Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.
I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.
*****
JUL120377 LOAC ESSENTIALS HC VOL 01 BARON BEAN $19.99
These are fun comics from George Herriman, but also instructive in that they're so good it puts into even bolder relief how remarkable were the idiosyncratic, expressive elements of Krazy Kat. God bless a comics industry that gives us books like this one.
JUL120027 NEXUS OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 $24.99JUL120217 52 OMNIBUS HC (N52) $150.00
I'm not always on board with the collection programs run by major companies, and here's two where I have a hard time getting on board even though I'd certainly look at both. A second series of Nexus trades done more cheaply sounds like it might tempt me into a purchase more easily than whatever's being collected "New 52"-wise, but I'm intrigued by both potential customer bases. I actually like the Nexus stuff outright, but I prefer to read that stuff in original comic book form, still easily available.
SEP120040 BALTIMORE PLAY ONE SHOT $3.50
SEP120041 BPRD 1948 #2 $3.50
SEP120039 EDGAR ALLAN POE CONQUEROR WORM ONE SHOT $3.99
JUL121073 CASTLE WAITING VOL II #18 $3.95
SEP120020 DARK HORSE PRESENTS #18 $7.99
A decent grouping of indy-alt comics, heavy on the Mignola-verse titles. I like how committed Dark Horse has remained to this kind of comics buyer. I think the Castle Waiting might be last-in-series or last-in-storyline, I'm not certain.
APR120274 MAD ARCHIVES HC VOL 01 $59.99
APR120275 MAD ARCHIVES HC VOL 02 $59.99
APR120273 MAD ARCHIVES HC VOL 04 $59.99
I have no idea what these are like or of the exact format, but I look at anything with early MAD in it and if Vol. 4 extends past the point where previous collection efforts stopped, I'd pay extra special attention to that one.
SEP120621 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #698 $3.99
SEP120643 HAWKEYE #4 $2.99
SEP120531 INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #1 NOW $3.99
Three comic book I'd sure think about buying from Marvel, if I were near a comics shop and buying Marvel's comics on a regular basis. I may still buy them at some point down the line. The Fraction/Aja Hawkeye comics are fun and nice-looking. Mark Waid was the most influential mainstream comics writer of the 1990s (to my mind, anyway) so seeing him enjoy a fruitful run at the mainstream comics companies right now seems right to me: I think that's the Waid and Yu Hulk effort; if not, never mind. The ASM comic begins the 700th issue/50 year celebration, so even if the content didn't engage me how they're approaching that funnybook milestone might be.
SEP120877 DIGESTATE GN (MR) $19.95
This is a sizable Kickstarter-driven anthology with a bunch of folks in it I like both personally and professionally, including but not limited to Rene French, Brian Ralph and John Kerschbaum. This is the comic that makes me most wish I were in a comics shop and could pick it up and look at it.
SEP121279 THERMAE ROMAE HC VOL 01 (MR) $34.99
A massive hardcover about public baths? Yes, please. I don't know if it's more astonishing that we have a comics industry that releases stuff like Baron Bean or stuff like this on a regular basis, but I approve.
AUG120887 BLEEDING COOL MAGAZINE #1 (MR) $4.99
I'm going to have some fun later today with the Top 100 Most Powerful list that's apparently in this latest Rich Johnston effort, but Rich is a mostly affable dude in every encounter I've ever had with him, and it's his birthday today *and* I like that he's expanding into print so good on him.
SEP121107 TUNE VANISHING POINT SC $16.99
I'm not sure how First Second manages to put books like this in front of people over and over again over a rolling release schedule and make it seem like a good thing whenever a book like this one hits a new market, but they do as fine a job as anyone riding that wave. This was a fun book, and super-appealing, from one of the half-dozen talents around whom one can imagine the entire industry being refashioned in order to emphasize those with mainstream appeal as opposed to those hitting a specific niche -- no matter how well or profitably they hit it.
*****
The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.
To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.
The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.
If I failed to list your comic, that's on me. I apologize.
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