Comic News 3 comments

Order These Comics! Coming October 2015

I haven’t done this for a while, but it’s a new site layout, and there are some comics worth paying attention to in the August Previews catalog, for books shipping October 2015 or later.

News Items

A new Finder story, “Torch”, by Carla Speed McNeil begins serialization in Dark Horse Presents #15 (AUG15 0042, due out October 21, $4.99). Here’s an online preview. It follows on from Third World (good, since that ended on a cliffhanger) and tells the story of Rachel Grosvenor “as she attempts to cash in her fifteen minutes of fame and glamour for a stable future in her society.” I read Finder in collections, since the stories are dense and I find longer periods of time spent in the world more rewarding, but seeing a new story start means another book will be here next year.

Jem and the Holograms: Showtime

It seems that the revamped Prez (#5, AUG15 0203, October 21, $2.99) is now retroactively a miniseries. Good on DC for adding the note “Retailers: This title now will run six issues”, although it means sales will drop even more precipitously than they were. I’m not surprised, since the first issue didn’t bother explaining its premise to anyone who didn’t read the promo copy, but it’s kind of a shame that political satire seemingly has no place in serialized comics.

I would tell you how much fun the Jem and the Holograms series is, and how you should get the first collection, Showtime (IDW, AUG15 0389, October 14, $19.99), but I’m not going to do so, because I detest when publishers don’t bother to tell you which issues are reprinted in a trade. Luckily, I have the internet, where the charming writer, Kelly Thompson, said it was 6 issues (bigger than I thought!). The series is beautifully illustrated by Sophie Campbell, who has a real affinity for the colorful women in the band.

Lumberjanes launches its first special, Beyond Bay Leaf (Boom!, AUG15 1202, October 28, $4.99), and it’s written by Faith Erin Hicks! It’s a self-contained story illustrated by newcomer Rosemary Valero-O’Connell about, as expected, the scouts dealing with a monster attacking their camp.

Prior Reviews

Planetes Omnibus

You can now preorder the Planetes Omnibus (Dark Horse, AUG15 0072, December, $19.99) I talked about previously. If you like science fiction comics, you should do so.

I’ve already written about Pawn Shop (Z2 Comics, AUG15 1856, October 7, $19.99), a good example of the different kinds of storytelling comics can do.

In the manga world, October brings (among many other choices) Case Closed 56 (Viz, AUG15 1826, October 14, $9.99).

Reorders

These recommended titles are offered again, so if you order them now, you can get them as early as next month. They tie into the two different promotional areas this month, except for Pretty in Ink: Women Cartoonists 1896-2013 (AUG15 1487, Fantagraphics, $29.99) and Zot! The Complete Black & White Stories 1987-1991 (AUG15 1555, HarperCollins, $24.95, the comic that changed my life).

Comics for Kids

How to Make Comics



3 comments

  • Simon
    August 18, 2015

    11:04 am

    About TORCH, my understanding is that it’s a standalone story. From another preview at http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2015/01/exclusive-preview-carla-speed-mcneils-finder-torch/ it seems McNeil only joked about it being a sequel to THIRD WORLD. (That would make sense, since TORCH started way back in 2010 as a slow webcomic.)

    I also hate it when publishers try to hide the issues reprinted in a trade. Oni does it all the time now, and IDW is doing it for JEM only. In both cases, the last issues are not out, so I can only suspect how this absent data may be a trick to conceal the finales are unreviewed?

    In manga, you also have from Seven Seas HAVEN’T YOU HEARD? I’M SAKAMOTO VOL. 2 — it’s the same episodic sort as MY NEIGHBOR SEKI, and almost as funny in a different style. (Though I think both series were probably published in shojo mags.) I liken it to a Japanese Parker Lewis.

    And yes, anyone should sample PLANETES, though I think even if they don’t usually like sci-fi — this one is about people first!

    In the “Comics for Kids” (and adults like me!), maybe it’d be useful to signal Boom’s softcover of GUNNERKRIGG COURT VOL. 2 since VOL. 1 is relisted along? (Especially as this series can still be read online and thus sampled for free before pondering a smart Xmas gift!)

    In the “How to Make Comics” list, there’s also p. 448 a relist of Will Eisner’s interesting COMICS & SEQUENTIAL ART and GRAPHIC STORYTELLING from WW Norton, though I can’t remember which one was best.

    (By the way, I’ve commented about these, and absolutely way too many books, in the gutters of http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2015/08/09/flippin-through-previews-august-2015/#comment-5664751 — I’d draw your attention especially to Metropolitan’s THE ARAB OF THE FUTURE which I’ve read and is the next PERSEPOLIS!)

  • Johanna
    August 19, 2015

    6:40 am

    I have a review copy of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto V1 I’m looking forward to trying, so thanks for noting it.

    I’ve written about all three of Eisner’s instructional books here: http://comicsworthreading.com/2010/02/16/will-eisners-instructional-books-comics-and-sequential-art-graphic-storytelling-expressive-anatomy/ I liked the second one, Graphic Storytelling, better than the first, because the first reads like a pack of class notes and feels lacking without the instructor to guide the reader.

  • Jim Perreault
    August 30, 2015

    7:46 am

    I initially gave Prez a pass, until my local comic shop recommended it to me. I’m glad I listened, it is a fantastic book.

    The sarcastic humor was not evident in a flip through.

    Jim

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