This Isn’t A Library: New, Notable Releases Into Comics’ Direct Market



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Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.

I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.

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NOV150334 BEST OF DC WAR ARTISTS ED HC PI
The listing for IDW books this week is bigger than I've ever seen, or at least that's what my memory tells me. I don't do the job I should listing their best books, so I thought I'd use imagery only from that company's offerings this week. Up top is maybe the first anthology-style artist's edition book I've really wanted to own, as it features stories from DC's various war comics. War is comics most under-appreciated home for quality genre work, and a lot of the artists involved in the stories collected here were at the height or near-height of their powers. The format should be very flattering to them.

APR160508 TRANSFORMERS VS GI JOE #13 $7.99
APR160073 LOBSTER JOHNSON METAL MONSTERS OF MIDTOWN #2 $3.50
APR160755 EAST OF WEST #27 $3.99
APR160648 JUPITERS LEGACY VOL 2 #1 CVR A QUITELY (MR) $3.99
APR160649 JUPITERS LEGACY VOL 2 #1 CVR B LEE (MR) $3.99
APR160650 JUPITERS LEGACY VOL 2 #1 CVR C MAYHEW (MR) $3.99
APR160651 JUPITERS LEGACY VOL 2 #1 CVR D BLANK COVER (MR) $3.99
APR160775 SEX #29 (MR) $3.99
APR160932 HYPERION #4 $3.99
APR161197 HILLBILLY #1 $3.99
APR162173 SWEETNESS #1 (MR) $3.99
APR161562 BADGER #5 (MR) $3.99
Tom Scioli has created something strange and beautiful and very, very comics with his work on this series, partnered with John Barber. Scioli is one of the best artists in terms of finding texture in concepts and theories used by other artists: he's created significant works singing in the key of Jack Kirby and working from the songbook of 1970s psychedelia. Here it's 1980s junk culture that becomes the medium, to intriguing result. The Lobster Johnson is this week's Mignola-verse comic and gives us Tonci Zonjic. A lot happens in East of West this time out, months and years of anticipatory placing of piece erupting into a big violent setpiece. The Jupiter's Legacy comic is more high-concept, movie-ready superheroing from writer Mark Millar only this time working with that great creator of fleshy superhero figures Frank Quitely. Sex #29 made me laugh a lot. That comic boasts a 1980s indy-comics setting and a mid-2000s disdain for the people that inhabit those places; it's a fun combination. Hyperion is I believe recently canceled; I liked that character when I was a kid and I love abortive attempts at getting second-run superheroes over, like the Paul Di Filippo Doc Samson series from more than a decade ago. Hillbilly is the new series from Eric Powell, and thus worth our attention. Sweetness is Miss Lasko-Gross working with art by Kevin Colden, so ditto that attention from the previous sentence. Finally, Badger #5 because I told my friend Larry it'd be included. I like that character, though, and hope someone films some iteration of it so my brother and I can go.

MAR160684 SAGA TP VOL 06 (MR) $14.99
Gotta be a happy day in the comics shop when one of these trades shows up. Talking to a lot of the newer creators with hit series on their hands, they all seem to feel that a significant part of their overall readership are buying the trades like intermittent serial comics that just cost a lot. I imagine with all the material out there that this could be true.

MAY161627 SOUNDS OF YOUR NAME TP (MR) $18.00
This is early Nate Powell and I believe has been published a few times; it's now at Conundrum Press, where it will remain in print forever.

MAY161654 EINSTEIN HC $19.95
A straight up biography translated from the French by Nobrow. The pages from Corinne Maier and Anne Simon run here look like a lot of fun.

APR161691 GARYS GARDEN TP $7.99
This I assume is a collection or a reprint of a collection featuring the Gary Northfield comics from The Phoenix. That stuff looked terrific, and I hope this version settles into enough comic shops I can run across it and buy a copy.

MAY161628 THREADBARE TP (MR) $13.95
Politically-charged comics from Anne Elizabeth Moore and a formidable line-up of cartoonists, many of whom are not exactly known for politically-informed comics of this kind.

APR162087 ATTACK ON TITAN LOST GIRLS NOVEL $12.95
MAR161182 MOUSE GUARD ART OF BRICKS HC $34.99
I have no idea what these will be like, even if they're good or not, but I'm dying to know if Attack On Titan in other media has the same careening, up eight days in a row high as a kite demented sections that are sprinkled throughout the manga. The Mouse Guard book I'm going to assume is well-crafted and under-appreciate, like nearly everything the franchise has produced.

APR160643 FUN FAMILY GN $24.99
I love the fact that a fully-formed graphic novel can come out without a lot of fanfare or hype, although I imagine the PR people at the various publishing houses are less impressed by work that follows this basic model. Digging into Family Circus wins the cartoonist no prizes in terms of idiosyncratic target hunting, but it's still rich territory for all sorts of culturally relevant commentary.

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The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.

To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.

The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.

If I failed to list your comic, that's because I hate you.

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posted 11:55 pm PST | Permalink
 

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