Previews: December '08 Comics

I went through Previews Catalogue to find the good stuff...and this is what I found for books shipping to comics shops in December!

Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics

The War at Ellsmere TP - A new all-ages book from the creator of Zombies Calling, Faith Erin Hicks.

Archangel Studios

The Red Star: Sword of Lies (Volume 1) TP - A collection of the first part (three issues) of the Sword of Lies annuals.

Archie Comic Publications

The Archies: Greatest Hits (Volume 1) TP - A restored collection of The Archies' best tales!

Boom! Studios

Seekers Into the Mystery (Volume 1): The Pilgrimage of Lucas Hart TP - A collection of the first part of the classic magical Vertigo series by J.M. DeMatteis (Abadazad), Glenn Barr and Jon J. Muth.

The Stardust Kid TP - More J.M. DeMatteis! This was his and Mike Ploog's follow-up to Abadazad. It was also quite disappointing...

BuenaVentura Press

Fight Or Run #1 - Kevin Huizenga's (Ganges) new series! Minimalist and abstract.

Kramer's Ergot (Volume 7) HC - The latest volume of the acclaimed anthology is huge (16" by 21") and features art by some of the most exciting creators out there, including Gabrielle Bell, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, Anders Nilsen, Jaime Hernandez, Matt Groening, Carol Tyler, Mat Brinkman, C.F., Kim Deitch, Daniel Clowes and more! $125 - a good price for an art book.

Dark Horse Comics

Eerie Archives (Volume 1) HC - Hot on the heels of Dark Horse's reprints of Creepy is a collection of horror magazine Eerie!

Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #1 (of 8) - A new Hellboy mini-series! Written by series creator Mike Mignola, with art by Duncan Fegredo.

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DC Comics

All-Star Superman (Volume 2) HC - Collecting the latter half of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's acclaimed run on Superman!

Batman: R.I.P. Deluxe Edition HC - Grant Morrison writing the death of Batman! This collects #676 - 683 of Morrison's stint writing The Dark Knight that people seem to love so much.

Haunted Tank #1 - The Haunted Tank is back! A new book that brings the title to Iraq!

Saga of the Swamp Thing (Book One) HC - Alan Moore's classic run of horror comics is being collected properly beginning with this hardcover.

Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures In the Eighth Grade #1 - A new monthly all-ages title featuring Linda Lee from Krypton!

Digital Webbing

Sword of Dracula: The Dracula War #1 - A sequel to the original Sword of Dracula series! This is the first of two issues of the Dracula vs. military book.

Disney Press

Wonderland HC - A collection of the wonderful, whimsical all-ages title that takes place in Disney's Alice In Wonderland universe.

Drawn & Quarterly

Cecil and Jordan In New York: Stories HC - A collection of Gabrielle Bell's short works from various anthologies.

Kuruma Tohrimasu GN - An art book of photographs and drawings made during the production of the film Interior Design, which was directed by Michael Gondry, and written by Gondry and Gabrielle Bell.

Fantagraphics Books

The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Neil Brinkley's Cartoons from 1913-1940 - The title kind of says it all. This collects over 100 of Brinkley's full-page art.

Unlovable - This is interstingly based on a teenager's diary found in the bathroom of a gas station. A hardcover by Esther Pearl Watson.

Image Comics

Impaler #1 - The really creepy horror series Impaler returns!

Phonogram 2: The Singles Club #1 (of 7) - I really wanted to like the first Phonogram mini-series after reading Jamie McKelvie's fantastic title Suburban Glamour, but I was utterly disappointed and couldn't even finish the book. I know a lot of people liked the book though, so here's the sequel by the creators of the original... We can at least expect some nice art in here.

Little, Brown

Daniel X GN - An original graphic novel from James Patterson's new Daniel X series, featuring an alien hunter.

Marvel Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy (Volume 1): Legacy Premiere HC - The first collection of the new Guardians of the Galaxy series, featuring characters like Drax the Destroyer and Rocket Raccoon.

Hulk Family #1 - A one-shot featuring four different tales from Hulk's extended family: She-Hulk, Skaar, Daughter of Hulk, and Thundra.

Incognito #1 - A new noir superhero book under Marvel's Icon imprint from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the creators behind Criminal.

Infinity Crusade (Volume 1) TP - Old school Marvel crossover! A 90's cosmic series.

Marvel Noir - Like the Fairy Tales books that Marvel has been putting out lately, this is a new group of mini-series that present an alternate world featuring the characters we know and love, but all different. The line kicks off with X-Men Noir and Spider-Man Noir, with Daredevil Noir on the way.

Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor (Volume 8) HC - This gets into material past the Essential books, of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's excellent series.

Marvels: Eye of the Camera #1 & 2 (of 6) - The sequel to the book that featured the Marvel characters as seen by bystanders. The original was illustrated by Alex Ross, and while Kurt Busiek is writing the sequel, Jay Anacleto is filling Ross's huge shoes. And to be honest, I prefer Anacleto (of the beautiful Image Comics fantasy series Aria), so I think this could be fun. And he was an appropriate choice, with his realistic drawings.

Moon Knight: Silent Knight #1 - Peter Milligan does Moon Knight in this Christmas tale!

Punisher: War Zone #1-4 (of 6) - There's a Punisher moving coming out, so here are the comics to capitalize on it. Four issues of this new mini will come out in December, written by Garth Ennis, with art by Steve Dillon.

Secret Invasion: Dark Reign -A one-shot that kicks off the new Marvel mega crossover event following events of Secret Invasion, written by Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by Alex Maleev.

Secret Wars II Omnibus HC - Because nobody demanded it...

Thor: God-Sized #1 - Matt Fraction writes a 64-page Thor comic! Art by Doug Braithwaite amd Dan Brereton.

Universal War One (Volume 1) Premiere HC - A collection of the Soleil title by Denis Bajram.

War of Kings - Another Marvel crossover event. So far this one crosses over into the cosmic title Guardians of the Galaxy, with a new series launching called X-Men: Kingbreaker.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1 (of 8) - A mini-series adapting the classic book by L. Frank Baum, written by Eric Shanower (of the fantastic Adventures In Oz), art by Skottie Young. Looks beautiful - I saw some art in San Diego and I am definitely looking forward to this book.

X-Infernus #1 (of 4) - The Return of Magik stuff has all been crap, so I'm not expecting much out this title (especially with Return of Magik's key writer C.B. Cebulski writing this), which is being solicited as the sequel to Inferno. Ah, well. I like the magic side of Marvel.

Ythaq: The Forsaken World #1 (of 4) - A new Soleil mini-series of a critically-acclaimed European science fiction title.

Metropolitan Books

Waltz with Bashir: A Lebanon War Story SC - I like the art on the cover of this book by Ari Folman and David Polonsky. It's about a massacre of refugee camps involving a Christian militia.

Oni Press Inc

Courtney Crumrin and the Prince of Nowhere GN - A new 56-page graphic novel by Ted Naifeh featuring the lovable, sarcastic, magical Courtney Crumrin!

Top Shelf Productions

Johnny Boo (Book 2): Twinkle Power HC - A follow-up to James Kochalka's recent children's book about a cute ghost.

Viz Media

Oishinbo: Japanese Cuisine - Debuting as part of Viz's fantastic Viz Signature line of manga, this book by Tetsu Kariya introduces readers to the art of Japanese cuisine, going over the basic ingredients, preparation, presentation, history and cultural significance of various dishes. Should be interesting stuff! I'm excited to see something like this!

Misc

XOXO: Hugs and Kisses Postcard Book - A book of postcards featuring the art of James Jean!