I apologize for being absent last week, but it seems like things are feast or famine in terms of graphic novels and trades these days – I would have thought that in the build up to the Christmas season, there would be more notable items coming out, but I guess that happened a while ago (I’m thinkin
g of things like Holy Terror, which would look kind of funny under a Christmas tree).
The Books I Want to Buy:
Hellboy: House of the Living Dead
by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben; Dark Horse, $14.99
Some of the best Hellboy stories are the ones set in the past, and drawn by Richard Corben. That’s no surprise – the man is a giant in the horror genre, and Hellboy is the type of character he draws best. This graphic novel is supposed to revisit HB’s time as a luchadore in Mexico, which was first shown in a one-shot by Mignola and Corben a year or so ago. That was a great comic, and so I expect this to be just as good.
I have a problem with this format though. I like the idea of a Hellboy OGN, and think it’s strange that such a thing has never come along before now. I don’t like that this book is 56 pages and costs $15 dollars though. I know it’s a hardcover, but still, that seems a little steep, especially when you consider that an issue of Dark Horse Presents is 80 pages, and costs half that.
I’m definitely going to be waiting for a paperback on this one, or looking for it in used book stores and at conventions.
Flight of Angels
by Holly Black, Bill Willingham, Alisa Kwitney, Louise Hawes, TD Mitchell and Rebecca Guay; Vertigo, $24.99
I don’t know a lot about this book. It seems to have five writers, and only two are familiar to me. Bill Willingham is, of course, Vertigo’s biggest name and the writer of Fables, while Alisa Kwitney is a name that I recognize from back in the day. I think she was an editor, and may or may not have been the writer of the Sandman spin-off The Dreaming, which I never read. The rest of these people, I don’t know.
So, why am I interested in a book by writers I don’t know? A big part of that would be because of the art by Rebecca Guay, who did some of the graphic novel Veils, which I read recently, and who was amazing on Vertigo’s Black Orchid series (which otherwise sucked) about fifteen years ago. Her lush art is a big draw here.
There was recently a preview of this book in the back of all of Vertigo’s comics. It looked very pretty, and possibly interesting. There’s something about a cute little satyr or something, and maybe a dead or dying angel. You can tell that I just look at the art – I don’t remember what was in the preview. It looks nice though, and seems to be the type of thing that does best at Vertigo these days (ie., something a little like Fables).
Troop 142
by Mike Dawson; Secret Acres, $20
I’ve taken a quick look at this book on the web, which is where it had its beginnings, and it looks like it’s pretty good. My problem is that I hate reading webcomics, and would much prefer to be able to hold on to the real thing when I read it. I suppose I may change my mind when I finally get an iPad one day, but that doesn’t look to be too soon…
Anyway, as someone who was involved in the Cub and Boy Scouts growing up, and having many pleasurable (and some horrible) experiences in that organization, Troop 142 looks like it would be a fun read. It sounds like it is as much about the types of adults who get involved in Scouting as it is about the kids, and that should make it pretty interesting.
So, what would you buy Were Money No Object?
