It’s a really weird feeling to already be writing about December but here we are and here are the solicitations. December is a fairly lean month for Dark Horse but there’s still plenty for you to pre-order, including some must have manga collections.
10. Is It Getting Cold In Here?
I’ve written here about “Colder” before but I can’t stress how great this series is. By now I’ve had the chance to read the first issue of the final miniseries and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s also not a terrible place to get into the series. Add “Colder” to your pull list in December and buy the first two trades.
Colder: Toss the Bones #4 (of 5)
Paul Tobin (W) and Juan Ferreyra (A/Cover)
On sale Dec 30
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
Declan and Nimble Jack square off in the final battle for Declan’s sanity! Now, as he engages in a desperate gambit to outwit Jack, Declan may have to sacrifice his life if he doesn’t want to lose his mind!
• Written by Eisner Award winner Paul Tobin!
“The best series on the stands right now.”—IGN
9. Another Title To Prove Me Right
I’m a huge believer that licensed comics don’t have to be bad. I don’t have much of a gaming background and I don’t know a thing about Dragon Age but Greg Rucka is an incredibly reliable writer. It’s also being touted as a great place to get into this world so it’s definitely worth trying out.
Dragon Age: Magekiller #1 (of 5)
Greg Rucka (W), Carmen Carnero (P), Terry Pallot (I), Michael Atiyeh (C), and Sachin Teng (Cover)
On sale Dec 16
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
Greg Rucka begins an all-new story set in the immersive dark-fantasy world of Dragon Age!
Tessa and Marius are mercenary partners, eliminating those who use blood magic to hurt others, but when a powerful patron employs them, they realize this next job may be their last . . .
• The beginning of a new adventure set in the world of Thedas!
• An essential addition to the Dragon Age canon!
• Perfect entry point into this epic dark-fantasy world!
8. An Adventure Ends
“Past Aways” never truly took off and it’s a damn shame. This was a really quirky and unique action adventure that deserved a longer run than nine issues. I’m looking forward to the finale but mark this as your reminder to buy the collected edition.
Past Aways #9
Matt Kindt (W), Scott Kolins (A/Cover), and Bill Crabtree (C)
On sale Dec 23
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Ongoing
It’s the end of the road for the intrepid Past Aways! Will infighting destroy the team and consign them to the footnotes of history, or will their heroic return mark them as the greatest explorers of all time? Find out at last!
“Because this is a Kindt title, there has to be a kicker, and Past Aways has one hell of a kicker.” —Comics Bulletin
7. The Undead With A Twist
I’m tired of zombies and the undead. It’s been done to death and it feels like no one has anything original left to offer. But then I read the first omnibus of “The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service” and I have hope someone can do something new. Not only is a great story with stellar art but it’s also very cheap and everyone can do with paying less.
Continued belowThe Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service: Omnibus Edition Book Three TP (advance solicit)
Eiji Otsuka (W), Housui Yamazaki (A), and Bunpei Yorifuji (Cover)
On sale Feb 17
b&w, 632 pages
$19.99
TP, 5 1/8″ x 7 1/4″
Some manga offer you stories about zombies . . . others, robots . . . others, otaku—but only The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service would offer you a story about a zombie-robot otaku! And that’s just the first of ten cases the Kurosagi gang encounter in Book Three, as strange-but-true rituals and incidents from Japan’s past reemerge as tales of bizarre modern horror! Marriages with the dead . . . human air-defense radar . . . the souls of babies in the bodies of yakuza! And even as a cabal of phantoms seeks to imprison Karatsu’s familiar spirit Yaichi, the Delivery Service face perhaps their greatest challenge yet . . . convincing somebody else to join their club so they don’t lose their meeting space on campus!
6. Bow Down To The King
First off, I’m really glad I found a way to reference HHH here. Second, this is a new King Conan miniseries that features a creative team that’s no stranger to this character. This is going to be nonstop action and a blast for fans of the character.
King Conan: Wolves beyond the Border #1 (of 4)
Timothy Truman (W), Tomás Giorello (A/Cover), and José Villarrubia (C)
On sale Dec 23
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
King Conan grows weary of the crown. When an old soldier visits him with talk of a cursed relic and rumors of Pictish tribes preparing a full-scale invasion on Aquilonia’s borders, Conan eagerly embarks on what could be his final adventure! A fan-favorite team expands on Robert E. Howard’s unfinished “Wolves beyond the Border” tale!
• A perfect companion piece to King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon!
