Heads Up: Dark Horse Comics Previews – November 2012

Being a comic fan can be tough. With so many publishers printing more and more books, canceling titles and starting new ones, it can be daunting when you head to the comic book shop on a Wednesday to know exactly what’s coming out.

The current system of presenting and ordering comics three months ahead of their release as set forth by the sole comics distributor, Diamond Comics, doesn’t make it any easier either. We’re not a fan of that system, we think it’s slowly strangling comics to death, but we realize it’s a harsh reality of how the industry works and we definitely don’t want you to miss out on any of the cool comics being published.

And so, as opposed to regurgitating the list of comics solicited in Previews each month, we present to you some of the highlights of things you probably won’t want to miss out on.

SPOILER WARNING – in order to get people to order comics, the publishers have a funny habit of revealing what’s happening in the books. If you don’t want anything at all to be spoiled, then you’ll probably want to skip this post and take your chances with your pre-orders and/or your shopping.

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All the World’s a Stage

Mignola and Golden’s “Baltimore” universe continues to grow. With a novel and multiple minis under their belt, the authors are moving on to a series of one-shots to flesh out the third Baltimore volume. These single issue stories are a great introduction to the world of the series, and the premise of a disembodied American author’s head (any guesses who?) writing plays is intriguing, to say the least.

BALTIMORE: THE PLAY
Mike Mignola (W), Christopher Golden (W), Ben Stenbeck (A/Cover), Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Nov 21
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
One-shot
A mad playwright puts on a Grand Guignol featuring actors that are real vampires. The evil financer of the play makes a bizarre discovery when he finds out that the playwright is a fraud and the true author is a disembodied head of a famous American author kept in a glass case.
• From Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden!

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

“Featuring young Hellboy!”

What more do you need?

B.P.R.D.: 1948 #2 (of 5)
Mike Mignola (W), John Arcudi (W), Max Fiumara (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Dave Johnson (Cover)
On sale Nov 21
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
As the battle between the atomic-bred monsters and the B.P.R.D. rages in the Utah desert, Professor Bruttenholm and the agents successfully kill one of the beasts and conduct an autopsy with horrifying results.
• Featuring young Hellboy!

Through the Rabbit Hole

Now in their second “season,” the comics spun off of the Buffy TV finale have been popular enough to inspire spin-offs of their own. Willow – Wonderland, by Jeff Parker and Brian Ching (and executive produced by Whedon), promises to bring magic back to the Buffyverse after its disappearance at the end of Season 8. It’s always nice to hear some new stories from Parker, and Ching’s art on the Dark Horse Star Wars line has been impressive, most impressive.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: WILLOW—WONDERLAND #1 (of 5)
Jeff Parker (W), Brian Ching (P), Jason Gorder (I), Michelle Madsen (C), David Mack (Cover), and Megan Lara (Variant cover)
On sale Nov 7
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Miniseries
With the disappearance of magic, Willow Rosenberg lost the very thing that made her tick. Armed with Buffy’s broken scythe, and fresh off an adventure with Angel and Faith, Willow is ready to find a solution on her own terms. The world can’t live without magic—and neither can she!
• Willow brings magic back to the Buffyverse!
• Executive produced by Joss Whedon.

God, That Cover…

I’m not a guy that’s usually swayed by cover art, but Juan Ferreyra’s Colder cover is, well, chilling. Wow.

Asylum inmate Declan Thomas’ temperature is dropping, and though he can’t feel pain or get sick he knows he’ll be dead when he zeroes out. While it’s being billed as horror, the story has a lot of great mystery hooks – why was Thomas in an asylum? How can he cure the madness of others? Why the hell does he keep getting colder? Solicitations have a habit of over-promising, but calling Colder “in the vein of Locke & Key and Preacher” definitely has me intrigued.

COLDER #1 (of 5)
Paul Tobin (W) and Juan Ferreyra (A/Cover)
On sale Nov 7
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
Declan Thomas’s body temperature is dropping. He never gets sick, never feels pain. An ex-inmate of an insane asylum that was destroyed in a fire, he has the strange ability to step inside a person’s madness and sometimes cure it. He hopes to one day cure his own, but time is running out, because when his temperature reaches zero . . . it’s over.
• From the creative team behind the Falling Skies comic!
• A new horror comic in the vein of Locke & Key and Preacher.

Brian Wood, Hardest Working Man in Comics

Another month, more great comics coming out from Image/Marvel/DC/Dark Horse scribe Brian Wood. At Dark Horse, Wood’s epic work on the licensed Conan the Barbarian and creator-owned Massive rolls on. Both stories have a sea-faring bent in November. In Conan, artist Declan Shalvey joins the writer for a story set on the Cimmerian Black Coast. We’re still too far out for me to guess at what’ll be happening with  the crew of Kapital in The Massive #6, but the rule of six-issue arcs suggests it will be something big.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #10
Brian Wood (W), Declan Shalvey (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Massimo Carnevale (Cover)
On sale Nov 14
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Ongoing
Conan and Bêlit are the undisputed masters of the Western Ocean, their names whispered in fearful awe all along the Black Coast. But when Conan spots a mysterious, derelict ship following them, its horrifying cargo threatens to destroy everything they’ve built and tear them apart!
• From Brian Wood (Northlanders) and Declan Shalvey (Dark Avengers)!
• Wood’s hard-hitting take on the Cimmerian is winning scores of new readers!
“I want more. More of this story. More of the story Brian Wood is telling. This is no longer Robert E. Howard’s Conan; this is Brian Wood’s Conan. And it is good.” —ComicsBulletin.com

THE MASSIVE #6
Brian Wood (W), Garry Brown (A), Dave Stewart (C), J. P. Leon (Cover)
On sale Nov 14
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Ongoing
Still reeling from the Crash, the crew of Kapital trail a cargo ship, hoping to resupply. But the ship, which may be derelict and full of dangerous occupants, is flying a sovereign flag, and boarding it would be an act of brazen piracy. Nevertheless, the Kapital’s first mate, Mag Nagendra, thinks this opportunity is too important to pass by.
Do the rules of the old world still apply in this new world, where survival is the law of the land?
• A new title from New York Times bestseller Brian Wood.

