Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest” of what’s coming your way in the now-available December 2022 Previews catalog. I’m excited to help you navigate the vast majority of what Diamond is offering via your LCS for the month of February 2023. Having already taken a look at what Marvel, DC, Image, and the Manga/Purple Previews sections have lined up for us, it’s now time to check out the other 75% of the catalog.
Let’s dive in!
10. By The Power Of Jones & Aragonés!
We kick things off this month in Eternia via Dark Horse. I’m not what you would call a die-hard Masters of the Universe fan by ANY stretch of the imagination, but being a child of the 80’s I do carry at least a vestigial affinity for the property. Certainly enough to get a kick out of seeing a Kelley Jones-illustrated preview page. And I know Tim Seeley has both a deep love for these characters AND the ability to do super-fun comic booking. So putting him together with Jones and SERGIO ARAGONES gets me to plug the book no matter what it’s about.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE #1 (OF 4)
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Eddie Nunez, Sergio Aragones, and Kelley Jones
Cover by Kelley Jones
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Feb 15, 2023
SRP: $3.99In the depths of Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress and Zodac debate the value of He-Man. To save the life of her champion, the Sorceress must take the Cosmic Enforcer on a tour of the multiverse! First, a tour across a world where a dim, barbaric He-Man bumbles through a world of annoying warrior goddesses and bored demons as he’s pursued by a hungry green tiger in a tale drawn by the legendary Sergio Aragonés! Then, a stop in an Eternia where the power of Grayskull summons an entirely different warrior in a horrific ghost story illustrated by Kelley Jones! Written by MOTU alumni Tim Seeley (Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe, Masters of the Multiverse) with a framing story by Eddie Nunez, this is an anthology series not to be missed!
9. The Truth Is Out There!
Staying with Dark Horse brings us to another book that made me smile when thinking about pairing creator with subject matter. I’m guessing that, as the writer, Tynion has an interest in UFO stories, but I am absolutely sure Oeming has been waiting years to finally draw a book about them. I distinctly remember either Bendis mentioning his Powers collaborator’s interest in that subject on a Wordballoon episode back in the day, or Oeming’s own chat with our own Mike Romeo on this Robots From Tomorrow episode. Suffice it to say that seeing him get the chance to finally scratch that itch is both wonderful AND exciting because he’s doing the best work of his career with his Cave Carson/Young Animal stuff and his 2021 World of Krypton mini. All that AND a backup drawn by Klaus Janson? I’m ready to sail away on THAT starship!
Continued belowBLUE BOOK #1 (OF 5)
Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Michael Avon Oeming and Klaus Janson
Cover by Dave Johnson
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Feb 22, 2023
SRP: $4.99From the New York Times bestselling and award-winning cocreators of Something is Killing the Children, The Nice House on the Lake, The Department of Truth, and Powers comes this ambitious, nonfiction comic book experience depicting true stories of UFO abductions with an eye to capturing the strange essence of those encounters.
In this debut issue, Tynion presents what he calls his “True Weird” stories. Tales of ordinary people encountering the strange and the impossible. Teaming with artist Michael Avon Oeming, they retell some of the most popular UFO and alien encounter accounts starting with the infamous Betty and Barney Hill abduction-the widely publicized and very first abduction that went on to shape and influence all future encounter stories.
- Also includes the short “True Weird: Coney Island” by James Tynion IV, Klaus Janson, and Aditya Bidikar!
8. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
As much as it kills me we’re not getting more Afterlife With Archie (argh!) I have to keep giving it to Archie Comics for continuing to pull off the genre mashups in general and the horror-themed ones like this in particular. Making them oneshots probably helps, but just when you think Archie’s finally put that endeavor down for the count, another one pops up like franchise slasher villain. Hopefully this isn’t the final one, despite what the title says!
CHILLING ADVENTURES OF…: BETTY, THE FINAL GIRL OS
Written by Micol Ostow, Casey Gilly, Sam Maggs
Art by Laura Braga, Natalie Nardozza, Carola Borelli
Cover by Megan Hutchison
Published by Archie Comic Publications
In Shops: Feb 15, 2023
SRP: $3.99Veronica has invited Betty to her luxurious mountaintop chalet for a cozy weekend of skiing. But their girls weekend is interrupted when Archie shows up and whisks Veronica off on their own snowy romantic adventure. What could go wrong at a fancy remote cabin in the mountains all by herself? Betty’s mind races and she can’t tell fact from fiction as she suddenly realizes she might not be so alone. Is Betty believing too much in the horror movies she’s watched, or is someone (or something) really out to get her? Find out in this BRAND NEW horror anthology one-shot that’s equal parts Scream and When a Stranger Calls.
