Dark Horse Previews Picks: September 2019
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Blade of the Immortal Omnibus vol. 10
Am I playing it safe with this pick? Absolutely. Longtime readers/listeners will know that not only do I love this series, but that I thought it stuck the landing with its final volume. Given that this is the last omnibus edition of the series, this might be the last time you see me write about this series.
OR IS IT? Over a month ago it was announced that not only would “Blade of the Immortal” be getting a new anime adaptation, but a sequel series as well. While this would normally be news to get excited about, some of you might be asking yourself, “Wait, but if Hiroaki Samura is working on ‘Die Wergelder’ and ‘Wave: Listen to Me!’ already, how is he going to find the time to do this new series?” The catch here is that this “Blade of the Immortal” sequel won’t be done by its creator.
This new series comes from writer Kenji Takigawa and artist Ryu Suenobu, names which mean nothing to me and which Anime News Network have no credits for. The preview art I’ve seen from Suenobu at least indicates that he has the facility to capture a good likeness of Samura’s character designs if not his skill at action. Another reason for optimism is that this series carries the subtitle “Bakumatsu Arc” which indicates that it’ll be picking up where the original series’ final chapter left off. Putting Manji into the conflict between Japan’s samurai class and its modernizers definitely sounds promising. I just find it hard to get really excited about a “Blade of the Immortal” sequel that isn’t being done by Samura himself. I’ll be sure to read it when an English version presents itself. I’m just not in any rush for that to happen.
Aliens: Colonial Marines — Rising Threat #1: Another round of solicitations, another new “Aliens” comic from Brian Wood. Interestingly, this will only be his second ongoing series after the really quite good “Defiance” lasted twelve issues a while back. It’s also only the second series from Dark Horse to bear the “Colonial Marines” subtitle in the 20+ years the company has been publishing “Aliens” comics. The first was a ten-issue maxiseries that I kind of have a soft spot for, even if I understand why it’s essentially been deemed “non-canon” in the years since its publication. Human/alien hybrid bio-zombies? Nope, we’re not having that in our continuity. This one doesn’t look to be engaging in such nonsense as it involves characters from the upcoming videogame from Cold Iron Studios as they disobey orders to rescue people in a refinery under siege.
The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order HC: Believe it or not this isn’t the only artbook relating to a property that Dark Horse used to publish in these solicitations.
The Courageous Princess vol. 1: Beyond the Hundred Kingdoms: Softcover edition of Rod Espinosa’s series about a princess who has the wits and smarts necessary to save herself after she’s kidnapped by a dragon. I enjoyed this three-volume series well enough as Espinosa is one of those creators whose style could be easily and correctly described as manga-influenced, but one who is also smart enough to avoid rehashing the expected manga tropes. While it’s nice to see that Dark Horse is committed to keeping this series in print, it’s not the creator’s best series. That’d be “Neotopia” another fantasy-adventure series involving a princess, but one with a sci-fi bent and clear “Nausicaa” influence. A quick check over on Amazon reveals the series to be long out of print, with only the first volume available on Kindle. Sounds like the perfect setup for a license-rescue if anyone from Dark Horse is reading this.
Emanon vol. 3: So I thought the first volume of Dark Horse’s latest Kenji Tsuruta-illustrated series didn’t have a whole lot to recommend it besides its art. I just didn’t see the point to a story about this guy who met a girl who had the memory of all life on Earth. The description for this volume doesn’t suggest it’s going to be any different as an amnesiac Emanon meets a hiker in the mountains and tries to form a new life with him. Call it a hunch, but I don’t think it’s going to work out for those two.
Ether: The Disappearance of Violet Bell #1 (of 5): The first volume of “Ether” was a very fun read as it established the character of long-winded science adventurer Boone Dias and his efforts to make sense of the magical world of Ether. Unfortunately vol. 2 wasn’t in the same league as its core plot about defeating multiple copper golems felt somewhat mechanical with the interesting stuff about Boone’s family drama in the real world was given the short shrift before being handwaved away at the end. Where will vol. 3 wind up on the quality scale? Closer to the first volume than the second as the main plot, which involves the quest to find one of Boone’s few friends in the Ether, should give us a better chance to see more of this fascinating world without repeating itself. David Rubin returns as the artist for this volume, which means it’s going to look fantastic however the story turns out.
Everything #1: A new ongoing series from artist I.N.J. Culbard and “She Could Fly” writer Christopher Cantwell. It involves a mega-mall called Everything setting up shop in the small town of Holland, Michigan, and quickly becoming an obsession for its inhabitants. Yet as the obsession grows into mania and surreal events start to occur within the town, some people start to wonder if Everything is all it’s cracked up to be. Were it not for the talent involved, I’d be tempted to write this series off after noting that it sounds very much like the setup from Stephen King’s classic “Needful Things.”
The Orville #3: The World of Avis Part 1 (of 2): Aha! So it looks like Dark Horse’s take on “The Orville” is going to be a “series of miniseries.” That removes the question I had regarding how they were going to collect it. Will I be buying the collected editions of these “series of miniseries” when they’re released. Probably not since I still haven’t got around to watching any of “The Orville” yet.
Steeple #1 (of 5): This is new miniseries from John Allison. He’s a creator who I’ve heard nothing but good things about after his webcomic “Scary-go-Round” and ongoing “Giant Days” series over at BOOM!. I’ve yet to check out either of those series because I’ve just been that busy with other stuff. That said, I’m sure I can make time for this miniseries when it’s collected. It’s about two women who get along in spite of their differing worldviews and how they wind up having to negotiate the supernatural happenings of a coastal town. Said happenings eventually spiral up to include the rapture in the battle of good versus evil. If nothing else it sounds like we may have a winner in the category of “That Escalated Quickly” in comics stories this year.
Sword Daughter vol. 3: Cold Rain HC: Brian Wood and Mack Chater’s viking series reaches its third volume. I read this and go, “Already?” I also start to think that I should probably wait until the volumes arrive in either paperback or we get some kind of omnibus editions of the series. Like the ones that Wood’s “The Massive” is currently receiving.
Usagi Yojimbo: 35 Years of Covers: Behold, the other artbook for a series that Dark Horse used to publish. That this is still coming from the company months after creator Stan Sakai took his signature character to IDW does suggest that his departure was an amicable one. Which is good in the event that Usagi ever finds himself without a home again in the near future. Why would I even bring up something like that? I should probably get around to writing it up eventually…
Witchfinder Omnibus vol. 1: The first three adventures of Sir Edward Grey are collected in one volume. They’re as good as you’d expect a Mignolaverse spinoff to be and the art is fantastic: Ben Stenbeck, Tyler Crook, and the last work from the great John Severin are all featured here. Barring the release of another “Witchfinder” series in the near future, this will also be the thinner of these omnibi as it collects the first three (of the current five) miniseries.