New comics picks

My colleague in Glasgow, Anna, has kindly sent in an update here on the Hellboy and Shaun of the Dead comics I was raving about last week (come one, you know you were looking at them too and thinking, oh yes, I want those, be honest).

Shaun of the Dead #1 is being adapted by IDW’s Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall with art by Zach Howard and input from Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. It’s far from a re-working of the movie since it will feature unused and deleted scenes, effectively making it an alternative media extension of the movie (a super director’s cut!). Hellboy – the Island marks a very welcome return to a Hellboy story written and drawn (in his own fabulous style) by creator Mike Mignola and promises a revelation (perhaps more than one) about the Hellboy world.

Anna’s spider-senses were also tingling at the approach of the nine-part Vertigo adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. The novel Neverwhere is, as you’d expect from Neil, a rich fantasy; it takes ordinary man Richard into a very different, shadow London beneath the streets of the metropolis when he befriends a street girl called Door.

This is a world with different rules and dangers (vicious assassins with bird skull knuckledusters – an image that lurks in your head long after reading it) and bizarre wonders (here Earl’s Court for instance, really does have an Earl holding court). The series (beginning in June) is being adapted by Mike Carey (Lucifer, Hellblazer) under Neil’s guidance with art by Glenn Fabry and looks corking. Forget the utter hash the BBC made of the TV version of Neverwhere (Neil was not happy with their treatment) – this looks like being a visual interpretation far more in keeping with Neil’s original vision and one I'm eagerly looking forward to myself.

Obviously a very busy comics bunny Anna also spotted this forthcoming attractive hardcover due in June from the pen of Robert Kirkman: Invincible – the Ultimate Collection Volume One. This is a huge hardcover of the Eisner-nominated series – it collects the first thirteen issues, along with the extras from earlier trade paperbacks collections and some other little extras just because they can. Due in June, the artwork is by Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley et al. This promises to be both a lovely hardback edition for the collector and a very accessible entry point for the new reader who has been meaning to get into the critically-lauded Invincible.

All of these forthcoming titles are now live on our constantly updated pre-orders section of the FPI webstore. As well as being able to place a secure pre-order (no rushing around months later when you realise you forgot to get that issue) the FPI comics team can offer you subscription services for your favourite titles and you can keep up with new releases via the free newsletter and here on the blog.