Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest,” where we try to summarize what’s coming your way from pretty much every other comic publisher besides Marvel, Dark Horse, DC, and Image.
Get your pull lists ready, it’s time to see all the other stuff going on in comics.
10. Lost Libraries and Secret Knowledge
Crop circles and treasure hunts, conspiracy theories and The Library of Alexandria. Sounds like the makings of a pretty fun adventure comic. I don’t know why this story had to be told at AfterShock or if that bodes well for the material, but hey, I’m always down for a cool classic pulpy adventure.
Beyonders #1
Written by Paul Jenkins
Illustrated by Wesley St. Claire
Published by AfterShock ComicsA young boy obsessed with crop circles and cryptography finds his boring life turned upside-down when he discovers that all of his conspiracy theories are true, sending him on the ultimate treasure hunt for an ancient secret spanning thousands of years. What is the connection between a lost mountaineer, an indecipherable manuscript, and the lost library of Alexandria? How is this connected to a one-eyed, flatulent Welsh Corgi and endless plates of corned beef sandwiches? Find out in…Beyonders!
From Paul Jenkins (ALTERS, Wolverine: Origin, Sentry) and Wesley St. Claire (FU JITSU, Teen Titans) comes the mystery series that HAD to be told at AFTERSHOCK!
9. Everyone Has Secrets, Some Just Have More of Them
A little thing like the creator’s death isn’t going to stop his estate or whatever from making sure we’re getting all our Lisbeth Salander. That being said, those novels are awful and have been stronger in literally every other medium they’ve appeared. This is a translation of a French comics sequel to the trilogy.
Millennium: The Girl Who Danced with Death
Written by Sylvain Runberg
Illustrated by Belen Ortega
Published by Titan ComicsSequel to and based on the novel trilogy by Stieg Larsson, this brand-new series continues Titan’s best-selling Millennium graphic novel saga. Lisbeth Salander returns in this gripping English translation of the French comics. This time around, we find Lisbeth preparing to hack a gigantic data centre and expose the Swedish secret service’s secret files. Unfortunately, nothing is simple, and Lisbeth once again finds herself in need of Mikael Blomkvist’s help when her friend Trinity is kidnapped. In a world of conspiracy and mistrust, their investigation soon leads them to the obscure group known only as ‘Sparta’…
8. Coma Diving
There’s an Inception sort of thing going on here, featuring military drug developer with the ability to enter comas and save them. The concept leaves a lot of room for Kasey Pierce and Sean Seal to play with the format, so here’s hoping they take advantage of that and turn in something weird and crazy.
Norah #1
Written by Kasey Pierce
Illustrated by Sean Seal
Published by Source Point PressNorah and her husband, Dr. James Seizhelm, developed a drug for an intergalactic branch of the military. It mimicked a synthetic genome, altering the DNA of the subject injected with the serum. It left James dead, and Norah with the ability to enter the minds of others. Now she makes her living as a coma-fisher, entering the minds of the comatose to either pull them out or send them to their death.
7. Bring on the Crystal Gems
I haven’t yet found the “Steven Universe” comic that really sours yet. The current ongoing has been fine, the miniseries from 2016 was fun, but none of them have reached the same heights as the former “Adventure Time” series. But I love Rebecca Sugar’s weird creation and I know I’m going to look at this. Because even if it isn’t great, it’ll probably at least be fun.
Continued belowSteve Universe Harmony #1
Written by Shane-Michael Vidaurri
Illustrated by Mollie Rose
Published by Boom! StudiosAs Steven helps Sadie cope with quitting her job at the Big Donut and losing Lars, Steven and the Gems must work together to deactivate an old Diamond Authority artifact called the Harmony Core before it destroys Earth.
6. Now, This is Comicking
A new “Love and Rockets” collection is always worth a mention. These Gilbert Hernandez stories are collected from the second volume of the long-running series.
Three Sisters: A Love and Rockets Book
Written and Illustrated by Gilbert Hernandez
Published by FantagraphicsHigh Soft Lisp, and more, the children are growing up and lovers have come and gone. Luba, Petra, and Fritz have all settled in Los Angeles are moving on to the next phases of their lives and careers. Venus shoots a backyard superhero movie, Fritz becomes a B movie actress, and children’s TV show host Doralis has the grandest of finales.
5. More Like Kiwisaurus
So this is like Hunt for the Wilderpeople except with comics. Apparently, “Blastosaurus” is huge in New Zealand and why wouldn’t it be? Mutant dinosaurs? Kid heroes? Sentient meatballs? I mean, just writing listing these things are making my imagination fly.
