3 New Comics for New Readers – July 11, 2012

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

These are out today! 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.

Orchid by Tom Morello and Scott Hepburn

Orchid
Written by Tom Morello
Illustrated by Scott Hepburn
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Genre: Action/Adventure
Ages: 14+
112 pages
$17.99

When the seas rose, genetic codes were smashed. Human settlements are ringed by a dense wilderness from which ferocious new animal species prey on the helpless. The high ground belongs to the rich and powerful that overlook swampland shantytowns from their fortress-like cities. Iron-fisted rule ensures order and allows the wealthy to harvest the poor as slaves.

Delve into the first chapter of Orchid, the tale of a teenage prostitute who learns that she is more than the role society has imposed upon her.

* Written and created by musician Tom Morello!

“Tom Morello brings class consciousness to comics with Orchid.”—Rolling Stone

Bloody Chester by JT Petty and Hilary Florido

Bloody Chester
Written by JT Petty
Illustrated by Hilary Florido
Published by First Second Books
Genre: Western, Horror
Ages: 14+
160 pages
$18.99

A deliciously gruesome horror tale set in the old west.

This isn’t John Wayne’s heroic old west.

This is the real deal: a filthy, disease-ridden frontier populated by losers, lunatics, and murderers. And when you’re a skinny teenager with no family and a name like Chester Kates, your options are limited. It’s stand up and fight or roll over and die, so Chester, aka “Lady Kate,” is set to fight until it kills him.

It isn’t much of a life, but it’s at least straightforward.

Until things go all cockeyed when Chester is hired to ride his horse (also named Chester) to a ghost town and burn it to the ground. Except the ghost town doesn’t just boast a tidy collection of mangled corpses: it also has three living inhabitants . . . who won’t be budged. But Chester’s been hired for a job, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t burn the town to the last cinder.

Thing is, he may just be damned if he does.

This horror-Western-mystery graphic novel will send a thrill—and a chill—down your spine. Funny, fascinating, and downright horrible, this is a book that keeps you turning the pages.

Heart by Blair Butler and Kevin Mellon

Heart
Written by Blair Butler
Illustrated by Kevin Mellon
Published by Image Comics
Genre: Action/Adventure
Ages: 16+
120 pages
$12.99

Witness the rise of cage fighter Oren “Rooster” Redmond in this gritty tale of self-discovery illustrated by Kevin Mellon (Lovestruck, Shield) and written by Blair Butler (G4′s Attack of the Show). Packed with flying knees, crazy submissions, dudes getting punched in the face, and a narrative Alex Zalban at MTV Geek calls, “Something exciting and different. In a world awash with generic stardom stories, this one rings true.”

“HEART is a comic worth taking a chance with. It ain’t superheroey, it ain’t in color, and it ain’t your run of the mill comic. What it is is some powerful reading.” – Aint It Cool News.