Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest,” where we try to summarize what’s coming your way this March 2020. We’ve already looked at DC, Marvel, Image, and some manga options. Now let’s check out what else the Previews Catalog has in store for the dreariest month of the year.
Get your pull lists ready because February is heady.
10. The World Always Seems Brighter When You’ve Just Made Something
I think the Neil Gaiman Library books are some of Dark Horse’s best-looking comics. In these, a wide variety of comic creators adapt various Neil Gaiman stories for the medium, filtering his distinctive voice through their various styles and quirks. At last, Dark Horse has made a compendium of some of these stories. This edition includes Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá’s “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” and P. Craig Russell’s superlative “Murder Mysteries.” These alone should be worth seeking this out.
The Neil Gaiman Library Volume 1
Written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by P. Craig Russell, Rafael Albuquerque, Shane Oakley, Fábio Moon, and Gabriel Bá
Published by Dark HorseA deluxe oversized collection of comic stories from celebrated and award-winning writer Neil Gaiman, in conjunction with some of comics’ most acclaimed creators.
In these four essential Gaiman tales, a familiar detective finds himself at the heart of a Lovecraftian nightmare on Baker Street, a strange man delves into the heartbreaking mystery of a divine murder in paradise, teenage boys find that approaching girls can lead to more danger than romance, and a verbose gothic writer finds his true calling amidst family duels and drudgery.
Collects the full graphic novels A Study in Emerald, Murder Mysteries, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, and Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire in a single deluxe hardcover volume.
9. Pain as Proof of Love
Speaking of Neil Gaiman: he provides an enticing blurb for Lisa Brown’s graphic novel, “The Phantom Twin.” This follows a girl who cannot shake the ghost of her dead twin. It sounds heart-breaking. It sounds life-affirming. I can’t wait to see how Brown uses the medium to tell her story.
Phantom Twin
Written and Illustrated by Lucy Brown
Published by First SecondA young woman is haunted by the ghost of her conjoined twin, in this sweetly spooky graphic novel set in a turn-of-the-century sideshow. Isabel spent her life following Jane’s lead. Literally-of the two conjoined twins, Jane was always the stronger one, both physically and emotionally. But when Jane dies on the operating table during a risky attempt to separate the twins, Isabel is left alone. Or is she? Soon, Jane returns, attached to Isabel from shoulder to hip just like she used to be. Except Isabel is the only person who can see Jane-a ghost, a phantom limb, a phantom twin. Against a vivid backdrop of the hardscrabble life of circus sideshow freaks at the turn of the century, Isabel’s story unfolds as an unforgettable coming-of-age tale from picture book star Lisa Brown.
8. Solipsistic Saviors
Matthew Allison’s art is wild, filled with an infectious energy and unconcerned uninhibitedness. This gives me vibes of Paul Pope’s “THB” series from the ’90s — with a sad sad hero and crushing levels of depression. Everything about this sounds like it wants to make you go, “Wut,” and I’m sort of about that.
Cankor
Written and Illustrated by Matthew Allison
Published by AdHouse BooksA young man makes a rare excursion outside the comfort of his home to see a rock & roll show. That choice is met with violence and humiliation. When he calls out for help to his unresponsive savior (the sad sack cyborg CANKOR), it sets off a cherry bomb of psychedelic mayhem. A candy colored nightmare of tangled wires, bubbling flesh and the towering corpses of superhumans.
7. Love & Sports
It’s been a few years since we last saw C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad’s “Fence.” It was a charming, all ages sports comic with a rose-tinted, almost saccharine version of a bunch of gay athletes. It was melodramatic and silly and threw in every convention it could think of with abandon, with relish. BOOM! decided to move their publication model over to full graphic novels instead of the individual magazines. So instead of a small dose of the impulsive licentiousness, we’re getting something much more unrestrained. For fans of the book, it’ll be sure to be a trip.
Fence Rivals
Written by C.S. Pacat
Illustrated by Johnanna the Mad
Published by BOOM! Studios* The GLAAD Award nominated series
* Fence returns as a graphic novel series as best-selling novelist C.S. Pacat (Captive Prince) and popular online sensation Johanna The Mad present the next all-new thrilling chapter of the Kings Row fencing team!
* Just as Nicholas, Seiji and the fencing team at the prodigious Kings Row private school seem to be coming together, a deadly rival from their past stands in their way once more. MacRobertson is the school that knocked Kings Row out of the State Championships last year – but unless Nicholas and Seiji can learn to work together as a team, their school is doomed once again! And maybe those two can learn to be something more than teammates too…
6. A Shared World
Farel Dalyrmple and Simon Roy contribute to this anthology book about a newly colonized planet. I like the idea of different artists offering different adventures in their parts of the world. And I think almost everything Dalyrmple does is worth a look.
