December 2013 Alternate Comics Diamond Previews Review
With Marvel and DC done we now turn our attention to the rest of Previews and the product solicited to start shipping in February of 2014, and there are a few interesting things coming out.
Dark Horse is a home for licenced properties and more recently superheroes. One licenced property that has returned to the world of comics is adventurer Lara Croft. 2013 saw the reboot of the leading lady of video games in her 4 million unit selling Tomb Raider game. They started from scratch and brought the character forward, redefining who she is and where she came from. The monthly Tomb Raider comic has allot going for it. First it has a built in fan base, second is the fact that this book carries on from where the game leaves off, and third one of the best female creators, actually one of the best creators in the business is the writer. Gail Simone can write female characters that can stand toe to toe with any male character in this medium which is still run like a boys club and Tomb Raider #1 will surely carry on that tradition. She is joined by Nicolas Daniel Selma as the penciler. This book will tell stories that tie directly into the video game and specifically the sequel game that is already in production.
The Brain Boy series written by Fred Van Lente is one I cannot recommend enough and the first trade, Brain Boy Volume 1: Psy Vs. Psy is advance solicited for an April 16th release. This book collects issues 0 through 3 and features art from Freddie Williams II and R. B. Silva. Get this book, support it so that we can get more Brain Boy. This book combines political intrigue with mental powers that would make Jean Grey envious.
In January the Lone Gunmen began investigating the Ghostbusters and in February IDW sends the X-Files supporting cast members to look into the Teenage Mutant Turtles and the Transformers in the pages of The X-Files Conspiracy: TMNT (Ed Brisson (W), Michael Walsh (A)) and The X-Files Conspiracy: Transformers (Paul Crilley (W), Dheeraj Verma (A)). IDW and Dynamite are two companies that don’t shy away from crossovers that would appear only on a fan fiction site in the past but now the match ups that fans have debated for years are starting to become a reality and the X-Files crossing over with some of the biggest animated properties of the eighties is a clear indication of that.
Any comic that has Obama kicking ass is a comic I am down for. Throw in zombie animals and a good time will be had by all … well except for the victims of said zombie animals. The Other Dead wraps up the mini-series in it’s sixth issue. If we are lucky it will end in a way that would allow a sequel because in this day and age everything gets a sequel, and Obama needs to continue with the aforementioned ass kicking.
British talk show host and comic book writer Jonathan Ross in conjunction with fellow Brit and artist Ian Churchill on a brutal tale about celebrity and how you can have everything and have it ripped away, including ones face. The preview shows art that is clearly geared to an adult audience and is not child friendly at all. First Joker then the Revenger, characters without faces might be the next big trend. Faceless Avengers anyone? The Revenger #1 gives us the story of Griffin Franks who never grew much past washed up joke in Hollywood, but thanks to a hit movie he has everything he wanted, and then in a very violent nature it is all torn away. How will Griffin deal with the loss of something he wanted so bad being destroyed after only briefly brushing with success. I look forward to this book. I am not sure if it is an ongoing or a mini but the premise for the first issue has enough story possibilities that I could see this being ongoing. In addition this is the first time I have really enjoyed Ian’s art, not that he was bad but his style never intrigued me, but his style has definitely changed into something that fits the graphic nature of this book, showing detail that will make the squeamish take pause.
Ariel Olivetti is an artist whose style I have always loved and find that he has a Norman Rockwell approach making the characters appear as people that you or I could pass on the street and I like that accessibility, it makes the worlds he draws seem that much more real. He pairs up with writer Fabrice Sapolsky on One-Hit Wonder #1, another Hollywood centred tale that introduces us to Richie Reese, one time child actor who is now a Hollywood hitman, and if the preview art is any indication he is one with a big set of you know what. I like characters that aren’t afraid to let their inner jerk shine through and Richie looks like he will shine with an unheard of incandescence.
One of my favourite artists on the fringe is John Williams, otherwise known as Super Ugly and Action Labs is bringing him on-board for a month of Ugly Love variants for Princeless, The Final Plague, Skyward, Fracture, Jack Hammer, and Zombie Tramp. While I don’t read any of these books, and know nothing about them, these are books I can’t wait to read. 
I highly recommend any fan of graffiti/street/urban art to head over to thesuperugly.com to check out this guys amazing skills.
A disturbing omission in the Archie section would seem to be Afterlife With Archie. I have heard that this series is both a mini-series and an ongoing and I hope it is the latter that is true. This book is beyond hot and combines classic old school, almost EC like visuals with the zombie genre all within Riverdale. Book Fair can’t keep them in stock and many, like myself, pick up all the covers because they are some of the most striking books on the stand. I will be eagerly looking forward to the March solicitations in hopes of it’s returns.
Over at Avatar we find out that the Extinction Parade, the Vampires vs. Zombies vs. Humans book by Max Brooks (W) and Raulo Caceres (A) is now only a 12 issue series. This could be due to a number of contributing factors namely sales, his workload, or any number of personal issues that have come up for any of the creative team. I enjoyed the first issue and will probably get the whole series in trade at the end of its now limited run.
Dynamite Entertainment keep snatching up licences and now are hopping on the superhero shared universe bandwagon with the first release from a new line that will focus on old Gold Key characters. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #1 by Greg Pak (W) and Mirko Colak (A) introduces us to the threat of the Thunder Lizards and if Turok can provide the protection for his people. A part of me wishes this title would be coming from Valiant, I recognize a good home when I see one and Dynamite is sure to do the Gold Key characters proud. Be on the lookout out for fellow Gold Key titles Magnus, Dr. Spektor and Solar. If you’ve always wanted to be on the ground floor of a new shared universe and missed out on the Valiant relaunch, the Dark Horse universe, or find Marvel and DC a little too cumbersome to start on, this is a launch for you.
Fred Van Lente knows how to write the dead and even make fun of them. The Mocking Dead Vol. 1 TPB gives the black, white, and red 5 issue series that shows us a zombie outbreak int he real world while mocking all of the tropes of the genre. The first issue was a standout and a sellout, and if you missed it grab this trade. Zombie/horror fans do not miss out on one of the most fun mini-series of the 2013.
That brings the February 2013 shipping product to an end. These were some of the highlights for me so don’t be afraid to pick up a Previews and check it out for yourself, there is allot of good products out there. See you next month when we look at March shipping product.