Solicitations hit last week so you know what time it is! As usual, we kick things off with the best that Dark Horse has to offer us. This May, there’s something for everyone including adult coloring books, big Hellboy books, superhero drama and even a biography. Let’s jump into this.
10. This Trend Is Still A Thing
It’s weird that this one is billed as an adult coloring book because even with more complicated images, it still feels like something that should be for kids. Regardless, this looks like fun and if you’re into these books, this looks like a good one.
Adventure Time Adult Coloring Book TP (advance solicit)
Ron Chan (A), Philip Murphy (A), Shelli Paroline Lamb (A), Braden Lamb (A), and Ian McGinty (A)
On sale Jul 25
b&w, 96 pages • $14.99 • TP, 10” x 10”
Join Finn and Jake to explore the Land of Ooo with the Adventure Time Adult Coloring Book! Dark Horse and Cartoon Network present this lively collection, celebrating the hit animated series! Featuring forty-five original and stunningly detailed black-and-white images for you to color, this collection is a must-have for fans near and far!
Includes 45 pieces of new, beautifully detailed black-and-white artwork!
9. Familiar Yet Interesting
I really like crime stories and pulp stories and based on the cover and the solicit, this sounds like something I will really enjoy. This was originally published through “Dark Horse Presents” and with that now gone, I like that Dark Horse is putting together some of the stories into collected editions.
Brooklyn Blood TP (advance solicit)
Paul Levitz (W) and Tim Hamilton (A/Cover)
On sale Jul 4
FC, 136 pages • $17.99 • TP, 7” x 10”
Fresh from the was in Afghanistan, detective Billy O’Connor tries to return to his normal routines despite his PTSD and severe hallucinations. Once he begins to work a gruesome homicide case, however, O’Connor has difficulty sorting out what’s real—and after he uncovers some strange clues, he’ll have to face the unthinkable to bring the killer to justice.
From New York Times Bestselling authors Paul Levitz and Tim Hamilton, this volume collects all sixteen chapters originally serialized in Dark Horse Presents!
8. “Black Hammer” Goes To Hell?
There’s not much left I can say about “Black Hammer.” It’s great and I am so excited about this new arc. This issue’s solicit sounds very different from what the first 12 issues gave us but that actually get me more hyped.
Black Hammer: Age of Doom #2
Jeff Lemire (W/Variant cover), Dean Ormston (A/Cover), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale May 23
FC, 32 pages • $3.99 • Ongoing
The Eisner Award-winning superhero saga returns!
As new Black Hammer Lucy Weber fights her way out of this gritty new dimension, she finds herself caught in Hell itself and up against trickster demons, Satan, and a bizarre emo god.
7. A Historical Mystery Deepens
I really dug the first issue of “Mata Hari.” It does this very non linear storytelling but it keeps Mata Hari at the center. It’s not a story that judges and it’s writer, Emma Beeby, has the credentials to back up the kind of research that goes into something like this. Kristantina’s art is so sexy but tasteful and captures the aesthetic of this era so well. It’s not the kind of comic that everyone will be into but I crave more biographies in comics so this is right up my alley.
Continued belowMata Hari #4 (of 5)
Emma Beeby (W), Ariela Kristantina (A/Cover), and Pat Masioni (C)
On sale May 30
FC, 32 pages • $3.99 • Miniseries
From Lady MacLeod to Lady Godiva. Mata Hari looks back at the death and despair that ravaged her life as a wife and young mother in the Dutch East Indies. After a few short years she leaves it all behind, changes her name, and heads to Paris, joining the Cirque. Mata Hari is born, and the world hasn’t seen anything like her before.
For mature readers.
6. The Most Accessible Of All The Mignola Books
I mean that. I think the Edward Grey books are the easiest part of the Mignolaverse to get into because it is often so removed from everything else. This is a new miniseries and I think it’ll be a great place to jump in. If you like stories featuring magic and mystery and like anything set in the Victorian Era, this is for you.
Witchfinder: The Gates of Heaven #1 (of 5)
Mike Mignola (W), Chris Roberson (W), D’Israeli (A/Cover), and Michelle Madsen (C)
On sale May 23
FC, 32 pages • $3.99 • Miniseries
A series of occult events mystifies the man known as the Witchfinder, but even more surprising is the revelation that he is not alone in exploring the paranormal in London. When a personal invitation arrives from the palace, Sir Edward Grey is pulled even deeper into underground supernatural exploration alongside new allies in the race to stop a mad scientist from destroying London in his pursuit of mystical power.
“Though the works and mythos of Mike Mignola are vast and complex, the Witchfinder franchise succeeds due to its accessibility.”—Newsarama
5. Movie Preparation
According to this solicit, this is the story the new Hellboy movie will be about and given the nature of this universe, this is a perfectly fine place to just jump in if you want to read something before that movie comes out. I haven’t physically seen any of these new omnibus editions yet but I know Dark Horse prints quality books so I have to believe that is the case here.
Hellboy Omnibus Volume 3: The Wild Hunt TP (advance solicit)
Mike Mignola (W/A/Cover), Duncan Fegredo (A), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Jul 18
FC, 416 pages • $24.99 • TP, 7” x 10”
The basis for the upcoming feature film Hellboy: The Rise of the Blood Queen!
