Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest” of what’s coming your way in the now-available July 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 September 2023 (and probably beyond). 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. Art & Commerce Collide . . . In Style!
There’s nothing inherently wrong with licensed comics. G. I. Joe, for example, has been a war comics juggernaut long after the long-term viability of that genre has vanished in no small part to the toy giant Hasbro continuing to fund Larry Hama’s adventures with their product. So a comic kicked off by a clothing brand my uncool ass has never heard of is not a turn off for me. And when those designer dollars are putting Dan Schkade and Brennan Wagner in charge of it? That’s a really smart choice.
SAINT JOHN #1
(W) Dan Schkade, Brennan Wagner, Portland Gear
(A) Dan Schkade
(CA) Matt Wagner
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Sep 13, 2023
SRP: $3.99
Cynical Manhattan writer Tori Slate travels to Portland, Oregon, to track down the enigmatic Saint John – a masked man who roams the city doing good deeds for strangers, appearing at random and vanishing without a trace. Who is he? Why does he do it? And what is his seemingly supernatural connection to the City of Roses? Tori aims to put these questions to the man himself . . . unaware that the answers will change her life forever.
A distinctly PDX miniseries from Eisner-nominated cartoonist Dan Schkade (Lavender Jack, The Spirit) and Portland native creator Brennan Wagner (Grendel, Batman), produced with – and featuring the fashion of – Portland Gear.
• In a partnership with groundbreaking clothing brand, Portland Gear, Dark Horse Comics is proud to present the Rose City’s very own superhero, Saint John!
9. Death Trades A Scythe For A Picketing Sign!
This one came completely out of the blue to me, but that solicitation and the cover art hooked me (definitely a running theme for this column)! This is the first of two “untold” works being features this month, another type of comic I’m a sucker for.
DEATH STRIKES: THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS HC
(W) Dave Maass
(A) Patrick Lay, Ezra Rose, Richard Bruning
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Jan 24, 2024
SRP: $24.99
Mixing dystopian sci-fi, mythic fantasy, and zombie horror, Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis, is a graphic novel based on a suppressed opera written in 1943 by Peter Kien and Viktor Ullmann, two prisoners at the Terez n concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The authors did not live to see their masterpiece performed.
Set in an alternative universe where Atlantis never sank but instead became a technologically advanced tyranny, the power-mad buffoonish Emperor declares all-out war – everyone against everyone. Death goes on a labor strike, creating a hellscape where everyone fights, but no one dies. Can the spirit of Life stop this terror with the power of love?
Includes designs from the original opera, historical essays, photographs, and more.
8. Horror Needs No Translation . . .
. . . But thankfully the folks at Dark Horse have given us one of the next Gou Tanabe x HP Lovecraft adaptation. I’m a fan of Lovecraft adaptations in general, possibly more than his original work. It’s fascinating how other creators can boil away his excesses into potent brews of their own while still feeling like Lovecraft (I’m looking at you INJ Culbard!). I also really dug Tanabe’s 2-part At The Mountains of Madness adaptation, so looks like it’s time to clear off space next to it on the shelf!
Continued belowHP LOVECRAFT’S THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH GN
(W) Gou Tanabe
(A) Gou Tanabe
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Nov 15, 2023
SRP: $29.99
A new manga adaptation of the only H.P. Lovecraft story published as a book during his lifetime, by modern horror master Gou Tanabe! In the winter of 1927-28, the isolated coastal settlement of Innsmouth, Massachusetts was assaulted by U.S. government agents, its waterfront burned and dynamited, its people taken away to internment camps. Yet that was neither the beginning nor the end of the horror uncovered by a young antiquarian who traveled to Innsmouth in search of rumors from the town’s dead past, only to find them still very much alive… and find truths lying under water deeper and colder than any earthly grave! This book includes a tip-in title page in silver ink and 12 pages in full color!
7. Unwanted . . . Until Now!
I’m stacking this one right next to It Rhymes With Lust in my head as another surprise mature work from a Silver Age comics writer during their heyday that could have lead to a completely different career path if it had been acknowledged at the time (or even published!). That book had Doom Patrol‘s Arnold Drake, another DC writer and contemporary to Binder. Also, Angelo Torres! Bravo, Fantagraphics!
