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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JUN160562 LOAC ESSENTIALS KING FEATURES HC VOL 02 TYLERS LUCK 1933 $29.99
I know that Soft City is the real star of the arts-comics world this week, and all of comics period, but I can't get over that LOAC is publishing an entire year of Tim Tyler's Luck, one of the missing links of that whole group of comic strips that kind of transitioned a big chunk of the page into adventure serials. Lyman Young worked on this feature forever, and it's barely remembered now. He worked with Alex Raymond during this period, too, so there's that additional bit of gorgeousness to enjoy. I'ts a miracle books like this exist.

AUG161645 JASON SHIGA DEMON SC GN $19.99
I like Jason Shiga's comics and I think he shows enough easy, inventive facility that I wouldn't laugh if you suggested to me that he's a genius. This is one crazy comic book series, run as an on-line serial and the as a series of paper pamphlets for various patrons along the way. It involves a hard rule fantasy high-concept and countless attempts to work around it, all in Shiga's fun, effective and somewhat crude art style. I'm curious that this wasn't made one volume just because the piling of ideas is more impressive the more there is of it.

JUN160123 GOON LIBRARY HC VOL 04 $39.99
I noticed this one because it's well-regarded and I'm guessing this is one of many ways the work is available. Dark Horse and Marvel do a good job of that, it seems, finding multiple format for multiple audiences. We're about two and a half years before interest in this title is resuscitated as a nostalgic act.

AUG160062 RISE OF THE BLACK FLAME #2 (OF 5) $3.99
AUG160211 CYBORG #2 $2.99
AUG161384 GIANT DAYS #19 $3.99
AUG160212 CYBORG #2 VAR ED $2.99
AUG160475 SUPER F*CKERS FOREVER #3 (OF 5) (MR) $3.99
AUG160476 SUPER F*CKERS FOREVER #3 (OF 5) SUBSCRIPTION VAR (MR) $3.99
AUG160577 GREEN VALLEY #1 (OF 9) $2.99
AUG160675 WALKING DEAD #159 CVR A ADLARD & STEWART (MR) $2.99
AUG160822 DOCTOR STRANGE #12 NOW (RES) $3.99
Hey, here's a mess of comic book format comics. I bet that's a Mignola-verse up top; if not, send a letter to my editor. Cyborg I list not because I care about that character but it strikes me that that one would be a pretty good line-sample. Like if they're killing it throughout the line, the Cyborg comics should be above-average at least. Hey, there's some naughty James Kochalka; I like those comics and look forward to catching up to them. Green Valley is the latest attempt at a fantasy-comedy, an adventure story with funny parts in it. Like a Shane Black movie, but with swords. Good luck to the creators; that's a tough and narrow road. Walking Dead is still $2.99 and still features people fighting zombies and each other. My theory is that right about now they should be fighting the effect of 2000 China Syndrome meltdowns worldwide, but that's just because I'm that kind of unpleasant nerd. I've been reading Doctor Strange -- it's really helpful to have something to buy when you visit comic shops. It has pacing problems; I never get the sense I'm reading more than half of what I expect from a regular-sized comic book issue. And the plots sort of unfurl rather than unfold. I'll stick with it, though; it's a handsome looking thing.

JUL160656 RIP KIRBY HC VOL 09 $49.99
Hey, more Alex Raymond-like art (John Prentice), from a time period when that kind of handsome style was in its late, golden afternoon. I don't even know what this strip is about, but I still buy it just to look at it. Holy crap, is it handsome.

AUG161823 CHARLES BURNS LAST LOOK GN $29.95
This is the Doug trilogy, collected. I think its three component books where undervalued as they came out, so I'm dying them all in one place. I'm also glad this is out early enough that it can be a serious holiday purchase after a long Fall tour.

JUL160793 CBLDF PRESENTS SHE CHANGED COMICS TP $14.99
This is a smallish but seemingly well-selected series of short profiles and interviews. I mean, they include Barbara Shermund, so I'm not terribly upset over which moderns might get left out.

JUL160804 HEAD LOPPER TP VOL 01 ISLAND OR A PLAGUE OF BEASTS (MR) $19.99
This is like Hellboy were instead of Jack Kirby comics it's modern fantasy comics that are under the microscope. I enjoyed it, it was good and dumb and the drawings are pretty cool. If I had one complaint it's that it's not quite as funny as it sometimes thinks it is.

AUG160710 THOUGHT BUBBLE ANTHOLOGY COLL 10 YEARS OF COMICS TP $9.99
I've bought previous issues of this festival's comics, and don't remember them -- so there's your prompt and your pushback right in one sentence. I wish there were a lot of anthology comics tied into show. Maybe that's next.

JUL161346 GIANT DAYS TP VOL 03 $14.99
I will keep reminding myself this John Allison material is here, because at some point I will want all of it.

JUL161772 SOFT CITY GN $35.00
You'll read better descriptions of this book, a blissed-out meditation on then-modern 1970s US cities, and the living/moving around in them. I think it's more interest as a series of drawing strategies than as satire or narrative, but I'm glad to have something that looks this sharps that plays so loosely -- so obtusely -- with standard storytelling rules. Worth every penny.

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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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