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Comic Books

Apes of War

Evidently this has been a thing for a while, but somehow we missed it. Now, thanks to Oni Press, it’s all together in one place. “Brahm Revel’s critically-acclaimed series is collected for the first time in one volume in the Guerillas: Omnibus Edition! Private John Francis Clayton is on his first tour of duty in Vietnam, facing death at every turn in the middle of a war he doesn’t understand. Clayton is just trying to stay alive when he encounters an elite platoon of…. simian soldiers?!? This squad of chain-smoking chimps is the most dangerous fighting force in the jungle… but whose side are they on?” Find out when this hits the shelves in late March.

image c. 2019 Oni Press

Nikki from Dave!

Nikki M is an illustrator we met at Further Confusion this year. Here’s what she has to say about herself: “My name is Nichole (you can call me Nikki!) and I am an illustrator/general artist based in Los Angeles CA. I graduated in 2015 from The Dave School, with experience in 3D and visual effects. My focus and passion lies in design, illustration and digital painting. Working with colors and seeing a character come to life before my eyes is what brings me pure joy. I currently am working as a freelance artist, and am open to take on any challenge that’s thrown my way!” Check out her Gallery, and keep an eye on her web site — she’ll have a Storenvy store set up soon to sell prints, pins, and other art stuff.

image c. 2019 by Nikki M

Kitty and Monster Unite

Tiger vs. Nightmare is a new full-color graphic novel for young readers, created by Emily Tetri and published by First Second. “Tiger is a very lucky kid: She has a monster living under her bed. Every night, Tiger and Monster play games until it’s time for lights out. Of course, Monster would never try to scare Tiger—that’s not what best friends do. But Monster needs to scare someone…it’s a monster, after all. So while Tiger sleeps, Monster scares all of her nightmares away. Thanks to her friend, Tiger has nothing but good dreams. But waiting in the darkness is a nightmare so big and mean that Monster can’t fight it alone. Only teamwork and a lot of bravery can chase this nightmare away.” The book is available now in hardcover from Macmillan, and they’ve got a preview up as well.

image c. 2019 First Second

Follow That Crustacean

Here’s something new from Europe, published by Cinebook: Distant Worlds is a full-color science fiction graphic novel series created by a team known and Leo and Icar. “18-year-old Paul, his mother, and his sister land on Altair-4, a recently established human colony. They expect to be reunited with Paul’s father there and start a new life, but he doesn’t show up to welcome them at the spaceport… Later, they are rescued from a gang of thugs by a Stepanerk, a member of a sentient alien species. It’s an encounter that will prove invaluable to Paul when he decides to go and look for his father.” Check it out (three volumes so far) over at Comixology.

image c. 2019 Cinebook

Mysterious Planet’s Call

More interesting non-human science fiction. Retrograde Orbit is minimal-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Kristyna Baczynski. “At the outer edge of the solar system, on the mining planet Tisa, Flint and her mother live in the colony of Swift Springs. Displaced by a nuclear event, Flint’s family settled in Swift Springs two generations ago to become miners. Soon Flint will be old enough to begin her apprenticeship at the refinery. But is the home that her family has built for her enough, or will a mysterious, irradiated planet pull her away from them? By following in their footsteps and leaving to forge a new path, is she betraying her family, or honoring their legacy?” It’s available now in softcover from Avery Hill Publishing. Broken Frontier has an extensive review.

image c. 2018 Avery Hill

More Cats from Space

Another new full-color science fiction comic series, this time from Antarctic Press. It’s Stars End, created by Larry Spike Jarrell and Selena McDevitte. “6,000 years ago the Annunaki, visitors to Earth, departed with numerous animals as subjects for study and DNA experiments. Centuries in the future these evolved beasts, collectively known as N’Naki, have created vast civilizations in the Sirius system, with humans serving as their worker bees. One group of N’Naki are given a pre-graduation duty: Scan a mining world of human workers that’s fallen victim to a viral infection before the planet is demolished to stop the disease from spreading. But when a sixteen-year-old Annunaki girl turns up, the mission quickly becomes anything but routine.” If the description doesn’t make it obvious, the covers certainly do: The N’Naki are decidedly feline!

image c. 2019 Antarctic Press

Devil-Proof Dog

And speaking of Mike Norton (which we were a couple days ago), he’s back as illustrator and collaborating once again with Rafer Roberts on Grumble, a new full-color comic series from Albatross Funnybooks. “When the forces of good and evil are hunting you down, the only logical thing to do is disguise yourself as a dog and go on the run! Eddie is a low-rent hustler who got magically turned into a pug during a con gone wrong. Tala is the part-demon daughter of one of Eddie’s many ex-girlfriends. When Tala finds herself the target of powerful inter-dimensional forces, she goes to Eddie for help–setting off a chain reaction of chaos and destruction that could threaten the very fabric of existence. Can Eddie and Tala put aside their differences long enough to survive the magical mayhem and madness that they started, or will they kill each other first? (It’s probably the second one!)” CBR has a preview with sample pages too.

image c. 2018 Albatross Funnybooks

Cats Leaving the Cradle in a Silver Ship

So how did this pass us by? It’s Captain Ginger, a new full-color series from Ahoy Comics. “When the human race died out, the cats inherited the Earth! Or at least one starship. Now the intrepid Captain Ginger struggles to keep his fellow felines united against a hostile universe. But there’s a rival for Ginger’s authority: His second-in-command, the savage Sergeant Mittens! Thirty-five pages of comic adventure — with a bite — created by writer Stuart Moore (Deadpool the Duck, Batman: Noir Alley) and artist June Brigman (Power Pack, Star Wars).” Also featuring extra back-up material by Animal Man creator Grant Morrison.

image c. 2019 Ahoy Comics

Own the Whole Sky

And speaking of compilations… IDW has a big one for fans of Spyro the Dragon and the Skylanders crew in the new Skylanders Omnibus. “A collection of Skylanders adventures tying into some of their most popular games! From the world of Skylanders Trap Team! Discover the history of the Trap Masters and Kaos’ plot for Traptanium that ties right into the video game. Marvel as your favorite characters face grueling tests, outrageous challenges, and the vilest of villains to gain Champion status! Plus, one of Spyro’s most malevolent and powerful enemies makes his Skylanders debut! And nothing Spyro, Hex, Cynder, or the rest of the Skylanders can do will prepare them for the evil that is about the be unleashed—the return of the first purple dragon, Malefor!” At nearly 300 pages, it just hit the shelves too!

image c. 2019 IDW Publishing