Previews #255 (vol. XIX #12) previews publications

FEBRUARY 2010

COVER ART: The latest project from Marvel Comics and DC Comics!

As Marvel’s greatest heroes emerge victorious over its greatest challenge, the Marvel Universe now enters THE HEROIC AGE. A new spirit of hope, courage and selflessness has emerged, but the forces of evil still lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike! It’s time for the most extraordinary stories ever told in the Marvel Universe as the Age of Heroes is upon us!

Since 1988, PREVIEWS has been your ultimate source for all of the comics and merchandise to be available from your local comic book shop… revealed up to two months in advance! Hundreds of comics and graphic novels from the best comic publishers; the coolest pop-culture merchandise on Earth; plus PREVIEWS exclusive items available nowhere else! Now more than ever, PREVIEWS is there to show the tales, toys and treasures in your future! This issue features items scheduled to ship from April 2010 and beyond.

Catalog, 8x11, 400+pg, PC $4.50

PREVIEWS makes it easy for you to order every item in the catalog with this separate order form booklet! This February order form features items scheduled to ship in April 2010 and beyond.

Comic-sized, 62pg, PC PI
MARVEL PREVIEWS #78

Your Marvel companion piece to the regular issue of PREVIEWS!

Each issue of Marvel Previews is a comic book-sized, 120-page, full-color guide and preview to all of Marvel’s upcoming releases — it’s your #1 source for advanced information on Marvel Comics! This February issue features items scheduled to ship in April 2010 and beyond.

FREE w/Purchase of PREVIEWS

FC, 120pg $1.25
COMICS SECTION

PREMIER VENDORS

Torajiro Kishi (W/A) and Madhouse Studios (W/A)

On sale Feb Feb 3

FC, 24 pages $2.99 / Miniseries

Manga artist Torajiro Kishi (Maka-Maka) and blockbuster anime studio Madhouse (Trigun, Paprika, Ninja Scroll) love comics. So much so that they’ve decided to publish an original, Western-style comic exclusively with Dark Horse! Enter Devil, a thrilling, sci-fi take on the vampire genre.

A virus is raging across the planet, turning people into bloodsucking superhumans referred to as “Devils.” Most victims die within days, sometimes months, but there’s a new strain, a new class of Devil that threatens to overtake mankind with power and bloodthirst. This new class of Devils derive from an experiment to clone a virus victim, and it looks like science has created a true monster this time. Can Takimoto and the Devil Investigation Section of the Tokyo police force stop this societal scourge? We’ll just have to see.

Randy Stradley (W), Rick Leonardi (P), Mark Pennington (I), Wes Dzioba (C), and Raymond Swanland (Cover)

On sale Feb 24

FC, 40 pages $3.50 / Miniseries

Machiko Naguchi is the only human known to have lived among the extraterrestrial hunters known as Predators—and she's had plenty of up-close-and-personal experience with another deadly, otherworldly life form, the xenomorph Aliens, hunting the beasts alongside her Predator hosts. Machiko thought those days were long past, but now a long-lost rival clan of warlike Predators has emerged, using specially bred Aliens as weapons, and both Predators and humans are threatened. Now, Machiko must again don her Predator armor and negotiate a possible alliance with the very same race that made trophies of humans for centuries. And when you “negotiate” with Predators, there will be blood!

Featuring the creative dream team of original AvP writer Randy Stradley, superstar penciller Rick Leonardi, inker Mark Pennington, colorist Wes Dzioba, and stunning cover art from Raymond Swanland, Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War ties together story threads introduced in the 1989 AvP series and new Aliens and Predator storylines, setting the stage for the most epic AvP brawl ever imagined.

John Arcudi (W), Zach Howard (P), Mark Irwin (I), Wes Dzioba (C), and Raymond Swanland (Cover)

On sale Apr 14

FC, 96 pages $15.99

TPB, 7" x 10"

A group of wildcat planetary prospectors plant their flag on a distant new world, rich in land, resources . . . and the greatest archaeological discovery in history, an ancient complex of impossible proportions carved deep within the living rock, a mind-numbing labyrinth of passages, ramps, bridges, and galleries that seems to extend limitlessly. But as the exploration of the leviathan dead city proceeds deeper and deeper, the members of the team slowly begin to lose their grip on reality, and madness gives way to fear as the explorers begin to disappear. Something else lives within the necropolis, a faceless horror as deadly and merciless as space itself, a lethal terror that has waited centuries to awake . . . and destroy.

