3 New Comics for New Readers – May 23, 2012

We don’t feature a lot of single issues of comic books in this column, mostly sticking to the more meaty reads of graphic novels and manga. But when the extraordinary Matt Kindt puts out a comic book, you’d do well to check it out. Who is Matt Kindt? Read on to discover one of our modern master storytellers. If you’d rather learn more about past master storytellers, there’s an informative and funny history of comic books in comic book form you can get. And if you’d rather step out of reality, there’s a new release where you can explore your dreams… at a price.

Wednesday is New Comics Day! Each week, The Comics Observer picks three brand new releases out today 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.

Mind MGMT #1 by Matt Kindt

Mind MGMT #1
Written and illustrated by Matt Kindt
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Genre: Science-Fiction, Spy
24 pages
$3.99

Matt Kindt, the most original voice in genre comics, outdoes himself in this bold new espionage series!

Reporting on a commercial flight where everyone aboard lost their memories, a young journalist stumbles onto a much bigger story, the top-secret Mind Management program. Her ensuing journey involves weaponized psychics, hypnotic advertising, talking dolphins, and seemingly immortal pursuers, as she attempts to find the flight’s missing passenger, the man who was Mind MGMT’s greatest success – and its most devastating failure. But in a world where people can rewrite reality itself, can she trust anything she sees?

* From the creator of 3 Story and Super Spy!

* Akira meets Heart of Darkness by way of 100 Bullets!

The Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey

The Comic Book History of Comics
Written by Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Ryan Dunlavey
Published by IDW Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
224 pages
$21.99

For the first time ever, the inspiring, infuriating, and utterly insane story of comics, graphic novels, and manga is presented in comic book form!

The award-winning Action Philosophers team of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey turn their irreverent-but-accurate eye to the stories of Jack Kirby, R. Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, Alan Moore, Stan Lee, Will Eisner, Fredric Wertham, Roy Lichtenstein, Art Spiegelman, Hergé, Osamu Tezuka — and more!

“Done with wit, energy, a healthy dose of insolence and a dedication to getting it right.” — NPR.

Collects Comic Book Comics #1-6.

Makeshift Miracle by Jim Zub and Shun Hong Chan

Makeshift Miracle Book 1: The Girl from Nowhere
Written by Jim Zub
Illustrated by Shun Hong Chan
Published by UDON Entertainment
Genre: Fantasy
$19.99

A young boy named Colby Reynolds searches for meaning in the world around him and discovers a place where dreams can come true, if he’s willing to pay the price.

Along the way he’ll see sights he’s never fathomed and encounter hidden truths about himself that he’ll wish he never knew. The hit online comic is now a beautiful high-quality hardcover graphic novel, perfect for teen readers and manga fans, with a durable library-quality binding.

Discover the story Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics, Zot!) calls an ‘enchantingly drawn meditation on imagination and yearning.’