Indie Edge: Babyteeth and Murder Ballads

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 April's Indie Edge column! This month meet the adorable antichrist in Babyteeth, get Murder Ballads stuck in your head, sink to a New Low with Johnny Ryan, and more! The April PREVIEWS catalog is full of amazing books that you might have overlooked. Dive into the small press side of comics with Indie Edge!

Tarantula HC

The creative team behind the bestselling Black Mask Studio series Space Riders is back with an all-new series from AdHouse Books. Merging the old school vibes of psychedelic pulp with satanic noir, Fabian Rangel Jr. and Alexis Ziritt are bringing the supernatural action/adventure story of Tarantula (APR171182) to comic shops. Exploding out of a love of 1970’s pulp, Tarantula is the tale of three very unusual agents trying to bring justice to a world teetering on the edge of chaos. This gorgeous hardcover is filled to the brim with trippy over-the-top storytelling that any pulp superhero fan will love. 

Babyteeth #1

A new series from Aftershock Comics is bringing home baby in Donny Cates and Garry Brown’s Babyteeth #1 (APR171222). Poor Sadie Ritter is sixteen and scared out of her mind when she discovers that she’s pregnant, but Sadie’s family is there to support her and the baby. It’s too bad that the baby will turn out to be the antichrist sent to destroy the world and bring about the apocalypse. Now at nine months pregnant the baby has become a ticking time bomb, and now it’s up to Sadie to save – or doom – all of mankind.

If Found Please Return To Elise Gravel

Best-selling children’s book author and illustrator Elise Gravel is back with an all-new book that’s perfect for fans of the whimsical and weird, no matter the age. Drawn & Quarterly is giving readers a peek behind the curtain in If Found Please Return To Elise Gravel (APR171698), a collection of Gravel’s sketches and illustrations. Full of colorful monsters and friends, this charming book features such creatures as Donald, who sings off key; Francine, who likes to eat stones; Marvin, who has lots of stuff in his beard; and many more. 

Johnny Ryan A New Low

Cartoonist Johnny Ryan is back with a new collection of his comics, irreverent and definitely not safe for, well anywhere. Published by Fantagraphics, Johnny Ryan A New Low (APR171740) collects almost 100 full color strips Ryan has been creating for Vice Magazine that run the gamut from skewering Caddyshack, Bill Cosby, Wall Street, Ireland, and more. Nothing is safe from Ryan’s imagination as his simple lines and disgustingly funny sense of humor puts everyone in the same toilet bowl of comedy. Not for the faint of heart, Johnny Ryan is back and cruder, but funnier, than ever.

Murder Ballads

Z2 Comics is bringing music to comics with a new series that features an original soundtrack from singer-songwriter Robert Finley Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Murder Ballads (APR172207) is a graphic meditation on music, race, and obsession that follows the story of Nate Theodore as he tries to flee the consequences of his shattered life. Nate, the deadbeat owner of a failed record label, is on the run with his wife Mary trying to escape his past life and in the process destroying his marriage. When Nate stubbles upon two brothers that play a doom laden blues like none he’s ever heard Nate must decide whether to redeem himself or suffer the outcome of his fate.

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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.