The past month has been blowing up with news on the indie front, from options on titles to announcements and finalizations. Not only that, but we've had a heap of indie comic books come out this month that should have been out earlier in the year. With everything going on, it's easy for smaller title news and information to slip through the cracks. So here are three indie comic books that you should keep an eye out for.
Oblivion Song #1
From the same brilliant mind that brought us The Walking Dead comes a new thrilling piece of beauty, Oblivion Song. One decade prior to the start of the story, 300,000 civilians were suddenly transported to a different world/plane/dimension, which is inhabited by large alien creatures who hunt humans for sustenance.
From the first panel, this indie comic book was wonderful to read. I quickly became enthralled in both the art and the characters. As every page was crazier than the last. I won't spoil anything, cause this is definitely worth reading, but the world is very well built, and I think there is something very pulling about Nathan and the world he keeps going back to.
Oblivion Song is currently working with Universal Studios on a feature film as of 2019. We did get word from Kirkman this month that they are still in daily development in this project. It has not been scrapped, though delays are certainly expected with 2020 shooting procedures.
Be on the lookout for the Pink Signature variant. This was an incentive color variant for spending money at Skybound booths during cons. When Oblivion Song starts moving, you can bet these Pinks will come up at a hefty mark-up to the original Green Sig.
Black Hammer #1
Black Hammer #1 has already seen a nice rise since the announcement of the Netflix option a couple months back. Though through September, we haven't seen much movement in these books numbers. When we see a time-lapse between hype and actual production of film or television, it causes this kind of small plateau. Perfect for getting a hold of copies that may be out of reach once things start to finish.
Take advantage of other's impatience. There are so many great first appearances in this title that are going to be in high demand once they are portrayed on screen. Look what we've seen happen with Umbrella Academy. We could be seeing the second round of that coming back to us.
Being a $50 average sale, it would be a smart call to grab one for your collection. The "Ashcan" cover is an alternate version and is actually older than the official first issue. It shows the Dark Horse logo facing left, instead of right as shown above. This alternative version doesn't appear to be on the market at the moment, but keep your eyes peeled. The other variant is another nice shot of the main crew, lying on the ground circling a black hammer; this one is easier to find but costs a bit more as well.
4 Kids Walk Into A Bank #1
So hard to shorten this name. 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank is a very much a story-driven comic. It gives you a deep appreciation for the characters early but also gives you a nice helping of action and intrigue to round out your read. The art style is also pretty different and works extremely well in the given setting.
The amount of variants for this first issue is staggering. Thirty or so different covers are what some would call; excessive. Not Black Mask. They decided the shotgun effect was the best approach. Who knows, maybe it garnered them more support or attention from different fans for casting such a wide net. But still, wow.
Knowing how these massive bursts in different covers often leave the original cover as the gem, I would say to grab cover A and/or try and find one of the variants that is a little rarer. There is at least the ECCC (251 copies), and the Big Apple edition (200 copies).
There was confirmation last week that Picturestart Media won the rights to this title and already have a writer on board. Too early to tell when the hype for this book will start to pick up, but the optioning is certainly a good starting point. Only being a five-issue series is a fairly quick collection to complete and could be worth your while in the long run.
Indie Comic Books Final Remarks:
These indie titles are getting ready for their big debut. It's not out of the question for options to end up canceled, delayed, or to just seriously flop; but the upside is well worth the risk if you find these stories compelling and think they have a real shot once they transcend the physical page.
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