This Isn’t A Library: Notable Releases Into Comics’ Direct Market



*****

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.

*****

JAN151468 LAST MAN GN VOL 01 STRANGER $9.99
I thought the second volume of this series -- as far as I can tell the comics equivalent of a big-budget, big-studio movie where a bunch of stars are brought together to make a classy-seeming hit -- was very enjoyable. It reminded me of publisher First Second's comics with Jordan Mechner, only drawing more from fight manga as opposed to mid-century, live-action Disney films. I'm sure this first one is a crowd-pleaser, too. I'm still astonished how little of Bastien Vives is over here in any form.

JAN151443 ANGRY YOUTH COMIX HC (MR) $49.99
I was at a party on Saturday night where a young, very smart-seeming talked about reading Johnny Ryan comics as her pre-comics comics experience. Like she was into them for a while but then quit for several years and then starting getting back into comics again. One thing that's exciting about comics right now is that the stories of those reading them are all over the place -- people my age and over share about five different origin stories as readers. I'm sure this book is a howl, although certainly the context in which they're published this time is different than the one into which they were published initially. That it's designed like one of those great books program offerings made me laugh, too.

DEC140126 BANDETTE HC VOL 02 STEALERS KEEPERS $14.99
I've been following Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover's lightheart mainstream comics romp in serial, digital form, so it may be a while and two or three tax brackets in additional income before I pick these up. This is one of the ways projects like this one make money, though, and these comics are super-fun. You might take a look if you're in a shop today.

FEB150015 ARCHIE VS PREDATOR #1 $3.99
FEB150060 BPRD HELL ON EARTH #130 $3.50
FEB150048 GROO FRIENDS AND FOES #4 $3.99
FEB150598 CHRONONAUTS #2 (MR) $3.50
FEB158100 CHRONONAUTS #2 CVR B MURPHY (MR) $3.50
JAN150701 REVIVAL #29 (MR) $3.99
This is a very odd collection of serial comic-book format comic books. I thought the Archie/Predator book had already come out. I have no idea what the audience is for that, but people do tend to enjoy that sort of thing. I always buy Mignola comics and I always buy Sergio Aragones comics. One is dependable; the other defines it. The first issues of Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy on Chrononauts bored me, frankly, even though it was well-crafted. I hope there's more to the story that reveals itself in this issue. In a list full of weird choices, let's throw a bit of a spotlight on Revival, one of those weird, very specific comics that more or less drove a significant portion of the industry 30 years ago.

DEC140141 CRIME DOES NOT PAY ARCHIVES HC VOL 09 $49.99
I'm not sure how much of this material I need in the house, but I always look at these perpetually reprinted books.

FEB150142 CONVERGENCE #2 $3.99
FEB150174 CONVERGENCE AQUAMAN #1 $3.99
FEB150176 CONVERGENCE BATMAN SHADOW OF THE BAT #1 $3.99
FEB150178 CONVERGENCE CATWOMAN #1 $3.99
FEB150180 CONVERGENCE GREEN ARROW #1 $3.99
FEB150182 CONVERGENCE GREEN LANTERN PARALLAX #1 $3.99
FEB150184 CONVERGENCE JUSTICE LEAGUE INTL #1 $3.99
FEB150186 CONVERGENCE SUICIDE SQUAD #1 $3.99
FEB150188 CONVERGENCE SUPERBOY #1 $3.99
FEB150190 CONVERGENCE SUPERGIRL MATRIX #1 $3.99
FEB150192 CONVERGENCE SUPERMAN MAN OF STEEL #1 $3.99
Another round of first issues in a battery of two-issues series designed to buy DC staffers time to move from one coast to another. That makes little sense to me as I imagine a big event like this is bottom-line more work for everyone involved, but I can't judge.

AUG140391 FRANK MILLERS RONIN GALLERY ED HC $195.00
This is the Graphitti take on the Artist's Edition craze. That book could be very pretty, as those comics certainly were.

FEB150455 MICHAEL KALUTA SKETCHBOOK SERIES SC VOL 05 $9.99
It's hard to imagine a time when I wouldn't take a look at a MW Kaluta sketchbook. There are apparently five of these, which surprises.

DEC141203 GUNNERKRIGG COURT TP VOL 01 $16.99
OCT141567 STUMPTOWN HC VOL 03 $29.99
Two books I'd like to see but I'm not sure I'd buy. I get a little bit lost with Gunnerkrigg Court material, although I salute its many fans. I don't know exactly which kind of reprint that it is, as I know I've read other collections. The Stumptown series is less interesting to me than it was when Matthew Southworth was involved, so I'm hoping for good things were I to check it out.

FEB151581 ZENITH HC PHASE THREE $25.00
This is another project that the sheer size of today's publishing output has me waiting a bit before going back to explore. I hope they're still around by the time I come around.

DEC141578 GIRL IN DIOR HC $27.99
Annie Goetzinger is a wonderful comics artist, so I'm glad to see a North American reprint project in high standing. I'm sure we'll be able to stare at the whole thing for hours and hours very soon.

*****

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.

*****



*****
*****
 
posted 12:15 am PST | Permalink
 

---

 
Daily Blog Archives
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
 
Full Archives