5. Goodbye Groo
This following Conan is no mistake. “Groo: Friends and Foes” is a really fun and silly book that riffs on a lot of things that books like “King Conan” do. This series is ending but I’m sure down the road there will be a new reprint of some of the older stuff. Groo never truly goes away.
Groo: Friends and Foes #12
Sergio Aragonés (W/A/Cover), Mark Evanier (W), Stan Sakai (L), and Tom Luth (C)
On sale Dec 16
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Ongoing
It’s the grandest of finales as Groo: Friends and Foes wraps up with its twelfth and final issue. By now, everyone should have figured out how and where Kayli, the little girl Groo has been helping to find her father, finds her father. That is, if they’re smarter than Groo, and we hope for their sakes they are. This issue, like all of ’em, comes from the award-winning team of Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier.
4. God Save The Queen
Natalie Dormer is good, Natalie Dormer is life. My current hair style is even inspired by her. There is no way I don’t pre-order this
Margaery Tyrell Figure (advance solicit)
On sale Mar 16
7.5″ tall
$24.99
Raised an aristocrat, the beautiful and cunning Margaery is the widow of Renly Baratheon and was betrothed to Joffrey until his death. Later wed to the evil Tommen Baratheon, she is imprisoned by the Faith Militant, a victim of Cersei’s schemes. Her fate is still pending as season six of HBO’s series approaches.
3. The Dark Side of Geekdom
“The Eltingville Club” does not pull punches. Dorkin looks at the rudeness, crudeness and obsessiveness that comes with comic book collecting and being ingrainded in geekdom. It’s a rough read but only because so much of these stereotypes are true. Of course this isn’t a portrait of every fan but enough that it rings true.
The Eltingville Club HC
Evan Dorkin (W/A/Cover)
On sale Feb 10
FC, 144 pages
$19.99
HC, 8″ x 11″
Take-no-prisoners trivia-offs. Pill-fueled Twilight Zone marathons. Fan interventions. Here is the ultimate word on the fugly side of fandom, collecting every Eltingville story from Dork, House of Fun, and The Eltingville Club #1–#2, three of which won Eisner Awards for Best Short Story. Also features the Northwest Comix Collective alt-comics smackdown and an afterword about the 2002 Adult Swim animated pilot. Definitive, complete, and unashamed, this is fandom at its fan-dumbest, in the mighty Eltingville manner!
“One of the sharpest, harshest, most honest things you’ll read all year.”—Multiversity Comics
“Dorkin’s storytelling is strong on pacing and suspense.”—Comic Book Resources
2. More Manga Mentions
I’ve been on a true manga kick the last few months. I’ve read my first shojo book, I’m getting more connected to the fandom and I’ve even started writing about it. “Berserk” is something I’m slowly getting into and it’s absolutely insane but also very detailed. Kentaro Miura, creator of “Berserk” presents a new sci fi/fantasy and I can only hope this is as similarly detailed as his other work.
Continued belowGiganto Maxia TP (advance solicit)
Kentaro Miura (W/A/Cover)
On sale Feb 3
b&w, 232 pages
$13.99
TP, 5″ x 7″
From Berserk creator Kentaro Miura comes Giganto Maxia, a science-fiction/fantasy manga of titanic proportions! One hundred million years in the future, the Empire of Olympus uses colossal mutant beasts to crush its adversaries. Only the gladiator Delos, the mystic Prome, and the titan Gohra can hope to prevent genocide!
• Miura’s Berserk is an international sensation, inspiring wildly popular TV and film anime.
1. No Memories? No Problems
Paul Tobin shows up again in this article and with good reason. Tobin is fairly underrated despite some of the best output each month. His writing as a great sense of humor but can get down to business when necessary. “Mystery Girl” has a great concept so it ends up easily taking the number one spot in a lean month.
Mystery Girl #1
Paul Tobin (W), Alberto Alburquerque (A/Cover), and Marissa Louise (C)
On sale Dec 2
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
Trine Hampstead knows everything. Ask her a question like “Where are my keys?” or “Is he cheating on me?” or “How are there perfectly preserved mammoths in recent ice?” and she just knows. She’s the Mystery Girl. The only thing Trine doesn’t know is how she knows—or anything else from the last ten years of her life.
• A new series from the Eisner-winning cocreator of Bandette!
• For fans of Marvel Girl and iZombie!
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below and make sure you check all of what Dark Horse as to offer in December by going to CBR.
