Dark Horse Previews Picks: December 2021
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Sir Edward Grey: Acheron
I imagine that a lot of people are excited for this one-shot as it represents the first full comic that Mike Mignola will be illustrating after he finished “Hellboy in Hell” five years ago. What interests me more than that is that this is the first Mignolaverse comic to take place after the end of “B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know” which effectively ended the saga of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. Sir Edward “Witchfinder” Grey was in Hell at the time of these events and “Acheron” sees him still there, but now working to take on an old and familiar foe who is threatening the transition of worlds.
My guess is that the existence of this issue is to bring an end to Sir Edward’s story more than anything else since he was still in Hell once “The Devil You Know” wrapped up. What I’m hoping is that Mignola will use this story to provide some additional context for the ending to that series, which wrapped up in a straightforward, surprise-free fashion. It’d be nice if we get that, even if this issue is mainly here to snip off a loose continuity threat. The act of which should still make for entertaining reading with Mignola writing and illustrating it.
The Icon #1 (of 4): Twenty-five years ago a masked vigilante cut a swath through America’s criminal underworld before vanishing without a trace. Today, investigator Jake Stevens is hired to find out what happened to him, which I’m sure will end well for everyone involved. This miniseries is written by Dark Horse co-founder and publisher Mike Richardson, who thankfully doesn’t use his company to put out comics written by him on a regular basis. I say thankfully because while the ones I’ve read from him usually aren’t that bad (“Star Wars: Crimson Empire III” being the one awful exception) they’re not really that good either. I don’t see that trend changing with this miniseries.
Daisy #1 (of 5): Let’s examine the solicitation text for this new miniseries from creator Colin Lorimer one sentence at a time:
“A desperate mother’s five-year search for her missing son leads her to the small town of Brimount and to the mysterious Phillips family.” So far, so standard. What makes the Philllips family so mysterious?
“Daisy Phillips, like many teenagers, has a hard time fitting in, but not for the usual reasons.” OH REALLY? And what would these unusual reasons be?
“Daisy stands eight-and-a-half feet tall and is still growing, but her troubles with ill health, daily ridicule, and custom-made clothing are only the tip of the iceberg.” I’ll admit that I didn’t see that coming. It does sound like we’ve got a comic that has a message for us than an actual story, however. Got anything else for us, Colin?
“Daisy may well be descended from a race of cannibalistic giants spawned from the outcasts of Heaven!” …Well now. This is even more strange when you consider that this isn’t coming to us from the Mignolaverse. I’ll also admit that I was going to pass on this series until I read that last sentence. Now, I’ll keep an eye on it, if only to see if future solicitations have crazier things to offer us.
Apex Legends: Overtime: …I had this rant about how Dark Horse was going to charge $20 for a 69-page graphic novel. As nice *rimshot* as that sounds, it’s actually a misprint and this is going to be a 96-page graphic novel. That’s still pretty pricey, buuuuuut it’s also the same page-to-cover-price ratio that the second volume of “Steeple” came with. So the price is right, if you’re an “Apex Legends” superfan.
Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition HC: Just keep these coming, and I’ll keep buying them. That said, while it’s nice to see the publisher continuing to republish this series in this format, it does bother me a little to see that this is the only manga being published in this round of solicitations.
Groo Meets Tarzan: The last time the Cheese Dip Wanderer had a team-up it was with the character that arguably served as his inspiration: Conan. It did not go well as writer Mark Evanier seemed more interested in writing a story about the idea of the two characters teaming up than them actually going on an adventure together. Sadly, the solicitation text implies that’s going to be the case again here as the solicitation text informs us that artist Sergio Aragones will be stuck fending off lions in Chula Vista, while Evanier hosts panels at Comic-Con. Still, Aragones has repeatedly shown that his artistic skill hasn’t diminished with age, and he’s joined again by Tom Yeates, who did the “Conan” parts of the last team-up quite well.
The House of Lost Horizons: A Sarah Jewell Mystery: Writer Chris Roberson takes his paranormal detective from “Witchfinder” and puts her in a locked-room mystery in a mansion on a private island. I’ve liked Roberson’s work in the Mignolaverse in the past and was all set to pick this one up, with its art from Leila Del Luca. Then I see that it’s being solicited in a hardcover format for $25 and my wallet started contracting. Almost as if it was being squeezed. I might still pick this up anyway, it’s just that I’ll be expecting it to be “Baltimore”-level good now
Lobster Johnson Omnibus vol. 1 HC: I was prepared to pick up this collection of the first three “Lobster Johnson” collections, and the story “The Empty Chair,” for the reasonable price of $40. Then I decided to check and see how many volumes of this series I had already bought. It turns out that I own the three volumes being collected here. As for “The Empty Chair?” I’ll see if I can find it on ComiXology.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation: The Kevin Smith-written comic prequel to Smith’s animated Netflix series gets a collection. Place your bets now to see whether it will come out before, after, or just in time for the second half of the animated series to premiere on the streaming service.
The Worst Dudes: They are: A dirty cop. A drugged-out backup dancer. An angsty adolescent god. And they’ve all teamed up to find a missing pop star. This is coming to us from writer Aubrey Sitterson, who has written a lot of things, but is best known around these parts for “No One Left to Fight.” I mention this because I’m leveraging my affection for that miniseries to picking up this new one that Sitterson is doing with artist Tony Gregori. If this is as entertaining as its warning label makes it sound, then expect to see more of the writer around this blog.