Image Previews Picks: June 2012

One big surprise this month since we’re getting a collection of a series that I thought was going to only be 12 issues long.  However, any indication to its length has been removed from the solicitations so it has either been quietly upgraded to an ongoing or this has been the plan all along.  In any other month, it would easily be the most desirable item in the solicitations, but the latest volume of “The Walking Dead” is also mentioned here, so it’s veeeeeeeeery close. Speaking of which, everyone should check out The Laughing Dead if they haven’t already.  It’s a collection of random “images with funny text” that will cause you to think about the show in all new terms.  And, if you’re like me, you’ll also want the “This is a Ricktatorship!” image to put on a shirt. ----more---- Spawn #220: I’m not planning on reading this, but the big announcement is that Todd McFarlane is returning... to writing the series... that he never actually stopped doing in the first place.  As it turns out, Will Carlton, the man who has been writing the title for the past few years was actually McFarlane under a pseudonym.  Apparently Todd feels that making the announcement like this creates the impression that this is a big deal for the series’ 20th Anniversary this year.  Because that’s what the fans want -- for the man who gained incredible fame in the 90’s for his pencilling skills to return to writing.  Yeah. Carbon Grey vol. 2, #1: Creator Hoang Nguyen has taken to Kickstarter to secure the funding he needs to continue this series.  I originally read about this on Bleeding Cool and the man’s passion in his description of the project on Kickstarter caught my eye.  Not enough to offer any funding yet, but enough to order the first volume on Amazon to see if it’s something I want to do. Fatale vol. 1:  Death Chases Me: Apparently not a 12-issue maxi-series anymore!  So instead of waiting for the hardcover omnibus, they’re releasing a collection of the first five issues in time for trade-waiters like me to jump onboard with issue six.  That’s something I’ve only done once, years ago when the first volume of the Milligan/Allred “X-Force” run came out.  I had more of an interest in following ongoing series then than I do now, so their plan is doomed to failure.  Even so, it’s a Brubaker/Phillips joint so it’ll be awesome no matter what format you read it in.  Though now that it’ll be continuing indefinitely I am a bit concerned about when (or even if) we’ll be seeing more of “Criminal” and “Incognito” in the future. King City TP: Did it sell out so fast that it’s being re-solicited for July?  I say this because I’ve had my copy for a week.  The fact that this exists at all is amazing since it’s the only Global Manga title that was first published by Tokyopop to see publication somewhere else.  I’d love to know what kind of legal wrangling on creator Brandon Graham’s part made that possible, or if he was just the only creator to have some kind of backdoor in his contract to allow for this.  Expect a review in the future, but the short version is that it’s consistently amusing enough to overcome the fact that it doesn’t create an involving world. Morning Glories vol. 3:  P.E.: The second volume of this very “Lost”-esque series was just as involving as the first as it took most of its six issues to spotlight the various cast members in single-issue stories.  I’m still convinced writer Nick Spencer has a plan for how this is all going to turn out, so picking this up will be a no-brainer. The Walking Dead vol. 16:  A Larger World: Is anyone reading this NOT going to be buying this?  Anyone?  Well, in this volume we find out about the other communities in the D.C. area and Rick is going to begin some kind of outreach to bring them together.  At least, that’s how I’m interpreting things.  The odds favor that some very bad people will be encountered and possibly assimilated into the group with no one the wiser.  I know that Kirkman has some tricks up his sleeve as far as how this is going to be handled, but I’ll be damned if I can see how they’ll be able to do this without having their current situation self-destruct by issue #100, which comes out next month.  Should be interesting to see what he has planned, though.