Blastosaurus #1
Written by Richard Fairgray and Paul Elding
Illustrated Richard Fairgray
Published by Golden Apple BooksNew Zealand’s #1 selling comic of all time is being relaunched as a brand new series in the US! Blastosaurus, a 6-foot-tall, mutant triceratops, aided by Tabitha Jones and Richard Green (the twelve-year-old sidekicks he never asked for) battles monsters, robots, sentient meatballs and whatever other weirdness Freak Out City can throw at him. This action/fantasy all-ages book is big, stupid fun, grounded by a real emotional core and the most human dinosaur you’ll ever meet! Perfect all-ages comic for fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Gravity Falls and Will Eisner’s The Spirit.
4. All Completely Beside Ourselves
This isn’t a new book but rather a new print of a 2006 comic from Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin. The pair have shown a dynamism with their other series, “Bandette,” which I’m sure is evident even here, on an earlier work from them.
Banana Sunday
Written by Paul Tobin
Illustrated by Colleen Coover
Published by Oni PressBanana Sunday, the classic story by Eisner Award-winning Bandette co-creators Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, is now presented in full color, with a brand-new introduction and bonus materials!
Kirby Steinberg is having a bit of trouble fitting into her new school. Sure, there’s the usual problems associated with being from “somewhere else,” but this time the new kid also happens to be the guardian for three talking primates. Chuck, the professorial orangutan. Knobby, the love-stricken spider monkey. Go-Go, the befuddled golden gorilla. These primates have learned to speak, thanks to the scientific processes of Kirby’s father. Or have they? What’s their real story? That’s what Nickels-Kirby’s new best friend and unfortunately dedicated school reporter-would like to discover. Can Kirby find time to develop a relationship with Martin, the dashing nerd? Steer clear of Skye, the high school’s #1 pillar of arrogance? Keep Knobby, Chuck and Go-Go from causing untold catastrophes? And, above all, will Kirby be able to hide the real origin of these three simians from Nickels? Oh, probably not.
3. Romantic Scoundrels Aplenty
Top Shelf has assembled a collection of material from Ignatz-winning cartoonist, Carolyn Nowak. Funny, honest, devastating, relatable, and true, Nowak constantly proves how well this medium lends itself toward delivering genuine emotion and empathy and understanding.
Continued belowGirl Town
Written and Illustrated by Carolyn Nowak
Published by Top Shelf (IDW)Diana got hurt-a lot-and she’s decided to deal with this fact by purchasing a life-sized robot boyfriend. Mary and La-La host a podcast about a movie no one’s ever seen. Kelly has dragged her friend Beth out of her comfort zone-and into a day at the fantasy market that neither of them will forget.
Girl Town collects the Ignatz Award-winning stories “Radishes” and “Diana’s Electric Tongue” together with several other tales of young adulthood and the search for connection. Here are her most acclaimed mini-comics and anthology contributions, enhanced with new colors and joined by brand-new work.
Bold, infatuated, wounded, or lost, Nowak’s girls shine with life and longing. Their stories-depicted with remarkable charm and insight-capture the spirit of our time.
2. Another Room to Check Into
A World War II Canadian deserter flees to his grandfather’s cabin. The isolation and guilt and overall loss continually weigh down on him in this expressionistic character study from Thomas Desaulniers-Brousseau and Simon Leclerc. Desaulniers-Brousseau has won all sorts of acclaim for his webcomic, “Boire du mercure.” This is his first published-in-print work and I’m certain he has a lot to prove.
Idle Days
Written by Thomas Desaulniers-Brousseau
Illustrated by Simon Leclerc
Published by First SecondDepressed and unmoored by his father’s violent death, and drafted into the Canadian military to serve in World War II, Jerome has fled, taking refuge in a cabin his grandfather owns in a remote part of the countryside. But Jerome’s troubles are only beginning. A strange dread fills the woods, and rumors of murders and ghosts cast his refuge in a sinister light. As Jerome struggles to come to terms with his father’s death, he obsessively seeks to uncover the mystery of what, exactly, happened in his grandfather’s house. Simon Leclerc’s haunting, expressionistic artwork brings to life a quiet, layered, and deeply literary story from writer Thomas Desaulniers-Brousseau, in a graphic novel that explores with tenderness and insight the wounds opened with the loss of a loved one.
1. Scout’s Honor
Yes, we all know “Grass Kings” is amazing. Yes, it’s likely this new series from Kindt and Jenkins will be great. Yes, it’s probably already on our pull lists.
Black Badge #1
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by Tyler Jenkins
Published by Boom! StudiosMatt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins, the team behind Grass Kings, reunite for a new ongoing series about a top-secret, elite branch of boy scouts tasked by the government to take on covert missions.
Among their organization, the Black Badges are the elite; the best of the best. They are feared even by the other badges. The missions they take are dangerous, and they will only get worse as their leader’s attention is split between their mission objectives and tracking down a lost team member. A team member who disappeared years ago, presumed dead.
A haunting look at foreign policy, culture wars and isolationism through the lens of kids who know they must fix the worlds that adults have broken.
Well, that was fun! And let me know what books YOU’RE excited for in the comments section.
