Indie Edge: Eartha and Animosity

by Andrea Purcell

If you've ever browsed through a PREVIEWS catalog, you know how packed full each issue can be. It's so packed, that you might have overlooked a choice comic tucked away on one of its many pages. There are so many sections to look through each month, it can be almost impossible to search out all of the awesome comic books that you want to pre-order at your local comic shop. The Indie Edge column is made 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!

The "indie" umbrella can be wide, and these comics cover a lot of different story types and styles, but you can find just about any comic you've ever wanted and maybe a few you never knew you needed. Take a look at the books highlighted below and if anything is begging to be read, wander over to your local comic shop to pre-order these comics and anything else from this month's PREVIEWS catalog!

There’s so much to choose from in January’s Indie Edge column!

This month, explore a story of dreams with Eartha, travel through the mountains with Hillbilly, explore the galaxy with Space Riders, and more! The January PREVIEWS catalog is full of amazing books that you might have overlooked. Dive into the small press side of comics with Indie Edge!

Animosity Volume 1 TP

The animals are rising up in Aftershock Comics’ latest creator owned series from Marguerite Bennett and Rafael de Latorre. Animosity Volume 1 TP (JAN171219) collects the first four issues and the special one-shot Animosity: The Rise of the critically acclaimed and sold-out series. Set in world where animals have gained human-level intelligent, a girl and her dog struggle to survive and find the only family they have left – a half-brother on the other side of the country. A heart-wrenching journey that takes both dark and humorous turns, sometimes both at once, Animosity is a must read series for all humans. 

Hillbilly Volume 1 TP

Award winning writer and illustrator Eric Powell is getting into publishing with his company Albatross Funnybooks and the first volume of his sold out series Hillbilly is finally coming to comic shops. Collecting the first four issues as well as loads of bonus material, Hillbilly Volume 1 TP (JAN171227) is an Appalachian Mountain fantasy epic like only Eric Powell could dream of. A must read for fans of his long running series The Goon, Hillbilly is Powell let loose and turned up to ten. A magical and irreverent folktale full of witches, moonshine, and more; this series is sure to leave an impression.   

Space Riders Galaxy of Brutality #1

Black Mask Studios is returning to the cold void of space in the sequel to their sold out hit Space Riders with Space Riders Galaxy of Brutality #1 (JAN171385). Fabian Rangel and Alexis Ziritt are bringing more of their Kirby-style space adventures to comic shops, and this time they’re really not holding back. Captain Peligro, Mono, and Yara must come back together for one last ride to defeat an ancient evil. The first Space Riders was a non-stop assault on reader’s senses, and the sequel promises to go bigger and badder than ever before!

Terms and Conditions

The iTunes Terms and Conditions is the one contract everyone agrees to but no one ever reads, until now. R. Sikoryak is teaming up with Drawn and Quarterly to release Terms and Conditions (JAN171707), a word-for-word adaptation of the infamously dense document. Featuring caricatures of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in almost every imaginable cartooning style, Sikoryak weaves through the legal wording of the agreement aided by Jobs in the style of Bone, Archie, Dick Tracy, Popeye, Astro Boy, The Simpsons, Scott Pilgrim, and many more. A bizarre but brilliant comic concept, Terms and Conditions will make you look forward to reading over one hundred pages of impenetrable legal wording. 

Eartha

A story of dreams and memories, Cathy Malkasian’s fourth graphic novel is a metaphorical fable that has roots in contemporary motifs. Published by Fantagraphics Books and named for the title character, Eartha (JAN171767) is the tale of Echo Fjord and the dreams that live there – literally. For a thousand years the dreams from the City Across the Sea have come to Echo Fjord and taken bodily form to wander the land. But without warning they’ve suddenly stopped coming, and Eartha takes it upon herself to find out why. Without hesitation – or a map – she ventures into the unknown waters to save the city. 

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Andrea Purcell is a Web Content Writer for PREVIEWSworld.com and a part-time assistant to busy comic creators. Her favorite past times are singing karaoke at comic conventions and memorizing obscure trivia about random pop culture.