Dark Horse

From the gory, lurid world of pre-Code comics....Dark Horse is putting together some kick-ass collections -- in fact, you'll soon be able to read the insides of all those comics that we post whenever we're sick or late or whatever. ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN indeed.

I read (almost) every Free Comic Book Day title, and let you know what's the best!

The LA Times handed out its book prizes at the LA Times Festival of Books this weekend, and the winner in the Graphic Novel category was Carla Speed McNeil for FINDER: VOICE. The other nominees were:

Emerald City was mostly Marvel and DC lite, so the announcements are very indie/creator focused. And here they are, with a corresponding Pants Peeing Index ®, as in how likely this news is to make you pee your pants in excitement on a scale of 1-5.

I've already previewed Marvel and DC, so here are the other publishers, with titles MAYBE shipping this month!

by Casey Burchby

— How dangerous or offensive were pre-code crime comics – really? Most of us probably agree that the anti-comics hysteria of the early 1950s was ludicrously overblown, and can probably also think of a few current issues that are similarly hyper-inflated by reactionary gasbags. Dr. Fredric Wertham’s claims (enshrined in his ridiculously titled pseudoscientific 1954 screed Seduction of the Innocent) about the ill effects of comic books on easily-corruptible young minds probably said more about Wertham’s Germanic way of seeing the rest of humanity than they did about observable reality. But how do these Golden Age crime comics look to contemporary readers? A couple of new releases collect some of the best pre-code crime comics and prove that they still pack a wallop, both in terms of their swift, punchy visual storytelling, and in their ability to deliver real shocks.

Twin press releases today that Dark Horse's digital comics offering are coming to B&N's Nook and the Kobo Vox, a lesser known but respected platform. Popular titles like MASS EFFECT,HELLBOY, STAR WARS, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, SERENITY, and SIN CITY will all be available for both platforms. DH was already on their own store and via various Apple platforms.

Although we're used to those strategic "print run sellout" press releases coming from publishers at a steady clip, it's less often that comics publishers tout topping the BookScan sales chart, which tracks sales in bookstores, and other non DM outlets, for the week. However, Dark Horse notes that Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 1 "soared" to the top of the BookScan chart last week. This is the Gene Luen Yang-penned bridging story between the popular TV show and the eagerly awaited sequel, Legend of Korra. The art is by the Japanese team Gurihiru.

Ut oh, guys... it's a leap year! So if you're the type to skedaddle from matrimonial minded maidens, be sure to grab some reading material before you head off to the Valley of the Shmoon!

The video game company behind the popular PROTOTYPE series -- NOT the comics company. Dark Horse will create a three-part story bridging the gap between the original Prototype and PROTOTYPE 2 which comes out this year. The series will be released digitally, starting February 15th. Creators include Paco Díaz, Chris Staggs, and Victor Drujiniu.

The March of Coming Attractions continues, like a North Korean state funeral! This installment: Dark Horse! IDW! Image!

After a look week, we'll leave you with a smile and this announcement of a Conan/Groo crossover in a four-issue miniseries brought to you by the Eisner Award–winning team of Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés, Thomas Yeates, and colorist Tom Luth. Groo was created as a parody of the sword-and-sorcery genre as exemplified by the lamentation-loving Cimmerian, so this is a natural. The first issue goes on sale on April 18, 2012.