At long last, Dark Horse Books heralds the return to graphic fiction of the heavyweight champion of modern science-fiction/horror, Aliens! Features the top-flight creative team of writer John Arcudi, penciller Zach Howard, and inker Mark Irwin.
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #19: KOZAKI PART 1 (OF 3)

Timothy Truman (W/P), Tomás Giorello (P), José Villarrubia (C), Justin Sweet (Cover), and Joseph Michael Linsner (Cover)

On sale Feb 17

FC, 40 pages $2.99 / Ongoing

Tomás Giorello returns to full penciling duties—with the remarkable colors of José Villarrubia fleshing out each page—and Timothy Truman scripts this first episode in a new, three-issue story arc entitled “Kozaki”! After burning a few bridges and making some questionable choices, mainly fueled by jealousy over Prince Julion’s recent appearance in Khoraja and a hatred for pampered royalty and their courtly life, Conan leaves Yasmela and her palace behind. Now leading Amalric’s mercenary army, Conan is again responsible for the lives of others. But is he skilled and experienced enough to do the job right? In this issue, we’ll also discover more bleak premonitions and clues concerning Conan’s near future, when Conan and his companions leave organized mercenary life behind in order to survive as a group of raiders and looters. Such actions will undoubtedly draw the attentions of others, though, and the troubles that began for Conan in the previous “Free Companions” arc are far from over!

• This issue features a cover by guest cover artist Justin Sweet — illustrator for Del Rey Books’ Kull: Exile of Atlantis prose collection!

Chris Claremont (W), Michael Fleisher (W), Bruce Jones (W), John Buscema (P), Ernie Chan (I), Alfredo Alcala (I), and others

On sale Apr 28

b&w, 560 pages $17.99

TPB, 7" x 10"

In The Savage Sword of Conan Volume 7, Conan faces brigands; magicians; gigantic mutated creatures; nameless, hideous demons; and a tenacious new foe—the disfigured, metal-clad Captain Sharaq. Some of Conan’s most unusual and exciting adventures are reprinted here, including “The Colossus of Shem,” “Demons of the Firelight—Parts One and Two,” “The Cave Dwellers,” and others. These vicious tales are scripted by Michael Fleisher, Chris Claremont, and Bruce Jones, and drawn by some of The Savage Sword’s finest artistic contributors, like John Buscema, Ernie Chan, Alfredo Alcala, Val Mayerik, and Joe Chiodo!

• This volume, which collects The Savage Sword of Conan #72 to #84, also includes Conan covers, frontispieces, and pinups from each issue!
THE CHRONICLES OF KULL VOLUME 2: THE HELL BENEATH ATLANTIS AND OTHER STORIES

Roy Thomas (W), Gerry Conway (W), Steve Englehart (W), Doug Moench (W), Marie Severin (A), Michael Ploog (A), Ed Hannigan (A), and Alfredo Alcala (A)

On sale Apr 7

FC, 108 pages $18.99

TPB, 7" x 10"

Dark Horse Comics presents the exciting second volume of The Chronicles of Kull, which completes the Kull the Conqueror run with #10—written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Marie Severin—and launches Kull the Destroyer, featuring the creative talents of such esteemed creators as Roy Thomas, Mike Ploog, Alfredo Alcala, and Ed Hannigan! This action-packed tome details Kull’s surprising exile from Valusia and his return to Atlantis, where he faces the deadly kraken, winged demons, and the god of flame and frost! In these uncertain times for the former King of Valusia, Kull finds allies among enemies and fiends whom he would once have called friends!

• The Chronicles of Kull Volume 2: The Hell Beneath Atlantis and Other Stories reprints Kull the Conqueror #10 and Kull the Destroyer #11 through #20 in their stunning original colors, digitally cleaned and remastered!
SOLOMON KANE: DEATH’S BLACK RIDERS #2 (OF 4)

Scott Allie (W), Mario Guevara (P), Juan Ferreyra (C), and Darick Robertson (Cover)

