Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ ‘DC Pride,’ ‘The Rocketeer’ and more

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Drew Craig, Andrew Wheeler, Ilias Kyriazis, Jason Aaron, Marguerite Sauvage, Leah Williams, Jesus Saiz and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Thomas Woodruff withdraws his work from Eisner consideration

‘Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral’ and the creator himself received widespread criticism since the nominations were announced.

After criticism on a number of points related to his graphic novel Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral, Thomas Woodruff has removed his work from consideration for the Eisner Awards.

The quick version:

  1. Thomas Woodruff received nominations in four categories in the 2023 Eisner Awards, including “Best Graphic Album—New” and “Best Painter/Multimedia Artist.”
  2. Many people, including his former students, raised an issue with his nominations, with the points of contention being a) accusations of mistreatment of students while he was the head of the illustration and cartooning departments at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and b) that the work itself, about a feral child with brown skin, has racist overtones. A petition aimed at the Eisners was started to have his nominations withdrawn.
  3. After Woodruff and his publisher, Fantagraphics, released statements mid-week defending the work, Woodruff has since withdrawn himself for consideration for the awards.

So what’s this all about? Let’s break it down …

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Get a better look at the characters from ‘G.O.D.S.’

Several variant covers arriving in August offer a look at the cast of the new series coming from Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti.

A series of variant covers released by Marvel gives us our first good look at the characters who will appear in the upcoming G.O.D.S. by Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti.

The upcoming series, which will launch sometime in the fall, was previewed on Free Comic Book Day, where we got out first look at a character named Wyn. But the variant covers, all of which will land in August, reveal several more characters interacting with some old favorites from the Marvel U.

“When I came back to Marvel a few years ago, I wrote two series bibles. The first was House of X and the other one was G.O.D.S.,” Hickman said back in March. “To say that I’m excited to finally be able to share this story with everyone is a massive understatement. G.O.D.S. takes place in its own special corner of the Marvel Universe — in the cracks that lie at the intersection of science and magic — and revisits some characters and concepts that we’ve reimagined for a more modern, continuity-driven audience.”

Here’s a look at the covers:

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Nate Powell’s ‘Fall Through’ will land in 2024

‘Fall Through is emotional, critical, kinda sexy & funny & queer & idealistic & creepy— and it was the most fun I’ve ever had making a book.’

Nate Powell, the multiple award-winning artist of the March trilogy, as well as the creator of Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole and numerous other graphic novels, returns with a new graphic novel next year from Abrams ComicArts.

Fall Through sounds different than a lot of his recent projects, as it falls somewhere in the realm of science fiction and punk rock: “It’s an interdimensional 1990s punk soap opera starring Jody & Diana, whose band Diamond Mine is lost indefinitely on tour— always seeking connection and free space,” Powell said on Twitter.

“I love all these characters— Fall Through is emotional, critical, kinda sexy & funny & queer & idealistic & creepy— and it was the most fun I’ve ever had making a book. And there’s bootleg magic & curses involved! YOU KNOW I LOVE CURSES,” he added.

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Batman and Catwoman face a ‘Gotham War’ this fall

Dawn of DC continues in the fall with a crossover between Gotham’s most tumultuous couple.

DC Comics has announced a new crossover coming in the fall — Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War, part of their Dawn of Dc publishing initiative. The story will run through two one-shots, the regular Batman and Catwoman titles, and a miniseries that will focus on The Red Hood.

Chip Zdarsky and Tini Howard, writers of Batman and Catwoman, have been working toward this story since they each started on their respective title.

“From the moment Tini and I started working on these titles, we realized we had a huge opportunity to build toward something that would shake up the power structure of Gotham City,” Zdarsky said. “The Gotham War is just that: relationships explode, relationships are formed, and it all leads to massive changes! Being able to take these kinds of big swings together has been extremely exciting.”

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Ahoy Comics celebrates five years with several new projects

‘Project: Cryptid,’ an anthology title featuring the work of Grant Morrison, Alex Segura, Mark Russell, Zander Cannon, Hanna Bahedry, Liana Kangas and more, will kick off in September.

Ahoy Comics will celebrate five years of publishing with several fun projects — an anthology titled Project: Cryptid, a “back matter” prose project titled “Partially Naked Came The Corpse!” and several anniversary specials.

“Five years of AHOY?! It doesn’t seem possible!” said editor-in-chief Tom Peyer. “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the comic books of our lives. September ’23 will mark the fifth anniversary of The Wrong Earth #1, the first comic we ever shipped. Jamal Igle, June Brigman, Stuart Moore, Mark Russell, Greg Scott, Grant Morrison — these artists and writers who helped launch AHOY — will return, and new creators will join them in the wildest celebration this young century has seen! The boisterous bacchanalia begins with our bestial new anthology Project: Cryptid and continues with a wave of projects, familiar and new, through the end of the year.”

