Can't go wrong with some unicorn murder and dragon blood narcotics! [Disclaimer: Things can go VERY wrong]
You'll see that I'll try to include a little order code with most items (ex:JUL200019). Show some love to your retailer and use those codes when you can, it saves a lot of time on the data entry end of things.
BY THE HORNS #1
(W) Markisan Naso (A) Jason Muhr
Elodie hates unicorns. For nearly a year, she's dedicated her life to tracking down and killing them all for trampling her husband, Shintaro. Now exiled from her farming village of Wayfarer for selfishly neglecting her duties, Elodie and her half wolf/half deer companion, Sajen, search the continent of Solothus for clues to the whereabouts of unicorns. When they discover a lead in the port city of Lycus, their revenge mission suddenly takes a dangerous turn.
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Why this caught my eye:
This popped up on the radar back in July so I'm glad to see it finally getting solicited. I really enjoyed Naso and Muhr's Voracious series, and I think Muhr's artwork will really pop in a fantasy title with plenty of monsters.
CHASING THE DRAGON #1
(W) Denton J. Tipton (A/CA) Menton3
In Chasing the Dragon, New York Times-bestselling writer Denton J. Tipton and acclaimed painter menton3 explore a dark fantasy world ravaged by the rampant abuse of a drug made from the blood of dragons. When two young slaves discover a terrible secret that could change the course of the world, will a meek alchemist's apprentice and a drug-addled concubine survive long outside their cages? For fans of Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.
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Why this caught my eye:
I mean I'm mostly here for the clever title, and merging GoT and Breaking Bad tones has me curious enough as well. Menton3's style strikes me as great for artbooks and less so for sequential comic art, but you never know and it could be just the right fit here.
ORCS #1
(W) Christine Larsen (A/CA) Christine Larsen
* For fans of The Adventure Zone and Critical Role, meet Bog and his misfit crew of Orcs as they adventure through the Known World courtesy of acclaimed cartoonist Christine Larsen (Adventure Time).
* After being banished from their Orcish village by King Hrograhgah (it was a simple misunderstanding, involving an acorn-related prank!), Bog and his crew venture out into the world to seek their fortune, and hopefully find their way back home again.
* Tag along with Bog, Zep, Pez, Utzu and Gurh as they venture through the dreaded Eerieasallhel Forest, face off against Trolls, Gnomes, squirrels and more, and follow in the footsteps of the legendary Orc hero, Drod One-Eye!
* Every issue of Orcs! is oversized, featuring more than 30 story pages.
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Why this caught my eye:
Sounds like a lot of fun, plus Larsen has some nice process material up on her website if you want to catch an early glimpse.
DIGITAL LIZARDS OF DOOM TP
(W) Gabriel Valentin (A/CA) Ernie Najera
In a world where science and sorcery have brought peace to the galaxy, a young warrior's belief system is shattered when an evil robot and an ancient witch attack his kingdom, forcing him into a quest for justice. As revelations about his world are exposed, Dizzy's faith is shaken, and he must now make an unlikely alliance with a mysterious ninja and a cyborg cat pirate. Together they'll search for a fabled weapon that could destroy evil forever and bring the universe into an unending era of peace!"
Digital Lizards of Doom represents a brand new way of story-telling within the graphic novel medium, as the story is told with a combination of full-page artwork and a new dialogue system that pushes the boundaries of the format.
"This book is a great pop-culture meld, a fun mix of comics, video games, tabletop games, adventure cartoons, and more, that all combine to make something very new yet also familiar. Gabriel's approach to visual storytelling is quirky, and idiosyncratic and unique: at least it's new and fresh to me, and incredibly well done." - Mike Towry, San Diego Comic Con co-founder.
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Why this caught my eye:
This sort of has a 'Everything AND the kitchen sink' type of feeling to it. I'm liking some of the design work I'm seeing on Najera's art, and the 'new dialogue system' at least has me curious.
ARIA HEAVENLY CREATURES (ONE-SHOT)
(W) Brian Holguin, Brian Haberlin (A/CA) Jay Anacleto, Brian Haberlin
Lady Kildare, expatriate princess of Faerie, is living a life of aristocratic decadence among Victorian London's social elite. One night, while slumming among the city's notorious underbelly, Kildare and her companions come across an illicit underground sideshow boasting "Creation's Most Wondrous and Perverse Curiosities." The centerpiece of this bizarre menagerie? A genuine angel held in captivity! This sets the stage for an unlikely alliance and the beginning of an unforgettable tale of mystery, adventure, and retribution.
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Why this caught my eye:
Listen, it's mostly the nostalgia speaking when I feature this solicitation. I have no earthly idea if those old Aria comics still hold up at all because I was what, 17 when they came out? I just recall the industry being flabbergasted by Anacleto's art at the time, and besides doing cover work I don't recall seeing him be too active for the past decade.
That's it for this batch, we'll focus on some manga next time!