Solid State Tank Girl #1
Written by Alan Martin
Art by Warwick Johnson-Cadwell
Titan Comics
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Tank Girl is back, in a new series from Titan that turns out to be somewhat of both a departure from and a return to form at the same time. Confusing? Absolutely – within the pages of issue one we are treated to some insane writing that is suggestive of the stuff that fans will remember, and yet the artwork feels like a wild departure from what most will recall.

First of all, if you’re looking for anything that makes logical sense, turn away now. Solid State Tank Girl begins with the title character and her marsupial mate Booga paying a visit to a radio electronics place to get their ham radio fixed. While visiting, Booga takes a look around and inadvertently electrocutes himself, or at least seems to.

Recently we saw a very funny video of Harrison Ford on Jimmy Kimmel Live in which he answered a few Star Wars related questions while there to promote 42. Now J.J. Abrams has visited the talk show to promote his latest blockbuster, Star Trek Into Darkness.

Of course Kimmel couldn’t have Abrams on the show without bringing up the director’s next gig, Star Wars Episode VII. Abrams couldn’t say much as they’re still in the very early stages of that movie, so Kimmel turned it over to the fans—and perhaps a surprise visitor or two—for some of their suggestions on how to make Episode VII the best one yet. And again, the results are quite hilarious.

Be sure to click on over to the dark side to watch the video now!

Star Wars: Darth Maul – Death Sentence
Trade Paperback
Script by Tom Taylor
Art by Bruno Redondo
Colors by Michael Atiyeh
Covers by Dave Dorman
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $15.99

Darth Maul is alive. This should be of no shock to anyone, really. To begin with, the expanded Star Wars universe has a habit of resurrecting characters that were killed on-screen. Boba Fett was one notable example. Darth Maul was inevitable. I’m still anticipating the moment when Mace Windu comes back. And he will. I’m pretty sure that will happen.

In a lot of ways, it should have almost been expected that Maul would return. Despite vocal fan criticism of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul was received quite well by the majority of fans as a formidable and precise villain. Brought to life with the acrobatic antics of Ray Park, Maul was a Sith Lord not only with the skills, but with the look of a nightmare.

Disney In Depth encompasses topics across all branches of Disney, even the occasional focus on the Alphabet Network.

This edition of the column previews ABC’s new Fall 2013 line-up of programming, which contains an assortment of offerings and even a few Disney tie-ins.

Continue below to check out the list of upcoming shows.

Thacher E. Cleveland is a busy man. On top of a civilian life, he’s a contributing writer and columnist for PanelsOnPages.com, co-host of the Super-Fly Comics and Games PodCast, and is the writer of the surprise cult hit novella “Winston & Churchill Case” series. Available at Smashwords and Amazon, it’s a must-read for fans of supernatural and/or detective fiction.

With a new installment of the series just out, Thacher chatted with Geeks Of Doom via e-mail about “Winston & Churchill,” genre writing, the e-book market, and moving into comics writing.

Geeks Of Doom: I’d like to start with a sand bag of a question – The “Winston & Churchill” series? As an Irish-American why would I want to read about some British dude?

Thacher E. Cleveland: Very tricky, but the Irish American in you will be glad to know that the series isn’t about a British Prime Minister or any Brit at all, but two private investigators, Lexie Winston and Henry Churchill in Manhattan who specialize in occult investigations: demons, vampires and the like. So if you like supernatural adventure stories that don’t involve a cheesy romance then this is for you, despite my cheap attempt at a catchy title.

The Bionic Man #20
Written by Aaron Gilespie
Art by Rey Villegas
Colors by Thiago Ribeiro
Letters by Simon Bowland
Special Thanks to Phil Hester
Covers by Mike Mayhew & Ed Tadeo
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Bionic Man #20 picks up right where the last issue left off. We’ve got Steve halfway around the world, trying to stop the launch of a missile that could do some irreparable damage.

Aaron Gilespie is really hitting his groove on this title. He’s constantly gotten better and better at writing this book. In the past, his plots have been less than spectacular, but now they’re actually really interesting and entertaining. Combine that with some great dialogue for Steve Austin and you’ve got a very enjoyable comic. This issue in particular, might be his best yet. His portrayal of Steve is really well done, with all the classic hallmark humor, and intensity that Lee Majors brought to the role almost 40 years ago. Well done Mr. Gilespie!

Electronic Arts is not the most popular company around at the moment. In fact, they were just voted the worst company in America for the second year in a row. This is largely due to their relentless pursuit of more money via microtransactions and their attempts at trying to control consumers with the Online Pass system—a system that requires you to enter a code in order to play one of their games online, effectively stopping people from buying used games (unless you wanted to pay an extra $10 for a new code) or borrowing them from a friend.

People have been enraged about these things for a while now, and have let EA know it every chance they’ve had, including with the consecutive worst company titles mentioned above. But it appears the company is listening to these complaints and are looking to do some repair work.

It’s been confirmed by EA that they will no longer being using the Online Pass system in future games, which should mean that you’ll be able to use all of one of their games’ features after you buy it, new or used.

By Amy Vernon

Look, I’m no fan of the whole “Disney Princess” canon. I’m not even sure most of them are actually princesses, but that’s really splitting hairs.

I usually don’t give it much thought, though, except to betray my feminist leanings and be glad I have boys and don’t have to deal with shelves of pink when we go to the toy store (let’s face it, I’d still be shopping in the toy car and superhero section even if I had girls).

But when news broke the other week that Disney was adding Merida from Brave to its princess collection, I was a bit taken aback at the image I saw.

