This page is updated throughout the month as publications are received.
A large selction of comics from Arcana Studios (www.arcanastudio.com):
Ezra: Evoked Emotions #2, created and written by Sean O’Reilly, art by Master Rove and Eve. The gothic demon huntress has been searching for her past, but Ezra’s past has caught up with her#8230; the Barbarian Warlord who murdered her parents…
Grunts #2 of 3, created by Denton and Giffen, written by Shannon Eric Denton, art by Matt Jacobs and Eric Spikes. This story of a squad of hard luck Joes encountering big problems during WWII, by acclaimed writers Keith Giffen (Eisner winner) and Shannon Eric Denton (Cartoon Network) along with superstar artist Matt Jacobs (Image Comics), continues. The squad follows a trail of death that leads them straight to the Axis superweapons. Their recon mission becomes one of rescue and the squad fears it may be their last. For some of them, it will be.
Grunts #3 of 3, created by Denton and Giffen, written by Shannon Eric Denton, art by Matt Jacobs. During World War Two the Squad took down an elite unit of German super soldiers and started a Eugenics Race that carries into present day and now they are the only hope against one man’s Ultimate Solution.
Kade: Sun of Perdition #1, created and written by Sean O’Reilly, art by Stjepan Sejic. Kade and Ezra have been hunting demons for nearly a thousand years and another Black Sun is on the horizon and with it, one of the most powerful enemies known to man.
“When they have finished, The Beast will come out of The Abyss. He will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.”
Kade: Sun of Perdition #2, created and written by Sean O’Reilly, art by Stjepan Sejic. “When they have finished, The Beast will come out of The Abyss. He will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.”
Kade and Ezra have been hunting Fallen Angels for the last 1,000 years, but now The Children of the Black Sun have gone from being the hunters to the hunted…
The Beast makes the first move by bringing a Nephilim back from the dead… and it is this giant that reveals a past that will leave Ezra and Kade questioning their existence and the painful memories of their deaths so long ago…
Kade: Sun of Perdition #3, created and written by Sean O’Reilly, art by Stjepan Sejic. “When they have finished, The Beast will come out of The Abyss. He will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.”
Kade and Ezra have been hunting Fallen Angels for the last 1,000 years, and now the Black Sun is on the horizon. Kade and Ezra have captured a Fallen, and he knows the Beast’s name. How far will Kade go to prevent the Apocalypse…
Outlaw Scorn 3030 AD #1 of 6, created and written by Nick Schley & Adam Frizzell, colors by Dash Martin. Mankind. What once was the earth’s most dominant species is now an ever slovenous, carrion race after a mysterious contagion infects it from within. Humanity now thralls to animalistic whim and with only the dark remnants of a bleak distant past to guide them into a choking future’s cradling arms, a seemingly insignificant few revolt against the overpowering empire in an attempt to free this yielding world from the frigid chains of ironic fate. It is the year 3030AD… and this is the vehement of the Outlaw… Scorn.
Power of the Valkyrie #1 of 4, created by Darren G. Davis, written by Darren G. Davis & Nick Schley. Suzanne Bancroft is a single nurse at a small Colorado hospital, her life is tight knit, friends are few and her craving for adventure is all but nonexistent. However she will soon hold the key to both heaven and hell in the palm of her trembling unsure hands… yet will she accept it.
ShadowFlame vs. The Electrocutioner (ShadowFlame #2 of 4), created and written by Joe Martino, inked by Peter Palmiotti, colored by Ian Sokoliwski. Repercussions of the issue 1 run rampant. Don Baltinetti, distraught at the disrespect and incarceration of his nephew, hires KillWatt the Electrocutioner to kill Shadowflame. Enter Cyberine and Agent Napalm to lend a hand. A lot of action as Shadowflame confronts Baltinetti’s thugs and lays down the law. Action packed.
Wasteland #1, written by Kieran Murphy, art by José Augusto Cano.
A large selection of comics from Fantagraphics (www.fantagraphics.com):
Angry Youth Comix Vol. II #13, by Johnny Ryan. 24pp, $3.50. In this long-awaited issue, all of protagonist Loady McGee’s worst (and most amusing) traits are brought to the fore as his obsessive quest reaches a fever pitch. His best friend, Sinus O’Gynus, finds himself at an unexpected crossroads in his life, forcing him to make several life-altering decisions. But whatever happened to Loady’s girlfriend, Blubbina LaQuiche? That and many other answers are revealed as our protagonists walk and talk their way through the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan, all delineated in Ryan’s evocatively pristine style. Or something like that.
Castle Waiting Vol. II #7, by Linda Medley, 24pp, $3.95. A fable for modern times, Castle Waiting is a fairy tale that’s not about rescuing the princess, saving the kingdom, or fighting the ultimate war between Good and Evil—but about being a hero in your own home. In this issue: Rackham searches for a missing shovel and ends up arguing with Chess about the finer points of the “manly arts”; Flora the Goat is fed up with being penned up; and Tolly finishes opening the secret passageway, with disastrous results.
