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.

*****

SEP131268 ARIOL SC VOL 03 HAPPY AS A PIG $12.99
I've read a lot of comics intended for kid audiences this year, and this fits into the side of that equation where I'm not sure what kids are reading it and at what point in their lives this quiet, relationship-heavy, series of short stories might specifically appeal. I sure like it, though; the characters are adorable, the stories are frequently amusing and there's just enough of an odd swagger to how the stories unfold to keep one from getting a bit bored with the limited stakes involved in each tale. I regret missing the artist at the Billy Ireland festival the other weekend.

SEP131407 PINK GN $16.95
I'm delighted that this book is coming out, because I very much enjoyed Helter Skelter and this is apparently Kyoko Okazaki's reputation-maker as well as an indictment of 1980s excess -- the best kind of excess. Seriously, someone send this to me, and I'll review it to death.

AUG130103 BROTHERS OF THE SPEAR ARCHIVES HC VOL 03 $49.99
AUG130104 CRIME DOES NOT PAY ARCHIVES HC VOL 06 $49.99
These are two Dark Horse reprint projects, and they seem to have settled into a nice place with those books. The Biro Crime reprints make more sense to me than the Brothers Of The Spear material as the former is historically imporan t and I was able to buy $1 issues of the original Brothers comics even two years ago. It would be interesting if an audience for these books has developed that doesn't have any interested in comic-book copies no matter the price, and I suspect this is becoming so.

JUL130070 MISTER X EVICTION TP $15.99
AUG130111 NEXUS OMNIBUS TP VOL 04 $24.99
Two friends of mine from the 1980s, and I will always check them out whenever I see them in the comics shop. The Mister X is a collectiion of the comic book series that I believe came out earlier this year, although I never saw it. Seriously, I didn't see that thing anywhere and I like that character and the artists who have drawn him.

AUG130109 SIGNAL TO NOISE HC $24.99
For some reason I think this has been offered in previous weeks. Unless it's another book entirely bearing the same name, this must be some sort of re-release of the Dave McKean/Neil Gaiman stand-alone book, and one that I enjoy quite a bit. Most comics reader could stand to have on in their library.

SEP130300 SANDMAN OVERTURE #1 SPECIAL EDITION (MR) $5.99
Speaking of Mr. Gaiman, here is an enhanced edition of the first issue of the new Sandman series, which I'd take not of even though I'm perfectly happy with my non-enhanced version. This is one of those rare series I prefer to see in comic book form but only read it great big gulps.

SEP130047 1 FOR $1 ABE SAPIEN #1 $1.00
SEP130059 ITTY BITTY HELLBOY #4 $2.99
SEP130471 BLACK SCIENCE #1 CVR A SCALERA & WHITE (MR) [DIG] $3.50
SEP130472 BLACK SCIENCE #1 CVR B ROBINSON (MR) $3.50
SEP138208 PRETTY DEADLY #1 2ND PTG (MR) $3.50
SEP130627 PRETTY DEADLY #2 (MR) [DIG] $3.50
SEP138244 SEX CRIMINALS #1 3RD PTG (MR) $3.50
SEP138245 SEX CRIMINALS #2 2ND PTG (MR) $3.50
SEP130634 SAGA #16 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
JUN130633 HAWKEYE #14 $2.99
SEP130648 WALKING DEAD #117 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
It's a good week for genre comics, and I left about a dozen off I might include on a slow week for this column. The Mignola-verse is represented by one of those "hook readers" editions of Abe Sapien's first issue in addition to the latest of the kids-comic Hellboy issues. Black Science is Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera and Dean White working the out-there science fiction thing with which publisher Image has had some recent success. Remender has recently achieved a higher profile with his superhero comic work, and using those writers on dream projects of various kinds has been a good recent model for Image. Both Pretty Deadly and Sex Criminals seem to be doing well: the western gets a reprinting of #1 to go along with a release for #2. Sex Criminals' earlier issues are being reprinted in anticipation of the next issue. That first issue of Pretty Deadly moved a ton of units, but how many it holds onto -- or how many it adds -- will be key. Saga and Hawkeye both have new issues out the week earlier volumes have secured Angouleme Festival official selection status. Walking Dead is now into its every-two-weeks production schedule and along with Saga is a heavy-hitter for this entire category.

SEP130552 SEX TP VOL 01 SUMMER OF HARD (MR) $9.99
This is the Joe Casey/Peter Kowalksi collaboration and has ties to the recent run of Image hit comics -- you'll note they're using a $9.99 strategy with this trade -- and to the world-building science fiction informed series of the 1980s making an appearance this week, Mssrs X and Hellpop.

SEP131326 LIFE BEGINS AT INCORPORATION GN (MR) $20.00
If for some reason you were waiting for Matt Bors' funny and successful collection to make it into a comics shop before buying it, now's your chance. I imagine value-wise this would make a very good holiday present, although it's politically unforgiving so you might have to negotiate that a bit depending on the person for whom you bought it.

SEP131419 YOTSUBA & ! GN VOL 12 $12.00
This may be the best ongoing series with a kind of mainstream appeal currently available on the stands; it strikes me as certainly being the best book of its kind out this week.

AUG130106 BEST OF COMIX BOOK WHEN MARVEL WENT UNDERGROUND HC $35.00
Finally, this looks like another holiday gift buy coming out at the right moment, and something you likely want if your interest in comics as an art form kind of overlaps with an interest in its industries. It is certainly one of the odder chapters in Marvel's story, or at least ranks up there with the stories that took place in public and on purpose.

*****

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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