Greetings and Solicitations!
The month of November 2013 for Dark Horse Comics sees the return of a goon, tasteful nudity, undead ninjas, and a Mike Mignola book taking the top spot. It’s too good to waste anymore time teasing it – let’s dive in!
10. As much nudity as the Showtime series, if not more so
We’ve featured these Milo Manara volumes in “Soliciting Multiversity” columns in the past. Obviously, he’s the master of erotica and kind of transcends the genre in some ways. If you needed another reason to grab one of his releases aside from his gorgeous renderings, how about Alejandro Jodorowsky with the writing credit on this tome? You know Jodorowsky? Cult filmmaker of some absolute classics and frequent collaborator with the great comic artist Mœbius? He and Manara take on the classic (and oft-told) seedy tale of Italy’s corrupt Borgia regime. That sounds like something worth checking out.
The Manara Library Vol. 6: The Borgias HC
Alejandro Jodorowsky (W) and Milo Manara (A)
On sale Jan 22
FC, 224 pages
$59.99
HC, 8 3/8″ x 10 7/8″
Milo Manara and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s (Metabarons, The Incal) sweeping saga of sex, blood, and religion is collected in a single edition for the first time, in the latest volume of The Manara Library! When Pope Innocent VIII dies, the corrupt, licentious Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia schemes, murders, and seduces his way into becoming the new Pope and immediately secures positions for his family to ensure a Borgia dynasty. With breathtakingly beautiful painted artwork by Manara, this account of Italy’s first Mafia family is among comics’—and history’s—sexiest, most violent, and most engrossing epics!
• The complete collaboration between legends Milo Manara and Alejandro Jodorowsky (The Incal)!
• Eisner & Harvey Award-winning series!
• First time all four volumes have been collected together in English!
9. Carlos D’Anda comes back to a galaxy far, far away…
It was pretty cool to see Ryan Kelly art dropped into the “Star Wars” universe, but while there was much deserved fanfare for his arc on the title, Carlos D’Anda did some magnificent work on the first arc which shouldn’t go unheralded. Somehow Brian Wood is finding room for new stories in between ‘A New Hope’ and ‘Empire’, which is a breath of fresh air and an escape from the intimidating post-‘Star Wars’ canon.
STAR WARS #11
Brian Wood (W), Carlos D’Anda (A), Gabe Eltaeb (C), and Sean Cooke (Cover)
On sale Nov 13
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Ongoing
Princess Leia’s stealth squadron is together again, just in time to fight for their lives. The Star Destroyer Devastator launches an all-out attack on the Rebel fleet! Meanwhile, Vader’s secret agent realizes what it could mean to fail the Dark Lord. And, on Coruscant, Han Solo’s luck may be changing—unless . . . well, unless it isn’t . . .
• Artist Carlos D’Anda returns!
8. Putting the kill on Killjoys
Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m sold after reading that pull-quote in the solicitation (below). Ahem. Anyway, Gerard Way’s “Killjoys” comic has been a welcome return to form for the musician/writer/artist/Renaissance man. Sam described it as Mad Max meets The Breakfast Club and I think that’s an apt comparison. Throw in a little Jet Set Radio and you’ve got it. It all ends here and we wouldn’t miss it for anything.
Continued belowThe True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #6 (of 6)
Gerard Way (W), Shaun Simon (W), Becky Cloonan (A/Cover), Dan Jackson (C) and Gabriel Bá (Variant Cover)
On sale Nov 13
FC, 40 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
“Stupid children, they’ll never learn.”
It all ends here, boys and girls, so Killjoys, make some noise! The Phoenix Witch rises, Destroya lives, and Korse is on the loose! If Battery City isn’t razed to the ground by the end of this issue, then we’re all dead. Check your BLI-issued heart monitors and make sure you have a pulse. If you do, you need this raucous finale!
• The final chapter of the Danger Days saga by My Chemical Romance.
“Welcome back, Gerard—we needed more comic books like this.”–Multiversity
7. Brian Wood’s Conan is ending with style
Brian Wood and his “DMZ” cohort Riccardo Burchielli come together again to bring us the final story in Wood’s “Conan” run. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what Burchielli’s Conan is going to look like. Wood’s run has been something of a love-it or hate-it affair, but I love it. It’s been a little funkier and more offbeat than what we expect from a Conan story, but if you ask me, that’s a refreshing fact. There are other high quality Conan stories that keep the more traditional feel. I’m going to miss this take.
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #22
Brian Wood (W), Riccardo Burchielli (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Massimo Carnevale (Cover)
On sale Nov 20
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Ongoing
“The Song of Bêlit” brings Brian Wood’s critically acclaimed epic adaptation of “Queen of the Black Coast” to a conclusion, as Conan and Bêlit sail up the black waters of the river Death . . . and into the horror that awaits them!
• From Brian Wood (Star Wars, The Massive) and Paul Azaceta (Amazing Spider-Man, B.P.R.D.).
• Wood’s hard-hitting take on the Cimmerian is winning scores of new readers!
6. Cowboy Up!
Frequent Multiversity readers will know that we couldn’t be more excited for Geoff Darrow’s “Shaolin Cowboy” – it’s a terrific value for fans of high concept mayhem that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The Shaolin Cowboy #2
Geof Darrow (W/A/Cover) and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Nov 13
FC, 40 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
He came, he “sawed,” but will he conquer?! The Shaolin Cowboy proves—in 33 pages of gas-powered mayhem—that the undead and kung fu don’t mix as they mix it up in issue #2. No “low T” in this one!