Cayrels Ring
Written by Shannon Lentz
Illustrated by Alchemichael, Simon Roy, and Farel Dalrymple
Published by A Wave Blue World, Inc.Humanity colonized the distant galaxy, Cayrels Ring, a thousand years ago, but it wasn’t until now that they started to discover the secrets of Ring. This science-fiction adventure weaves together personal stories on the outer frontier to form tapestry of exploration, redemption and a sense of belonging.
5. The Rich Will Eat Themsevles
After success across the independent and mainstream comic book spectrum, Mark Russell and Steve Pugh come together again for this allegedly satirical look at the ultra-rich running amok. These two certainly have an air and an anger about them. Their tone, their voice has worked in the past; there’s no reason to think it won’t now.
Billionaire Island #1
Written by Mark Russell
Illustrated by Steve Pugh
Published by Ahoy ComicsA savage satire reuniting the critically acclaimed team behind DC’s The Flintstones, Mark Russell (Second Coming) and Steve Pugh (Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass), in an all-new creator-owned series! Welcome to Billionaire Island, where anything goes…if you can afford it. But the island’s ultra-rich inhabitants are about to learn that their ill-gotten gains come at a very high price. Every AHOY comic also features extra prose stories and illustrations.
4. Manga-ka Master
Drawn & Quarterly import this collection of literary comics from Japanese manga-ka, Yoshiharu Tsuge. He’s like Ozu of Japanese comics, concerned with very human lives, with lingering images and emotions that are bound to linger with you for a long, long time.
The Swamp
Written and Illustrated by Yoshiharu Tsuge
Published by Drawn & QuarterlyThe Swamp is the first in a series of books Drawn & Quarterly will be publishing by Yoshiharu Tsuge, one of the most influential and acclaimed practitioners of literary comics in Japan. Bucking the tradition of mystery and adventure stories, Tsuge’s fiction focused on the lives of the citizens of Japan. These mesmerizing comics, like those of his contemporary Yoshihiro Tatsumi, reveal a gritty, at times desperate post-war Japan, while displaying Tsuge’s unique sense of humor and point of view.
3. Body Betrayals
Michael Fiffe might be deep into his “Copra” run (especially now that it’s being released by Image) but he found time to dig through his archives. He found this oldie for Dark Horse. Fiffe’s eye is unique and he brings an originality and spontaneity to even superhero comics. It sounds like he was playing around here and I’d like to see how that plays out on the page.
Continued belowPanorama
Written and Illustrated by Michael Fiffe
Published by Dark HorseFrom the archives of Copra creator, Michel Fiffe, comes a body-horror romance of epic proportions.
Panorama follows the adventures of teenage couple Kim & Augustus as they navigate their way through a shared, unwanted ability they can’t control. Panorama blends chiaroscuro with a kinetic line that perfectly captures runaways trying to find love, define identity, and survive a metamorphosis unlike anything ever seen before.
o From the creator of Copra and G.I. Joe: Sierra Muerte!
2. The Boy Who Became a Dragon
Sure to be a major event, Gene Luen Yang, Ambassador to Young People’s Literature and MacArthur Fellow, returns with a new comic. Once again leaning into the memoir, this one finds meaning on the basketball court. Once again playing with fantasy conventions, it also sounds like we’re going to be seeing dragons abound. First Second is undoubtedly going to put a lot behind this book, so I doubt you’ll miss it even if you tried. (But why would you want to miss anything Yang produces?)
Dragon Hoops
Written and Illustrated by Gene Luen Yang
Published by First SecondIn his latest graphic novel, Gene Luen Yang turns the spotlight on his life, his family, and the high school where he teaches. Gene doesn’t get sports. But at Bishop O’Dowd High School, it’s all anyone can talk about. The men’s varsity basketball team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that’s been decades in the making. Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he’s seen on a comic book page. What he doesn’t know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons’ lives, but his own life as well.
1. The Future of Law Enforecement
“Giant Days” is dead. Long live “Wicked Things.”
Wicked Things #1
Written by John Allison
Illustrated by Max Sarin
Published by BOOM! Studios* The Eisner Award winning team of John Allison and Max Sarin return to the world of Giant Days for a new series about everyone’s favorite child detective; Charlotte Grote.
* Nineteen year old Charlotte Grote has her whole life ahead of her; headed straight to Oxford and a future as a real detective-until she’s framed for murder!
* Given the choice between going to jail basically forever or joining the police, Lottie decides to hit the beat, all while trying to find the real murderer. Lottie may have been running rings about the police since her 9th birthday, but she’s never been on this side of the security tape.
* Could the future of law enforcement be 5’2″ with an extremely strong bangs game? Yes. Very yes.
Well that was fun! Feel free to let us know what you’re excited for!
