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Soliciting Multiversity: Dark Horse’s January 2013

By | October 22nd, 2012
Posted in Columns | % Comments

Welcome back to Soliciting Multiversity!  It’s time for our first look at what’s in store for next year, and as usual, we’re opening with my favorite publisher, Dark Horse.  They have a great month coming up, with a total of seven new #1’s, 9 hardcovers, six manga paperbacks, three omnibi, the first trade for Brian Wood’s “The Massive,” and, of course, new installments of many of our favorite Dark Horse titles.  Let’s start with a look at those new number ones:

Dark Horse Gives Us The Answer!

I’ll admit, I don’t know too much about this project, but it’s from Mike Norton (“Battlepug,” “Revival”) and, from the solicit, looks like a city-level superhero story with pulp influences:

THE ANSWER! #1 (of 4)
Mike Norton (W/A), Dennis Hopeless (W), and Mark Englert (C)
On sale Jan 23
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
Devin McKenzie is an insomniac librarian with a knack for solving puzzles. The Answer! is a masked crime fighter with a giant exclamation point on his face. Aside from a penchant for late nights, they share nothing in common… until both become embroiled in a deadly mystery surrounding a sinister motivational speaker!
– Eisner Award-winning creator of Battlepug!
– Superhero mystery with explosive action!
– Written by Dennis Hopeless (Cable and X-Force, Avengers Arena)!

Avatar: The Search For Zuko’s Mom

What ever happened to Fire Lord Zuko’s mother?  Aang and the Gang reunite once more to find out the truth.  Following up on the success of “The Promise,” Dark Horse’s “Avatar” team are determined not to lose momentum.  Scripted by Gene Luen Yang under the supervision of series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Komietzko, with art by Gurihiru, this series is a must-have for fans of the shows:

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER–THE SEARCH PART 1 TP
Gene Luen Yang (W), Michael Dante DiMartino (W), Bryan Konietzko (W), and Gurihiru (A/Cover)
On sale Mar 20
FC, 80 pages
$10.99
TP, 6″ x 9″
For years, fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra have burned with one question–what happened to Fire Lord Zuko’s mother? Finding a clue at last, Zuko enlists the aid of Team Avatar–and the most unlikely ally of all–to help uncover the biggest secret of his life.
– This is the perfect companion to The Legend of Korra!
– The official continuation of Airbender from its creators!
– Avatar: The Last Airbender–The Promise soared to the top of sales charts!

James Harren is Back on B.P.R.D.!

I’m not sure that this counts as a true #1, now that B.P.R.D. has adopted the new numbering system, but the new storyline starts in January, and I’m excited to see who’s drawing it.  After a fantastic couple of issues of stunning artwork on “Conan the Barbarian,” James Harren returns to the Mignolaverse for this two-issue story arc dealing with the aftermath of ‘Return of the Master.’  Harren is one of the brightest rising stars of this decade.  Ever since his first venture in the Mignolaverse last year with “Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest,” Dark Horse has kept him busy drawing everything they can find, including “Turok,” “B.P.R.D.,” and of course, “Conan the Barbarian.”  He’s only been in the business for three years, and will only get better from here on:

B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH #103: THE ABYSS OF TIME part 1 (of 2)
Mike Mignola (W), Scott Allie (W), James Harren (A/Cover), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Jan 9
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
A group of agents enter an abandoned warehouse in Chicago, only to discover the site of a hundred-year-old magical ritual and an old Hyperborean weapon, which leads to shocking revelations about man’s prehistory and the legacy of the Ogdru Hem!
– From the pages of Hellboy!
– Cowritten by Mike Mignola!
Harren excels equally at the epic and the personal.” –Comic Book Resources

Francesco Francavilla: The Prince of Pulp Noir

Continued below

After his debut in “Dark Horse Presents,” the Black Beetle is back for a new miniseries called ‘No Way Out.’  Francesco Francavilla is of course known for his love of pulp noir styles, and has over the past couple of years done a series of stunning covers in those styles for nearly every major American comics publisher.  He’s also done interior work for DC on Scott Snyder’s “Detective Comics” run, and drawn an arc for Ed Brubaker’s “Captain America and Bucky.”  Having already reached the apex of company-owned work, he now strikes out on his own, and where better to start than in the style he’s known best for:

THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #1 (of 4)
Francesco Francavilla (W/A/Cover)
On sale Jan 16
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
Black Beetle’s investigation of two local mob bosses is interrupted when a mysterious explosion murders them and a pub full of gangsters–taking out most of Colt City’s organized crime in one fell swoop. Who could pull off such a coup, and what danger might that murderous bomber do to Colt City and Black Beetle?
– New series from Eisner Award winner!
“Francavilla delivers the pulp noir that suits his style perfectly.”–Comic Book Resources

Strange

Gothic fashion icon Emily the Strange tries to make it in the music industry in this new miniseries by character creator Rob Reger of Cosmic Debris. Etc.:

EMILY AND THE STRANGERS #1 (of 3)
Rob Reger (W), Mariah Huehner (W), Emily Ivie (A/Cover), Buzz Parker (Cover), and R. Black (Variant cover)
On sale Jan 30
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
With the help of her trio of troublemaking cats, Emily is determined to make the most rockin’ song the world has ever known and win a legendary haunted guitar… but can she do it solo? Only one thing is for sure–what Emily wants, Emily gets… sometimes.
– Rock and roll adventures from creator Rob Reger.
– Featuring limited variant covers by rock-poster legends!

