Previews

This month's release of the first volume of Fantagraphics' Carl Barks reprints is call for rejoicing. There have been many reprint projects centered on Barks' work, but they must have been designed by the three bears: one was too expensive, one was too cheap, one had garish color, and so on. This new effort -- reprinted in handsome hardcovers with simple coloring by Rich Tommaso that recalls the original limited coloring without a lot of fanfare. I think a lot is going to be said as more of Barks' work becomes available in a world where the bodies of work of the great cartoonists are becoming increasingly available -- it is the golden age of the comics reprint, after all. For now, this conversation between James Romberger and Gary Groth will serve as a good introduction. Fantagraphics has a 17-page pdf preview available on their site. In the meantime, here's a seven-page preview of that preview. And these may be the seven of the greatest comics pages ever. Enjoy.

Slate has a preview of the autobio material in the upcoming Lynda Barry collection Everything Vol. 1. More in link.

This December, MEMORIAL by Chris Roberson and Rich Ellis comes out from IDW. The six issue mini-series is the story of Em, a young woman who arrives at a hospital in Portland, Oregon, with no memory of her past. A year later, her newly-rebuilt life is thrown into turmoil after she inherits a magical shop, the kind that appears in an alley one instant and disappears the next. Em is drawn into a supernatural conflict between beings that not only represent, but are, fundamental elements of the universe itself. All of existence is at stake, so there’s only a little pressure on Em, the magical shop, and a talking cat.

An all-star Madman anniversary collection and a Super Dinosaur coloring book highlight the month, plus a Jingle Belle collections, the first Witch Doctor trade, a comic about ancient Rome by Tito Faraci and Dan Brereton, and the second issue of Paul Grist's MUDMEN.

Dark Horse has just released its January solicitations -- a new reprint of a classic European comics by Hermann tops the list for us, along with a series of Mike Mignola variant covers in his monster year, and the Compleat Terminal City.

What the heck, everyone else does it. A XOMBI collection with all five issues of the John Rozum/Frazer Irving romp and GONE TO AMERIKAY, the Derek McCulloch/Colleen Doran GN about the Irish immigration would top our wish list. Lots o' fill-ins in the New 52 creatives as deadlines take their toll. But it was all in the plan.

Back when the deeds of Kyrax2 were making the rounds, we'd tagged a post we never got around to spotlighting by author Diane Duane, who lists her bio as "30+ years in print, 50+ novels, assorted TV and movie work, the NYT Bestseller List a few times, blah blah blah. Also: the Young Wizards series, 1983-2010 and beyond"--the kind of long-lasting, multi-media resume that superior writers build up. In a post on her blog about DC's women troubles, Duane talked about being a comics reader and creator over the years:

From today's just concluded Image panel, Chew #20 includes 8 extra pages at no extra cost. We've been given an exclusive preview of pages from the issue, below. In addition, Chew #23 has been announced with the title "Big League Chew" -- it's out in October and includes a zombie-fied front cover.

Via BOOM!'s mailing list, Chip Mosher has a pretty clear suggestion that shows just how publishers are living on a copy here and a copy there. With DC's massive relaunch coming up a lot of retailer dollars are going to be tied up elsewhere so a book like Roger Langridge's SNARKED needs every little boost:

DC has released am image (click for larger) to mark the release of FLASHPOINT #1 today. You need to be a bit more versed in DC lore to know how entirely shocking this image is, but there is a monkey, and that's always good. There are also different versions of Batman, Wonder Woman, and so on. Alternate universe, ho! What we do know: FLASHPOINT, written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert, kicks off tomorrow, featuring the Flash and ushers in a slightly ..."Different" world for DC. Which we've seen before but you know...it always works for a new generation. Retailer Larry Doherty of Larry's Comics in Lowell, Mass, himself no stranger to attention, went on yesterday's "#comicmarket" retailing discussion to say that FLASHPOINT will be the book of the summer. Selected tweets:

NOT inked with a giant pen but incredible nonetheless, 10 pages of Jim Woodring's first ever Frank graphic novel, CONGRESS OF THE ANIMALS. For those unfamiliar with Woodring's work, it is set in a strange world of hope and cruelty, where strange creatures enact tales as deep as time, not even needing words. Few artists of any kind have ever limned the subconscious with such terrifying accuracy and beauty.

Vancouver-based Colin Upton is something of a Canadian comics legend. He's been producing rough-hewn, Rabelaisian mini comics since the 80s that deal in equal parts with autobiography and history. A few years ago he was diagnosed with diabates, which prompted a massive lifestyle change, resulting is so much weight loss that when I saw a picture of the new Colin I didn't even recognize him.