• From writer/artist Geof Darrow (Hard Boiled, The Matrix)!
• 33 pages of story!
• The action heats up!
• For fans of chainsaws!
“What do a talking horse and a shaolin priest have in common? Each other. Add to this strange pair a band of assassins (including a talking monkey with a gun) and you get Shaolin Cowboy” —Comic Critique
5. I’ll never mind an extra-long issue of Mind MGMT
How does Matt Kindt have time to put out an oversized issue of the excellent “Mind MGMT” on top of writing a hundred books for DC Comics, Valiant, and Marvel? That’s dedication.
MIND MGMT #17
Matt Kindt (W/A/C/Cover)
On sale Nov 27
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Ongoing
MIND MGMT’s third arc comes to its explosive, oversized conclusion, as each of the one-shot stories collide in a suburban neighborhood destabilized by sleeper agent the Home Maker. As Lyme, the Eraser, and Meru each follow their own agenda, a psychic battle royale engulfs the community!
• Extra pages! Same price!
• Don’t miss October’s MIND MGMT Volume 2 hardcover!
Matt Kindt’s (JLA, 3 Story) most berserk issue yet!
4. Until we meet again, Dr. Vanderspeigle?
I love “Resident Alien.” We here at Multiversity will be sad to see it go again, but we’re all crossing our fingers that there’s another adventure down the road.
Resident Alien: The Suicide Blonde #3 (of 3)
Peter Hogan (W) and Steve Parkhouse (A/C/Cover)
On sale Nov 13
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
An alien explorer stranded in America yearns for his home world, but he’s enamored with ours—especially when it comes to murder mysteries! Seeking to clear the name of a friend who’s fingered for a college girl’s death, Harry combs Seattle for clues. And those federal agents? They’re only getting closer to nabbing Harry!
3. New Goon has me over the Moon!
Due to its irregular schedule, and the time and care put into each issue, I haven’t gotten to talk about “The Goon” in any of my Dark Horse Solicitation columns yet. It’s an easy series to forget about, since it hardly ever comes around, but we shouldn’t. It is always so good. Eric Powell’s “Goon” is the epitome of creator-owned work. The way that he experiments with genre, humor (some of which tends to be delightfully off-color), and homage is tremendous. Every issue is packed to the gills with comic goodness. I don’t speak Spanish, so I have no idea what any of this solicitation material is about, but I don’t care – I’m in.
Continued belowTHE GOON #44
Eric Powell (W/A/Cover), Mark Buckingham (A), and Ryan Hill (C)
On sale Nov 27
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Ongoing¡LAGARTO HOMBRE REGRESA! ¡Ah, Jesús dulce! ¡El horror de ese bocadillo de jamón Lagarto Hombre ha regresado! ¡El diablo! es el diablo! ¡El señor salvo nosotros! ¡Lagarto Hombre comerá a sus bebés en la noche! ¡Vuela como gatos malos en la cara!*
*We apologize to our Spanish-language readers; the process that created the Lagarto Hombre gave him terrible grammar.
2. Is there a ghost in my house?
Kelly Sue DeConnick – Multiversity favorite and someone who’s just about as busy as Matt Kindt. Christopher Sebela – writer of the terrific and underrated “High Crimes” and hilarious Twitter personality.
Ryan Sook – all-star cover artist doing interior work? Oh my, yes.
Any self-respecting comic fan should be all over this one.
Ghost #1
Kelly Sue DeConnick (W), Chris Sebela (W), Ryan Sook (A), Terry Dodson (Cover), and Paolo Rivera (Variant cover)
On sale Nov 6
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Ongoing
Ghost, the hero trapped between two worlds, fights to protect Chicago from extradimensional demons disguised as humans. When a familiar stranger destroys an el train, Ghost makes a deal with a devil for the chance to uncover her own mysterious past. The perfect issue to join this action-packed superhero title!
• Ryan Sook on interiors!
• Cover artist Terry Dodson!
• Chris Sebela (High Crimes) joins the fray!
• Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel) continues her hit run on the Dark Horse hero.
1. I wanna be…your Sledgehammer
Judge Dredd/Punisher artist Laurence Campbell comes to the Mignolaverse to take up the duties on the latest “Seldgehammer 44” story. If you’ve never had the pleasure of perusing his art, it’s dark and moody with a bit of Jim Steranko design-sensibility to it. (@iamsteranko) In other words, it’s just perfect for a story like this in a world like Mignola’s. We couldn’t be more excited to see the results.
Sledgehammer 44: Lightening War #1 (of 3)
Mike Mignola (W/Cover), John Arcudi (W), Laurence Campbell (A), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Nov 27
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
After the classified, advanced airplane known as the Flying Wing is hijacked by the Nazis, Sledgehammer is sent on a special recovery mission that pits him against the deadly Black Flame!
• Cover by Mike Mignola!
• From the pages of Hellboy!
• Laurence Campbell takes the reins of Sledgehammer!
Those were our picks for Dark Horse’s November 2013. Need to see more? Want to tell us what we missed? The full solicitations can be found over at CBR.
