SETH’S PICK(s) :: HELLBOY IN HELL #1/AVENGERS #1:  Yes, it’s a two pick week for me.  Hellboy In Hell #1 brings creator Mike Mignola back to full-time illustrating his most famous creation.  Yes, he killed Hellboy, but now he can take him through all the different realms of hell.  Now that HB’s free from the physical world, Mignola can draw whatever he’s always wanted to, without needing to be bound to continuity.  It says a lot to me that with all the things Mignola might have done (and it could’ve been anything from more movies to continuing to have other talented folks like Duncan Fegredo illustrate his creation), he really just wanted to get back to drawing Hellboy.  That’s something I respect, and have looked forward to seeing for quite a while.

Avengers #1:  When the Marvel Now books were announced, I said the two near-guaranteed most promising titles were Thor: God of Thunder and this book.  Writer Jonathan Hickman has proved countless times over that he can handle large casts (Fantastic Four and FF) and big concepts (S.H.I.E.L.D. and Manhattan Projects).  Now he’s tackling an enormous cast of over 18 characters, and returning the Avengers to big, cosmic stories.  Artist Jerome Opena really left an indelible mark on Uncanny X-force, and brought a visual dynamic to Rick Remender’s stories that I don’t think anyone else could’ve done.  On paper this title looks like a no-brainer, and I’ll be really shocked if this doesn’t end up being a great book.

SETH’S PICK :: MULITPLE WARHEADS: ALPHABET TO INFINITY #2: Okay, I know this is a little longwinded for a staff pick, but bear with me on this one.  I admittedly jumped on the Brandon Graham bandwagon late.  I didn’t read King City in single issues, and didn’t buy the trade when it debuted.  In fact, the first thing I read by him was a short story in Dark Horse Presents called The Speaker.  Still, that impressed me enough to get me to buy Mulitple Warheads #1 (and King City), and I’m happy I did.  Since the first issue hit the shelves I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around Graham’s work and figure out some way to write about it for a review.  It’s a challenge, because Graham’s comics seem like an entity unto themselves.  There are elements of manga and science fiction, which anybody can see, but the most striking thing about these books to me is just how much material Graham crams into each issue.  I wouldn’t say this is done with excessive dialogue or description, either.  There are all kinds of little byways that branch off of panels or that materialize in empty space.  Sometimes these manifest in verbal wordplay, sometimes they’re more like little occurences that might have little to do with the overall narrative, but enrich it nonetheless.  The end result is that the comics can be read and re-read over and over, with each time offering a chance to catch something that was missed during earlier readings.  I avoided Graham’s comics for a long time because I wrongly thought they might be a little too gimmicky for my liking.  After having spent some time with them, I now see that he puts a lot of thought and soul into his work, and in the process has created some truly unique comics.

Of all the avenues weaving around and through comics, the comic strip has probably undergone some of the more significant changes in our lifetime.   As production and readership of physical newspapers continues to diminish, so does the variety of printed content.  Naturally, comic strips are one of the things that inevitably ended up on the chopping block.  When I was kid, I knew the work of Charles Schulz, Gary Larson, Hank Ketcham and more, but even in the eighties, the relevance of the strip started to wane.  With the exceptions of Calvin and Hobbes and Cul de Sac, there haven’t been too many truly great strips that captivated large audiences in recent decades.  But, alas, this post isn’t meant to mourn the passing of the comic strip as a form.  No, today I want to turn your attention to a lesser known strip that many of you have probably never even heard of: Ben Katchor’s Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer.

I discovered a collection of Katchor’s strips by accident at Heroes a few years back.  If there is an unfortunate aspect of my stumbling upon Katchor’s work, it’s that I never read the actual strips as they initially appeared.  Regional papers never carried his strips and even today, you won’t see his latest strips in Metropolis magazine very easily (though you can link HERE for a look at a few of them).  It was sheer curiosity that lead me to pick up this random collection.  How exciting can a book be when its chief character makes a living taking pictures of various odd buildings around the city?  As it turns out, it’s not especially exciting, but it is a brilliant example of how the comic strip remains a fascinating form of entertainment.

The first thing you’ll notice about Katchor’s work is that the strips are simple, usually following an eight panel grid, and almost always crafted with pen, ink and gray tones.  These look like the product of the monochromatic city whose stories they capture.  Katchor might not have the skilled pen of someone like Richard Thompson or Bill Watterson, but his art is unique among strip artists.  Most of the characters appear as short, pudgy and a little broken down.  That’s not to say there’s not joy present in the series, only that frequently it appears as a side note.  When a character does seem to find a kind of simple happiness, there’s a feeling that it might be the result of a simple-mindedness, or a failure to see a larger picture.  Yet, there’s a kind of ebullience that a reader can feel by getting lost in the mundane elements of these strips.

