Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest,” where we try to summarize what’s coming your way this September 2019. We’ve already looked at DC, Marvel, Image, and manga offerings. Now let’s check out what else the Previews Catalogue has in store!
Get your pull lists ready because September has a lot of great stuff slated to come out.
10. Sluggo is Lit
Olivia Jaimes brought a breath of fresh air to this classic comic strip. She kept the core elements of the character yet updated the world and perspective for the 21st century. In this way, Jaimes has shown it is possible to keep an 86-year-old character active and relevant without sacrificing everything that made them so enduring. This collection covers the first nine months of Jaimes’s tenure.
Nancy by Olivia Jaimes Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Olivia Jaimes
Published by AMP AdultIn 2018, Olivia Jaimes became the first woman to write and illustrate the classic comic strip Nancy. Her fresh, irreverent take on the classic comic strip has become a sensation with readers and has earned praise from dozens of media outlets, several of which have named it the best comic of the year. This hardcover collection includes the first nine months of Jaimes’ run on Nancy, along with an introduction, essay, interview with the author, and a special gallery of Nancy fan art by the author.
9. A Far Out Fairy Tale
Louise Simonson is a treasure of comics. Her presence alone should make this classic fairy tale retelling worth checking out. Add Otis Frampton, of “Oddly Normal” fame, to the mix, and it seems like this thing oozes delight.
Beauty and the Dreaded Sea Beast
Written by Louise Simonson
Illustrated by Otis Frampton
Published by Stone Arch BooksBeauty is sailing the ocean when pirates attack and her dad is thrown overboard. Just as he sinks beneath the waves, something horrible rises–a kraken! Without hesitation, Beauty makes a deal to become the giant squid’s prisoner if it rescues her dad. But as Beauty explores the island she’s now marooned on, the girl discovers secret treasure that may hold the key to saving herself . . . and the sea beast. Experience Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s classic “The Beauty and the Beast” like never before in this graphic novel retelling for kids. Each Far Out Fairy Tales adventure includes info on the original tale, a guide to the story’s twists, and visual discussion questions to critically engage readers.
8. The Smartest Kid in the World
This sounds like vintage Ware, structure shattering and graphically immersive. It’s also his first major work since 2012’s “Building Stories.” Ware’s been working with the character for years in his “Acme Novelty Library,” and now has the first part of the series ready for book form.
Rusty Brown
Written and Illustrated by Chris Ware
Published by Pantheon BooksA major graphic novel event more than 16 years in progress. Rusty Brown is a fully interactive, full-color articulation of the time-space interrelationships of three complete consciousnesses in the first half of a single midwestern American day and the tiny piece of human grit about which they involuntarily orbit. A sprawling, special snowflake accumulation of the biggest themes and the smallest moments of life, Rusty Brown literately and literally aims at nothing less than the coalescence of one half of all of existence into a single museum-quality picture story, expertly arranged to present the most convincingly ineffable and empathetic illusion of experience for both life-curious readers and traditional fans of standard reality. From childhood to old age, no frozen plotline is left unthawed in the entangled stories of a child who awakens without superpowers, a teen who matures into a paternal despot, a father who stores his emotional regrets on the surface of Mars and a late-middle-aged woman who seeks the love of only one other person on planet Earth.
7. Is There Anybody Out There?
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Tillie Walden is one of the busiest and most prolific cartoonists working right now. Her books are enormous, filled with grand visions and even bigger emotions. Her work consistently strikes the best chords and resonates beyond the page. No wonder First Second are doubling down with her.
Are You Listening?
Written and Illustrated by Tillie Walden
Published by First SecondFor fans of Speak and We Are Okay, this is an intimate and emotionally soaring story about friendship, grief, and healing from Eisner Award winner Tillie Walden. Bea is on the run. And then, she runs into Lou. The duo embarks on a long drive to nowhere, but strange happenings-some whimsical, some terrifying-seem to follow them no matter where they go. Bea and Lou are both looking for something on the road, and the journey itself may turn out to be exactly what they need. This magical realistic adventure is rich with suspense and heartbreak; startling revelations about betrayal, sexual assault, and death; and exquisite examples of deeply human connections that will stay with readers long after the final gorgeously illustrated page. Available in softcover and hardcover editions.
6. Party at 1600
It’s all about the creative team on this one. Zarcone is capable of creating some mind-bending yet still decipherable images while Visaggio continues to enjoy a strong string of comics work. Here’s hoping this captures their punk sensibility and high octane energy.
