Broken Frontier

October is kind of the off month for new comics. Marvel and DC are winding down their big events and as such all the other companies scale back just a bit. There are some very intriguing offerings though and a slew of great series are seeing their first collected editions.

So, I'm a little earlier this time.  Hey... it's a work in progress. As usual feel free to ask if you need a Diamond Code to get your shop to order something for you. Your shop has to turn in their intitial orders no later than September 2, 2008 for this here edition of Previews. 

Dark Horse

Mignola returning to interior artwork on Hellboy is worth celebrating. In the Chapel of Moloch is a stand-alone story featuring the first interiors from the creator in almost three years.  Nothing like a successful film franchise to get that bug itching.

DC

Vixen: Return of the Lion #1 , a mini-series focusing on a character that I am not overly familiar with or inclined to learn more about is an odd choice for me. However, when it is being written by G. Willow Wilson (Cairo, Air) I take note.

Vertigo brings about the resurrection of a character that I remember enjoying as a kid, but would be hard pressed to tell you what happened in the book. I’ll blame the onset of senility for that, but I’ll be adding The Unknown Soldier to my pulls regardless.  Here’s hoping that it is as good as I vaguely remember the old series being. Updating the concept and giving us the unique cartoon stylings of Alberto Ponticelli is just the icing on the cake.

 

Marvel

Religion and social views aside, Orson Scott Card has written several books that I enjoyed. The first of these was Ender’s Game, so I am ecstatic to see a comic adaptation come to fruition. Art by Pasqual Ferry is a plus.

With Captain America: White ready to wow the usual suspects, I would rather focus on Captain America: Theater of War – Operation Zero-Point. The idea behind this one-shot is not unlike the Fraction one-shots for Iron Fist. We will get some in-depth exploration of the rich history of one of comics most iconic characters from the guys who proved they could handle a story left them by Warren Ellis, Iron Man scribes Daniel & Charles Knauf.

Image Comics

Some guy named McFarlane is coming back to Spawn and he is bringing some guy named Portacio with him, but the big news here is in the trades with personal favorite series Mice Templar and Screamland getting the collected treatment.

The Best of the Rest

Ait/Planetlar puts the Teenagers from Mars team of Rick Spears and Rob G back together again with the Fallen GN, but the thing that really stands out in their solicitations is a Graphic Novel by Rob Osburne entitled Sunset City. A story about a retirement home resident who decides that he has a little life left in him.

Devil’s Due is set to make a splash with Rest.  The books themselves feature Tim Sale covers, but the story of a wonder drug that unlocks one of the biggest conspiracies in history had a strong #0 and I look forward to the first full-length story. In fact they might get section of the month with a whole slew of new projects on slate for October.

Drawn & Quarterly is always worth an extra minute when flipping through Previews , especially when one of my favorite artists returns with his gorgeous Acme Novelty Library . Even better is the fact that Chris Ware is returning to Rusty Brown. I am giddy with anticipation!!!!

:01 First Second is going to get their whole section highlighted because it sounds so cool.  I am unsure how I missed volume 2, but the release of volume three of The Lost Colony means they got me for two and that is before I even read the solicitations. They also hit with Gus & His Gang which looks suspiciously like a Pink Panther cartoons set in the Wild West, but the centerpiece is Zoe B. & R.W. Alley’s There’s a Wolf at the Door.  This book promises to put a spin on five classic fairy tales featuring a put-upon Wolf. The design of the cover alone wins my purchase and hopefully it is as kid friendly as it appears. DDP was just edged out, :01 gets the prize with a section full of win!

Top Shelf has two books of note. First the final volume of Lemire’s brilliant Essex County cycle, The Country Nurse . This series has been smart and introspective and there is no doubt that this book will be in the hunt for the Eisner next year. The title of Robert Goodin’s The Man Who Loved Breasts kind of says it all, you need only understand that the lead character wants to make a living at what he loves.

Regular readers of this article know that I have an affinity for Comic Memoirs.  French Milk caught my eye with a flashy cover, when I found out it was a memoir, I was sold. So Touchstone will be seeing $15.00 of my cash.

MANGA PICKS: This month I am going all out on a limb and recommending something that just looks and sounds cool.  Goth Cages Volume 1 is notable first of all for its Hardcover format, but then it is described as a “manga-esque picture book” by Yasushi Suzuki. It is a collection of shorter pieces that are Gothic in nature from Dr Master Publications.

Eye Catchers, Oddities & Sundries

Not only is Kate Dimillo’s fantastic The Tale of Despereaux getting a movie this Christmas, there is a GN adaptation on the way as well!

Dynamite has new Garth Ennis in the WWII fighter pilot book Battlefields: The Night Witches. Featuring covers by John Cassaday, this one should be pretty cool.

IDW may have a hit with Legion of the Supernatural from Rick Remender and Bret Blevins.

Spin doctors everywhere will want IDW’s Presidential Material.

Got to love movie adaptations because they make things like The Spirit: A Pop Up Graphic Novel!

Moonface Press has some people giving high accolades to Septic Isle.

Does Steve Niles sleep? He has a new book from Radical this month, City of Dust.

Viper publishes Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

Virgin has teamed up Hugh Jackman and Marc Guggenheim to write Nowhere Man.

Kid Friendly: The Baby-Sitters Club Volume 4, Pet Robots, Salt Water Taffy Vol. 2, check out all of Ra Junior’s offerings.

Classic Reprints of note:  Dark Horse continues the value line of Harvey Comics Classics with the fifth volume entitled Harvey Girls. They also press the nostalgia button with the Roy Rogers Archives.

Classic Comics Press has beautiful editions of Mary Perkins on Stage and The Heart of Juliet Jones.

IDW hits with two of our family’s favorites… Little Orphan Annie Volume 2 and the fifth volume of Terry and the Pirates.

Trade waiter watch: Doktor Sleepless Volume 1, Sky Doll HC, Sloth, Sojourn Omnibus, Space Doubles

Favorite series with new issues: Atomic Robo, Criminal, Dr. Who: The Forgotten, Echo, Fire and Brimstone, Freedom Formula, Neozoic, Rex Libris