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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APR191713 KRAMERS ERGOT GN VOL 10 (RES) (MR) $34.99
I don't know that anyone's pushed KE off the top of the hill -- I'm not up on everything, but nothing springs to mind having done this -- and I've liked every issue since volume four, even the ones that baffled some of its core audience. I know nothing about the contents, but Harkham has won my allegiance a dozen times over in a way I don't have to know a thing. That is some amazing August summer reading to come.

MAR190280 HELLBOY HC 25 YEARS OF COVERS $34.99
I don't have much in the way of analysis of a big book of covers from Mike Mignola and company, except to suggest that the design constraints required of something with that specific purpose almost always has a positive effect on how the images are presented. So here's to eating the icing and saving the cake for another day.

APR198094 WALKING DEAD #192 SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE ED $3.99
MAY190111 WALKING DEAD #193 (MR) $3.99
Longtime bestseller and mega-successful TV show instigating property The Walking Dead apparently ends today with an epilogue-style #193 after some chicanery to keep it a secret until last night. I wish those creators luck. That comic had a number of virtues, and I've had good experiences with the professionals involved at various stages of its success. This feels like another blow for a) Direct Market retailers, b) the most recently successful phase of comics publisher and its institutions of some cultural power.

MAY190371 LOIS LANE #1 (OF 12) $3.99
MAY191253 GIANT DAYS #52 $3.99
Comic-book comics this week. The Lois Lane is the least heralded of the Bendis And Friends takeover of approximately one-half of the Superman Family books, but Mike Perkins is solid and I think Greg Rucka has done something with that Lazarus book which made me forget some of the flourishes from early and in his career. It's a great character, too, goodness, and not just for superhero but for all the characters, period. And I always look for John Allison.

APR190054 MONSTRESS HC VOL 01 (MR) $49.99
That is going to be one solid volume of inky lines and mossy colors, and I'm interested in ingesting that story this way.

APR191258 CEREBUS TP VOL 05 JAKAS STORY REMASTERED ED $40.00
Seeing this listing was terrifying, but the description focuses on the printing and some supplementary material that also suggests a focus on presentation. I liked this comic when I was a very young man reading the serial, but I liked it less as a full-throated direction for the narrative and kind of odd, thematic coda to the aggressive boys adventure elements that had come directly before. I don't think I need a new copy, but I might pull the old one into my summer reading basket.

NOV181818 FRANK THORNES LANN LTD HC GN (MR) $29.99
The best comics t-shirt ever was the Fantagraphics Lann t-shirt, although maybe I thought that way because they never had it in my size. Thorne is one of the great older-men drawers of American comics, and I could look at this material up through the straight up porno to come later and not have any idea what's going on the ink lines are so damn silky.

MAY191468 NOCTURNALS HC VOL 01 BLACK PLANET & OTHER STORIES (O/A) $29.99
This was a popular franchise for a while -- the kind that always had a SDCC panel -- and maybe still is, I'm not sure. I'd take a look at how the art has developed since my last splash in this pool.

MAR190322 BEANWORLD OMNIBUS TP VOL 02 $24.99
Beanworld reminds me of the one-pagers by like Sheldon Mayer that used to be plopped into DC genre feature collections in the 1970s; it's great as a side dish, but I'm not sure how belly-satisfying a full meal I'd find it. Still like the look of it, too.

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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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