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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OCT151448 RONALD SEARLE AMERICA HC $85.00
This book is gorgeous and dream come true and is necessarily collected because of the range of places in which Searle's work appeared and it's the one thing I look forward to diving into when I get back home after the holidays. I am very excited for this one.

JAN150554 POLLY & HER PALS COMPLETE SUNDAY COMICS VOL 02 1928-1930 $75.00
SEP150484 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ULT NEWSPAPER COMICS HC VOL 02 1979-1981 $49.99
OCT150380 WALT DISNEY DONALD DUCK NEWSPAPER COMICS HC VOL 02 $39.99
Here's a short list pulled from IDW's listing that shows just how broad their approach can be to newspaper work, for which I'm glad. I'm more of a Polly & Her Pals fan than a reader for the other two books, but I'm glad they all exist. The first Polly was pretty amazing.

OCT150052 KING CONAN WOLVES BEYOND THE BORDER #1 $3.99
OCT150277 ASTRO CITY #30 $3.99
OCT150553 CHEW #53 (MR) $3.50
OCT150538 ISLAND #5 (MR) $7.99
OCT150555 PRETTY DEADLY #7 (MR) $3.50
OCT150559 SAGA #32 (MR) $2.99
OCT151520 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #226 $5.99
OCT150801 PATSY WALKER AKA HELLCAT #1 $3.99
OCT151453 HIP HOP FAMILY TREE #5 $3.99
Interesting week for serial comic books of the classic kind. I'm a fan of the King Conan iteration of that character so I'd look at any new comic book series with him at the forefront. This latest run of Astro City is up to a 30th issue; congratulations to its creators. Chew is the original resurgent Image hit, and we should probably pay attention to it more than we should. Ditto Island, if only in that the book will house a lot of paid work for a lot of under-appreciated creators if it continues to move forward. I think it's been a while since we've seen Pretty Deadly, so that should make retailers happy. I always think back to that weird fellow that ripped up the first issue he was so not taken with its contents. Saga is still the indie-comics hit of the moment until I'm told differently. Two hundred twenty-six is an amazing number for any comic, so congrats to those creators. The new Patsy Walker aka Hellcat series is the only Marvel #1 this week, so maybe their roll-outs are thinning up a bit. I always liked Walker/Hellcat, not just because it's one of the few enduring mainstream characters brought to life by a female creator (Ruth Atkinson). Finally, there's Ed Piskor's alt-comic supreme, Hip Hop Family Tree. Long may it reign.

AUG150295 SCALPED HC BOOK 03 DELUXE EDITION $29.99
JUN150301 ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN GREEN ARROW HC $99.99
DC Comics' book department, keeping on with the various editions. That Scalped material I think still has a lot of audience to find, and the Green Lantern/Green Arrow book struck me because I wasn't sure there was a new edition of this seminal American mainstream comic book work yet to roll out. Alternative-universe Wall Street me reads nothing from DC except Absolute Editions.

SEP151631 TABLE TITANS TP VOL 01 FIRST ENCOUNTERS $19.99
This is an effort from the House That Scott Kurtz Built, where they show both the table top scenes and the fantasy result of a role-playing game. This allows them to build on the commonality of that experience among the target audience. Steve Hamaker colors the heck out of this. I enjoy this work when I think to go look at it on-line, and I would have been a huge fan when I was a kid, and comics were basically an extension of my fantasy-prose consumption.

JUN151778 JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #66 $10.95
My theory is at one point the Jack Kirby Collector comics will start to focus on early Jack Kirby Collector efforts and start a slow roll to infinity. Actually, Kirby's the one artist that could probably bear 100s of issues of examination, so I'm always happen to see a new issue of this publication.

AUG151504 ART OF ELFQUEST HC $50.00
I don't know if Wendy Pini is directly influential as much as she came to the same conclusions a lot of younger artists have since the 1970s and 1980s when being exposed to manga: Pini's characters act in every panel, and not subtly, in a way that's very appealing once you lock into the characters. The quality of this book depends on the execution but that satisfying, actorly element to her work combined with some vivacious character design -- again, you can see things like Saga working the same general territory, I think -- would make such a book of potential interest. Oh, to be near a comics shop Christmas week.

AUG151469 CHEECH WIZARDS BOOK OF ME HC (MR) $29.99
Another significant reprint book from Fantagraphics this week, this time from the Vaughn Bode part of their collection landscape. There's no artist who has a cultural impact without that being tied more directly into their comics than Bode, which is a shame. I'll read every last scrap you put in front of my face.

JUL150362 STAR WARS ARTIFACT ED HC PI
I haven't seen the new Star Wars movie, but as a direct sequel to the 1970s material I would imagine there is a resulting appetite for that material that the prequels did not foster. I'm pretty sure this is the Chaykin/Goodwin material as opposed to the Al Williamson, a book for which was just announced. I remember these being fun, serviceable comics if you were a big Star Wars fan, which I really wasn't. I'm not sure how they'd be perceived now.

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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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