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.

*****

AUG150072 PLANETES OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 $19.99
This is an odd week, full of gift items, the nascent Marvel line offerings and the kinds of of book about which Jog writes so well. I'll start off by recommending a comic for which I wasn't hot back in the day, Makoto Yukimura's Planetes. Trust me, I was just about the only one not enthused to a severe degree. This is a consumer's column rather than a review one, so I have no qualms placing a well-crafted comic like this one in the lead-off role, and this looks like a cool enough presentation I'll probably go back and look at it again. Great concept: those responsible for debris collection in space.

OCT150515 HEAD LOPPER #2 CVR A MACLEAN $5.99
OCT150516 HEAD LOPPER #2 CVR B ALLRED $5.99
OCT150055 ABE SAPIEN #29 $3.50
OCT150521 WALKING DEAD #149 (MR) $2.99
OCT150522 WE STAND ON GUARD #6 (MR) $2.99
OCT150807 GWENPOOL SPECIAL #1 $5.99
OCT150797 SCARLET WITCH #1 $3.99
SEP150894 RACHEL RISING #38 $3.99
This week's comic-book comics are a bit all over the place. I enjoyed the pair of issues in the Head Lopper series I read, a kind of Beowulf-style, limited-character fantasy with a lot of refined cartoon verve coming from the art. Those books are extra long, thus the price. That issue of Abe Sapien is our Mignola-verse player of the week; I think that series gets phased out pretty soon, or at least this version of it. Walking Dead may never end. I like how stately the pace has been in the last half-dozen issues when I figured things were about to roar to life. We Stand On Guard I think ends its first arc with that issue, if not the title itself. It made me distrust Canadians, so it had that going for it. Following that comics is two from Marvel's ongoing roll-out of new comics sort of near the end of Secret Wars. I guess that first one is a special. I'm happy they're making as much as they can of the various female characters they own, for the kids for whom such characters are important. Rachel Rising is 38 issues in, all respect. It's great to have titles by cartoonists after they've completely their first-line-of-obit works.

SEP150325 FLINCH TP BOOK 01 (MR) $16.99
This is a horror anthology featuring a bunch of creators not exactly known for their horror work, or anything two connections near the horror-comic part of town, which means I'm checking it out next time I'm in a comics shop. My memory is that there was a lot of humor.

SEP151088 SNOW GN (MR) $12.00
This is an honest to god mini-franchise and has to be one of the last remaining Xeric Grant winners still finding a place out there on the racks. I like the look of it, and look forward to the comic.

SEP151289 NIGHT AND THE ENEMY GN $12.95
This is a little bit less than 100 pages of short-story science fiction comics featuring Harlan Ellison working with Ken Steacy; I generally liked these when they first appeared, I think in Epic or one of the weird Warren ones.

OCT151502 DIFFERENT UGLINESS DIFFERENT MADNESS HC (MR) $19.95
Marc Malès has one of those lovely mainstream BD styles and I sure as hell would look at a western he's done. It's amazing we get comics like that because it makes no sense that they would do well.

JUL151475 WALKING WOUNDED UNCUT STORIES FROM IRAQ HC $24.99
I like the way this one looks, and I don't pay enough attention to NBM's line outside of a few, favorite cartoonists. I'm not the audience for works about soldiers or war that emphasize the person doing the interacting as opposed to just telling those stories straight-up, but I'm all about the various permutations of documentary and memoir.

MAR150315 SANDMAN GALLERY ED HC (MR) $175.00
Here's your Christmas present of the week: DC's version of one of those big fancy books that everyone's doing right now, this one featuring work from Sandman series, including a lot of stand-alone imagery.

JUL151541 SMURFS MONSTERS GN $5.99
JUL151542 SMURFS MONSTERS HC $10.99
Oh, hey, more NBM. I'm always happy to check out whatever the heck they publish in service of Peyo's impressive work -- hell, I'm even interested in seeing some of the derivative work, if you tell me it's worth noting. The kids I know that used be fiends for this work have aged past a bit; luckily that hasn't happened to me, yet. I love that they do the hardcover and softcover the same day. That seems like nothing, but it was a psychological hurdle that took comics a very long time.

OCT150440COLLECTED ESSEX COUNTY LTD ED HC PI
Here's are other big Christmas present, Jeff Lemire's extremely well-regarded trilogy of stories coming solidly from a Canadian prose tradition for that kind of work. I think it's the one he was selling this summer and into the fall at various festivals and cons, if you happened to catch him there.

*****

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 3:25 pm PST | Permalink
 

---

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