This special preview book for the forthcoming Shinku, a vampire tale of equal parts horror and martial-arts mayhem, is a Westfield Comics exclusive!

Writer Ron Marz (Witchblade, Magdalena) teams with artist Lee Moder (Wonder Woman, Legion of Super-Heroes) for a modern-day take on the vampire myth, in which a lone female hunter battles an ancient clan of vampires in Japan.

Presented in black, white & red, this strictly limited preview book features 9 story pages and a sketchbook featuring Moder’s character designs. Each copy will also be signed by Marz! Get a first look at Shinku before it debuts as a monthly series in 2011 from Image Comics. (For mature readers: nudity, violence.)

We will be taking orders on this through Thursday, August 5, 2010. We expect them to arrive no more than a couple weeks after that. Be sure to check the listing on westfieldcomics.com for sample pages, check out Chris Arrant’s interview with Marz on Newsarama.com, and read Josh’s quick review: http://westfieldcomics.com/blog/interviews-and-columns/fifth-degree-shinku-by-ron-marz-lee-moder/!

Didn’t make it out to Nerd Prom? Neither did we! But here are a few comics news sites that have handy coverage — panels, trailers, and announcements (including the ones that won’t matter for another 6 months) all in one place for you to easily sift through!

IGN’s coverage:

http://www.ign.com/comic-con/

Comicvine’s coverage:

http://www.comicvine.com/san-diego-comic-con-2010/12-55909/

Comic Book Resources’ coverage:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=event&id=13

Newsarama’s coverage:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/comic-con-2010-index-100722.html

CNN’s coverage (yep, even they joined the fun!):

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/comic-con/

Co-creator/writer Rick Remender is offering a money-back guarantee on this week’s Fear Agent #28, the first issue of the final story arc! This issue also features a back-up story written by the legendary Hilary Barta and lettered by our very own Master of Disaster, Josh Crawley!

Heath Huston is mortally injured and all of humanity has been consumed, amalgamated by Tetaldian robotic conquerors. Who will save the asses of the universe this time? A drink is poured, a rocket ship ignited, and a cigar lit; a new Fear Agent will rise!

Four super champions of sci-fi pulp — Rick Remender, Mike Hawthorne, Tony Moore, and John Lucas — one final time for one final drink. Be sure to check darkhorse.com for sample pages!

As always, there’s lots of news out of the San Diego Comic Con. Here’s few tidbits:

IDW is going to be publishing an all-new Rocketeer anthology mini-series next year featuring painted covers by Alex Ross and a slew of top talent. Also the return of John Byrnes’s Next Men by year’s end.

See if any of your favorites from the past year were winners at the 2010 Eisner Awards.

Joss Whedon confirmed that he is the director of The Avengers Movie and that Jeremy Renner will be playing Hawkeye and Mark Ruffalo will be replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner.

DC’s starting a second Flash series in 2011.

Top Shelf finally has Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentleman: Century #2 – 1969 on its schedule also for 2011.

This week, Wednesday July 21, you have the chance to celebrate the landmark 40th edition of what the comics industry refers to as its Bible. Since 1970, the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has been the definitive guide for comic collectors and dealers alike. New collectors and lifelong enthusiasts will find all new insights, features, and data, along with the most comprehensive listing of comics available and all new entries in the Overstreet Hall of Fame. Like most recent volumes the 40th edition features 2 covers and are available in Hardcover and Softcover. Eisner Award-winning artist Darwyn Cooke (DC: The New Frontier) supplies this year’s Captain America cover while artist Mark Chiarello (Batman/Houdini: The Devil’s Workshop) supplies the Batman cover.

Since January of 2008 Spider-Man fans have had questions and concerns about the Brand New Day storyline.This week, in Amazing Spider-Man #638 Marvel begins their One Moment In Time, 4-part storyline. The double-sized issues are co-written by Joe Quesada and Stan Lee and also co-illustrated by Joe Quesada and Paolo Rivera. This new arc will turn back the clock to show the events on what should have been Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s wedding day. What does Mary Jane know about Spider-Man today? How did the world really forget Peter Parker was Spider-Man? Every question is supposed to be answered, the past laid to rest, and Spider-Man swings into a new direction for the future! Joe Quesada says so.

Marvel.com recently posted this picture of Odin, Thor and Loki from the upcoming Thor Movie. More stuff like this will be coming out of the San Diego Comic-Con including who will be playing The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers Movie.

Also, click here to see the first official picture of Ryan Reynolds from the Green Lantern movie!

The Little Archie characters will be joining the cast of Tiny Titans for a 3-part storyline beginning in October.

Long in the works, the THUNDER Agents are finally joining the DC Universe.

Brian K. Vaughan’s Runaways comic will be the first Disney/Marvel Studios production beginning filming in January 2011.

Like the popular collections of Eerie and Creepy Magazine published by Dark Horse, Dynamite Entertainment recently obtained the rights to the Warren Magazine character Vampirella and is releasing a Vampirella Archives Volume 1 Hardcover collecting the first 7-issues for the first time.

Vampirella #1 debuted in 1969 with a cover by Frank Frazetta and legendary writers and artists featured in those first issues include Forest J. Ackerman, Don Glut, Tom Sutton, Neal Adams, Ernie Colon, Billy Graham, Alan Weiss and Jeffrey Jones. The stories are being reprinted in their original magazine-sized format. Currently scheduled to be released in late September/early October, place your order now to guarantee availability!

Read Robert Greenberger’s recommendation of the Vampirella Archives Volume 1 on the Westfield Blog!

Harvey Pekar, the underground comic book writer from Cleveland who is perhaps best known for his autobiographical American Splendor series, has died at the age of 70.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner confirmed Pekar’s death Monday morning. He was found just before 1:00am by his wife in their Cleveland Heights home. The cause of death is not yet known.

In 2003, Pekar’s American Splendor series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation by the same name. Paul Giamatti played the role of Pekar, who made some appearances himself in the film.

Click here to watch an appearance by Pekar on the David Letterman Show

This week, two of the most popular horror properties of the last two decades collide in X-Files/30 Days of Night #1 (of 6). Co-writers Steve Niles (writer and co-creator of 30 Days of Night) and rockstar-turned-writer Adam Jones (the band Tool) team with artist Tom Mandrake to unleash a mashup you could only find in comics!

Evidence of a possible cannibal killer in Wainright, Alaska, draws the attention of FBI Agents Scully and Mulder and all is not as it seems once the agents arrive. Not only has the long seasonal darkness begun to fall, but there’s something unnatural about a few of the locals. And what does a chilling, mysterious black ship have to do with the murders? Find out here! Click here for preview.