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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MAY161334BONE CODA 25TH ANNIVERSARY TP $14.95
A new Bone story not being a bigger story I think says more about our lack of infrastructure for publishing news: the market is oversaturated with titles, and there are few mechanisms to make one release stand out over another. Smith is a wonderful cartoonist with talent to burn. He can draw whatever he wants. His gifts for economy and clarity are flattered most by these characters and this general setting. It's up to you, but I'll follow him there every time he wants to go.

MAY161607 QUEEN EMERALDAS HC GN VOL 01 (OF 2) $24.99
Prime-time Leiji Matsumoto, one of the most graceful stylists ever to make a comics page. I can stare at this stuff for hours, and it used to be I had to because my passion for this particular artist outpaced my ability to find translated-into-English pages. I can't imagine this not just killing right now, given the kind of work that a lot of younger cartoonists are doing.

MAY160090 LOBSTER JOHNSON METAL MONSTERS OF MIDTOWN #3 (OF 3) $3.50
MAY160214 BATGIRL #1 $2.99
MAY160373 ROM #1 $4.99
MAR160555 AUTUMNLANDS TOOTH & CLAW #12 (MR) $2.99
MAY160635 EAST OF WEST #28 $3.99
MAY160642 JUPITERS LEGACY VOL 2 #2 (OF 5) CVR A QUITELY (MR) $3.99
MAY160860 BLACK PANTHER #4 $3.99
MAY160840 HOWARD THE DUCK #9 $3.99
MAY161512 HIP HOP FAMILY TREE #12 $3.99
Pretty good week for comic-book comics, coming right off of the big summer gone. Mignola-verse to start, as always. Batgirl was the title that was the spear tip of DC mixing it up a bit on their books in the hope of gaining a wide audience. Rom I have no particular fondness for, but I'm interested in the fact that it's being published again. Autumlands and East Of West are fun comics from sturdy creators. Jupiter's Legacy ending in five issues seems unlikely to be a natural-seeming event, so I'm expecting another period of time off for artist Frank Quitely or a really abrupt conclusion. I think with issue #5 we'll have a much greater grasp as to how well the new Black Panther title is working with its fan base. Everything's been great so far. HTD is in its final months, Finally: All Hail Ed Piskor.

APR160403 SUICIDE SQUAD THE SILVER AGE OMNIBUS HC $49.99
It makes sense these comics would be reprinted as widely as possible given the film, although it's hard to imagine the comic book format not being the best one. The more yellow the paper, the better.

MAY160429 TMNT ONGOING #60 $3.99
MAY160079 ELFQUEST FINAL QUEST #15 $3.99
That's about 50 percent more issues on each of these series than I would have guessed were there money involved. Someday I'll catch up with the Elfquest. I'll probably only ever sample the Turtles, if that.

MAY168864 JUPITERS LEGACY VOL 2 #1 (OF 5) 2ND PTG (MR) $3.99
MAY168865 SHE WOLF #1 2ND PTG (MR) $3.99
MAY168436 BLACK PANTHER #2 RAHZZAH RUN JEWELS 3RD PTG VAR $3.99
These are all comics doing well enough for multiple printings. In the case of item #s 1 and 3, one would have to think there's some playing along by the company, as both could have been expected to sell a lot of copies.

MAY161430 BADGER TP VOL 01 BATTLE OF THE FIVE WIZARDS $21.99
Love the Badger. Don't know what this is exactly, but I have a nostalgic thing going within my family where that character is concerned.

APR161855 DENNIS THE MENACE HC VOL 02 COMPLETE COMICBOOKS $19.99
JAN161032 OHIO IS FOR SALE GN (MR) $19.99
MAY161453 BOYS OF SHERIFF STREET GN (MR) $14.95
Finally: three stand-alones I want to buy, including a surprise French album series making an unexpected North American appearance. What's not to like?

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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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