On sale Feb 10

FC, 32 pages $3.50 / Miniseries

Travelers beware! The roads of Germany’s Black Forest are haunted by all manner of wolf, bandit, and demon! After a harrowing battle with the disgusting and deadly Black Rider creatures, even confident, stalwart combatants like Solomon Kane and the mysterious L’Armon know enough to seek safety during the sinister hours of the night. The shelter they’ve stumbled upon looks foreboding, but its heavy doors will keep those that lurk in the forest at bay. However, will the wickedness within this strange tavern prove to be deadlier than the evil beasts roaming outside? Solomon Kane and L’Armon will soon find out. They’re staying at the ominously named Cleft Skull—a place, it is said, that few come to visit twice! Scott Allie (Star Wars: Empire, Exurbia) adapts Robert E. Howard’s classic “Rattle of Bones” tale, as Mario Guevara (The Lone Ranger and Tonto) and Juan Ferreyra (Rex Mundi, Small Gods) join him in another excursion into horror, suspense, and adventure.
GROO: THE HOGS OF HORDER #4 (OF 4)

Mark Evanier (W), Sergio Aragonés (A), and Tom Luth (C)

On sale Feb 24

FC, 32 pages $3.99 / Miniseries

The kingdom of Horder is about to be destroyed by the most horrendous and least stoppable force in the world . . . and, amazingly, it isn’t Groo! But he’s around and making his presence known, which means that he’s making things worse. If you didn’t buy the first three issues, buy this one, see how it ends, and then go back and find the first three so you have a clue as to what any of it means. From the infamous and award-winning team of Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier, with Stan Sakai and Tom Luth and, yes, a real. live letters column!
USAGI YOJIMBO #126: NUKEKUBI

Stan Sakai (W/A)

On sale Feb 24

b&w, 24 pages $3.50 / Ongoing

The rabbit ronin faces a terrifying creature from Japanese mythology in this creepy, self-contained story! Nukekubi are supernatural monsters that take the form of normal humans during the day, but at night can detach their heads to attack their unsuspecting prey. Invited to take refuge in an isolated mountain hut, Usagi doesn’t notice anything suspicious about the house until he is awakened late at night by strange noises and a feeling of danger. Immediately, he sees the screaming head of his host—with sharpened cannibal teeth—flying down from the rafters! A self-contained tale of supernatural horror!
THE TALE OF ONE BAD RAT

Bryan Talbot (W/A)

On sale Apr 28

FC, 136 pages $19.99

HC, 7" x 10"

Helen Potter lived a happy life until she got lost in a nightmare of sexual abuse. Now she’s on a journey, a journey which takes her through urban and rural England along the same path that another Potter, Beatrix Potter, once took. Across the decades, two lives touch, and Helen discovers that the strength of two is far greater than one.

Bryan Talbot constructs a very special story in The Tale of One Bad Rat, which immediately endears the reader. The victim of childhood sexual abuse, Helen Potter becomes the armored knight before her own personal demons in this story of heroism and courage.

• This new deluxe hardcover edition features a new foreword by Neil Gaiman, updated background material, plus entirely new color separations that better highlight the dazzling artwork of this acclaimed, Eisner Award winning graphic novel.

Michael Avon Oeming (W/A) and Taki Soma (W)

On sale Apr 21

FC, 144 pages $19.99

TPB, 7" x 10"

After warring for a century, Earth’s greatest champions and villains suddenly disappear, leaving the planet decimated. Like a rapture, the Powers are gone and humanity is left behind to pick up the pieces. Amongst this wreckage, two lovers, Evelyn and Gil, find themselves separated by a continent and will do anything to find each other again. But when a strange being named “the Word” turns Evelyn into a champion with an angelic spear, she finds the force of her love for Gil clashing with her newfound power. Love and destiny collide in what will become the worst breakup ever!

Mac Walters (W), John Jackson Miller (W), Omar Francia (A), Michael Atiyeh (C), and Daryl Mandryk (Cover)

On sale Feb 3

FC, 32 pages $3.50 / Miniseries

Mass Effect 2 lead writer Mac Walters unravels more of the mystery behind BioWare’s latest science-fiction epic!

Liara T’Soni searches Omega—the most dangerous space station in the galaxy—for clues that could save Commander Shepard, humanity’s greatest hero!