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away…

The most exciting solicit is our last one, with Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda on a new series titled simply, “Star Wars.”  The best part about this new Star Wars series is that the only thing you need to have seen before this comic is the very first movie: “Episode IV: A New Hope.”  This is great for people who haven’t kept up with the Expanded Universe (I haven’t read a Star Wars comic since “X-Wing Rogue Squadron,” over a decade ago) but want to give it a try.  The series picks up right where the first movie ends.  Once Luke, Han and Leia finally united to destroy the first Death Star, how did they turn the fledgling Rebel Alliance in to a galaxy-spanning freedom movement capable of taking on the Empire directly in “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back”?  Brian Wood Week just got even better:

STAR WARS #1
Brian Wood (W), Carlos D’Anda (A), Gabe Eltaeb (C), and Alex Ross (Cover)
On sale Jan 9
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Ongoing
This is Star Wars as you remember it… and as you have never seen it before! We’re taking you back to those heady, adventure-filled days following the destruction of the Death Star–when the Empire ruled, the Rebels were on the run, and the galaxy was a dangerous place where anything might happen!
– Writer Brian Wood (The Massive, Conan the Barbarian).
– Artist Carlos D’Anda (Batman: Arkham City).
– Cover artist Alex Ross!
– Classic era, classic characters, all-new Star Wars!

Dark Horse Manga

Dark Horse also has a lot of new manga trades out this month, and since I’m afraid to admit I don’t read much manga, I’ll save the commentary and just list them for you:

  • Angelic Layer Omnibus Book 2 TP
  • Blad of the Immortal Volume 26: Blizzard TP
  • Blood-C Volume 1 TP
  • Tokyo Babylon Book One TP
  • Trigun: Multiple Bullets TP
  • Vampire Hunter D Volume 19: Mercenary Road Novel
  • Continued below

Shelf Porn – Hardcovers, Archives and Omnibi

Dark Horse also has a lot of beautiful graphic novels that would look fantastic on your shelf, including hardcover reprints of classic comics, a Buffy Library Edition, three omnibi, a hardcover collection of Jane Espenson and Brad Bell’s popular romcom webcomic “Husbands,” and a new edition of Will Eisner’s original graphic novel “Last Day in Vietnam: A Memory:”

  • Adventures into the Unknown Archives Volume 2 HC
  • Archie Archives Volume 8 HC
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Library Edition Volume 4 HC
  • Crime Does Not Pay Archives Volume 4 HC
  • Husbands HC
  • Jeremiah Omnibus Volume 2 HC
  • Last Day in Vietnam: A Memory HC
  • Nexus Omnibus Volume 2 TP
  • Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Clone Prison HC
  • The Unauthorized Tarzan HC & Ltd. Ed. HC

But That’s Not All!

As always, there’s more to talk about than we can fit in this column.  There are a total of 25 Dark Horse floppies for January, including “47 Ronin” #2, “Colder” #3, “Conan the Barbarian” #12 featuring art by Declan Shelvey, “Eerie Comics” #2, “The Massive” #8, “Mind MGMT” #7, “The Strain” #10, the 20th issue of the Eisner-award winning “Dark Horse Presents,” a new issue for all four Buffyverse titles, three issues set in the Mignolaverse, and for Star Wars: 4 issues, a trade and a hardcover.  As for trade paperbacks, we’ll see the first volume of “The Massive,” a collection of the first “R.I.P.D.” miniseries, “Chronicles of Conan Volume 3,” and “Axe Cop Volume 4: President of the World.”  There’s also a “Buffyverse Sampler” featuring all four current Buffyverse #1’s for just $4.99.  If you’ve been waiting for the right time to give the Buffy comics a try, this is it!

Click here if you’d like to see the complete list of Dark Horse solicitations, minus the commentary.  That’s it for today, tune in tomorrow for a first look at DC in 2013!


//TAGS | Soliciting Multiversity

Nathanial Perkins

Nathanial "Ned" Perkins is an aspiring writer living in New Jersey. His passions include science fiction, history, nature, and a good read. He's always on the lookout for artists to collaborate with on his own comics projects. You can follow him on Tumblr or shoot him an e-mail.

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