Previews

By Todd Allen That teaser from Tuesday was indeed Shadowman.  Looks like Valiant is doing a launch, not a spin-off as November will see Shadowman...

London based Nobrow takes inspiration from Aldous Huxley's dystopic novel Brave New World and asks forty-five talented illustrators and cartoonist to tackle the themes of human individuality, science, and what lays in store for the future. This compendium merges both graphic storytelling and classic comic imagery, making it a visual feat that's indefinitely something to behold.

Enough Marvel news for today. Valiant has slipped us a 5-page preview for the second issue of their surprisingly dark teen psychic book, Harbinger. Looks like the alternate cover gives us a peek at the new Harbinger uniform. Regarding the first page (and the extent to which this is a really dark take on the original) -- the young lady is our hero's early childhood crush and he sort of... gave her an attitude adjustment.

There's an absurd number of great comics out today but here's one that hasn't had too much advance buzz—maybe because author Gilbert Hernandez is SO DARNED PROLIFIC. Anyway, FATIMA: THE BLOOD SPINNERS #1 is his take on zombies, with an eyeball-squeezing mix of a deadly femme zombie hunter and mindless violence. It's a four-issue miniseries and it also features alternate covers by Peter Bagge.

Archer & Armstrong will be the latest Valiant book getting the revival treatment. The original A&A was a Barry Windsor-Smith book. It was also a book with a sense of humor about itself. An immortal of slovenly bent and an uptight martial artist. Yes, this was the comics version of a buddy movie.

Perfectly blending elements of horror and childish innocence, Josh Simmons's collection of stories marks a comic storytelling that is just as frightfully unsettling as it is an eye-grabbing read. Don't be fooled by the bright coloring and imaginative settings; this one ain't for the kiddies.

Some holiday weekend tidbits, including Game of Thrones, Derek Kirk Kim's Mythomania looks to Kickstarter to fund it's 2nd season, a first look at The Walking Dead's Michonne, along with a whole lotta Kickass 2 news.

Hot off the heels of his successful run with Marve's X-CLUB, Simon Spurrier joins forces with BOOM! Studios to reveal a new dystopian super-hero series called EXTERMINATION.

Dynamite has just revealed these exclusive sneak peaks of their July releases. Take a look at the covers for GAME OF THRONES #10, WHEEL OF TIME #27, and FULL MOON #7. Expect these on your radar in July!

The late Harvey Pekar left behind several projects in various stages of composition, but none was as close to him as CLEVELAND, a love letter and social history of the city that was his muse—an everyman town of ordinary people and the mundane swirl of life that is nonetheless extraordinary. For Cleveland, Pekar's script found an artist among the greatest of his collaborators: Joseph Remnant, whose dense cross hatched naturalism recalls Crumb (who we meet in these pages) but finds its own voice with expansive staging and research.

Howard Cruse is one of the groundbreaking cartoonists of the last 30 years, with his iconic BAREFOOTZ and WENDEL—the latter a pioneering gay-themed comic that ran in the Advocate—and his founding GAY COMIX, an underground anthology. His STUCK RUBBER BABY was one of the early post-MAUS examples of the graphic novel coming of age as a literary medium. And that's just the highlights of a long award winning career. Now Boom! Town is bringing out THE OTHER SIDES OF HOWARD CRUSE, a thick hardcover which includes his work from the light-hearted Barefootz strips, his take on Nancy and Little Lulu, and the iconoclastic sheep Shearwell going on a “trip” or two, and other underground comics. The book is available in May. Boom has provided us with an exclusive preview -- and yes, this story is VERY NSFW.

Today Derf Backderf's memoir MY FRIEND DAHMER dropped in comics shops. It's the true story of some fairly typical loserish guys in high school..one of whom will grow up to be one of the most horrifying serial killers of the 20th century. And who already shows signs of being completely without empathy.