Terrible powers determined to kill Hellboy force him strike a deal with the Russian witch, the Baba Yaga, and to confront the truth about his destiny. The human race hangs in the balance, as well as King Arthur’s sword Excalibur, in a story that wipes England off the map and sets in motion the end of the world …
Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo’s complete trilogy is collected for the first time in this 512-page volume, reprinting Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, and The Storm and the Fury, and the short story “The Mole.”
The four-volume Hellboy Omnibus series along with the two volumes of The Complete Short Stories collect all of Mignola’s award-winning Hellboy stories in chronological order for a definitive reading experience.
4. The Scoobies Ride Again
Dark Horse’s library editions are really gorgeous books and this month, you can officially pre-order the first part of season 10, which is a perfectly fine place to jump into the comic books. With a new miniseries coming up, this is the perfect time to do so and you’ll get a gorgeous book out of it.
Buffy Season 10 Library Edition Volume 1 HC (advance solicit)
Christos Gage (W), Nicholas Brendon (W), Rebekah Isaacs (A), Richard Corben (A), Karl Moline (P), Cliff Richards (P), Andy Owens (I), Dan Jackson (C), and Scott Fischer (Cover)
On sale Jul 4
FC, 260 pages • $29.99 • HC, 8” x 12”
Joss Whedon’s Buffy and the Scoobies are shocked to discover another new kind of vampire: harder to kill, able to transform, and walk in the light of day—like Dracula. If that weren’t enough, the rules of magic are literally being rewritten in the Vampyr book, making it a highly coveted item. As the crew feels the responsibility of protecting the book and writing the new rules, they are tempted by what new rules can do for them . . . just like the Big Bads who have come knocking on Buffy’s door!
Collects the first and second volumes of Buffy Season 10 in a deluxe format with sketchbook extras!
3. Look At This Cover
Continued below
No but really, look at this cover. “Blackwood” has a really cool premise and I’m really here for new Evan Dorkin. I’m especially here for Veronica Fish doing a series based in the supernatural.
Blackwood #1 (of 4)
Evan Dorkin (W), Veronica Fish (A/Cover), and Becky Cloonan (Variant cover)
On sale May 30
FC, 32 pages • $3.99 • Miniseries
From the multi-Eisner award-winning creator of Beasts of Burden and the artist of Archie and Slam comes this supernatural fantasy about a magical murder in a sorcery school.
When four teenagers with haunted pasts enroll in Blackwood College—a school that trains students in the occult—their desire to enhance their supernatural abilities and bond with others is hampered by an undead dean’s curse, ghosts in their dorm, a mischievous two-headed mummy-chimp, a plague of mutant insects, and the discovery of an ancient evil that forces our heroes to undergo a crash course in the occult for the sake of the world.
“Evan Dorkin knows comic timing. As a writer, he veers between the bombastic and cartoonish, or delves into a more complex psyche with insight and empathy.”—Paste Magazine
2. A Personal Favorite Returns
“Ether” was such a cool and interesting science fiction series that had so much more to give us. I’m so excited it’s back and I’m even more excited that David Rubin is still drawing it.
Ether: The Copper Golems #1 (of 5)
Matt Kindt (W), David Rubín (A/Cover), and Paul Pope (Variant cover)
On sale May 16
FC, 32 pages • $3.99 • Miniseries
Matt Kindt! David Rubín!
From New York Times bestselling Mind MGMT creator Matt Kindt and Black Hammer’s David Rubín comes this fantasy adventure about a science-minded hero intent on keeping the balance between Earth and a magic world!
Portals between Earth and the Ether begin to crack open unleashing devastating magical fury on our planet and only adventurer Boone Dias can seal the breaches. In order to put an end to this chaos, Boone recruits a powerful team of mystical beings including a grumpy, spell-writing fairy; a bickering, lavender gorilla; and a bull-headed, motorcycling spell-hacker. Black These heroes set off on a journey taking the reader through the center of volcanoes, deserts full of living mummies and sphinxes, and a bizarre fairy forest in an effort to save both worlds from complete destruction!
“Deftly written alt-SF/Fantasy, fun, freaky, and fantastic-looking. Ether is a knock-out.” —Evan Dorkin
“Incredibly imaginative.” —Comics Beat
1. He’s Baaaaaack
Yes friends, Hellboy is back from Hell and death and it’s a pretty big surprise for everyone. What will the B.P.R.D. look like now that he’s back? Who knows, but this is one of the biggest issues from any publisher in May and that’s why it lands in the top spot.
B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know #6
Mike Mignola (W/Variant cover), Scott Allie (W), Sebastián Fiumara (A/Cover), Dave Stewart (C), and Max Fiumara (Cover)
On sale May 9
FC, 32 pages • $3.99 • Ongoing
Hellboy is back on earth, and the B.P.R.D. struggles to understand his unwillingness to hunt the demon threatening to turn the earth in to a literal Hell.
What are you looking forward to in May? Let me know in the comments and check out the full solicitations over at CBR.
