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 this November 2018.
Get your pull lists ready, it’s time to see all the other stuff going on in comics.
10. Shonen Nuff
From the creator of the wildly popular “Fairy Tail” comes this new space opera manga adventure. If nothing else, Mashima knows his audience and has the ability to spin out a long, exciting, funny narrative will probably make this something to invest in.
Edenszero Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Hiro Mashima
Published by Kodansha ComicsIt’s here! The creator of “Fairy Tail,” manga superstar Hiro Mashima, is back with a high-flying space adventure! All the steadfast friendship, crazy fighting, and blue cats you’ve come to expect… in space! A young boy gazes up at the sky and sees a streaming bolt of light. The friendly, armor-clad being at his side tells him gently, “That’s a dragon.” The fact that he’s joking isn’t important. What’s important is the look of wonder on the boy’s face… and the galaxy-spanning adventure that’s about to take place! Join Hiro Mashima (“Fairy Tail,” “Rave Master”) once more as he takes to the stars for another thrilling saga!
9. For the Browncoats
I don’t care much for this show but it has its following and I’m sure a lot them Browncoats are jonesing for this new series.
Firefly #1
Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by Dan McDaid
Published by Boom! StudiosBOOM! Studios, along with visionary writer and director Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers), presents an all-new era of the pop culture phenomenon Firefly , as one of the most demanded stories in the franchise’s history is revealed for the first time! Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds, a defeated soldier who opposed the unification of the planets by the totalitarian governed Alliance, will undertake any job-legal or not-to stay afloat and keep his crew fed. Find out now how his story began as BOOM! Studios delves into Mal’s past, how he met his first mate Zoe and the real truth about the War of Unification.the intergalactic civil war that divided friend and family alike. Focusing on family, loyalty, identity, and the price of redemption, writer Greg Pak (Mech Cadet Yu, Totally Awesome Hulk) and artist Dan McDaid (Judge Dredd: Mega City Zero) take you back to the battleground where Mal’s journey began.
8. People Walk Out of the Rain
Life is Strange, the episodic game from 2015, was surprisingly resonant and effective. A new one is coming out later this year or early next year. (You can never really tell when it comes to video games.) I’m not sure if this is a bridge between the two games or an adaptation of the sequel but either way, here’s hoping it has the same moody atmosphere and big emotion.
Life is Strange #1
Written by Emma Vieceli
Illustrated by Claudia Leonardi
Published by Titan ComicsThe sequel story fans thought they would never see!
This all-new emotional rollercoaster stars fan-favorites Max and Chloe, and picks up after the critically-acclaimed game! Torn between universes, can a splintered Max reckon with the sins of Arcadia past… and is there any future for Max and Chloe when time itself is against them?
7. Annie, Are You Okay?
Look: if this series is delivered with half the amount of style, suaveness, and cool as its recently-thawed central character, then I think we could be in for a treat with this.
Continued belowSmooth Criminals #1
Written by Kurt Lustgarten & Kiwi Smith
Illustrated by Leisha Riddel
Published by Boom! StudiosThere are certain things Brenda expects to find while hacking: money, secrets, occasional pictures of cats. She is NOT expecting to find a cryogenically frozen master thief from the 60s. Mia is everything Brenda is not-cool, confident, beautiful. And utterly unprepared for the digital age. Despite their differences, the two will need to team up to find out what happened to Mia-and how to pull off the heist of the century. Kiwi Smith and Kurt Lustgarten (Misfit City) team with breakout artist Leisha-Marie Riddel (Goldie Vance) in a story about felonies and friendship.
6. Carry that Weight
Fantagraphics offers an ambitious and most likely emotionally wrenching look at a young Iranian girl living in Britain. the psychedelic swirls of the cover are certainly alluring but I feel this is one of those books that has a lot of universal insights that stem from witnessing one person’s specific experience.
I Am Young
Written and Illustrated by M. Dean
Published by FantagraphicsThis story is told in dual perspective by Miriam (a second-generation Iranian immigrant living in Edinburgh with her family) and George (a visitor from Wales). Their relationship throughout the decades mirrors the Beatles’s. In the other stories in this book, thematically bound by relationship flux and the impact of culture, Dean experiments beautifully with style and storytelling devices in each piece.
