Dark Horse Previews Picks: January 2016
The most significant news for Dark Horse coming out of the New York City Comic-Con is that we can expect a lot more of what has been the company’s bread and butter since its founding: licensed titles. This is by no means a bad thing, as the company has done a lot to raise the standards of these things over the years. On that note, expect comics based on “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Legend of Korra,” and James Cameron’s “Avatar” by the end of 2016. While it remains to be seen whether or not the sequels will re-ignite the frenzy for the original film, Cameron actually filmed a video announcing the deal for the company which was certainly a nice gesture on his part. There’s also going to be a new American “Lone Wolf and Cub” series. It’s actually a rebooting of the “Lone Wolf and Cub 2100” series the company did about a decade back and the first issue is solicited here. Also, we’ll be getting an “Aliens” maxi-series from writer Brian Wood and artist Tristam Jones called “Defiance.” I believe this is the second “Aliens” maxi-series from the company after the ten-issue “Colonial Marines” from the mid-90’s. That was originally going to be a twelve-issue series, but lost its original writer and had two more in succession before reaching its end. I don’t know if Wood is aware of that series, but if he is I’m sure he’s hoping that history doesn’t repeat in his case.
The Art of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End: Advance solicited for March. Which is when the game comes out. Score one for timing and synergy!
Barb Wire #7 & Colder: Toss the Bones #5: Two series with covers that promise to be more interesting than what’s inside their respective issues. Say, did I ever mention that I finally got around to reading the first volume of “Colder?” It was somewhat underwhelming. The storytelling was pretty chaotic with a narrative that felt driven by events that had to happen without any kind of organic feel to them. At least the art from Juan Ferreyra was great as it showed that he has a fantastically creepy imagination. He deserves a better showcase than this.
Danganronpa: The Animation vol. 1: The premise for this series involves a group of oddball students at an exclusive academy where the only way to advance is to murder your classmates and get away with it. It’s based on the game for the PS Vita which developed a strong cult following before its release stateside last year. However, there are reasons to be skeptical about this adaptation. Aside from the fact that videogame-to-manga adaptations are notoriously hit-or-miss, this is actually an adaptation of the anime series based off of the videogame. Now, Dark Horse has had success with these kinds of more-than-once-removed adaptations in the past — witness “Knights of the Old Republic” — except they’ve come directly from the publisher. Japan isn’t nearly as good at quality control on these things — witness “The Shinji Ikari Raising Project.” Even though I’ll probably never get a Vita, I’d rather experience the world of “Danganronpa” firsthand than through this adaptation of an adaptation.
Hellboy Winter Special: Remember the days when we’d get random “Hellboy” one-shots and two-or-three issue miniseries that would eventually get collected into one volume? You know, the days before Mignola started on “Hellboy in Hell,” an ongoing series that comes out about as frequently as issues of Bendis’ creator-owned titles? Well, I can only hope that this represents a shift back towards those good old days as Mignola and writers Chris Roberson, Scott Allie, and Chelsea Cain team up with artists Michael Walsh, Mike Oeming (What a coincidence!), and Tim Sale for three stories about the title character. It’s an impressive collection of talent, which means that this should be worth the wait to read whenever it finally gets collected.
Leaving Megalopolis: Surviving Megalopolis #1 (of 6): I have good memories of Gail Simone and Jim Calafiore’s run on “Secret Six.” Despite this, I never got around to backing or subsequently checking out their Kickstarter-funded follow-up. The premise of that volume (available in hardcover from Dark Horse) is that the superpowered protectors of Megalopolis suddenly turn into homicidal maniacs and a small group of human survivors have to navigate the carnage in order to escape. Yeah, I’ll have to check this out at some point. For the sequel, the survivors have to go back into the city on a rescue mission. It’s one of those stories where you don’t wonder if things will go bad for the protagonists, but when and how awful things will get for them.
Space Mullet!: One Gamble at a Time: Collecting a webcomic about an ex-space marine and his co-pilot, the crazy adventures they get into, and the friends they make along the way. I’ll admit that the description is kind of bare bones. Yet it’s a series that has the guts to title itself “Space Mullet!” I’m both intrigued and a little bit in awe of that. However, there’s also a quote from Multiversity Comics calling it “The best webcomic that hasn’t made it to print. Yet.” Obviously these guys haven’t read “Something Positive.” There’s a title that is still going strong after over a decade and still has no print edition. How is this possible! If anyone at Dark Horse is reading this, you need to go check that series out and see about fixing this problem.