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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MAY161206 EXPERTS GN (MR) $5.00
I don't know anything about this title save the external facts -- it's by Sophie Franz, it's from the more reliable than ever Retrofit, it's a mere $5 -- but that and the cover are enough to make me want to see it. A comic shop would be perfect for that kind of thing.

MAY161530 LAST MAN GN VOL 05 THE ORDER $9.99
I'm a fan of this series of smartly executed genre stories grown from the loam made possible by video games and the way they construct narratives. I'll write a review eventually to tease out some of my objections and things I'm less than enthusiastic about. I generally enjoy these books, though, I feel like I'm in the hands of solid craftspeople.

MAR160062 MISTER X MODERN AGE LTD ED HC $100.00
This is a collection of every comic book featuring the legendary 1980s indie character that was published by Dark Horse Comics. I'm not enough on the character to know which issues those are -- I think it's a cycle of "Mister X: ______" stories. I'm not sure that I'd catch up with them via a giant hardcover, but it's nice to be reminded they exist for the bin-diving periods of my life. This would be a fine character and basic set-up for someone to turn into a movie. I'm sure the mythology has expanded vastly since I dumped the title (pre-Seth).

MAY168004 PLUTONA HC $39.99
MAR160642 PLUTONA TP $16.99
When we had Jeff Lemire out to CXC 2015, there were more audience questions about this series than about any of his other works. A hardcover and trade for San Diego indicate publisher confidence, and collection is always a good time to dive back into a series or consider it for the first time.

MAY160641 ISLAND #9 $7.99
MAY160013 BLACK HAMMER #1 (RES) $3.99
MAY160014 BLACK HAMMER #1 LEMIRE VAR CVR (RES) $3.99
MAY160091 BPRD HELL ON EARTH #143 $3.99
MAY160056 GROO FRAY OF THE GODS #1 $3.99
MAY160047 USAGI YOJIMBO #156 $3.99
MAY160629 CASANOVA ACEDIA #6 (MR) $3.99
MAY160645 LAZARUS #23 (MR) $3.99
MAY160656 SHE WOLF #2 (MR) $3.99
MAY160544 SNOTGIRL #1 CVR A HUNG $2.99
MAY160545 SNOTGIRL #1 CVR B O MALLEY $2.99
MAR160597 VELVET #15 (MR) $3.99
MAY168151 GOLDIE VANCE #2 (OF 5) (2ND PTG) $3.99
MAY161285 LUMBERJANES #28 $3.99
There's just a bunch of comic-book format stuff out this week, most of it from Image, starting with its Brandon Graham-led anthology, moving into a well-publicized Jeff Lemire series launch. Three standards from Dark Horse are next, including a new Groo series I think was announced at 12 issues but is now going to be three four-issue mini-series. Casanova and Lazarus are both solidly entertaining series, Casanova being the greater vehicle for personal expression from my vantage point, although that could just be my preference for a certain kind of story. She Wolf is Rich Tommaso's latest and looks great. Snotgirl is the much-ballyhooed Bryan Lee O'malley/Leslie Hung series, which should be the focus of several articles coming out in the next 7-10 days. I enjoy Velvet very much, although I don't hear very much about it from other writers. Let's end with a second printing and a 28th issue from two high-profile all-ages series.

MAY168009 BLACK WIDOW #1 SAMNEE 3RD PTG VAR $3.99
MAY168010 BLACK WIDOW #2 SAMNEE 2ND PTG VAR $3.99
MAY168011 BLACK WIDOW #3 SAMNEE 2ND PTG VAR $3.99
MAY160820 BLACK WIDOW #5 $3.99
This is about the only sign that matter that a series is hitting: multiple printings released in coordination with the latest issue.

MAY161104 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR A REG ADAM HUGHES $3.99
MAY161105 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR B VAR ASRAR $3.99
MAY161106 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR C VAR TOM BANCROFT $3.99
MAY161107 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR D VAR STEPHANIE BUSCEMA $3.99
MAY161108 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR E VAR CLIFF CHIANG $3.99
MAY161109 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR F VAR COLLEEN COOVER $3.99
MAY161110 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR G VAR BILQUIS EVELY $3.99
MAY161111 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR H VAR VERONICA FISH $3.99
MAY161112 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR I VAR FRANCAVILLA $3.99
MAY161113 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR J VAR GENEVIEVE FT $3.99
MAY161114 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR K VAR RIAN GONZALES $3.99
MAY161115 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR L VAR ROBERT HACK $3.99
MAY161116 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR M VAR ERICA HENDERSON $3.99
MAY161117 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR N VAR REBEKAH ISAACS $3.99
MAY161118 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR O VAR TULA LOTAY $3.99
MAY161119 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR P VAR ALITHA MARTINEZ $3.99
MAY161120 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR Q VAR AUDREY MOK $3.99
MAY161121 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR R VAR MORITAT $3.99
MAY161122 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR S VAR RAMON K PEREZ $3.99
MAY161123 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR T VAR ANDY PRICE $3.99
MAY161124 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR U VAR RYAN SOOK $3.99
MAY161125 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR V VAR JENN ST ONGE $3.99
MAY161126 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR W VAR CHIP ZDARSKY $3.99
MAY161127 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR X VAR CHRISSIE ZULLO $3.99
MAY161128 BETTY & VERONICA #1 CVR Y VAR BLANK SKETCH $3.99
I'm glad all of these people got the payday of a cover, including my pal Moritat. On the other hand, this kind of money tied up in a single issue can't be a good thing for comics more generally. It's not like the characters are an unknown quantity, either. if this much effort is expounded on a first issue and subsequent issues struggle to make it to market, we will at that point wish that more effort was put into securing a regular schedule for the book instead of an irregular launch.

MAY161915 COMPLETE CHI SWEET HOME TP VOL 03 $24.95
This material is great. I'm not exactly sure what this trade series is, but I'm betting it's a greater-page-count run back through the entire series.

APR161573 WANDERING STAR OMNIBUS HC ED $39.95
This material might seem date because it came out some twenty years ago, or at least part of it. This material might not seem dated at all because the context for its potential reception by audience is markedly different.

MAY161655 FANTASY SPORTS HC VOL 02 $19.95
This is pretty much a book end series to the Last Man stuff. Sam Bosma's art is about as fun as it can be.

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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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