A compelling adventure for any fan of smart science fiction, Mass Effect: Redemption exclusively tells a pivotal chapter in the story of Mass Effect 2, the feverishly anticipated sequel to the acclaimed game that has sold over two million copies!
ACHEWOOD VOLUME 3: A HOME FOR SCARED PEOPLE

Chris Onstad (W/A)

On sale Apr 21

b&w, 104 pages $16.99

HC, 9 1/2" x 7 3/4"

Picking up where they left off, Achewood and Dark Horse Comics present the third volume of strips from the massive Achewood archive. As with the previous collections, author Chris Onstad includes extensive character backstories, thorough strip annotations, the celebrated alt texts, and many print-only extras in the classic Achewood style. Time magazine named back-to-back Ignatz Award winner Achewood its 2007 Graphic Novel of the Year, and legions of devoted fans consistently report that it makes them feel the way Bloom County and Calvin and Hobbes did when they were young.

MAY080062 $14.95

JAN090074 $15.95

David Malki (W/A)

On sale Apr 7

FC, 96 pages $16.99

HC, 8 3/4" x 8 1/2"

It’s Wondermark time again! Come along for the ride as Dark Horse returns to David Malki’s silly, bizarre, and hilarious world that’s not quite present day, not quite the Victorian era, and not like anything else you've seen before. (Unless you’ve read the previous Wondermark books, of course!) This newest volume of the Eisner-nominated series contains over one hundred comic strips originally published in The Onion and on wondermark.com, plus many pages of additional material by creator David Malki. More than just webcomic collections, the Wondermark books have been praised for their magnificent design and loads of extra content for casual readers and superfans alike.

MAR080039 $14.95

JAN090075 $14.95

Graham Annable (W/A)

On sale Apr 7

b&w, 200 pages $17.99

HC, 5 3/4" x 8 1/4"

Get ready for the most extensive journey ever into the brilliant mind of Graham Annable! A classically trained animator with credits in film (including as a storyboard artist on Coraline), television, and video games, Annable has for years spent his free time creating some of the funniest, most poignant comics anywhere. As befits his animation background, Annable’s fluid art pulses with life, in stories that practically jump off the page. Alternately poetic and hilarious, Grickle presents a strange twist on the everyday with heart and humor. If you’ve experienced Grickle before, this is the greatest collection yet. If you haven’t, there’s no better introduction than Book of Grickle! Introduction by Jeff Smith.

Jerry Robinson (W), Walt Kelly (A), Winsor McCay (A), Milt Caniff (A), Hal Foster (A), and others

On sale Apr 14

FC, 296 pages $24.99

TPB, 9" x 12"

From Jerry Robinson, legendary creator of the Joker, seventy-year veteran of the comics industry, and prominent figure in monthly books, daily strips, and comics journalism, comes a comprehensive history of the truly American art form! The Comics is a fully reworked and updated edition of the 1974 classic that chronicles the origins and evolution of comic strips, from prior to the Yellow Kid through today, and highlights the game-changing contributions of such creative luminaries as Milton Caniff, Walt Kelly, Hal Foster, and Winsor McCay, among countless others. A fascinating resource of enduring excellence for fans of the art form, historians, and casual readers alike, this edition has been extensively revisited by Robinson and tells the stories behind the newsprint page.

Mike Mignola (W/Cover), John Arcudi (W), Guy Davis (A), and Dave Stewart (C)

On sale Apr 10

FC, 32 pages $2.99 / Miniseries

While Liz and Abe lead a platoon of agents and soldiers into the Hollow Earth, Kate Corrigan tries to juggle work with romance. She travels to Austria to explore the ruins of Hunte Castle—the haunted Nazi fortress where crime fighter Lobster Johnson died and Hellboy fought the Conqueror Worm—where she hopes to place Lobster Johnson’s ghost to rest and make him free the spirit of Johann Kraus.
WITCHFINDER: IN THE SERVICE OF ANGELS TP

Mike Mignola (W), Ben Stenbeck (A), and Dave Stewart (C)

On sale Apr 28

FC, 160 pages $17.99

TPB, 7" x 10"

Mike Mignola teams up with artist Ben Stenbeck (B.P.R.D.: The Ectoplasmic Man) for a look into one of the Hellboy universe’s greatest enigmas: nineteenth-century occult investigator Edward Grey!

In one of Grey’s first cases as an agent of the queen, he goes from the sparkling echelons of Victorian London to its dark underbelly, facing occult conspiracies, a rampaging monster, and the city’s most infamous secret society: The Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra.

• Collects Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels #1-#5.

