Highlights from the past week, with commentary from the NFNT gang. Apologies for the delay this week — ALA took over for a bit there.
Blade of the Immortal Volume 28: Raining Chaos (Dark Horse, 9781616553210)
Thomas: All hail the king.
Jenny: Ditto what Thomas said. Samura’s just soooooo good. I love this series and don’t know what I’ll do when it’s all over.
Garrett: Hiroaki Samura is a national treasure.
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Volume 7: A Cold Day in Hell (Dark Horse, 9781616551995)
Anna: BPRD is a great series that’s providing some badly needed variation to the Hellboy franchise. I’m already a Mignola fan, and a mythology fan, and HB and BPRD may as well be written for me. So that’s what I’m looking forward to right now!
Flowers of Evil Volume 8 (Vertical, 9781939130044)
Thomas: Each new volume from Shuzo Oshimi has my undivided attention. The first arcs of this series were as dark and nihilistic as anything I’ve read as I watched two young people let their sense of well-being deteriorate into self-destruction. Now the series seems to have mellowed and found a more mature (the non-shocking kind), experienced groove. I can’t wait to see what Oshimi has to say in the continuing wake of his earlier, disturbing material.
Mega Man Volume 6: the Breaking Point (Archie Comics, 9781936975785)
Thomas: The Mega Man comics have been a real surprise to me ever since their debut with Archie Comics, but Archie seems to know how to handle the franchise and progress a story with roots in 8-bit videogames so that its characters don’t seem so flat at all.
Ooku: the Inner Chambers Volume 9 (Viz, 9781421558776)
Jenny: Flashbacking Ooku’s just recently caught up with itself chronologically, so I’m even more excited to see where Yoshinaga takes her excellent alternate history now that the “future” is more unknown.
Elizabeth: This is a good week for continuing manga series with Arisa, Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail and Ooku. Those (especially Arisa and Attack on Titan) are becoming cores of my collection.
Planetary Omnibus (DC Comics, 9781401242381)
Michael: Planetary is a wonderful, wonderful series and everyone who is a fan of comics, sci-fi or even just awesome stories in general should read it. I’m really happy they’re coming out with an omnibus version of it, because it’s a story that (in my opinion) works best if you can read it all in just a few sittings, rather than stretching it out.
Thomas: I’m going to back up Michael here – the first time I read Planetary, I did not know much about comics and simply enjoyed the weird adventures and snappy dialog. A few years later I picked up the Absolute editions for a reread and was blown away by how many homages and commentaries were embedded in the story. The next time I read the series there will probably be a dozen more surprises to notice.
Garrett: It’s an old series, but I would love to have that Planetary Omnibus on my shelf to replace all the individual trades. It’s one of my all time favorites. I’m planning on picking up a copy for the library and promoting it with all the other awesome omnibuses we’ve been blessed with lately.
Vinland Saga Volume 2 (Kodansha, 9781612624211)
Thomas: One of the few manga I know to actually live up to the “Saga” in its title. Jump into this series while it’s still fresh – it has plenty to offer.
Young Avengers Volume 2: Alternative Culture (Marvel, 9780785167099)
Renata: Yay! I so loved the last volume of Young Avengers and can’t wait to read more. A really fun & sweet new series, and I appreciate how diverse it is. It’s so great to be able to offer my teen patrons some queer superheroes & superheroes of color.
AND NOW FOR THE COMPLETE LIST
The following list of new releases is compiled from Diamond Comic Distributors’ complete weekly shipping list and Anime News Network’s Releases encyclopedia
Graphic Novels
Arcana Studio
- 10TH MUSE TP VOL 03
- STEAMPUNK ORIGINALS GN VOL 01
Archie Comics
- ARCHIES VALENTINE ROCK & ROLL ROMANCE TP
- MEGA MAN TP VOL 06 BREAKING POINT
Avatar
- CROSSED WISH YOU WERE HERE VOL 03
BOOM! Studios
- I DONT GET IT HC
Cinebook
- BLAKE & MORTIMER GN VOL 17 SECRET O/T SWORDFISH PART 3
- CRUSADE GN VOL 04 FIRE BREAKS
- LADY S GN VOL 03 GAME OF FOOLS
- LARGO WINCH GN VOL 12 WAY & VIRTUE
- LUCKY LUKE TP VOL 42 LONE RIDERS
- LUCKY LUKE TP VOL 43 BLUEFEET ARE COMING
- ORBITAL GN VOL 05 JUSTICE
- SPOOKS GN VOL 03 EL SANTERO
Dark Horse
- AMALAS BLADE SPIRITS OF NAAMARON TP
- BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL TP VOL 28 RAINING CHAOS
- BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 07 A COLD DAY IN HELL
- CONAN HC VOL 15 NIGHTMARE OF THE SHALLOWS
- EERIE ARCHIVES HC VOL 15
- EMPOWERED TP VOL 05
DC Comics
- ANIMAL MAN TP VOL 05 THE MEANING OF FLESH
- BATWING TP VOL 03 ENEMY OF THE STATE
- PLANETARY OMNIBUS HC
- PREACHER TP BOOK 03
Gen Manga Entertainment
- SORAKO GN
Humanoids
- BASIL & VICTORIA LONDON GUTTERSNIPES HC
- FOLIGATTO HC
IDW
- JACKYS DIARY HC
Image
- SAVAGE DRAGON THE END TP
InkLit
- CEMETERY GIRL GN BOOK 01 PRETENDERS
Kodansha
- ARISA GN VOL 12
- ATTACK ON TITAN GN VOL 07
- FAIRY TAIL GN VOL 34
- MISSIONS OF LOVE GN VOL 06
- SHERLOCK BONES GN VOL 03
- VINLAND SAGA GN VOL 02
Last Gasp
- WEIRDO YEARS 1981-1993 HC
Marvel
- INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK PREM HC VOL 03 SMASH TIME
- INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK TP VOL 01 AGENT OF SHIELD
- MARVEL UNIVERSE ULT SPIDER-MAN DIGEST TP VOL 05
- WOLVERINE BY HAMA AND SILVESTRI TP VOL 02
- X-FACTOR BY PETER DAVID TP VOL 01 COMPLETE COLLECTION
- X-MEN TP VOL 01 ROAD TO ONSLAUGH
- YOUNG AVENGERS TP VOL 02 ALTERNATIVE CULTURE
NBM
- FAIRY TALES OF OSCAR WILDE HC VOL 02 NEW PTG
Northwest Press
- QU33R GN
Papercutz
- BENNY BREAKIRON HC VOL 03 TWELVE TRIALS
- DINOSAURS HC VOL 01 BEGINNING
PS Artbooks
- ROY THOMAS PRESENTS CLASSIC PHANTOM LADY TP VOL 01
Red Giant Entertainment
- WAYWARD SONS TP VOL 02
Th3rd World Studios
- STUFF OF LEGEND OMNIBUS HC VOL 02
Valiant
- ETERNAL WARRIOR TP VOL 01 SWORD O/T WILD
Vertical
- FLOWERS OF EVIL GN VOL 08
- FROM THE NEW WORLD GN VOL 02
- WOLFSMUND GN VOL 03
Viz
- OOKU INNER CHAMBERS GN VOL 09
Zenescope
- SCREWED TP
Anime
Discotek Media
- Blue Submarine No. 6 – Complete Collection
Sentai
- Medaka Box Abnormal – Complete Collection
Keep in mind that titles are not always available from book vendors on the same dates as they are released in comic book stores, so not all of these will be available everywhere at the same time. Check with your vendors, just to be sure!
