Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s look at the “Best of the Rest” of what’s coming your way in the now-available March 2015 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. Louise Brooks Stars in “The Murder Case That Could Have Been”
Rick Geary strikes me as the type of cartoonist people would describe, in shock, as being “such a nice, pleasant, and helpful man” after finding out he writes gruesome horror novels for a living. I first saw his work in the late 80’s in “Dark Horse Presents”, doing little one- or two-page comics on historical oddities, usually of a horrible nature, but drawn in an almost children’s book style of innocence. His figures almost always had a beatific face or some other incongruous feature while they were doing some despicable deed. It was never obscene or gross or even over the top, but it pushed juuuussssttttt the right button to unnerve. He’s been doing true-crime non-fiction work for most of the last twenty years, bringing that peculiar eye and matter-of-fact delivery to such happy topics as Jack the Ripper, the murder of Abraham Lincoln, and the lives of Sacco & Vanzetti. And now a fictional interlude into an untold chapter in the life of Louise Brooks.
Louise Brooks: Detective
Written and Illustrated by Rick Geary
Published by NBMStepping away for a bit from his growing and impressive body of work in the Treasury of Murder true crime series, Geary creates a fictional story around a favorite actress: Louise Brooks. Spun around her actual brief meteoric career as a smoldering film actress who popularized bangs, Geary fantasizes about her coming back to her home town of Wichita where she becomes intrigued by a murder involving a friend, a famous reclusive writer and a shady beau. Not before she gets herself in great danger will she emerge with the solution the police fail to grasp!
9. Wood Work
If you like comics and you don’t know Wally Wood or his work, then you might not like comics as much as you think you can until you see it. The man could do little- and big-foot cartooning with equal ease at a level of craft right up there with Frank Frazetta, another EC Comics contemporary of Wood. Wood’s “24 Panels That Always Work”, as well as his advice to “Never draw anything you can copy, never copy anything you can trace, never trace anything you can cut out and paste up” has saved more comic art jobs and artist careers than we will ever be able to truly measure. The guy who brought Daredevil from his original costume to the red suit everyone is dying to see on the upcoming Netflix series? Wally Wood designed that. He did a two-month stint on Will Eisner’s “Spirit” strip, and was an early independent publisher with “witzend” (sic). His contributions to comics and comics art can’t be easily summed up.
Which is probably why it took Bhob Stewart almost thirty years to put together this look at Wood’s artistic triumphs and personal tragedies. I’m not sure if this is an expanded & reworked version of Stewart’s earlier Wood book “Against The Grain” from Twomorrows, and Stewart passed away almost exactly a year ago, so finding out would be quite the challenge. But whether you have that out-of-print book or not, this new volume from Fantagraphics looks like a smart addition to anyone’s collection!
Continued belowThe Life & Legend of Wallace Wood
Edited by Bhob Stewart
Published by FantagraphicsWho was Wallace Wood? The maddest artist of Mad magazine? The man behind Marvel’s Daredevil? The self-publishing pioneer of Witzend? With a life as dramatic as his compositions, many fans know the legendary artist, but few know the man inside. Until now. The Art and Life of Wallace Wood is an incisive look back at the life and career of one of the greatest and most mythic figures in cartooning. Edited over the course of thirty years by former Wood assistant Bhob Stewart, The Art and Life of Wallace Wood is a biographical portrait, generously illustrated with Wood’s gorgeous art as well as little seen personal photos and childhood ephemera. Also: remembrances by Wood’s friends, colleagues, assistants, and loved ones. This collective biographical and critical portrait explores the humorous spirit, dark detours, and psychological twists of a gifted maverick in American pop culture. Contributions by Bill Gaines, Grant Geissman, Larry Hama, Paul Kirchner, Trina Robbins, John Severin, Tom Sutton, Al Williamson and more!
8. The King Stays The King
Remember when I said I preferred my Lovecraft done by other people rather than H. P. himself? Oh wait, I won’t say that for another 5 picks. In that case: spoilers! I like my H. P. Lovecraft better when it comes from other sources. Things such as Moore & O’Neill’s “Heart of Ice” graphic novella from the “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” series; Martin Campbell’s “Cast A Deadly Spell” with Fred Ward, Julianne Moore, David Warner, and Clancy Brown; or the Chaosium roleplaying game supplements like “Beyond the Mountains of Madness”.