5. Get by with a Little Help from Your Friends
Speaking of The Beatles, NBM has assembled a collection of Beatles comics that cover their entire career. You’ve probably seen some of these floating around and they’re frequently a delight. Also, it’s The Beatles, so there.
The Beatles in Comics
Written by Various
Illustrated by Various
Published by NBMHere’s the complete illustrated story of the Beatles from their formation, through the Beatlemania phenomenon, all the way through their breakup. We see how they evolved along with and amplified the uproar of the sixties, became politically and socially active, and achieved a lasting impact unparalleled in pop music. Chapters combine text and comics for complete information presented in a fun way.
4. None. More. Goth.
Look, I don’t know but this looks insane and I’m all about that.
Hieronymus and Bosch
Written and Illustrated by Paul Kirchner
Published by Editions TanibisMeet the medieval miscreant Hieronymus and his wooden duck Bosch. Since their tragic-comic death they are both living in a cartoonish Hell where lakes are made of lava (or, more often, poop) and an army of mischievous spiky-tailed devils go around playing pranks on their inmates. Despite many gag-filled attempts at escaping this literal hell, Hieronymus and Bosch always end up being the butt of their guards’ most humiliating and painful jokes. This book puts together about a hundred one-pagers filled with hilariously surrealistic and scatological gags by American comic book artist Paul Kirchner, inspired as much from medieval depictions of Hell as from the zany humor found in Warner Bros. cartoons such as the Road Runner Show.
3. Ra Ra Ra Mother Fucka
Here’s another old school inspired comic. Victor Santos’s work on “Bad Girls” was so moody, atmospheric, and cool. I think that same sensibility will be brought to this new series.
Sukeban Turbo #1
Written by Andrew Sylvain Runberg
Illustrated by Victor Santos
Published by IDW PublishingShelby and her three best friends rule the streets of Brooklyn-and everyone in the neighborhood knows not to mess with the Sukeban Tribe. Inspired by the Japanese girl gangs of the 1970s, the teenagers ride scooters, armed with golf clubs and cash from selling drugs, and terrorize their classmates, parents, and anyone who dares defy them. But when they attack a classmate who hasn’t paid what she owes, things start to get messy-and not in the fun way.
2. It is Not Wise to Find Symbols in Everything One Sees
I think I said this last time Russell released another one of these gallery books but still: I’d much rather see a wildly available reprint of this work, something that we don’t have to hunt down in the back issue bins of danky comic shops. Still, these things are gorgeous and if you have the $125 laying around, there are definitely worse ways to spend it.
Continued belowSalomé and Other Fine Stories Fine Art Edition
Written and Illustrated by P Craig Russell
Published by Wayne Alan Harold ProductionsThree feature-length stories of music and murder from multiple Eisner and Harvey award-winner P. Craig Russell (The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, American Gods), plus three bonus musical shorts make for a drop-dead gorgeous Fine Art Edition! This beautiful 12″ x17″ oversized hardcover features the complete stories Salome, The Clowns, The Godfather’s Code, Unto this World, Eine Heldentraum, and Between Two Worlds, all scanned from P. Craig Russell’s stunning original art. While appearing to be in black & white, each page has been scanned in color to recreate as closely as possible the experience of viewing the actual originals-including blue pencils, notes, art corrections and more. Pages are reproduced at original size on heavy paper stock to provide fans, aficionados, and collectors with the best possible reproductions.
1. I had Forgotten How Much Light There was in the World, Until You Gave It Back to Me
Not only is it one of Le Guin’s seminal series collected into one convenient volume, it’s also fully illustrated by Charles Vess. This book was probably in process before Le Guin’s death earlier this year and I think, with all the talent involved, it will be a lasting testament to her legacy and influence.
The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition
Written by Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrated by Charles Vess
Published by Saga PressUrsula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea novels are some of the most acclaimed and awarded works in literature, commemorating their enduring place in the hearts and minds of readers and the literary world alike. For the first time ever, they’re all together in one volume, including the early short stories, Le Guin’s “Earthsea Revisioned” Oxford lecture, and a new Earthsea story, never before printed. With a new introduction by Le Guin herself, this essential edition will also include fifty illustrations by renowned artist Charles Vess, specially commissioned and selected by Le Guin, to bring her refined vision of Earthsea and its people to life in a totally new way.
Well, that was fun! And let me know what books YOU’RE excited for in the comments section.