FANTAGRAPHICS UNDERGROUND: THE UNWANTED HC
(W) Otto Binder
(A) Angelo Torres, Stefan Koidl
Published by Fantagraphics Books
In Shops: Aug 30, 2023
SRP: $25.00
The Unwanted is Otto Binder’s response to the 1950s McCarthy era of paranoia and intolerance, couched in metaphorical science fiction terms. A civilization of “Mastermen” rules the galactic empire and must evaluate citizens of the various planets for inclusion into an imperial congress. Membership means access to technology, prosperity and protection. We learn the priorities and values of these visitors and why, in evaluating this planet, the Mastermen find a world shockingly different from their own.
Written in the 1950s and never before published, this edition pays homage to Binder’s comics career by enlisting the collaborative talents of Angelo Torres – who, with Al, Williamson and Roy Krenkel, illustrated Binder’s EC story “Lost in Space” in 1955 – and Austrian sculptor, speed painter, and digital artist Stefan Koidl, to illustrate it. The result is a stunning tribute to Binder’s lifelong commitment to comics and prose.
6. Growing Up In The King’s Kingdom!
Another WTF pick that I just had to include due to sheer weirdness. The paucity of information on the originating film (I can’t even find a trailer online) only adds to the mystique. I’m 99% sure this isn’t a joke like Peter Jackson’s Forgotten Silver, but even if it is, you’ll get a hell of a nice coffee table book our of it!
FANTAGRAPHICS UNDERGROUND: TEENAGE TUPELO HC
(W) Mike McCarthy
(A) Mike McCarthy
Published by Fantagraphics Books
In Shops: Sep 06, 2023
SRP: $75.00
In 1995 Something Weird Video released filmmaker John Michael McCarthy’s Elvis-obsessed auto-bio bump and grind cinematic oddity TEENAGE TUPELO, co-produced by exploitation king David F. Friedman. Memphis instrumental combo Impala provided the scintillating score set to the swaying rhythms of starlet D’Lana Tunnell, produced by legendary Sun records-era Roland Janes and released on Sympathy for the Record Industry. Now Fantagraphics Books unleashes this mammoth coffee table volume: a nudie cutie time capsule of art, essays, and reviews, along with photos of the beautiful starlets who appeared in the movie.
5. Before Marvel . . . There Was Atlas!
I’m actually thrilled Fantagraphics is curating this work instead of Marvel proper. Not that they COULDN’T do a good job with it, but I always seem to enjoy retrospectives more when they’re put together by someone OTHER than the license holder. Kinda like how Criterion Collection discs always give you a more well-rounded look at a film and its context than the studio release. And using their EC Library as a guide, Fanta’s gonna do a great job with this. Make Mine Atlas!
Continued belowADVENTURES INTO TERROR HC VOL 01
(W) Various
(A) Various
Published by Fantagraphics Books
In Shops: Sep 13, 2023
SRP: $34.99
Fantagraphics is embarking on a project to reprint Marvel Comics’ 1950s genre titles – war, crime, supernatural, funny animal, Western – under its new Atlas series with the first eight issues of the pre-Code horror series Adventures Into Terror.
Atlas holds a special place among aficionados of the genre, producing more horror titles and issues by far, than anyone in the industry. While the quality of E.C.’s six horror/sci-fi titles was unsurpassed with their elite cadre of talent, Atlas was the equivalent of the B-movies studio, churning out anywhere from 8 to 12 different horror titles a month, giving a wider array of artists, including some of the best craftsmen of the era, a chance to show off their talents: in addition to those already mentioned, future volumes will include works by Bill Everett, John Romita, Bernie Krigstein, Jerry Robinson, Harry Anderson, and Matt Fox. Stories from Marvel’s Atlas line have barely been reprinted.
The Fantagraphics Atlas Comics Library is the first attempt to publish a carefully curated line of Atlas titles. Our first volume, Adventures Into Terror, includes a treasure trove of stories drawn by many of the most stylistically accomplished artists of the Golden Age including George Tuska, Carl Burgos, Mike Sekowsky, Joe Maneely, Basil Wolverton, and Joe Sinnott. Highlights include Russ Heath’s twopart story “The Brain” from issue #4 and “Return of the Brain” from issue #6; Basil Wolverton’s classic “Where Monsters Dwell” from issue #7; Gene Colan’s moody “House of Horror” in issue #3; and Don Rico’s wild layouts are on display from #4’s “The Torture Room.” The stories are written firmly in the tradition of the pulpy, perverse, borderline deranged style that brought Fredric Wertham, the United States Senate Sub-Committee, and public opinion down like a sledgehammer on comics in the early ’50s.
