Limited edition! We desperately need your pre-orders now!

June 2013 sees the release of the ultimate edition of one of our all-time favourite series, Terry Moore’s Strangers In Paradise. One of the key comics through which Page 45 earned its reputation for promoting quality and diverstiy, SiP was so many women’s first comic fiction which – with its craft, heart and humanity – then made them customers for life.

It will come complete, slipcased with a brand-new black and white print signed by Terry Moore which, for Page 45 customers, will be free of charge!

Incorporating every page, every story-ever pertaining to Strangers In Paradise, it will be a whopping 2,400 pages long and estimated to weigh a hefty 9lbs.

It will be rendered uncensored!

This will be Strangers In Paradise as nature intended.

For the first time ever, Terry has restored pages previously self-censored to their original condition. I will be fascinated to see how much hit the cutting-room floor as well as which pages they were! 

“Yes! I’m In! How do I order?”

Pre-order direct from Terry Moore in the States here: STRANGERS IN PARADISE OMNIBUS USA. It will cost $100 plus p&p.

Pre-order direct from Page 45 in the UK here: STRANGERS IN PARADISE OMNIBUS UK. It will cost £75-00.

Postage for the UK will be just £4-99 if you select “3 to 5 days shipping”.

Postage for the rest of Europe (including Belgium) will be £24-40.

Postage is for the entire package including the free, signed print.

We ship everywhere in the world so please email page45@page45.com for other postal rates, but if you live closer to America you should obviously buy direct from Terry Moore himself.

“Why buy from Terry Moore?”

Because, my kittykins, Terry’s own copies come with a completely different print free of charge (please note: this is not it). Also, Terry Moore will make all the money from copies bought on his website.

Terry won’t mind you ordering from us, which is why he is recommending Page 45 as the go-to source forUK/ European pre-orders. On the other hand: that other print, eh…?

“I will buy both!”

That’s the spirit!

“Why should we pre-order? We can buy it whenever we want, correct?”

Corr-wrong!

It’s a limited editon and the previous hardcover editions sold out immediately.

Also, we cannot possibly order 100 copies of a £75-00 book for the shelves. It would break our bank. Remember: we sold over 100 copies of PORCELAIN in a mere 10 days.

However, all pre-orders placed with Page 45 by the middle of April 2013 are guaranteed!

After that, you’d best cross your fingers.

Here Terry Moore explains why pre-orders are vital to the success of this project. Please help us to help him and help you!

“There are very few comics on this planet with the power to move me like Strangers In Paradise. So much happens, so much is said. So much of it should never happen to anyone and so much of it should never have been said. That’s life.”

That would be me. Although I should emphasise that it’s also very, very funny.

Cheers,

Stephen

“Doctor Alec Holland says: if you have an inflamed knee, wrap it in cabbage leaves and cellophane. Cabbage leaves contain a natural anti-inflammatory amino acid.

Doctor Stephen Holland says: if you have an inflamed cabbage, for Pete’s sake keep John Constantine at a distance. He’ll only provoke it further.”

- Stephen on Scott Snyder’s Swamp Thing.

“Whooooo! Also: ker-ching! Plus yowsa!”

 - Stephen again on the Scott Pilgrim Colour editions. That’s the basic level of journalism you can look forward to. *sigh*

Comics & Graphic Novels for July 2012 onwards

Punk Rock Jesus #1 of 6 (£2-25, Vertigo) by Sean Murphy.

I am so looking forward to this!

“The newest reality show hit has the unlikeliest celebrity of all in this new black and white miniseries from writer/artist Sean Murphy (JOE THE BARBARIAN, American Vampire vol 3)! J2, the TV series starring a clone of Jesus Christ, causes chaos across a near-future United States. J2 causes outrage and adulation. Religious zealots either love or hate the show, angry politicians worry about its influence on the nation, and members of the scientific community fear the implications of cloning a human being at all – let alone the Son of God. And what effect will this all have on Gwen, the young woman who is selected, through an American Idol-style process, to be the mother of the new Messiah? All this leads to the hiring of Thomas McKael, the clone’s bodyguard and a former IRA operative with a turbulent past who must protect the new Messiah – a baby who captivates the world, but grows up to become an angry teenager.”

Pre-order Pun Rock Jesus #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:11/07/12

The Eyes Of The Cat h/c (£25-99, Humanoids Inc.) by Jodorowsky & Moebius.

“The very first graphic storytelling collaboration between two masters of the medium, Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius. In a desolate dreamscape world, a man, a bird, and a cat interact in a unique apocalyptic yet poetic fashion.”

I originally read this is Stephen Bissette’s horror anthology TABOO, but this is a fresh translation and thankfully a great deal less expensive than the previous Humanoids edition of THE EYES OF THE CAT which Hayley Campbell reviews in The Comics Journal. A couple of pages of interior art there too.

Pre-order The Eyes Of The Cat h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/07/12

The Song Of Roland (£14-99, Conundrum Press) by Michel Rabagliati.

Aaargh! From the creator of PAUL GOES FISHING etc., I nearly missed this because it didn’t have “Paul” in the title! Love this guy. Love him, love him, love him. And so did Mark. And so does Jonathan.

“The Song of Roland focuses on the life and death of the father-in-law of Rabagliati’s alter-ego Paul, who has been called ‘The Tintin of Quebec’ By Le Devoir. As the family stands vigil over Roland in his hospital bed, Rabagliati weaves a story of one man’s journey through life and the legacy he leaves behind. The French edition, Paul à Québec, was critically hailed, winning the FNAC Audience Award at France’s Angouleme festival, a Shuster Award for Outstanding Cartoonist, and was nominated for the City of Montreal’s Grand Prize, and the Audience Award at Montreal’s Salon du Livre.”

Pre-order The Song Of Roland from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/07/12

Scott Pilgrim Colour Hardcover vol 1 (£18-99, Oni Press) by Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Whooooo! Also: ker-ching! Plus yowsa!

Here’s a great big preview of the SCOTT PILGRIM COLOUR EDITIONS with some extra info from Malley himself. And here’s what I wrote about SCOTT PILGRIM VOLUME 1:

Scott is a clot. He really is. He’s a total dumpling, and in terms of a Chinese take-away, dim doesn’t even begin to sum the lad up.

He is kinda cute, though, and as the series kicks off Scott is living with gay housemate Wallace for whom sly, dry mockery is a default setting. They’re so poor they even share the same bed. But Scott sleeps soundly until this girl called Ramona comes skating through his dreams – she’s a delivery girl and as you well know the quickest way from A to B is to skate through someone else’s dreams, right? Then Scott meets Ramona in his waking life, falls head over heals in whatever the hell that thing is (he may figure it out eventually) but is casually informed that if he wants her as a girlfriend he’ll have to defeat her seven evil exes in combat!

Truly a unique series with a heart of gold, and a wit and a Nintendo logic all of its own. There is not a single comic reader who could fail to fall in love with Scott, Wallace, Ramona or Bryan himself. O’Malley isn’t even close to running out of innovative ideas: his visual gags keep tumbling onto the page, and so convinced are we that this book is for everyone that if you try the first and aren’t immediately hooked, we’ll give you your money back and even pay return postage.

You will, on the other hand, have totally failed to earn The Power Of Love, so no power-up of a flaming sword for you guys!

Pre-order Scott Pilgrim Colour Hardcover vol 1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:08/08/12

The Lost Art Of Ah Pook Is Here: Images From The Graphic Novel h/c (£25-99, Fantagraphics) by Malcolm McNeill.

Do you have any idea how stunning this is going to be? Try Malcolm McNeill’s blog. Yes. Exactly.

“The Lost Art Of Ah Pook gathers the visual elements from the legendary unfinished collaboration between William S. Burroughs and artist Malcolm McNeill. Begun in the early 1970′s, Ah Pook was to be a meditation on time, power, control and corruption that evoked the Mayan codices and specifically, the Mayan god of death, Ah Pook. Although the work was never completed, Malcolm McNeill created over a hundred paintings, illustrations and sketches for the book, and these are finally seeing the light of day in The Lost Art of Ah Pook. Even in a context divorced from the words (Burroughs’ text will not be included), they represent a stunning precursor to the graphic novel form to come. Also included is a historical essay chronicling the long history of Burroughs’ and McNeill’s work together.”

Pre-order The Lost Art Of Ah Pook Is Here: Images From The Graphic Novel from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/07/12

Wizzywig h/c (£14-99, Top Shelf) by Ed Piskor.

“In the world of phone phreaks, hackers, and scammers, [Kevin 'Boingthump' Phenicle] is a legend. His exploits are hotly debated: could he really get free long-distance calls by whistling into a pay phone? Did his video-game piracy scheme accidentally trigger the first computer virus? And did he really dodge the FBI by using their own wiretapping software against them? Is he even a real person? And if he’s ever caught, what would happen to a geek like him in federal prison? Inspired by the incredible stories of real-life hackers, WIZZYWIG is the thrilling tale of a master manipulator — his journey from precocious child scammer to federally-wanted fugitive, and beyond. In a world transformed by socialnetworks, data leaks, and digital uprisings, Ed Piskor’s debut graphic novel reminds us how much power can rest in the hands of an audacious kid with a keyboard. — A 288-page hardcover graphic novel, 6.5” x 9”.

“Extremely pleasurable… A gripping story with lots of good, meaty forbidden knowledge and insight into the hacker mindset.” — Cory Doctorow

Click on the blue button for an 11-page preview of WIZZYWIG and watch the young scam-merchant in action. Ed also blogs BRAIN ROT: HIP HOP FAMILY TREE online. Here’s ‘Fab 5 Freddy Meets Blondie (With Basquiat & The Clash)

Pre-order Wizzywig h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/07/12

Adventure Time: Marceline And The Scream Queens #1 (£2-99, Boom! Studios) by many.

The all-ages ADVENTURE TIME itself took us completely by surprise. Not going to happen again.

“Thanks to a newfound interest in music, Princess Bubblegum joins Marceline’s paranormal rock band for a tour across the landof Ooo! But when they’re threatened by everything from scenesters to beasts born of self-doubt, can they make it to the RADDEST GIG EVER in time?! Written and drawn by acclaimed cartoonist Meredith Gran (OCTOPUS PIE) and featuring a back-up story from Jen Wang (KOKO BE GOOD), with variant covers by rockstar lady cartoonists Chynna Clugston (BLUE MONDAY), Ming Doyle (POPGUN), and Colleen Coover (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS)!”

Pre-order Adventure Time: Marceline And The Scream Queens #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/07/12

Not The Israel My Parents Promised Me (£18-99, Hill & Wang) by Harvey Pekar & J. T. Waldman.

Great title, that. From the creator of AMERICAN SPLENDOR, then:

“In Harvey Pekar’s final memoir, he recounts the entire history of the Jews to explain how he lost his faith in the state of Israel. Pekar grew up a staunch supporter of the Jewish state, but as he grew up he confronted more and more questions his parents couldn’t answer. Not the Israel My Parents PromisedMeinterweaves Pekar’s gradual disaffection with the modern state of Israel with a comprehensive history of the Jews, from biblical times to the present, as Pekar and the book’s illustrator, JT Waldman, wrestle with the mythologies and realities surrounding the Jewish homeland.”

Pre-order Not The Israel My Parents Promised Me from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:11/07/12

The Killer Omnibus h/c (£18-99, Avatar) by Matz & Luc Jacamon.

Welcome to the return of the ruminative assassin, and a welcome return it most certainly is in this reprint of THE KILLER VOL 1 and THE KILLER VOL 2, and if you click on either of those titles you’ll find their full reviews. Click on the second, which we made Page 45 Comicbook Of The Month, and you’ll be blown away by the interior art.

Here he’s particularly preoccupied with the disadvantages of dying in your sleep. And whom it is wise to hang out with.

“The hard part is not the loneliness. The hard part is choosing the right people to have around you, when you finally decide to have people around you. Loneliness offers guarantees that vanish as soon as you try and trust someone. Stepping away from it is running a risk. Especially for me.”

You never do know whom he should trust in this series. It’s its greatest source of suspense. Even the man he’d always placed the greatest trust in, long-time accountant Edward, turned out to be capable of treachery. Pretty stupid into the bargain. Edward had been the conduit in a contract on a man called Martini, and then gone one further and tried to take out The Killer himself. Didn’t really work out for Edward, no.

As to Luc Jacamon, his colouring has always impressed me no end, particularly when it comes to the dappled shadows under a boulevard of trees, and I love the way that there’s this constant presence throughout, even outlined in negative on the side of a building, of an Orinoco Crocodile – the very essence of patient, predatory guile. He excels at details others would never think to incorporate like scaffolding netted in green supporting the side of already impressive edifices. There’s a gorgeous sense of space no matter what he’s asked to draw in whichever country, and there’s plenty of globe-trotting to be done here. I’m a very big fan of 100 BULLETS but it can become bogged down by words whereas Matz never allows any self-indulgence to crowd out Luc Jacamon, maintaining a perfect equilibrium for a smooth and pleasurable read in his medium of choice.

Pre-order The Killer Omnibus from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/07/12

Criminal Deluxe h/c vol 2 (£37-99, Icon/Marvel) by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips.

The best crime fiction on the market. Destined to sit beautifully on your shelves next to the CRIMINAL DELUXE h/c vol 1, this too will include loads of extras including short stories, art and essays and behind-the-scenes material plus CRIMINAL: BAD NIGHT, CRIMINAL: THE SINNERS and CRIMINAL: THE LAST OF THE INNOCENT, all of which I’ve taken the trouble to like to there because they are reviewed. They are! That last one at length.

Pre-order Criminal Deluxe h/c vol 2 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:03/10/12

Wasteland vol 7: Under The God (£10-99, Oni Press) by Antony Johnston & JustinGreenwood.

From the writer of THE COLDEST CITY (still have a few signed, limited editionPage 45 bookplate editions left at the time of typing!):

“Mysteries within mysteries and an original mythology to become immersed in,” wroteWarren Ellisbefore this meaty, post-apocalyptic fiction first hit the stands, and now that I’ve read further than the first issue which merely hinted at the heart and depth of what’s been created here, I can see exactly what he means.

There’s a constant dread of danger in this catastrophically damaged world. The various factions and indeed a whole semi-industrialised, mountainous city teeter precariously on the verge of violence, under threat as they are from ruthless political power-play, religious intolerance, and the very terrain which is barren and broken. Whether it’s the environmental armageddon we currently face, the lorry loads of immigrants smuggled then sold into slavery, the destructive politics of tyrants like Mugabe or wilfully ignorant racism that doesn’t even bother to lurk beneath the surface of our societies, Johnston has found novel ways of building them into his depraved new world, giving it far more bite than most.

