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.

*****

MAR130766 SUPERMAG GN $9.95
Jim Rugg's fun collection of short stories and art pieces done for various sources is enjoyable on its own, entertaining as a way to sift through various styles and art direction choices, and as a way to facilitate your hand to your forehead as you go, "Wow, he's done a lot of work in a lot of different places." I've been doing that a lot lately, starting with that Brunetti book.

APR130239 ASTRO CITY #1 COVER A $3.99
APR130240 ASTRO CITY #1 COVER B $3.99
APR130040 ABE SAPIEN DARK & TERRIBLE #3 $3.50
APR130026 MISTER X EVICTION #2 $3.99
MAR138318 JUPITERS LEGACY #1 2ND PTG (MR) $2.99
APR130586 AGE OF ULTRON #9 $3.99
These are the standard-format genre comic books that leap out at me from the list. There was no comic book series in the late 1990s hotter in terms of solid sales + widespread admiration from devoted comic book fans than Astro City... it's nice to have it back. The Abe Sapien is another entry in the always solid -- well, rarely unsolid -- Mignolaverse line of serial comic books. I haven't caught up to the Mister X work yet, but that's a fun character. I like the way Frank Quitely draws superbeings, so the first issue of Jupiter's Legacy was fun on that level alone. Finally, Age Of Ultron continues to have what should be considered a final word on the indestructible, dickish robot portion of the creating artificial life debate. I think there's also some time travel in there.

FEB130049 EVERYBODY WRONG DAVID CHELSEAS 24 HR HC VOL 01 $19.99
A new David Chelsea collection is reason enough to go to the comics shop. This is his 24-hour comics of recent vintage. His 24-hour comics are good enough to be collected, so that should tell you something.

FEB130012 HELLBOY LIBRARY HC VOL 06 STORM FURY BRIDE HELL $49.99
I don't really know what the "Hellboy Library" is -- I assume it's a reprinting of the Hellboy material in super-deluxe hardcover, perhaps on that lighter-than-helium paper that Dark Horse has found for their Biro book, I'm not sure. I don't tend to buy these, but I guess people do, so here's a new one.

DEC120494 JOHN K PRESENTS SPUMCO COMIC BOOK HC $34.99
With new Astro City and Graham Chaffee, it makes perfect sense for IDW via Craig Yoe to repeat this John K. oversized work from roughly that same period. I'm going to watch some Larry Sanders Show and listen to Things Fall Apart today, too.

MAR130427 TARZAN RUSS MANNING NEWSPAPER STRIPS HC VOL 01 1967-1970 $49.99
Unlike hardcover collections of serial comic book works, I do tend to buy this format for strip collections. I would love to be in a comics shop to read a bunch of this and see the work... it might not be a huge priority compared to some other strip work -- say Barnaby -- that's out there right now. Still a formidable bunch of comics, though.

APR130482 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 18 WHAT COMES AFTER $14.99
Eighteen books!

APR131188 SMURFS ANTHOLOGY HC VOL 01 $19.99
I think this is a crack at collecting the famous Smurfs material at a slightly larger size than the for-kids-hands versions that NBM has been doing. I've enjoyed these comics enough seeing review copies that I might be tempted into buying another series just to have for my own. I like how relatively unhurried they are, how the scene work fully develops -- it's astonishing to read that kind of thing after being immersed in the narrative shorthand that drives most North American mainstream books.

MAR130411 HOLLOWS HC $21.99
Just to complete the 1990s theme of this particular week in comics, this is a collection of recent Sam Kieth work, and as such I would definitely check it out were I in a store today. You can see how pretty it is here. Strong week for IDW.

MAR131308 BEST OF ALTER EGO SC VOL 02 $19.95
APR131392 SUPER BOYS AMAZING ADV OF JERRY SIEGEL & JOE SHUSTER HC $27.99
Two very different books and even, I think, approaches to comics history in terms of how the individual projects are conceived: the first is a repackaging of material from Roy Thomas' magazine, which is sort of a front-lines approach in terms of interviews and fan reaction. The second is the latest in done-in-one mainstream press studies of early comics creators. I have the latter on my shelf, and plan to get to it soon.

FEB130218 SOLO DELUXE ED HC $49.99
I have all the individual issues of this comic book -- and like a lot of mainstream reprints I'm not sure it's a) cheaper to get that way, b) sort of better and more appropriate to what it was doing that way -- but I'm happy for this occasionally really good series to get this kind of treatment for the folks that love this kind of treatment. This was a comic book series focused that turned on individual creator showcase issues as opposed to organizing the work by theme or character. It was one of the better series DC has produced in the last quarter century, for sure.

APR131085 USERS GUIDE TO NEGLECTFUL PARENTING GN (MR) $12.95
Finally, Guy Delisle being funny -- and he's very funny, both in his famous travelogues and especially these comics. In an alternate universe where millions of people are into picking up sophisticated, no-explanation necessary comics works as a matter of course, this is the kind of book that people love above all others.

*****

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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