Oh, and INJ Culbard’s own adaptations: “At The Mountains Of Madness”, “The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward”, “The Shadow Out Of Time”, and “The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath”.
“The King In Yellow” isn’t by Lovecraft; the short story collection was written in 1895 by Robert W. Chambers. But was a huge influence on Lovecraft and his work, so much so he incorporated the book itself into his mythos alongside his own Necronomicon as a book of unearthly evil influence. “Yellow” has since popped up in Lovecraft-inspired fiction and other instances when writers just want to throw some insanely creepy shit at people. For an example of that last instance, see season one of “True Detective”.
So one of my favorite cartoonists and Lovecraft adapters is tackling one of the key Lovecraft inspirations? Sold!
The King in Yellow
Adapted and Illustrated by INJ Culbard from the short stories of Robert W. Chambers
Published by SelfMadeHeroThe supernatural stories that make up Robert W. Chambers’s classic piece of weird fiction are tied together by a play that brings madness to all who read it: The King in Yellow. It’s a book that draws readers in with an irresistible yet innocent opening act, then drives them insane with the poisonous words of Act 2. It’s a book that cannot be suppressed, spreading like a disease from city to city, continent to continent. An influence on writers from H. P. Lovecraft to Neil Gaiman, The King in Yellow is one of the most important works of American supernatural fiction. In this dangerously unputdownable graphic-novel adaptation, I. N. J. Culbard brings to life a thrilling tale of horror that will make readers laugh and cry and tremble with fright . . . Read at your own risk
7. A New Work From Maison Immonen
I originally pegged this creator-owned collaboration between wife & husband team of Kathryn & Stuart Immonen as some kind of Cold War spy thriller. Looking now at the solicit text? Not so much. I’m not even sure what I would categorize this as…and that’s great. Because the easiest way to bore your audience is to say something is just like X, and the Immonens have made a career of doing the exact opposite of that. She’s written stories about superheroines, Asgardian gods, and French art curators in WWII, while he seems to have a different art style for each day of the week. Leaving them to their own devices has already given us “Moving Pictures” and “Never As Bad As You Think”. I can’t wait to see what “Russian Olive to Red King” brings us!
Continued belowRussian Olive to Red King
Written by Kathryn Immonen
Illustrated by Stuart Immonen
Published by Adhouse BooksWhen your lover may be dead, how long can you hold on to what remains? To whatever is left of you? A plane crash, a package, her dog, her voice. A notebook, his writer’s block, and heat-distorted summer memories of a search for Jumbo the Elephant and an absent father.
6. Nimona Shifts From Screen To Page!
She’s bringing back “Runaways” at Marvel. She’s co-writing “Lumberjanes” at BOOM!’s Boom Box! imprint with Grace Ellis. But before all that, she was the creator of the webcomic “Nimona” now getting a print release from the teen graphic novel arm of HarperCollins. I’m actually not as familiar with her work as I should be, but the series description sounds fun, the art looks great, and there’s bonus material included in the hardcover that isn’t online. Sold.
Nimona
Written and Illustrated by Noelle Stevenson
Published by Harper TeenThe graphic novel debut from rising star Noelle Stevenson, based on her beloved and critically acclaimed web comic, which Slate awarded its Cartoonist Studio Prize, calling it “a deadpan epic.”
Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson. Featuring an exclusive epilogue not seen in the web comic, along with bonus conceptual sketches and revised pages throughout, this gorgeous full-color graphic novel is perfect for the legions of fans of the web comic and is sure to win Noelle many new ones.
Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.
But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.
5. Can We PLEASE Start Talking About This Comic Now?
Grant Morrison works with Frank Quitely a lot. Grant Morrison’s comics with Frank Quitely kick ass. You know who else Morrison continues to work with and with whom he continues to make kick ass comics (but not “Kick-Ass”)? Frazier Irving. Did you know we’re only two months away from a collection of a Morrison/Irving mind-job that I can almost guarantee you have never read or even heard of? Well, you do now. I’m quite frankly shocked this series hasn’t gotten more buzz because, as good of a job Morrison & company have done on “The Multiversity”, “Annihilator” is just as strong comic booking in its own way. So order this thing and read it so we can talk about it without you looking at us like we’re The Scissormen or something.
