SETH’S PICK :: BLACKSAD: AMARILLO: Blacksad is hard-boiled comics at their finest. The fact that they’re anthropomorphic detective stories only adds to the enjoyment. In this latest book, John Blacksad travels through Texas in a big yellow Cadillac, only to encounter brutish bikers, an evil circus and murder. If you haven’t yet read these wonderful stories from Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, you’re in for a treat. Blacksad books are ones you’ll return to frequently, sometimes to reread and sometimes just to bask in the beauty of Guarnido’s art. 

Bonus Pick: Battling Boy: Rise of Aurora West: A prequel to last year’s excellent Paul Pope Battling Boy graphic novel, this book follows Aurora West as she sets off on her heroic ways.  Unlike Battling Boy, this volume is presented in a smaller black and white manga format. That said, it’s still full of monsters and action, just like its predecessor. More importantly, it’s a very forward thinking addition to an increasing number of great all ages comics. 

SETH’S PICK :: CATALYST COMIX #4: This has been one of my favorite go-to sleeper series in recent months.  Joe Casey has brought new life to some of Dark Horse’s old super hero properties from the nineties.    His writing alone warrants a read, but the biggest selling point for me is that each issue features three different stories following three sets of protagonists.  The artists who bring this triad to life are top notch creators like Dan McDaid, Ulises Farinas, and Paul Maybury.  This combination produces bright, colorful, kinetic super hero comics, and best of all, you don’t need to have read any of the lackluster nineties stories to follow what’s going on here.  And if that wasn’t enough for you, the cover artists in regular rotation are Paul Pope, Raphael Grampa, and Brendan McCarthy, all of whom are perfect fits for this fun, bizarre super hero series. 

RICO’S PICK :: ONE TRICK RIP OFF/DEEP CUTS HC: Whoa! New/old Paul Pope comics! For the first time in color by Jamie Grant (All-Star Superman).  ONE TRICK RIP-OFF/DEEP-CUTS is 288 pages comics by Pope, of which over 150 pages are comprised of new, rare, and never before seen stories created during Pope’s time traveling the world in the ’90s. Included also, Pope’s work created for Kodansha in Japan, appearing here in print for the first time. 

Looking Ahead is our monthly column where we talk about some key things you’ll find in the most recent issue of Previews.  You can order any of these books and more by simply looking through Previews and letting us know which ones you’d like.  Just make sure you get your orders to us by November 18.

To kick off 2013, DC’s popular Death of the Family storyline will be continuing in such titles as Batman, Batman and Robin, Detective Comics, Batgirl, Nightwing and Red Hood and the Outlaws.  Check out these titles to see how the Scott Snyder-directed new version of the Joker will continue to wreck havoc on the Batman family. (pages 93-103)

Dark Horse will ring in the New Year by bringing us brand new series to enjoy.  First up is a new Star Wars ongoing series by Brian Wood.  The key here is that this one focuses on untold stories set in the days of the classic trilogy with Han, Chewie, Luke, Leia and Vader.  Dark Horse will also be debuting a four issue mini series, The Black Beetle: No Way Out, from Francesco Francavilla.  Francavilla’s one of comics most in-demand cover artists, but somehow he found time to write and draw this mini series which will undoubtedly be packed with plenty of pulp-noir goodness. (pg. 34, 48)

Image celebrates the tenth anniversary of Invincible with issue #100.  In addition to answering lots of questions and potentially leading the character in a new direction, this issue also features a ton of variant covers from the likes of Cory Walker, Marc Silvestri, Bryan Hitch, Art Adams and more.  Some of writer Robert Kirkman’s diehard Walking Dead fans are slowly realizing he writes other comics too, so don’t be surprised if this one goes quickly.

Image is also bringing a brand new printing of Paul Pope’s One Trick Rip-Off.  Not only is this 288 page volume newly colored (for the first time), but over 150 of the pages comprise a Deep Cuts section, featuring a plethora of unpublished and rarely seen work from Pope.  Some of the stories here were original published in Japan, and have never been seen by an American audience.  (pages 184-185)

For the Comic Strip enthusiasts among you, there are plenty of reasons to look forward to January.  Over 15 classic Calvin and Hobbes books have been newly reprinted, and some of these haven’t been available for quite a while.  Whether it’s a collection of Sunday Strips or one of the many best of collections (The Indispensable, The Authoritative, etc.), or one of the early collections, there are many options in this month’s Previews. (pages 232-234)

If you prefer comic strips that are a bit darker in their humor, Fantagraphics debuts a brand new collection of Tony Millionaire’s Maakies in January.  Millionaire’s highly regarded for the way he combines classic strip cartooning (and fine line work) with subversive humor.  Green Eggs and Maakies continues the long-running exploits of Drinky Crow and Uncle Gabby as they find new and self-destructive ways to get themselves into trouble.  (pg. 296)

January also finds Marvel continuing their big Marvel Now campaign with a slew of new series.  Among the new titles are a Sam Humphries/Ron Garney helmed Uncanny X-force #1, a Black Panther-focused New Avengers title from Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting, Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman’s Peter Parker-less new Superior Spider-man #1, Frank Cho’s Savage Wolverine #1, and Young Avengers #1 which reuintes Phonogram‘s Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie.  (Marvel Previews pages 2-23)

Take a look through Previews for yourself and remember to let us know by November 18 if you’d like us to order or reserve a copy of a January book for you.