exclusive Sketch Cover), $8.99

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Danger Girl And The Army Of Darkness #1 (J. Scott Campbell Regular Cover), $3.99
Danger Girl And The Army Of Darkness #1 (J. Scott Campbell Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Danger Girl And The Army Of Darkness #1 (J. Scott Campbell Red Variant Cover), AR
Danger Girl And The Army Of Darkness #1 (Nick Bradshaw Variant Cover), AR
Danger Girl And The Army Of Darkness #1 (Paul Renaud Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Danger Girl And The Army Of Darkness #1 (Paul Renaud Variant Cover), AR
Kato Origins #8 (The Hellfire Club)(Colton Worley Regular Cover), $3.99
Kato Origins #8 (The Hellfire Club)(Francesco Francavilla Incentive Cover), AR
Last Phantom Volume 1 Ghost Walk TP, $19.99
Red Sonja She-Devil With A Sword Omnibus Volume 2 TP, $29.99
Warlord Of Mars #6 (Joe Jusko Regular Cover), $3.99
Warlord Of Mars #6 (Lucio Parrillo Regular Cover), $3.99
Warlord Of Mars #6 (Joe Jusko Black & White Variant Cover), AR
Warlord Of Mars #6 (Lucio Parrillo Virgin Variant Cover), AR
Warlord Of Mars #6 (Patrick Berkenkotter Variant Cover), AR
Warlord Of Mars #6 (Stephen Sadowski Martian Red Variant Cover), AR
Warlord Of Mars #6 (Stephen Sadowski Variant Cover), AR

EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS
DC Superhero Figurine Collection Magazine Blackest Night Collection Binder, $14.00

EDITIONS AKILEOS
Melange The Art Of Dean Yeagle HC (Updated Edition)(not verified by Diamond), $40.00

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
Hate Annual #9, $4.95
Love From The Shadows HC, $19.99
Taking Punk To The Masses From Nowhere To Nevermind SC (not verified by Diamond),$29.99

GG STUDIO
Gore #2 (Of 12), $2.99
Mediterranea #3 (Of 14), $2.99

HAFFNER PRESS
Collected Captain Future Volume 2 HC, $40.00
Collected Edmond Hamilton Volume 3 Universe Wreckers HC, $40.00

HIGH SPEED PRODUCTIONS
Juxtapoz #124 (May 2011), $5.99

IDW PUBLISHING
Angel #44 (Cover A Jenny Frison), $3.99
Angel #44 (Cover B Nick Runge), $3.99
Angel #44 (Elena Casagrande Variant Cover), AR
Doctor Who #4 (Tommy Lee Edwards Regular Cover), $3.99
Doctor Who #4 (Matthew Dow Smith Variant Cover), AR
Doctor Who #4 (Photo Cover), AR
G.I. JOE Disavowed Volume 3 TP, $19.99
Genius Isolated The Life And Art Of Alex Toth HC (resolicited), $49.99
Godzilla Kingdom Of Monsters #2 (Cover A Eric Powell), $3.99
Godzilla Kingdom Of Monsters #2 (Cover B Phil Hester), $3.99
Godzilla Kingdom Of Monsters #2 (Phil Hester Sketch Variant Cover), AR
Godzilla Kingdom Of Monsters #2 (Matt Frank 'Rodan' Variant Cover), AR
Infestation CVO Covert Vampiric Operations 100-Page Spectacular, $7.99
Locke & Key Keys To The Kingdom #6 (Of 6)(Gabriel Rodriguez Regular Cover), $3.99
Locke & Key Keys To The Kingdom #6 (Of 6)(Gabriel Rodriguez Variant Cover), AR
Phoenix Without Ashes HC (Signed & Numbered Limited Edition), $75.00
Spike Volume 1 HC, $21.99
Transformers Dark Of The Moon Foundation #3 (Of 4)(Brian Rood Regular Cover), $3.99
Transformers Dark Of The Moon Foundation #3 (Of 4)(Andrew Griffith Variant Cover), AR
True Blood Tainted Love #3 (Cover A J. Scott Campbell), $3.99
True Blood Tainted Love #3 (Cover B Jenny Frison), $3.99
True Blood Tainted Love #3 (Photo Variant Cover), AR
True Blood Tainted Love #3 (J. Scott Campbell Interconnected Sketch Variant Cover), AR