For more, please see the rest of my review of WASTELAND VOL 1.

Pre-order Wasteland vol 7: Under The God from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:19/09/12

Thieves & Kings vol 1: The Red Book colour edition h/c (£18-99, Archaia) by Mark Oakley.

Beautifully crafted in both illustrated prose and comic form, this is a joyous tale of one small boy and his imp, travelling a rustic kingdom in search of lost friends.  Little does he know that his story has been brewing for a thousand years. Within pages of M’Oak beginning this epic one already feels steeped in centuries of ancient lore, caveats and oaths. The marketplaces bustle, the ships sail, and the streets are medievalEurope.

I wrote that nearly two decades ago.

Pre-order Thieves & Kings vol 1: The Red Book colour edition h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:26/09/12

American Elf Vol 4 (£14-99, Top Shelf) by James Kochalka.

Autobiography rather than Transatlantic fantasy! Of American Elf vol 3 I wrote:

Two more years of square-shaped snippets as James chronicles his life each day, drawing himself as a big-eared elf, then immediately plonks them on the internet. It’s an odd thing to do. I mean, in a book after a little time has past is one thing, but straight onto the internet?

Do you think all his neighbours subscribe? Think about that: would you want everyone living down the nearest seven or eight roads to know what went on your life each day? Inside your house, with your wife and kid? It’s okay when Eli’s being cute (and he is), but what about the rows you had with the missus? Or when your son spotted you waking up with a massive erection? I guess James is far more secure than I am. Needless to say, I couldn’t tear myself away, in spite of the fact that I’m not too sure what most of them did for me. No one’s life is that interesting 365 days of the year. Maybe it’s just that life itself is fascinating. Here’s two years of someone else’s.

“What was your favourite part of our trip toCanada?”
“Going to the store.”
“You mean when Daddy and Tom and Eli went to buy stiff to make dinner?”
“Yeah.”
“The fondue? But I thought you were a little bit scared of Tom.”
“Yes. He’s a monster.”
“Sweetheart, he’s not a monster. He’s just a grown-up with a beard.”
“Oh.”

Pre-order American Elf Vol 4 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/07/12

The Making Of (£22-50, Drawn & Quarterly) by Brecht Evens.

From the creator of THE WRONG PLACE and NIGHT ANIMALS. Brecht Evens blog – there be colours!

Pieterjan is invited to a small town as an honoured guest. From the moment he arrives, things start going wrong, and since no one seems ready to step in, Pieterjan takes over the show. He decides to build a giant garden gnome as a symbol of Flemish identity, but the construction process brings buried tensions to the surface as the other artists become jealous of Pieterjan’s authority. In The Making Of, Evens delves deep into the petty tensions, small misunderstandings, and deadpan humour that pervade modern relationships. Sweeping watercolours jump off the page, surrealist scenery intermingles with crowds of people, and small suburban plot homes have never looked so lovely.

Pre-order The Making Of h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:18/07/12

Swamp Thing vol 1: Raise Them Bones s/c (£10-99, DC) by Scott Snyder & Yanick Paquette.

One Of Our Mastodons Is Missing.

The natural balance is out of kilter. Weather systems run riot and creatures are being culled: pigeons by day and bats by night falling lifeless from the skies; in the ocean the fish are dying.

A former botanist whose life’s work was a bio-restorative formula capable growing vegetation in the driest regions of a planet, Alec Holland died in an explosion only to wake up six weeks ago in a swamp with memories of being a muck monster and intense, romantic feelings for a woman he’s never met. He’s tried to resume his work and got as far as he did last time round, but found the manual labour on a construction site infinitely less troubling. He receives two visitors: Superman urging him to resume his prior calling and help; someone – or something – he may find infinitely more persuasive. The art’s a bit Kevin Nowlan in places.

Doctor Alec Holland says: if you have an inflamed knee, wrap it in cabbage leaves and cellophane. Cabbage leaves contain a natural anti-inflammatory amino acid.

Doctor Stephen Holland says: if you have an inflamed cabbage, for Pete’s sake keep John Constantine at a distance. He’ll only provoke it further.

Pre-order Swamp Thing vol 1: Raise Them Bones s/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:22/08/12

National Comics: Eternity #1 (£2-99, DC) by Jeff Lemire & Cully Hamner.

From the creator of ESSEX COUNTY, SWEET TOOTH, THE NOBODY and ANIMAL MAN (DC New 52), all of which are recommended… Kid Eternity reinvented yet again!

Pre-order National Comics: Eternity #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/07/12

Kick Ass 2 h/c (£18-99, Icon/Marvel/Titan) by Mark Millar & John Romita Jr.

I no longer know what to make of this series. I really don’t. It’s not just the level of violence, it’s who’s on the receiving end. Basically, a kid with no powers puts on a custom to fight crime. And everyone around him pays the price. Try Jonathan’s review of KICK-ASS VOL 1 if you’ve not come across this yet.

Pre-order Kick Ass 2 h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due: eventually.

 
Loads More Marvel Graphic Novels Here

Loads More Dc Graphic Novels Here

In fact, there are loads more Graphic Novels and indeed Comics for July onwards in Page 45’s full on-line version of Diamond’s PREVIEWS here!

 
Previews barely written but at least selected by Stephen

If you really don’t know about THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN then I haven’t been doing my job properly. It’s genius. Click on each book for a review, including the new BLACK DOSSIER finally available in the UK.

 - Stephen on League of Extraordinay Gentlemen vol 3 #3.

Comics & Graphic Novels for June 2012

Fatale vol 1: Death Chases Me (£10-99, Image) by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips.

Undoubtedly the finest new series in comics this year, with – I’m delighted to report – the biggest selling single issue beating AVENGERS VS X-MEN by a very wide margin. Big, big love to Sean Phillips for all his support. Those signed copies of #1? They were Sean’s, given to us as a present when we missed out on the fourth printing. So, here’s what I made of the first issue:

The Losing Side Of Eternity: an unpublished novel by Dominic H. Raines, 1957.

“So here’s how my entire life went off the tracks in one day.
“It started at Dominic Raines’ funeral… and of course the weather was as bad as most of the old man’s novels…”
“I didn’t see her among the small crowd, which, looking back, is odd. But I was distracted by the engravings on the headstone. Raines wasn’t just an atheist… he hated all religions. So what the hell was this about?”

What the hell indeed. Nicolas Lash has inherited the estate of his father’s best friend, one Dominic H. Raines who published a string of bestselling detective novels beginning in 1960 before dying alone and bitter and broken. As Nicolas swiftly discovers, however, he’s also inherited a great many questions and a whole world of trouble in the form of an unpublished manuscript whose title speaks volumes and a woman he meets by the grave. She calls herself Jo and claims to be the granddaughter of a woman the novelist once loved. The symbol, she says, is a private piece of the past Raines and her grandmother simply couldn’t let go of.

“Later, I’d wonder why my head felt glued to the ground as she walked away. How with just a few words, she’d made me feel like some high school kid again. Dumbstruck. I didn’t know that could still happen.”

It’s been happening for years. Flashback toSan Franciscoduring the mid-1950s and Dominic ‘Hank’ Raines is a happily married man with a wife and a kid on the way. A reporter determined to expose police corruption and in particular one Walt Booker, he lures Walt’s woman Josephine to a bar one night, and she warns him – she does try to warn him – but from that moment on he just can’t get her out of his head…

Ah, la femme fatale: beautiful, seductive, and disastrous for all who stray near. But Brubaker and Phillips have carved something far more interesting which, the more I think about it grows increasingly complex. For a start, I’ve deliberately said little about Walt himself – both his public and private investigations into a death cult – nor what happens to Nicolas back in the present, because although this is everything you love about the same team’s CRIMINAL, it’s also a horror comic: the less you know, the better. Indeed Brubaker’s hinted at so many unanswered questions in this first of twelve issues, I can’t get it out of my head, either.

It’s another perfect fusion of genres, but the big change and key to its complexity lies in the multiple perspectives: of each of the men who find themselves stricken by the raven-haired beauty who appears to weather the ravages of time infinitely better than those who fixate… and also Josephine’s. Each for their own reason appears to have no option but to forge forward in their different directions; each believes they are running out of time. All of them seem linked by and trapped in a web woven wider and wider across time, spanning, it seems, an entire century.

I love the way Sean Phillips draws gunshots – jagged flashes of fire – and there’s plenty of action and more gore to come, but it’s his quietest scenes set in beds, bars or out on the street at night that I relish even more. The opening pages in the bucolic graveyard are particularly sublime and as evidence I present you with this five-page preview of FATALE #1 courtesy ofWarren Ellis including a cover which I predict (as early as the second week in January!) will be almost impossible to beat this year.

Pre-order Fatale vol 1: Death Chases Me from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:27/06/12

The Red Dairy / The Re[a]d Diary flipbook h/c (£22-50, Image) by Teddy Kristiansen, Steven T. Seagle & Teddy Kristiansen.

I love Teddy Kristiansen and this looks absolutely fascinating. IT’S A BIRD comes very highly recommended indeed.

“Teddy Kristiansen’s European album is newly translated to English by Teddy Kristiansen and Steven T. Seagle. But in a unique flip-novel format, the book is also ‘re-mixed’ with a completely different script devised by Seagle before he collaborated on the translation. Both versions – THE RED DIARY – a tale of art forgery and World War and THE RE[A]D DIARY – a tale of identity theft and lost love – comprise this unique graphic novel from Seagle and Kristiansen – the Eisner nominated/winning team behind the acclaimed Vertigo graphic novel IT’S A BIRD.”

Pre-order The Red Dairy / The Re[a]d Diary flipbook h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:06/06/12

The Massive #1 (£2-75, Dark Horse) by Brian Wood & Kristian Donaldson.

Oh, this is going to be… massive, yes. For goodness sake check out THE MASSIVE’s cover – and there’s a preview of interior art there too. From the writer of LOCAL, NORTHLANDERS etc.

“In a post-war, post-crash, post-disaster, post-everything world, the environmental-action trawler Kapital scours the earth’s oceans for its mysteriously missing sister ship, The Massive. Captain CallumIsrael, a man who has dedicated his life to the ocean, now must ask himself-as our planet dies-what it means to be an environmentalist after the world’s ended. Callum and his crew will come up against pirates, rebels, murderers, and thieves as they struggle to remain noble toward their cause. Can you save a planet that’s already doomed?”

Pre-order The Massive #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:13/06/12

The Manara Library vol 3 h/c (£45-00, Dark Horse) by Milo Manara, Federico Fellini, Silverio Pisu & Milo Manara.

“Milo Manara’s collaborations with legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini take centre stage in this latest volume of The Milo Manara Library! Together, these two masters produced the beautiful, surreal stories ‘Trip to Tulum’ and ‘The Voyage of G. Mastorna,’ the latter of which is presented in English for the first time! Completing this volume is Manara’s collaboration with Silverio Pisu on the satirical update of a Chinese fable, ‘The Ape,’ as well as a large selection of short stories displaying the maestro’s illustrative versatility!”

Pre-order The Manara Library vol 3 h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due: 0/08/12

Fatima: The Blood Spinners #1 (£2-99, Dark Horse) by Gilbert Hernandez.

From LOVE & ROCKETS’ Gilbert Hernandez, this is being marketing as an ongoing series.

“Comics luminary Gilbert Hernandez envisions his strangest, most thrilling future yet! A drug called ‘spin’ offers the wildest trip imaginable, followed by its users’ inevitable, rapid deterioration into undead flesh eaters. Despite the side effect, the drug is so popular that the human population is dying out! With no cure to be found, the beautiful, lovesickFatimamay be the only thing standing between the survivors and the apocalypse. Get ready for four issues of zombies, drug lords, and gorgeous women!”

Pre-order Fatima: The Blood Spinners #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:20/06/12

Dungeon Quest book three (£14-99, Fantagraphics) by Joe Daly.

Jonathan’s happy! He loved books one (oh, look, interior art there) and two.

“Expanded to more than twice the length of the previous volumes, Dungeon Quest Book Three continues the adventures of Millennium Boy, Steve, Lash and Nerdgirl as they traverse mysterious underground realms. This latest instalment of the stoner D&D epic brings a whole new level of bizarre comedy, rousing adventure and ass-kicking action – all staged in front of fantastic backdrops replete with strange vegetation, ancient ruins and steam-punk imagery.”

Pre-order Dungeon Quest book three from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:27/06/12

Iron: Or, The War After h/c (£18-99, Archaia) by Shane-Michael Vidaurri.

Well here’s something a little different stylistically on the anthropomorphic front and thankfully Archaia provide a preview.

“It is the aftermath of a long war, in a world of constant winter. An intelligence spy from the Resistance – the rabbit, Hardin – steals secret information from a military base of the Regime. His actions set off a chain of events that reverberates through the ranks of both sides, touching everyone from Pavel the crow to Giles the goat, from the highest-ranking officials to the smallest orphaned child. When the snow finally settles, who will be the true patriot and who the true traitor? A spellbinding, beautifully illustrated anthropomorphic tale.”

Pre-order Iron: Or, The War After h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Courtney Crumrin vol 2: The Coven Of Mystics colour h/c (£18-99, Oni Press) by Ted Naifeh.

Absolutely adore this series and finally the production values match the quality of the contents. I recently wrote a completely new review for COURTNEY CRUMRIN vol 1, and I love what they’re doing with the covers now colour-wise. Going to make a lovely looking set.

“Fan-favourite and critical darling Courtney Crumrin is back in a series of newly remastered, full colour hardcover editions! When the night things of Courtney’s community start causing trouble, it’s up to her to find out why. The town’s powerful coven of mystics thinks it knows who to blame, but Uncle Aloysius doesn’t believe their simple explanation. His misgivings start Courtney down a twisted path that leads to the true mastermind behind all the horror! But does Courtney stand a chance against a being that powerful and manipulative?”

Pre-order Courtney Crumrin vol 2: The Coven Of Mystics colour h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/08/12

The Clock Strikes #1 (£3-50, Kult) by John A. Short & Vincent Danks.

Are you reading HARKER? You should be. Great British crime comic with a mischievous twist. HARKER VOL1 and HARKER VOL 2. Anyway, its artist is the same Vince Danks and take a look at this, the cover to THE CLOCK STRIKES #1 worthy of Dave Gibbons or Brian Bolland. And that’s all the info we really have for you right there anyway.

UK item so not on our website. Phone 0115 9508045 or make with the clicky on page45@page45.com

Due: when the clock strikes, obv.