The Comics Journal #284, July 2007, edited by Gary Groth, publisher 8 times/year, 200pp, $11.95. Marvel Monsters and Monkey Kings make mayhem in The Comics Journal #284! Gary Groth interviews cartoonist Roger Langridge, creator of a rogue’s gallery of characters such as Fred the Clown, Art d’Ecco and Knuckles the Malevolent Nun. The New Zealand native will also talk about his collaborative work, such as his recent turn as the artist for Marvel’s Fin Fang Foom. Also interviewed is Xeric-winner Gene Yang, whose young-adult graphic novel, American Born Chinese, was recently nominated for a National Book Award. From the turn of the 19th century, Frederick Burr Opper’s comic strip Happy Hooligan—one of the inspirations for Chaplin’s Little Tramp—is examined, complete with approximately 30 Sunday strips reproduced in full color.
Delphine #2, by Richard Sala, 32pp saddle stitched 8 1/2″ x 11″ paperback, $7.95. In the second installment of Richard Sala’s dark and suspenseful mini-series, the mysterious traveler finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into nightmare territory. The locals seem determined to undermine his every move and he soon finds himself stranded and alone in the ancient forest—and night is falling… This twisted re-imagining of Snow White, told from the viewpoint of the “prince” and set in modern times, continues with more of Sala’s eerily beautiful painted artwork and a startling plot that veers as far away from the countless saccharine versions of Grimm’s folk tale as possible.
Love and Rockets Vol. II #20, by Los Bros. Hernandez, 56pp, $7.99. If you missed Jaime Hernandez’s “La Maggie La Loca” serial in the pages of The New York Times, or even if you didn’t, you can catch the whole thing in this special issue in an expanded “Director’s Cut” format with the cuss words put back in and 4 added pages! Plus, seventeen-year-old Venus helps us say goodbye to Gilbert Hernandez’s post-Palomar stories in Love & Rockets! Is “Venus and You” the swan song for those characters in L&R? Hmmm…
New Tales of Old Palomar #2, by Gilbert Hernandez, 32-page saddle stiched 8 1/2″ x 11″ paperback, $7.95. Gilbert Hernandez returns to that funky little Central American hamlet of his with another story set in the “Sopa de Gran Pena” days starring “The Children of Palomar”—in this case the obnoxious and picked-on Gato (whom LR fans will remember as Pipo’s husband-to-be), Soledad, Guero, Pintor, and Arturo. The quintet of troublemakers’ explorations across a bottomless chasm results in two of the kids coming face to face with… well, we won’t spoil the surprise. But Sheriff Chelo is on the case and saves the day! With the very earliest Palomar stories recently released in a redesigned and affordable format in the Heartbreak Soup volume, these new stories of Palomar come along at the perfect time, and the superswanky Ignatz format provides Beto with a perfect canvas.
Raisin Pie #5, by Rick Altergott & Ariel Bordeaux, 32pp, $3.50. Ariel Bordeaux’s “Maple Valley Public Library” and “Queen of the Geeks” are both concluded, as Ariel bids a fond farewell to Raisin Pie. Rick Altergott continues with “Blessed Be” episode 5, wherein Doofus is drawn into the dangerous and deadly plot involving his missing friend, Henry Hotchkiss and a young woman’s missing boyfriend. As these threads interweave the stage is set for a thrilling climax.
Sammy the Mouse #1, by Zak Sally, 32-page saddle stitched 8 1/2″ x 11″ softcover, $7.95. Double Eisner nominee (for his acclaimed Recidivist #3, which SPIN Magazine also called one of its “favorite things” in January) and all-around hot cartoonist Zak Sally leaps into Ignatz fray with the first issue of the ongoing Sammy the Mouse series. Rollick with Sammy’s pals Puppy Boy, H.G. Feekes and Him as they walk around, have epileptic seizures, talk to disembodied voices, drink liquor in a bar the shape of a giant baby, and scare the living hell out of each other. The artwork on Sammy the Mouse is created using a sophisticated two-color process Sally already showed off to fine effect in a recent MOME, making it one of the most visually arresting of the Ignatzes.
Uptight #2, by Jordan Crane, 20pp, $2.50. The second issue of this all-new, incredibly affordable series from the acclaimed Jordan Crane! Uptight #2 features two standalone short stories, the tragic ghost story “Take Me Home” and the beautifully observed family drama “Before They Got Better,” along with the second chapter of the tensely unfolding “Keeping Two.” With three heartbreaking stories, elegant artwork, and unique, exquisite design by one of comics’ most exciting voices, this comic series is too good to pass up at any price, let alone the unheard-of cover price of only $2.50!
You’ll Have That #1 of 1, written, illustrated, and created by Wes Molebash (cover by Scott Kurtz), publisher by Viper Comics (www.vipercomics.com).