Annihilator HC
Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Frazier Irving
Published by Legendary ComicsLegendary Comics proudly presents Annihilator, an original graphic novel odyssey from the subversive mind of Grant Morrison. Washed-up Hollywood screenwriter Ray Spass is caught in a downward spiral of broken relationships, wild parties and self-destruction. Out of luck and out of chances, he’s one failed script away from fading into obscurity. Little does he know he’s about to write the story of his life. As his imagination runs rampant, Ray must join forces with his own fictional character Max Nomax on a reality-bending race to stop the entire universe from imploding – without blowing his own mind in the process.
4. I Do Say!
Nate Powell is a hell of a cartoonist. He is a hell of a cartoonist on the “March” books. He’ll be a hell of a cartoonist on whatever he works on after “March”, deserving of all the accolades he’ll get. And he was a hell of a cartoonist before “March”. If you don’t believe me, or the evidence in any of Nate’s work already on the shelves, you can feel free to order this book collecting unpublished work from his career up to that point and see for yourself. You’re welcome.
Continued belowYou Don’t Say
Written and Illustrated by Nate Powell
Published by Top Shelf (via IDW)A celebrity glares. A community burns. A child’s heart breaks. A recipe summons a ghost. A dying woman makes her peace. An art form sustains the spirit. In You Don’t Say award-winning graphic novelist Nate Powell — of the #1 New York Times Bestseller March: Book One, and the Eisner Award-Winning “Graphic Novel of the Year” Swallow Me Whole — collects a decade of powerful short works. Autobiography, fiction, essay comics, collaborations, and more fill these thoughtful, pitch-black pages, comprising rare and previously unreleased material from 2004-2013.
3. The “Watchmen” of Horror?
I’m one of those guys who thinks that the best way to experience H. P. Lovecraft is by having him filtered through other people’s work. So when you tell me Alan Moore is going to do a mini-series based on Lovecraft and his mythos, I’m definitely intrigued. One of Moore’s strengths that doesn’t seem to get as much lip service as the rest is his ability to take concepts we’ve already grown bored with and remind us why we fell in love with them in the first place. And I always thought Jacen Burrows was one of the best artists in Avatar’s line-up. It looks like Moore is going for Kubrickian levels of detail and clarity in his endeavor to scare the living bejeezus out of us, and without having Dave Gibbons as an option, I think Jacen Burrows is a solid artistic choice.
And no ads! In an Avatar book!
Providence #1
Written by Alan Moore
Illustrated by Jacen Burrows
Published by Avatar PressThe most important work of 2015 begins here with the long-awaited arrival of Alan Moore’s breathtaking epic PROVIDENCE with his artistic partner Jacen Burrows. In his most carefully considered work in decades, Moore deconstructs all of Lovecraft’s concepts, reinventing the entirety of his work inside a painstakingly researched framework of American history. Both sequel and prequel to NEONOMICON, PROVIDENCE begins in 1919 and blends the mythical visions of HPL flawlessly into the cauldron of racial and sexual intolerance that defined that era on the East Coast of America. Every line from artist Jacen Burrows is perfectly honed to complete this immersive experience. The result is a breathtaking masterpiece of sequential art that will define modern horror for this generation. Invoking a comparison it to a prior literary masterpiece is not something to be handled lightly, but in scope, importance and execution: Providence is the Watchmen of horror.
Moore has designed every cover, every single page, and every nuance of this work to create his most fully-realized vision to date. There are no ads, all 32 pages are written by Moore, and Jacen Burrows has spent the past two years slaving over the finest detail possible on the pages. The entire work is already written, intricately crafted to tie the most nuanced threads together over the breadth of the series. Painstakingly researched, meticulously produced, this is a sequential masterpiece that will serve as important a call to the next generation of comic book writers as Watchmen did 30 years ago: this is a definitive demonstration of just how good a comic book can be.
2. Saving Every One Of Us From Boring-Ass Comics!
Baseball players will often talk about hitting a ball so well that there is absolutely no resistance from it at all. They might as well be swinging at nothing, but they’re in fact launching that ball over the outfield wall, scoring runs, and making their fans yell and scream in delight. Moments like those are the ones that stick with them, and books like “Flash Gordon” stick with us for the same reason. It is the adventure comic equivalent of a sweet-spot home run. Brian Salvatore and I talk about it in more detail here.
