Dark Horse Previews Picks: May 2021
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Heart in a Box
Have you ever done something dumb after a bad breakup? Like, say, wish your heart away and into seven broken pieces after being prompted to by a totally-not-evil stranger? Then you can probably relate to Emma’s situation, even if you haven’t done anything that specific. The thing is, Emma soon realizes that feeling nothing is worse than feeling heartbreak. So it’s time to head out on the road and get those broken heart pieces back! This is a new edition (Larger size! Bonus material!) of a graphic novel from writer Kelly Thompson and artist Meridith MacLaren. Given that I’ve really enjoyed Thompson’s Marvel work over the past few years, I’m now curious to see where she got her start. I may have slept on this graphic novel the first time it came around, but that’s a mistake I won’t make again.
The House of Lost Horizons: A Sarah Jewell Mystery #1 (of 5): The latest Mignolaverse spinoff sees co-writer Chris Roberson getting a chance to take the character he created into her own solo adventure. When Sarah has come to an island off the coast of Washington with associate Marie Therase, it’s to investigate an auction of occult items. That’s a tricky enough subject on its own, and it’s complicated further when someone winds up dead before the auction starts. Trapped in the mansion while a storm rages outside, Sarah has to figure out who the killer is and whether or not the murder has anything to do with the items being auctioned. This sounds fine. If nothing else, the fact that Jewell was created by Roberson implies that he’ll keep the focus on her rather than let someone else steal her spotlight. Leila Del Luca provides the art.
Rangers of the Divide #1 (of 4): From writer/artist Megan Hung comes… something that at least has a nice cover? Look, I’ve been reading solicitation text for years and it’s clear that giving enough information to entice readers/retailers to pick up your comic without giving too much away is something of a fine art. So my gut is telling me not to be too hard on a comic when I read text that tells me about a “nation” its “elite Commander” some “wide-eyed cadets” who all go out on their “first mission into uncharted territories.” The descriptions here mke “Rangers of the Divide” sound like a painfully generic fantasy adventure comic that nobody should bother with. Unless the intent was to make it sound as bland as possible in order to get a reader to go, “Maybe I should pick this up, because it can’t possibly be that generic!” In which case: Mission accomplished.
True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem Library Edition HC: Wow. Dark Horse is really going all-out with this collected edition of the second miniseries spun off from the My Chemical Romance album. The first miniseries didn’t do much for me beyond Becky Cloonan’s fantastic art. I put that down to the fact that MCR frontman/comic book writer Gerard Way only plotted the comic, with Shaun Simon doing the actual writing. This division of labor appears to be in place for this second volume, so even though the talented Leonardo Romero will be providing the art this time around, I’m not interested. If you are, however, then you’ll likely be happy to know that this edition comes with a slipcase, a print from Romero, and a new eight-page “Killjoys” story exclusive to the hardcover. It sounds like a proper collector’s edition for $40, if nothing else.
Hellboy Universe Essentials: Have you been wanting to get into “Hellboy” but don’t know where to start? Creator Mike Mignola has you covered with his handpicked selection of the stories best suited to telling you everything you need to know about his signature creation. Mignola is listed as the sole creator for this collection, so the odds are it’s going to be a “Best of” the early short stories featuring the character. As for what stories will be included… well, “The Corpse” is a shoo-in for sure as Mignola has said that’s his favorite “Hellboy” story. As for everything else, it really doesn’t matter. I always thought “Hellboy” short stories were better than the longer stories from this era, so if you’re part of the target audience for this collection then you’re likely to be in for a treat with whatever’s collected here.
Far Cry: Rite of Passage #1 (of 3): There’s also an “Immortals: Fenyx Rising” OGN in the works, so it looks like Dark Horse and Ubisoft have established a solid working partnership. So it’s no surprise that the company is publishing a three-issue prequel to the next “Far Cry” game. OR IS IT? A prequel, that is. While the solicitation text mentions the next game’s antagonist, Anton Castillo, it talks about how he’s telling his son a story as part of his 13th birthday celebration. A story about a past “Far Cry” villain, Vaas Montenegro. The solicitation text also tells us to expect fan-favorite villains from “Far Cry 4 & 5,” which indicates that subsequent issues will feature stories about Pagan Min and Joseph Seed, respectively. This sounds fine, so long as writer Bryan Hill and artist Geraldo Borges deliver good stories about these characters. Though, if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t have minded if all three issues focused on Vaas.
Operation Dragon HC: You always hear about how the Nazis had the coolest, most extravagant instruments of war in WWII. This graphic novel posits that Japan had something even cooler: TRAINED ATTACK DINOSAURS! That’s right, Japan would’ve taken over the world with them if it wasn’t for three American soldiers: A disgraced ex-cop, a mobster trying to escape his past, and an intelligence officer with mysterious motives. This is their story. At least, I’m assuming it is, as the solicitation text promises that WWII buffs will love the historical accuracy. You don’t add something like that to your story about Trained Attack Dinosaurs if they weren’t real, right? I mean, you’d be pissing off the very history buffs you’re trying to court here. Bill Groshelle and Brendan Cahill handle the tricky business of illuminating the historical context behind these Trained Attack Dinosaurs, while German Peralta gets to have all of the fun by drawing them as they stomp all over and eat any unlucky humans.