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.

*****

FEB161443 PANTHER HC $26.95
Brecht Evens' latest, which means a smart story, brilliant use of color and Evens' high-energy presence at one or two North American events this year. Seriously, if you haven't had the pleasure of looking at one of these books and you're in a comic book shop that has one, don't deny yourself.

MAR161305 BLACKBIRD GN $17.00
This is a Conundrum Press effort about a group of 'zinemakers in a world where hand-making publications is illegal. The throwaway stuff is the most fun here, like the search for copiers as they begin to blink out of production. It's also a sturdy, lengthy read at that price point, or at least my memory of it exceeds $17.

DEC150149 PLANETES OMNIBUS TP VOL 02 $19.99
I'm glad they're re-doing some of the better-regarded series from the late '90s/early 2000s in different way: if that's the way keeping them in stock has to work, so be it. I cared less for this particular series than everyone I know, which just caused them to give me looks of disappointment for like three solid years there. I'm not sure why I had that reaction because certainly it's handsome and certainly its quotidian concept work appeals to me. One nice thing about a new edition is you can give an older work a second look.

DEC150126 USAGI YOJIMBO SAGA LTD ED HC VOL 06 $79.99
DEC150125 USAGI YOJIMBO SAGA TP VOL 06 $24.99
No matter how you collect them, you'll want some Stan Sakai at some point. It's great fun to immerse yourself in the drift and repeated cycles of the overall story, so you want enough pages to do that.

FEB160450 LIL ABNER THE COMPLETE DAILIES AND COLOR SUNDAYS VOL 08 $49.99
No great strip leaves me colder than Al Capp's masterpiece, but it's still a mighty work. At $50 I'd have to be super in-love, but I also think those are fair prices for those books. It's almost like the inability to just pick up that LOAC stuff willy-nilly give individual works you do collect a bigger place of honor on your shelves.

FEB160291 MICRONAUTS #1 $4.99
FEB160584 INJECTION #9 CVR A SHALVEY & BELLAIRE (MR) $2.99
FEB160585 INJECTION #9 CVR B SHALVEY & BELLAIRE (MR) $2.99
FEB160602 SAGA #36 (MR) $2.99
FEB160605 SEX #27 (MR) $3.99
AUG150541 SEX CRIMINALS #15 (MR) $3.50
MAY150568 VELVET #14 (MR) $3.50
FEB160869 DOCTOR STRANGE #7 $3.99
FEB160875 PATSY WALKER AKA HELLCAT #5 $3.99
Strong Image week in the ol' comic-book comic section. I didn't know there was a new Micronauts coming -- actually I think I wrote about it, but it hasn't been front and center for me -- and while my nostalgia for all things is dull enough I'd only be compelled to look at a book from my childhood rather than make it an automatic purchase, that's still a lot more attention than I give most genre adventure. Shops get to sell their last Saga for a little while, and an issue of Sex Criminals, a book that feels like it's about to change course pretty soon. The latest issues of Sex, which has become more about the conflicts between characters and less a comment on 1980s comic book world-building, and Velvet, which I seem to enjoy alone of all my friends because no one will talk about it with me. Finally, there's good ol' Patsy Walker, finishing up a storyline.

DEC150502 SILLY SYMPHONIES HC VOL 01 COMP DISNEY CLASSICS $49.99
"Silly Symphonies" was at one point the franchise at animation studio Disney, and one of the spin-offs was a well-regarded comic strip feature, and one of the first not-film Disney creations, Bucky Bug. A lot of this depends on the execution but I have a feeling I'm getting every volume.

JAN160695 OCTOPUS PIE TP VOL 03 $14.99
All three of these collections thus far have been a next-to-bed companion for me in recent times. I'm not sure the timing of the on-line iteration makes a smooth transition into print, but it's super-fun to read sprawling soap opera; I wish more people did it.

JAN160925 CAPTAIN AMERICA OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 NEW PTG $125.00
This isn't Hitler-punching Cap but Crossbones-punching spy cap, from the Ed Brubaker/Steve Epting iteration that is several years in the rearview mirror itself now. Amazon.com tells me it's 25 issues. I got the first 25 issues of that run for $1 apiece, but I can vouch for these Omnibus editions as that seems to be the format of choice for my casual-reading former comics fans that have money now.

JAN161639 UKRAINIAN & RUSSIAN NOTEBOOKS LIFE & DEATH UNDER SOVIET RULE $28.00
Egad, like seven million pages of Igort, a new edition for English-language audiences combining two books in a way that makes your furrow your brow and count out the ampersands. I can't imagine this book being less than extremely intriguing. I sure hope there are more books coming that will surprise and delight me like this one's appearance has.

MAR161859 BLANC ET NOIR HC TAKESHI OBATA ILLUSTRATIONS $99.99
Takeshi Obata has always been an appealing artist, although I'm thinking it's Death Note where the comics-maker became an artist and designer worth of pulling material into a book collection. That's a steep price, but I can't imagine the audience for a wook like this is a mass one.

JAN161028 BARTKIRA NUCLEAR ED HC $19.99
The whole on-line blending of Simpsons imagery with scenes and panels from Akira barely gained my attention, so maybe I'll have better luck with the Floating World collection, which will apparently benefit charity.

*****

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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