Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest” of what’s coming your way in the now-available December 2023 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 2024 (and probably beyond). Having already taken a look at what Marvel, DC, Image, and the Manga 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. 2000 Gigawatts of Thrill-Power!
Another slab of goodness from Tharg the Mighty and his droids over at the Nerve Centre by way of Owen Johnson. This batch in particular includes “Zombo” and “Devlin Waugh”, two perennial strips I’ve never really sunk my teeth into yet. But based on that creator list, there’s no way anyone could go wrong picking this up!
BEST OF 2000 AD TP VOL 05 (OF 6)
Written by Rob Williams, Peter Milligan, Al Ewing, John Wagner, Alan Grant, John Smith, Gordon Rennie, Jamie Delano, Alan Davis
Illustrated by Chris Weston, Tony Wright, Henry Flint, Cam Kennedy, Sean Phillips, Frank Quitely, Alan Davis, Mark Farmer
Cover by Annie Wu
Published by Rebellion/2000AD
In Shops: Feb 14, 2024
SRP: $22.99Best of 2000 AD is a landmark series from the cult comic, bursting with our greatest stories for a new generation of readers. In this volume: Judge Dredd raises not only the law when Mega City One’s super-rich consider themselves above it all in Elevator Pitch; crash-land on a Death Planet as Al Ewing and Henry Flint introduce the monstrous, weaponized (but dead polite) Zombo; go Swimming in Blood with occult detective Devlin Waugh as he investigates a vampire outbreak in an underwater prison by John Smith and Sean Phillips; ride out into the Godless wasteland of the Cursed Earth and witness Gordon Rennie and Frank Quitely preach faith through firepower in Missionary Man. Boasting brand new covers from an all-star line-up of artists including Annie Wu and with designer Tom Muller, Best of 2000 AD is the essential gateway into the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic.
9. “That’s What I Like! Big Things Hitting Each Other!”
Ram V has achieved a level of saturation in today’s comics landscape that puts him in the “must have access to a time machine to put out this much comics” category. Much too much for me to keep up with em to, but what I do get to I consistently like, especially his creator-owned stuff like Leila Starr. So keeping an eye on this. . .
(BTW, the quote above is tweaked off a line from Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, where Ian Holm as Napoleon is justifying his appreciation of the bandits on-stage melee. I’ll leave it to you to figure out what I changed. Also, extra points for Napoleon pop culture synergy!)
DAWNRUNNER #1
Written by Ram V
Drawn by Evan Cagle
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Mar 20, 2024
SRP: $4.99 USA century ago a portal opened over Central America and the Tetza that came through changed our world. Now the world bends all its effort to making the Iron Kings—great mechs that must battle the Tetza for humanity’s continued survival in gladiatorial combat. Anita Marr is the greatest of the pilots and is chosen to pilot a new prototype that could change the tide in humanity’s favor.
Written by Ram V, drawn by Evan Cagle, colored by Dave Stewart, and lettered by Aditya Bidikar.
• An all-ages sci-fi epic from rising stars Ram V and Evan Cagle.
• A heartfelt story about a mother fighting for her child, against monsters, terminal illness, and time!
8. The Story Above All Other Stories
When you look at the life of someone so integral to a given field, their history and that field’s history become intertwined. So as it is with Jack Kirby, so as it is with Osamu Tezuka. This book lets you learn about both Tezuka and manga history to a great degree, which is the type of scholarship multitasking I approve of. It also has godfather-of-manga-US-translation Frederick Schodt’s involvement, which is another feather in its cap.
Continued belowOSAMU TEZUKA STORY LIFE IN MANGA & ANIME SC
Written by Toshio Ban
Published by Stone Bridge Press
In Shops: Feb 14, 2024
SRP: $36.95
This graphic-format biography of Osamu Tezuka-Japan’s “God of Manga”-looks at one of the twentieth century’s great creative artists (Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Black Jack). It is also an anecdotal study of the evolution of Japan’s early manga and anime business and its heroes. A never-before-seen popular culture history of postwar Japan, it is sure to fascinate fans and anyone interested in manga, anime, and the potential of the graphic storytelling medium.
7. The Cat Came Back . . .
This does look surreal and imaginative, just as described in the solicit, but the preview pages I’ve seen also make it look . . . adorable? I’m not quite sure that’s the word I should be using because I don’t know if it will translate some of the vibe I get to other folks, but it’s a word that pops into my head every time I see certain pages, even if I wouldn’t necessarily think of them if I was asked to pick something adorable, if that makes any sense.
THE CAT FROM THE KIMONO OGN
Written & Drawn by Nancy Pena
Published by Humanoids Inc.