7. By Crom, That’s A Lot Of Books!
I swear I’m not paid kickbacks to talk about The Cimmerian, but new wrinkles keep coming up in the overall Conan story that I feel compelled to point out. Quick sum-up: The Cimmerian is translated reprints original European comix adaptations of REH’s Conan short stories done in the last decade or so. They are by various creative teams but offer a more graphic version of Conan (as advertised) than the licensed comics from Marvel, Dark Horse, Marvel (again), and now Titan Comics. Ablaze was able to bring these comics to the North American market despite that license because they (1) were just repacking previous material, and (2) they did not advertise the material as CONAN. Kinda like publishing Spider-Man comics from Italy as The Web-Slinger. I’ve enjoyed The Cimmerian and am glad to see them get a more deluxe treatment, if not as oversized as the original European albums. But what really made me want to mention this in this month’s column is the fact this boxset is being advanced solicited to ship on May 3, aka FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, aka THE SAME DAY TITAN COMICS IS PUBLISHING THEIR CONAN FCBD ISSUE TO KICK OFF THEIR NEW CONAN LICENSE! Coincidence? I think not. . . .
THE CIMMERIAN BOX SET, V1 (VOLUMES 1-4)
Written by Robert E. Howard, Jean-David Morvan, Regis Hautiere
Art by Various
Published by Ablaze Publishing
In Shops: May 03, 2023
SRP: $90.00ABLAZE is proud to present its bestselling line of UNCENSORED Robert E. Howard Cimmerian graphic novels, now available in a handsome slipcase box edition, collecting Volumes 1-4. Each Cimmerian volume contains two complete Conan stories, plus bonus material, including the original prose stories, in one epic hardcover collection! Plus a bonus folded poster!
- 1 – Featuring “QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST” & “RED NAILS”
- 2 – Featuring “PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE” & “THE FROST-GIANT’S DAUGHTER”
- 3 – Featuring “IRON SHADOWS IN THE MOON” & “THE MAN-EATERS OF ZAMBOULA”
- 4 – Featuring “BEYOND THE BLACK RIVER” & “HOUR OF THE DRAGON”Discover the true Conan, unrestrained, violent, and sexual. Read the stories as he intended!
6. Game Over? Not So Fast…
I’m juuuust young enough to have missed really experiencing the era of video gaming covered in the previous Supercade volume. But this one? This bad boy hits my quarter-fueled sweet spot. From Gauntlet and The Oregon Trail to Samurai Showdown to GTA III and Conker’s Bad Fur Day, if you can’t find a title in this book that makes your fingers twitch with phantom muscle memory just by reading the name, you might have actually these 16 years completely. You can see a list of included topics on the old Kickstarter page for this book. And on top of the subject matter itself, Dynamite puts out extremely lovely art books, like The Art of ATARI (also being offered again this month). So this video game experience is no-lose, and how often does one of THOSE happen?
Continued belowSUPERCADE: A VISUAL HISTORY OF THE VIDEOGAME AGE 1985-2001
Written by Van Burnham
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
In Shops: Feb 15, 2023
SRP: $45.00
“The long-awaited sequel to Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984, the first book to illustrate the videogame phenomenon…In the years since the original Supercade was first published, the next generation of gamers have come of age. Raised in the aftermath of the crash – the grand arcade palaces of the early 80s replaced by battered Neo Geo cabinets in laundromats and the few remaining game parlors begging for play – they are the children of the Nintendo Entertainment System, the home console that saved the US game industry after Atari effectively destroyed it.
Over the past two decades they have expressed an intense love for the games of their youth including Super Mario, Space Harrier, and Street Fighter.
This volume chronicles the next era of gaming history, beginning with the NES and including the release of the Sega Master System, SNES, Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Amiga, Game Boy, Atari Jaguar, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Xbox and more, as well as the companies, creators, and technologies that drove us into the digital future.
