Sept 2012 Alternate Comics Diamond Previews Review part 2
It is now time to dig into the back of the Previews Magazine for product shipping this November. It looks like a re solicitation has popped up. Space: 1999 Aftershock and Awe, a 160 page original graphic novel is back. The reason I say back is because it was already solicited. This has me excited to return to the campy but still classic Space: 1999 universe.
Big news on the Archie Comic Publications front. Jughead will be the next character to be updated. This means that we will see his title go on hiatus. Issue #216 is solicited for November, and they are no doubt waiting until after the holiday season to give the character a little bit of a rest, before he comes back shiny and new. With the ground that Archie has been covering over the past couple of years, and the way they have shown their relevance to today’s world, I cannot wait to see what they do with one of the corner stones of Riverdale.
Avatar is putting out one of the most interesting mini-series right now. Namely Fashion Beast. I am not a fan of Alan Moore, more because of his personality than anything else, but I have to give credit where it is due. The first issue didn’t really answer any questions it posed but it offered enough questions and bizarre situations that I cannot wait to continue on this adventure. Society is mad and wants to tame this fashion beast before the world is destroyed in nuclear fire. Even though it was originally written thirty years ago it still has a strong societal connection that resonates with the global political stage of today’s world.
Boom Studios has a couple of books to keep an eye on out in November. The first one is the #1 issue of the ongoing Supurbia series. Also out on the same day is the trade collection of the first mini-series. The original creative team of creator/writer Grace Randolph, and artist Russell Dauterman are back to tell further stories of superhero families and the housewives that run them. Phil Noto does a beautiful incentive cover to commemorate the release.
The Hypernaturals is a series that I was ready to drop and then I reread the first issue and fell in love with the series. I’ll chalk it up to not being in the best frame of mind when I originally read it. DNA deliver a sci fi epic, right out of the gate, and never slowing down. They balance the smaller character moments well with the bigger set pieces. The mysteries keep building, and I personally hope the team stays missing for awhile because I am really digging the cast at the moment. Thinkwell is one of my favorite new characters to enter the world of fiction this year. Issue #5 brings them closer to the big bad and it is one big bad, big enough, and bad enough to destroy the Quantinuum.
Hailed by critics as one of the best comic book on the stands this year is Adventure Time. The first collection of 128 pages reprints the first issues of the monthly series. One of the big draws for me is the cover art, and this trade collection gets a brand new cover!
Ironically the Back of the Book – Pick of the Month is from Dynamite. This is for one reason only, fully painted interiors by Alex Ross. Dynamite begins it’s next crossover (hopefully better than the dreadful Prophecy), with Masks #1. The series is set in 1938 and brings the best of pulp into 32 wonderful pages. The crossover includes the Shadow, Green Hornet, Kato, the Spider and many, many more. Their enemy is a fascist police state, put in place by the government offices of New York State. I honestly would not notice if the story was good or bad, although Chris Roberson is quite a talent, but it is Alex Ross that makes me call this book an instant classic. If the story is captivating that is icing on the cake.
Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson bring their long running, and fan favorite series, The Boys to an end with #72. I have never followed the series but now upon it’s completion I am now thinking that this should be added to my trade wish list. People I know who read this are loyal to this book and they are saddened by it’s ending but expecting a huge payoff. I hope for their sake they get their big ending instead of getting a “Lost” style ending.
A book that promises to appeal to new collectors and those of us with years of experience is the Overstreet Guide to Collecting Comics Volume 1. This gives you all the information you need to collect, store, grade, sell, comic books. Just like the comics that it talks about, it too has a variant. One cover is the Joe Jusko Spider-Man or a Don Newton Silver Age Justice League cover. My personal choice would be the Silver Age Justice League cover.
I don’t often discuss Manga but a good friend of mine got me hooked on Attack on Titan. This book has been making waves, selling millions upon millions of copies in its homeland, and garnering quite allot of positive press from critics. Volume 3 is out in November. Don’t hesitate to ask your comic book store if they can bring in Volumes 1 and 2, you will be happy you did. The basic premise has a small band of human survivors trying to live in a land roamed by huge humanoids that can pick up the people and enjoy them as a snack. In the first volume we are introduced to a titan that stands above their 100 meter walls. The action moves fast, and in the first volume the body count is ridiculous. It shows you exactly what kind of world these kids need to grow up in. It is dark, violent, and raw. This is a story that is being told no matter what happens, and the writer is not afraid to take chances, never hesitating to leave the reader breathless.
Top Shelf Productions is releasing the first professional work from Jeff Lemire, Lost Dogs Graphic Novel. This came before Essex County, and Sweet Tooth. Anyone who knows me knows I love Jeff Lemire. I have only been a fan for a short time, first noticing him during the New 52 relaunch, but since then I have been reading his earlier work and I look forward to enjoying this tale of a powerful man and the possibility that he could lose everything he has ever known.
That’s it for November. Next month we look at the December releases.
Good Reading!