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Soliciting Multiversity: Dark Horse’s Top 10 in January 2018

By | October 23rd, 2017
Posted in Columns | % Comments

Solicitations hit last week so you know what that means! It’s time for Soliciting Multiversity, our monthly look at the best that each publisher has to offer. As usual, we kick things off with Dark Horse. To start off the year, Anthony Bourdain makes another journey into comic books, new series get started and a great Game of Thrones figure comes out. Let’s jump into this month’s picks.

10. The One Guy Who Will Probably Make It Out Alive

I love Tyrion Lannister and I think he’ll be one of the few main characters to make it out of this show alive. Dark Horse has done an amazing job with these figures. The details are great and the size is kind of a steal for this price.

Game of Thrones: Tyrion Lannister Hand of the Queen Figure (advance solicit)
On sale Apr 18
5 3/4” tall from the base
$29.99
Tyrion Lannister has faced an unsteady and turbulent journey thus far, from narrowly escaping execution to travelling the seas of the known world and helping to bring a new way of life to the city of Meereen. He now sides with Daenerys Targaryen as her appointed hand of the Queen, her closest advisor for the coming wars. This highly detailed figure shows Tyrion displaying his well-earned pin as he contemplates his next move in the great Game of Thrones.

9. New Series Alert

Dark Horse has had a strong 2017 but a lot of that strength has come down to already established properties. “Vinegar Teeth” is a completely brand new series and when it comes to Dark Horse, that’s a fairly big deal. The premise is absolutely Dark Horse all the way and I hope that it gets a chance to run its course as a miniseries without going digital only halfway through as some other series have.

Vinegar Teeth #1
Damon Gentry (W), Troy Nixey (A/Cover), and Dave McCaig (C)
On sale Jan 24
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
As a human being, Artie Buckle is a grade-A schmuck. But he’s a pretty damn fine cop. Good thing, because Brick City is under siege from its citizenry and only an unlikely partnership with a mysterious, tentacled, extra-dimensional being can put an end to the escalating crime problem. Thing is, there’s a danger far greater than cub scouts robbing banks . . . oh my! Across space and time lies a far greater threat, not only to Brick City but to the world! Holy crap! Can the two get past their differences and save the planet? Well, of course they can, but getting there is gonna be a helluva fun ride.
• An epic genre mash-up: horror, humor, crime, and science fiction!

8. Creator Owned Palmiotti

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are leaving “Harley Quinn” and via Twitter, Palmiotti has stated that 2018 will be more focused on his creator owned work instead of work for hire. This is a collection of some reprints with a brand new story and I think this is a good tease of what’s to come from him next year. I will admit, outside of his DC work, I don’t think I can name anything so I’m willing to give this a shot.

Cell Block Earth and Other Stories TP (advance solicit)
Jimmy Palmiotti (W), Justin Gray (W), Juan Santacruz (A/C), Andy Kuhn (A), Tony Akins (A), John Rauch (C), Paul Mounts (C), and Dave Johnson (Cover)
On sale Mar 21
FC, 112 pages
$17.99
TP, 7″ x 10″
The Powerhouse writing team of Jonah Hex and Power Girl reunite for an invasion of alien criminals, a fighting ring of monsters, and giant sea creatures.
Jimmy Palmiotti (Harley Quinn, Starfire) and Justin Gray (G.I. Combat, All-star Western) present Wrestling With Demons and The Deep Sea from Dark Horse Presents, and the brand new story Cell Block Earth.

7. Remember When This Was a Thing?

I just got through reading the “Art of Overwatch” and oh my god that was beautiful. If you’re really into these specific properties, these books are absolutely worth while. I don’t think I’ve ever played these games but I remember this being a thing for a little while and so it deserves a spot on this list.

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The Crash Bandicoot Files: How Willy the Wombat Sparked Marsupial Mania HC (advance solicit)
Jason Rubin (W) and Andy Gavin (W)
On sale Mar 20
FC, 200 pages
$29.99
HC, 8 1/2″ x 11″
Take a rare glimpse into the making of a videogame icon, and gain a first-hand taste of the creativity that brought Crash Bandicoot to millions of screens around the world! This deluxe hardcover reproduction of Naughty Dog’s original Crash Bandicoot developer’s bible is sure to please all who possess a curiosity surrounding the creation of games!
• A fantastic companion to the recently remastered Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy!
• Rarely seen assets from early in the iconic game’s development!

6. JFK Conspiracy Theory Mania

One of the weirdest things in American pop culture and history are the conspiracies surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy. There have been dozens of books devoted to telling us some kind of version of what happened and this year, the JFK Files are set to be released. That makes now a perfect time to reprint this series. I’m unfamiliar with the creative team and had not heard of this book until this week but it might be worth checking out.

Badlands TP (Second edition) (advance solicit)
Steven Grant (W), Vince Giarrano (A), and Tim Bradstreet (Cover)
On sale Mar 14
FC, 144 pages
$17.99
TP, 7″ x 10″
Conrad “Connie”Bremen is an ex-con carrying the stench of a sordid, secret past. Connie just wants to get on with his life, but he’s attracting the attention of all the wrong people: the mob, the CIA, and the FBI, just to name a few. They all have plans for Connie, whether he likes it or not—and some of those plans include the murder of a president. For Connie Bremen, the road to Dallas begins and ends here, in the Badlands.
• This second edition features a brand new cover, illustrated by Tim Bradstreet!
• From Steven Grant (2 Guns, The Rook) and Vince Giarrano (Terminator)!