In Shops: Feb 21, 2024
SRP: $19.99This surreal and imaginative adult fairy tale follows a beautiful black cat through a fantastical world where he’ll survive impossible odds to make his way home. . . to his mistress’ kimono!
6. This Month’s WTF Award Goes To. . .
Your guess is as good as mine. I’m tempted to do some more research into this and Dave Baker as a cartoonist but you know what? I’d rather take this opportunity to embrace the enigma. Lead on, MooreHawk!
MARY TYLER MOOREHAWK OGN
Written and Drawn by Dave Baker
Published by IDW Publishing
In Shops: Feb 14, 2024
SRP: $29.99Jonny Quest meets Infinite Jest! This mind-bending book — half graphic novel, half postmodern mystery, and 25% footnotes — is a thrilling tribute to the ways we build meaning out of disposable pop culture.
WHO IS MARY TYLER MOOREHAWK? How did she save the world from a dimension-hopping megalomaniac? Why was her TV show canceled after only nine episodes? These are just a few of the questions that young journalist Dave Baker begins to ask himself as he unravels the many mysteries surrounding the obscure comic book Mary Tyler MooreHawk. However, his curiosity grows into an obsession when he discovers that the reclusive creator of his favorite globe-trotting girl detective…is also named Dave Baker.
WHAT IS MARY TYLER MOOREHAWK? A compilation of long-lost gee-whiz adventure comics in which the world’s strangest family fights to avert Armageddon…and a bundle of magazine articles from a dystopian future where physical property is banned and entertainment is broadcast on dishwashers. It’s a document-based detective story that weaves back and forth between worlds, touching on everything from corporate personhood to mutant shark-men to the meaning of fandom and reality itself. It’s a show you don’t remember…and a book you won’t forget.
5. All Our Goons Coming Home To Roost!
Dark Horse largely built its reputation on the output of a group of cartoonists it gave creative freedom and security to. Names like Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Stan Sakai, and Eric Powell, among others. The latter three struck out on their own, and while Miller is still a solo act, both Sakai (with his DOMŪ imprint) and now Powell are back in DH’s creator stable. And like Sakai, Powell has his own imprint (obviously titled Albatross Funnybooks) to spread his off-kilter sense of comic booking as he does more Goon. Which, praise Jeebus, he is now doing.
Continued belowTHE GOON: THEM THAT DON’T STAY DEAD #1
Written and Drawn by Eric Powell
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Mar 20, 2024
SRP: $4.99 USTo mark the 25th anniversary of The Goon, Eric Powell returns with an all-new miniseries, Them That Don’t Stay Dead!
The return to Lonely Street hasn’t been easy for the Goon and Franky. And just as they’ve finally got the various gangs of blood suckers and night stalkers back in line, and they can finally relax with a nice night out bowling, a new threat appears. One that will shake the very foundations of Nameless Town. Also, Spider gets hooked on the junk. Drama!
• The Goon returns in an all-new series!
4. Lies And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them
First Second’s line of World Citizen OGNs has already given us five other books about various facets of modern civic engagement: the First Amendment, constitutions, rigging of elections by the wealthy class, etc. But this book in particular speaks to possibly the most important one, and that is separating the truth from the lies. Firehose of Falsehoods isn’t just a clever title, it’s an actual phenomenon of bombarding someone with so much untruth they become disabled. Sound familiar? Sound like something you’d like some defense against? Read on. . .
FIREHOSE OF FALSEHOOD: THE STORY OF DISINFORMATION OGN
Written by Teri Kanefield
Drawn by Pat Dorian
Published by First Second Books
In Shops: Feb 14, 2024
SRP: $29.99As America grapples with the Big Lie and the future of democracy hangs in the balance, A Firehose of Falsehood takes us through history to showcase how dictators and kings have used different methods of disinformation to disenfranchise the public and consolidate power. Using examples from as far back as 522 BCE, Teri Kanefeld and Pat Dorian lushly illustrate how tenuous humanity’s relationship with the truth has always been-and then show us how we can beat back the lies.
3. Interdimensional Punk Rock Soap Opera? Sold!
That’s how cartoonist Nate Powell described his upcoming OGN and great googily moogily does it look like something I want in my hands right the f**k now. Seriously.
And I might be a horrible comics reviewer for saying this, but I can’t remember what Powell’s track record with color interior work is, but another great googily moogily at how gorgeous his interiors look for this on their own terms, not simply because we’re so used to his visions in black & white.
