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 for June 2019.
Get your pull lists ready because it’s time to see all the other stuff going on in comics.
10. To Find that Perfect Meal
Kuzma lets his imagination run wild in this collection of lunch-related adventure vignettes. The art is highly saturated. It moves beyond space and time as food comes alive. In short, this looks like a lot of fun, filled with the kind of work that might have gotten Kuzma an invitation for work on Adventure Time or Gumball.
Lunch Quest
Written and Illustrated by Chris Kuzma
Published by Koyama PressSometimes you are so hungry that the only thing you can find in your house is rip-roaring, candy-colored, side-busting adventure! Have you ever been looking for your lettuce, but instead you find skate kids shredding the moon, bunny gladiators astride bumpy frogs, and dance party dance-offs so twisty they put a bag of pretzels to shame? No? Then dig into this collection of comic vignettes to find what you’ve been missing.
9. Pump Up the Jam
Dynamite, of all places, presents this tie-in comic for the online video game, Animal Jam. The game is produced by National Geographic, so there’s bound to be some sort of zoological information thrown in. It might even be the updated, modern version of Zoobooks. In any event, this looks bright and colorful with talking animals, so there you have it.
Animal Jam: Welcome to Jamaa
Written by Fernando Ruiz and Eric Esquivel
Illustrated by Fernando Ruiz
Published by Dynamite EntertainmentNational Geographic’s Animal Jam, the online playground for kids to adopt and play with wildlife, is one of today’s fastest-growing multiplayer games, with a millions of players worldwide! Now, Dynamite Entertainment is proud to welcome comic book fans of all ages to the fictional world of Jamaa, where zoological adventure awaits!
In the graphic novel debut of Animal Jam, Clover Greenleaf, a cheery and curious rabbit, arrives in the colorful new habitat of Jamaa. During a celebration of her arrival, Clover accidentally stumbles across Graham the Monkey’s scientific equipment… and opens a portal to a fearsome new realm! Can the Alphas, the animal guardians of Jamaa, save the beleaguered bunny? And what other awesome adventures will Clover’s creature friends embark on?
8. Save the Girl, Save the World
Another all-ages adventure miniseries for you. This one has all the hallmarks of a classic Jim Henson adventure: the race to save a loved on, a cast of characters with a feature that’s just a little off, and an expansive world to explore. The scope is huge and the artwork looks immersive.
Canto #1
Written by David M Booher
Illustrated by Drew Zucker
Published by IDW PublishingCanto’s adventure begins! Enslaved for generations, Canto’s people once had hearts. Now they have clocks. When slavers damage a little tin girl’s clock beyond repair, Canto must brave his strange and fantastic world to bring back her heart. Can he overcome the dangers that await to save the one he loves?
An all-ages fable inspired by Wizard of Oz and Dante’s Inferno.
Part fantasy. Part adventure. All heart.
7. Bohemian Horror
Ben Passmore collaborating on a horror book that sounds like it explore gentrification at its most monstrous? I mean, do I need to say anything more?
Continued belowBTTM FDRS
Written by Ezra Claytan Daniels
Illustrated by Ben Passmore
Published by FantagraphicsWhen a pair of bohemians descend upon a neglected working-class neighborhood in search of cheap rent, they soon discover something sinister lurking behind the walls of their new home. BTTM FDRS (pronounced “bottomfeeders”) offers a vision of horror that is gross and gory in all the right ways. Funny, scary, and thought provoking, it confronts the monstrous forces that are displacing cultures in urban neighborhoods today.
6. In the Not Too Distant Future….
You know, sometimes you’re after an old school sci-fi chase story filtered through a modern lens. Sebala certainly knows how to rack up the tension but it’s Hickman I’m most excited about concerning this book. Can’t wait to see how she brings these wild and expansive concepts to life.
Test #1
Written by Christopher Sebela
Illustrated by Jen Hickman
Published by Vault ComicsAleph Null is a lot of things: An orphan, a human guinea pig undergoing medical tests for cash, a bodyhacker, a hardcore future junkie, and a corporate asset. But now, Aleph is on the run from their old life, in search of a mythical, Midwestern town named Laurelwood-where they’re test-marketing the future with tech that can’t possibly exist yet, and won’t for decades.
