May 2012 Alternate Comics Diamond Previews Review part 1

Now that we have looked at the big 2 (DC, Marvel), we are going to turn our attention to Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, IDW Comics, and Dynamite Comics, for our third part of our May 2012 Previews.

          Let’s begin with Dark Horse Comics, and the Dark Horse Comics Pick of the Month. They are releasing a title I am very excited about, Axe Cop: President of the World. The reason this is a must have because the creative team is a very uncommon one. This is a new chapter for what is a very popular web comic. The writer is eight year old Malachai Nicolle, and his words are brought to life by his 31 year old brother, Ethan Nicolle. It is only from the creative waterfall of a child’s mind. Axe Cop is now President of the World, and resides in the Gold House, in Axeville, the capital of the world. His first duty, defend the planet from an enemy that comes from the stars. With this kind of description there is no reason this should not be on your pull list.

          Brian Wood’s and Kristian Donaldson’s epic sci-fi drama – The Massive continues with issue #2 which promises to show us more of this changed Earth. Specifically taking us to Hong Kong, and the city that has grown from the flooded ruins of the once great city. This is going to be a series for fans of apocalyptic fiction, science fiction, or those that enjoy a rich, and layered display of world building.

          Star Wars fans rejoice because Darth Maul is back in the latest chapter in the epic space opera. Star Wars: Darth Maul – Death sentence #1 (of 4) promises a high body count as the Jedi go in search of the one who can get cut in half and survive.

          Dark Horse Comics continues with their revival of Warren Magazines with Eerie #1. David Lapham contributes a new tale for this series that brings on scary twists for the beloved genres of fantasy and sci-fi. To keep the classic feel it is being published in black and white. This would be worth a look at the racks. With two new tales and a classic reprint this might make it home.

          Rex Mundi Omnibus – Volume 1 collects the first three volumes of this series into one book. It has 584 pages of intrigue within the Catholic Church, where a man goes on a quest to uncover the deepest secrets of Christianity, and how they connect with the First Crusade. I have not read the original series because I was hoping for a large collection. While I don’t overly love the page size in the Omnibus collections it is still exciting to have all the stories in one volume.

          IDW Comics is the next company we are going to take a look at. John Shirley, one of the co-screenwriters of the original Crow motion picture, is bringing us the latest Crow in comic book version. The Crow #1 introduces us to the next incarnation of the Crow as he is reborn in Tokyo. Fans of The Crow should grab this book. If you are lucky enough you might be able to find one of the incentive covers being done by James O’Barr, the original creator of the Crow.

          Jericho, the ill fated television show that merged small town drama against an apocalyptic nuclear attack returns with Jericho: Season 4 #1 (of 5). Kalinda Vazquez is the writer but the original writing staff of the show supervises the entire production to make sure it stays true to the show, and the world they built.

          Another revival of an 80’s franchise is happening with the arrival of Battle Beasts #1 (of 4). An army of anthropomorphized creatures, with advance weapons and technology, and a hunger for battle, come to Earth in search of an artifact. This might slide under allot of peoples radar considering the obscurity of the property compared to the Transformers, or G.I. Joe, but if some of you remember the little 2 inch figures fondly like I do, you might just check this out on the rack and decide that the nostalgia is difficult to resist and walk it to the register.

          The IDW Comics Pick of the Month is one of the most successful eighties franchises ever, the Transformers. The original series at Marvel ran until issue #80, and IDW decided the story was not over. With Simon Furman, the original writer, at the reigns, the story is continuing in Transformers: Regeneration One #81. If your original comics are tucked in a box, or you haven’t had a chance to experience the Transformers in their prime (no pun intended) IDW has you covered with the Transformers: Regeneration One 100 Page Spectacular has you covered with the full reprint of issues 76-80. Both of these will be coming home with me.

          The Image Comics Pick of the Month is an impressive comic that has helped in the amazing success of the zombie genre. Walking Dead hits the monumental 100th issue. Robert Kirkman has proven that nothing and no one in this world is safe, and he promises to bring more of the same with an event so shocking and violent that nothing like it has come before. This is going to be a game changer for Rick, and if you follow this book, like more and more people are, you know that change is really scary in the universe of the Walking Dead. Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn bring us the horror in page after page of stunning, and occasionally unnerving, black and white art.

          A treasury sized one-shot, Enormous, hits shelves in July. It is a 64 page, full color story of an apocalyptic future where an ecological disaster has unleashed creatures that the human race has never known of, oh and their huge. Humans have become the hunted and must now figure out how to survive in a world where they are no longer at the top of the food chain. The rich, deep artwork is brought to the paper by famed Heavy Metal artist Mehdi Cheggour, and the words are crafted by writer Tim Daniel.

          Dynamite’s massive crossover, Prophecy, continues with it’s second issue. Kulan Gath wants to turn the world into Ash, as all part of the 2012 Mayan Prophecy of global destruction. Luckily for us, standing in his way is a collection of the greatest heroes in the Dynamite library. With Ron Marz guiding this it is sure to become one of Dynamite’s best stories. By default this becomes the Dynamite Pick of the Month.

          Within the next week we will finish looking at Previews with the smaller publishers, which sometimes have the best hidden gems.

Dark Horse Comics

Axe Cop: President of the World
Fatima: The Blood Spinners
The Massive

Special Order

Predator Omnibus – Volume 3
Rex Mundi Omnibus – Volume 1

IDW Comics

Mars Attacks
Transformers: Regeneration One

Special Order

Transformers: Regeneration One 100 Page Spectacular

Image Comics

Creator Owned Heroes
Enormous (One-Shot)
Saga

Dynamite Comics

Prophecy