Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest,” where we try to summarize what’s coming your way this December 2019. We’ve already looked at DC, Marvel, and Image, as well as some manga options. Now let’s check out what else the Previews Catalog has in store!
Get your pull lists ready because December has a lot of great stuff slated to come out.
10. Because Why Not
I can just imagine some editors and executives running down a list of ’90s properties, sticking everything together, and trying to find a crossover that works with available licenses. This looks primed to play on your nostalgia and, I dunno, maybe that’s something we need every once in a while.
Power Rangers/Teenager Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
Written by Ryan Parrott
Illustrated by Simone Di Meco
Published by BOOM! Studios* THE MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS AND THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME!
* The Power Rangers arrive in New York City to find Tommy Oliver (a.k.a. The Mighty Morphin Green Ranger) but soon discover he’s joined forces with the villainous Shredder and the Foot Clan!
* As the Rangers are sent reeling by this betrayal, they’re confronted by another (fr)enemy… the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Can these heroes find a way to work together to defeat the bad guys and save the world from total destruction?!
* Written by Ryan Parrott (Power Rangers: Necessary Evil) and illustrated by Simone di Meo (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Venom Annual), the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fight – and maybe team up with – the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the first time.
9. Drift Compatible?
The Pacific Rim bar is set at Uprising, so this just has to be better than that to make some impact. Cavan Scott has turned in some of the better Star Wars stories, so hopefully his brand extends here too.
Pacific Rim: Amara
Written by Cavan Scott and Zhang Ran
Illustrated by BigN
Published by Legendary ComicsAs the Kaiju Wars rage on, Pacific Rim: Amara follows the young heroine whose life shattered when she is orphaned during a devastating monster attack. Fighting to survive as her city is destroyed, she finds shelter with a grumpy mech-inventor named Kai and his closest companion, Hannah. The trio forms an unlikely family in the aftermath of the invasion, looking out for one another and scavenging old mech parts to build their very own Jaeger, a pilotable giant robot with the power to protect Amara from the monsters that took everything from her.
8. It’s You and Me, Honeybunch
I have a soft spot for when some wunderkind cartoonist takes on some weird and seemingly random property. Why is “Bottomless Belly Button” doing this? Is he having fun with the material? Why Clue? All answers will be addressed in this complete, collection edition.
Clue: Candlestick
Written and Illustrated by Dash Shaw
Published by IDW PublishingWho did it? How’d they do it? And where? Answer these classic questions and solve the mystery in this graphic novel based on the timeless detective game.
Cartoonist auteur Dash Shaw unleashes his murderous imagination on the quirky, thrilling, and mysterious world of Clue! Ripe with puzzles, secrets, and lies, everyone’s a suspect in this suspense-filled whodunit! Was it Miss Scarlet in the conservatory with the lead pipe? Suspicions mount as bodies start piling up.
7. Wolf Life
Clayton Junior’s all ages, Babe/Homeward Bound fable receives an English translation. Junior’s art ranges from clean and open to wildly abstract with stacks and stacks of colors. It’s the perfect sort of thing to get lost in.
Continued belowWild Thing
Written and Illustrated by Clayton Junior
Published by AblazeWild Thing Or: My Life as a Wolf tells the story of an affectionate and inquisitive Labrador named Silver, who grew up on a farm with his master and his hundreds of sheep. But Silver dreams of adventure, bored by the monotony?of his farm life… What is beyond the hills? Where does the river flow? Which animals live in the forest? So many questions without answers… One night, Silver meets a trio of hungry wolves. Attracted by their unhindered life, as enticing as it is dangerous, he decides to follow them, and learns to live the wild life with the pack, which is rough and exhilarating at the same time. Along the way he discovers love, and the ravages of human civilization that are reducing the living space of animals, threatening their very existence.
6. Legends of the Old Woods
“Harrow County” probably remains the best thing Cullen Bunn has yet created. He and Tyler Crook created this weird and horrifying yet hearth-y world. Part of the fun came in the side stories that closed out each issue. It’ll be interesting to see how this works without Crook’s illustrations, but Franquiz seems to have the scope and imagination to carry the legacy.
Tales from Harrow County: Death’s Choir #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Naomi Franquiz
Published by Dark Horse ComicsHarrow County is back! The Award-winning, Eisner-nominated, southern-gothic horror series returns with a brand-new story.