Right State h/c (£18-99, Vertigo/DC) by Mat Johnson & Andrea Mutti.

“Just in time for the fall presidential election, Mat Johnson, acclaimed writer of INCOGNEGRO [and DARK RAIN – ed.], delivers a race-against-time political thriller about a militia group that’s plotting to assassinate the second African- American President of theU.S. In the week leading up to a major campaign speech, the Secret Service discovers that an extremist militia group is plotting to assassinateAmerica’s second African American President. The best chance to avert this crisis is to infiltrate the group using an ex-Special Forces war hero turned conservative media pundit named Ted Akers. While Akers’s politics make him a hero to the right-wing fringe and no friend to the current Administration, he takes the assignment and what follows is an adrenaline-fuelled race against time to stop a President from dying and a country from being ripped apart.” Original graphic novel.

SLH

Pre-order Right State h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:08/08/12

The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen III: Century #3: 2009 (£7-50, Knockabout/Top Shelf) by Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill.

The conclusion, and I’m really worried for Mina. If you really don’t know about THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN then I haven’t been doing my job properly. It’s genius. Click on each book for a review, including the new BLACK DOSSIER finally available in the UK.

“The narrative reaches its cataclysmic conclusion in London 2009. The magical child whose ominous coming has been foretold for the past century has now been born and has grown up to claim his dreadful heritage. His promised age of unending terror can commence, the world can now be ended, and there is no League, extraordinary or otherwise, to stand in his way. The bitter, intractable war in Q’umar crawls bloodily to its fifth year, away inKashmira Sikh terrorist wages a holy war against Islam that must push the world into a nuclear holocaust, and in aLondonasylum there’s a patient who insists she has all the answers.”

Pre-order The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen III: Century #3: 2009 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

ETA:27/06/12

The Invisibles Omnibus h/c (£110-00, DC) by Grant Morrison & Steve Yeowell, Chris Weston, Duncan Fegredo and so many more.

Oh, go on! Go on, go on, go on, go on! 1,536 pages of anarchic mentalism. For INVISIBLES: APOCALIPSTICK I wrote the following series overview, and – egotist that I am – it just made me laugh once again!

“Although this is the fifth book to be released, it’s actually book two; it matters not since the story will only begin to make sense once you’ve bought the lot, snipped out the panels, rearranged them into something vaguely resembling chronological order, then performed a brief, drug-enhanced ritual involving a Tibetan mountain and no less than 39 missing letters of the alphabet. Even then, like the average pension scheme, we offer only the flimsiest of guarantees.

For those of you new to this provocative, mind-bending story (pilfered, it’s claimed, for The Matrix film), the Invisibles is a secret cell of anarchists talented in various aspects of what could loosely be described as the occult, determined to see that our lives are freed from the threat of a transtemporal, interdimensional straightjacket. Reality, sexuality, order, chaos, language and control, it’s all here for the decryption. Learn which events made Lord Fanny, the tranny shammy with even more lip than gloss, the man she is today.”

For more, please click on the seven individual INVISIBLES softcovers.

Pre-order The Invisibles Omnibus h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:15/08/12

Superman: Action Comics vol 1 – Superman And The Men Of Steel h/c (£18-99, DC) by Grant Morrison & Rags Morales, more.

Reprints the first eight issues. About the first I typed…

“You know the deal, Metropolis. Treat people right or expect a visit from me.”

Those who’ve read Grant Morrison’s SUPERGODS will recognise Morrison’s approach here, a very different take from his All-Star Superman with its clue in the title: ACTION COMICS #1.

Of the original version Morrison commented on Superman’s socialist role as champion of the people, of the underdog as opposed to the rich and powerful. Also, a man so unafraid to throw his weight about that the public run screaming in a panic on its cover. So it is here, tying in with last week’s JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 as a much younger, brasher and flashier Superman defies the corrupt authorities who’ve decided to distrust him and – egged on by Lex Luthor, of course – perfectly prepared to endanger the public in order to catch their man. This Superman takes a barely disguised glee in flexing his muscles and his targets are both white-collar criminals protected by the law and neo-Nazis he’s reported to have dumped down the sewers and a wife-beater he threw out of a window and left with broken bones.

Crucially it’s far better structured and scripted than JUSTICE LEAGUE, giving you a satisfyingly full first chapter, and readers of IDENTITY CRISIS will love the return of Rags Morales to a title befitting his stature. Speaking of stature, the pragmatic workman-like builders’ boots and knee-patched jeans look one hell of a lot better than scarlet overoos of yore.

Key ingredients: faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and almost stronger than a locomotive. Almost. Locomotive 1, Superman 0.

Pre-order Superman: Action Comics vol 1 – Superman And The Men Of Steel h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:01/08/12

Absolute Batman And Robin: Batman Reborn slipcased oversized h/c (£75-00, DC) by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely, David Finch, Philip Tan, more.

Reprints BATMAN & ROBIN #16 (i.e. the entire Grant Morrison run) and BATMAN: THE RETURN in a bone-crunchingly heavy hardcover the size of the average computer screen. A handy comparison for most of you right now.

So that’s BATMAN & ROBIN VOL 1, 2 and Batman and Robin vol 3, each one of whose reviews I’ve just linked to. Please note the date below. Exactly!

Pre-order Absolute Batman And Robin: Batman Reborn from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:21/11/12

Incognito Classified Edition h/c (£33-99, Icon/Marvel) by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips.

From the creators of FATALE, the deluxe treatment for INCOGNITO and INCOGNITO: BAD INFLUENCES (ooh, interior art there!) which, like the CRIMINAL DELUXE h/c (ooh, interior art there too!) will have lots of extra Sean Phillips goodness. Yes, please!

Pre-order Incognito Classified Edition h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:05/09/12

The Twelve vol 2 h/c (£18-99, Marvel) by J. Michael Straczynski & Chris Weston.

Yuss! The conclusion I never thought I’d see to one of Marvel’s finest series of all time set well away from the regular Marvel Universe. Read the substantial review of THE TWELVE VOL 1 by clicking on that book’s title there.

Pre-order The Twelve vol 2 h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:20/06/12

Defenders vol 1 s/c (£14-99, Marvel) by Matt Fraction & Terry Dodson, Michael Lark, more.

The Defenders should always be played for laughs, and not just in the pages of Twisted Toyfare Theatre. The Kieth Giffen era, in fact, when they used to run one-line adverts for other titles at the bottom of each page was the only one worth paying attention to until now. The original core members consisted of Dr. Strange trying to pacify the Hulk and Namor while the Silver Surfer buried his head in his hands and bemoaned man’s inhumanity to man. Actually, he did most of that in his own title.

From the writer of CASANOVA, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN and the recent rejuvenation of IRON FIST comes a cry for help from a more-than-usually-responsible Hulk answered by Dr. Stephen ‘still-sleeping-with-his-students’ Strange who promptly reforms the Defenders by making house calls on Namor (imperiously wrecking a posse of killer whale cullers), the chrome-domed wielder of the Power Cosmic who answers the flurry as a blizzard of snow (he’s… experimenting), the Red She-Hulk (oh, I know, totally lame, but well written here) and, of course, Iron Fist who himself is having a one-night stand he probably shouldn’t and buries himself in some comics instead (approved!). Each receives their own colour-coded perspective in the monologue boxes and is considerable enhanced by being drawn by Terry sexy Dodson.* Also, guess what’s back? The seventies’ one-line adverts at the bottom of each page! Funny.

*Please note: I have no idea if Terry is sexy; presumably his wife thinks so. But as artists they both deliver in some of the most sensuous lines in superhero comics.

Pre-order Defenders vol 1 s/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:27/06/12

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man III vol 2 h/c (£18-99, Marvel) by Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli, more.

Still loving the new Miles Morales Spider-Man. Review of VOLUME 1 by clicking on “volume 1.” The first “volume 1” not the second “volume 1” or indeed the third or fourth or, imminently, fifth “volume 1”s. Basically, not the ones in quotation marks. I better lie down.

Pre-order Ultimate Comics Spider-Man vol 2 h/c by phoning 0115 9508045 or emailing page45@page45.com

Due: June

Spider-Men #1 of 5 (£2-99, Marvel) by Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli.

The regular Marvel Universe Spider-Man and the Ultimate Universe Spider-Man. I’d recognise that body language anywhere.

Pre-order Spider-Men #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:13/06/12

Planetoid #1 (£2-25, Image) by Ken Garing.

Never heard of him but it looks pretty monumental. Literally. See what I mean at the illustrated interview for PLANETOID here.

“Silas, an ex-soldier turned space pirate, finds himself stranded on a mysterious planet in alien territory. As he explores the long-abandoned industrial ruins of the planet’s surface he will have to fend off rogue mechanical creatures, roving cyborg militias, and a hostile alien military with a bounty on his head. Silas will have to rely on resourcefulness and bare-bones survival tactics in order to stay alive and ultimately unlock the secrets of a planet where survival is a luxury and escape an impossibility.”

Pre-order Planetoid #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:13/06/12

Morning Glories vol 3: P.E. (£10-99, Image) by Nick Spencer & Joe Eisma.

Now there’s an ominous title! Of book two I wrote:

Oh me of little faith!

I had certain doubts about volume one, but each of these six chapters were riddled with revelations and reversals that had me slack-jawed at the implicit scope of what’s been crafted behind the curtain and yet to be unveiled. This is a completely new game, and I’m only just beginning to guess at the rules.

To recap: six new students have been selected to attend a prestigious boarding academy which will not let them go. There literally is no escape and whilst a semblance of regular routine is maintained in the corridors and curriculum, the overt threats from teachers and fellow classmates alike are almost as sinister as what’s not being said. There is a lot that’s not being said.

Here six interlocking short stories focussing on the past, present and potential future of each new Glory reveals them to have far more in common than their birth dates: they’re all so psychologically screwed up it’s just not true. Please don’t think that I know all the answers but… Why can’t Hunter tell the correct time? Where does Jade go each time she dies and why doesn’t she seem to mind? Did Ike really kill his Dad then hire an open-topped bus full of bimbos to jeer at the funeral? And if so, how did he get away with it? Did Jade’s parents die? Why does Jun seem to blow so hot and cold? What is Zoe’s earliest memory, how much is she capable off, and who the hell is David? Who is this Abraham that seems to have intervened in their early lives during crucial hours and what specific, completely unexpected connection does he have to one of them in particular? What do all these teachers actually want? Trust me when I tell you that those are some of the more pedestrian questions you’ll be asking yourself once this book has finished freaking you out.

“Faith isn’t about understanding. It’s about -”
“Putting your hand in someone else’s… and learning to take the good with the bad.”

Very much coming round to the art too: clean lines and a misty colouring.

For some reason this isn’t up on our website. Time to email page45@page45.com or phone 0115 9508045.

Due:06/06/12

The Walking Dead vol 16 (£10-99, Image) by Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard.

All you want to know is the release date, right?

Pre-order The Walking Dead vol 16 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:06/06/12

Loads More Dc Graphic Novels Here

Loads More Marvel Graphic Novels Here

In fact, there are loads more comics and graphic novels for June onwards in our full on-line version of Diamond’s PREVIEWS here!

These previews are brought to you by the letter S, L and H with one emphatic, glaring omission. Not exception, omission. Order the project if you want, but I’m not giving it any publicity.

 - Stephen

Written by Grant Morrison, yes. Honestly, if I’d blogged this on April 1^st, you’d have doubted its authenticity, wouldn’t you? But just look at Mukesh Singh’s dinosaurs! Yowsa! We’re talking Steve Bissette.

- Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens h/c

Comics & Graphic Novels for May 2012

The Lovely Horrible Stuff h/c (£10-99, Top Shelf/Knockabout) by Eddie Campbell.

From the man behind the ALEC OMNIBUS, my favourite single body of work in comics! I’ve seen the comedy slide-show lecture (you have to see at least one comedy slide-show by Eddie Campbell in your lifetime) and this is fab. Full colour, too, if that makes any difference to you.

“Money makes the world go round, as they say… but how, exactly? Award-winning graphic novelist Eddie Campbell (ALEC, FROM HELL) presents a fascinating journey into the wilderness of personal finance. With his trademark blend of research, anecdote, autobiography, and fantasy, Campbell explores how money underwrites human relationships, flowing all around us like the air we breathe – or the water we drown in. The result is a whimsical graphic essay, deeply grounded in Eddie’s personal experiences with ‘the lovely horrible stuff,’ ranging from the imaginary wealth of Ponzi schemes and television pilots to the all-too-tangible stone currency of the Micronesian island of Yap.”

Preview of THE LOVELY HORRIBLE STUFF on the Top Shelf website.

Pre-order The Lovely Horrible Stuff h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:30/05/12

League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier s/c and h/c (£14-99, £22-50, respectively, Knockabout) by Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill.

Finally! The book banned from the UK by DC’s Paul Levitz to spite Alan Moore. Thanks for that, Paul: you lost us several thousand pounds in Christmas sales.

England in the 1950s and what’s left of our League are on the run. Do I really need to link to the LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN collections? I think I do. Click on any there for full reviews. So very clever.

Pre-order by emailing page45@page45.com or phoning 0115 9508045.

Due: overdue but any day now

Sharaz-De h/c (£22-50, Archaia) by Sergio Toppi.

Prepare to be dazzled! I mean dazzled! If you’re unfamiliar, check out this gallery of Sergio Toppi’s art. Yes. Now you want this original graphic novel freshly translated from French.

“A set of tales inspired by the Arabian Nights exploring a barbaric society where the supernatural is the only remedy to injustice, as Sharaz-de, captive to a cruel and despotic king, must each night spin tales to entertain her master and save her head from the executioner. Tales filled with evil spirits, treasures, risk, and danger, but with ever at their centre the passions of gods and men.”

Pre-order Sharaz-De h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:30/05/12

Blacksad: A Silent Hell h/c (£14-9, Dark Horse) by Juan Diaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido.

Ker-ching! The only anthropomorphic series to match the sales of Bryan Talbot’s GRANDVILLE here, this too is detective crime fiction, impeccably drawn, and for more (far more!) I leave you with a link to the first volume of BLACKSAD. Oh yes, this one’s set in New Orleans. Expect voodoo.

Pre-order Blacksad: A Silent Hell h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:11/07/12

Carnal vol 1: Pride Of The Lions h/c (£14-99, Sea Lion Books) by Jason Bergenstock & John Connell.

Once more with the anthropomorphic action, this time set in Africa, and I think fantasy fans will be very well served if this Carnal: Pride Of Lions Trailer is anything to go by. Crank up the speakers. There’s also an interview there.

