Waiting for Wednesday, Volume 3, Issue 51

Issue 51, huh?

With one more of these bad boys left to write before the year passes us by, I have to say. It's been a wild, pretty wacky 2011. As Nathaniel alluded to yesterday, there's even more Big Life Stuff to report on.

Add that to a year already filled with Big Life Stuff, and, well, that's a lot of Big Life Stuff, let me tell you.

This time, the BLS is bittersweet as I leave one job for another. This departure is much different from my last departure from a job (longtime readers know what I'm talking about), and I'm leaving with a bit of a heavy heart.

I've made many friends at my current gig, and I've worked with some truly talented and amazing people.

Sometimes opportunity comes knocking, though, and one just can't help but to open the door. I'm moving on to a different field, though I'll still be editing in some capacity.

I guess that's just in the blood. The editing, I mean.

I'm branching out into Web- and TV-based stuff, for a big company, and while I'm sad to leave my current gig, I am very excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

But more on that this Friday.

For today, I'm excited about (what else?) comics! Though, because co-workers have graciously been taking me out for lunch, dinner, or both each day this week, I won't be able to get to my LCS until Friday or Saturday.

Which is fine, as I've made it a bit of a habit over the past few years to walk into my comics shop on Christmas Eve. And this week proves to have some pretty great product available for my grubby (not so) little hands.


Let's get to it.

First up, we have a decidedly not Christmasy book from IDW called Memorial. This new series starts with today's issue one and from all accounts, this might provide IDW with their next big creator-owned book.
From writer Chris Roberson (iZombie) and artist Rich Ellis, Memorial sounds like a series that's tailor-made for my tastes. IDW has pushed this series pretty hard, and it seems to be a big part of their publishing plan for the future.

Here's the blurb from the publisher:

MEMORIAL is the story of Em, a young woman who arrives at a hospital in Portland, Oregon, with no memory of her past. A year later, her newly-rebuilt life is thrown into turmoil after she inherits a magical shop, the kind that appears in an alley one instant and disappears the next.

Em is drawn into a supernatural conflict between beings that not only represent, but are, fundamental elements of the universe itself. All of existence is at stake, so there’s only a little pressure on Em, the magical shop, and a talking cat.

If you're still on the fence about it, you can check out a free preview of the book right here.

Next, we have a new trade collection of a book I've talked about many times this year. From Image, Li'l Depressed Boy, volume 0, "Lonely Heart Blues," ships today.
This volume collects the original Web series about everyone's favorite depressed rag doll. Unlike the more recent Image series, however, the stuff collected here in volume 0 is definitely on the darker side--while the current series makes me (and lots of readers) smile, this volume certainly lives up to the title's namesake, so be warned.

Here's the blurb from Image:

For the first time in print: Before disastrous road trips. Before style-points. Before Jazmin. Join LDB as he takes his first steps on his search for love. Told in shades of blue with artwork by SAM KIETH, JIM MAHFOOD, JIM VALENTINO and many more. Including never before seen artwork and an exclusive all-new story drawn by SINA GRACE.

You can check out a free preview of the book right here, but if you're new to LDB, I'd suggest starting with the ongoing from Image, the first four issues of which have been collected in trade.

So, yeah man. Go buy stuff at your local comics shop--it's the holidays and they would love to have your business. Before you do that, though, one question. What are you Waiting for?