Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest” of what’s coming your way in the now-available February 2016 Previews catalog. Having already taken a look at what Marvel, Dark Horse, DC, and Image have lined up for us, it’s now time to check out the other 75% of the catalog. Before we jump into the things you should keep an eye out for, a quick reminder:
And second, as one-half of the Robots From Tomorrow podcast, I go through the whole Previews catalog each and every month with co-host Mike Romeo, talking about things that catch our eye and quicken our pulse. If you listen to those episodes, you should still read this column because there will not be a 100% overlap, and if you don’t listen to those episodes, they are a great way to hear Mike & I go into further detail about some of the things I’ve spotlighted here.
That said, let’s dive in!
10. This Badger Was Crazy LONG Before Honey Badger
With Nexus back in circulation, it’s about time Mike Baron got around to showing his other big creation some love. Although I never followed it with any consistency when First Comics published its initial run, I seem to remember that Badger took a lot of the grim&gritty vigilante tropes filtering into the comics of that era and treated them with a satirical touch (Hey Larry!). Not much indication of that kind of deftness in these solicits, but if he can bring the old school Baron touch to this mini, it should be a real treat.
The Badger #1 (of 5)
Written by Mike Baron
Illustrated by Jim Fern
Published by Devil’s Due/1First ComicsFans have demanded it and now, at long last, the Badger returns! A brand new story ripped from today’s headlines, from the inimitable Mike Baron! Badger as you’ve never seen him: Raw! Furious! Crazier than Randy Quaid! Jim Fern’s art will astonish! With a killer variant cover by Paul Pope!
9. Not the Ross/Churchill Series
There’s a trio of guys who are linked in my mind by a similar aesthetic, if not identical output. Benjamin Marra (“One Man War On Terror”), Michel Fiffe (“COPRA”), and Forsman share a willingness to tap into that exploitation energy and funnel it into their work, visually and narratively. I’ve checked up on the first two creators; now it’s time for me (and you, if you haven’t) to check in on the third.
REVENGER VOL. 1 TPB
Written & Illustrated by Charles Forsman
Published by Bergen Street PressWhen all hope is lost — and those who meant the most to you have been ripped away — there is only one moment left to you, the moment of revenge. Out of the darkness stalks a blood-soaked nightmare, cloaked with the scars of her righteous mission. In this, the first collection of Charles Forsman’s self-published abattoir, those who do evil will find themselves faced, finally, with the hungry maw of justice.
8. One Ark, Zero Floods
Never heard of this until I started researching for this column, but it looks really good and it’s from Humanoids, so I’ll give it a shot.
THE ARK HC
Written & Illustrated by Stephane Levallois
Published by Humanoids Inc.A nearly silent allegorical fable of man vs. nature that explores the medium’s potential in a stunning, cinematic fashion. A lone figure in a diving suit drags an enormous wooden ark through the desert, scarring the earth with its deep furrow. A plane crashes. A zeppelin prowls the azure skies, its crew seduced by caged women, while Bedouins and soldiers clash under the blazing sun. This poetic tale entrances as it pulls all these elements and characters together into a haunting yet mesmerizing canvas.
7. I Learn Something New Every Month…
This book is a must for me in the vein of “Kavalier & Klay” and “Hicksville”. I love those fictional comics history stories told as comics with a bunch of different art styles going on at once. Plus, Pantheon Books really knows how to deliver prestige packaging for the few graphic novels they do publish. Sonny Liew was on my radar because of “Doctor Fate”, but he’s got my attention now with this book.
Continued belowTHE ART OF CHARLIE CHAN HOCK CHYE
Written and Illustrated by Sonny Liew
Published by Pantheon BooksMeet Charlie Chan Hock Chye, the greatest comic book artist you’ve probably never heard of. When he started making comics in Singapore as a boy of 16 in 1954, Chan expected fame and fortune to quickly follow. But just as Singapore’s road to independence would be full of twists and turns, so too would Chan’s own journey as an artist. Splicing together a dizzying array of art styles, genres and forms, Sonny Liew’s multilayered graphic novel is a celebration of life, comics and storytelling. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is an innovative work that challenges the possibilities of the comics medium, creating a double-edged history. Limited signed bookplate edition.
6. Still A Bad Mother–
David Walker is everywhere right now. From “Cyborg” to “Power Man & Iron Fist”, the man has earned the right to be one of the go-to names in comics at the moment. And he earned it by putting in solid work on books like “Shaft”, which may not have set the sales charts on fire but were noticed by the right people. But to Walker, “Shaft” isn’t just another series. The man also wrote the first Shaft novel in 40 years (“Shaft’s Revenge”). For all his other success, Walker was put on this earth to write about the cat who won’t cop out. And now he’s back with another “Shaft” miniseries, so do yourself a favor and pick this up!
SHAFT: IMITATION OF LIFE #1 (of 4)
Written by David F. Walker
Illustrated by Dietrich Smith
Published by Dynamite EntertainmentAfter a high profile case that put him in the headlines, private detective John Shaft is looking for something low profile and easy that will keep him out of the spotlight and out of danger. Shaft takes a missing person case that proves to be more difficult than he initially thought. At the same time, he is hired to be a consultant on a low budget film that may or may not be based on his life, and proves to be as dangerous as any job he’s ever had. But when there’s danger all about, John Shaft is the cat that won’t cop out – even if it means squaring off against sadistic gangsters that want him dead.