“After the Great War decades earlier between the hyenas and the lions, the victorious and once united lion prides now lay scattered across the land, torn by civil unrest over territory disputes and food shortages. Long Eyes, an old sapphire-eyed lion who is determined to save the lion kingdom and rescue his warrior son, Oron, who has gone missing. Long Eyes believes Oron is the key to uniting the prides. A young lioness tracker named Omi is sent out with the protection of two lion brothers to locate the missing warrior, but what they find is something that may unravel the very foundation of life for all species.”

Pre-order Carnal vol 1: Pride Of The Lions h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:02/05/12

Skeleton Key Colour Special (£2-75, Dark Horse) by Andi Watson.

“One of the greatest all-ages comics of all time, Andi Watson’s Skeleton Key is back-and in colour! Using the magical Skeleton Key, schoolgirl Tamsin and fox spirit Kitsune can turn any door into a portal to an endless multiverse. Lost somewhere in space and time and trying to get home, the two friends encounter a band using the undead in a music video, check into a haunted hotel, and become catalogued in the vast Museum of the Lost! Collecting all three new stories from Dark Horse Presents, this is the perfect introduction.”

Of KITSUNE TALES #1 Mark wrote: “A change of page for Andi and a welcome return to one of his older characters. We last saw Kitsune, the fox spirit, attending her garden in the final SKELETON KEY volume. Woodrow [Phoenix] saw possibilities for an-all action, ancient Japanese landscape, butt-kicking, food-related adventure so he wrote it up and Andi drew it. As the recent Watson output has been so down to earth (and we’re not complaining here, how could you not love DUMPED, SLOW NEWS DAY or BREAKFAST AFTER NOON?) we’ve not had the wonder of towering Ukiyo-e mountains, great tables spread with delicacies or oriental monsters. But now we do.”

SKELETON KEY original series books ONE, Three and FIVE still available. Just

Pre-order Skeleton Key Colour Special from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:02/05/12

God And Science: Return Of The Ti-Girls h/c (£14-99, Fantagraphics) by Jaime Hernandez.

Strangely not on our website. Superhero joyride from Jaime Hernandez! “A genuinely dramatic fable about madness, grief, and motherhood.” Bit of bad news if you picked it up as a periodical: there are 30 extra, previously unpublished pages.

Pre-order God And Science: Return Of The Ti-Girls h/c fromPage 45by phoning 0115 9508045 or emailing page45@page45.com

Due: no idea

Ed The Happy Clown h/c (£18-99, Drawn & Quarterly) byChester Brown.

Honestly? I’ve never read it. It’s been out of print so, so long.

“In the late 1980s, the idiosyncratic Chester Brown (author of the much-lauded PAYING FOR IT and LOUIS RIEL) began writing the cult classic comic book series Yummy Fur. Within its pages, he serialized the groundbreaking Ed the Happy Clown, revealing a macabre universe of parallel dimensions. Ed the Happy Clown is a hallucinatory tale that functions simultaneously as a dark roller-coaster ride of criminal activity and a scathing condemnation of religious and political charlatanism. Brown leaves us wondering, with every twist of the plot, just how Ed will get out of this scrape.”

Pre-order Ed The Happy Clown h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:23/05/12

Dal Tokyo h/c (£25-99, Fantagraphics) by Gary Panter

“Collected into one giant volume for the first time, Fantagraphics proudly presents Gary Panter’s sci-fi/punk mash-up masterpiece Dal Tokyo. Panter imagines a Mars where Japanese and Texan culture have collided and the result is a dizzying and absorbing mix of more or less intelligible jokes, non-sequiturs and surreal eruptions that can engulf the entire panel in scribbles. Most of these strips were only published in Japan and are being published in the US for the first time!”

Pre-order Dal Tokyo h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:31/05/12

The Rinse s/c (£10-99, Boom! Studios) by Gary Phillips & Marc Laming.

Featuring a brand new branch of Page 45! Yes, apparently we’ve opened in San Francisco now and I’m not managing it. Hint: look for the logo – we’ve gone green.

“There’s nothing like the air in the countryside.
“The smell of money is much sharper out there.”

Jeff Sinclair is a man who plans and keeps the map of any money trail hidden in his head. His job is to disperse vast sums of cash so that they can never be found, and certainly not traced. He is discreet, cautious, meticulous and methodical. Unfortunately for Jeff, not everyone he encounters is half so sage and in the space of one short day in sunny San Francisco three key encounters look likely to sully his otherwise clean bill of wealth. It’s about to get brutal.

Welcome back, Marc Laming! It’s been 15-odd years since he joined fourteen other artists here to sign at our second Independents Day, and if I knew he’d be returning in such fine form I’d have missed him even more. So many artists skimp on the details, leaving their figures stranded weightless and lifeless in limbo; but here every car, every bar, every single street awning is rich in texture and light, while each individual negotiating this living, breathing city must do so in step to its beat.

There’s also a renewed softness to Marc’s forms, a love of deft smiles, and the way Jeff subtly adjusts his glasses or keeps close watch from beneath their upper frames makes all the difference in the world. As for his women, I offer you evidence of precisely why you need this series on Marc Laming’s own blogspot. I own that original piece of art. It’s framed above my sofa. Lastly, Francesco Mattina has done a cracking job on colours. The rain is really pouring down in this one-page preview of THE RINSE #4!

Pre-order The Rinse s/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:30/05/12

Frankenstein Alive, Alive! #1 (£2-99, IDW) by Steve Niles & Bernie Wrightson.

Whoa! Bernie Wrightson’s back on Frankenstein – check out the new art! It’s not quite the majesty of Bernie’s original FRANKENSTEIN h/c but the volcano I’ve seen is glorious. Better still the glacial, facial close-up… very cool use of blue.

Pre-order Frankenstein Alive, Alive! #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:23/05/12

Cursed Pirate Girl vol 1 h/c (£14-99, Archaia) by Jeremy Bastian.

A new edition – finally! We sold out of the old one ever so fast!

“What business does one so small have afloat those dark waves?”
“What was that? You may think me a spring shower, sir. But I’ve a hurricane in this heart that’d sink the Royal Fleet. So if your old bones would be so kind there’s a pirate here that needs to be squeezed through yer pretty door.”

What a refreshing, exuberant and intoxicating read! Jeremy A. Bastian, as if giddy on grog, liberates himself from all constraints – be they the laws of physics or so many comicbook formulae – to deliver a fantastical romp both above and below the Caribbean high seas which is so rich in detail that you’ll be scanning its nooks and crannies for hours. The lines are ridiculously fine yet as smooth as silk, as shrimp-strewn seaweed swirls to frame the pages or the Pirate Girl is lowered down the starboard hull of a galleon in a cage fashioned in the form of an enormous, ornate teapot. It’s not just ornate, this is bursting with inspiration and imagination, the pages populated by James Gillray grotesques, Sir John Tenniel hybrid creatures; and yes, while I’m think about it, there is more than a little of Lewis Carroll’s fantastical mischief here combined with the anarchy of Tony Millionaire (Maakies etc.), whilst the cluttered galleys and captain’s quarters o’erbrimming with jewel-encrusted treasures are delineated with fine lines as classy as Bernie Wrightson’s FRANKENSTEIN.

Charles Vess, Mike Mignola, David Petersen and Gary Gianni line up to praise the book’s originality as the Cursed Pirate Girl and parrot Pepper Dice take a deep breath and dive onto and into a fish, respectively, to journey underwater past fish made from wicker and squabbling swordfish siblings to rise in search of the girl’s missing father, one of five Captains sailing under the Jolly Roger flag in the Omerta Seas. Each ship they board presents a different challenge with new friends or foes, but the Cursed Pirate girl has boundless energy, a quick wit and at least one keen eye, while by the end of this first foray ‘x’ will mark the spot of the other.

Pre-order Cursed Pirate Girl vol 1 h/c (£14-99, Archaia) by Jeremy Bastian from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:30/05/12

Star Trek: The Next Generation / Doctor Who: Assimilation #1 (£2-99, IDW) by Scott Tipton, David Tipton, Tony Lee & J.K. Woodward.

In which the boldly go-ers encounter the ultimate spatial anomaly: the Tardis. Unusually for IDW’s DOCTOR WHO, it appears we will actually be allowed this in the UK as comics, though I wouldn’t be too surprise if there was a last-minute course correction. Featuring the Borg and the Cybermen. Engage, make it so etc.

Pre-order Star Trek: The Next Generation / Doctor Who: Assimilation #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:30/05/12

Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens h/c (£18-99, D.E.) by Grant Morrison & Mukesh Singh.

Written by Grant Morrison. Honestly. If I’d blogged this on April 1^st, you’d have doubted its authenticity, wouldn’t you? But just look at Mukesh Singh’s dinosaurs! Yowsa! We’re talking Steve Bissette. I would never type that lightly.

Pre-order Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:23/05/12

Batman: Earth One h/c (£16-99, DC) by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank.

Original graphic novel and long-awaiting follow up to SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE which sold out the day before publication and which, two years or more on, shows no signs of materialising as a softcover. What I’m saying is that if you know you want this, please help us gauge numbers in advance by pre-ordering, not necessarily on the website – by phone or email is just as good for me – but you may want to take a look at Gary Frank’s cover. It’s a beauty:

Pre-order Batman: Earth One h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:07/07/12

Fury Max #1 (£2-99, Marvel) by Garth Ennis & Goran Parlov.

The last time Ennis wrote Nick Fury he turned out a burlesque and it was very, very funny. This time? No idea.

“In the wake of World War II, Fury is fast running out of battles to fight. But the world’s superpowers are gearing up for a new kind of war and they’ll need a man like Fury to win it.”

Pre-order Fury Max #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:02/05/12

Moon Knight Vol 2 h/c (£18-99, Marvel) by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev.

Uh-oh. Now he really loses it, and someone pays the price. Of Moon Knight vol 1 (of this particular series) I wrote in part:

“From the creative team behind SCARLET (ooh, look, interior art up on our site!), ALIAS (nothing to do with the TV series but possibly the best thing ever from Marvel), SPIDER-WOMAN (lurid!), and definitely the best-ever run on DAREDEVIL… a 7,205th attempt at Moon Knight to coincide with the number of personalities battling away in his nocturnal noggin. You can add three more here, and they’ll be readily familiar to you.”

There’s way more if you click on the title back there. Seriously recommended.

Pre-order Moon Knight Vol 2 h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:16/05/12

X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong/Warsong Ultimate Collection (£22-50, Marvel) byGregPak & GregLand, Tyler Kirkham.

First time if was ENDSONG, now it’s WARSONG. Next time out, I’m fully expecting it to be LAPSONG SOUCHANG. It might go something like this, with Cyclops and Wolverine strolling down the hall and Professor Jean Luc Picard calling from afar…

[Off camera] “To me, my X-Men!”
“Did you hear something…?”
“Eh, you know how these corridors echo.”
“Well, I’m just going to take a look. It’s been months since the funeral, and not a word from Jean.”
“Dude, it was Jean’s funeral.”
“Exactly.”
[Off camera] “To me, my X-MEN!!!”
“There we go; he’s on the crazy paving again.”
“Professor!  Are the grounds breached?”
“Has your blanket slipped?”
“Are we under attack?”
“Do you need changing?”
“Scott, I’d dropped my saucer! My tea was getting cold.”
“You can’t drink tea from your cup?”
“Yes, but you see, Scott, I like to pour it — into my sauce-er.”
“From your cup…?”
“Before drinking it, yes.”
“But, Professor, that’s what makes it cold…”
“And listen, Chuck, can’t you just ask nicely? All this, “To me, my X-Men!” It’s a little –”
“Shakespearian…? Melodramatic…? Morrison-esque…?”
“Rude!”
“Yes, yes,Logan, I see, I see… How about “I’ve dropped my saucer, my X-Men, do come and see that it’s righted!””
“Haven’t we forgotten a little something…?”
“’… Do come and see that it’s righted right now!’”
“…”
“’… Do come and see that’s it’s righted, my dears…?’”
 [Strolling away]
“By the way, who’s that guy in the purple cape and helmet, with his gloved mitts in the mansion’s Milk Tray?”
“One of the new teachers, I think.”
[The Diary Room]
“Hello, Eric, this is Big Brother. How are you feeling today?”
“Vain, supercilious and monomaniacal.”
“Sorry, Richard, I thought you were somebody else.”

[In-Joke Apologies: this was originally written during the 2006 season of Big Brother and Morrison’s run on New X-Men. I can’t even recall who that Richard was anymore.]

Pre-order X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong/Warsong Ultimate Collection from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:30/05/12

Loads More Dc Graphic Novels Here

Loads More Marvel Graphic Novels Here

In fact, there are loads more comics and graphic novels for May onwards in our full on-line version of Diamond’s PREVIEWS here!

This has been a Terribly Tardy Production presented to you by a seriously sozzled Stephen L. Holland. So sorry!

Highlights include Guy Delisle’s JERUSALEM, a collection of Deadline’s HUGO TATE, a new series from Peter Bagge, a new book from NIGHT FISHER’s R. Kikuo Johnson, full-colour BEANWORLD, a spy thriller from Millar & Gibbons, and AMERICA’S GOT POWERS by Jonathan Ross and Bryan ULTIMATES Hitch! Also, quite obviously, this…

Comics & Graphic Novels for April 2012

Are You My Mother? s/c (£12-99,JonathanCape) by Alison Bechdel.

“My parents are most real to me in fictional terms.”

That was the telling quotation I pulled to headline my review of Bechdel’s previous triumph FUN HOME, one of the most literate autobiographies in comics, as well as one of the most fascinating, candid and revealing, in which Bechdel first sets out her dysfunctional family life in all its bizarre artifice before intertwining her personal development with her father’s past to explore what might lie at the heart of each. I relished it even more than my dearly beloved PERSEPOLIS, and you can read the full review with interior art by clicking on the title above.

This one obviously concentrates on her Ma, a “voracious reader, music lover, passionate amateur actor. Also a woman, unhappily married to a closeted gay man, whose artistic aspirations simmered under the surface of Bechdel’s childhood . . . and who stopped touching or kissing her daughter goodnight, forever, when she was seven. Poignantly, hilariously, Bechdel embarks on a quest for answers concerning the mother-daughter gulf. It’s a richly layered search that leads readers from the fascinating life and work of iconic twentieth-century psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, to one explosively illuminating Dr. Seuss illustration, to Bechdel’s own (serially monogamous) adult love life. And, finally, back to Mother—to a truce, fragile and real-time, that will move and astonish all adult children of gifted mothers.”

Pre-order Are You My Mother? s/c from Page 45by cutting the online apron strings and actively emailing page45@page45.com or phoning 0115 9508045.

