IDW Horse Previews Review for April

Lee: Another month and more books from IDW. Going through all of IDW's books this month makes me notice just how much like Dark Horse they are. IDW has a slew of regular monthly books and solid listing of older material. Most interesting is how DH is reprinting old Dell/Gold Key books and IDW is doing newspaper reprints.
Jim: My guess is the business model for IDW has to be to build themselves similar to Dark Horse to build a foundation and then branch out from there into what they feel they do best. Now they are probably the business model BOOM maybe emulating.

Archie Classic Newspaper Comics Vol. 01 HC by (W/A) Bob Montana
Long before Archie Andrews had to finally choose between Betty and Veronica, cartoonist and Archie co-creator Bob Montana guided Archie and his gang into a series of outlandish antics and gags on a daily basis for nearly 30 years. Starting with these very first strips from 1946-1948, Montana's brilliant storytelling and animated flair for humor comes to life in strips that have never been reprinted before. Fans can marvel at the laughable love triangle, sexy women, bumbling sidekicks and overbearing educators, and rediscover, or discover for the first time, the genius of Bob Montana. $39.99
Lee: I really, really enjoy these old Archie stories. The 40's and 50's really set the tone for everything that's followed. The best part is seeing how the mores of the times have changed. The newspaper strips are really fun and I hope this succeeds so IDW will reprint the regular series in a fancy hc format.
Jim: After reading the current Archie book about him getting married my desire to re-read old Archie stuff has been reawakened and this looks to be something that would be fun.

Felix the Cat's Greatest Comic Book Tails HC by (W/A) Otto Messmer
Felix the Cat, the wonderful wonderful cat! Felix's original artist, Otto Messmer, penned brilliant stories for Dell and Harvey during comic books' Golden Age. Well over two-hundred pages showcase Felix's magic carpet trips to surreal lands, time's past, and into Toy Land, as well as his hilarious domestic adventures, too. Felix the Cat's Greatest Comic Book Tails sports a fascinating foreword by Don Oriolo, son of Joe Oriolo, whose wonderful stories ran alongside Messmer's and are included in the book. Comic Historian Craig Yoe sets the stage in his introduction with revealing behind-the-scenes insight complemented by rare original art and ephemera. $34.99
Lee: Felix is an overlooked creation of the Golden Age. Much like Yellow Kid, Orphan Annie, and even Dick Tracy, Felix was huge at the time of his creation. Luckily, humor always maintains it's appeal so this will read well. I hope they reprint entire story lines and not just pieces of them.
Jim: Wait wasn't Felix the Cat the x-rated cartoon, no that was Fritz the Cat I think. Now the darn theme song from the old cartoon is my head.

Tribes: Dog Years GN by (W) Michael Geszel (A) Inaki Miranda
Over a hundred years after a viral apocalypse shortened the human lifespan to 21 years, the remnants of humanity survive in small tribes amidst the junkyard ruins of the techno-industrial age. One day everything changes for Sundog of the Sky Shadows. Is there new hope for longer life? Can the condition, the plague, be cured or reversed with the help of an Immortal from a city under the sea? Features gorgeous horizontal artwork by Inaki Miranda. Visit Miranda here. $24.99
Lee: This easily qualifies as an art book. Miranda is a heck of an artist. But, I'm all for the post-apocolyse stories so this is an easy win for me.
Jim: I agree this is an art and is an easy buy for Lee.

Fallen Angel Omnibus Vol. 00 SC by (W) Peter David (A) David Lopez
The complete original DC Comics run of Fallen Angel, created by Peter David and David Lopez, is collected in this massive omnibus! Collecting issues #1-21, experience the first chapters of this tale chronicling the sordid, shadowy world of Bete Noire, and its most recent inhabitant and apparent protector-Liandra, the Fallen Angel. $29.99
Lee: I missed the hc of this series when it was first released. That's not true, it was too expensive for me. But, this is just the right size and price! A great series that just never found a large enough audience. I can't wait to read it all at once.
Jim: This was a good series and I think the attempts to revive it should be abandoned. This story had an ending and it worked.

Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper #1
Psycho author Robert Bloch's seminal tale of the Ripper in then-contemporary times was originally published in Weird Tales in 43. Now it's getting adapted to comics for the first time ever, by acclaimed writer Joe R. Lansdale & John L. Lansdale, and featuring art and colors by Eisner-nominated artist Kevin Colden (Fishtown). Visit Kevin's website here. $3.99
Lee: Two things about this: (1) Robert Bloch is an awesome horror writer so the base material should be good. (2) Colden's art doesn't seem to be a good fit for this type of material and I think that's great. Potentially taking a gruesome storyline with an artist that doesn't seem suited for the material usually works. It will be interested if nothing else. (3) I like that IDW keeps publishing these projects! There's lots of good material out there to be mined and IDW managed to find more of it than other publishers.
Jim: This does sound like a great project. I agree this shows that IDW tries to look for the right projects to put under their banner to balance out their liscensed material.

Lee: Another good month from IDW. I'm really enjoying all the newspaper reprints but Yours Truly is the most interesting book of the month. And that's a floppie.
Jim: I continue to be impressed by IDW and how they have built their identity. In a short time they have become such a player they were added as a Premier Publisher in Diamond, pretty heady stuff.