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.

*****

AUG161637 LOOKING FOR AMERICAS DOG HC (MR) $22.99
It's been a weird 2016 marked by any number of really good books from mature artists who aren't exactly top-tier names, and it's difficult to imagine a weirder book of this type than Steve Weissman's second Obama White House fantasia. I have never heard or read a single person discuss this work and it's very funny, both for being so aggressively odd and for the execution of its daily-strip style gags. You won't read anything like it well, ever.

SEP160917 BLACK PANTHER WORLD OF WAKANDA #1 NOW $4.99
JUN160620 CASANOVA ACEDIA #7 (MR) $3.99
AUG169185 GREEN VALLEY #1 (OF 9) 2ND PTG $2.99
SEP160728 GREEN VALLEY #2 (OF 9) (MR) $2.99
AUG160638 ISLAND #12 $7.99
A light week for comic-book formatted comics, with the World Of Wakanda effort by far the most hyped. The grouchy way to react to that comic is to wish that maybe there could be one successful comic set in that part of the Marvel Universe for a longer while before we get a second one. The less grouchy way to react is to shut up and enjoy the atypical and special talent that Marvel can get to work on the book. I'd say less-grouchy carries it. The latest Casanova is as confident-seeming as anything from in that series; I think it's on point. The Green Valley fantasy series is fun to look at and amiable, although I have my doubts about the pacing being such that it will make a satisfying read on the whole. We'll see. I've enjoyed the last few issues of Island, even if I wonder whether or not Brandon Graham has quite found his exact approach yet.

JUL160183 NEXUS OMNIBUS TP VOL 08 $24.99
JUN160060 USAGI YOJIMBO GALLERY EDITION HC VOL 02 $125.00
Two major series of my youth and beyond, enough so that I pay attention to every single iteration. The Usagi Yojimbo pages I've seen in the real world are beautiful, and certainly would be flattered by that kind of publication.

AUG160343 SUGAR & SPIKE METAHUMAN INVESTIGATIONS TP $14.99
I don't even have the heart to google this.

JUL160588 WHO KILLED KURT COBAIN STORY OF BODDAH HC $24.99
I moved to Seattle about two months after Kurt Cobain killed himself, so with my Fantagraphics-related projects right now I've been thinking about that event. I'm not all that certain of the approach (and I'm not one to believe in some of the asserted conspiracy-theory stuff that I've read), but I suspect this is a translation of a French work I saw once and I remember the art at least being quite lively.

JUN161075 AT THE SHORE GN $19.99
This looks really interesting, and I guess is an off-kilter zombie story? Okay.

SEP161797 COMETBUS 57 $5.00
I liked this issue of Aaron Cometbus' gift to post-boomer culture, a bunch of interview of various players within the New York City comics scene -- one of whom, Julia Wertz, has since left. I think what I enjoyed most about it was how pratical and matter-of-fact each person was about their involvement, which is something you couldn't have counted on 20 years earlier, when doing stuff in this little sub-culture felt really weird.

JUL161356 MOUSE GUARD LEGEND OF THE GUARD BOX SET $59.99
I'm not sure this is the format I'd personally to own this work, but I enjoy the comics when I get to read them and would pay attention to a box set.

SEP161369 SUMMERLAND GN (MR) $9.00
I don't know the work of Paloma Dawkins, but cartoonists with a similar profile have done well publishing through Retrofit/Big Planet, so I'd definitely take a look at this new offering from the imprint.

AUG161643 MORE HEROES OF COMICS HC PORTRAITS PIONEERING LEGENDS $34.99
This is Drew Friedman's second book of profiles of comics industry figures as he sees and appreciates that sub-set of the publishing world. The portraits are of a high quality and the vision of that industry is completely divorced from our time and the fan's buy-in that is required even to hold most of the business gigs.

JUN161505 COMICS JOURNAL LIBRARY TP VOL 10 EC ARTISTS PT 2 $34.99
I have this but haven't looked at it yet. The Journal always did a fine job with the EC artists -- they were strong-sellers from the magazine whenever they appeared on the cover. A lot will have to do with how the art is presented, which is something you can check out in a comics shop.

SEP161695 GAZE OF DRIFTING SKIES SC TREASURY BIRDS EYE CARTOON $29.99
I love this book to death, a bunch of crowd-scene comics of the kind that were very popular in the Edwardian period and all further times that had nostalgia for that gently turbulent but still idealized period of Americana. I could look at it for hours and I already have. Check this one out in the shop if your shop is cool enough to carry it.

AUG161787 HOW TO SURVIVE IN THE NORTH HC $22.95
This narratively complex and well-crafted work should place on more than its fair share of top ten lists for 2016. I'm still exploring it myself, but it's obviously extremely attractive.

*****

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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