June 2016 Pre-Order Picks: ALBATROSS, AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY, AMIGO

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Continuing a new feature, as we peruse the monthly PREVIEWS catalog and highlight some books we feel are worthy of your attention.

Your local comic shop depends on your pre-orders to make sure they have the books you want when you want them. Since business reality makes it impossible for a local comic shop to order some of everything, they depend on the comics readers to tell them what they want to see.  It’s a dice roll for them every month.  Won’t you help with the odds by at least telling them what you want to buy from them in two months?  Please give it a try.  We’ll do our best here to help you with those selections, from a BC Refugees point of view.  Not objective, but absolutely subjective.  

ALBATROSS FUNNYBOOKS page 262   http://thegoon.com/albatross.html                                                                                 

HILLBILLY #3:  Writer/Artist/Cover Art Eric Powell.  It’s great to see the creator of THE GOON putting out new work under his own imprint.  We haven’t caught up to this title yet, but  plan to very soon.  You can expect the usual weird and strange settings that permeate all of Powell’s work, with a healthy dose of that mesmerizing art style that embodies the best of yesteryear - - Jack Davis, Wally Wood, Will Eisner, and others.  

From the catalog;  “The Flesh Eating Witch Child of Hoodoo Ridge crosses paths with the tear stained traveler Rondell.

AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY page 266+  http://www.americanmythology.net

THREE STOOGES: RED WHITE & STOOGE #1:  We picked up the first Stooges comic from new publisher American Mythology a few months ago and were impressed by how it managed to evoke memories of those classic black and white short film starring three wacky comrades in slapstick fun.  Especially how well it translated to the comics medium. This is very respectful of the source material, and a must if you are a Three Stooges fan or just like to read more pure comedy in comics that’s not super-hero based. 

From the catalog;  "If you have to vote for someone, you might as well make it a Stooge!  Larry, Moe, and Curly find themselves in the running for the highest offie in the land.  Now these three knuckleheads have to navigate the waters of political office and one of them will become the new POTUS, or in this case DOOFUS.  Cast a vote for your favorite Stooge by purchasing their cover and after we tally the final count (no hanging chads here), we’ll end the issue with the real vote results and announce our brand new President of the United Stooges!  Come join the fun and cast your vote!"

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT #2:  With a cover by the exceptional Mike Wolfer, who also scripted the story and art by Giancarlo Caracuzzo this looks promising indeed. Who doesn’t like ERB’s classic tale of a dinosaur island?  American Mythology also deserve a look if you  reside in the PA/DE/MD triangle, as the company is based locally in Bel Air, Maryland.

From the catalog;  “They have found the fabled island continent of Caspak . . . and now, they might be buried there!  Abby Tyler and her research team face an unfathomable scenario:  Somehow, they have traveled back in time and have come face-to-face with not only Bowen Tyler himself but also the evil Baron Von Schoenvorts and the crew of the U-33.  To their knowledge, World War I still rages outside the walls of Caspak, and Von Schoenvorts will stop at nothing to escape the island prison.  But will any of them survive being attacked by a pack of vicious Allosaurus?"

DARK TALES FROM THE VOKESVERSE #1:  New and old horror tinged stories illustrated by the pen of Neil Vokes is extremely exciting.  While his art style has been employed for more than 30 years at the service of various publishers and genres (including a run on Batman), it’s the horror genre that really brings out the best of his talents.

From the catalog:  “Neil Vokes has been illustrating comic book nightmares for over three decades.  Now his classic blood drenched creations are being unleashed in an incredible universe of monsters and mayhem!  Join a virtual army of horror writers who each bring a new vision of fear and fright to the forefront of the Vokesverse — including Robert (Black Forest) Tinnell, Todd (Wicked West) Livingston, Jack (Eagle) Herman, James (Freddy vs Jason vs Ash) Kuhoric, and more.  In addition to six frightful new and classic stories, we also dig up a 30 year old masterpiece that has lived in shadow and rumor since the mid-eighties - - beware the Falconer has returned!  These first fright-filled chapters will spin out into a new series to terrify the unwary reader.  Get on board now and experience the horror!"

There’s also a disclaimer at the bottom of the PREVIEWS catalog page that states “AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY supports your local Comic Book Shop with this exclusive edition only available to fans that subscribe to the series at the store.”  So if you want this book, you need to pre-order it. 

AMIGO COMICS  page 271  http://amigocomics.com

DRUMS VOLUME 1 TP  Writer El Torres. Artist Abel Garcia:  We were intrigued by the first issue of this supernatural, voodoo-tinged thriller when it was first published in the U.S. by IMAGE COMICS in 2011, but lost track of the remaining issues in the glut of books on comic shop shelves.  We had picked up Issue #1 on a whim, and as we didn’t pre-order the remaining issues we lost track of it. Now everyone can read the full story, in a trade paperback edition from the writer’s own publishing house, Amigo Comics in Spain.

From the catalog:  “FBI agent Martin Irons is tasked to investigate the bizarre deaths at a Santeria ritual in the heart of Florida.  As a foreboding storm swarms over the city, one of the victims comes back as a zombie and puts Irons’ case in  a whole new category.  With the Santeria drums beating as the thunder rolls, Irons and his team look to find answers for the deaths, while also trying to prevent more tragedy."