Greetings and Solicitations!
This month’s highlight is a crossover between two characters that is as perfect as comic book crossovers get, yet I wasn’t sure we would ever be lucky enough to see. Aside from that, we’ve got a few Mike Mignola books of note, one of comics’ best creative duos putting out a new series, an ode to Mary Jane (no, not that one, Tiger), and a whole lot more.
Jump in, the water’s fine:
10. If you got ’em
At of the time of writing this column, 4/20 is just about over. That’s a shame, but while I know nothing about the comic I’m about to recommend, it looks fun and I thought it would be pertinent. I don’t think we talk about manga enough here and this was one of the more interesting and oddball things in the solicitations this month. I think I’ll take a chance on it.
Legal Drug Omnibus TP
CLAMP (W/A/Cover)
On sale Sept 10
b&w, 528 pages
$19.99
TP, 5 1/8″ x 7 1/4″
Kudo Kazehaya’s name evokes the wind, which is given to warn him that one day he, too, might disappear. He almost thought his time had come—until he was rescued by the dark, handsome, and equally mysterious Himura Rikuo. Now they both reside where Rikuo works, the Green Drugstore, a place that dispenses not only medicine but the secret powers of both Rikuo and Kazehaya, as the pair embark on missions into the paranormal at the bidding of its strange proprietor, Kakei.
• Get the sequel, Drug & Drop, in 2015 from Dark Horse!
9. Disney meets Kafka = Vince meets with his therapist
“Disney meets Kafka.” Well, I’m sold. If someone were to pick the Multiversity Comics writer most likely to get into the fetal position and lie there until they turn into a bug, I think I’d be the one. “Jaybird” sounds like the book for me and it really looks gorgeous, to boot.
Jaybird HC
Jaakko Ahonen (W) and Lauri Ahonen (A/Cover)
On sale Sept 3
FC, 128 pages
$19.99
HC, 8 1/2” x 11 3/4”
Disney meets Kafka in this beautiful, intense, original tale! Jaybird is the story of a very small and very scared little bird, who lives a lonely, isolated life in a great big house with his infirm mother. Curious but terrified of the world outside, he’s never been outside the house, and he will never leave if his mother has anything to say about it.
• Gorgeously painted, humorously melancholy modern fable for adults.
8. Into the mind of Henry Lyme
The solicitation calls this a “perfect jumping-on point.” I’m not sure how that’s possible with a series that’s run for 24 issues so far and is so densely packed. I don’t mean to deter anyone – quite the opposite is true. You owe it to yourself to be reading Matt Kindt’s masterful mind bender – and I’ll be trying to feature it here every month, because it really is that impressive.
Mind Mgmt #24
Matt Kindt (W/A/Cover)
On sale July 30
FC, 24 pages
$3.99
Ongoing
MIND MGMT concludes its second year in this crucial one-shot revealing “The Life and Times of Henry Lyme,” with a shocking twist that sets up the final two arcs!
• The AV Club’s best series of 2013!
• This issue is the perfect jumping-on point for new readers!
• Retailers, see your order form for a special offer.
7. Closing the curtain on “Veil”
Here and then gone in a flash, Greg Rucka & Toni Fejzula’s “Veil” was what the solicitations have been describing it as: another great Rucka heroine, but not exactly what you’ve come to expect from him. “Veil” is perhaps the most overtly feminist book that Rucka has written. Maybe. Anyway, it’s a very keen take on the subject and there’s no writer I’d rather hear it from.
Continued belowVeil #5 (of 5)
Greg Rucka (W) and Toni Fejzula (A/Cover)
On sale July 2
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
The mysterious young woman named Veil fights to escape the powerful men controlling her. There’s only one person she can trust, but he’s about to learn that love, whether it’s twisted or pure, always demands a sacrifice.
• From Eisner Award–winning writer Greg Rucka (Whiteout, Stumptown, Queen & Country, Gotham Central)!
• Rucka’s next great heroine is not what you expect!
6. Truman & Giorello “Conquer” another Conan miniseries
I’m a big, big fan of what Truman and Giorello do with their “King Conan” adaptations. Everything from the scripts, to the stylistically vintage-looking art presentation screams “classic.” Dark Horse has been letting Conan fans really have their cake and eat it too by constantly having a couple very different approaches to the character on the stands at the same time. These guys are the ones to go to for fans of the old Conan comics of the ’70s and ’80s.
King Conan: The Conqueror #6 (of 6)
Timothy Truman (W), Tomás Giorello (A/Cover), and José Villarrubia (C)
On sale July 30
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
As Xaltotun and his traitorous lackeys face the returning King Conan, it’s their black magic against Conan’s fury and steel! The barbarian has an oath of vengeance to keep, some powerful friends of his own by his side, and a promise of love to fulfill! The epic adaptation’s thunderous climax!