Due:03/05/12

Jerusalem h/c (£18-99, Drawn & Quarterly/JonathanCape) by Guy Delisle.

Guy Delisle writes the best travelogues in the business. Witty, observant and beautifully drawn, PYONGYANG, SHENZHEN and BURMA CHRONICLES brought each city and country to daily life because, crucially, he didn’t just visit, he lived there. The man has a keen eye for the absurd and compassion for this fellow man. What, then, will he make of contemporary Jerusalem? It’s one of the most anticipated books of the year for me, especially after seeing all these sketches and photos on Guy Delisle’s blog whilst staying in Jerusalem. I should warn you that those book reviews linked to above are substantial. I love, love, love Delisle!

Pre-order Jerusalem h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/12– possibly

The Fairy Tales Of Oscar Wilde vol 5: The Happy Prince h/c (£12-99, NBM) by Oscar Wilde & P. Craig Russell.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, and so very poignant. This should be on every book shelf young and old, and in every school library. NBM is always good enough to post an interior-art preview, so here it is: THE HAPPY PRINCE. Easily my favourite of Oscar’s fairy tales, even reading the solicitation copy brings a lump to my throat.

“The Happy Prince is arguably the most famous and well loved of Oscar Wilde’s nine fairy tales, rivalled only by The Selfish Giant. It is also a very timely tale at a time of controversy over the increasing chasm between rich and poor…The Happy Prince has lived a life of opulence but has died young and his soul inhabits a beautiful ruby encrusted statue covered all over in gold leaf. From his perch high above the city he is witness to all the poverty, misery, and hopelessness in which his people have been living. When a small barn swallow in flight to the warm south ahead of the approaching winter stops to rest upon the statue the Happy Prince prevails upon him to delay his travels in order to remove his gold leaf a piece at a time and shower it upon the poor citizens. Out of love for the Happy Prince the swallow does his bidding. As the days pass the Prince’s beauty is stripped away and as winter sets in the bird’s fate is sealed. In the spring the townspeople finding only a dull statue with a broken lead heart and a dead bird consign the worthless objects to the ash heap. Only an emissary of God recognizes them as the most valuable treasures of the city and brings them to the gardens of heaven.”

Also available once more: vol 1: The Selfish Giant And The Star Child, vol 2: The Young King And The Remarkable Rocket, vol 3: The Birthday Of The Infanta, vol 4: The Devoted Friend And The Nightingale And The Rose.

Pre-order The Fairy Tales Of Oscar Wilde vol 5: The Happy Prince h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due25/04/12

Science Tales: Lies, Hoaxes And Scams (£11-99, Myriad Editions) by Darryl Cunningham.

Scott McCloud says: “Darryl Cunningham continues his comics crusade to untangle lies, myths, and misconceptions with a new book defending the science that’s grown fromDarwin’s theory of natural selection. As usual, he does so with wit, charm, and quiet persistence.”

We say: Cunningham’s Psychiatric Tales was so good we made it Comicbook Of The Month. It’s been one of those books swept up by casual comics and non-comics browsers alike: relevant, accessible and humane. Here he deals with homeopathy, the MMR vaccine, electro-convulsive therapy, the moon landing, and science denialism. Honestly. Denial is just a river I’ve never seen. Here’s a preview of SCIENCE TALES I applaud with a passion.

Order Science Tales by emailing page45@page45.com, phoning (0115) 9508045, dispatching a carrier pigeon or just praying to God. See which one works best.

Due:26/04/12

Idyll (£14-99, Drawn & Quarterly) by Amber Albrecht.

Take a look at Albrecht’s beautiful, intricate art posted by Drawn & Quarterly. The shapes and the colours are so clean and delicate. I don’t actually care what this is about, I want it already. Given that you may want a hint, however… “Much of Amber Albrecht’s work is inspired by the dreaminess of childhood, whether expressing her cloudy recollections of the storybooks she read as a child or the forested West Coast landscapes that surrounded her. On the pages of Idyll, a series of interconnected myths emerges fully formed, each myth articulating a sense of wistfulness for a past that never was. Idyll employs female iconography in myriad way – many of these works feature female figures, the lushness of the natural environment, and female-associated textures. Albrecht’s Idyll communicates questions about loneliness, passivity, and loss through investigations of femininity and nostalgia for an imagined past.”

Pre-order from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/12

Reset #1 (£2-75, Dark Horse) by Peter Bagge.

HATE’s Peter Bagge returns to the realms of virtual reality. First there was the identity crisis of OTHER LIVES (highly recommended), now it’s that eternal question about whether – given the opportunity to relive major moments – you’d change any decisions you made in your life: things you did, things you said that you can never take back. Now you can, or at least washed-up actor and comedian Guy Krause can, after he signs up as a research guinea pig for a virtual reality experiment. Thing is, is he only going to make matters worse?

Pre-order Reset #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:18/04/12

Tales Of The Beanworld 3.5 h/c (£10-99) by Larry Marder.

First full-colour collection of a series so beloved by Mark that he built eye-popping papier mâché figures of these most peculiar creatures for our window. How peculiar? There’s a preview of the BEANWORLD HOLIDAY SPECIAL here. This includes brand-new pages which begin the Summer Cycle of stories and collects the BEANWORLD HOLIDAY SPECIAL, plus rare material from ASYLUM #1-6 and the online-only MYSPACE DARK HORSE PRESENTS #14. So why are we so excited? Here’s this from my review of BEANWORLD VOL 2:

Larry Marder created a unique world with a fully realised ecosystem which operated with its own radically viable laws for construction, reproduction and sustenance. Its several species of inhabitants had their own hierarchy, its individuals their own roles, aspirations and priorities. They even had their own terminology/slang. With their passion for play, exploration, art and invention, if I were to try to capture the series in a single word, I’d try “Celebration”. If I were allowed a second word, it would be “Cooperation”. Both those concepts lie at the heart of any healthy and fecund friendship or sustainable ecosystem, so there were lessons to be learned way back then that would have put the human race much further ahead of the game than it currently stands. I’m going to stick my neck out to say something typically stupid too: it’s like a platform game. The Beans’ learning process is like a platform game. “Oh, this is what I need to find/create and fit in there in order to make progress…!”

Pre-order Tales Of The Beanworld 3.5 h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:27/06/12

The Shark King (£9-99, Toon Books) by R. Kikuo Johnson.

From the creator of Night Fisher so many moons ago (think David Lapham’s STRAY BULLETS, only quieter, more introspective), a young readers’ book that looks pretty powerful, and I’d expect nothing less from R. Kikuo Johnson. There’s an early preview on THE SHARK KING on Toon Books’ blog and I spy a certain Hernandez influence on the bottom page. “Meet Nanaue, a boy craving to be who he truly is. From the islands ofHawaii comes the electrifying tale of Nanaue, who has to balance his yearning for Dad’s guidance with his desire for Mom’s nurture. Award-winning cartoonist R. Kikuo Johnson transports young readers to the lush tropical shores of his nativeHawaii. Fluent or not, young readers will be thrilled when they experience the transformative powers of a stirring literary work.”

Pre-order The Shark King from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:11/04/12

Courtney Crumrin #1 (£2-99, Oni Press) by Ted Naifeh.

Brand-new series and in full-colour too! Oni Press are about to start republishing the older volumes in colour, but our old reviews are still up for you to gauge their flavour, like Courtney Crumrin vol 3.Meanwhile: “Welcome to a world where magic and Night Things lurk behind every corner and nothing is as it seems. This is the world introduced to Courtney by her dear Uncle Aloysius – a master mage of unknown age and even more mysterious motivations. What started the Crumrin clan down the dark path and is Courtney strong enough to follow it all the way down?

Please note: I’ve seen a preview, and you may find your young ones take great delight in learning and then repeating as often as possible an endearing new phrase: “Bugger off.”

Pre-order Courtney Crumrin #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:11/04/12

The Boy Who Made Silence (£17-99 AAM Markosia) by Josh Hagler.

Elements of Kent Williams in the hues, wash textures and some of the line work give way to some David Mack (i.e. Bill Sienkiewicz) tricks including collage and those familiar old triangles down the side of some panels. Fortunately, like Bill in his introduction to KABUKI, Mack likes what he sees and said so on the back of #1. See what I mean in this AAM Markosia preview. Here’s how the issue kicks off:

“When Nestor was ten years old, he fell from a bridge and into the river that swallowed his hearing, never giving it back. Whether Esme, the twelve-year-old girl who brought him out of the river, saved his life or gave him a new one, remains a point of contention among those who discuss such notions.”

The first chapter is actually a very interesting exploration of what it might feel like for the world to suddenly stop telling you things, floating on a ground that no longer audibly acknowledges your foot steps. When you can no longer hear your mother (“she is without the power she once had – the power to make all sharp things soft”). She doesn’t exactly seem the kindest of mothers in the first place, but there you go. I don’t know what the floating cat is all about, but yes, this did make me think. Whether the intentions have changed since the first few issues appeared in 2008, I know not, but my original preview spoke of a boy who ”creates silence around him which compels those nearby to experience each others’ memories. Hailed as a prophet by his local religious community, he comes of age, falls in love, then goes in search of his father.” Here’s Josh Hagler’s blogspot.

Pre-order The Boy Who Made Silence from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due: 25/04/12

Deadenders (£22-50, Vertigo/DC) by Ed Brubaker & Warren Pleece, Richard Case, Jay Stephens, Cameron Stewart.

Surprise release of the long-lost Ed Brubaker series much beloved, I believe, by SCOTT PILGRIM’s Bryan Lee O’Malley. There’s a preview of DEADENDERS on DC’s website.

“In this stylish science fiction epic from award-winning writer Ed Brubaker, a drug-dealing car thief must discover the secret behind his visions to save the world. Twenty years after the devastating Cataclysm, society has been separated into sectors in which the rich are able to enjoy machine-generated weather and sunlight while the poor are forced to live an eternally dank and dark existence. Banished to the dismal Sector 5, the angst-ridden Beezer discovers that the corrupt city police are hunting him because of his experiential visions of a pre-apocalyptic world. Now Earth’s reluctant saviour must learn his true origin and the meaning of his visions before he is captured and killed. For the first time, Vertigo collects the entire sixteen-issue run of DEADENDERS, along with a tale from WINTER’S EDGE #3.”

Pre-order Deadenders from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:16/05/12

Hugo Tate (£14-99, Blank Slate) by Nick Abadzis.

If the definition of DEADLINE hell was the day the UKmagazine folded DEADLINE heaven will be day that its HUGO TATE is reprinted. Dubbed “Britain’s LOVE & ROCKETS” by the Comics Journal itself, this complete collection from the creator of LAIKA includes a glowing introduction by Garth Ennis. There’s a preview of HUGO TATE on the Blank Slate website.

“Beginning life in 1988 as an acerbic humour strip featuring an eponymous stick man protagonist living in a figuratively-drawn world, Hugo Tate evolved into an intelligent look into the lives of a complex web of characters stretching fromLondontoNew Yorkand beyond. This collection includes the critically-acclaimed final story arc O,America!, in which Hugo finds himself on a drug-fuelled road trip across the nightmarish underbelly of theUnited States. Featuring a gallery of rare extras and all-new commentary from Abadzis and Deadline editor Frank Wynne.”

Pre-order Hugo Tate from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due: May.

Departures (£10-99, Blank Slate) by Pierre Maurel.

Now that’s what I call an urban jungle! It’s like Swamp Thing’s come to town. Leaves, leaves, leaves. You know how we feel about leaves. Make sure you click on the link at the bottom to see the full DEPATURES preview here. “In his English-language debut, Pierre Maurel explores the effects of the global recession through three tales of twenty and thirty-somethings struggling at the bottom of the social ladder. An unemployed man suspects he is going insane as his everyday life is invaded by visions of sprawling vegetation, a bookseller debates joining a union the media describes as ‘local terrorists,’ and a couple prepares to begin a new life on the road together. All faced with the opportunity to make a difference in their lives, will they accept their situation or attempt find a new way of living?”

Pre-order Departures from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/12or thereabouts

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Score h/c (£18-99, IDW) by Darwyn Cooke.

Crime friction. Third book in the series following PARKER: THE HUNTER then PARKER: THE OUTFIT both reviewed and relished there by Jonathan. The Comics Journal’s Tom Spurgeon too poured praise on Cooke’s lavish treatment in this illustrated interview with Cooke and Ed Brubaker. “Parker becomes embroiled in a plot with a dozen partners in crime to pull off what might be the ultimate heist-robbing an entire town. Everything was going fine for a while, and then things got bad. Considered one of the best in the Parker series, The Score is the perfect vehicle for Darwyn Cooke to pull out all the stops and let loose with a book that has all the impact of a brutal kick to the solar plexus!”

Pre-order Richard Stark’s Parker: The Score h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:16/05/12

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Lost Dogs (£7-50, Top Shelf) by Jeff Lemire.

Originally published by Ashtray Press back in 2005 long before ESSEX COUNTY broke Jeff’s name to the general public, I took a punt and liked what I saw, previewing it thus…

You really need to see this guy’s art. The cover itself said Ted McKeever to me, but it’s a lot more fluid than that, and really hefty. The brush is laden with ink in places, as it’s swept across the page, and the cart scene at the docks is beautiful – a real sense of light, the scenery distilled to all that’s necessary. Fine use of grey as well, and I like the pale red on Ulric’s vest. So who is Ulric? He’s a hulk of a farmer, effectively mute, who finds his idyllic rural existence with his beautiful wife and daughter torn apart after a confrontation in the coastal town. I’m not entirely sure about the confrontation itself – I think the whole thing would be more powerful without any of the minimal script at all – but we’ll see where it goes.

You too can see a preview of LOST DOGS on Top Shelf’s website.

Pre-order Lost Dogs from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/12

The Adventures Of Jodelle h/c (£33-99, Fantagraphics) by Guy Peellaert & Pierre Bartier.

Oh, Tom is just going to love this! Primary-coloured passion as evidenced here: beware, there be boobage! “Fantagraphics proudly presents Guy Peellaert’s long out of print 1960′s Pop-Art masterpiece The Adventures of Jodelle in a lush, oversized hardcover edition. A satirical spy adventure set in an eye-popping psychedelic ancient Rome of horsedrawn Cadillacs, billboards and vampires, Jodelle has been re-translated and re-coloured and features a huge annotated bonus selection of never-before-seen archival art and photographs.”

Pre-order The Adventures Of Jodelle h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/12

New York Mon Amour h/c (£14-99, Fantagraphics) by Jacques Tardi, Benjamin Legrand, Dominique Grange & Jacques Tardi.

