This Isn’t A Library: 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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MAR151285 OPTIC NERVE #14 (MR) $6.95
It's weird that there's only 14 of these, because I feel like I've done about 14 of these "library" piece where I extol the virtues of the last man standing of the 1990s alt-comics regulars (there are likely others, and there are definitely a few indie-comics survivors. But yeah, this "appointment serial comics buying" if such a thing exists. Drawn and Quarterly's big year continues.

MAR151663 DREAM FOSSIL COMP STORIES SATOSHI KON GN $24.95
While the flattening of the comics market can be frustrating for those who would have rather have three middle-class cartoonists than 12 barely making enough to continue doing what they do in the margins of their lives, one beneficial result is you get a lot of work in comics that wouldn't even been on the table in another art form, and some of it can even piece together a significant audience. I admired the films of Satoshi Kon in the general sense the way most people I know did, particularly Paprika, and I'd love to see his shorter comics works just to look at recurring techniques and continuities of tone.

JAN150100 BPRD PLAGUE OF FROGS TP VOL 04 $24.99
Stand-alone Mignola-verse trade. I buy these in comics form -- and older comics, too, so I'm pretty far behind -- but the other three people I know that are obsessive collectors of this material have switched over to the frequent trades. Don't have much to say beyond that -- I think this material may have already been done, although maybe not exactly in this format. It's gotta be three, four years old at least.

MAR150665 A-FORCE #1 SWA $3.99
MAR150081 BPRD HELL ON EARTH #131 $3.50
MAR150037 GROO FRIENDS AND FOES #5 $3.99
MAR150019 MIND MGMT #33 $3.99
MAR150032 RESIDENT ALIEN SAM HAIN MYSTERY #1 $3.99
MAR150038 USAGI YOJIMBO #145 $3.50
MAR150591 SATELLITE SAM #14 (MR) $3.50
MAR150512 TREES #9 (MR) $2.99
Comics! The A-Force is the all-female Avengers comics. Jill Lepore lit into it and writer G. Willow Wilson responded in one of those Internet battles that drive the world right now. I find the request for a specific contextual reading interesting giving everything going on in comics the last several months. Sergio Aragones and Matt Kindt are always worth checking out. The "Resident Alien" book is actually the second in the latest series because of how they're numbering them. I like the lead and the setting in those comics. Stan Sakai: another automatic buy; it's good to see him back with the regular run of the title. I'm about three issues behind on Satellite Sam, but I think that a fairly enjoyable series, too. Trees is a continuation of the Warren Ellis/Jason Howard science fiction story, pieces of which I thought a lot of fun during the title's initial burst of issues.

MAR151753 ART OF MAD MAX FURY ROAD HC $39.95
MAR150293 MAD MAX FURY ROAD NUX & IMMORTAL JOE #1 (MR) $4.99
I have almost no use for tie-in comics and there hasn't been a movie in a long while where I was interested in the art involved or art direction to want to purchase a giant book. That said, what little I've seen of the Mad Max film currently pleasing hardcore fans and fellow creatives across the world looks gorgeous, and who doesn't love Brendan McCarthy? The side project comic does not feature Mr. McCarthy, and has to stand more or less on it own. I'm suspicious of books that want to "fill in the blanks" on characters, and this sounds like it may be one of those. I'll pay attention to reviews as they start to accumulate. It seems like all of the properties that have riffed off of the Max movies have done comics, but there's been very little of the original in that form. I'll be interested to see how all that movement is portrayed.

MAR151725 OUT OF LINE ART JULES FEIFFER HC $40.00
DEC141691 WILL EISNER SPIRITED LIFE HC DLX ED $39.95
Two treatments of two great masters, one no longer with us. An art book featuring Jules Feiffer is welcome, although I'd like to see it in my hands before making a purchase. I live near a comic book store now, so that's a possibility. Wanting to see it has nothing to do with the artist; Feiffer's a wonderful image-maker, and his drawings are always lively -- or intentionally lacking same. Art books are difficult, though, so that last couple of percentage of skeptic in me wants to check it out. The Eisner I'm familiar with from reading the original Bob Andelman biography, to which material is added. It's on my reading table. I'm not a fan of this line-wide approach to its books that TwoMorrows has in terms of art direction; this looks like a book in a series instead of special edition of anything.

JAN150661 VELVET TP VOL 02 THE SECRET LIVES OF DEAD MEN (MR) $14.99
I find these comics entertaining, and the art is classic mainstream-school sumptuous. It's a good summer comic, and will eventually make an older actress very happy, I imagine.

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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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