Dark Horse Previews Picks: November 2021
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Joy Operations #1 (of 5)
This gets here mainly on sheer force-of-will as the big news last week was that Bendis is bringing his Jinxworld line of creator-owned projects to Dark Horse. Expect new editions of his previous titles, a new edition of “Pearl” was mentioned, along with a softcover edition of “Powers: The Best Ever,” and some new projects, of which this is the first. “Joy Operations” takes place a little over 50 years from now in a world where Trusts are the corporate-owned cities that dominate the global landscape. Joy is the top operative for the Jonado Trust and a living legend in those circles. Until the day she hears a new voice in her head which has her questioning everything she’s believed in up until now.
We’ve seen this kind of premise before, but Bendis and artist Stephen Byrne have the talent to wring something engaging out of it. The catch is whether or not this will be all we’re getting of this particular series. If Bendis and Byrne are planning on making this a series-of-miniseries, then they had damn well better avoid the delays that have been plaguing Bendis’ other creator-owned work over the years. After a big splash at DC, all we got was a second volume of “Pearl” before nothing until now. I know that’s down to the corporate restructuring at DC parent Warner Bros., but the writer’s track record with his creator-owned work was atrocious at Marvel prior to that. So while I want to believe this is a brand new era for Jinxworld, Bendis is going to have a lot to prove with that. Starting with “Joy Operations.”
Castaways: Do you know what one of the keys to good solicitation text writing is? Not telling the entirety of your story within it. You’d think that would be hard, but whoever wrote the solicitation text for “Castaways” managed to do it. I won’t spoil it for you here. I’ll just say that this is a romantic drama that takes place over ten years from Madrid to Barcelona as a young man and woman float in and out of each others’ lives, driven by the forces of work, family, and life. What’s going to happen to them? You’ll have to read the graphic novel to find out. Or you could read the solicitation text. That is, regrettably, always an option here.
Crema: Esme is a barista with two problems. One is of the existential kind as she feels invisible to the rest of the world. The other is that whenever she drinks too much coffee, she sees ghosts. It’s the latter problem that sees her undertaking the last wish of the ghost of a nobleman to deliver a letter to his lost love at a haunted coffee bean plantation in Brazil. This comes to us from writer Johnnie Christmas and artist Dante Luiz, and ComiXology who published this graphic novel digitally. So you can either go and read what sounds like a charmingly quirky supernatural romance right now on the digital reader of your choice, or pick up this print edition early next year. Or do both. I’m pretty sure the creators and publishers won’t mind.
Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #1 (of 4): Hellboy and Abe Sapien get mixed up in shenanigans relating to Norse Mythology. If you’ve been reading about the Mignolaverse for as long as I have, then you likely don’t need to know any more to decide if this miniseries is for you. I was surprised to see that this miniseries is being co-written with Christopher Golden, who usually works with Mignola on Outerverse (the “Baltimore” and “Joe Golem” shared universe) stories. That is, until the solicitation text told me that this is an adaptation of the illustrated novel the two did together. Art for this miniseries comes from Matt Smith, who used to be an annoyingly slavish devotee of Mignola’s style. These days, as titles like “Folklords” have shown, he’s become far less annoying at doing that and has actually produced enjoyable work.
Hyperscape: Was anyone asking for a graphic novel based on the Ubisoft-made battle royale game? Were you like me and forgot that “Hyperscape” was even a thing until you saw this solicitation? The commercial prospects for this title look bleak, is what I’m saying. Not unless writer Cristofer Emgard and artist Gabriel Guzman can deliver a stunning work of genius that can turn the game’s fortunes around with this graphic novel! I don’t think that will happen… but you can’t rule it out!
Jenny Zero: In His Shadow: In which the question is asked, “What if Paris Hilton was a failed daughter of a legendary kaiju fighter?” That’s Jenny Zero, who tried and failed to be a fighter of giant monsters herself. Now she’s living the life of a hard-partying celebutante whose fame comes from infamy more than anything else. That is until her father’s legacy comes knocking and Jenny actually has to consider sobering up to save the world. I’m always up for a good redemption story, and the fact that this involves giant monsters only adds to its appeal. No, I’m not familiar with its creative team of co-writers David Dwonch and Brockton McKinney, and artist Magenta King, but I’m not going to let that stop me.
Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queen HC: Lord Henry Baltimore’s story came to a pretty conclusive end with “The Red Kingdom.” Which is why this sequel focuses on his comrade Sofia Valk, who has assumed his name as witches, vampires, and Nazis, are on the march in the lead-up to WWII. It all sounds very business-as-usual for the series, which has me considering whether or not this follow-up/spinoff is really necessary. After the good times that Mignola and Golden delivered with the original series, I’m willing to see if they, and new artist Bridgit Connell, can keep them rolling on here. While we’re on the subject of Mignola, Golding, and the Outerverse…
Tales From the Outerverse HC: Collecting the two, two-part miniseries “Cojacaru the Skinner” and “The Golem Walks Among Us,”and the one-shot “Imogen of the Wyrding Way.” As mentioned above, the Outerverse is the shared universe of “Baltimore” and “Joe Golem.” While I’ve read all of “Baltimore,” I only recall reading the first volume of “Joe Golem.” So I would guess, but can’t say for sure that he’s the Golem of “The Golem Walks Among Us.” That being said, I think my appreciation of “Baltimore,” Mignola, and Golden will be enough to get me to pick this up. Who knows? Maybe the stories here will finally get me on the “Joe Golem” bandwagon after all these years.