This Isn’t A Library: Notable Releases To The Comics Direct Market



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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JUN121266 ONLY SKIN GN (MR) $21.95
I've been toying around with the theory that maybe comics shops are best used as places you run into on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and emerge with a single book. The strange thing about this notion is that this means you could end the year with 52 books and this would somehow seem like a paltry amount of comics. You see how I italicized that there for emphasis? It does seem weird, though, I don't think I'll own 52 of anything else by the end of 2012 and yet to do so in comics really seems like you're cutting back. At any rate, if I were to run in and buy just the one thing, there's a good chance it would be this Sean Ford book finally making its DM debut (I think) after being out on the festival/mail order circuit for a while. Young cartoonist, new voices, all that. It's what I want in comics, most weeks.

JUN121297 MAYA MAKES A MESS HC $12.95
One of the great advantages of the comics shop is you can look at stuff you might otherwise avoid, or about which you might have some basic questions. This is a Rutu Modan book, and highly thought-of within the line to the point they did a special promotion for it. I was stunned by how entertaining Shark King was, so I'm never going to skip a Toon effort by any major talent.

APR120288 INVISIBLES OMNIBUS HC (MR) $150.00
MAY120295 JACK KIRBYS FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS TP VOL 03 $29.99
JUN120418 RIP KIRBY HC VOL 05 $49.99
JUN121233 ASTERIX OMNIBUS HC VOL 05 $27.95
APR121092 CAPTAIN EASY HC VOL 03 SOLDIER OF FORTUNE $39.99
JUN121135 COMPLETE PEANUTS BOX SET 1983-1986 $49.99
JUN121134 COMPLETE PEANUTS HC VOL 18 1985-1986 $28.99
Hey, this is pile of older material with which I'd leave the shop were I independently wealthy. This is $300 in comics, which according to my 1984 budget for buying these kinds of things would have about 35 weeks worth of books, and I had comics coming out of my ears back then. I'm not sure that'd I go for the Invisibles material in this format; I don't remember anything about the art that would make me want to have it in a different presentation than the actual comics. I may not even have the actual comics at this point. But Grant Morrison is their anchor talent, and I can respect their wanting to have as much material out there in the areas of comics in which DC has a definite sales oomph. The Captain Easy material I love, sort of unreservedly, and think it really work at that size. The Peanuts books are really fascinating currently, and we're starting into that era after the perceived glory years and before the final, strong run where there's a great deal of curiosity as to how the work holds up.

MAY121343 DOROHEDORO GN VOL 07 (MR) $12.99
This is I believe the best regarded of the mainstream-ish manga releases out this week. I haven't followed this series in a while, but maybe you are, and maybe things like the matter-of-fact madness of basic plot descriptions will be enough to pull you in.

JUN120753 ECONOMIX HOW & WHY OUR ECONOMY WORKS & DOESNT WORK GN $19.95
This is an Abrams book, and no doubt features the medium's ability to make a lot of information very clear in a short time. I have no idea how rigorous it is, and I'm not sure I trust mainstream reviews of this kind of material, but I'd definitely take not of the book's arrival on my store's shelves. Good to see Dan E. Burr with a book out.

JUN120622 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #692 $5.99
I'm guessing by the price tag here that this is some sort of 50th anniversary issue for the Spider-Man character. That's a lengthy run. I think that's a really good character, although it's astonishing for me to think that when I was reading him in the 1970s he'd only been around for about a decade or so. That doesn't seem very long at all, even by the way I measured time as a child.

JUN120028 FATIMA THE BLOOD SPINNERS #3 $3.99
JUN120016 LOBSTER JOHNSON PRAYER OF NEFERU ONE SHOT $3.50
JUN120029 MIND MGMT #4 $3.99
JUN120315 ROCKETEER CARGO OF DOOM #1 [DIG] $3.99
MAR120471 AMERICAS GOT POWERS #3 $2.99
JUN120949 ADVENTURE TIME #7 [DIG] $3.99
MAY120788 GLAMOURPUSS #26 $3.00
Finally, here are the comic-book comics of note, with a strong week by Dark Horse of Mignola-verse, Matt Kindt and Gilbert Hernandez. The America's Got Powers I include here -- I'm guessing similar lists like Jog's won't -- as I feel that's a deeply weird comic, almost fundamentally oddly paced. There will be a high amount of interest in the Waid/Samnee Rocketeer comics from the olds out there, of which I'm one. I'm sure that's a classy-looking effort. Adventure Time is the mainstream-crossover comics effort of the moment. Mostly, though, I'm interested in this list for what I take to be the final issue of Glamourpuss. That's based on some statements from Dave Sim, his move into digital comics, and the fact this one was late and not a lot of Dave Sim comics are late, even if it's just a few weeks. I thought that was a fun title although I'm sure the aggressive whimsy of the covers turned a lot of people off and there really isn't enough work to kickstart a way of selling alt-indy stuff in stores right now except in very rare cases. Here's hoping.

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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 on me. I apologize.

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