Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Beta Ray Bill,’ ‘Witchblood,’ ‘Shadecraft’ and more

New comics arrive this week from John Ridley, Keith Giffen, Jeff Lemire, Daniel Warren Johnson, Steve Orlando, Chris Grine and more.

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

Check out a few highlights below, or visit ComicList for this week’s full list of new comics arriving in stores, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

Flash #768 (DC Comics, $4.99): The Flash returns after its Future State hiatus with a new story by a new creative team. Jeremy Adams, Darko Lafuenta, Brandon Peterson and Marco Santucci begin the story of “the retirement of Wally West,” which we know never really sticks in comics.

Superman vs. Imperious Lex #3 (DC Comics, $3.99): If you thought Future State was over, think again — this week brings a third issue of Superman vs. Imperious Lex, the wonderful title by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh, which reveals the final fate of the planet Lexor.

The Other History of the DC Universe (DC Comics, $6.99): John Ridley, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Andrea Cucchi return with another installment of their landmark miniseries, which retells the stories of various DC characters. This issue focuses on Katana, her tragic backstory and the creation of the Outsiders.

Inferior Five #5 (DC Comics, $3.99): Somewhat out of the blue this week comes issue #5 of DC’s Inferior Five miniseries by Keith Giffen and Jeff Lemire, which also features a Peacemaker back-up story. And I’m not sure if it is even available in print; it’s not showing up on ComicList or the Lunar Distribution website, only on comiXology (where you can download it today). This was originally supposed to be a 12-issue miniseries but was reduced to six, then orders for the final two issues were cancelled before being published. Issue #4 came out at the end of 2019, so it’s been awhile.

Beta Ray Bill #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Daniel Warren Johnson writes and draws a new limited series starring the worthy Korbinite, which spins out of recent events in both Thor and King in Black. Beta Ray Bill sets off to find himself a new weapon, since Stormbreaker was destroyed, bringing him into conflict with “Knullified” Fin Fang Foom.

Silk #1 (Marvel, $3.99): Marvel’s delayed Silk title by novelist Maurene Goo and artist Takeshi Miyazawa, which was originally scheduled for last July, will make its way into comic shops this week. The new miniseries will feature the reporter-by-day/hero-by-night going up against a new player in New York’s underground AND a cat demon.

Avengers: Curse of the Man-Thing #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Marvel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the debut of Man-Thing this year with three comics featuring the muck monster by Steve Orlando and Francesco Mobili. The first one features the Avengers, while subsequent issues will feature Spider-Man and the X-Men. It also introduces a new villain, Harrower.

Dragon Age: Dark Fortress #1 (Dark Horse, $3.99): Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Fernando Heinz Furukawa, Michael Atiyeh and Sachin Teng return for another volume that ties into the popular video game franchise. If you’re a fan of the game, these are well done tie-ins, exploring the world of Thedas and featuring characters you know from the game — in this case, Fenris.

Shadecraft #1 (Image Comics, $3.99): Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett, creators of the Eisner Award-nominated series Skyward, reunite this week for a new series from Image Comics called Shadecraft. It’s about a teenage girl, Zadie Lu, who lives in a town where all the shadows start to come to life.

Witchblood #1 (Vault Comics, $3.99): Shane Bailey did an advanced review of this new Vault Comics title from by Matthew Erman, Lisa Sterle, Gab Contreras and Jim Campbell. He said it is “one of those books where you have no idea what to expect. You can’t prepare yourself; you just strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. I found myself loving this book, with its quirky designed characters, bright designs, and insane story.”

Secrets of Camp Whatever (Oni Press, $12.99): Chris Grine has created several great graphic novels, including Chickenhare and Time Shifters. This week brings Secrets of Camp Whatever, which features a character name Willow who is forced to go to the summer camp her dad used to attend. She then finds herself involved in a mystery “involving stolen snacks, suspected vampires and missing campers.”

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