5 out of 5

Isn’t this nice?  Titan Books – who’ve been fronting Hard Case Crime since their resurrection and also put out an original line of novels related to licensed lines / characters – Dead Space trades, movie adaptations, etc. – are moving into comics.  And just in time for my rediscovery of A1, they’ll be publishing the new Atomeka line… which I’m tickling the idea of collecting… so just to confuse my wallet-grabbin’ hand, Titan is putting out books which won’t clearly be marked as Atomeka, along with their own titles which totally look like Atomeka-ish books…

WHAT DOES IT MATTER you may ask, rightfully questioning if it ain’t the quality of the text that matters.  It is, it is.  Collecting publishers is generally a strike out for that reason, unless they’re fully overseen by a dedicated person and thus function like an independent record level… liiiike A1 and editor / overseer Dave Elliott.

Comblanahoo, here’s a free fucking preview of all the upcoming Titan line, and not only does it help to clear up what’s Atomeka and what’s not (that stuff getting some dedicated space in the latter half of the preview), but it gives one a chance to suss out whether or not the rest of Titan’s line will be for them.  Reviewing the contents ain’t too important here, but ‘previews’ can be pointless shit if they either offer too much (here are the first five pages… which don’t at all encapsulate what the book is about) or too little (one panel plus an sales blurb doesn’t tell me much), and this is totes a thick and high quality book to be free – undoubtedly a push to get people on board, fine – but it also does right.  One splash page per upcoming book or two, with the cover and some dates / pricing / quotes / description on the left, and four full pages shrunk down on the right, not necessarily sequential.  It’s EXACTLY what I wanted and needed to approach the new line with an idea of what’s in it for me, and yes, Titan has a potential new reader.

Mission accomplished.

I’d wish for this book to come out every season, but I understand that probs won’t be the case.  Oh well.