• Conan confronts an ancient evil as he seeks to regain his crown!
5. Bechko & Hardman draw you in with “Deep Gravity”
When I last visited the comic creative pairing of Bechko & Hardman, it was in the Dark Horse one-shot “Station to Station“, which I enjoyed as a cautionary sci-fi homage piece. I’m not sure what the stylistic intent of their new book “Deep Gravity” is going to be, but I’ll always be on board for what these creators put out, and boy does that solicitation sound intense.
Deep Gravity #1 (of 4)
Mike Richardson (W), Gabriel Hardman (W/Cover), Corinna Bechko (W), Fernando Baldó (A), and Nick Filardi (C)
On sale July 30
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
He didn’t get onto the most lucrative interstellar mission for the money—Paxon wants to be reunited with the woman he loves. But his high-stakes journey takes him to a savage world full of the galaxy’s most dangerous game, where the gravity can turn your bones to powder.
• Written by Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko (Star Wars: Legacy, Planet of the Apes).
4. Oh Baltimore, man it’s hard just to live
Lord Baltimore is back. We’re always up for more Mike Mignola books here at Multiversity, and I’m delighted to see that these tertiary Mignola books (“Lobster Johnson”, “Baltimore”, “Witchfinder”, “Sledgehammer 44”, etcetera) never seem to stay out of the rotation for very long. There are plenty of stories to tell.
Baltimore: The Witch of Harju #1 (of 3)
Mike Mignola (W), Christopher Golden (W), Peter Bergting (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Ben Stenbeck (Cover)
On sale July 30
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
Baltimore shelters a woman on the run from a possessed dead man and the witch playing his puppet master.
• From Hellboy creator Mike Mignola!
3. I like my Goon even better when it’s monthly
“Goon” is a series that seems to pop up every once in a while. Whether it’s in one-shot form (like last month’s solicitations) or just the normal irregularity of the ongoing series, you can never quite predict when you’ll get more “Goon” – you’re just mighty happy when it gets here. Well, at least for a little while, it will seem that we can count on a regular monthly release in the form of “The Goon: Occasion of Revenge.” If you’ve not had the pleasure of reading Eric Powell’s modern classic, then hop on board here.
Continued belowThe Goon: Occasion of Revenge #1 (of 8)
Eric Powell (W/A/Cover)
On sale July 23
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
In Eric Powell’s biggest story since 2008, what’s left of the Zombie Priest’s race of witches comes after the Goon, forcing him to face his nightmares or lose his town!
• The Goon returns for a monthly run!
• Eisner Award winner Eric Powell!
“After all these years, The Goon still manages to be a title for the true comic lover that doesn’t mind a bit of the surreal and peculiar in their reading.”—Complex
2. Speaking of Mignola oddities
Well, I was a bad boy last month. Somehow the June 2014 solicitations came and went and I never noticed that “Witchfinder” was a part of them. Mike Mignola’s name is missing from the credits, but the property is in good hands with Kim Newman – a writer who’s basically made his name as the ultimate Dracula expert and has plenty of experience telling short stories in and around this genre. Do not skip out on this.
Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland #2 (of 5)
Kim Newman (W), Maura McHugh (W), Tyler Crook (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Julián Totino Tedesco (Cover)
On sale July 16
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
After a dangerous clash with giant eel monsters, Sir Edward Grey determines that all signs of the secrets of Hallam point to Poole’s Elixir factory.
• Featuring art by Tyler Crook (Bad Blood, B.P.R.D.)!
• Created by Mike Mignola!
1. Groo vs. Conan: Whoever wins, we all win
An easy choice for #1, if you’ve had the pleasure of ever reading Sergio Aragonés’ work. I first found him through my older brothers’ old issues of “Mad” from the ’80s and ’90s. Going back and looking at “Groo”, why, there are few more important creator-owned funny book comics in history. “Groo” is a good-humored spoof of “Conan” to begin with, so seeing the two of them bounce off one another is going to be an event.
Groo vs. Conan #1 (of 4)
Mark Evanier (W), Sergio Aragonés (A/Cover), Thomas Yeates (A/Cover), and Tom Luth (C)
On sale July 23
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
It had to happen: The most heroic warrior in history meets the stupidest as Robert E. Howard’s immortal Conan the Barbarian crosses swords with Sergio Aragonés’s Groo the Wanderer in Groo vs. Conan #1. This four-issue miniseries was concocted by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés, aided by illustrator Thomas Yeates and colorist Tom Luth. Will Conan annihilate Groo? Will Groo turn out to be the man who can defeat Conan? We’ll see.
• Comics’ greatest barbarians together at last!
So there you have it. If we snubbed anything you like, mention it in the comments! If you want to see everything on tap for July 2014 from Dark Horse, CBR’s got everything right here.
