This Isn’t A Library: Notable Releases To The 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.

*****

FEB120393 GENIUS ILLUSTRATED LIFE & ART ALEX TOTH HC VOL 02 $49.99
Hello, gorgeous. If you're interested in Alex Toth, you're old enough to get that reference. If I could leave the shop with one work this week, it'd be this second volume of the two-volume, Library of American Comics initiated Alex Toth retrospective and book-about.

NOV121246 INITIATES $29.99
OCT121137 LOUVRE COLLECTION HC ENCHANTMENT $19.99
Two from NBM, including the latest of their Louvre comics. They're both handsome, but I'm more interested in the Etienne Davodeau book, about the cartoonist switching jobs with a wine-maker. That was a big hit in its French-language iteration, and I love the idea of exploring vocation. Comics does that very well.

OCT120042 ADVENTURES OF SUPERHERO GIRL HC $16.99
OCT120055 CHRONICLES OF KING CONAN TP VOL 04 PRINCE IS DEAD $18.99
OCT120057 MANARA LIBRARY HC VOL 04 (MR) $59.99
Three books show off three different publishing tracks a the company: work from the Internet, a revival of the Conan company and support via re-release of older work featuring the character, and that nice-looking Milo Manara material at an advanced price. There's another track that closes out this list below.

SEP121092 COMICS JOURNAL #302 (RES) $30.00
This is what I'm reading right now, and enjoying it. There's an amazing Roy Crane section in there that's as good as you can imagine practical advice from a practical-minded comics craft master being. The Sendak is hilarious and sad. I haven't engaged the Tardi yet. Nice issue, and in many ways, TCJ is soon to be the last traditional comics magazine man standing.

NOV120556 FATALE #12 (MR) [DIG] $3.50
AUG120522 MORNING GLORIES #24 (MR) [DIG] $3.99
DEC120592 WALKING DEAD #107 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
DEC128004 WALKING DEAD THE GOVERNOR SPECIAL (MR) [DIG] $2.99
JAN130482 WALKING DEAD THE GOVERNOR SPECIAL (MR) [DIG] $2.99
JUL120748 MOUSE GUARD BLACK AXE #6 $3.50
NOV128197 ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE #1 2ND PTG $3.99
DEC120391 POPEYE #10 [DIG/P+] $3.99
DEC120073 BPRD HELL ON EARTH #104 ABYSS TIME #2 $3.50
A bunch of pretty interesting serial comic book roll out onto the stands this week. The Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips Fatale issue is as strong as that series has offered, with a couple of stand-alone sequences (the initial run through the woods, the climax) that are as weird as any that series has published. The Morning Glories issue was the first one I've read where I had no problem telling characters apart, which isn't me clowning on that book as much as it's just a an admission that I'm not always visually sophisticated. I like how they've extended the lack of information the reader has in various, clever ways. The Walking Dead series has a new issue and a one-shot; I think the one-shot might be a pretty good one to give to a fan of the TV show that's been wondering after the comics, as it clearly breaks with the TV show a bit. The Mouse Guard series is as dependable as they come. The Adventure Time comic I thought'd just mention because I know that book has its fans, while I've been personally coming around on the IDW Popeye effort. Finally, what's one of these lists without a little Mignola-verse?

NOV121204 CHICKENHARE TP $10.99
I know nothing about Chickenhare except that the work/series/project has been around for a reasonably long time, it seems. If I were in a comics shop that carried such books, I could see it for myself. This is why comics shops are great.

NOV121298 DARWIN A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY GN $9.95
I'm not aware of any other graphic novel releases from Smithsonian Books, so I thought I'd mention this one here. I'm not fond of the cover gag, but I'd definitely give the work a look were I in a comics shop. I like that there are bunch of all-ages comics that are science-oriented.

DEC120895 MYLO XYLOTO #1 $3.99
NOV121203 BONE QUEST FOR SPARK HC NOVEL BOOK 03 $22.99
NOV121202 BONE QUEST FOR SPARK SC NOVEL BOOK 03 $10.99
Solid week for the extended Bone family, with a prose graphic novel hitting in dueling formats and colorist Steve Hamaker working on a primetime freelance gig: a Coldplay comic for Bongo.

AUG121321 AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES HC 1960-1964 $39.95
DEC121336 ART OF DEAD SPACE HC $34.95
NOV121416 BIRD KING AN ARTISTS NOTEBOOK HC $19.99
The best part of the Previews list is the part at the bottom with the books. I have my eye on that American Comic Book Chronicles book, which is one of those works with enough weird ephemera I'm afraid to ask how it's being published because I'm half-convinced it will disappear if I look at it too hard.

OCT120062 HIROAKI SAMURAS EMERALD & OTHER STORIES TP $12.99
Every week I try to pull out for inspection via these listings the book in a series of manga volumes that sounds the most interesting to me. This is a stand-alone, but it's not an artist where I've read a lot of their works so, again, were I in a comics shop I'd be spending a hardcore 5-10 minutes checking this one out. Best place on earth, a comics shop with a book about which you're curious.

*****

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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