As another new feature for the site, we are going to try to being you some looks at comics that are coming out in the future! I know, I know, it’s amazing. It’s also a drastic change from what we usually do, which is look at comics that came out in the past, with a heavier emphasis on those from the 90s.
Here we are in March, so it’s time to look at April! It was so nice of my LCS (that’s Local Comic Shop for anyone who’s wondering) to be giving away the Previews for free! Typically you have to pay. Oh, so nice.
It’s a thick volume, and I am, by no means, going to go through the entire thing, page by page. Instead, I have read through it and tried to pull out the things that stood out to me. I know I may have missed some things, but hopefully this will get you excited about something.
As we begin, I should note that this volume came out last month, so perhaps I’ll even do another in a week or two. For February, (aka Black History Month) there was a collection of comic book covers that first featured black superheroes. Pretty neat to look at. I will also point out, that as this was my first time really looking through the entire volume, I did not realize that it was in fact like a real magazine, and not just a collection of previews. There are articles, interviews, lists, and all those great things that make a magazine work. For instance, there was the top 100-selling comics list of a given month. I had no idea that Image comics held such a small percentage of that. The had a comic in at numbers 12, 41, 50, and maybe two more spots. All the rest seemed to be Marvel and DC. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I did think that Image was slightly bigger than that.
Free Comic Book Day news! This got me excited. There are two Gold level free comics that I desperately want. The first is the Fight Club. I have always been a fan of Fight Club, both in it’s original form as a novel, and the surprisingly-great film adaptation. I have been looking forward to this new series since I heard it announced, and will try my best to get a copy. The other one was Bob’s Burgers, which you may remember from past articles, is a great cartoon show that is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Dark Horse comes up next, and a couple of things caught my eye. The Massive looks pretty cool. Then I saw Archie vs. Predator. Really? I was never big into Archie and I honestly haven’t read any of the many crossovers, (Kiss, Punisher) but come on. What is this? Last thing that made me pause was The Strain. My wife loves the books, and she and I both have enjoyed the show, so this might be worth checking out. Of course, last time I got her a comic (True Blood) she wasn’t too impressed.
There’s a big DC event coming up. I have never been much into DC comics, so this is all new stuff to me. Convergence? Isn’t that similar to what is going to be happening at Marvel? All the universes are coming together? Who did it first? I don’t know. Either way, smells like another reboot.
Vertigo has SFX coming out which looks like sound effects as a comic. Cool idea, and I would be interested in seeing how it works.
IDW still does Disney comics? I would have thought that would all be over at Marvel now. A lot of stuff looks hardcore mediocre, but there is an Edward Scissorhands comic, and that’s cool with me.
Image always has a lot of cool things going on. It seems like a lot of small limited series, but that’s fine with me. Stories do not need to go on forever, (I’m looking at you DC and Marvel). Savior, Kaptara, and No Mercy all look intriguing. Hickman has another series, The Dying and the Dead. I always enjoy his work, so maybe I’ll check that out. More Luther Strode, which is one of those books that I have heard good things about, but never tried myself. Walking Dead and Saga are still going on, which is nice to see. But most importantly, from Image, is God Hates Astronauts. If you have never read this comic, you are missing out. Go do it now.
Marvel doesn’t have much in this volume, but does have a small teaser for Ultron Forever #1 which looks like yet another alternate future, and also Uncanny Inhumans, which I would be more interested in.
Also, appearing several times in this issue, there is an ad for a Deadpool head Jello mold. Over and over I saw this, and every time I chucked to myself because down in the corner, you can see that they also offer Spider-Man. Never did I, a child of the 90s, think that Spider-Man would be shoved down in the corner as an aside, instead of being the main focus of anything.
As we keep moving on, the picking become a little more scarce. I see Jungle Girl, which is just Shanna. I mean, come on. It’s Frank Cho drawing an Amazon-type blonde wearing a loin cloth bikini and carrying a spear? As an aside, I once heard he originally had Shanna being completely nude, but Marvel wasn’t down with that.
Then I saw Rick & Morty. Have you ever seen this show? I have, but I still don’t know the best way to describe it. I fully admit that I haven’t watched more than 2 or 3 episodes, but I got a vibe. The vibe was that it was going to be big. How big? At least comic form. To me, the show is Doctor Who meets Family Guy. Good enough for me.
Towards the very back, we start to see some non-comic merch, including regular books. Oh, no! Books without pictures? How will the masses manage? Well, the book in question just happens to be the latest installment of the Shakespearean Star Wars. I have never read any of these, but it is only because I never see the books for sale where I go, and my Amazon wish list is already miles long.
And last, but certainly not least, I feel I must mention the wonderful Jay and Silent Bob swag. Bluntman hat? Yes, please. Jay and Silent Bob Monopoly? Hell, yes. Buddy Christ? Well, why not.
That wraps it us for us this month. Next time I get some free Previews, I’ll be sure to share them with you again. Until then, look to the sea, reflections of the waves will spark your memories.