5. The First Spin Off Ends

The first issue of “Sherlock Frankenstein” came out this week and it was even better than I could have imagined. It’s doing something really important to “Black Hammer” as a whole and building up more of this massive universe the series takes place in. I’m excited to see how this miniseries ends and how it all relates back to the farm.

Sherlock Frankenstein & The Legion of Evil #4 (of 4)
Jeff Lemire (W), David Rubín (A/Cover), and Jeff Lemire (Variant cover)
On sale Jan 24
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
Lucy’s search for her missing father—the famed super hero the Black Hammer—leads her to his greatest enemy of all: SHERLOCK FRANKENSTEIN!

4. More Adventures In Hell

What’s always been great about the Hellboy universe is how many stories Mike Mignola has set up to exists within it. While Hellboy’s story is done, there’s so much to still look at within Hell itself and that’s what this series will do. Also, we get more Ben Stenbeck art and that’s a good thing.

Koshchei the Deathless #1 (of 6)
Mike Mignola (W/Cover), Ben Stenbeck (A), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Jan 10
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
Sent to kill Hellboy by the Baba Yaga in Darkness Calls, Koshchei the Deathless hinted at a long and tragic life before being enslaved to the Russian witch. Now Koshchei relives every horrible act on his road to immortality and beyond, with none other than Hellboy himself—in Hell.
Mignola returns to Hell and to the bizarre folklore that’s filled some of his greatest books, reuniting with one of his favorite collaborators, Ben Stenbeck (FrankensteinUnderground, Witchfinder: In The Service of Angels, Baltimore).

3. A Collection Worthy Enough For Eisner 

This is a really, really fancy and expensive set but I think Eisner fanatics will love this. It’s one of his most well known stories and this really goes all out to make it look as great as it possibly can. It’s pricey but imagine how beautiful it’d look as part of your collection.

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Will Eisner’s A Contract with God Curator’s Collection HC & Ltd. Ed. HC (advance solicit)
Will Eisner (W/A), Dave Gibbons (W), Denis Kitchen (W), ad John Lind (W)
On sale Mar 28
b&w, 400 pages
$195.00
HC, 10” x 13″
Will Eisner’s A Contract with God—one of the most influential graphic novels of all time—reproduced at 1:1 size from the original art! This deluxe slipcase, two-volume hardcover set contains full-size, full-color reproductions of Eisner’s unpublished pencil layouts in one volume and his finished inked pages in the companion volume!
• The limited edition Collector’s item will be limited to 125 copies only, and includes a signed tip-in sheet from Will Eisner’s archives and sports a unique variant slipcase design.

2. Back…With A Vengeance

I find the history of “The Paybacks” kind of amazing. It was first published by Dark Horse Comics, along with Cates’ other series “Ghost Fleet” but even though it got a lot of great reviews, it still didn’t last long. It went to Heavy Metal and was barely publicized and now the full collection will be put out by Dark Horse, early next year. Donny Cates is absolutely a name now in comics and I wonder if we’ll see this publicized more than it was when it was running. I certainly hope so cause it was great. So was “The Ghost Fleet”, “Buzzkill” and literally everything else Cates has written.

The Paybacks TP (advance solicit)
Donny Cates (W), Eliot Rahal (W), and Geoff Shaw (A)
On sale Mar 28
FC, 192 pages
$24.99
TP, 7″ x 10″
Heroism doesn’t come cheap, so when superheroes borrow money to finance their genetic enhancements or crime-fighting supercomputers, their debts make student loans look like I.O.U.s! Enter the Paybacks, a repo squad composed of bankrupt former heroes here to foreclose on everybody’s secret lairs! Collects The Paybacks Volume 1 from Dark Horse Comics and The Paybacks Volume 2 published by Heavy Metal.
• From the team that delivered the smash-hit God Country and critically acclaimed Buzzkill!

1. The Most Newsworthy

So here’s the thing, I don’t actually like Anthony Bourdain. In fact, I find most of the chefs that are super famous really, really, REALLY annoying. The exception is Guy Fieri because he is actually good. This gets the #1 spot because it’s the most newsworthy. Bourdain is a big name to a lot of people and it’s also one of the first series running in Karen Berger’s new imprint.

Hungry Ghosts #1 (of 5)
Anthony Bourdain (W), Joel Rose (W), Alberto Ponticelli (A), Vanesa Del Rey (A), Jose Villarrubia (C), and Paul Pope (Cover)
On sale Jan 31
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
On a dark, haunted night, a Russian oligarch dares a circle of international chefs to play the samurai game of 100 Candles—where each storyteller spins a terrifying tale of ghosts, demons and unspeakable beings—and prays to survive the challenge.
Inspired by the Japanese Edo period game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, Hungry Ghosts reimagines the classic stories of yokai, yorei, and obake, all tainted with the common thread of food.
First course: With bad consequence, a ramen chef refuses to help a beggar, and a band of pirates get more (and less) than they were bargaining for after their encounter with a drowning woman turns ghastly.
Hungry Ghosts is cooked up by the infamous author and chef, Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential, Emmy-Award winning TV star of Parts Unknown) and acclaimed novelist Joel Rose (Kill, Kill, Faster, Faster, back again from their New York Times #1 best seller, Get Jiro!). Joining them this issue are stellar artists Alberto Ponticelli and Vanesa Del Rey, with amazing color by Jose Villarrubia, and a drop-dead cover by Paul Pope.

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments and read the full solicits over at Newsarama.


//TAGS | Soliciting Multiversity

Jess Camacho

Jess is from New Jersey. She loves comic books, pizza, wrestling and the Mets. She can be seen talking comics here and at Geeked Out Nation. Follow her on Twitter @JessCamNJ for the hottest pro wrestling takes.

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