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.

*****

JUN131137 LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 06 $14.99
AUG131312 FRAN HC (RES) $19.99
AUG131263 WOMAN REBEL MARGARET SANGER STORY HC $21.95
Alt-Generation One wins the week with books from Los Bros Hernandez, Jim Woodring and Peter Bagge. The Bagge I shouldn't recommend because I wrote the intro, but I wrote the intro because I liked the work. The Woodring book made me tear up at one point, which was totally embarrassing. I am a little bit in love with the Jamie Hernandez half of the new L&R right now, so I'm probably not the person to ask for a rational appraisal with that one.

AUG131433 IRON BOUND GN $21.95
This is the new Secret Acres, a story about two gang members in early 1960s urban New Jersey. I'm about 20 pages in and it looks really nice, like a North American version of L'Autoroute Du Soleil.

APR130019 BLACK BEETLE NO WAY OUT HC VOL 01 $19.99
This is an initial collection of Francesco Francavilla's pulp comic, which means at the very least it looks great. I haven't caught up with those comics to know if there's anything to them beyond that, but I'd pick up a copy and check it out if I were in a store today. Francavilla is an accomplished adventure-genre cartoonist.

AUG130089 BPRD HELL ON EARTH #112 $3.50
MAY130668 HAWKEYE #13 $2.99
AUG131103 SERGIO ARAGONES FUNNIES #10 $3.50
These are the three books that stood out for me as old-fashioned serial genre series with work on sale today. It seems like it's been a little longer than usual between Hawkeye issues, but I'm old and easily confused. I greatly enjoy this Sergio Aragones material, and imagine a lot of people out there will at some point seek out the entire series in back-issues form. Beat the rush.

AUG130532 ART OF CHARLIE ADLARD HC (MR) $39.99
I'm glad to see the Walking Dead artist get one of the perks of a mega-successful publishing phenomenon: a solo art book bearing his name as opposed to the franchise.

JUL131135 COMPLETE CRUMB COMICS TP VOL 17 CAVE WIMP (NEW PTG) (MR) $19.99
This is your "if you don't have it, it's probably a requirement" book of the week. Crumb is always worth considering at the very least.

AUG130949 EXPLORER HC VOL 02 LOST ISLANDS $19.95
AUG130948 EXPLORER SC VOL 02 LOST ISLANDS $10.95
A sneaky continuation of the Flight books: (way) under 40 creators getting to make short stories with a fantasy component and being presented with high-end production values. Participants include Kazu Kibuishi, Raina Telgemeier and Michel Gagné.

AUG131408 SMURFS CHRISTMAS GN $5.99
AUG131409 SMURFS CHRISTMAS HC $10.99
I like these books as a general rule, even though they're not even the absolute favorite of the kids to whom I funnel them and I'm a bit too old to read work reduced from a larger size to this size. I think it makes sense as a publishing effort, though. For instance, I had a parent tell me the super low price points makes them always buy it new because they might as well as that price.

JUN130545 INVINCIBLE #106 [DIG] $2.99
AUG130703 MORNING GLORIES #33 (MR) [DIG] $3.50
AUG131104 SIMPSONS COMICS #206 $2.99
AUG131391 SIXTH GUN #35 $3.99
JUN130566 THIEF OF THIEVES #17 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
These are all comics I read when I get them but probably wouldn't purchase on my own if my interaction with comics were confined to weekly visit to the comics shop and dropping $50-$75 at a time. That isn't a vote on their quality; they're just not comics for me relative to all the other comics out there. What struck me seeing a bunch of them near one another is that I would have guessed wrong on series number by a drastic amount had I been quizzed. These are all much longer running than I would have guessed, particularly Sixth Gun and Thief Of Thieves, which I would have guessed about half of those issues on each one.

JUL131286 WALLACE & GROMIT NEWSPAPER STRIPS HC VOL 01 $14.99
I honestly don't know what this is, which is why I'd like to have a comic shop nearby so I could go and look at it. I'm old, but I do buy things. I like those character enough in their animated efforts I'd certainly look at any such volume, and also, I guess, be much less likely to want to pick up what I imagine most efforts would look like. Still, I'd look at it.

AUG131329 ADVENTURES IN CARTOONING CHARACTERS IN ACTION SC $9.99
AUG131609 DC COMICS GUIDE TO CREATING COMICS SC $24.99
I like the contrast here, and I've enjoyed the James Sturm-directed Adventures series generally.

AUG131576 GREAT SHOWDOWNS THE RETURN HC $14.95
This is the second of Scott Campbell's gift-ready book featuring great showdowns from pop culture arranged mostly as the two sides facing each other, smiling. It's a very effective idea as executed here, and seems to me a pretty great stocking-stuffer for someone, or a curl-up-in-bed gift for a friend, even.

JUL131172 BEST AMERICAN COMICS HC 2013 (MR) $25.00
This is the comic-shop release of the Best American Comics edition that Jeff Smith guest-edited, and the last of the books series edited by Matt Madden and Jessica Abel. Smith has a natural affinity for effective cartooning, so to watch him engage with the emerging generation of draw-happy comics-makers should be interesting. Cover by Kate Beaton, who is apparently Smith's 37th cousin, twice removed.

*****

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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