Dark Horse

I like to think that my tastes fall into pretty broad categories like "superhero" or "adventure stories," but if you get right down to it, my favorite genre of comics has to be "a comic where someone fights a shark with multiple chainsaws." The ambiguous clause there is intentional, I'm equally interested if it's the person or the shark who has the chainsaws. Either way, that extremely narrow, extremely awesome genre is exemplified by Geof Darrow's Shaolin Cowboy, a book that's light on plot and heavy on atmosphere, style, and highly detailed and extremely over the top fight sequences. And now, after a few years absent, it's finally making its return with a new series: Shaolin Cowboy: Who'll Stop The Reign?

One of the big sleeper hits of last year was Margaret Atwood, Johnnie Christmas and Tamra Bonvillain's Angel Catbird, which saw the acclaimed novelist test the comics waters with the first in a series of graphic novels about a man who can turn into a cat-bird. While an odd premise for one of Canada's most celebrated authors, Angel Catbird was widely hailed as a successful comics debut, and next month sees the publication of the second volume, and Dark Horse has provided a preview in celebration of National Bird Day. (Which is today, in case you don't have that circled on your calendar.)

The question most often asked of the ComicsAlliance staff is a variation of, “Which comic books should I be reading?” or, “I’m new to comics, what’s a good place to start?” The Wednesday deluge of new comic books, graphic novels and collected editions can be daunting even for the longtime reader, much less for those totally unfamiliar with creators, characters and publishers, and the dark mysteries of comic book shopping like variants, pre-ordering, and formats. It’s with these challenges in mind that we’ve created Best Comic Books Ever (This Week), an ongoing guide curated by the ComicsAlliance staff. This is where new comics readers and seasoned Wednesday shoppers alike can find our picks of the best books the medium has to offer.

It’s the end of the year! We’ve made it through 2016, a year of departures, returns, arrivals, civil wars, and young animals. Valiant was building up Faith, Top Shelf completed its March, and Mike Mignola wrapped up Hellboy’s grand journey. Mildred Louis sent the Agents of the Realm off on further adventures, Wonder Woman celebrated her 75th anniversary, and Bleach reached its final chapter. It’s been another staggering year for comics everywhere. So where does that leave us for 2017? As we hit the end of the year, so we reach the ComicsAlliance Yearender once more. Read on; there are so, so many great comics waiting for us all next year!

We asked you to vote for the best comics, creators, and more in 2016, and over the last few weeks we’ve been sharing the results. Now you can check out all the winners in one place!

Check out the best horror comics in 2016, including our critics' picks, and the comics you voted the runner up and winner in this category!

As of late, Conan's comic adventures have been infrequent though glorious. The character created by Robert E. Howard in the '30s is still popular enough to get new stories every now and then however, and the Cimmerian still shows up in other media like films and games as well. In fact, Conan's next comic journey will actually tie into his upcoming video game, Conan Exiles.

The question most often asked of the ComicsAlliance staff is a variation of, “Which comic books should I be reading?” or, “I’m new to comics, what’s a good place to start?” The Wednesday deluge of new comic books, graphic novels and collected editions can be daunting even for the longtime reader, much less for those totally unfamiliar with creators, characters and publishers, and the dark mysteries of comic book shopping like variants, pre-ordering, and formats. It’s with these challenges in mind that we’ve created Best Comic Books Ever (This Week), an ongoing guide curated by the ComicsAlliance staff. This is where new comics readers and seasoned Wednesday shoppers alike can find our picks of the best books the medium has to offer.

I know we've all been waiting very patiently, but the day is finally upon us. Comics based on James Cameron's Avatar are finally coming next year on Free Comic Book Day! The comic book adaptation of the smash-hit blockbuster that everyone loves and remembers is just one of twelve Gold Titles as part of FCBD's 2017 celebration, which also includes Rick & Morty, Doctor Who and X-O Manowar. Announced today, Free Comic Book Day 2017 will be celebrated across the world on May 6th, and as usual the big name publishers, including Image, IDW, Boom, Oni and Titan, all have offerings as part of next year's crop of Gold Sponsor titles.

On this day in 1982, the first issue of Akira was published. Written and illustrated by Katsuhiro Otomo, this post-apocalyptic tale was crucial in the popularization of manga outside of Japan.