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.

*****

AUG131418 WORLD MAP ROOM GN $19.95
Yet another book in PictureBox's super-strong 2013 thus far, this is the first from a new series by the fascinating comics-maker Yuichi Yokoyama. I'm told that this one might be one to get even if previous works confused you or even left you cold; I have yet to all the way catch up with my copy, although it sure looks nice.

JUL131331 TROPIC OF THE SEA GN $14.95
This is the first time I can remember two works of manga being the first two books that caught my attention on a Diamond releases list, which is a testament to the strengths of these works and my limited appetite for a lot of translated manga as much as it could pretend to be an indictment of one of the great worlds comics traditions. The late Satoshi Kon was a heck of an interesting filmmaker; this is a comic from I think his mid-20s, and I'm dying to see it.

JUL130068 DARK HORSE PRESENTS #28 (MR) $7.99
I don't have much to say about this comic's contents, but I'm always amazed that an anthology -- even one with this title's legacy, awards wins and virtually unfettered access to publishable material of the kind it represents in the marketplace -- has done as many issues as this one has.

MAY130033 SIN TITULO HC $19.99
I would imagine this is the Cameron Stewart graphic novel work that ran on-line -- and is still there, the last time I looked.

JUL131163 LOST BOY GN $12.99
JUL131164 LOST BOY HC GN $24.99
This is a very accomplished-looking fantasy book of the "wonders in my back yard" variety, by artist Greg Ruth -- his solo debut with Scholastic. I couldn't tell you if it didn't retain my attention for its own qualities or just because it's a genre and approach to that kind of work for which I don't particularly care. Surely Ruth will have the opportunity draw comics for as long as he cares to.

JUN130744 MOUSE GUARD LEGENDS O/T GUARD VOL 2 #3 $3.50
This series, back on its second go-round, has a nice conceit to squeeze short stories from its animal-driven fantasy setting: a tavern storytelling contest. I will always check to see who's participating in these books as there were two from the previous series with short stories to die for.

JUL131264 REBETIKO HC GN $22.95
A SelfMadeHero release gaining wider-than-one-might-expect distribution due to that publisher's arrangement with Abrams, this is David Prudhomme's book of recent vintage that won the Prix Regards sur la monde at Angouleme, an autobiographical-comics prize also won in its short history by heavyweights Joe Sacco and Yoshihiro Tatsumi. I would certainly pick it up to look at it, and might buy it cold.

JUL130059 ITTY BITTY HELLBOY #2 $2.99
JUN130542 FATALE #17 (MR) [DIG] $3.50
JUL138176 SAGA #13 2ND PTG (MR) $2.99
JUL130538 SAGA #14 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
JUL130541 SEX #7 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
JUL130403 SEX CRIMINALS #1 (MR) [DIG] $3.50
Let's put the comic-book comics at the bottom this time, so a cover can be run for the Matt Fraction/Chip Zdarsky Sex Criminals comic book. I enjoyed that first issue -- it looked really crisp, and while I know that kind of contextualization is lame, it was interesting to me to read an Image book that didn't rely on hard-man chest beating or a string of horror-show atrocities to keep my interest. I mean, I like those things, but a bunch of sex jokes and the like was a nice change of pace. I was sort of sad when the "criminals" part made an appearance. Other than the fun Baltazar/Franco-driven "Little Hellboy"-style effort, everything in the genre serial comics pile is Image oriented. The new and most recent sell-out on Saga will make a lot of shop owners happy in terms of I bet they're always happy when that comic comes out; the hilarious dour Sex continues, and Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips are like a mini-Mignolaverse in terms of regular genre-book reliability.

*****

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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