4. The Rabbit Returns!
I’m actually not 100% sure this is the first Usagi comic since his return to Dark Horse, but it sure feels like a new beginning with Sakai homaging his own Usagi Yojimbo Volume 3 #1 cover for this issue. Beyond that, it’s new Usagi comics – what more do you need to know?
USAGI YOJIMBO: ICE & SNOW #1
(W/A/CA) Stan Sakai
Published by Dark Horse Comics
In Shops: Sep 13, 2023
SRP: $4.99
Usagi and his cousin Yukichi are still in the snowy mountaintops of Northern Japan, following Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo story arc, “The Green Dragon.” They are led to the hut of a strange woman hermit who allows them to spend the night. Meanwhile, the maniacal Jei and his familiar, Keiko, are on Usagi’s trail when they stumble upon a bandit lair and subdue the band of cutthroats and thieves.
3. Ecstatic For Statics!
Yeah, ya got me with the All-Star Comics homage cover. But Fanta doesn’t do ongoing series all that often, so when they do, it’s enough to keep an eye on it. Especially since they’re usually single cartoonist anthologies like this. It’s fun to see how many different directions each creator can stretch themselves in a single issue.
STATICS #2
(W/A/CA) Jeffrey Lewis
Published by Fantagraphics Books
In Shops: Sep 06, 2023
SRP: $5.00
Indie-comix fiction and non-fiction short stories, with some unexpected overlaps, written and drawn in a 90s style by musical cult figure Jeffrey Lewis. The lushly illustrated “Dad’s Boat Story” Mexican 1960s adventure from last issue is radically revised in “Mom’s Version.” Meanwhile a pantheon of cosmic deities debate the use of Instagram, some teenage superheroes debate what to do about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a subterranean monster is frustrated by a dating app and autobio comix try to stay positive. Movies move, statics don’t!
2. Art For The Starving Artist’s Price Range!
I happen to have the full Artist Edition of this book (hate the game, not the player) but I’m probably going to puck up this version as well to have as a more-manageable alternative or, more likely, a loaner copy. The original is GORGEOUS, and even though the Artisan Edition is a smaller trim size (think 8×10 instead of 12×18), it’s still big enough to let you pour over the Sienkiewicz of it all.
BILL SIENKIEWICZ’S MUTANTS & MOON KNIGHTS ARTISAN ED
(W) Frank Miller, Doug Moench, Chris Claremont
(A/CA) Bill Sienkiewicz
Published by IDW Publishing
In Shops: Sep 20, 2023
SRP: $39.99
Bill Sienkiewicz is renowned for his work on some of Marvel’s most iconic comics of the 1980s: Moon Knight, The New Mutants, Elektra: Assassin, and more. This collection is filled with some of his finest covers, pin-ups, and pages. Included in this Artisan Edition is the oversized first issue of Elektra: Assassin, written by Frank Miller, as well as many gorgeous pages from that acclaimed series. All have been meticulously scanned from the original art and reproduced to the exacting Artist’s Edition standards. While appearing to be in black and white, these images have been scanned in color, allowing the reader to view them as closely as possible to the original art. Ink gradients, blue pencil, corrections, and more are all clearly visible, all the wonderful subtle nuances that make original art so special and unique.
1. To The Fore!
There’s absolutely no way I wasn’t going to put a new Walt Simonson Artist Edition at the top of this list. This is Simonson at some of his most bonkers, including some Kirby-esque collage work for extradimensional excitement, so I cannot wait to get this in my hands to relive the awesome . . . at giant suze!
WALTER SIMONSON’S FANTASTIC FOUR ARTISTS ED
(W/A/CA) Walt Simonson
Published by IDW Publishing
In Shops: Sep 13, 2023
SRP: $150.00
Simonson’s groundbreaking work on Fantastic Four and other Marvel titles helped revolutionize the comics medium and his work is on full display here in all its original, high-resolution glory! Collecting eight complete stories from Walter Simonson’s run on The Fantastic Four, #337-341 and #353-354, story and art by Simonson. An Artist’s Edition publishes scans of original art at a high resolution and prints it at the same size it was drawn. While appearing to be in black and white, these images were scanned in color, allowing the viewer the best possible look at the artist’s intentions: You are able to see blue pencil notations, corrections, margin notes, and all the little nuances that make original art so unique and special.
Be sure to let us know what books YOU’RE excited for in the Comments section!
