A Look Ahead to May and June: Small and Medium Size Publishers

Mel does a great job with his Big Gems column, but I like to supplement with some of the great books coming out from the medium sized publishers, with some small press mixed in. Check out what we are looking forward to:

Dark Horse
Weird Detective #1– “(W) Fred Van Lente (A/CA) Guiu Vilanova
The streets of New York have been plagued by a pattern of crimes too weird and bizarre for the average detective. Lurking in the evidence are shadows of loathsome horrors from beyond space and time, seeking to usher in the unimaginable evil of the Old Ones. And the only man capable of fighting against the unspeakable terrors isn’t a man at all. Detective Sebastian Greene is one of them-it takes a monster to catch a monster. ”
I love Lovecraft and anything Old Gods related.
IDW
Tales From the Darkside #1– Joe Hill’s nerve-shredding re-imagining of Tales from the Darkside never made it to your TV set…but the dead are restless and refuse to stay buried! This summer, IDW releases DARKSIDE, a four-issue comic-book adaptation of the episodes written by Hill and illustrated here by Locke & Key co-creator Gabriel Rodriguez! Three stories of the macabre and malevolent! One coulda-been, shoulda-been TV epic on paper with pictures that don’t move! Step out of the warm, sunlit world you think of as reality and get ready to take a chilling walk… on the DARKSIDE.”
Man, Joe Hill is writing this. I love Tales and love Joe Hill. I am in!
Brutal Nature #1– A collection of masks transforms the young man known as Ich into innumerable different beasts and monsters. Using this ancient power, he embarks on a battle that pits the indigenous people of Colombia against the encroaching Spanish empire.
But can one man hope to beat back the massive forces of the conquering Spaniards? Luciano Saracino and Ariel Olivetti (Venom: Space Knight) bring readers a stunningly illustrated story of beasts and men fighting for the soul of a nation!
Beautiful art on this and an interesting concept.
Titan Comics
Tank Girl 2 Girls 1 Tank #1– Fresh off the back of their latest calamitous chapter comes this shiny new Tank Girl tale from series creator Alan Martin and artist extraordinaire, Brett Parson!
Expect a healthy dose of delirium and plenty of ball-crunching action in this high-octane crosscountry skirmish that asks the question: is this world really big enough for two Tank Girls? Strap yourself in, folks; It’s gonna be one helluva ride!
Back in the day there was this website…. And the name of the book alone cracks me up. Last series of Tank Girl was a good flip too.
Zenescope
Death Force #1– Rick Murphy was just an ordinary cop until he stumbled onto the wrong case. Left for dead by the criminals he meant to bring to justice, he is given a second chance at life with one catch…gain the power to take revenge on the men that wronged him in exchange for his soul. Now with the DeathForce power his to command he is ready for vengeance. But will the dark power at his control let him have his revenge…or consume him?
People pass over Zenescope books as they think most are soft core porn. In actuality, they put out a lot of different types of books and its just the covers that can be a little randy. This is a supernatural Punisher book.
Z2
Legend #1- What if a biological terror agent wiped out most of humanity, and our domesticated animals were left in charge? How would our dogs and cats set about ruling and rebuilding the world? Ransom, the leader of the Dog Tribe, has been murdered by a creature known as the Endark. An English Pointer named Legend reluctantly rises to lead in his place, vowing to kill the monster once and for all.
From acclaimed novelist Samuel Sattin and award-winning illustrator Chris Koehler comes LEGEND, where cat technology rules, dogs partner with hawks, and humans may be the most beastly creatures of all.
Mel featured this one back in a previous Big Gems column, still looks interesting.
DC
Scooby Apocalypse #1– hose meddling kids-Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and their dog, Scooby-Doo-get more ghost-debunking than they bargained for when faced with a fundamental change in their world. The apocalypse has happened. Old rules about logic no longer apply.
The creatures of the night are among us, and the crew of the Magical Mystery Machine has to fight to survive-because in the apocalyptic badlands of the near-future, the horrors are real! This new monthly series takes Scooby and the gang to a whole new level and features character designs by comics superstar Jim Lee!
I know, DC isn’t small or medium press. But their Scooby books usually do not have big print runs. But this one seems really interesting, think of what Afterlife did to Archie.