Couple of things before we get into my picks for the month. First, you’ll notice that I’m posting this the month that the comics actually come out rather than when they’re solicited. Believe it or not, that’s not laziness-related. It’s about creating buzz when it might actually make a difference at the cash register rather than two months before so that readers have forgotten what’s coming out when. If I thought discussing solicitations two months early would actually drive readers to pre-order titles, I’d do it then, but all evidence seems to say that’s not the way it works.

Also, I’m rethinking the way I buy comics lately and that’s going to affect the way I create this list every month. I’m running into more and more series that I really want to see collected on my bookshelf. Now that publishers seem to take the wait-for-the-trade crowd into account as they’re making decisions to support or cancel series, I’m more willing to move over to that crowd. I haven’t completely figured out yet how that’s going to affect my listing or not listing certain books here, but I know that there are some books coming out this month (the new Mouse Guard mini-series or the latest issue of Athena Voltaire, for example) that I didn’t mention because I’m going to bring them up once the collection comes out. That doesn’t mean that I won’t talk about any monthly singles at all though. Some of IDW’s Star Trek stuff interests me, but I don’t necessarily need easy access to it on my bookshelf.

But even though I’m sort of explaining my thought process here, I’m not pretending to be fair about the way I apply any of these guidelines. At the end of the day, I talk about stuff that tickles my fancy and that’s the ultimate decider about what makes it into the column. If I missed out on something (whether purposefully or not), pointing that out is what the comments section is for.

ADV

Anne Freaks, Vol. 1: The concept of a teenage girl on a mission to kill her dangerous, cult-leading father made me curious. Publishers Weekly’s calling it “addictive” while juxtaposing “disturbing and violent” with “moments of surprising tenderness” has me intrigued as hell.

AIT/PlanetLar

Monster Attack Network gn: I’m such a sucker for mysterious islands, secret organizations, and rampaging, giant monsters.

Archaia Studios Press

Revere: Revolution in Silver hc: I read this in single-issue form. It was the only Alias series I’ve ever read to completion. It’s totally worthy of a hard-cover collection, especially if you like The Black Coat, which has a similar concept (monster-hunting in Colonial America), but completely different execution. And this volume has extra story pages not in the Alias version.

Boom!

Jenny Finn: Doom Messiah #1: I’m confused by the Diamond info on this book, which calls it a graphic novel in some places, but talks about it being issue 1 of 4 in others. I’m pretty sure though that with it’s $2.99 cover price, it’s the first issue of a color reprint series. I’d rather have it all collected in one graphic novel, so I’m going to wait for it to come out in that format, but since so many people had a hard time getting it the first time around, I figure it’s worth drawing attention to that’s it’s available again.

Cartoon Books

Bone, Vol. 6: Old Man’s Cave color edition: No real commentary here. Just noting that it’s coming out and that Bone fans are one step closer to having their full-color, hardcover version completed.

Dark Horse

Samurai: Heaven & Earth, Vol. 2 tpb: I read the first volume of this lushly illustrated, romantic adventure series in single-issue form. When it ended on a cliffhanger and proved itself to be more epic in scope than I’d expected, I knew that I’d want to continue the series in trade paperback form. I’m looking forward to finally finding out if poor Shiro finds his Yoshiko or if he’s going to have to keep on searching.

Digital Webbing

Punks: The Summer Comics Special: Josh Fialkov + Kody Chamberlain + a skull-headed dude, Abe Lincoln, and a dog-faced boy = the Awesome.

Dynamite Entertainment

Jungle Girl #0: I love cheesy jungle adventure. Sheena from Devil’s Due was disappointing in that regard, so that puts extra pressure on this one to be good. I’m definitely checking it out though.

Battlestar Galactica, Vol. 2 tpb: I’m a big Battlestar Galactica fan and I’ve been waiting on the trades for these.

Fantagraphics

I Killed Adolf Hitler gn: Any new Jason book is enough to make me all tingly. Having it be about Hitler’s overpowering a time-traveling assassin and then coming to the future himself makes me damn near explode. 

Reflections #1-3: Don’t know how I missed the first couple of issues of this Ignatz book, but the seaside hospital and castle settings, piratey dreams, and the potential healing of a dysfunctional family all have me wanting to see.

IDW

Complete Terry & the Pirates, Vol. 1: 1934-1936 hc: I’ve always wanted to read these. Thanks, IDW!

Star Trek: Klingons – Blood Will Tell #4: Another series I started in single issue form and plan to finish that way. It’s been good too, filling in gaps in Star Trek mythology as well as revealing new things about Klingon culture. Purely for the Star Trek geek, but that’s me.

30 Days of Night: Eben & Stella #4: 30 Days of Night is one of those series that I have to have on the shelf, but just can’t wait that long to read. So I end up getting it in both formats.

30 Days of Night: Spreading the Disease tp: See? Already have the singles, but that’s not stopping me from buying this too.

Image

Creature from the Depths: I’m a huge fan of Creature from the Black Lagoon. I also really liked ‘68, Mark Kidwell’s Vietnam story/unofficial Night of the Living Dead prequel. This is an easy pick.

Fell #9: Ellis’ back-matter (and the price!) make this series one that I’ll keep getting in single-issue form even if I eventually decide I need the trade sitting on my shelf.

Alien Pig Farm #4: I’m already invested in the single issues of this light-hearted, funny, rednecks vs. aliens story. I’ll keep buying it that way.

Bad Planet #2: At last! I’m tempted to wait for the trade on this one, but after waiting so long since the first issue I don’t think I’ll be able to hold off. Steve Niles and Thomas Jane’s alien invasion story got off to a fantastic start and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer #4: Another one where I’m already invested in the single issues. I’m a fan of every member of this creative team as well as the original paintings it’s derived from.

Oni Press

Narcoleptic Sunday gn: Man, Oni’s got some great stuff coming out this month. This one about a narcoleptic who wakes up with a dead girl and has to prove he didn’t kill her sounds especially surreal and cool.

Courtney Crumrin and the Fire Thief’s Tale: Ted Naifeh. Courtney Crumrin. All I need to know.

Multiple Warheadz #1: Brandon Graham’s (Escalator, King City) new book. Post-apocalyptic world. Cute heroine. Werewolf boyfriend. Cyber-organic car roadtrip. Crashing space ships.

Apocalipstix, Vol. 1 gn: The Apocalipstix story in Rumble Royale has always left me wanting more. And here it is.

Wasteland, Book 1: Cities in Dust tp: More excellent post-apocalyptic adventure. Definitely want this on the bookshelf.

SLG

Peter the Pirate Squid: Before I even knew who Roman Dirge was I bought a set of coasters from Dark Horse with his pirate drawings on them. I’ve always wanted a Dirge pirate book, and even if he’s not illustrating this one himself, it’ll more than do. Steven Daily’s artwork captures the same whimsical spirit of spooky adventure that my coasters have.

Jellyfist gn: As hilarious as the concept is (”the first book published as a result of ferret-aided, carved-kitten-transmitted telepathy”), I’m most keen to read it for the insight into artistic interpretation with running commentary on the results by the two creators. Sounds fascinating.

3 Finger Prints

The List: I loved Rich Koslowski’s Three Fingers and The King. I don’t expect that I’ll feel differently about this story of Santa Claus’ having to defend himself against evil people who want to get hold of the perfect blackmail material: his Naughty/Nice List.

Virgin

Walk-In, Vol. 1 tp: I’ve become a huge Jeff Parker fan since this series started, so of course I want to read it now that’s it out in collected form.

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