January 2014 Alternate Comics Diamond Previews Review
Time to pay a visit to the other publishers now that we have reviewed whats to come from Marvel and DC shipping in March of 2014.
Dark Horse Comics is first up and we received big news on January third that Marvel will be taking over publishing of Star Wars comics starting in 2015. Even though Star Wars accounts for less than ten percent of the indy publishers bottom line they will undoubtedly be beefing up several corners of there publishing schedule.
One of those corners is the Buffy-verse. March brings us the Joss Whedon produced Season 10 comic book launch. Christos Gage (W) and Rebekah Isaacs (A) are responsible for the new season. Vampires are once again the focus of Buffy but it would seem that magic is going to play a part and maybe be a bit of a game changer.
The super hero corner of the Dark Horse publishing line, recently labeled with the Project Black Sky logo continues to move along, but sadly I cannot see any new Brain Boy. In recent interviews his name has been mentioned so with any luck he will be back and maybe in his own ongoing. Fred Van Lente captured the arrogance, power, and vulnerability of the title character. If you want to read a fun superhero book about a powerful man who takes down villains with his mind, while looking dapper in his suits should hit the back issue racks for the 4 issue (#0-3) series.
Blackout is the next hero to join the lineup. After appearing in Dark Horse Presents, this new character gets to display his true power in a four issue mini by Frank Barbiere (W), Randy Stradley (W), Colin Lorimer (A) and Doug Wheatley (A). His ability reminds me a bit of Nightcrawler but instead of an ingrown ability it is a special suit that lets Scott Travers’ appear out of nowhere while really traveling through a shadowy dimension. The best part? He doesn’t know how the suit works. I will give this issue a try and see how it stands up to Brain Boy. It is nice to see Dark Horse adding to the superheroes with a completely new one.
IDW has a couple of endings of note and a couple of landmark issues to boot. First up is the 200th issue of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Larry Hama is appropriately the writer for the Joes during this landmark event and S. I. Gallant provides the art. Judging from the solicitation it would seem that this is a turning point, and will herald in new changes for the Joes.
Another big release, and also the final issue is Transformers Regeneration One #100. Simon Furman is the writer and Andrew Wildman is on art, joined by Guido Guidi. Simon has been responsible for some of the best Transformers stories in the past and this story will surely join them.
Also ending is the Dark Cybertron crossover happening in Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #27, Transformers: Robots in Disguise #27, with the big finale in Transformers: Dark Cybertron Finale. I didn’t hop onto this storyline but look forward to the trade, hopefully one that collects the entire epic.
One of the greatest crime comics makes its return with Image, in the form of three notable releases. Stray Bullets #41 is a book that has been a long time coming, and closes off the “HiJinks and Derring-Do” arc. We then get the first issue of Stray Bullets: Killers #1, a new set of stories starts here. Finally if you missed out on this series when it started but want to get caught up we have Stray Bullets: The Uber Alles Edition TP. This baby comes in at a whopping 1200 pages and contains issues 1-41. All of this is written and drawn by David Lapham and all are out on March 12. It should be noted that the collection is listed at only $59.99 and is totally worth it. I am making sure the collection and the first issue of the new series will be coming home with me.
Starlight #1 by Mark Millar (W) and Goran Parlov (A) is apparently the first salvo in the creation of the Millarworld Universe. The artwork brings to mind a very Flash Gordon style world and characters. I am hot and cold with Millar but with early positive buzz my curiosity urges me to try it out, and I shall.
Bryan Hitch’s new project that he both writes, and draws seems to be a very interesting deconstruction of what todays celebrities can actually do while playing up a group of actors in very Avengerish roles who may be our only hope for humanity’s safety. Bryan Hitch is another creator that I normally prefer in just an illustrator role but will give this a try. Something tells me that this may be a book to watch Real Heroes #1.
A book that hooked me with the first two issues is Alex + Ada. The fifth issue by Jonathan Luna (W/A) and Sarah Vaughn (W) is out in March. This book is very decompressed but it works for this title and it unfolds like a well scripted television drama. I am not sure where the story is going and the writers are very careful with what they reveal and how they reveal it. We meet the two title characters in the first two issues but their relationship is slowly being built up and the subtleties of what they are going to eventually mean to each other is so enticing I cannot help but want to come back for more. Beautiful art and the story of a lonely, shy man, who ends up developing feelings for an android is a story that has been told before but this is an entirely new way to tell it and I cannot wait to see where they take it.
I am not going to go into too much detail, but Afterlife with Archie should be in your pull pile, it is one of the greatest books being published in the horror genre. The art is amazing, the writing is superb and anyone who hasn’t checked out this book from Roberto Aguirre Sacosa (W) and Francesco Francavilla (A) are crafting something special. It was one of the best launches of 2013 and as long as the quality holds, and I think it should, it will be one of the best books of 2014.
Over at Avatar Press the Rover Red Charlie #4 book is out. Garth Ennis is no stranger to extreme violence, and that shows in Rover Red Charlie. I am still not sure how I feel about the first issue but it definitely made me feel uncomfortable during several sequences, so Garth Ennis is doing his job, and the book fits in perfectly with Avatar’s line. I will continue with this series but watching bad things happen to our furry friends may stop me from continuing, time will tell.
Dynamite Entertainment continues to build their superhero universe with the edition of Magnus: Robot Fighter #1 in March. I still think of Valiant when I see this character but with a writer as wonderful and talented as Fred Van Lente I am excited to sample this book. Lente knows superheroes and his recent Brain Boy series makes me anxious to see this classic hero, Magnus, in a world where he comes up against technology gone bad. Dynamite hasn’t been on my pull list for a long time and this might be there return to it.
That’s it for what caught my eye in the pages of the recent Previews. See you next month, which is sure to be a very interesting month for many publishers. Good reading everyone.