“Many years ago, Jacques Tardi was introduced to American audiences with “Manhattan,” a grim and grimy story of depression, madness and suicide inNew York Citywhose appearance in the premiere issue of RAW magazine was instrumental in defining both that magazine’s virtuoso aesthetic and its dark sensibility. Three decades later, New York Mon Amour collects “Manhattan” and three other tales of the Big Apple — rendered by Tardi with just as much panache and you-are-there detail asParisor the trenches of World War I in his other books — in one spectacular volume. Aside from “Manhattan,” the centrepiece of the book is the graphic novel “Cockroach Killer,” written by Benjamin Legrand. This violent, surreal conspiracy thriller, starring a hapless exterminator named Walter, features a striking two-colour black-and-red technique unique in Tardi’s oeuvre, and remains one of the cartoonist’s most startling, confounding works. New York Mon Amour is rounded off with two short stories that have never been published in English, both written by Dominique Grange: “It’s So Hard” (starring John Lennon — but not that John Lennon) and “The Killing of Hung” (a story of revenge and redemption).”

Pre-order New York Mon Amour h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/12

3 Story: Secret Files Of The Giant Man (£2-75, Dark Horse) by Matt Kindt.

The secret history of the world’s unlikeliest, skyscraping spy! From the creator of Vertigo’s Revolver and the artist on Pistol Whip, an affordable introduction to 2009’s 3 Story: The Secret History Of The Giant Man graphic novel in the form of material previously only available online.

Pre-order from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:18/04/12

The Pterodactyl Hunters (In The Gilded City) one-shot (£7-50, top Shelf) by Brandon Leach.

As seen in BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2011 (now sold out!), Matt Madden (99 WAYS TO TELL A STORY) writes: “”Leach starts from a wacky premise, but once he sets it in motion he takes it seriously, and as in the best genre stories this comic is ultimately not about monsters but about family and finding your place in the world.” Preview Brandon Leach’s interior pages here.

“THE PTERODACTYL HUNTERS tells the story of Eamon and Declan Sullivan, young members of New York City’s Pterodactyl Patrol, a municipal organization protecting the city from the menacing pterodactyls that plague its evening hours. As theNew York Cityof 1904 moves into the modern era, only a few vicious pterosaurs remain. While Eamon makes headlines eradicating the final beasts, young Declan faces a future without the pterodactyl infestation, and without his anticipated role in a new generation of Pterodactyl Hunters.”

Pre-order The Pterodactyl Hunters from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/12

Secret #1 (£2-75, Image) by Jonathan Hickman & Ryan Bodenheim.

This three-page SECRET preview looks pretty nasty! “A man gets shot in London, a law firm gets broken into in Washington, an accountant gives away the password to his computer, and something put to sleep 20 years ago awakens. What is the unsavoury relationship all these things share, and how could it bring down two of the largest governments in the history of the world? From the creators of A RED MASS FOR MARS, SECRET is an espionage thriller that takes a deep look into the shadow world existing between the government and private security firms.”

Pre-order from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:11/04/12

Baltimore vol 2: the Curse Bells h/c (£18-99, Dark Horse) by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden & Ben Stenbeck.

Okay, we’ve learned our lesson: have you? The first volume’s hardcover shot out of the shop and straight out of print. We then had to wait months and months for a softcover. Of BALTIMORE VOL 1 Jonathan wrote (in part – click on the link for the full shebang):

“Is someone there?”
“You’ve made a terrible mistake…”

BALTIMORE PLAGUE SHIPS gives us the pustulent story of Lord Henry Baltimore, a man with more stiff upper lip than the troutiest, poutiest cosmetic surgery victim could ever wish for, and a never-say-die attitude to match. And it’s precisely that sort of British bulldog resilience that’s landed him in the living nightmare he now finds himself. Knocked unconscious on the field of battle in WW1 during a suicidalmidnightover-the-top charge, ordered by the idiotic top brass safely tucked away behind the lines at HQ, he’s appalled to come round and find gigantic bat-like creatures with glowing red eyes literally draining the blood from his dead and dying comrades strewn around him.

When one particularly loathsome specimen notices the waking Lord Henry and decides to make him the next tasty treat, he manages to fend the creature off with a bayonet in a last-ditch, desperate act, gouging the creature’s eye out in the process. Even so, were it not for the fast approaching sunrise, he’d still have been easy pickings for the enraged creatures who seem unnerved by the rapidly increasing light levels and flee the battlefield. Subsequently coming to in the middle of the night in a field hospital, minus an amputated leg, he’s approached by a cloak-clad fiend missing an eye who chillingly informs Lord Henry that whilst he and his vampiric brethren had previously been content to merely hide in the shadows, feeding on those who were dead and dying, that thanks to Lord Henry’s intervention, they are as of now at war with humanity…

Superb horror writing from Mignola and Christopher Golden, with appropriately atmospheric art from Ben Stenbeck, who appears to have followed the unwritten rule of illustrating a Mignola story, which is to evoke Mignola’s own art style.

Pre-order Baltimore vol 2: the Curse Bells h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:13/06/12

The Secret Service #1 (£2-25, Icon/Marvel) by Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons.

From the artist on WATCHMEN and the creator of the super-stylish The Originals and the writer of my all-time favourite superhero series (ULTIMATES SEASON ONE volumes one and two and ULTIMATES SEASON TWO volumes one and two), this is, quite simply, a super-spy book but with an added political dimension. Millar writes that’s it’s “the ramifications of [how] America is struggling on the world stage, funding is being seriously undercut to balance the books and some people are trying their best to take advantage of the fragile global situation.” There’s a great big illustrated interview on Mark Millar’s THE SECRET SERVICE here, and it looks soooo slick.

Pre-order The Secret Service #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:04/04/12

America’s Got Powers #1 of 6 (£2-25, Image) by Jonathan Ross & Bryan Hitch.

From TV’s Jonathan Ross and the artist on my all-time favourite superhero series (ULTIMATES SEASON ONE volumes one and two and ULTIMATES SEASON TWO volumes one and two):

“Welcome toAMERICA’S GOT POWERS! It’s the biggest TV show on Earth, where the chance to win fame, fortune and get laid are dangled in front of a generation of super-powered teens. All they have to do is WIN. Who is the fastest, the strongest or the greatest? Who survives? Young Tommy Watt’s dreams of being the greatest hero of them all might just be shattered when the greatest show on the planetbegins to reveal its dark heart.”

Excerpt from a much bigger, illustrated Comicbook Resources illustrated interview with the pair: “Ross, who originated the concept, added that there’s an ugly undercurrent to the reality competition craze which fuels “America’s Got Powers.” “What interested me here is the exploitation of those who are encouraged to take part,” he said. “In ‘AGP’ there’s more than just a little pressure on them – these kids with powers don’t have that many other options in a society that finds them fascinating and irresistible but ultimately scary. So it deals a little I hope with the dark side of these shows – the way talent is used up and, when it no longer feels novel or fresh, thrown away. As for superheroes, well, as readers we love to see them in action, fighting, protecting the weak and smiting the strong. In this scenario, that’s a given. Like ‘Rollerball’ or ‘The Running Man,’ it’s built into the format – a certain amount of danger, of blood and guts. But it’s when it escalates and people get to see the REAL purpose of the show that things will get interesting.”

Pre-order America’s Got Powers #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Pre-order America’s Got Powers #2 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:11/04/12and25/04/12

Animal Man vol 1: The Hunt s/c (£10-99, DC) by Jeff Lemire & Travel Foreman, John Paul Leon.

Bad dreams in the night – in  black, red and white. Now that’s what I call capillary action! This isn’t a superhero book. Anyone worth their salt is going to make a Buddy Baker book all about family, and ESSEX COUNTY’s Jeff Lemire has written about family extensively there and even to a certain extent in SWEET TOOTH. Sure enough Buddy’s wife, son and especially his daughter Maxine are centre-stage as Maxine, forbidden a living, breathing pet, decides to exhume those buried round the neighbourhood and bring them back to some semblance of life. At the same time Buddy’s own powers go on the fritz, his family come under attack and it’s all very creepy. What’s wrong with the Red? Grant Morrison’s own three-volume run on ANIMAL MAN is an absolutely essential read, especially if you’re on board for this.

Pre-order Animal Man vol 1: The Hunt s/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:23/05/12

Batwoman vol 1: Hydrology h/c (£16-99, DC) by J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman & J.H. Williams II, Amy Reeder.

BATWOMAN: ELEGY has been phenomenally successful and here its artist returns in an even more successful DC New 52 book. “Who or what is stealing children from the barrio, and for what vile purpose? Will Kate train her cousin, Bette Kane (a.k.a. Flamebird), as her sidekick? How will she handle unsettling revelations about her father, Colonel Jacob Kane? And why is a certain government agency suddenly taking an interest in her?”

Pre-order Batwoman vol 1: Hydrology h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:13/06/12

Stormwatch vol 1: The Dark Side s/c (£10-99, DC) by Paul Cornell & Miguel Sepulveda.

A very different dynamic from the old days of STORMWATCH and the subsequent AUTHORITY. The Engineer remains firmly at the helm and Jack Hawksmoor is in charge. Jenny Q is still new but JLA’s Martian Manhunter has now joined them along with a few extras I’m unfamiliar with. The Moon is attacking Earth, there’s a giant horn in theHimalayas. So where are Apollo and the Midnighter? Apollo is a determined loner they’re finding it difficult to recruit. Recruiting theMidnight, on the other hand, will be murder. For more DC New 52 books see link at the bottom of the blog.

Pre-order Stormwatch vol 1: The Dark Side s/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

The Shadow #1 (£2-99, D.E.) by Garth Ennis & Aaron Campbell.

Not a project I would have expected from Ennis! “1938: The Shadow returns in a tale of blazing action and deadly intrigue, as a night of carnage on theNew Yorkwaterfront plunges the mysterious vigilante into a conspiracy involving the fate of the world itself. As storm clouds gather across the globe, American Military Intelligence meets with a certain Lamont Cranston, determined to beat a host of spies and assassins to the greatest prize of all… but what that might be, only the Shadow knows.”

Pre-order The Shadow #1 from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/12

Punisher: Homeless h/c (£14-99, Marvel Max) by Jason Aaron & Steve Dillon.

I will read and relish anything – anything – drawn by PREACHER‘s Steve Dillon. Even if it’s a shopping list. The Kingpin hires Elektra to keep the Punisher at bay, but becomes preoccupied with getting her into bed. The Punisher doesn’t have a bed: he’s homeless. Also, broke and without weapons. That’s not really going to stop him, though, is it?

Pre-order Punisher: Homeless h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:11/04/12

Wolverine & The X-Men vol 1 h/c (£14-99, Marvel) by Jason Aaron & Chris Bachalo, Nick Bradshaw.

In which a visit from the Department of Education school inspectors passes without incident. <snort> Everything that could possibly go wrong does go wrong on the first and possibly last day of term at the new Jean Grey School For Higher Learning, and teachers will surely empathise. There is, however, a great deal more that can go wrong in a school full of mutant misfits which boasts the most dangerous boys’ bathroom in history. That Kitty Pryde is headmistress is not unexpected; that Wolverine’s a headmaster is insane. The Toad is their janitor, by the way, and will be spending some considerable time cleaning up that bathroom later on.

Following directly on from the mini-series X-Men: Schism (also by Aaron along with Vertigo’s SCALPED) wherein Cyclops and Wolverine stopped seeing eye to eye, there has been a mass evacuation from their island haven just off San Francisco, Wolverine opting to educate the children rather than have them fight. Joining their faculty is the Beast who stopped enjoying Scott Summers’ increasingly militant company quite some time ago plus Iceman, Gambit, Rogue, Rachel Grey, Cannonball, Chamber, Husk, Karma, Frenzy and Doop. Yes, Doop. He of the translatable alien language.

The schism was engineered by Kade Kilgore, school-aged son of a wealthy arms manufacturer who’s just inherited a fortune and multiplied it considerably by selling Sentinel technology on the back of the some pretty successful scare-mongering. It also secured him his seat as Black King of the Hellfire Club. His next move, then, is something of a surprise.

The whole of the first issue is played purely for laughs, and long may that continue. There’s even a school prospectus in the back complete with courses (Algebra Sucks: I Know, But You Still Have To Learn It is, of course, delivered by ‘Professor’ Bobby Drake who couldn’t even spell quadratic equation let alone solve one), extracurricular activities, special events and the proud school motto, “The best there is at what we do”. Chris Bachalo (DEATH, SHADE THE CHANGING MAN, GENERATION X) plays the perfect co-conspirator with cartoon comedy postures and expressions against backgrounds with an enormous attention to detail.

Pre-order Wolverine And The X-Men vol 1 h/c from Page 45 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:18/04/12


Reminder: these are our picks from the current crop, but you can read the whole of Diamond’s own comic and graphic novel PREVIEWS here. They’re divided into comics and graphic novels and then into publishers so if you’re only interested in particular publisher it’s all quite easy to digest. Apart from Marvel’s offerings this month which is: basically one big, convoluted cat’s cradle of AVENGERS V X-MEN tie-ins. Make sure you pre-order Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons’ THE SECRET SERVICE, though!

Caveat: I rather suspect that the last week in each month, when given as a due date, is Diamond’s way of saying “No promises!”

- Stephen

At last! Brandon Graham’s KING CITY collection! Also, new Nicolas De Crécy, Joe Sacco journalism, Harvey Pekar’s last work (which may prove his best!), a Kevin Huizenga reprint, and a collection of 1950s British comic for girls! There’s Cloonan on CONAN,,Mark Millar’s SUPERIOR, and the first collection of the brand-new Ultimate Spider-Man.

These are my picks from the current crop with proposed publication dates, but you can read the whole of Diamond’s own comic and graphic novel PREVIEWS here.

Journalism h/c (£17-99,Metropolitan) by Joe Sacco.

From the most widely celebrated creator of comicbook reportage (PALESTINE, Footnotes In Gaza etc.), a collection of Joe’s shorter, previously uncollected work from the last decade, definitely including the material in The Guardian when Joe followed the American troops on patrol. Also “In ‘The Unwanted,’ Sacco chronicles the detention of Saharan refugees who have washed up on the shores of Malta; ‘Chechen War, Chechen Women’ documents the trial without end of widows in the Caucasus. Other pieces take Sacco to the smuggling tunnels of Gaza; the trial of Milan Kovacevic, Bosnian warlord, in The Hague; and the darkest chapter in recent American history, Abu Ghraib.”