IMAGE COMICS
68 #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Nat Jones & Jay Fotos), $3.99
68 #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Nat Jones), AR
Bulletproof Coffin TP, $17.99
Echoes #5 (Of 5), $3.99
Haunt #15 (resolicited), $2.99
Image Firsts Elephantmen #1, $1.00
Image Firsts The Walking Dead #1 (2nd Printing Variant Cover), $1.00
Invincible Volume 14 The Viltrumite War TP, $19.99
Marineman #5, $3.99
Mission #3, $2.99
Morning Glories #9, $2.99
Velocity #4 (Of 4), $3.99
Walking Dead #84, $2.99
Walking Dead Weekly #17, $2.99

IMPACT
Sketch Card Mania How To Create Your Own Original Collectible Trading Cards SC, $24.99

KENZER AND COMPANY
Knights Of The Dinner Table #173, $5.99

KIDS CAN PRESS
No Girls Allowed Tales Of Daring Women Dressed As Men For Love Freedom And Adventure GN, $8.95

MARVEL COMICS
Age Of X Universe #2 (Of 2), $3.99
Amazing Spider-Man #659, $3.99
Anita Blake Circus Of The Damned The Ingenue #3 (Of 5), $3.99
Astonishing Spider-Man And Wolverine Another Fine Mess #1 (One Shot), $4.99
Avengers #12.1, $2.99
Captain America #617 (Marko Djurdjevic Regular Cover), $3.99
Captain America #617 (Khoi Pham 'Thor Goes Hollywood' Variant Cover), AR
Captain America Operation Rebirth HC (Premiere Edition), $24.99
Captain America Operation Rebirth HC (Premiere Edition)(Direct Market Variant Edition Volume 62), $24.99
Captain America The Trial Of Captain America HC (Premiere Edition), $24.99
Deadpool #36, $2.99
Doomwar TP, $15.99
Essential X-Men Volume 6 TP (All-New Edition), $19.99
Fantastic Four By Jonathan Hickman Volume 4 HC (Premiere Edition), $19.99
Fear Itself #3 Poster (Promotional Item)(not verified by Diamond), AR
FF #1 (Ed McGuinness 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99
FF #2 (Daniel Acuna Regular Cover), $2.99
FF #2 (Greg Horn 'Thor Goes Hollywood' Variant Cover), AR
FF #2 (Marko Djurdjevic Character Variant Cover), AR
Identity Wars Poster By Steve McNiven, $8.99
Incredible Hulks #627 (Doug Braithwaite Regular Cover), $2.99
Incredible Hulks #627 (Michael Del Mundo 'Thor Goes Hollywood' Variant Cover), AR
Marvel Masterworks The Fantastic Four Volume 6 TP (Book Market Edition), $24.99
Marvel Masterworks The Fantastic Four Volume 6 TP (Direct Market Variant Edition Volume 28), $24.99
Marvel Previews #93 (For Products On-Sale July 2011), AR
Mighty Thor #1 (Olivier Coipel Regular Cover), $3.99
Mighty Thor #1 (Blank Variant Cover), $3.99
Mighty Thor #1 (Thor Movie Variant Cover), AR
Mighty Thor #1 (Travis Charest Variant Cover), AR
Mighty Thor #1 (Walt Simonson Variant Cover), AR
Mighty Thor Saga (Promotional Item), AR
Namor The First Mutant #9, $2.99
New Mutants #24, $2.99
Osborn #5 (Of 5), $3.99
Power Man And Iron Fist #4 (Of 5), $2.99
Punisher Franken-Castle TP, $34.99
Runaways Volume 2 Teenage Wasteland Digest (New Printing), $9.99
Ruse #2 (Of 4), $2.99
Secret Avengers #12 (Mike Deodato Regular Cover), $3.99
Secret Avengers #12 (Michael Kaluta 'Thor Goes Hollywood' Variant Cover), AR
Secret Avengers #12.1, $2.99
Sensational She-Hulk By John Byrne Volume 1 TP, $24.99
Speaker For The Dead #4 (Of 5), $3.99
Spider-Girl #6, $2.99
Spider-Man #13 (Marvel Adventures), $2.99
Thor Asgard's Avenger #1 (One Shot), $4.99
Thor Official Index To The Marvel Universe TP, $19.99
Thor The Trials Of Loki HC (Premiere Edition), $19.99
Thor The Warriors Three Unleashed HC (Premiere Edition), $19.99
Thor The Warriors Three Unleashed HC (Premiere Edition)(Direct Market Variant Edition Volume 63), $19.99
Thunderstrike #5 (Of 5), $3.99
Tomb Of Dracula Presents Throne Of Blood #1 (One Shot), $3.99
Ultimate X-Men #1 (Marvel's Greatest Comics), $1.00
Uncanny X-Men #536, $3.99
Venom #2, $2.99
X-23 #9 (Kalman Andrasofszky Regular Cover), $2.99
X-23 #9 ('Thor Goes Hollywood' Variant Cover), AR
X-Men #10 (Terry Dodson Regular Cover), $3.99
X-Men #10 ('Thor Goes Hollywood' Variant Cover), AR
X-Men #10 (Chris Bachalo Variant Cover), AR
X-Men God Loves Man Kills TP (New Printing), $14.99
X-Men Omnibus Volume 2 HC (John Cassaday Book Market Cover), $99.99
X-Men Omnibus Volume 2 HC (George Tuska Direct Market Classic Cover), $99.99
X-Men Vs Avengers And Fantastic Four TP, $24.99

