Forward Thinking: Dark Horse Comics for August 2006

Kevin Melrose and Michael May (newly returned from the brink of extinction after a bout with pneumonia) bring you punditry a'plenty about the Dark Horse Solicitations for August 2006:

BANYA: THE EXPLOSIVE DELIVERY MAN TPB

Kevin: Dark Horse branches out into manhwa (Korean comics) with Kim Young-Oh's action/adventure tale about Banya, the craziest of a group of delivery men who operate in a world of monsters, war and bloody swordplay. I haven't been able to find out much about it, except that it's a top-selling comic in Korea. Still, my interest is piqued.

Michael: I like the unique take on the "world full of monsters" concept. Any other comic would make the hero a monster-hunter/fighter/slayer/killer, but this one sounds like a monster-run-away-fromer. The "delivery man" angle lends itself to a wide range of story-telling possibilities too. Add those things to the fact that some of my favorite "manga" has turned out to be manhwa once I learned better, and my interest is piqued too.

THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN VOLUME 1: PANDORA'S BRIDE

Michael: I'm so fascinated by the potential of these novels based on the Universal Monsters, but so far, none of the blurbs I've seen for any of them have moved me to buy. This blurb says absolutely nothing about the story. It basically says, "You loved the movie, so read our sequel." I hope this is a good story. The Bride is an interesting monster in that she's morbidly sexy and -- on account of her very short screen time -- completely mysterious. I'm just going to have to know more before I buy.

CHICKENHARE: HOUSE OF KLAUS TPB

Kevin: Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but the first paragraph of the solicitation was enough to sell me on Chris Grine's all-ages story: "He's a chicken! He's a hare! He's Chickenhare! And he's your new favorite comic book character, whether you know it or not!" Hey, it made me chuckle.

If that's not enough, Chickenhare is about the titular character, his turtle friend Abe and "two mysterious new companions" who must escape the deadly grasp of Klaus, "an insane taxidermist with a penchant for unique animals and enough emotional baggage to go on a very long vacation."

Michael: Putting a big beard on the turtle and adding a wolf-boy and a cute little whatever-she-is seals the deal for me. And "Ooh!" What's that big scary shadow behind them? I'm all in.

COFFIN: THE ART OF VAMPIRE HUNTER D

Kevin: I've said before how much I love the ethereal art of Yoshitaka Amano (Sandman: The Dream Hunters, Gatchaman, Final Fantasy). His paintings for Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D novels are so haunting and beautiful that it's tough to pass up this 200-page art book. But $39.95 stings a little. I may have to resort to panhandling.

Michael: I woulda picked a different cover for it though. Unless you're going into the store looking for it, I'm not sure how a casual appreciator of either Amano or Vampire Hunter D would be drawn to it.

THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF THE DEPARTURE OF MISS FINCH HC

Kevin: I was a little embarrassed that I'd never heard of this story by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli, until I read it had only appeared in the U.K. editions of Gaiman's award-winning Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions. But this 56-page hardcover is the first comic-book adaptation about a group of friends who "enter musty caverns for a subterranean circus spectacle called The Theatre of Night's Dreaming."

But what is it with Dark Horse soliciting some books as much as four months in advance? Miss Finch has an Oct. 25 release date!

Michael: They had me at "Neil Gaiman."

THE HELLBOY COMPANION TPB

Kevin: At long last, Mignola & Co. release a comprehensive guide to the world of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. I don't know If there's any more I can say, really, without sounding like an obsessive nerd.

Michael: I so hear you. I'm going to try (try!) not to buy this because I really don't need it. I fully intend, however, to push it on any of my so-called "friends" who haven't yet given Hellboy a shot.

JU-ON

Kevin: Dark Horse is really stepping up with its DH Press imprint, creating an impressive lineup with titles as varied as Vampire Hunter D, Don Bluth's The Art of Storyboard and Hipira. Now it adds the first English-language novelization of the landmark J-horror film Ju-on. (That's The Grudge to Sarah Michelle Gellar fans.)

Michael: I'm sorry, but the Buffy movie totally ruined me on this property. I'll buy Ringu stuff until the cows come home though.

KICKBACK HC

Kevin: I'm a big fan of gritty crime stories and film noir. Throw in David Lloyd (V for Vendetta) as the writer and artist, and Kickback is an easy sale. It has all the perfect nor elements: corrupt cops, murder, betrayal, hopelessness. Perfect.

Michael: I was on the fence until you started talking, Kevin. Sold.

OCTOPUS GIRL VOLUME 3 TPB

Michael: Each solicit for Octopus Girl seems to include some concept that I simply must read about. This time, it's "Vampire Granny." Is being unfair to someone if I compare Toru Yamazaki to Grant Morrison?

OHIKKOSHI TPB

Kevin: Although best known for Blade of the Immortal, Hiroaki Samura also created Ohikkoshi, a contemporary romantic comedy about a group of twentysomething art students. So, yeah, pretty much the polar opposite of his most famous work.

PENNY ARCADE VOLUME 3: THE WARSUN PROPHECIES TPB

Michael: I didn't know they made Penny Arcade print collections. That is one funny strip. Gotta go find Volume 1.

REX MUNDI #1 and REX MUNDI VOL. 3: THE LOST KINGS TPB

Kevin: Arvid Nelson & Co.'s byzantine alternate-history series joins Dark Horse's horror line after a stint at Image Comics. I hope the move leads to a higher profile for the title, because more people should be reading this book.

STAR WARS: LEGACY #3

Michael: I hadn't made up my mind about this series, but seeing Rogue on the cover of this issue means that I'll be giving up my $3. Actually, any Star Wars series that's not completely Jedi-centric is a welcome change.

WHO FIGHTER with HEART OF DARKNESS TPB

Kevin: I'm really not sure, but I think I'm intrigued by this. It's an anthology, or maybe more accurately an omnibus, of weird World War II tales by Seiho Takizawa. "Who Fighter," a play on the old "Foo Fighters" nickname for UFOs, is about a pilot who may have shot down one of the fireballs. "Heart of Darkness" is Takizawa's take on Joseph Conrad's story of the same name. The third tale, "Tanks," is described as "surreal voyage through one hundred years of armored vehicle battles." Yeah, I'm definitely intrigued.

Michael: Me too. Maybe it's been too long since I've read a good WWII comic, maybe I'm fascinated at the idea of WWII stories from a Japanese perspective, or maybe I'm just looking forward to seeing how cool Apocalypse Now could've been without Brando hamming it up at the end.