Ten years have passed since Emmy exited Harrow County, leaving her close friend Bernice as steward of the supernatural home.
But World War II is in full swing, taking Harrow’s young men and leaving the community more vulnerable than ever-and when a ghostly choir heralds the resurrection of the dead, Bernice must find a solution before the town is overrun.
5. The Lies of Lily the Thief
Jeff Lemire gives us another branch of the “Black Hammer” tree. Zonjic has that wonderfully Dark Horse aesthetic which reminds us of the publisher’s glory days.
Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy — From the World of Black Hammer #1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Tonci Zonjic
Published by Dark Horse ComicsSpiral City finds itself trapped in a vicious cycle of crime, corruption, and violence. With the heart of the city at stake, a vigilante rises in Skulldigger. However, when the nefarious Grimjim escapes from prison, will Skulldigger and his ward, Skeleton Boy, be enough to save Spiral City?
4. Cyberqueer
I’m not sure how this ties in with the video game, 2064: Read Only Memories. I just know Sina Grace is writing the script and his constant, inherent bitchy-cool voice makes everything more cool. (Even when Marvel tries to hold him down.) Add Simeone’s art that looks like it came out of the “Art of…” book, and this seems like a neat little artifact.
Read Only Memories #1
Written by Sina Grace
Illustrated by Stefano Simeone
Published by IDW PublishingBased on the hit game 2064: Read Only Memories, enter a cyberpunk universe like you’ve never seen it before!
Santa Cruz, California. A beach town just 50 miles from Neo-San Francisco. Lexi Rivers, former detective with the Neo-San Francisco Police Department, has left the big city lights behind in favor of opening her own agency.
Valentine’s Day. A time for celebrating love-or finding it. When a robot’s human lover goes missing, Lexi will be faced with a case unlike any she’s tackled yet, one which just might show her that not all is as it seems in this pleasant beachside community…
3. Unseasonably Scary
Liz Valasco’s artwork is expressive and moody, perfectly suited to this creepy story. I wonder if it would have been better off dropping in October or September, but then I remembered they used to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve, so it makes sense.
The Seeker
Written and Illustrated by Liz Valasco
Published by Tinto PressA deceptively dark, adolescent fantasy, The Seeker is a story of magic gone awry on a Halloween night in the suburbs. A group of kids looking for fun and frights may have found more than they bargained for!
2. We Live in Books More Than We Live Anywhere Else
Gaiman’s slim but powerful novel gets a brand new edition with artwork from Elise Hurst. Her work is swift and brushy, like a wicked old memory. Perfectly suited for the tone and tenor of the novel. If you missed it the first time around, you have another chance to dive into this weird and wild novel.
Continued belowThe Ocean at the End of the Lane: Illustrated Edition
Written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Elise Hurst
Published by William MorrowA man returns to the site of his childhood home where, years before, he knew a girl named Lettie Hempstock who showed him the most marvelous, dangerous, and outrageous things, but when he gets there he learns that nothing is as he remembered. Wondrous, imaginative, impossible, and at times deeply scary, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is classic Neil Gaiman and has captured the hearts of readers everywhere. This beautiful illustrated edition features haunting, emotive artwork by renowned fine artist Elise Hurst, whose illustrations seamlessly interweave the childhood wonder and harrowing danger that infuse Gaiman’s beloved tale.
1. Into the Kindtverse
Joe Hill’s latest creepshow. The guy understands how comics work better than a lot of prose writers (and how prose works better than a lot of comic writers, tbh). With Simmonds’s equally horrific artwork, this is sure to be an event.
Dying is Easy #1
Written by Joe Hill
Illustrated by Martin Simmonds
Published by IDW Publishinghe debut of an all-new creation by Joe Hill (Locke & Key) and Martin Simmonds (Punks Not Dead)! Meet Syd “Sh*t-Talk” Homes, a disgraced ex-cop turned bitter stand-up comic turned… possible felon?!
In part 1 of Dying is Easy, Carl Dixon is on the verge of comedy superstardom and he got there the dirty way: by stealing jokes. He’s got a killer act, an ugly past, and more enemies than punch-lines. So when someone asks Syd Homes how much it would cost to have Dixon killed, Syd isn’t surprised in the slightest. He’s already got a figure in mind…
Well that was fun! Feel free to let us know what you’re excited for!