Earnestly written and designed by author and game historian Van Burnham, the second book is even more comprehensive than the first – featuring over 500 full-color pages – plus interviews with legendary game developers like Eugene Jarvis, John Romero, and Tim Schafer, as well as premium print upgrades including metallic inks, gatefold inserts, and so much more.
Supercade was conceived to pay tribute to the technology, games, and visionaries who created one of the most influential mediums in the history of entertainment – one that profoundly shaped the modern technological landscape, and inspired generations of gamers.
Contributors include Nathan Altice, Max Blackley, Ian Bogost, Chris Charla, Brian Crecente, Gabe Durham, Benj Edwards, Scott Fontana, Paul Ford, Darren Gladstone, Raiford Guins, Blake J Harris, Robin Hunicke, Roland Ingram, Alex Kane, Chris Kohler, Tim Lapetino, Kelsey Lewin, Henry Lowood, Chris Melissinos, Mike Mika, Jess Morrissette, Chris Moyse, Laine Nooney, Jeremy Parish, Chris Priestman, Chris Schilling, Brandon Sheffield, Dean Takahashi, Tony Temple, Tom Vanderbilt, Brittany Vincent, John Wills, and Erik Wolpaw.
5. She’s Nobody’s “Girl Friday”!
I know this is being offered again, but since I wasn’t here to pick it when it first came out, I’m correcting that error now. I knew absolutely nothing about this strip before an offhand mention from someone when they saw Ablaze was finally collecting this material last year. Curious to correct this oversight, I did some Googling for samples and backstory and MAN am I glad this is back in circulation where folks and (re)discover it like I did.
FRIDAY FOSTER: THE COLLECTED SUNDAY STRIPS HC
Written by Jim Lawrence
Art by Jorge Longaron, Gray Morrow
Published by Ablaze Publishing
In Shops: Jan 11, 2023
SRP: $39.99The Friday Foster comic strip is the story of a former nightclub “camera bunny” turned photographer’s assistant turned fashion model. With an innate inclination to help others and a natural beauty that makes her a magnet for men, Friday often finds herself in some very sticky situations and world-class adventures. The strip is generally cited as the first mainstream (i.e. nationally syndicated) comic strip starring a black character in the title role and features a mixture of adventure and romance, often with social commentary thrown in for good measure. The strip ran from 1970-1974.
4. Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina
The latest release in Fantagraphic’s Alberto Breccia Library is yet another collaboration between the Argentinian artist and his longtime countryman collaborator Hector Germán Oesterheld, this time setting their sights on internationally renowned First Lady of Argentina, Eva Peron. As a fan of their other collaborations (especially The Eternaut 1969), I’m particularly intrigued to see them tackle such a well-known and controversial figure in both more-real-than-real depth and brevity the way only comics can.
Continued belowEVITA: THE LIFE AND WORK OF EVA PERON
Written by Hector Germán Oesterheld
Art & Cover by Alberto and Enrique Breccia
Published by Fantagraphics Books
In Shops: Feb 22, 2023
SRP: $19.99In a sequel to their spellbinding, experimental biography of Che Guevara, Hector Germán Oesterheld and the Breccias chronicle the eventful life of Eva Peron.
Published in 1970, Evita: The Life and Work of Eva Peron was daringly intended to be the follow-up to the artists’ successful and controversial 1969 graphic biography Life of Che. Hector Germán Oesterheld plotted the book and the father and son team of Alberto and Enrique Breccia drew the comic – but the text was “sanitized” before its publication. In 2001, a restored version of Evita featuring Oesterheld’s original, uncensored script was finally published in Spanish; it is translated in English here for the first time. In just 72 boldly penned chiaroscuro pages, this graphic biography paints a complex portrait of a pivotal Argentine figure who was at once beloved and reviled by her people.
Born in rural Argentina to extreme poverty, she moved to Buenos Aires where she met and married Colonel Peron, who would become president of Argentina. As First Lady, affectionately nicknamed Evita, she devoted herself to social welfare and worker’s rights, campaigned for women’s suffrage, and became known as “The Spiritual Leader of the Nation.” While she has been viewed as an international icon, inspiring celebratory works such as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1976 Broadway Evita, this biography by her countrymen takes a far more searing and critical approach, chronicling the noble causes she fought for as well as the militarism and oppression of the Peronist regime.
