3 New Comics for New Readers – May 2, 2012

From fantasy to funnies, this special week highlights 3 great new releases from the LA-based publisher Boom! Studios.

Wednesday is New Comics Day! Each week, The Comics Observer picks three brand new releases worth checking out that should be suitable for someone who has never read comic books, graphic novels or manga 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.

For a full list of this week’s new releases, see comiXology and ComicList.com.

Tanpopo by Camilla d’Errico

Tanpopo
Written and illustrated by Camilla d’Errico
Published by BOOM! Studios
Genre: Fantasy
176 pages
$24.99

Celebrated creator Camilla d’Errico delivers a stunning visual journey exploring emotion, self-discovery/innocence and what it means to be human.

TANPOPO is superhumanly intelligent and inhumanly emotionless. Attached to a mysterious machine and ruled by her vast knowledge, one day her heart rises up to struggle against her ruling mind. Torn and confused, she now seeks humanity, longing to feel what other humans feel. Each chapter of TANPOPO is inspired by a classic piece of literature or poetry, woven into its own epic story, and contained in this beautiful hardcover edition.

Snarked! by Roger Langridge

Roger Langridge’s Snarked! Vol. 1: Forks and Hope
Written and illustrated by Roger Langridge
Published by kaboom! / BOOM! Studios
Genre: Fantasy/Humor
Ages: 8 and up
$14.99

You were amazed by his Harvey Award-winning run on The Muppet Show Comic Book. You thrilled to his run on Thor: The Mighty Avenger. Now the next great Roger Langridge graphic novel series begins as he brings Lewis Carroll’s imaginative world to new heights in a side-splitting adventure that can only be explained as… Snarked! Journey with Langridge as he pulls the carpet out from under such Lewis Carroll classics as “The Walrus and The Carpenter,” “Through the Looking Glass,” and “The Hunting of the Snark,” creating an all-new world of humorous grandeur.

Presenting a fresh and incredibly modern “Langridge” spin on an already-warped classic, Snarked starts here in an epic adventure featuring the Red Queen’s children, Princess Scarlett and her baby brother Rusty, as they set out in search of the missing Red King. And who better to help guide the way than the Walrus and the Carpenter from Through the Looking Glass. That’s right, the same Walrus that inspired the Beatles song “I Am the Walrus” is now in Roger Langridge’s merry, mad hands for new all-ages adventures at KABOOM!

Garfield #1 by Mark Evanier and Gary Barker

Garfield #1
Written by Mark Evanier
Illustrated by Gary Barker
Published by kaboom! / BOOM! Studios
Genre: Humor
32 pages
$3.99

Everyone’s favorite lasagna-scarfing cat opens the fridge to an all-new ongoing comic book series! Join Garfield as he begins his monthly exploits with Jon, Odie, and the rest of the gang in the latest all-ages must-read from kaboom! The Garfield Show writer and comics luminary Mark Evanier teams up with beloved Garfield strip cartoonist Gary Barker to bring you all the laughs (and lasagna) you can handle. With brand new stories featuring everyone’s favorite feline, this debut #1 issue is sure to please Garfield fans, both new and old alike!