Marilyn Manor
Written by Magdalene Visaggio
Illustrated by Marley Zarcone
Published by IDW PublishingWhere were you in ’81? Politics gets a taste of punk, new wave, and new romantic as First Daughter Marilyn Kelleher is about to throw the ultimate rager at the White House in this rollicking, coming-of-age graphic novel. When the White House goes dark for 17 days in August, the President’s rebellious daughter Marilyn and her best friend Abe, who claims she’s possessed by the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, throw a rager at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, unearthing long dead historical figures (like Lincoln and Marilyn Monroe) and government secrets that are better off buried.
5. Boyscout’n
Thompson returns to non-fictional terrirtory for his first ongoing series. A new Craig Thompson comic is always an event. His pages flow with life and energy and passion for the medium. I’m interested in finding out why he decided to approach this in a serialized format and how that choice plays out for the whole story.
Ginseng Roots #1
Written and Illustrated by Craig Thompson
Published by Uncivilized ComicsFrom ages 10 to 20, Craig Thompson (the author of Blankets) and his little brother Phil, toiled in Wisconsin farms. Weeding and harvesting ginseng-a medicinal herb that fetched huge profits in China-funded Craig’s youthful obsession with comic books. Now, for the first time in his career, Thompson is working in serial form, in a bimonthly comic book series. Part memoir, part travelogue, part essay, all comic book, Ginseng Roots explores class divide, agriculture, holistic healing, the 300 year long trade relationship between China and North America, childhood labor, and the bond between two brothers.
4. Lemire County Continues
Jeff Lemire comes at us with a new graphic novel. This one feels like it’s from the same part of his brain as “The Underwater Welder” to me. It also sounds like an ideal autumn book, creepy yet eye-catching.
Continued belowFrogcatchers
Written and Illustrated by Jeff Lemire
Published by Gallery 13Experience a surreal descent into one man’s psychosis in this haunting and chilling graphic novel from Jeff Lemire, the New York Times-bestselling author of Roughneck and Sweet Tooth. A man wakes up alone in a strange room with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. The padlocked doors and barren lobby reinforce the strangeness of this place. This is, as he reads from an old-fashioned keychain beside his bed, the Edgewater Hotel. Even worse, something ominous seems to be lurking in one of the rooms. But when he meets a young companion-the only other soul in this vast, enveloping emptiness-his new friend begs him not to unlock the door. There must be something behind it…but what?
3. Into the Ether Again
“Ether”‘s back! Kindt and Rubín’s imaginations soar in this adventure series. Both creators have played off each other wonderfully in the previous two series and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue now.
Ether: The Disappearence of Violet Bell
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by David Rubín
Published by Dark Horse ComicsFrom New York Times-bestselling Mind MGMT creator Matt Kindt and Black Hammer’s David Rubín comes the third installment of this fantasy adventure that’s Sherlock Holmes meets Dr. Seuss.
The Faerie King’s daughter is missing, and only portal jumper Boone Dias can track her down. Jumping from one magical crime scene to another, he uncovers a bizarre plot featuring assassin eggs, weird pirates, ice deserts, and more noir absurdities.
2. Raina Telgemier
The biggest name in comics returns. Telgemier continues her track toward Schulz level of notability. We could shake our heads at it, but Telgemier’s work is heartfelt, funny, and wonderful. There’s a reason it’s connected so hard.
Guts
Written and Illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
Published by GraphixA true story from Raina Telgemeier, the #1 New York Times-bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning author of Smile, Sisters, Drama, and Ghosts! Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it’s probably just a bug. Raina eventually returns to school, where she’s dealing with the usual highs and lows: friends, not-friends, and classmates who think the school year is just one long gross-out session. It soon becomes clear that Raina’s tummy trouble isn’t going away… and it coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships. What’s going on? Raina Telgemeier once again brings us a thoughtful, charming, and funny true story about growing up and gathering the courage to face and conquer her fears.
1. In the Hall of the Mountain King
Look, I could have put almost any of the last five books could at the top of this list. That is, until I saw Nobrow announced the latest “Hilda” book. Then all bets were off.
Hilda and the Mountain King
Written and Illustrated by Luke Pearson
Published by Nobrow/Flying Eye BooksThe newest book in the beloved Hilda series continues the action-packed adventures with our beloved Hilda stuck in the body of a troll trying to save all of human and troll-kind! We rejoin our heroine for her latest adventure just as she awakes to find herself in the body of a troll! Her mother is worried sick, and is perplexed by the strange creature that seems to have taken Hilda’s place. Now, both of them are in a race to be reunited before Ahlberg and his safety patrol get the chance to use their new secret weapon to lay waste to the trolls, and Hilda along with them!
Well that was fun! Feel free to let us know what you’re excited for!
