Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest” of what’s coming your way in the now-available May 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 July 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. Friday, I’m In Love!
Discovering this strip was one of the (increasingly rare) times an old comics dog like me was surprised to find something so worthy of distinction completely out of the blue in an area I thought I knew relatively well. Thankfully, Ablaze knew the score well before I did and is taking on the task of getting Friday Foster out to the masses. I know this is a re-offering of this collection this month, but I’m putting it on here anyway because it’s worth it.
FRIDAY FOSTER COLLECTED HC
Written by Jim Lawrence
Drawn by Jorge Longaron & Gray Morrow
Published by Ablaze Publishing
In Shops: Jun 14, 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.
9. Breathing New Life
Breathers was a comic published by the late Drew Ford through his It’s Alive Press imprint. Since his untimely passing last year, the collection of this nine-issue series by Justin Madson is coming out through Dark Horse. I remember enjoying the first two issues and am anxious to read the whole story in one sitting!
BREATHERS TP
Written and Drawn by Justin Madson
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Sep 27, 2023
SRP: $29.99Even when our own planet can no longer sustain us, humanity clings to life in this thoughtful dystopia where a single breath of “fresh” air can kill. Follow the lives of a small cast of survivors as they struggle to keep going in a world where the air carries a fatal virus. A detective must battle his own demons; a pair of siblings question the supposed apocalypse when the impossible happens; a mother and daughter fight tooth and nail to stay together; and a traveling salesman peddles breathing masks, trying to do some good to make up for the sins of his past. In the wake of a growing movement that questions whether the virus in the air is real, they are all survivors-they are all Breathers. The full nine-issue series and bonus issue #0 are now collected together for the first time, with an afterword by the creator and an extensive cover gallery.
8. The OTHER Belgian Comic Master
While Herge will always be the first name coming to most folks’ mind when asked about Belgian comics creators, E.P. Jacobs should be at least the second. An opera singer before turning to comics, Jacobs crossed paths with Herge early in his career, becoming an inspiration for Captain Haddock in the Tintin series. This work was Jacobs’ first original comics creation, commissioned after his work concluding Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon strip (then banned in Nazi-occupied Europe) met with success.
Continued belowU RAY GN
Written & Drawn by Edgar P. Jacobs
Published by Cinebook
In Shops: Aug 30, 2023
SRP: $14.95Before Blake & Mortimer, Edgar P. Jacobs had created a comic that has now attained mythical status, The U Ray. Here it is now, finally translated into English. The nation of Norlandia is in conflict with its powerful rival Austradia. The eminent Professor Marduk is tasked by the High Council of Norlandia with militarizing a major scientific discovery: the U Ray. However, doing so will require finding a deposit of Uradium, the ore needed to power the ray. And the only known deposit is in an unexplored volcanic archipelago. An expedition is quickly put together, but in the shadows, the Austradian intelligence services are waiting for the moment to act.
7. Reason #962 Billionaires Aren’t To Be Trusted
Jesse Lonergan isn’t a name that pops up too often in comics chat, but when it does, my ears perk up. His Hedra oneshot was one of the best comics I read in 2021, so to see him coming out with another sci-fi story, this time with Nate Powell-collaborator Van Jensen, is a real treat!
ARCA TP
Written by Van Jensen
Drawn by Jesse Lonergan
Published by IDW Publishing
In Shops: Jul 12, 2023
SRP: $16.99The world burned. When society fell apart, a select group of billionaires had an escape hatch: a rocket aimed at the nearest habitable planet, a ship equipped with many of the luxuries of life on Earth – why survive if you can’t survive in style? Their every need is tended to by teenagers who are willing to act as slaves in return for the promise of a new life. This is a good story. But, like so many stories, it is not true. Inside a great, sealed survival chamber, one slave – a teenage girl named Persephone – discovers that the promised future of comfort is a myth. And with that knowledge, she must fight for her survival against the billionaires, who would gladly kill her to protect the hidden truth.
6. Her Byline Is Action!
Ladies and journalism go together in comics like bacon and eggs… death and taxes… politics and corruption! (Bonus points if you get the reference for the back half of that sentence) Even if we’re just talking about real-world settings, there are a lot of ‘girl reporter’ stories to choose from. But open up the canvas a bit and you can add to that list ladies like Lois Lane, Kate Kristopher, and now Kate Kelly! Alliterative name not required, but it apparently helps….
ACTION JOURNALISM WITH KATE KELLY TP
Written by Eric Skillman
Drawn by Miklos Felvideki, Ramon Perez, Max Sarin, Erica Henderson, Jorge Coehlo, Dave Baker
Published by Oni Press, Inc.
In Shops: Jul 12, 2023
SRP: $21.99Action Journalism’s favorite intrepid reporter, Kate Kelly, is New Arcadia’s most trusted source for hard-hitting news. Always on the hunt for the next exclusive scoop, Kate and her trusty team infiltrate alien fleets, mad-scientist conventions, and fantasy kingdoms, all in search of the biggest stories the universe has to offer. But excitement seems to follow Kate everywhere as she keeps winding up in the middle of the story, risking it all to save the day!
5. Half-Hour Toy Commercials
See that kid on the cover? That’s me and basically any other American in the 35-50 age range. We were totally guinea pigs for a new tactic in toy marketing, the effects of which have probably altered the scope of history more than one would think. Thankfully, Brown is the type of creator who WILL do that thinking, draw those conclusions, and lay out his findings in accessible & entertaining ways.