3. Get In The Ring!
If I haven’t mentioned this before, one of the neat things about doing this column and specifically getting the beat of covering so many different publishers is seeing what trends or confluence of topics pop out in my choices each month. I don’t actively go looking to fill a biographical comics slot when I make these picks, but more often than not one (or more) jump out at me every time I go through the catalog. And unlike the previous item on this list, this creative team is one I have ZERO experience with prior to this. All that’s ringing my bell on this book is the vague knowledge of Johnson as a underappreciated spots legend and that cover image. Which I know we aren’t supposed to judge books by their covers, but (1) there’s a case to be made that comics are exceptions to that rule, and (2) LOOK AT THAT COVER!
LAST ON HIS FEET: JACK JOHNSON & THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY HC
Written by Adrian Matejka
Art by Youssef Daoudi
Published by LiveRight
In Shops: Feb 22, 2023
SRP: $29.99On the morning of July 4, 1910, thousands of boxing fans stormed a newly built stadium in Reno, Nevada, to witness an epic showdown. Jack Johnson, the world’s first Black heavyweight champion-and most infamous athlete in the world because of his race-was paired against Jim Jeffries, a former heavyweight champion then heralded as the “great white hope.” It was the height of the Jim Crow era, and spectators were eager for Jeffries to restore the racial hierarchy that Johnson had pummeled with his quick fists. Through a combination of breathtaking illustrations and striking verse, Last on His Feet honors a contentious civil rights figure who has for more than a century been denied his proper due.
2. The Richard Corben Library? It’s About F#%K!*@ Time!
Corben shares many things with his Heavy Metal contempories like Moebius, Druillet, and the like, in that a lot of his work has been either uncollected or out-of-print for long periods of time. Dark Horse is looking to correct that along the lines of their Moebius Library (and hopefully at a quicker clip for Corben’s catalog) with the aptly-named Richard Corben Library. Even for all the later work of his that the company already has in print, such as his Poe adaptations, the resurrection of his earlier work like Murky World or Den (which will soon follow) gives readers much easier access to an important and exciting chapter of his career.
MURKY WORLD HC
Written and Illustrated by Richard Corben
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Apr 26, 2023
SRP: $39.99In Murky World, Tugat the warrior wakes from a strange dream only to find himself in a bizarre land populated by hungry deadlings, cruel necromancers, a buxom cyclops, evil cults, and more as he sets off on a dangerous journey with his beloved horse Frix.
This is the first in a series of deluxe graphic novels from renowned creator Richard Corben’s library to be published by Dark Horse Comics. This special edition collects the entire Murky World series in print for the first time, and also features never-before-seen sketch material, the Dark Horse Presents one-shot, and a foreword by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, all presented in a gorgeous hardcover with a dust jacket.
“Richard Corben stands among us like an extraterrestrial peak. He has sat in his throne a long time, above the moving and multicolored field of world comics, like an effigy of the leader, a strange monolith, a sublime visitor, a solitary enigma”-Moebius
1. Heavier Metal?
Heavy Metal has had many ups and downs, ins and outs, strikes and gutters in its 45+ year history. We’ve talked about it at some length on Robots From Tomorrow. But one thing the magazine has never done is rebooted. . . until now.
HEAVY METAL VOL 2 #1
Written by Joe Trohman and Brian Posehn, Matthew Medney, Didier and Lyse Tarquin, Chris Anderson, Joe Harris
Illustrated by Scott Koblish, German Ponce, Federico Pietrobon, Didier and Lyse Tarquin, Santa Fung, Chris Anderson
Cover by Kim Jung Gi
Published by Whatnot – Heavy Metal
In Shops: Feb 22, 2023
SRP: $9.99The legendary sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine commemorates the start of its 46th year with a brand new #1 issue, featuring original stories and serials and designed as a jumping on-point for new readers.
To commemorate the passing of our friend, Kim Jung Gi, this special cover honors his final contribution to Heavy Metal. The master artist who inspired millions with his sprawling, elaborate live drawings and the incredible brushwork that appeared everywhere from museum exhibitions and galleries to comic art published by Marvel, DC, and more, gave joyously to the creative community to the very last and we are endlessly grateful for the opportunity to include his work in our new beginning.
Well, that was fun! Be sure to let us know what books YOU’RE excited for in the Comments section!
