Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest”, where we try to summarize what’s coming your way in the now-available January 2016 Previews catalog from pretty much every other comic publisher. Having already taken a look at what Marvel, Dark Horse, DC, and Image have lined up for us, it’s now time to check out the other 75% of the catalog.
That said, let’s dive in!
10.
Z Nation has proven to be an extremely popular TV show. So naturally, it’s time for a comic prequel. Craig Engler and Fred Van Lente join Edu Menna to bring this to life.
Z Nation #1
Written by Craig Engler & Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Edu Menna
Published by Dynamite ComicsA prequel set in the world of Syfy’s #1 scripted hit zombie series Z Nation, Black Summer is as bad as the apocalypse gets. A worldwide drought and famine when most of the surviving population dies and turns zombie. As the remnants of humanity cling to existence, fan favorite Charles Garnett returns to send a new team on a desperate new mission: Retrieve a possibly untouched cache of the food substitute Soylent Z from Galveston, Texas. But when mission leader Israel Johnson and his small team arrive in Galveston, they’ll face a threat unlike anything ever seen before in the zombie genre. Featuring Z Nation‘s signature blend of horror, humor, and heart, Black Summer is the start of a new six-issue miniseries from acclaimed writer Fred Van Lente (“Marvel Zombies”, “G.I. Joe”) and Craig Engler, based on the long running series Z NATION by Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler.
9.
Essentially a Lost in Space-and-Honey I Shrunk the Kids pastiche, this new series from Vault finds a space crew suddenly stuck in an oversized dimension. I’ve appreciated the wide range of genres Vault has put out, and what better medium to play with size than comics? Ricardo Mo provides the script with Alberto Muriel turns in the art.
“Colossi” #1
Written by Ricardo Mo
Illustrated by Alberto Muriel and Amaya Diaz
Published by Vault ComicsWhen Trans Atmos Shuttle 34 disappears into a wormhole, its pilot and passengers are launched into an adventure of gigantic proportions. Lost in an oversized parallel universe, the group must put aside their differences and unite to survive a hostile environment. But the biggest threat they’ll face is the one that hitched a ride on Shuttle 34.
8.
Bill Willingham returns . . . with another fairly Bill Willingham concept. Instead of a bunch of random fairy tale characters all thrown together in Manhattan, this one features the Edgar Rice Burroughs cast, with Tarzan heading the group. I don’t know quite what to make out of it, but it’s illustrated by Cezar Razek (who sounds like a Burroughs character, tbh) and comes from Dynamite.
“Greatest Adventure” #1
Written by Bill Willingham
Illustrated by Cezar Razek
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
In ancient days, Jason gathered the greatest heroes of his age and set out on the ultimate sea voyage. Now, in Tarzan’s era, Jason Gridley does the same. The greatest heroes of the Edgar Rice Burroughs universe come together as the crew of the good ship Venture, with none other than Tarzan as their captain. It’s a race this time, against a battleship of dark hearted villains, and the fate of many worlds hangs in the balance.
7.
All right, so there’s a lot going on in this title, and, frankly, all of it sounds delightful. Sarah Graley packs in lesbian grim reaper university students, angels of the underworld, cat-dads, and the kitchen sink of after life mythology. Typing this out, I wonder if it’s maybe too much for a single book or if it’ll fit better when there’s a stack of them. Nevertheless, this seems like a treat and a half.
Continued below”Kim Reaper” #1
Written and Illustrated by Sarah Graley
Published by One Press
Like most university students, Kim works a part-time job to make ends meet. UNLIKE most university students, Kim’s job is pretty dang cool: she’s a grim reaper, tasked with guiding souls into the afterlife. Like most university students, Becka has a super intense unrequited crush. UNLIKE most university students, Becka’s crush is on a beautiful gothic angel that frequents the underworld. Of course, she doesn’t know that. Unaware of the ghoulish drama she’s about to step into, Becka finally gathers up the courage to ask Kim on a date! But when she falls into a ghostly portal and interrupts Kim at her job, she sets off a chain of events that will pit the two of them against angry cat-dads, vengeful zombies, and perhaps even the underworld itself. But if they work together, they just might make it… and maybe even get a kiss in the bargain.
6.
In all honesty, when I first saw the title for this, I thought it was going to be something akin to “HowToons” or any of those other Science is fun! sort of comics you see. Instead, we’re getting a spinoff from “Atomic Robo,” featuring the Flying She-Devils, who’re planning a heist from the dreaded pirate Mad Jack. So it still sounds like a great time! Originally serialized online, this will be the first time “Real Science Adventures” sees print.
”Real Science Adventures” #1
Written by Brian Clevinger
Illustrated by Lo Baker
Published by IDW PublishingA group of Women Airforce Service Pilots banded together after World War II and became the daring “Flying She-Devils.” Food and fuel are in short supply, but the She-Devils have a plan: take it from Mad Jack, the pirate king of the Pacific. What could go wrong? Also a never-before-seen short featuring THE SPARROW!