Continued belowFlash Gordon Omnibus v.1: The Man From Earth
Written by Jeff Parker and others
Illustrated by Evan Shaner and others
Published by DynamiteFlash Gordon never fit in on Earth. But on the bizarre planet Mongo, Flash’s thirst for thrills and daring danger makes him the perfect weapon against the iron-fisted tyrant Ming the Merciless and his awful interplanetary swarms of terror! Can the cocksure Man From Earth funnel his overconfidence into saving whole worlds? Will his less-rambunctious allies, Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov, fashion a lasting peace with such savage races as the Beast-Men of Arboria and Hawkmen of Sky City? Or will the universe fall to Ming?
The full-throttle, complete Flash Gordon saga is collected here, featuring epic space action from the wildly talented creative team of Jeff Parker (Batman ’66, Aquaman) and Evan Shaner (Adventures of Superman). This out-of-sight Omnibus edition also includes bonus stories from faraway Mongo, as well as a comprehensive cover gallery! Collects the complete eight-issue FLASH GORDON comic book series, plus the FLASH GORDON 2014 Holiday Special and FLASH GORDON 2014 Annual.
1. The Fanciest of Fancy Pants Editions!
I swear I’m not going to always give the #1 spot to whatever Artist Edition is released that month, but this one is special and helps illustrate a larger point.
This is the second of two Artist Editions (close enough) released this month, the other being the Frank Miller “Daredevil” Artifact Edition. Given that work’s status in comics’ collective conscious, you would think it would be at the top spot instead, but it for a couple of reasons I didn’t put it on the list. One, a lot of the iconic art from that run already showed up in last year’s “Marvel Covers” AE. And two, while Miller’s storytelling sensibilities (his or the ones he admits ripping wholesale from the then-underappreciated Will Eisner) were radical for their day, his actual drawing was the weakest part. It wasn’t until he pulled back to giving breakdowns to Klaus Janson and letting Janson carry more of the load around issue #173 that the series really started firing on all cylinders. While it’s good to have some of that art available in this manner, we’ve seen it and others like it before.
This one is something new. All the previous Artist Editions have been reproducing primarily inked line art. “The Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker” will be the first to focus on a painted work (or a work where paint and/or inkwash play such a large role in it). And as we’ve said many times before, Powell is without question one of the best painters in comics. So since these Artist Editions are such a joy for process junkies like myself, this particular one opens up a whole new avenue of art geekery.
Plus, IDW will include the lettering, even though, like most books of “Chinatown”‘s vintage, the story was lettered digitally. So you’ll actually be able to READ the thing. And that is great news, because this is my favorite Goon story of all time. You think you’re ready for it, but when it finally connects with you it feels like one of The Goon’s punches right to your heart. Which I guess is better than Frankie’s ‘knife to the eye’.
So next month we’ll have a non-Artist Edition in the top spot. Unless IDW releases Walt Simonson’s “Uncanny X-Men & The New Teen Titans”. In which case…
The Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker – Artist Edition
Written and Illustrated by Eric Powell
Published by IDWSince debuting in 1999, The Goon has won constant critical praise as well as a large and rabid fan base for creator Eric Powell. This beautiful Artist’s Edition features Powell’s Goon original graphic Novel, Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker, the opus that earned the writer/artist two Eisner Awards! Each page of this Artist’s Edition was scanned under close supervision by Powell himself to ensure the finest reproduction possible of his delicate and stunning original art—many pages of which were in color washes and sepia tones as storytelling devices… which only adds to the beauty of the originals.
- AN ARTIST’S EDITION PRESENTS COMPLETE STORIES WITH EACH PAGE SCANNED FROM THE ACTUAL ORIGINAL ART.
- While appearing to be in black & white, each page has been scanned in COLOR to mimic as closely as possible the experience of viewing the actual original art—for example, you are able to clearly see paste-overs, blue pencils in the art, editorial notes, art corrections. Each page is printed the same size as drawn, and the paper selected is as close as possible to the original art board.
- Advance solicited for a June release!
Well, that was fun! Be sure to check out next week’s Robots From Tomorrow Previews episode, and 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.
