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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JAN181597 BERLIN #22 (MR) $5.95
It's a light week for me but one I'll definitely spend at the comic shop waving one final goodbye to my twenties. Congratulations to my pal Jason Lutes, once a leading light of the younger Seattle scene and now the cool comics professor and family man that hosts game night. And so long to the last great series of the alt-happy '90s to end. I want to read the whole thing. I don't think anyone took on a greater degree of difficulty with their big career-defining serial project than Jason did with Berlin. There's at least one testament to its long run that popped into my head just now: I really want to know what happens.

JAN180138 USAGI YOJIMBO #1 (OF 7) THE HIDDEN $3.99
JAN180115 DEPT H #24 $3.99
JAN180344 SUPER SONS #14 $3.99
JAN180556 COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS COMICS FOR ALL #4 CVR A $3.99
JAN180557 COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS COMICS FOR ALL #4 CVR B $3.99
This is a Usagi/Ishida mini-series, and I assume that this provides the long-running series with a boost, to number this way. I love Sakai's work, I'm not entirely sure I can fully articulate why, but I do now I derive great pleasure from it. I think I've read every page. The Dept H being at #24 already makes me think I've lost my mind and fell out of time at some point during the Trump administration. That's just a lot of comics. If you had had me guess I would have said 11 issues thus far. Super Sons I think goes away at some point in the near-future; I like the non-serious fantasy element inherent in such a title, and I like both of those little kid characters. The Comic Book History project steamrolls on.

DEC170398 PLANETARY TP BOOK 02 $24.99
NOV170018 ABE SAPIEN DARK & TERRIBLE HC VOL 02 $34.99
NOV170555 CORTO MALTESE GN GOLDEN HOUSE OF SAMARKAND $34.99
DEC161991 BURNE HOGARTH TARZAN HC VOL 04 THE LOST TRIBES $49.95
OCT170522 WE SPOKE OUT COMIC BOOKS & THE HOLOCAUST HC $49.99
There's a bunch of material in the $25-$50 range this week, starting with one of thePlanetary books. I don't know which series that is but it's one of those titles that should always remain in print. Abe Sapien is from the Mignola-verse. Corto Maltese is your legendary series book of the week; you could make a case for the latest Burne Hogarth Tarzan book to be collected as a legendary series but for whatever reason those Tarzan books are identified more by creator than as one remarkable series, but that's not their faul. That last, I can't even tell what exactly lies between its covers, beyond the title concept. It does feature a cover with an artist making art, a favorite Yoe cover.

OCT170655 MOONSTRUCK TP VOL 01 $9.99
NOV171356 GIANT DAYS TP VOL 07 $14.99
DEC171532 MOOMIN WINTER GN $9.95
Here are the more conveniently priced trades: writer Grace Ellis of Lumberjanes fame is back with new fantasy romance in Moonstruck, this time partnered with Shae Beagle with Laurenn McCubbin helping facilitate as editor. Giant Days is written by the nearly always excellent John Allison and might not be all that well-served by how frequently it's published. Moomin Winter is one of D+Q' treatments of that favorite creative partnership. I trust all of these will be good. I'm going to at least look at all three when I visit my LCS today.

JAN181598 FROM LONE MOUNTAIN GN (MR) $22.95
Finally, these mid-2000s comics from John Porcellino are wonderful: such high quality work, such powerful staging, such sharp observations about the human condition. A show-stopper.

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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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