Adapting The Tomahawk Man

One suspects that Edgar Allen Poe, a master of short story and mystery, would have been right at home writing comics. Though we’ll never see a comic script from Eddie, a number of his short works are perfectly suited for adaptation. Richard Corben, a master of the macabre in his own right, seems a perfect fit to take on Poe. Given how open The Conqueror Worm is to interpretation, it will be great to see what kind of spin Corben puts on the poem.

EDGAR ALLAN POE’S THE CONQUEROR WORM
Richard Corben (W/A)
On sale Nov 21
b&w, 32 pages
$3.50
One-shot
A horrifying adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic by comics legend, Richard Corben. A betrayed man hunts down his wife and her lover only to stumble upon a gruesome puppet show based on his life.
• Poe in comics!
• 2012 Eisner Hall of Fame inductee.
“Atmosphere is key to sell the malevolent atmosphere and is pulled off in style by Corben, who makes you feel like you’ve been transported back in time…”—Comic Book Resource

A Link to the Past

This one isn’t out until January, but it’s in Dark Horse’s November previews and seems like too big of a book not to include. The hardcover Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia covers the history of Hyrule, the setting for most of Nintendo’s Zelda franchise. I know that fans have been clamoring for an official chronology of the series for years, and it’s nice to see the creators are finally putting one out. Thirty years worth of concept art and other information is a nice bonus.

LEGEND OF ZELDA: HYRULE HISTORIA HC
On sale Jan 16
FC, 248 pages
$34.99
HC, 9″ x 12″
Dark Horse Books and Nintendo® bring you The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, containing an unparalleled collection of historical information on The Legend of Zelda™ franchise. This handsome hardcover contains never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the games, and much more! Starting with an insightful introduction by the legendary producer and video-game designer of Donkey Kong™, Mario™, and The Legend of Zelda™, Shigeru Miyamoto, this book is crammed full of information about the storied history of Link’s adventures from the creators themselves! As a bonus, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia includes an exclusive comic by the foremost creator of The Legend of Zelda manga—Akira Himekawa!
• The full history and making of the The Legend of Zelda™ franchise, never-before-seen concept art!
• Introduction by Shigeru Miyamoto!

“Well, lock up your dolphins…”

I’ll admit that, while I love Kindt, his stories can be a bit heady for me at times. With a zero issue for Mind Mgmt, he’s throwing me a bone by re-introducing the key players in his ongoing series. The comic may be able to succeed where so many .1 and 0 issues fail, offering up a story that both introduces new readers and entertains those who are already invested.

MIND MGMT #0
Matt Kindt (W/A/Cover)
On sale Nov 21
FC, 24 pages
$2.99
One-shot
Haven’t tried Matt Kindt’s visionary MIND MGMT series yet? Well, lock up your dolphins, shield your brain, and don’t believe anything you see, because this specially priced issue is the perfect initiation into Kindt’s electrifying tale of Mind Management’s psychic spies, its most infamous defector, and Meru, the journalist who stumbles upon their incredible secrets! Available in print for the first time, these three stories introduce the series’ key players and delve deeper than ever into MIND MGMT’s secret history! Whether you’re new to the series or already hooked, this special issue can’t be missed!
• From the creator of 3 Story and Super Spy!
• Specially priced jumping-on point!
• Available for the first time in print!

Wednesday Sunday Comics

Sunday comics weren’t always warmed-over fare like Garfield and Family Circus. In the 1930s, the funny pages told the epic stories of Tarzan, Buck Rogers, and other adventurers. These two collections, hopefully the first of many, hold full-size reproductions of Sunday funnies from 80 years ago. The names of the creators may not be familiar to many fans, but these stories helped lay the groundwork for the comics we read today.

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES VOLUME 1 AND 2
Frank King (W/A), V. T. Hamlin (W/A), Hal Foster (W/A), Fred Harman (W/A), George Herriman (W/A), Lyonel Feininger (W/A), Frank Godwin (W/A), Winsor McCay (W/A), Phil Nowlan (W), and Dick Calkins (A)
Available now
FC, 96 pages
$30.00
Vol. 1, 22” x 16”
Available now
FC, 96 pages
$30.00
Vol. 2, 22” x 16”
America’s greatest Sunday comics are presented at full size in The Sunday Funnies! Each volume is made up of three full-size newspaper sections with beautiful, high-quality reproductions of the original strips in full color—just as they appeared in the 1930s!
Featuring a mix of beloved classics, including Tarzan, Gasoline Alley, Buck Rogers, Alley Oop, Wee Willie Winkie’s World, and Krazy Kat, and seldom-seen treasures, like Bobby Make-Believe, Connie, Tales of the Jungle Imps, and Bronc Peeler, there’s something to surprise and delight even the most well-versed comics fan! The Sunday Funnies is the most authentic reprinting of these masterpieces ever and a vital addition to any comics collection!
• From comics masters Hal Foster, Frank King, Winsor McCay, George Herriman, Lyonel Feininger, and more!
• Rarely seen gems like King’s Bobby Make-Believe, McCay’s Tales of the Jungle Imps, Frank Godwin’s Connie, and Fred Harman’s Bronc Peeler!
• Reprinted at full size!

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For the full list of Dark Horse previews for November, head over to CBR.