From Eisner-nominated Chris Sebela (Crowded, High Crimes) and Jen Hickman (Moth & Whisper) comes the story of a town out of time, full of mysteries, and populated by guinea pigs in need of liberation by the misfit least likely to be their savior.
5. An Excellent Adventure
The best “Archie” stuff exists beyond the main line of comics. Derek Charm is a mainstay of the Archie Universe but it was when I saw Sina Grace’s name attached to the concept that I nodded and was like, “Yeah. Makes sense.”
Jughead’s Time Police
Written by Sina Grace
Illustrated by Derek Charm
Published by Archie ComicsBRAND NEW SERIES! When Jughead messes up his Riverdale Annual Bake-Off pie recipe so terribly, he is disqualified and banned from all future Bake-Offs! Jug goes to unthinkable lengths to fix his error: time travel! Even Riverdale’s most erudite teenager can’t manage the delicate dance of going back in time, and poor Juggie lands himself in an epic battle to keep the time stream intact!
4. As Slippery as the Eels on the Menu
Get ready for this brutal and ice cold Yakuza story. I like how Hard Case Crime, a publisher known for their old school pulp throwbacks, branches out here. Also, Yoshimizu’s artwork looks insane.
Ryuko Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Eldo Yoshimizu
Published by Titan ComicsHard Case Crime presents a loving manga homage to film noir and Japanese gangster cinema, as Japanese artist Eldo Yoshimizu unveils the bloody and beautiful saga of a Yakuza princess! Ryuko is a hard-hitting, motorcycle-riding member of the Japanese mafia – after a criminal operation in the Middle-East turns explosive, she must return home to face Chinese gangsters, unknown terrorists, and her own personal demons… Part one of a two-part criminal saga packed with international intrigue, complex morality, and blistering action!
3. Alone on the Road
This thriller from Lisa Naffziger features a sheltered young woman left literally on her own. Iron Circus regularly puts out some exciting and interesting comic work, and I think that alone is worth exploring this book.
Minus
Written and Illustrated by Lisa Naffziger
Published by Iron Circus ComicsBeck Beveroth is the sheltered, home-schooled daughter of the over-protective Gil. Raised in the isolation of her father’s remote homestead, Beck’s on the edge of independence for the first time ever; she’s been accepted for enrollment at an out-of-state college! Excited and apprehensive, she decides to road-trip with Dad to campus move-in day… but their plans go violently off-course when Beck hears gunfire while in the restroom at a gas station pit-stop. When she finally emerges from hiding, her father and their car are gone… and she’s the only person left alive.
2. Sing the Story of the Land
Ambitious in scope and execution, this graphic novel follows three intersecting storylines set in the time of the conquistadors. It sounds like there’s a fantastic element to it, too, which could make a story like this unforgettable or a trainwreck. If the interior art looks anything like the cover, though, I think we’re going to be in for a spectacle.
Continued belowNew World
Written and Illustrated by David Jesus Vignolli
Published by BOOM! StudiosNew World weaves the stories of three characters from unique backgrounds: an indigenous warrior seeking revenge against those who invaded her land, an African musician fighting for freedom against those who enslaved him, and a Portuguese sailor in search of redemption who come together on a heroic quest to free the world from an encroaching darkness.
Written and illustrated by David Jesus Vignolli (“A Girl in the Himalayas”), “New World” intertwines the cultures of his personal heritage to explore the European discovery of the Americas with a vibrant blend of fantasy and history.
1. Usagi Rides Again
Usagi makes his latest leap between publishers. Who knows what behind-the-scenes drama took place to have Sakai move to IDW, but as long as he’s allowed to keep telling his samurai stories, comics, as a medium, will be better for it.
Usagi Yojimbo #1
Written and Illustrated by Stan Sakai
Published by IDW PublishingFollow the adventures of rabbit r?nin Miyamoto Usagi as he wanders Edo period Japan on his warrior’s journey. In the start of this three-part story, Usagi becomes embroiled in a puppet drama where the players are not quite what they seem! Written, drawn, and lettered by comics legend Stan Sakai! Colors by Tom Luth (Groo the Wanderer)!
The start of an exciting new chapter in the epic ongoing saga of Usagi, now published by IDW!
Well, that was fun! And let me know what books you’re excited for in the comments section.