This is one of the great strengths of Katchor’s work.  It offers opportunity to observe the tiniest of objects and situations, which enables something akin to escapism, but also an appreciation for the minute detail.  Like many strips, it’s probably best to read these one at a time, capturing the essence of their original publication.  However, I find Katchor’s work to be quite accessible in a larger coalesced setting.  It’s more like reading a series of vignettes than a dense narrative.  The result is something that might be the literary equivalent of observational comedy.  Katchor’s city is populated with plenty of eccentric characters, but they seem to live with the conviction of their actions.  There’s a level of acceptance that these characters show, where seemingly pointless tasks (like a diner’s analysis of soda crackers) are celebrated regardless of their miniscule impact on the world around them.

SETH’S PICK :: NEXUS OMNIBUS VOL. 1:  There are lots of new books that look interesting to me this week.  There’s horror in the  Baltimore: The Play one shot, super heroics in Hawkeye #4, and pulpy adventure goodness in Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom #4.  Still, when I saw Dark Horse’s first volume of Nexus omnibi on the list, I had to pick it.  If you’re among those who haven’t experienced this classic take on superheroes and space archetypes from Mike Baron and Steve Rude, now is your chance to read the earliest adventures in an affordable format.  It’s fourteen classic comics for $25, and it’s a volume that deserves to be in any comic fan’s library.  Besides that, it’s comprised of over 400 pages of Steve Rude art, and that alone is worth every cent.

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.

SETH’S PICK :: THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #1: Of all the Marvel Now offerings, I’m putting my money on this one (and Hickman’s Avengers) as being the most promising.  Writer Jason Aaron produced consistently solid work on Wolverine, Wolverine: Weapon X, and most recently on Wolverine and the X-men, the latter of which maintained its entertainment value throughout the mammoth Avengers vs. X-men storyline.  Artist Esad Ribic won over a lot of fans with his work on Uncanny X-force, but he’d been making quality comics long before that.  The story focuses on a serial killer of gods, and will cover many different eras past, present and future of Thor and Asgard.  In addition to Thor, Jason Aaron fans should remember that the final volume of his excellent crime series Scalped (vol. 10 – Trail’s End) also hits shelves on Wednesday.

Even when you work at a comic shop, sometimes you forget when a new book is hitting shelves.  You might even read over the New Releases the Friday before a new shipment comes in, and still manage to overlook something good.  It’s not until you’re unpacking new comics that you see it and think, “How did I miss that?”  This is what happened to me a few weeks ago with Dark Horse’s new release of Shaolin Cowboy Adventure Magazine.  Like many of you, I also live on a budget.  Yeah, it’s the first Shaolin Cowboy book to be produced in years, and sure it’s got art from creator Geof Darrow and Gary Gianni, but should I spend $15.99 on it this week?

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SETH’S PICK :: JOE KUBERT PRESENTS #1: Comics lost another of its true legends earlier this year when Joe Kubert passed away.  Thankfully, this week offers us an opportunity to further celebrate his life and work with this, his final project, Joe Kubert Presents.  The highlight of this anthology will inevitably be Kubert’s return to Hawkman.  Everybody knows Kubert helped to define the Silver Age Hawkman, but I’m among those who think that no one since him has really captured the character’s essence quite as successfully.  In addition to Hawkman, it’ll be fun to see the return of Angel and the Ape (from Brian Buniak) and U.S.S. Stevens (from Sam Glanzman).  Comics will never produce another Joe Kubert.  Pick up this book this week and celebrate the man and his art.

Over the past several years, writer Matt Fraction has produced a varied body of work, ranging from big company events like Fear Itself, to smaller, character driven books like Immortal Iron Fist.  Let’s not forget he also managed to write fifty-plus issues of Invincible Iron Man and still maintains creator owned projects like Casanova.  Fraction currently reunited with Iron Fist collaborator David Aja on the critically acclaimed Hawkeye series, and is taking over Fantastic Four and FF as part of the Marvel Now event.  Plus, Image announced that he’ll be working on even more upcoming creator owned titles for them in the near future.  With all these irons in the fire, Matt still found time to answer a few questions, and I appreciate it.

Seth Peagler (SP): First off, congratulations on what ended up being a long and successful run on Invincible Iron Man. Have you had a chance to reflect on your tenure? (more…)

SETH’S PICK :: Father Gaetano’s Puppet Catechism Illustrated Novella: This is the latest collaboration between Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and writer Christopher Golden, following Joe Golem and the Drowning City and Baltimore, which started as a novel before turning into several comic series.  The joy of these books lies in their simplicity.  Mignola and Golden don’t presume to try to reinvent any kind of literary wheels, they just tell straightforward horror stories.  This one is set in World War II era Sicily and follows the troubled lives of orphans.  If the dregs of war weren’t enough, the orphans have to deal with a haunted puppet theater.  Like I said, there’s nothing especially unique about the premise, but thanks to the creators its bound to be an entertaining read.  And for those of you who don’t like books without pictures, don’t forget that this one is aided by Mignola’s illustrations throughout.