‘Hallo!’ growled Scrooge, in his accustomed voice, as near as he could feign it. ‘What do you mean by coming here at this time of day?’
‘I am very sorry, sir,’ said Bob. ‘I am behind my time.’
‘You are?’ repeated Scrooge. ‘Yes. I think you are. Step this way, sir, if you please.’
‘It’s only once a year, sir,’ pleaded Bob, appearing from the Tank. ‘It shall not be repeated. I was making rather merry yesterday, sir.’
Usually I would’ve talked about March solicitations a couple of weeks ago, but with Christmas and New Year both hitting on Mondays… here we are with no other excuse than poor, old Bob Cratchit’s.
Ape Entertainment
Ooh! New Athena Voltaire series starting this month with Athena Voltaire: The Legend of Mu King #1. More Athena is always a good thing.
Boom!
I’ve been hardcore jonesing for good spy comics lately and Boom! is promising to feed the addiction with Chip Mosher and Francesco Francavilla’s Left on Mission. Boom! compares the series to The Bourne Identity and Casino Royale, which’ll be exactly what I’m looking for if they can pull it off. And with Francavilla (The Black Coat) supplying the art, I’m betting they can.
Cartoon Books
If you’re like me and are recollecting Bone the way it should be read – in hardback and in color – then you want to know that Volume 4: Dragonslayer is available in March.
Dark Horse
Lots of good, “usual” stuff from Dark Horse this month. A new B.P.R.D. story launches with Garden of Souls #1, just as the first Criminal Macabre arc is coming to a close with Two Red Eyes #4. Secret #2, Conan #38, and Conan & the Midnight God #3 are all worth checking out. There are a couple of good trades too: Conan: Hall of the Dead and Other Stories and Fear Agent: My War.
What I’m most looking forward to from Dark Horse in March though? SD Toys and dKiller Panda’s Monster Theater Show PVC sets. It’s the kind of melding of “cute” and “creepy” that would make Ted Naifeh proud. Each set includes three adorable monsters: Set 1 has the main characters from Nosferatu, London After Midnight, and The Invisible Man. Set 2 contains Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and the Mummy.
Devils Due
Yeah, I’m looking forward to Devil’s Due’s 99¢ preview of Sheena. What can I say? Jungles are cool, and they’re even better when inhabited by scantily clad jungle people. Quit looking at me like that. I’d say the same thing about a Tarzan relaunch.
Gullywasher
This is why I scour Previews. I keep wanting to discover something that I haven’t heard anything about before, and this time it’s Danica Novgoradoff’s A Late Freeze. It’s an “almost wordless” mini-comic about “a fugitive robot and a compassionate bear beset by love, snow, and trouble with the authorities.” Sounds wonderful.
IDW
A couple of usual goodies from IDW this month: Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse #7 and 30 Days of Night: Spreading the Disease #4.
Image
The Cross Bronx and Casanova trade paperbacks are going to be a must-gets, and I’m going to keep recommending Witchblade. The big item for me this month though is Dan Wickline’s Unusual Suspects graphic novel featuring short stories by Dan (30 Days of Night: Dead Space, 30 Days of Night: Spreading the Disease) and some of the most talented illustrators in indie comics: Ben Templesmith (Fell, Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse), Nat Jones (Giant Monster, 68, Death Dealer) , Tone Rodriguez (Violent Messiahs), and Chris Moreno (Monkey in a Wagon vs. Lemur on a Big Wheel, Sidekicks), to name a few.
TOKYOPOP
Amongst all the usual teen romantic comedies and tween fantasy stuff, TOKYOPOP has snuck in the first volumes of The Dark Goodbye, a noir-mystery/horror series (think Sin City meets Lovecraft), and King City, a sci-fi series about a homeless young man, alien porn, and a highly adaptable cat, both for the 16-and-over crowd.
Virgin
I’ve been watching Virgin Comics since they started, curious to see if any of their great-looking series would have a story hook that I couldn’t resist. It’s finally here with Guy Ritchie and Andy Diggle’s Gamekeeper about the gamekeeper of an English country estate who’s forced to contend with armed killers who’ve invaded his grounds. They had my attention with “English country estate” and “armed killers,” but knowing that Ritchie and Diggle are writing it closes the deal.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:59 am
I have the hardcover Bone color volumes 4&5 sitting on my shelves. Is this a order again solicitation?
January 9th, 2007 at 5:22 am
I actually found a copy of “A Late Freeze” in a little bookstore during my trip to New York, and it was wonderful. I definitely recommend it.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:46 am
When did “indie comics” mean “not Marvel or DC”?
January 9th, 2007 at 11:45 am
So, the Blog doesn’t cover Dynamite as mainstream or now as Indie, is there a fourth category?
Joe Rybandt
Dynamite Entertainment
January 9th, 2007 at 11:46 am
I meant third category…
/joe
January 9th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
“When did ‘indie comics’ mean ‘not Marvel or DC?’”
I see your point and I agree that I’m using the term loosely. I’d use “alternative,” but that’s equally as troublesome and makes me type more letters.
Since this blog already has people covering the Marvel and DC solicits, you’re right in noticing that I’m covering pretty much everything else. If there’s a better, more widely accepted term for “everything else,” I’m certainly open to using it.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
“So, the Blog doesn’t cover Dynamite as mainstream or now as Indie, is there a (third) category?”
I never know how to respond to these types of comments. I didn’t ignore Dynamite on principle or anything, it’s just that nothing jumped out at me this month as a “must have.”
That said, I’ve enjoyed the initial issues of both versions of Battlestar Galactica and I’m looking forward to trade collections of that material and the various mini-series.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
“I have the hardcover Bone color volumes 4&5 sitting on my shelves. Is this a order again solicitation?”
You’re probably right. I’ve fallen behind in picking them up. I didn’t notice an “O/A” with the solicitation, but maybe it was there and I missed it.