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Now the Micronauts are getting an omnibus, too

Following this week’s Rom announcement, Marvel announces plans to collect stories featuring the team that ‘came from inner space.’

With a Rom omnibus (Romnibus?) on the horizon, it isn’t too surprising to see that Marvel and Hasbro will also collect the original Micronauts series, also in the omnibus format.

Micronauts: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Volume 1 will arrive in April 2024. And just like Rom, Marvel was also re-release the very first issue of Micronauts as a facsimile edition in September.

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Pureheart + Fly Girl hit the beach in this preview of ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics’ #130

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Archie Comics has shared a preview with us of World of Archie Jumbo Comics #130, which will include two new stories featuring some fun seasonal activities.

In “Spring Breaking and Entering,” Archie’s superhero alter ego, Pureheart, teams up with Fly Girl to try and save Spring Break from the classic villains Smash & Grab. You know someone’s a villain when they wear a striped shirt, right? The masks don’t help, either. This one is written by Ian Flynn, with art by Steven Butler and Jim Amash.

Next, in “Can’t Top This,” the villainous Kennel Kween interrupts the Riverdale Hot Air Balloon Show and steals a balloon! It’s up to Inferno the Fire Breather to set things right. Flynn wrote this one as well, which features artwork by Bill Galvan and Bob Smith. Glenn Whitmore and Jack Morelli provided coloring and lettering, respectively, for both stories.

Check out the previews below, along with a complete classic Archie tale by George Gladir and Dan Parent that features Hiram Lodge accidentally gaining super powers.

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Oni will publish ‘Quinnelope and the Cookie King Catastrophe’ in September

Find out who kidnapped the Cookie King in a story by HF Brownfield and Kayla Coombs.

The Cookie King is missing, and it’s up to Quinnelope to find him in Quinnelope and the Cookie King Catastrophe, the debut graphic novel by HF Brownfield and Kayla Coombs.

“Writing this book was an absolute blast,” Coombs said. “Brownfield and I have the same goofy sense of humor, so each page was a chance to crack each other up. There were moments when we laughed so hard, we could barely hold our pencils steady! We had a ball drawing Quinnelope to life, and we hope you’ll find her just as hilarious as we do.”

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Gaiman + Pratchett’s ‘Good Omens’ is coming to comics, courtesy of Colleen Doran

The graphic novel will be funded through Kickstarter.

Colleen Doran has adapted several of Neil Gaiman’s prose stories into comics in recent years, including the Eisner-nominated Chivalry and the Eisner-winning Snow, Glass, Apples. But now she’s turning her attention to a Gaiman work of Biblical proportions.

Teased by both Doran and Gaiman on social media, Doran will next adapt Good Omens, the 1990 novel Gaiman co-wrote with Terry Pratchett about a young antichrist and the end of the world.

The Terry Pratchett will crowdfund the project via Kickstarter; you can check out the campaign page and sign up to be notified when it goes live.

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Image Comics signs exclusively with Lunar for direct market distribution

The publisher will still work with Diamond for bookstore distribution.

Image Comics will join DC Comics and other publishers at Lunar Distribution for their direct market distribution. Beginning with their September titles, which will be solicited in June, Image will shift away from Diamond Comics Distributors to a new distributor for the first time since the company was founded three decades ago.

“We have enjoyed our relationship with Diamond over the decades and we have made some wonderful friends there, so this decision has been a difficult one,” said Erik Larsen, a founder and current CFO at Image Comics. “It was not a move that we made lightly, though, and ultimately, the change was made because of the benefits to readers and retailers who are our real customers. There are services Lunar will provide that will make it easier for stores to buy our titles, and for fans to find our books. This is a big win for them, and we hope this new partnership is as strong and long-lasting as the previous one. We wish Diamond nothing but the best as we look toward the future.”

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‘The Cull’ by Thompson + De Iulis arrives in print this August

The coming-of-age horror tale will be published by Image Comics.

The Cull by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis, which was previously syndicated by Thompson on Substack, will arrive in print this August. Image Comics will publish the coming-of-age horror miniseries.

Thompson and De Iulis previously worked together on Marvel’s Jessica Jones, but this was an opportunity for them to create something together.

“When Mattia reached out to partner on something creator-owned together, I was over the moon,” said Thompson. “What we came up with for The Cull is both horrifying and delightful, and of course stunningly gorgeous thanks to Mattia’s mind-blowing visuals.”

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