Indie Edge: Family Dinners, Visual Feasts, and a Snack for Later

If you've ever cracked open a PREVIEWS catalog, you know how packed each issue can be. So packed, in fact, that you may have overlooked your next favorite comic tucked away on one of its many (many) pages. With so many sections to peruse each month, it can be a nigh-impossible feat to examine all of the incredible books that you'll soon be able to get your hands on. The Indie Edge column is here to help by taking a look at just some (and trust us, there's a lot) of the amazing small press, alternative, and indie titles currently available in this month's catalog!

While we've grouped our featured comics together under the "indie" umbrella, these titles span a wide array of different story types and styles—you can find just about any comic you've ever dreamed of (plus a few you've never even thought to). Take a look at the books we have highlighted below and if any catch your eye, be sure to mosey over to your local comic shop to pre-order these books and many more!

This month's column includes an anthology jam-packed with some of the biggest names in alternative comics today, an artbook from a creator well-acquainted with the comic world, and a road trip romance that you'll want to hitch a ride with.

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Comics Will Kill You

Rest assured, dear readers, alternative comics are alive and well and can probably toss you through a wall like a ragdoll if the latest installment of Alternative Comics Are Dead (SEP150934) is anything to go by. Alternative Comics has gathered together a stellar line-up of comic creators for the return of its flagship anthology. For anyone who’s ever wanted to dip their toes into the realm of indie, art, and alt comics, this anthology should be the perfect introduction, with a wide variety of work from both established and up-and-coming creators. All of the work featured will be new and original anthology, so there’s plenty of never-before-seen comic goodness to be had. Alternative Comics Are Dead is shaping up to be an anthology not to be missed—the ideal crash course for readers who want to get acquainted with some of the most exciting comics being made today and a treat for those who are already familiar with the contributors and their work. 

Sea Change

When you’re a kid, no goal seems too outlandish or unattainable. For creator Özge Samanci, her dream was to become a scuba diver. And an adventurer. And a stage actress. In Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey (from Farrar, Straus and Giroux - SEP151338), Samanci examines a childhood spent reconciling her personal ambitions with what her parents hoped she would achieve (i.e. becoming an engineer like her sister). To complicate matters, she must also cope with the mounting religious and military tensions in her home country as she attempts to navigate her way through the emotional minefield of trying to please those around her. Samanci approaches her subject with a light touch, and her comics are engaging, inviting, and just plain fun to look at. While Dare to Disappoint will be Samanci’s first printed collection of comics, she is a prolific creator who has worked with a wide variety of media. Fans who are interested in nontraditional methods of making comics will definitely want to check out this book as Semanci uses her multimedia approach to great effect to tell her story.

Ocular Overload

If you have even a passing interest in the world of visual art, then chances are good that you’ve seen the work of James Jean. The artist has illustrated covers and short stories for DC/Vertigo and Dark Horse (and netted seven Eisners in the process), helmed a global design campaign with Prada, created pieces for numerous publications in the US and abroad, and shown his work in galleries the world over. And it’s easy to see why Jean’s work has garnered such acclaim, admiration, and demand—his breathtaking images intermingle natural and figurative forms with the fantastical and are deftly rendered in intricate monochrome line drawings, lushly colored paintings, or soft layers of graphite. Jean’s latest monograph, Pareidolia (from PIE Books and Last Gasp - SEP151480), brings together some of the artist's “greatest hits” from over the course of his career as well as new pieces that have never before been collected in print. This softcover artbook features text in both English and Japanese as well as supplementary essays about the artist from other contemporary creators (such as Takashi Murakami and Guillermo del Toro).

Family Drama and Feral Roommates

Following up on It Never Happened Again, Uncivilized Books is releasing a new volume of short stories from creator Sam Alden. New Construction: Two More Stories (SEP151644) collects together “Household” and “Backyard,” with a new ending for “Backyard” that has never before been published in print or on the web. In “Household,” a brother and sister attempt to untangle their respective memories of a shared past and cope with its effects on their current relationship. In “Backyard,” a communal household of Anarchists and vegans must deal with their personal troubles while also addressing (or ignoring) the growing problem with their housemate, Molly. Alden has established himself as a creator to keep an eye on with his powerful writing and superb draftsmanship, and New Constructions beautifully showcases his skills and makes for a compelling read. Fans of character-driven narratives will especially enjoy Alden’s work, as the creator specializes in crafting engrossing vignettes that examine what it means to be human.

What Happens at a Waffle House, Stays at a Waffle House (Mostly)

For comic lovers who have ever shed a tear over the dearth of romance comics currently available in the market, Iron Circus Comics has the remedy for your broken heart with E.K. Weaver’s The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ & Amal (SEP151450). After a particularly rough day (the “calling off an arranged marriage, coming out to your folks, getting promptly disowned by your folks, and needing to get out of town” kind of rough), Amal decides to drown his sorrows at a local bar and spend an evening in a blissful stupor. However, said stupor involves agreeing to drive from California to Rhode Island with an enigmatic stranger named TJ, and from this dubious decision, one of the most awesome comic road trips (and relationships) is born. Weaver is adept at expressive cartooning, writing naturalistic dialog, and rich characterization, so readers should thoroughly enjoy watching the pair’s adventures unfold and their interactions along the way. While TJ & Amal does deal with some serious themes, there is still plenty of humor to be found, and the story strikes a nice blend of hijinks, heaviness, and just a hint of hash browns. This new omnibus edition collects the entirety of the comic’s run (clocking in at over 500 pages) and includes all-new, full-color splash pages.

An Extra Course

It can be easy to forget how much hard work and dedication goes into making a comic. This oversight is readily apparent when you consider most of us enjoy in a single afternoon what took many months or, even, years for a creator to make. In Jason Fischer’s Seconds Helping: A Drawing Assistant’s Memoir Comic (originally self-published, distributed by Alternative Comics - SEP150936), the creator offers a fascinating glimpse at the making of the graphic novel Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Fischer served as a drawing assistant on the book’s creative team, helping O’Malley render background elements and ink completed pages. During the final deadline push, Fischer and O’Malley lived and worked together for nearly five weeks straight to finish inking 200 pages. Fischer is an excellent cartoonist in his own right, and watching the two creators race to the finish makes for a fun and exciting read (even if we already know the ending!). Seconds Helping is a must-read for anyone who enjoyed the graphic novel and should on the radar for any comic lover curious about the creative process.