Pre-order Journalism h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

The Celestial Bibendum h/c (£24-99, Knockabout) by Nicolas De Crécy.

Breath-taking art and architecture, De Crécy has captured the Mediterranean light to perfection here as you can see on Gosh!’s own blog. The American edition is a prohibitive £52-99, so thank God for Knockabout’s exclusiveUK deal whereby all this oversized edition will cost you is £24-99. It looks tremendous. Being aUK edition, however, it won’t be in our online previews store so…

Pre-order by emailing page45@page45.com or phoning 0115 9508045

Due: early 2012

Gloriana h/c (£14-99, Drawn & Quarterly) by Kevin Huizenga.

First it was a self-published zine, then OR ELSE #2. From the creator of GANGES, THE WILD KINGDOM etc., now it’s reproduced as a 6 x 8 h/c. Here’s a preview of GLORIANA from 2005 (!) and here was Mark’s review:

One of the problems facing comic artists is what should be left in and what should be left out. Jeffrey Brown, in AEIOU, shows us a relationship but leaves out important facts in the same way that his character was not told the whole story. There’s a track by Love where words are left off the end of lines but it’s obvious from the rhyming pattern as to what’s left out and it brings more attention to them. In Kill Bill, the main character’s name is bleeped out, again forcing our attention to what’s missing. Some comics give you a single page and you’d swear that you’d read ten. The opposite side of this is that we’re never given the whole truth of a moment. If you want to truly understand any moment in time you’d have to have all the facts presented to you.

The central story of this issue (“The Sunset”) gives 20 pages over to a split second of Glenn Ganges looking out of a library window, seeing a feather fall and catching the full blast of the rays of the setting sun. One line, ”Earlier I was at the library and the sun was setting…” is chopped up and repeated throughout, pulling us back and forth throughout the moment. We see different views, people in the library, birds outside and the images left on his optic nerve as the light pours in. It’s a dizzying experience and quite a trick to pull off. If that was the only section of the book it would have still made my ‘best of 2002′ list when it originally came out. Even the way he segues into the final chapter’s calm after the storm is wonderful (“The Moon Rose”).

The first part has Glenn & Wendy unpacking the groceries. Wendy is pregnant and their minds drift to the future, when the baby is a year or so old. Both end up worrying that something bad will happen but realise that there’s a way out of it.

“Come here. She’s kicking. There. Did you feel it?”
“No.”
“… Then?”
“Nope.”
“You don’t feel that?”
“Uhh… Nope”
“Here… wait a second.”

Then we cut away and then back to find that it’s Glenn carrying the baby before we’re onto the next panel where they’re both sitting down at the dinner table, talking about relations. Then the phone rings and it’s just Glenn unpacking the groceries & he’s been daydreaming about him and his wife daydreaming about the baby. By now we’re all disorientated and possibly in the right frame of mind for “The Sunset”. Viewing this book in isolation we’re not sure if Wendy is pregnant or if Glenn is actually married. It’s Wendy that’s phoned him, so she’s real enough. Outside of this book, in “28th Street” (from DRAWN & QUARTERLY SHOWCASE VOL 2) they’re still trying to conceive and in OR ELSE #1 they appear to have had a miscarriage or lost the child in infancy.

This is a grand book and I’m glad that it’s been reprinted. Huizenga is definitely one to watch.

“Huizenga is definitely one to watch.” Funny. That’s why we never, ever doubted Mark!

Pre-order Gloriana h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

King City (£14-99, Image) by Brandon Graham.

Oh, but this title’s had a tumultuous history, and at one point we thought we’d never be able to sell it as a book again. But here it is, bigger and better than ever at 424 slightly oversized pages just like the individuals issues and including all the covers, games and puzzles. Here’s a 2009 interview with Brandon Graham full of interior art which should go some way to explaining out devotion. That one’s illustrated but this interview with Brandon Graham is riiiiiight up to the minute. Here’s Tom on the first of these twelve issues:

Joe is a hardboiled cat master. After training in the mountains for serious time, he’s back inKingCity cracking vaults for chump change. Just him, the cat and a belt full of hypodermic needles. See, the cat isn’t your ordinary Ragdoll moggie; he’s the pinnacle of spy technology. Impressively intelligent, highly skilled, and cute as a button to boot, but inject it full of enough cat juice and it can do anything. But despite his skills something smells fishy about his latest heist: for a start it was too easy and secondly he was just shot off a moving train and into the sewage-ey depths ofKingCity’s waterworks by his own booger, and that snot funny!

Without a doubt, Brandon’s brazen style and blunt enthusiasm for comics is exactly the shot of magic comic juice I’ve been craving. His blog, when he posts, is a joyous thing. A scrolling love letter to the medium full of cool old manga, weird ‘80s action comics, beautiful bande dessinée, and the more curious corners of his mind. There’s elements of all of these ingredients in KING CITY, from Joe’s hard-boiled anti-hero demeanour lifted straight from only the most bad-ass of Euro-comics, to his ultra powerful (and cute) companion, a staple of Shonan-Manga. Brandon has churned these together with a smattering of pop-culture free associating and delivered them hot to the address of the western world’s collective pop-consciousness.KINGCITY is about as perfect as a “rolled up back pocket adventure” can be.

Pre-order King City and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:22/02/2012

Sharknife vol 2: Sharknife ZZ (£8-99, Oni Press) by Corey Lewis.

Of SHARKNIFE VOL 1 Tom wrote:

“SHARKNIFE? Really fucking good. Go to a comics shop and buy it today. It is Fight Comics.” -Warren Ellis

This is not, nor is it anything like, SCOTT PILGRIM. I want to make that very clear from the offset. It’s good. Not absolutely god-spankingly amazing. Just good. And that’s just fine; it is his first book, after all. Though his style grew on me, I didn’t wet myself with enjoyment when I first saw O’Malley’s work in HOPELESS SAVAGES. So maybe Corey will grow on me too. According to Warren Ellis’ Bad Signal both this and SCOTT PILGRIM use what he calls “Game Logic” and describes it thus:

“Things happen because they happen. Maybe two lines of plot inform the entire concept, and everything else happens because it happens, and you either ride with it or you don’t.”

Okay. Isn’t that basically every comic? Go ask any fanboy, “Why can Superman fly?” “Cos’ he’s Superman, Idiot! Duh! He’s, like, from Krypton and our yellow sun gives him powers.” Because that makes sense! When I reviewed SCOTT PILGRIM I wrote two paragraphs of what the plot was, saying nothing of why it was the best fucking comic I’d read for years. I edited this down to a quarter of what it was and I still felt I gave too much plot away. I could write the plot for SHARKNIFE in a couple of sentences and give everything away. But that would just ruin it for you.

I could also stick it in a pigeon hole called “Game Logic” but I work forPage 45, not NME. It’s not some concept to be safely grouped together. It’s how everybody under the age of 25 – who, like me, spent way more time playing beat’em ups than is healthy – thinks.

Pre-order Sharknife vol 2: Sharknife ZZ and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:28/03/2012

Best Of Girl: Sister Paper To Eagle (£14-99) by various.

Ah, there will be much mirth, to be sure, just as I gleaned from THE BEST OF EAGLE itself. First published in 1951 this was girls’ own adventure at its most wholesome starring ‘Susan Of St. Brides – Nurse Of The Year’ and Lettice Leefe, the greenest girl in school. Articles a plenty plus practical and spiritual advice columns which will no doubt have feminists rolling their eyes, shaking their fists or at least making our beds a bit better. You can that a hospital corner?!

There’s a short article on GIRL here.

Pre-order in the old-school way by hand or voice: it’s aUKitem so we have nothing to link to!

Due: 2012

Jinchalo s/c (£14-99, Drawn & Quarterly) by Matthew Forsythe.

Silent sequel to OJINGOGO (click on the link for my review), “Jinchalo” is the Korean for “Really?” and Drawn & Quarterly posted a preview of JINCHALO here (24/11/11). The same little girl returns for more morphing dreamscapes, bizarre beasties and sundry transmogrification.

Pre-order Jinchalo s/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

Folly: The Consequences Of Indiscretion (£13-99, Fantagraphics) by Hans Rickheit.

With a title like that, many of us may be wincing our way through this collection of comics previously self-published but now taken on by the publisher of the SQUIRREL MACHINE much loved by our Jonathan. Please take the time to check-out these very cool dioramas featured in Rickheit’s summer exhibition.

Pre-order Folly: The Consequences Of Indiscretion and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland h/c (£16-50, Top Shelf) by Harvey Pekar & Joseph Remnant.

From the writer – and star – of AMERICAN SPLENDOUR, with an introduction by Alan Moore, this is Harvey’s last pronouncement on those around him and the city he and they inhabited. Harvey Pekar and Cleveland were inseparable, and this is part-autobiography, part-history. There’s a four-page preview for CLEVELAND here with some of the finest art ever to grace a Pekar project: incredible detail and a real spirit of place, vital for a project like this. Which is a relief, because some of the artists Pekar’s worked with over the years have been awful. Very, very much looking forward to this.

Pre-order Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

The Complete Crumb vol 1: The Early Years Of Bitter Struggle new expanded edition (£18-99, Fantagraphics) by Robert Crumb.

From the king of the underground comix scene. The success of Crumb’s THE BOOK OF GENESIS ILLUSTRATED seems to have sparked a long-overdue series of reprints starting with THE BOOK OF MR. NATURAL and now Fantagraphics are going back to the beginning with a reprint of their Complete collections which have only ever been available in sporadic fits. The expansion comes in the form of “a never-before-published, 48-page ‘home-made’Arcade comic from 1962. This previously undiscovered work shows many flashes of the direction in which Crumb was heading and features the first quintessential ‘Crumb girl,’ Mabel.”

Pre-order The Complete Crumb vol 1: The Early Years Of Bitter Struggle and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

Cinema Panopticum s/c (£12-99, Fantagraphics) by Thomas Ott.

From the creator of R.I.P. and THE NUMBER, Fantagraphics’ comparisons are spot-on though I often reference Roald Dahl myself.

“T. Ott guides us through a funhouse of fear with five graphic horror novelettes, each executed in his hallucinatory and hyper-detailed scratchboard style. Dark, stark and grimly funny, Ott’s plot twists will delight fans of classic horror like The Twilight Zone and Tales From the Crypt and his artwork will haunt you long after you’ve put the book down.”

Pre-order Cinema Panopticum s/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

Kolor Klimax (£22-50, Fantagraphics) by various.

Scandinavian anthology commended to you in detail by The Comics Reporter. There it bemoans the death of the comics anthology, but in the last three weeks and from Britain alone we’ve seen SOLIPSISTIC POP vol 4, THE STRUMPET #1 and Nobrow 6 arrive, the first of which sold fifteen copies here in just over a fortnight! So what will you make of this? I’d seriously check out The Comics Reporter article linked to above.

Pre-order Kolor Klimax and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

Emitown vol 2 (£18-99, Image) by Emi Lenox.

Yay! A strong seller here which I thoroughly enjoyed, here’s some of what I wrote about EMITOWN volume one:

“I’m useless, but not for long, the future is comin’ on…”

Exuberance, self-doubt, crazy coffee attacks, sleepless nights, the comfort of clothes, accosted by wonky-eyed weirdoes who want to bum a cigarette, and getting served last at a bar. Don’t you just hate that? These are the sort of things young Emi Lenox encountered on a daily basis for a year between 2009 and 2010. She loses her mobile, loses her house keys, loses her rag when someone insults her friends, but she never, ever loses her courage, optimism or glee. Hey, we all have our black-hearted days and so does Emi, but that’s what the Gorillaz are for, no?

The cartooning here is a black, white and blue/grey joy, laid out with plenty of space as Emi endures, stoically supported by a pair of belligerent cats in Dad’s Army helmets on the battlefield of love. It’s easy to see whyJeffrey Brown, Jeff Lemire and Brandon Graham all fell for these daily diary entries. There’s something more immediate compared to structured autobiography, with room for random reactions and idle speculation but also secretly heartfelt truths.

“I LOVE getting text messages! It means someone thought of you! Except a mass text… you’re just one of the herd… Jealous? Mmmhmm.”

Pre-order Emitown vol 2 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:22/02/2012

Friends With Boys (£11-99, First Second) by FaithErin Hicks.

Young Adult Literature. Of Faith’s THE WAR AT ELLESMERE which we really must and will restock, I wrote:

“Apparently I’m going to school in aDisneylandpostcard…”

Our own dorms were nothing like that and wouldn’t have looked at all out of place in a Romanian orphanage, but I take her point: private boarding school is an artificial environment cut off from the real world culturally, economically and socially by its own barriers erected in order to rarefy. If by “rarefy” you mean perpetuating privilege and breeding elitism without being bothered by any sort of social conscience. Still, they always look so lovely, don’t they, with their Arcadian grounds and olde school buildings?

Into this devil’s playground, then, comes Juniper, a scholarship winner who’d be more comfortable at state school, but accepts that with its connections to the very best colleges ahead, this all-girls school is the swifter route to becoming a doctor. Resentment from the rich kids is immediate, but June isn’t one to take it lying down, especially when the brats start bullying her new Bambi-esque friend Cassie whom they’ve dubbed “Orphan” – not because she is one, but because she might as well be one given how little attention she receives from her parents during the holidays. And she can really hold her own, can our Juniper, so within seconds it’s WAR!

I read this from start to finish without a second’s break. It’s more like Courtney Crumrin than Hope Larson’s CHIGGERS. This doesn’t have the same depth or breadth of subtle nuances involved in adolescent life for girls that CHIGGERS magically evoked, but it takes perceptive note of enough of them as the two factions battle for supremacy, we learn Juniper’s weak spot, and an unlikely local legend surprisingly comes true.

Instead it’s Faith’s storytelling that kept me compelled. She knows the beats instinctively and hers is a consistent cross between Bryan Lee O’Malley, Andi Watson circa GLISTER and yes, I absolutely maintain, Nabiel Kanan with those hooded eyes, pert noses and lips. I spy Hope Larson in the foliage as it were (although Faith in fact inspired Hope, as Hope points out in the introduction), but Faith doesn’t switch between these: it’s a flawless meld of its own.

Pre-order Friends With Boys and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

Conan The Barbarian #1 (£2-75, Dark Horse) by Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan.

How to quadruple monthly sales in an instant here: let loose the writer of NORTHLANDERS, the artist of AMERICAN VIRGIN and the team behind DEMO. Here’s an illustrated interview with Cloonan on CONAN.

Pre-order Conan The Barbarian #1 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:08/02/2012

Northlanders vol 6: Thor’s Daughter (£10-99, Vertigo/DC) by Brian Wood & Simon Gane, Marian Churchland & Matthew Woodson.