FALL THROUGH OGN
Written and Drawn by Nate Powell
Published by Abrams Comicarts
In Shops: Feb 7, 2024
SRP: $24.99At first glance, Diamond Mine seems to have emerged in 1979 as Arkansas’s first punk band. Instead, this quartet is revealed to be interdimensional travelers from 1994, guided-largely against their will-by vocalist Diana’s powerful spell embedded into their song “Fall Through.” As Diamond Mine tours the country, each performance of the song triggers a fracturing of space-time perceptible only by the band members as they’re transported to alternate worlds in which they’ve never existed, but their band’s legend has. That is, until Jody, the band’s bassist and the story’s protagonist, finds herself disrupting Diana’s sorcery, even at the cost of her own beloved work and legacy. While some band members perpetually seek the free space offered by the underground punk scene to escape from their mundane or traumatic lives, others work toward it as a means of expression, connection, and growth-even if that means eventually outgrowing Sisyphean patterns and inevitably outgrowing their beloved band-family altogether.
2. Return Indeed!
Working at Multiversity has brought many cartoonists to my attention, and Paco Roca is one of them. The paucity of reading time in life has kept me from exploring as much of his bibliography as I should have, but new Roca always gets a nod. The solicit calling this his possible magnum opus is interesting because the work of his that floored me (The Winter of the Cartoonist) isn’t even mentioned as one of the works that statement was measuring Return against! Ay caramba!
Continued belowRETURN TO EDEN HC
Written and Drawn by Paco Roca
Published by Fantagraphics Books
In Shops: Feb 28, 2024
SRP: $29.99The celebrated Spanish cartoonist’s most ambitious work yet is a touching homage to his mother and a bittersweet depiction of life in post-war Spain.
It all starts with a photograph: an ordinary scene of a young woman and her family picnicking at a Valencian beach in 1947. Now in her twilight years, Antonia cherishes this photo dearly; it holds the memories of her upbringing, her family – the key to her Eden. Taking off from this routine family outing, cartoonist Paco Roca paints a heartfelt portrait of his mother’s formative years. This delicate portrayal of a humble family is at once an intimate biographical story and a broader reflection of the hardscrabble existence many faced in post-war Spain. Antonia and her family soldier through constant hunger, the shady dealings of the black market, traumas of war and parental abuse, and the oppressive atmosphere wrought by the Catholic church and Franco’s authoritarian regime – and yet, they find oases of joy and wonder in cinema, imagination, and small acts of kindness. Roca is known the world over for his quietly powerful graphic novels, from Twists of Fate to The House, and this latest masterwork may just be his magnum opus. In Return to Eden, Roca manages to charge quotidian life with rare poignancy, in all its daily struggles and daydreams, and readers will come away deeply affected.
Paco Roca is an award-winning graphic artist and a cartoonist from Valencia, Spain. Fantagraphics has published English editions of many of his graphic novels, and several of his works have been adapted to TV and film.
1. A Mouse and A Duck Go On An Adventure. . .
I found out juuuuuuust as we’re going to press that this originally came out seven years ago, which illustrates the perils of relying too heavily on the “offered again” tags in Previews. But I’m keeping this one here because it’s exactly the type of book I wanted to give the top spot to.
Without intending to, I’ve probably fallen into a rut of giving the pole position to an “important” or socially conscious book. Which in and of itself is no crime, but every once in a while we need the wacky, right? So here ya go!
WALT DISNEYS MICKEY & DONALD: MICKEY’S CRAZIEST ADVENTURES HC
Written by Lewis Trondheim
Drawn by Nicolas Keramidas
Published by Fantagraphics Books
In Shops: Feb 28, 2024
SRP: $29.99Beloved French cartoonists Lewis Trondheim and Nicolas Kéramidas (Donald’s Happiest Adventures) return for another epic saga sending Mickey and Donald on the Beagle Boys’ globetrotting trail!
When Peg Leg Pete and the Beagle Boys shrink and steal Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin, Mickey and Donald must track them down… across lost cities, ancient lands, under the sea, in the air, and…into space?!? In a hilarious satire that will entertain all ages, Mickey’s Craziest Adventures introduces its epic tale as if it were a rare 1965 Disney classic, deemed too wild for publication and saved only in fragments – but in fact, modern comics masters Lewis Trondheim and Nicolas Kèramidas have created an exciting all-new album-length stand-alone Disney thriller, drawn in a kinetic indie-comics style and
presented like a classic vintage work, hiding the fact that it’s actually shamelessly spoofing Silver Age comics clichés!Lewis Trondheim, one of the co-founders of the comics collective L’Association, lives and works in Montpellier, France. Nicolas Kéramidas studied animation at the Gobelins School of Images, then went on to nine years of animation work at Disney’s Montreuil studio.
