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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JAN171790 CALIFORNIA DREAMIN CASS ELLIOT BEFORE MAMAS & PAPAS HC (C: 1 $24.99
There's not a ton at the comics shop for me this week, but that just means I can spend time with the stuff that is. This looks likes an intriguing biography just via the match of skilled cartoonist with quality subject matter (Mama Cass, both well and little known), but a lot of that kind of work is in the nuances of execution. It's certainly become a powerhouse category.

JAN171390 I THOUGHT YOU HATED ME GN (MR) $9.00
JAN170099 HELLBOY AND BPRD 1954 GHOST MOON #1 $3.99
JAN170932 MAN-THING #1 (OF 5) $3.99
NOV160352 ASTRO CITY #42 $3.99
DEC160430 COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS #4 (OF 6) $3.99
JAN170773 WICKED & DIVINE #27 CVR A MCKELVIE & WILSON (MR) $3.99
The first one is a bigger book, a Retrofit publication featuring MariNaomi. As there wasn't a lot in which I was intee=ew0after that I decided to keep it in the periodicals category. I enjoy these 1950s Hellboy mini-series just fine when I encounter them. The Man-Thing is the RL Stine-written version, which makes me think it will be lighter than usual. That's a character that hasn't enjoyed a lot of breadth-of-approach. Hats off to Astro City on this extended run. The History of Comics material is stuff I've enjoyed in the past, now packaged in a way to take it to a broader audience. The most comic-book feeling comic out this week, the one that says 2017 comic maybe of all the comics in all the weeks, is the latest Wicked & Divine: that one's picked up its narrative pacing in considerable fashion.

NOV160099 MANARA LIBRARY TP VOL 01 INDIAN SUMMER (MR) (C: 1-1-2) $29.99
My memory is that Kim Thompson took on the Manara omnibus translation project at Dark houre in part to work Diana Schutz, in part to work on Manara, and in part to save for his retirement

JAN171863 ICHI F WORKERS GRAPHIC MEMOIR OF FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR PLANT (C: $24.99
This may be the most interesting book out this week: a detailed memoir from a worker on the ground about what it was like to be a part of that massive clean-up project. Massive radiation sidelined the artist and that time was spent on this volume.

DEC161806 NIGHTLIGHTS HC GN (C: 0-1-0) $18.95
This looks great, and is one of the works that parks itself on the borders between kids work and adult work, picture book and graphic novel. I'm guessing from the promotional material that the conscious act of making art, its responsibility and issues, is part of what gets discussed. Don't quote me on that, though. A NoBrow publication.

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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 9:55 pm PST | Permalink
 

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