MOVIELAND CLASSICS LLC
Famous Monsters Underground #1, $7.99

PURE IMAGINATION PUBLISHING
Fleagles Classic EC Artists SC, $25.00

RADICAL PUBLISHING
Earp Saints For Sinners #3 (Of 4), $3.50

REBELLION/2000 AD
Judge Dredd Complete Case Files Volume 3 TP (Simon & Schuster Edition), $19.99
Judge Dredd Mega-City Masters Volume 3 SC, $19.99

SANCTUM PRODUCTIONS
Doc Savage Double Novel Volume 47, $14.95
Shadow Double Novel Volume 48, $14.95

SECRET ACRES
I Will Bite You And Other Stories GN (not verified by Diamond), $14.00

STARLOG GROUP
Fangoria #303 (May 2011), $8.99

STICKER CHICK
Whoops The Art Of Elias Chatzoudis SC, $21.99

TITAN PUBLISHING
Star Wars Insider #125 (Special)(Newsstand Edition), $7.99
Star Wars Insider #125 (Special)(Previews Exclusive Edition), $7.99

TOKYOPOP
Qwaser Of Stigmata Volume 2 Holy Wars Ignite GN (not verified by Diamond), $12.99

TOMART PUBLICATIONS
Tomarts Action Figure Digest #197, $5.95

UNDYING MONSTERS
Undying Monsters Magazine #1, $9.95

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI
Joss Whedon Conversations SC, $25.00

VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS
Vanguard Frazetta Classics Volume 2 White Indian SC, $24.95

VIZ MEDIA
Bakuman Volume 4 TP (not verified by Diamond), $9.99
House Of Five Leaves Volume 3 TP, $12.99
Kingyo Used Books Volume 3 GN, $12.99

YEN PRESS
Black Butler Volume 5 TP, $11.99
High School Of The Dead Volume 2 GN, $13.99
Higurashi When They Cry Volume 12 GN (Eye Opening Arc Part 2), $11.99
Jack Frost Volume 5 TP, $11.99
Laon Volume 5 GN, $11.99
Maximum Ride The Manga Volume 4 TP, $12.99
Omamori Himari Volume 3 GN, $11.99
Pandora Hearts Volume 5 GN, $11.99

ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT
Grimm Fairy Tales Myths & Legends #1 (2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99
Monster Hunters Survival Guide #4 (Of 5)(Cover A Pasquale Qualano), $2.99
Monster Hunters Survival Guide #4 (Of 5)(Cover B Steven Cummings), $2.99

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. Any questions regarding the use of this work should be directed to Charles LePage at chuck@comiclist.com.

Interview with Greg Rucka - New Punisher Ongoing Series



Marvel has officially pulled back the curtain on who will be writing the new Punisher series under the "Big Shots" banner. That man is none other than Greg Rucka. Following the announcement at C2E2, we caught up with Greg to chat about his plans for the character of Frank Castle. We cover everything from how the project got started, to Rucka's return to mainstream comics, to the tricky task of making Frank Castle fit in the main Marvel U., to handling violence in a mainstream Punisher book, and much more.

IGN Comics: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Greg. Now that the cat's out of the bag and you have officially been named the writer of the new Punisher series under Marvel's "Big Shots" initiative, I guess the best place to start is the genesis of this project; how did you get involved in taking over the Punisher?

