3 New Comics for New Readers – March 28, 2012

This week, a biography of Hunter S. Thompson, a horror story of a woman who won’t die, and a supernatural tale of three Irish immigrants in New York City catch our eye.

Each week, The Comics Observer picks three brand new releases worth checking out that should be suitable for someone who has never read comics before.

If you like what you see here, click the links to see previews and learn more about them. Then head to your local comic book store, or check out online retailers like Things From Another World and Amazon. Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook.

Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson by Will Bingley & Anthony Hope-Smith

Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S Thompson
Written by Will Bingley
Illustrated by Anthony Hope-Smith
Foreword by Alan Rinzler
Published by Abrams ComicArts (originally published in the UK by SelfMadeHero)
Non-Fiction
180 pages
$17.95

The great American writer, the great American iconoclast, the great American hedonist – however you choose to view him, Hunter S. Thompson remains the high-water mark for all social commentators worldwide, and a truly fearless champion of individual liberties.

This is his story, the story of a troubled kid from Louisville who went on to become an international icon. A story that plumbs the darkest depths of American society and charts the now legendary adventures that birthed Gonzo Journalism, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and a lifestyle beyond imagination.

Rachel Rising Vol. 1 by Terry Moore

Rachel Rising Vol. 1: Shadow of Death
Written and illustrated by Terry Moore
Published by Abstract Studios
Horror
120 pages
$16.99

Rachel Beck wakes in a shallow grave and claws her way free as a mysterious woman watches from a bluff. With no memory of the night before, Rachel enlists the help of Aunt Johnny, the town mortician, to find her killer.

But when repeated attacks send her to the morgue, Rachel’s ability to wake from death again and again prove to be a blessing and a curse, and the eerie town of Manson will never be the same!

Collects issues #1-6.

Gone to Amerikay by Derek McCulloch and Colleen Doran

Gone to Amerikay
Written by Derek McCulloch
Illustrated by Colleen Doran with José Villarubia
Published by Vertigo / DC Comics
Crime
144 pages
$24.99

This sweeping, century-spanning graphic novel explores the vivid history of Irish émigrés to New York City via three intertwined tales, from a penniless woman raising a daughter alone in the Five Points slum of 1870, to a struggling young artist drawn to the nascent counterculture of 1960, the year America elected its first Irish-Catholic president.

Ciara O’Dwyer is a young woman raising a daughter alone in the Five Points slums of 1870; Johnny McCormack is a struggling actor drawn to the nascent folk music movement in Greenwich Village 1960; and Lewis Healy is a successful Irishman who’s come to present-day Manhattan on his wife’s anniversary-present promise to reveal the connection between him and them. The mystery originates with Ciara’s runaway husband, who disappeared after promising to join her in America, and carries into mid-century when Johnny, devastated by an unexpected romance and a lost shot at musical fame, gets a supernatural visitor.

Written by Eisner Award-nominated writer Derek McCulloch (Stagger Lee, Pug), and beautifully illustrated with period detail by Colleen Doran (The Sandman, Orbiter) and color by Jose Villarrubia.

Disclaimer: These are recommendations based on available press, buzz and the magic Comics Observer crystal ball. These are not reviews.