• From the pages of Atomic Robo, the Flying She-Devils embark on a new daring adventure!
• The spinoff story to the online sensation-in print for the first time!
5.
Jesse McManus is an animator by trade, and he brings that energy and sense of movement to this collection of comic shorts. His work is heavy and almost exhausting, but completely captivating. This collection also clocks in at 56 pages and is presented in a square.
“Violence Valley”
Written and Illustrated by Jesse McManus
Published by Alternative ComicsViolence Valley is an odyssey of animated absurdity by The Whistling Factory creator Jesse McManus. A bright, dumb, gap-toothed lad goes rambling out-doors, inevitably finding himself within the deepest bowels of a living, breathing dog. His passage out the other end involves homespun dental work, a transforming pan-flute and the kind of reverse infestation which will make anyone look twice before they flush.
4.
While we’re still waiting for the next installment of “Sabrina,” at least we’re getting this one shot from Art Baltazar and Franco. And you know, watching Baltazar and Franco do what they do is always a delight.
“Little Sabrina”
Written by Art Baltazar and Franco
Illustrated by Franco
Published by Archie ComicsLittle Sabrina encounters very colorful doppelgangers of her little kitty Salem! When she tries to use magic to whisk them back to wherever they came from she finds that their magic abilities are more than she bargained for!
3.
Retrofit offers a survey of Eric Kostiuk Williams’s comics. This short story collection seems to feature your typical slew of autographic comics, pop star skirmishes, closeted teens, and the future. Williams is also a prolific gay cartoonist (his most prominent series is “Hungry Bottom Comics”), and any of his work becoming more widely available is a good thing.
“Babybell Wax Bodysuit”
Written and Illustrated by Eric Kostiuk Williams
Published by Big Planet/Retrofit ComicsA collection of short stories delving into self-worth, Internet culture, and the fascinating grotesqueries offered up by our science-fiction present. The author, as a closeted teen, navigates comic book message boards and befriends a Pentecostal Christian! Keith Haring fights off gentrification in the 1980s East Village! A familiar pop star breaks free of her Las Vegas promoters, one hundred years in the future! And more!
2.
If the premise of “birds and banditry” wasn’t enough to piqued your interest, then you haven’t also peaked at the creative team. John Layman and Sam Keith are teaming up for this one; both of them have such unique and individual quirks, “Eleanor and the Egret” at the very least seems like it’s going to be an interesting conflation.
Continued below”Eleanor & the Egret” #1
Written by John Layman
Illustrated by Sam Keith
Published by Aftershock ComicsNEW SERIES! The most daring art thief in Paris has struck again, and the police have assigned their best detective to the case. His only clue? A single white feather left at the scene. Could this feather belong to the thief? To the thief’s accomplice, an oversized talking egret? Or will his investigation lead him to somewhere even stranger? (Answer: all of the above.) Presenting a peculiar and unforgettable tale of birds and banditry, paintings and pets, larceny, love and… lamprey-wielding assassins? From the legendary creator of THE MAXX and co-creator of SANDMAN, Sam Kieth, and the considerably less-legendary creator of “Chew”, John Layman!
1.
A new Jeff Lemire graphic novel is always something to write home about. Over the past several years, he’s made a name for himself with far-out concepts, muted sci-fi, and generally enjoyable adventures. With “Roughneck,” it seems like he plans to ground himself again, setting it in a similar realistic environment as his “Essex County” stories. Except it’s also a crime story that sounds tailor-made for the Coens. Lemire is writing and illustrating this entirely.
“Roughneck”
Written and Illustrated by Jeff Lemire
Published by Gallery BooksFrom the New York Times-bestselling author and award-winning creator of “Essex County,” “Descender,” and “The Underwater Welder” comes an original graphic novel about a brother and sister who must come together after years apart to face the disturbing history that has cursed their family. Derek Ouellette’s glory days are behind him. His hockey career ended a decade earlier in a violent incident on ice, and since then he’s been living off his reputation in the remote northern community where he grew up, drinking too much and fighting anyone who crosses him. When his long-lost sister Beth shows up, on the run from an abusive boyfriend, the two escape to a secluded hunting camp in the woods. There, living off the land, they reconnect with each other, the painful secrets of their past, and their Cree heritage…and start to heal. But Beth’s ex-boyfriend is hunting them. As he circles closer, he threatens to shatter this newfound peace and pull both Derek and Beth back into the world of self-destruction they’ve fought so hard to leave behind. Touching and harrowing, this is a deeply moving and beautifully illustrated story about family, heritage, and breaking the cycle of violence.
Well, that was fun! And let me know what books YOU’RE excited for in the comments section.