THE HE-MAN EFFECT: HOW AMERICAN TOYMAKERS SOLD YOUR CHILDHOOD HC
Written & Drawn by Box Brown
Published by First Second Books
In Shops: Jul 12, 2023
SRP: $26.99Brian “Box” Brown brings history and culture to life through his comics. In his next graphic novel, he unravels how marketing that targeted children in the 1980s has shaped adults in the present. Powered by the advent of television and super-charged by the deregulation era of the 1980s, media companies and toy manufacturers joined forces to dominate the psyches of American children. But what are the consequences when a developing brain is saturated with the same kind of marketing bombardment found in Red Scare propaganda? In The He-Man Effect, Brown shows us how corporate manipulation brought muscular, accessory-stuffed action figures to dizzying heights, bringing beloved brands like He-Man, Transformers, My Little Pony, and even Mickey Mouse himself into the spotlight.
4. The Riddle of Conan!
He’s traveled from Marvel to Dark Horse, back to Marvel, and now everyone’s favorite barbarian has settled at Titan Comics for his new adventures! Looks like Titan has kept the band together from the last incarnation, and they have every reason to do so. I only hope they give Dan Panosian a chance to do some Cimmerisn interiors because By Crom I find his JRJR-by-way-of-Buscema take (as seen in the chosen cover) an absolutely phenomenal fit.
Continued belowCONAN BARBARIAN #1
Written by Jim Zub
Drawn by Roberto de la Torre
Published by Titan Comics
In Shops: Jul 26, 2023
SRP: $3.99ROBERT E. HOWARD’S LEGENDARY CONAN IS BACK IN A NEW TALE OF BRAVERY AND HEROISM! CONAN THE BARBARIAN FCBD EDITION LEADS INTO THE DEBUT ISSUE!
Years after the battle of Venarium, a weary CONAN returns to his homeland to seek rest and solitude. However, a mysterious scout rides in to warn the Cimmerians of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will CONAN and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?
3. A Redball Adaptation
Simon’s Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is basically the reference ur-text for every police procedural you’ve loved in the last 30 years. And the reason for that is it’s just that horrifying good at capturing the life of a homicide detective, good and bad. I have no frame of reference for Squarzoni’s work that I can recall, but just on publisher pedigree alone this is a must-see.
HOMICIDE, PART 01 OGN
Written & Drawn by Philippe Squarzoni (based on the nonfiction novel by David Simon)
Published by First Second Books
In Shops: Jul 26, 2023
SRP: $29.99Homicide, the celebrated true crime-book from the creator of HBO’s The Wire, is reenvisioned in this first volume of a gritty, cinematic graphic novel duology. In 1988, journalist David Simon was given unprecedented access to the Baltimore Police Department’s homicide unit. Over the next twelve months, he shadowed detectives as they took on a slew of killings in a city where killings were common. Only the most heinous cases stood out-chief amongst them, the rape and murder of eleven-year-old Latonya Wallace. Originally published in 1991, Simon’s Homicide became the basis for the acclaimed television show Homicide: Life on the Streets and inspired HBO’s The Wire. Now, this true-crime classic is reimagined as a gritty two-part graphic novel series.
2. Those Men (And Women) In Their High-Flying Machines
Another Snyder/Dark Horse joint and the first of two unintentional aeronautically themed picks! This one gets a nod because (1) Tula Lotay, and (2) Scott Snyder period piece. Not that I would call the opening arc of American Vampire a romance, but it was very convincing in its depiction of turn-of-the-20th-century Los Angeles, so giving Snyder another shot at that era is a good thing. And although there are multiple cover choices for this comic, I went with the Johnson cover because Reverend Dave continues to absolutely kill it on that front.
BARNSTORMERS #1
Written by Scott Snyder
Drawn by Tula Lotay
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Jul 05, 2023
SRP: $5.99A high-flying, WWI adventure story that’s an intimate portrait of love and war-and a meditation on the dangerous level of trust required in both romance and aviation.
It’s 1918 early days of the barnstorming era, when pilots competed with each other by performing deadlier and more wondrous feats, as we’ve never seen it before. Pilot John Baron is back from the frontlines of the war, where he was injured. At eighteen-years-old, he’s an adventurer who lives his life traveling from town to town in his plane, entertaining folks across the country-most of whom have never seen a car, let alone a plane. His world changes when he meets Helen, a young woman who shares his passion for aviation and adventure. They become a traveling act, flying from town to town, delighting folks with their antics. Helen even becomes John’s wing-walker, climbing out on the wing of the plane mid-flight to perform death-defying acrobatics. Along the way they bond, confessing their secrets, and begin a romance in this lush, character-driven series that explores the early days of aviation and the evolving relationship and romance between two young pilots.
This Bonnie and Clyde romp brings together writer Scott Snyder (We Have Demons) and the breath-taking illustrations of Tula Lotay (Supreme: Blue Rose) – her longest sequential work to date.
1. Pretty Spry For A Dead Guy…
There’s a lot I could say about this first collection of the webcomic by Sierra Barnes, but rather than me yammering on about it here, why don’t you check out my Robots From Tomorrow interview with Sierra instead and hear her talk about it and its blending of history, fantasy, and myth in her own voice?
HANS VOGEL IS DEAD v1 TPB
Written & Drawn by Sierra Barnes
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Sep 20, 2023
SRP: $29.99There are some acts that can never truly be forgiven. It’s the height of WWII, and the Nazi forces are driving through Europe. Decorated German fighter pilot Hans Vogel follows orders and doesn’t ask questions. It’s worked out well for him… so far. But when his plane is shot down in the middle of an air raid over London, he is dead before he hits the ground. And that’s only the beginning of his problems. Sierra Barnes weaves a rich anti-fascist fairytale about the importance of recognizing past wrongs, even – especially – when it’s easier not to.
Be sure to let us know what books YOU’RE excited for in the Comments section!
