Blog Archives
New Comics for New Readers – October 24, 2012
Wednesday is New Comics Day! Each week, The Comics Observer spotlights three two brand new releases worth checking out that should be suitable for someone who has never read comic books, graphic novels or manga before. (Yes, only two this week. Not the best week for material for new readers, but there are a couple fun action stories below.)
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.
(Disclaimer: These aren’t reviews. Recommendations are based on pre-release press, previews, and The Comics Observer‘s patented crystal ball. Product descriptions provided by publisher.)
Supercrooks by Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu
Supercrooks
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu
Published by Icon/Marvel Comics
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy
Ages: 16+
128 pages
$19.99
When the market is flooded with competition, and the authorities are always on your tail, what’s an all-American super villain to do? Go to Spain, of course!
Johnny Bolt convinces his villainous pals to pull off one last heist in the land of bullfighting and churros — but will culture shock get to them before the policia do? And when Johnny’s target is revealed as the Bastard, the greatest super villain of all time, things go horribly wrong — but it’s too late to turn back. A massive secret in the American super-hero community might just work in their favor — and if the Supercrooks can survive, it will mean an enormous payday! From the writer who brought you Kick-Ass and the artist of Superior and Secret Invasion!
Dancer by Nathan Edmondson and Nic Klein
Dancer
Written by Nathan Edmondson
Illustrated by Nic Klein
Published by Image Comics
Genre: Crime
Ages: 16+
132 pages
$16.99
The multiple sell-out miniseries from the writer of Who is Jake Ellis? and the artist of Viking, Dancer is the story of a retired assassin who must protect his ballerina love from a sniper stalking them both through the back alleys of a wintry Europe.
CNN calls Dancer: “The best example of what’s possible without a man in tights.”
Web and Digital Comics dominate Harvey Awards nominations
Gutters by Ryan Sohmer, Lar deSouza, et al.
The prestigious Harvey Awards have released their 2011 nominees for excellence in the comics industry. Named after the influential cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman, founder of MAD Magazine, the Harvey Awards are the only comics industry award both nominated and selected by comic book creators, those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit and/or otherwise help create comics.
This year showed an unprecedented number of nominations from web comics and digital comics, with a total of eight different works getting recognized in multiple categories. Most significantly is the showing from Gutters, which is nominated for a startling six nominations, more than any other single creator or comics work whether in print or not. The web comic that satirizes the comics industry appears to have won a significant number of fans within the industry, as it has been nominated for Best New Series, Special Award for Humor in Comics, Best Online Comics Work, Best Writer (Ryan Sohmer), Best Artist (Ed Ryzowski), and Best Colorist (Ed Ryzowski).
The digital comic Box 13, originally released through ComiXology, also had a decent showing, with two nominations: Best Letterer (Scott Brown) and Best Inker (Steve Ellis). Comfort Love and Adam Withers also received two nominations, one for Most Promising New Talent for their web-comic Rainbow in the Dark, and one for Best Anthology for their Uniques Tales.
The remaining Best Online Comics Work category had the following nominations: Guns of Shadow Valley by David Wachter and James Andrew Clark; Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton; La Morté Sisters by Tony Trov, Johnny Zito and Christine Larsen; and PvP by Scott Kurtz, who will be the Master of Ceremonies at the award show at the Baltimore Comic-Con in August.
Last year’s Harvey Awards only saw 3 categories outside of the Best Online Comics Work category nominate digital and/or web comics. The Best Online Comics Work category was added to the Harvey Awards in 2006.
Harvey Awards (1988-present)
On the print side of thing, this year’s Harvey Awards gave five nominations to Darwyn Cooke and his adaptation of Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit. Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov won four nominations for his work in Echoes with artist Rashan Ekedal and Tumor with artist Noel Tuazon. Tumor is nominated for Best Graphic Album Previously Published; it was originally published digitally on the Kindle in 2009. Artist Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets: New Stories) and Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee each had three nominations, with an additional nomination each for The Art of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets of Life and Death, edited by Todd Hignite, and Langridge for his writing on The Muppet Show comic book series.
IDW Publishing raked in 16 nominations, more than any other publisher. Marvel Comics brought in 13, including 1 from their Icon imprint. DC Comics and Image Comics both obtained 11 nominations each with their respective Vertigo and Top Cow imprints bringing in more than half.
