Photo by Christopher Butcher
Want to try reading comics? Don’t know where to start? Want to try something different?
Wednesday is New Comics Day! Each week, The Comics Observer spotlights up to three brand new releases worthy of your consideration. All of these have been carefully selected as best bets for someone who has never read comic books, graphic novels or manga before. They each highlight the variety and creativity being produced today. These are also great for those that haven’t read comics in awhile or regular readers looking to try something new.
While we can’t guarantee you’ll like what we’ve picked, we truly believe there’s a comic for everyone. If you like the images and descriptions below, click the links to see previews and learn more about them. You can often buy straight from the publishers or creators. If not, head over to your local comic book store, check out online retailers like Things From Another World and Amazon, or download a copy at comiXology, or the comics and graphic novels sections of the Kindle Store or NOOK store. Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook.
For a full list of this week’s new releases, see comiXology, ComicList.com and PREVIEWSworld.
(Please note these aren’t reviews. Recommendations are based on pre-release buzz, previews, and The Comics Observer‘s patented crystal ball. Product descriptions provided by publisher.)
Barry’s Best Buddy by Renée French
Barry’s Best Buddy
Written and illustrated by Renée French
Published by TOON Books
Genre: Humor
Ages: 4+
32 pages
$12.95
What’s waiting for Barry at the end of the walk? The ridiculous hat his friend Polarhog forces on him? No, that’s only a distraction from the real surprise!
Kids will crack up over this funny friendship and be all the more moved by the book’s genuinely poignant ending.
When Barry the bird and his goofy pal Polarhog start off, there’s a new adventure around every bend. But when they turn the final corner, the surprise Polarhog has prepared brings a tear to Barry’s eye – and yours.
Young readers will fall in love with Eisner-nominated cartoonist Renée French’s exquisite drawings and her quirky sense of humor. This Level 1 book will be a treat for the youngest beginning readers, to be read aloud with a grown-up or all on their own!
When David Lost His Voice by Judith Vanistendael
When David Lost His Voice
Written and illustrated by Judith Vanistendael
Published by SelfMadeHero
Genre: Fiction
Ages: 14+
$24.95
A heartfelt portrayal of a family preparing for life after David
The doctor’s report is final: David has cancer. Now the whole family is under the same terrible verdict.
The moment his granddaughter Louise is born, David learns that he has cancer. But words were never his forte, and he’d rather keep quiet about his illness, the pain and the end that awaits him – much to the frustration of the women in his life. They wait, powerless, for the silent but inexorable end. David’s wife becomes progressively consumed by the looming shadow of death while his daughters struggle to be as helpful as possible. Meanwhile, David soldiers on, not wanting the tumor to rob him of everything, including the chance to see his granddaughter grow up.
Vanistendael’s extraordinary art and sensitive text provide a powerful portrayal of a family preparing for life after unimaginable loss.
Praise for When David Lost His Voice:
“Neither sentimental nor cynical, this narrative holds the most delicate aspects of family life gently and openly for readers to immerse themselves.” —Booklist
The Massive Vol. 1: Black Pacific by Brian Wood, Kristian Donaldson and Garry Brown
The Massive Volume 1: Black Pacific
Written by Brian Wood
Illustrated by Kristian Donaldson and Garry Brown
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Genre: Science-Fiction, Action-Adventure
Ages: 16+
$19.99
What does it mean to be an environmentalist after the world has already ended?
For Callum Israel, leader of the Ninth Wave oceanic activist group, this is the question that cuts to the core of his identity. In a post-war, post-Crash, post-disaster, post-everything world, nothing is certain and ideologies are meaningless. But the mission remains: search this crumbling world for answers to the cause of the Crash, and keep up the hunt for their missing sister ship, The Massive, lost and adrift in the chaos.
New York Times best-selling author Brian Wood’s new, sprawling, post-apocalyptic epic takes the crew of the Kapital from the flooded remnants of Hong Kong to Unalaska, with stops in Antarctica and Mogadishu, as post-Crash ethics and economics are explored across a broken world.
