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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JUN151274 ADULT CONTEMPORARY GN (MR) $26.95
I saw this one and had it in my hands at SPX. I lied and said I already had one at home because I thought I did and, let's be honest, carrying books home stinks if you have any other option. This looks beautiful, though, and the description about three graphs in on the D+Q web site sounds pretty close to my own early appraisal: that it explores a certain kind of set piece cartooning within a wider context of slightly surreal comedy. I don't know if that's true or not. I have to read the book. I'd read it right in the damn store if I had a moment today.

AUG151607 ARAB OF THE FUTURE GRAPHIC MEMOIR SC $26.00
This is the big book of the week, really, which gets to play host to an in-text placement of an image because Henry Holt simply doesn't have any images out there to steal and like most campaigns for important graphic novels from slightly off-the-beaten-path-for-most-gns publishers I'm not on the PR list and don't have the book to scan. I hope that doesn't mean the work will fail to penetrate into our end of the year discussions. It certainly found purchase at the top end of the French-language markets, and they have a pretty good track record of having interesting material sift its way to the top. Again, I have to read this, but I want it.

AUG150009 BPRD HELL ON EARTH #136 $3.50
AUG150055 GROO FRIENDS AND FOES #10 $3.99
AUG150053 USAGI YOJIMBO #149 $3.50
AUG150523 INVINCIBLE #124 $2.99
AUG150286 ASTRO CITY #28 $3.99
AUG150166 JUSTICE LEAGUE #45 $3.99
AUG150782 KARNAK #1 $3.99
AUG151636 INVADER ZIM #4 $3.99
AUG151470 HIP HOP FAMILY TREE #3 $3.99
AUG151252 LUMBERJANES #19 $3.99
AUG150042 DARK HORSE PRESENTS 2014 #15 $4.99
AUG151185 SIMPSONS COMICS #224 $2.99
This is as strong a day for serial comics as I can imagine without more of the heavy-hitters from Image making an appearance. You got your Mignola and your Aragones and your Sakai. Invincible is a solid performer; as is Astro City. The current Justice League sounds bonkers reflected back at me through reviews, which makes me want to see it. Ditto any time the writer Warren Ellis spends in serial comic book as in his partnership here with Gerardo Zaffino on the Karnak character. The great thing about the Ellis runs is that they tend not to last for very long and I can buy them all without killing my wallet. There's Invader Zim and Hip Hop and Lumberjanes all contributing greatly to the bottom line of companies that don't do serial comics the way they used to. DHP and Simpsons I have done basically to stare at the numbers of issues they've already put to bed.

JUN150315 GET JIRO BLOOD AND SUSHI HC (MR) $22.99
This is a follow-up to a previous Anthony Bourdain co-written book (with Joel Rose) starring the same character. Art team this time out is Alé Garza & José. This kind of outsized genre tweaking isn't my kind of thing but I hope Mr. Bourdain remains around in comics long enough for someone to just try and get him to do Pekar-like anecdote stories set around food. I think that might be really good.

NOV140863 HAWKEYE BY MATT FRACTION AND DAVID AJA OMNIBUS HC $99.99
This is all the Hawkeye comics from the award-winning team named right there in the title, a series I enjoyed whenever I read it and I read it whenever I could. You can buy t-shirts and facilitate a donation to charity, too. I am very divorced from the kind of buyer that wants the material this way, although I'm jealous of their spending habits and would certainly feel faint passing in front of a bookshelf. I imagine any addition with care in the production end of it would be flattering to Aja's artwork.

JUL151452 ATTACK ON TITAN COLOSSAL ED TP VOL 02 $49.99
JUN151580 KILL LA KILL GN VOL 01 $12.99
Two series, two different formats, two kinds of work I tend not to follow, yet two I'm fully aware they exist. In a lighter week, I might buy one or the other. It might be tougher this week, but I'm sure I'll at least sample eventually.

AUG151016 BABY BLUES COLLECTION TP NO YELLING $18.99
I wanted to note that both of Jerry Scott's series -- this one, with Rick Kirkman, and Zits with Jerry Borgman -- have had a dependable, solid books program for years now, which I has to think helps with maintaining a presence with fans and making both features feel like the major mainstream works they obviously are.

JUN151451 BAD MACHINERY VOL 04 CASE OF THE LONELY ONE $19.99
Here's my choice for a book if you just want to buy a book. I'm a fan, although I haven't started in with the books yet. Just go look at the thing, poke around. You'll know in about ten seconds if it's not for you, but it may take a while to figure out how much it is for you. But that's okay; it'll still be there why you think things through.

JUL151203 JON SABLE FREELANCE OMNIBUS TP VOL 02 $39.95
AUG150039 ROOK #1 $3.99
Here's the power of a name: I would think about buying that Jon Sable book even though it's not even a book I collected if there are enough pages there. Ditto the Rook book, and I don't even remember what the hell that one was about beyond my reading it in Warren magazines when I was sick and my dad would bring home weird comics for me to consume.

AUG151497 OMAHA BEACH ON D-DAY JUNE 6 1944 HC $24.99
This launches a series for First Second. I have it, and while I'm never all that favorably inclined to comics or illustrated work derived from photos, I realize that an affliction that most people don't have. I have found World War 2 a lot more interesting as we move past this last romanticization of it based on all those people still being around into a first round of analysis that comes from a different place.

MAY151448 SERPIERI COLLECTION HC VOL 01 (MR) $22.50
MAY151449 SERPIERI COLLECTION HC VOL 02 (MR) $22.50
The least fondly remembered right at this moment of the 1990s trinity of dirty comics from Europe, although if you had told met that we'd see a day where Crepax was remembered more fondly than Manara, I'm not sure I would have believed you back when Clinton was president. Let's see what today's readers make of Serpieri.

JUN150406 JOE KUBERT RETURN OF TARZAN ARTIST ED HC PI
I had to have an old man comic at the end of today's wide array of books, which skews older in general. I love looking at the Kubert Tarzan material any way I can, and since my interest is primarily in the visuals this is a find way to consume them.

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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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