Dark Horse Previews Picks: December 2012

Sometimes it’s a painful reminder to realize that while these are only solicitations for the serialized comics from Dark Horse arriving in December.  Any collected editions being featured here will be arriving two months later (as always) in February.  Considering that something I’ve been eagerly awaiting since it was announced by the company is shipping in that timeframe, that’s disappointing.  Of course, if nothing else I’ve learned patience in the occasionally long wait between volumes of the mangaka in question’s signature series.

The Adventures of Superhero Girl HC:  Seeing this is a reminder that I have to pick up Faith Erin Hicks’ “Friends With Boys” and whatever else she’s written and illustrated recently at some point.  A friend of mine got me “Zombies Calling,” and the “so good it deserves a sequel already” “The War at Ellsmere” as Christmas gifts and if that wasn’t enough to make me a fan, her Wolverine & Eggs story put me over the top.  So yeah, when it’s revealed that she’s got a new book about a female superhero who isn’t part of the A-list and has a huge weakness for kittens, then you can be that I’ll be picking it up.

Alice in Wonderland HC:  As this is also by Rod Espinosa I was having deja vu for a bit, but then I remembered that he had done a version of the tale for Antartic Press a while back.  This doesn’t appear to offer any particular twist on the story in the way that his forthcoming “A Christmas Carol” revamp does, so this may just have to wait until I see it in the bargain bin at Comic-Con before I give it a shot.

Empowered Special #3:  Hell Bent or Heaven Sent:  The title character winds up in a battle between mecha angels and devils in the third color one-shot spun off from the OGN series.  My hope now is that creator Adam Warren will do at least one more and that should be enough for Dark Horse to issue a trade collection for them.  If they don’t, then I’ll just have to track down the issues myself.  OH WOE IS ME!!!  Or not, really.

The Goon vol. 12:  Them That Raised Us Lament:  Eric Powell’s take on the many trends plaguing the industry, including the constant relaunching of series with new #1 issues, is collected here.  Were I prone to hyperbolic excess, I’d predict that the issue in question would make the volume worth reading even if the other three issues collected inside were utterly terrible.  But let’s be honest here, no single issue is THAT great, right everyone?  Right?

Hiroaki Samura’s Emerald and Other Stories:  We’re graced with another collection of short stories from the creator of “Blade of the Immortal.”  That’s really all you need to know.  I mean, if you really need more convincing than that, go pick up the other such collection of his, “Ohikkoshi,” which shows that he has talent for more than just epic, morally ambiguous, period-with-modern-influences samurai action stories.  

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Why is it not February now!?

King Conan:  The Phoenix on the Sword:  More “Conan” from Truman and Giorello?  Yes please!

Neon Genesis Evangelion Comic Tribute:  So it would appear that the Dark Horse’s “Evangelion” titles have been selling very well if they’re bringing over this collection of parody stories from other mangaka.  These things are usually very hit-or-miss, though if the adaptation is from Carl Horn like all of the other titles from the company I may actually consider picking this up.  If nothing else, the emphasis on humor means that he’ll likely have a very wide latitude to work with in localizing things.  As for the various contributors, there are several that I’m familiar with (such as “Excel Saga’s” Rikdo Koshi) but not one that makes me go “I have to get the collection just to see his work.”  The closest this anthology comes to that is Sessyu Takemura author of the excellent hentai manga “Domin-8 Me!” (or “Take On Me” if you’re more familiar with the Japanese edition).  After reading that, I want to see MORE porn from him — not less.