Gone was the frizzy hair. The dress they put her in was the shiny, princess-y one she hated in the movie, not her preferred garb. Her eyes were rounder and had a certain come-hither look to them. Suddenly, her waist was Barbie-sized and she had breasts.

Gosh, I guess she grew up fast.

The Green Hornet #2
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Daniel Indro
Colored by Marcio Menyz
Letters by Troy Peteri
Covers by Paolo Rivera & Jonathan Lau
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Green Hornet #2 easily holds up the standard set by Mark Waid and company in the first issue, and in some respects, surpasses it. This book is the perfect gateway to get people introduced into Dynamite’s excellent Pulp Heroes world that they’ve spend so much time setting up.

Is there any comic that Mark Waid can’t write? I mean, seriously. After spending years reading his work on super hero books, and loving them, I expected something TOTALLY different from what’s he’s given us with this book. The result? I couldn’t be happier. And neither will you, when you start reading this. What surprises me most about this comic is that Waid makes the the Green Hornet an ACTUAL villain. Not a “let me confuse the police and then do the right thing,” no. He’s an actual, honest to God villain. Villains are normally not very pleasant people, but most gangsters had a certain gentleman’s code that they lived up to. Not so for the Green Hornet. He’s the baddest of the bad. And he spends the majority of this issue proving it.

It’s been a couple of years now since we first heard that an updated version of the Carl Sagan documentary series Cosmos was on the way, and that it was being produced by Family Guy and American Dad! creator Seth MacFarlane, and hosted by astrophysicist rock star Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Now comes word that we’ll finally get to watch the new 13-episode updated Cosmos sometime in 2014 when it’s aired on Fox. No official premiere date has been announced as of yet.

G.I. Joe: Special Missions #3
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Paul Gulacy
Colors by Aburtov & Grafikslava
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Consulting Editor: John Barber
Editor: Carlos Guzman
Covers by Jim Rugg, Sean Chen, and Paul Gulacy
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe: Special Missions #3 contains a boat-load of action. Pun intended. We’ve got a small team of Joes trying to take down The Baroness, while Serpentor’s up to no good again.

Chuck Dixon’s latest chapter in this opening arc of the book is all action! And that’s the way it should be. After a couple of awesome issues of set up, we start full tilt in the story where the action is non stop, and it continues at that pace for the rest of the issue with about 2 pages of time for you to breathe. There’s a LOT going on here, but it’s all told well, it never gets confusing. The Serpentor story line moves closer to an intersect with the main story, and it’s going to be interesting to see just how and when they cross over. My only complaint is that the Joes rely on a couple of random people to help them, when Dixon easily could’ve had those roles filled by a couple of active Joe members that we’d like to see.

Starting very soon is the first ever YouTube Comedy Week, which, for those of you who feel shows like Jersey Shore and Teen Mom are “intelligent” and “well crafted,” means there’s going to be a week on YouTube dedicated to giggle making.

The week will feature an interesting mixture of both comedians and comedic actors, as well as some of the internet’s funniest figures, and will include live events, video premieres, and collaborations. The list of contributors includes Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Michael Cera, Craig Robinson, Jeff Ross, The Lonely Island, and internet favorites like Epic Meal Time, Epic Rap Battles, and College Humor.

To help promote the event, none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger filmed a humorous promo for YouTube Comedy Week, which you can watch below along with another promo.

Fans of Pixar’s Toy Story franchise have been somewhat spoiled not only by three wonderful movies, but by a collection of shorts that also feature the voices of all of the movies’ main stars.

Most of those shorts are only a few minutes long, but that will not be the case with Toy Story of Terror, and upcoming Halloween special once again featuring all of your favorite living toys.

The special will run 30 minutes in length, and will once again feature Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton), and Trixie (Kristen Schaal). Also, a toy you might remember being blown up by Sid in the original movie, Combat Carl (to be voiced by Carl Weathers in the special)—also thought to be the first “death” in a Pixar film—will also make an appearance.

The Dream Merchant #1
Written by Nathan Edmondson
Illustrated by Konstantin Novosadov
Colored by Konstantin Novosadov
Cover by Konstantin Novosadov
Image Comics
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $3.50

What if recurring dreams are simply the subconscious actually trying to relay some sort of important message? Could the dreams be offering the dreamer a look into a world seemingly so far removed from reality that perhaps it could be a glimpse into a world long forgotten? Writer Nathan Edmondson and artist Konstantin Novosadov delve into this notion through the mind-bending, surreal thriller The Dream Merchant #1.

Winslow has had the same recurring dream since childhood. As time went on, the dream became more real, pulling him into a deeper, more intense world. Now, Winslow dreams all of the time, unsure of where his true existence lies. Forced to seek recovery in a mental hospital, Winslow spends his days in and out of his dream world or reading books about dreams given to him by the lunch lady, Anne. When Winslow discovers three peculiar, shadow-like cloaked figures in his dream for the first time, he realizes that something is amiss. As the same beings begin chasing him and Anne through the halls of the mental hospital, a fourth mysterious figure appears to aide Winslow and Anne. Winslow must decide whether or not to trust this stranger as a guide, knowing that he may be the only one who can offer them clues about the phenomenon that is Winslow’s dream.

After a three-year absence from the comic book racks, the original space hero Buck Rogers returns later this year thanks to Hermes Press and legendary comic talent Howard Chaykin. Last seen in 2010 and published by Dynamite Entertainment, their Buck Rogers series lasted thirteen issues beginning with a #0 issue and going through issue #12. But, this August, Hermes Press brings us a brand new four-issue series, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, that returns Buck Rogers to his roots and promises to be quite a thrill ride.