This Isn't A Library: New And Notable Releases To The 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. But were I in a comic book shop tomorrow I would be definitely be extracting a scientific sampling as follows.

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DEC090975 ROGUE TROOPER TALES OF NU EARTH GN VOL 01 $26.99
DEC090974 JUDGE DREDD RESTRICTED FILES TP VOL 01 $32.99
Two big, powerful chunks of (I think) mostly early 1980s 2000 AD material, including the every-serious-genre-comics-library offering Rogue Trooper.

FEB100045 BPRD KING OF FEAR #4 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB100116 BRIGHTEST DAY #0 $3.99
A couple of random single-issues titles of interest to at least someone out there in a week where there aren't a whole lot of such books. The Mignola books continue to do really, really well while Brightest Day is DC's latest and slightly depressing for market wonks foray into event comics-ness.

DEC090263 OTHER LIVES HC (MR) $24.99
The big mystery book of the week, Peter Bagge's stand-alone work from Vertigo riffing in on social media. I would love to have one of these in my hands to pore over.

FEB100168 MAGOG #8 $2.99
I have no interest in buying this, but I remain in love with the fact that there's a comic book out there called "Magog."

DEC090926 DAN DECARLOS JETTA HC $21.99
This is a long-forgotten Dan DeCarlo project, so I'm guessing it's elegantly staged with tons of cute girls. That's just a guess, mind you.

FEB100907 PRIME BABY TP $6.99
The last of the Funny Pages serials, this is a lovely price point for a cute story about young siblinghood.

JAN101063 DUNGEON TWILIGHT GN VOL 03 $12.99
I can't follow these at all -- I think this is the one in the future of the universe where everything is dying and the world is chaotically collapsing -- but I always want to read anything that comes out in the Donjon series, no matter if the art totally satisfies or not.

FEB100204 LOSERS #1 NEW PTG $1.00
I'm well aware of how film drives people to graphic novels, but do they drive people to series? Or maybe this is the taste to get you to start buying the trades.

DEC090253 TOM STRONG DELUXE ED HC BOOK 02 $39.99
It's hard for me to believe they're still working material out of that long, second, sort-of shotgun marriage to Alan Moore, and this is my least favorite of those characters, but I bet the book is gorgeous and I know there are parts worth reading.

FEB101154 YOTSUBA & ! GN VOL 08 $10.99
The only non-literary manga series I'm reading as it comes out, I'm very grateful that the license was rescued and the books continued.

FEB100967 ANGEL BARBARY COAST #1 $3.99
FEB100980 A-TEAM WAR STORIES FACE #1 $3.99
FEB100959 KILL SHAKESPEARE #1 $3.99
FEB100961 PANTHEON #1 $3.99
FEB100997 PILGRIM #1 $3.99
FEB100972 STAR TREK MCCOY #1 $3.99
FEB100963 WIRE HANGERS #1 $3.99
These are all number one comic-book issues from IDW. They're the #3 publisher according to certain standards right now, so I'm hesitant to double-guess them, but all your #1s coming out in the same week can't be great for anyone. Of the group above I didn't watch on TV I've only heard about Kill Shakespeare, which I believe features a "Shakespeare-verse."

JAN100998 ART OF TONY HARRIS ART & SKULLDUGGERY HC (IDW) $49.99
Deep down near its core IDW is an art books publisher just as much as it is anything else, including a comic book company.

FEB100633 EXCALIBUR VISIONARIES WARREN ELLIS TP VOL 01 $19.99
One of the better superhero comic books I read out of freebie packages back when superhero comics were particularly dreadful.

FEB101058 BODYWORLD HC $27.95
This is the release of the week, Dash Shaw's new major work, serialized at one point on-line and terrifically gorgeous. The future of the comics.

OCT091070 HOPE LARSON MERCURY GN $9.99
OCT091071 HOPE LARSON MERCURY HC $19.99
Two extremely well-priced editions in different formats for the talented Hope Larson's new graphic novel, which I enjoyed reading in yet another format: the advance reader copy. All the cool young people in comics ten years from now we'll find out have been Hope Larson fans for a decade or more.

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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 didn't list your comic here, that's because I didn't know about it, because I'm sure it's awesome.

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