Speak of the devil! The Siege of Paris. The Viking stories continue with some gorgeous art from Marian the BEAST Churchland (she won’t thank me for that description) and Simon PARIS, DARK RAIN Gane.

Pre-order Northlanders vol 6: Thor’s Daughter and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:14/03/2012

Black Orchid Deluxe Edition h/c (£18-99, Vertigo/DC) by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean.

In which Neil kills the lead character in the opening sequence… Ah, but Alec Holland didn’t last long in SWAMP THING, either, and look what happened to him! One of the creators’ earliest collaborations, lush in purple and green, when McKean was still using more traditional painting methods, this could benefit tremendously from a more modern printing process. Oversized edition.

Pre-order Black Orchid Deluxe Edition h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:04/04/2012

Shooters h/c (£16-99, Vertigo/DC) by Eric S. Trautmann & Steve Lieber.

Original graphic novel about one of the most insidious developments in modern warfare.

“Today’s battlefield isn’t just about the uniformed soldier in service to his country; there’s also the contractor, who answers to the corporation. Call them mercenaries, soldiers-for-hire, or private military operators, they are a new breed of combatant in today’s conflicts. SHOOTERS is the story of Terry Glass, a warrior whose spirit and soul has been hardened in countless battles. When a horrible accident shatters his world, Glass finds himself waging a private war on several fronts – against his career, his marriage, and ultimately, his faith.”

Pre-order Shooters h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:18/04/2012

Thief Of Thieves #1 (£2-25, Image) by Robert Kirkman, Nick Spencer & Shawn Martinborough.

Collaborative effort from the writers of WALKING DEAD and EXISTENCE 2.0/3.0.

“Conrad Paulson lives a secret double life as master thief Redmond. There is nothing he can’t steal, nothing he can’t have… except for the life he left behind. Now, with a grown son he hardly knows, and an ex-wife he never stopped loving, Conrad must try to piece together what’s left of his life, before the FBI finally catch up to him… but it appears they are the least of his worries.”

Pre-order Thief Of Thieves #1 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:08/02/2012

Genetiks TM vol 1 h/c (£14-99, Archaia) by Richard Marazano & Jean Michel Ponzio.

Depending on which art style Ponzio’s using, this could be spectacular. Could look like this, or it could look like this. From the publishers of THE KILLER, another French title. “Genetiks is a pharmaceutical company on the cutting edge of biological science. Thomas Hale is one of thousands of employees in the Genetiks labs. Like his colleagues, he had agreed to give a drop of blood to his employers – a drop of blood that will allow the researchers at the company he works for to decode his entire genome. Genetiks is a topical story on the intersection between commerce and biological science, touching on many hot-button issues such as genetic manipulation and the rise of corporate power.”

Pre-order Genetiks TM vol 1 h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

Pandemonium vol 1 (£14-99, Humanoids Inc) by Christophe Bec & Stefano Raffaele.

More European quality as evidenced by Stefano’s own website. We’ll definitely be having some of this. “In 1951, a mother and her young daughter entered one ofAmerica’s most prestigious institutions for the treatment of tuberculosis, the Waverly Hills Sanatorium. The events that befell them shortly thereafter, both of a supernatural and criminal nature, were some of the most sordid of the times. Based on real events.”

Pre-order Pandemonium vol 1 and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/02/2012

Alex Delaware vol 1: Silent Partner (£16-99, Villard) by Jonathan Kellerman, adapted by Ande Parks & Michael Gaydos.

Hey, it’s Michael Gaydos (Bendis’ ALIAS) doing crime. Not read the original, but I’m definitely having some of this!

“New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman makes his debut in the graphic novel world with a graphic adaptation of his noirish Alex Delaware thriller Silent Partner with stylish, black-and-white, noir-inspired art from award-winning artist Michael Gaydos. In Silent Partner, Alex investigates the murder of his ex-lover, a mysterious, alluring woman with a troubled past. His investigation will take him to the seamy side ofHollywoodand its glamorous ultra rich… to the dark and twisted corridors of the mind.”

Pre-order Alex Delaware vol 1: Silent Partner and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:07/03/2012

The Wolf Man (£14-99, SelfMadeHero) by Richard Appignanesi & Swava Harasymowicz.

Quite a mouthful there, but this isn’t a Hammer Horror full-moon ravenous man-beast adaptation but an interpretation of Sigmund’s case study of Sergei Pankejeff which became a cornerstone of psychoanalysis in which Freud tries to get to the source of the man’s obsessional neurosis partly by interpreting a dream of a walnut tree full of white wolves as being “a memory of parental intercourse a recto”. Which seems like a bit of a leap to me! Did Freud divine tea leaves as well?

Pre-order The Wolf Man by email or phone because it’s a UKitem therefore we’ve nothing to link to except this SelfMadeHero page with cover and a bit of interior art.

Due: September 2012?! Can’t be right!

Hellcyon (£9-99, Dark Horse) by Lucas Marangon.

Someone clearly loves their Shirow! For Appleseed fans, a full-colour, clean-lined piece of combat-suit sci-fi with impressive cityscapes. HELLCYON interior art preview here.

Pre-order Hellcyon and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:25/04/2012

Jennifer Blood vol 1: A Woman’s Work Is Never Done (£14-99, D.E.) by Garth Ennis & Batista, Marz, Baal.

“Treated myself to a manicure (toes only for obvious reasons). I was reading Guns + Ammo in the nail bar and it struck me how many articles were about 9mm weapons. Beretta, Glock, Sig-Sauer, Heckler + Koch – it was 9mm this, 9mm that, there wasn’t a single mention of a .34 or .45. What on earth’s the point of having twice as many bullets it you have to use three times as many to actually put someone down? Honestly.”

I think a garage mechanic may recently have enraged Mr. Ennis, either by leching over his wife or else overcharging them for some minor pimpage. For such is the second target here of model housewife Jennifer who tucks her kids in at night before donning a wig and going off like a grenade in whichever backyard she fancies, introducing local criminals to Mr. MP5 and his 10mm children. Her own kids are sedated, of course, but that’s de rigueur these days, helping to make Prozac a household name.

The art, like Robertson’s on Garth Ennis’ BOYS, is appropriately sturdy, though Ennis insists that compared to THE BOYS, this is just a bit of fun. What distinguishes this from the average lethal vigilante series is the voice, a series of diary entries in which Jennifer mulls over her methods with ridiculously reasonable detachment and a signature shrug of mild despair.

I mean, honestly!

Pre-order Jennifer Blood vol 1: A Woman’s Work Is Never Done and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:22/02/2012

Superior h/c (£19-99, Titan) by Mark Millar & Leinil Francis Yu.

A superhero book which proved far less predictable than its initial premise suggested: young boy in a wheelchair transformed into the perfect specimen of superpowered might. It’s another one in which the protagonists refer to superheroes as fictional comicbook characters for that’s what they are. Simon Pooni and best pal Chris have just been to see Tad Scott star in the fightSuperiorfilm:

“What do you think?”
“Meh. The effects are okay, but Superior’s been around since my papa was a kid. I’m kinda bored with these old superheroes. No wonder this guy can’t get any other work… I’m not saying his powers aren’t cool. He’s just too much of a Boy Scout for people these days. They need to make him more bad-ass like Bond or Jason Bourne.”
“Seriously? I always liked the fact thatSuperior doesn’t kill people. Being a nice guy is what makes him different to Wolverine and all that stuff.”
“No, that’s what makes him lame. Look at his costume, dude. He looks like freakin’ Santa Claus. I told you we should have sneaked into the Statham movie.”
“Oh shit.”
“Hey, faggots. You have a nice time making out in the back row?”
“Just ignore him, Chris.”
“I hear the basketball team’s really missing you these days, Pooni. Still, the way you guys play, they might as well have a cripple up front.”
“Drop dead, Sharpie. Stop being such a dick.”
“Ooh, look who’s getting all brave. Your boyfriend can’t protect you anymore, fuck-wad. Not unless he’s got some ground-to-air missile thing going on in that wheelchair.”
“Haha! That would be awesome. Imagine he could press a button and like, fire fucking machine guns.”
“You’re an asshole, Sharpie, and you’ve always been an asshole. If I wasn’t in this chair, I’d kick your ass all over the mall.”
“Yeah, well. I got news for you, Simon… you kinda are in that chair.”

Yeah, Simon kinda is in that chair. Multiple Sclerosis snuck on him with particular aggression; he’s even lost the sight of one eye and on bad days he can barely talk. There are days of remission, weeks even, but nothing permanent and yeah, Millar knows his stuff. My one worry was that this, Millar’s riff on Superman/Shazam, ran the risk of insulting the plight of those who can’t say “Kimota!” and transform into perfect superhuman specimens but have indeed lost the use of one side of their body, or their peripheral vision rendering them unable to scan more than one word at a time (comics with their narrow speech balloons are actually perfect for that, as they are for dyslexia).

Anyway, Millar doesn’t fall into that trap because this ain’t as straightforward as he first made out being more of a Faustian pact with twists. I think I’ll leave you to discover exactly what happens for yourself largely because I’ve forgotten the details, but a talking monkey at the bottom of your bed isn’t exactly conducive to an easy night’s sleep.

Lovely art from Travis Charest – sorry, Leinil Yu (but you can see what I mean in this illustrated interview!) – on both the boys, the Mom, the monkey and whatever the hell it is Simon has found himself transformed into.

Pre-order Superior by phone, email or on the shop floor. It’s another UK item so we’ve got zilch to link to.

Due: 2012

Avengers: The Crossing Omnibus h/c (£75-00, Marvel) by various.

The Age Of Atrocity! Dismal! Abysmal! And seventy-five quid!

“One of the nineties’ most notorious narratives!” I think ‘narrative’ is stretching it. Also by ‘notorious’ they mean it truly fucking awful. It co-starred Force Works, for a start. “Who?!?” Quite. Timelines as their most tangled with Kang The Constantly Conquered. Collects AVENGERS #390-395, AVENGERS: THE CROSSING, AVENGERS: TIMESLIDE, IRON MAN #319-325, FORCE WORKS #16-22, WAR MACHINE #20-25 and AGE OF INNOCENCE: THE REBIRTH OF IRON MAN. 792 pages. Rated: rank.

Pre-order Avengers: The Crossing Omnibus h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due: at Page 45? Never.

Silver Surfer: Parable h/c (£18-99, Marvel) by Stan Lee & Moebius, Keith Pollard.

At last a reprint of the Moebius classic originally published under the Epic banner, alongside SILVER SURFER: THE ENSLAVERS which I don’t actually remember. Check out the excellent new cover by following the link below!

“A star falls to earth. Panic grips the planetas mankind prepares for its inevitable end. But the star is a ship, and inside is a god. All he asks is adoration. Overcome with relief, man rushes to obey. There is only one voice of dissent that will not be silenced: the Silver Surfer, who recognizes the ‘god’ as his former master. But why has Galactus encouraged mankind to live down to his darkest nature? From Stan Lee and Moebius, one ofFrance’s living treasures, comes a bewitching tale of man’s folly and nobility. Plus: Almost every hero on Earth has fallen before the unexpected power of Mrrungo-Mu, the alien leader of the Enslavers. All except the Silver Surfer. But what chance does even he have against such power?”

Pre-order Silver Surfer: Parable h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:02/05/2012. That isn’t a typo

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis vol 1 h/c (£18-99, Marvel) by Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli.

Third series following the death of Peter Parker, now starring Miles Morales as an even younger Spider-Man, it’s a breath of fresh air with some clear, tender art by Sara Pichelli. You can start from scratch here, but long-time readers will be far from insulted because there are surprise ties to the previous series which a make a great deal of sense, and an increasing number of very familiar faces.

Peter Parker is dead, leaving a city in mourning and those who worked with him bereaved, including his female clone. So when new school boarder Miles Morales is reluctantly persuaded by his best friend that his newly acquired abilities – so strangely similar to Spider-Man’s – must be put to good use in a cheap Halloween replica costume, he encounters more than a little opposition from those considering it in bad taste. Far from predictable, I assure you. As to the cover… you’ll get there! Collects #1-5.

Pre-order Ultimate Comics Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis vol 1 h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:15/12/11

Ultimate Comics Ultimates by Jonathan Hickman h/c (£18-99, Marvel) by Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribic.

Completely different atmosphere picking up elements from ULTIMATE COMICS DOOMSDAY then ULTIMATE COMICS FALLOUT. The words of Aunt May have hit home, and the Ultimates are a key man down just as entire new race of genetically engineered meta-beings suddenly emerge seemingly out of nowhere and claim vast chunks of the world for themselves. They won’t be denied, and in truth there is little that can be done to stop them. Half the fun of the Ultimate universe is discerning which elements of the original Marvel universe are being overhauled, radically, and this is no exception. This being S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Jonathan Hickman, however, you will need to keep your wits about you: he doesn’t write for half-wits.

Pre-order Ultimate Comics Ultimates by Jonathan Hickman h/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:29/12/11

Absolute Final Crisis slipcased h/c (£75-00, DC) by Grant Morrison & J.G.Jones, more.

“There! Can you hear it Superman? So small and far away. That’s the sound of you failing everyone you promised to save!”

Still available as a softcover reviewed by Jonathan, FINAL CRISIS was DC’s block-buster event from 2008. This Absolute edition is as usual a massive book at over 8” x 12” and includes not just the mini-series itself but also FINAL CRISIS: SUBMIT #1, FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1-2 and the FINAL CRISIS SKETCHBOOK, all written by Grant Morrison, and that vital pair of 3-D glasses for the relevant pages.

Pre-order Absolute Final Crisis slipcased h/c and read the publisher’s preview here
Due:18/07/2012

Flashpoint: The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman s/c (£13-50, DC) by Brian Azzarello, Peter Milligan, more & Eduardo Risso, George Perez, more.

See this month’s DC graphic novel previews for the rest of the FLASHPOINT collections (four more), but if there was one FLASHPOINT add-on we really enjoyed it was Azzarello & Risso’s BATMAN: KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE in which the man under the cowl is even more driven, more haunted than the one you’re used to, and with very, very good reason. Also collects DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #1- 3, DEATHSTROKE AND THE CURSE OF THE RAVAGER #1-3 and SECRET SEVEN #1-3. “This is Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It’s a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war – but where are Earth’s Greatest Heroes to stop it?”

Pre-order Flashpoint: The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman s/c and read the publisher’s preview here

Due:14/03/2012

Please note: publication dates are supplied by Diamond in any case in some publishers’ cases they often prove more of an aspiration than a date set in stone!

Merry Christmas, everybody!