What's New Comic Book #4
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 11:59AM 
And we are back after a brief hiatus with a new edition of What’s New Comic Book! Now more then ever it's important to pre-order in this market as Marvel and DC are releasing so many titles that crossover into major events that's it’s causing the smaller publishers to get lost on the self. Just the other day Joe and myself went to a comic shop in Rahway, NJ that we haven’t visited since the new 52 was rolled out from DC. It was a shop that had large wall space for Marvel and DC while also providing a huge section for Image, Dark Horse, and the other various smaller publishers and indie titles. When we stopped back in recently the amount of non Marvel and DC rack space was cut in half and what was there was overcrowded and prominently featured good girl / bad girl comics. It was disappointing because I was really looking to discover something new to read.
Why is pre-ordering the comic books you want so important? To start with your local comic shop has a lot to work with as they’re placing orders in March for what they plan on selling in May. The Previews catalogue for May shipping titles has 346 pages that they have to wade through. Then there are the different discount levels they receive per publisher. Higher the discount means the more money they make for each copy sold. There’s a lot stacked against non Marvel and DC comic books and I like using this column to showcase a handful of new books that I feel deserve an extra look. As always if you see something you might find interesting let your LCS now as soon as possible. It’s the word of mouth from their customers that can help retailers determine where the demand is. I’ve included the Previews catalogue page number for reference as well as the item codes that can be given to a LCS when placing orders.
X-O MANOWAR #1
(W) Robert Venditti (A) Cary Nord
Publisher Valiant Entertainment
In Shops 5/2/2012
Price $3.99, 32 pages, FC
Cover by Esad Ribic - MAR121221
Pullbox Exclusive Variant by Cary Nord - MAR121222
Variant Cover by David Aja - MAR121223
QR Voice Variant by Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic - MAR121224
Catalogue pages 326 - 331
Let’s start things off with not just one of my most anticipated comics, this really covers the publishing line as a whole. X-O MANOWAR is the first of 4 new titles coming from the launched Valiant Universe. I want you to forget about the recent Dark Horse line, even when Acclaim came in and took over, this looks like it’s going back to its roots and that is what has me excited. I got into comics big back in the day when Valiant and Image where at their height, reading and collecting comic books at that time was something special. I’m also happy to see is such strong creative teams being attached, Cary Nord is a perfect choice of artist here.
MAN OF GOD #1 (of 6)
(W) Craig Partin (P) Yvel Guichet (I) Stu Berryhill (L) Jonathan Swinney (CA) Yvel Guichet & Dan Brereton
Publisher Pinwheel Press
Price $3.50, 36 pages, B&W
MAR121160
Catalogue page 311
That’s a nice segway into our next title featuring Yvel Guichet one of Valiant’s alumni. Now I didn’t find out about MAN OF GOD through the catalogue, or any of the various comic book news sites I visit, not even though twitter. I stumbled across this title while clicking around Kickstarter. This is a site where creative people can bring their projects to get funded by everyday people by offering various levels of incentives. It was Brereton providing covers that caught my attention and as I read up on this it sounds like it could be interesting. Right now I’m not reading any horror comics and this could fill that void.
MIND THE GAP #1
(W) Jim McCann
(A/CA) Rodin Esquejo (C/CA) Sonia Oback
Publisher Image Comics
In Shops 5/2/2012
Price $2.99, 48 pages, FC
Cover A - MAR120401
Cover B - MAR120402
Catalogue pages 182 - 185
MIND THE GAP looks like it’s going to be an incredibly suspenseful mystery comic book. There are a lot of interesting titles starting up this month for Image but I just want to focus on this one today. In addition to a great concept the creative team behind this comic is a must see. Rodin Esquejo well known for his cover work mostly on creating the stunning look for MORNING GLORIES every month brings his talents here illustrating the interior. I can’t wait to see what Rodin along with Sonia Oback bring us. If you’re not familiar with Jim McCann I highly recommend trying out his HC book with Janet Lee titled RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN. Or if superheroes are more your thing he was very instrumental in bringing Hawkeye & Mockingbird to the forefront at Marvel. If you’re looking for something completely different then what’s on the selves now MIND THE GAP is for you.
MIKE NORTON’S BATTLEPUG VOLUME 1 HC
(W/A) Mike Norton (C) Allen Passalaqua
In Shops 7/4/2012
Price $14.99, 72 pages, FC, 8 1/2" x 12"
MAR120034
Catalogue page 48
Everybody knows Mike Norton right? He has a huge backlist of outstanding work including THE WAITING PLACE, QUEEN AND COUNTRY, GRAVITY, and most recently FEAR ITSELF: YOUTH IN REVOLT. He’s currently working on his own web comic BATTLEPUG, yes a web comic. Just go to http://battlepug.com/ and you can read it right now for free. Much like me you will fall in love with it. Why buy a collected edition when you can get it for free? Honestly there’s nothing like holding a book in your hands and reading it. Also for the collector that has to have everything there’ll be extras included that aren’t even available at the website.
That’s it for this month. 4 titles that can be found in the newest Previews catalogue, issue #282, that are honestly completely different from each other. Superheroes may dominate the market but if you look a little deeper you’ll find so much more. Check out our link section on the site located at the upper right hand side for more information on everything listed.