• This volume also includes “Witchfinder: Murderous Intent,” from MySpace Dark Horse Presents #16, by Mignola and Stenbeck, and “Henry Hood: The Burial of Katharine Baker,” from Hellboy: The Wild Hunt, by Solomon Kane writer Scott Allie and Abe Sapien: The Haunted Boy artist Patric Reynolds!
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #32: TWILIGHT PART 1 (OF 5)

Brad Meltzer (W), Georges Jeanty (P/Cover), Andy Owens (I), Michelle Madsen (C), and Jo Chen (Cover)

On sale Feb 3

FC, 40 pages $2.99 / Ongoing

Faster than a speeding—you know. More powerful than a — yeah, one of those. Able to leap tall… castles in a single bound. Still working on that X-ray-vision thing. In the aftermath of battle with Twilight’s army, Buffy has developed a host of new powers, but when will the other shoe drop, and will it be a cute shoe, or an ugly one? Still reeling from the losses of war, Willow goes looking for missing allies and discovers a horrifying truth about several of the Slayer army’s recent ordeals.

Series artist Georges Jeanty, acclaimed novelist and comics writer Brad Meltzer (The Book of Lies, Identity Crisis), and executive producer Joss Whedon begin the buildup to Season Eight’s climax in the storyline that finally reveals the identity of Twilight!

Various (W/A)

On sale Apr 14

b&w, 260 pages $49.99

HC, 8 3/8" x 10 7/8"

Join Frank Frazetta, Steve Ditko, John Severin, Gene Colan, Angelo Torres, and other legendary artists for an eerie excursion through the haunted halls of comics history, as Dark Horse Comics unleashes the fourth big volume of Eerie magazine archives. Vampires, ghouls, werewolves, and ax-wielding maniacs are only the beginning of the thrills you’ll find inside this huge collection crafted by the most gifted storytellers the medium of comics has ever known. You’ll get 260 pages of luridly luscious artwork collected into a magazine-sized, dust-jacketed hardcover.

OCT080034 $49.95

APR090060 $49.95

FEB080103 $49.95

AUG080026 $49.95

JUL088476 $49.95

FEB090115 $49.95

Kohta Hirano (W/A)

On sale Apr 28

b&w, 192 pages $13.99

TPB, 5" x 7"

FINAL VOLUME! One of the best things about Kohta Hirano’s sexy apocalypse of warring vampires, Nazis, Catholics, werewolves, and Australian mercenaries is that all the way up to, and possibly through, this final volume, we don’t know who’s going to win. The streets of London are awash in blood, a zeppelin descends á la Hindenburg, and six of our favorite characters are locked in face-off fights. It’s possible that no one will come away from this crescendo “alive.” Of course, we’re not sure who’s alive or undead at this point. But what’s most certain is that London needs babies, because there isn’t a civilian soul left alive in this battle to the undeath. Alas, Hellsing, we knew you well.

Hideyuki Kikuchi (W) and Yoshitaka Amano (A)

On sale Apr 21

b&w, 240 pages $13.99

TPB, 5 7/8" x 8 1/4"

An international sensation for more than two decades, the now-legendary monster killer known only as “D” has conquered the worlds of movies and comics, and, since the publication of the first novel in English in 2004, is becoming just as popular in America and the English-speaking world as he has been in Japan for more than a dozen novels. Now, for the first time, go behind the scenes of the phenomenon. With rare artwork from Yoshitaka Amano and interviews that shed light on the inspirations for the memorable stories, you’ll have a front-row seat at the creation of the two animated adventures of Vampire Hunter D and learn new secrets about the novels through detailed summaries.

• This volume contains a Vampire Hunter D short story from the character’s creator, Hideyuki Kikuchi.

• Featuring sneak peeks from upcoming novels, an extensive dictionary, and exclusive sketches and interviews!

Kosuke Fujishima (W/A)

On sale Apr 28

b&w, 160 pages $10.99

TPB, 5 1/8" x 7 1/4"

Ever since a cosmic phone call led five literal young goddesses—Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and, like occasional vowels, Peorth and Lind—to live in college student Keiichi’s residence, his personal life has been turned upside down, sideways, and sometimes even into strange dimensions!

Keiichi knew something was strange when his brutish seniors gave him a “gift” of a vintage camera to repair, but only learns how strange when he and Belldandy search out the identity of the beautiful girl whose picture they still find inside . . . a picture taken more than forty years ago! Plus your fan art and letters!