Greg Rucka: Well, I wasn't actually initially approached to be part of the initiative as far as I know. Steve Wacker and I worked together on 52 and he has been in touch over the last year. There was this short story that I did, which Mike Hark drew, for I Am An Avenger and Steve edited that. Then he came back around a couple weeks later and basically said, "Look, we're doing a new Punisher book starting at #1 and I think you'd be really good at it."

And, you know, other people have called me, or suggested books to me, but every pitch just wasn't for me. My initial plan was to just take a year off. I just needed the time off. But it was a combination of Steve coming to me with the right offer, the right project at the right time. It wasn't until we were well into the process that I understood other stuff was going on with the "Big Shots" initiative.

IGN Comics: So how long ago did The Punisher project get started?

Greg Rucka: Steve and I have been talking about it for like 3-4 months now. He originally came to me with the pitch in December. I told him I had to think about it. So Steve being Steve, he kept asking about it [laughs]. I was really leery at the start of this project because there are certain difficulties in putting Frank in the mainstream Marvel universe, especially after you've had these Marvel MAX runs, which Jason Aaron is wrapping up now, and Garth [Ennis] did before him.

So there was a lot of conversation that happened beforehand where I figured out how to make this work for me.




IGN Comics: You've been away from the superhero game for a while now, especially in regards to Marvel, so it must have taken a seriously interesting project to bring you back full-swing.

Greg Rucka: Yes, it was like a year ago that I stopped working in mainstream comics. But it's been about seven years since I did anything consistent for Marvel. I did a few issues of Daredevil, but that was by invitation from Ed Brubaker. And even still, that was less working for a publisher, more working for a friend.

IGN Comics: So what was it about the pitch for Punisher that was really appealing to you?

Greg Rucka: One of the things I love about Frank is that he's simple to the point of elegance, in that there's a lot of nuance to the character. He's not a terribly difficult character to understand at first look. You take a look at him and he makes perfect sense. He's got no secret pain. He's not carrying this deep, dark anything. He's exactly as he appears. He is at war with crime and everything he does is so beautifully and elegantly directed towards one end. And when a character is that clean they actually become this wonderful source for stories about their world and the people around them.

I have no interest in fixing Frank. He doesn't need it. My only job is to give him people that really, really need to die. [laughs] There's something really delightful to go into something as fully realized as the Punisher is.

But the complication is that as beautifully realized as he is, he doesn't really fit into a universe of Marvel heroes.

IGN Comics: That's a great place to go next. How do you plan to make Frank Castle seem, for lack of a better word, relevant in a world where characters like Thor and Galactus exist?

Greg Rucka: Well, frankly, I'm not sure he needs to be "relevant." I have no interest in doing a Punisher slaughters the Marvel Universe storyline, or Punisher vs. Galactus one-off. You know, eventually I would like to write a Punisher vs. Wolverine showdown because that's something people would love to see.

There's a basic story question that's, how long can someone like Frank operate in the Marvel universe before someone like Thor says, "What art thou doing? [laughs] You're killing bad people and this is not appropriate behavior for a hero and we're putting a stop to it." When that happens it will be its own story. And that's something Steve and I are still wrestling with how to handle. And we'll deal with it when the time comes. That's not where we're starting from.

IGN Comics: So we should expect some really gritty, street-level drama stories from the start of this new Punisher series?

Greg Rucka: Yes, and that's where he works best. That's also the reason why he can survive. If you think about it in the grander scale of the Marvel universe, there's Fear Itself going on right now, there's not a lot of time for the heroes to spare on Frank Castle for shooting people in the face who really had it coming.[laughs]

You know, the moon might be crashing down to the Earth, I think they have to deal with that before they turn around and decide they need to take care of the Punisher.

IGN Comics: Now you mentioned earlier that when you and Steve were drafting up this Punisher series, you didn't know about this whole "Big Shots" initiative with the other street-level characters like Moon Knight and Daredevil. Now that you are aware, are there plans to cross-over the titles?

Greg Rucka: I think everyone is staying the hell out of each other's way. With all the people involved and knowing who they are, I think we're all giving each other enough room to run. It would be interesting to see if there's a time and place for that later though.

Honestly, I think it's kind of a cheap thing to do to your audience. You know, introduce a new book and tell them they need to buy all these other stories to get the whole picture. You should be able to buy Punisher #1 and know that, for at least the next half dozen issues, that the story will be told in full right there. You are not going to be required to pick up other books.