5. New Moon
You met her on “Glory” with Joe Keatinge and fell in love with her work on “Jem & The Holograms” with Kelly Thompson, but I’m willing to bet 95% of you didn’t know that Sophie Campbell has her own series of OGNs going alongside those other works. Well, you do now. And it’s also easier than ever to start reading them with this Oni Press re-release. Campbell’s storytelling and body-positive approach to character design is on display even from these earlier pages, so I for one can’t wait to catch up on this series.
WET MOON VOL. 1: FEEBLE WANDERINGS
Written & Illustrated by Sophie Campbell
Published by Oni PressAn all-new edition of the first book in Sophie Campbell’s critically acclaimed original graphic novel series, WET MOON! With brand new covers designed by cartoonist Annie Mok (Screen Tests) and special extras in the back, this edition is perfect for longtime fans and new readers alike!
4. One Stuffed Sweater
Sara Varon is another name that I’ve heard about but never actually read any of their work, but this collection looks like a great way to rectify that! First Second has such a good batting average when it comes to putting out quality books that I could almost recommend this just on their publishing it, but the fact that it looks like a combination of fiction and process examination is all the better!
Continued belowSWEATERWEATHER & OTHER SHORT STORIES HC
Written & Illustrated by Sara Varon
Published by :01 First SecondThis endearing, quirky volume is a captivating look into Varon’s creative process. It combines short comics stories, essays, and journal entries, and invites the reader into the world of Sara Varon: where adorable, awkward anthropomorphic animals walk the streets of Brooklyn and a surprising, sideways revelation is waiting around every corner.
3. From Now On … I Will Buy Everything Of Ward’s I See
Ward is one of Brandon Graham’s “Prophet” crew, which really should be all that I need to say for you to pick up a collection of his sci-fi & horror work, because that series stretches both of those muscles in all of its creators. It’s not like working on that book could be called ‘constricting’, I don’t think, but I’m really curious to see Ward cut loose from even those parameters and do something completely uninhibited from his brain to the page.
FROM NOW ON HC
Written & Illustrated by Malachi Ward
Published by Alternative ComicsA collection of hauntingly beautiful science fiction and horror short stories by Prophet and Ritual artist Malachi Ward. Collects stories from Mome, Study Group Magazine, Sundays, Best American Comics 2013, and more. In these dozen stories Malachi explores and blends the classic themes of fantasy and science fiction using a range of illustration techniques and styles. In “Utu” a Shaman arrives at an outpost with prognostications of a terrible war. He claims his visions come from a mysterious god, but can he be trusted? In “Hero for Science” a time-travelling rescue mission turns dour when a team member goes native. In “The Scout” while retrieving information in a remote cave, a scout encounters another version of himself.
2. Another “March”
I already own this book in two different editions; one softcover, one hardcover. I had the good fortune of getting the hardcover signed by all three creators, so the softcover is basically a reader copy I can loan out to people. You wouldn’t think I needed another copy. You would be wrong. I’m triple-dipping on this book without hesitation because: 1) it is even more fantastic than the blurb below conveys, and 2) Nate Powell does career-defining work in it, and if there’s an option for me to see that work in a larger format, I am absolutely going to buy it in that format. (If you’re still on the fence about picking this up, may I suggest listening to this talk Mike & I had about this first volume when it came out?)
MARCH BOOK ONE (OVERSIZED HC)
Written by Rep. John Lewis & Andrew Aydin
Illustrated by Nate Powell
Published by IDW/Top ShelfThe groundbreaking graphic novel memoir of a living legend of the civil rights movement, MARCH: BOOK ONE has swiftly become an iconic work. Created by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, this #1 New York Times bestseller is also a Coretta Scott King Honor book, a required text in classrooms across America, and the first graphic novel to win a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. Now for the first time ever, this modern classic – praised by everyone from President Bill Clinton to LeVar Burton to Tim Cook – appears in an oversized hardcover edition, so the stunning work of Lewis, Aydin, and Powell can be appreciated on a grander scale.
1. The Force Is Strong With This One
I try to avoid being predictable when it comes to my picks for this column. Seriously, I do. Emphasis on “try”, because I am not always successful, especially not this month. Because if you have been reading this column or spending any extended time within earshot of me and knew that this book was coming out, you knew I was going to choose this as my top pick this month. Because Al Williamson is one of the best sci-fi/adventure artists this medium has ever seen, his work with writer Archie Goodwin ranks among the best he ever did, the Artist Editions are the best option for seeing an artist’s work as they created it, and Empire is the best Star Wars film. So, yeah, this one gets the top spot.
AL WILLIAMSON’S STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK ARTIST EDITION
Written by Archie Goodwin
Illustrated by Al Williamson
Published by IDWAl Williamson’s career is crammed full of amazing accomplishments: star artist for the EC Comics line while barely in his twenties, drawing the definitive comic-book version of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, producing the X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan comic Strip for 10 years, plus many more! Williamson’s classic run on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is legendary among fans of classic comic art. His heroic adventure style was perfectly suited for the Star Wars franchise-so much so that Williamson was George Lucas’ first choice for the Star Wars newspaper comic strip (which he would later go on to draw). This incredible Artist’s Edition collects all of Williamson’s Empire work, as well as selected pages from Return of the Jedi and other Star Wars pages by this renowned artist. The Force is strong in this book, don’t you dare miss it!
Well, that was fun! Be sure to check out the Robots From Tomorrow February 2016 Previews episode this week AND next week to hear us talk about these books and a whole lot more. And let me know what books YOU’RE excited for in the comments section.
