Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. This week brings new comics and graphic novels from Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, IDW and more.
Check out a few highlights below, or visit Diamond’s website for this week’s almost complete list of new comics arriving in stores — you can visit Lunar Distribution’s home page to see DC’s release — and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.
Giant Size Amazing Spider-Man: The Chameleon Conspiracy #1 (Marvel, $5.99): Marvel wraps up the latest Amazing Spider-Man arc with another “giant size” issue this week, as Nick Spencer, Ed Brisson and Carlos E. Gomez team up for the finale of “The Chameleon Conspiracy.”
Green Arrow 80th Anniversary (DC, $9.99): DC celebrates 80 years of the Emerald Archer this week with an anthology of stories featuring Green Arrow and his supporting cast. Contributors to this anthology include Mike Grell, Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, Phil Hester, Ande Park, Devin Grayson, Max Fiumara, Mariko Tamaki and more.
The United States of Captain America #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Speaking of 80-year anniversaries, Marvel honors Captain America’s with this new miniseries, The United States of Captain America. Christopher Cantwell and Dale Eaglesham tell a story about Cap, the Winter Soldier, USAgent and the Falcon, while different creative teams each issue will provide back-ups introducing everyday people who have taken up the Captain America mantle. This issue introduces Aaron Fischer, the Captain America of the railways, by Josh Trujillo and Jan Bazaldua.
Barbaric #1 (Vault Comics, $3.99): Michael Moreci, Nathan Gooden, Addison Duke, Jim Campbell and Tim Daniel team up for a new series about a barbarian, Owen, and his talking axe — a talking, bloodthirsty axe with a drinking problem and a taste for witches.
The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield #1 (Archie Comics, $3.99): This is one of those titles where the drama and the story behind it will likely be the thing we most remember about it. This one-shot, which at one point was planned as the first of four, sees Rob Liefeld bring back Archie’s Mighty Crusaders — at least until he quit the title before he was completely finished. David Gallaher was brought in to script it over Liefeld’s art, and honestly, it reads better than its pedigree would suggest. I do wonder if Gallaher will get the chance to work with these characters further.
Teen Titans Academy Yearbook (DC, $5.99): Tim Sheridan teams up with different artists for several stories starring the teen heroes that appear in the regular title.
Catwoman Annual #1 (DC, $5.99): Ram V and Kyle Hotz tell the story of the mysterious hit man named Father Valley, his connection to Azrael and the Order of St. Dumas, and why Catwoman is on his hit list.
The Department of Truth #10 (Image Comics, $3.99): James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds continue to delve into conspiracy theories, urban legends and the like with a new storyline focused on Bigfoot.
Parasomnia #1 (Dark Horse, $3.99): Cullen Bunn and Andrea Mutti team up for this “eerie dark fantasy adventure” about a man who travels through the land of nightmares to rescue his missing son.
That Texas Blood #7 (Image Comics, $3.99): The excellent small-town noir series by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips, returns with a new story arc that delves into Ambrose County’s past. In That Texas Blood #7, Joe Bob reminisces about one of his first cases: a haunting and bizarre evening that left a boy dead, a girl missing, a cult on the loose and introduced a mysterious man called Harlan Eversaul.
White #1 (Black Mask Comics, $3.99): Kwanza Osajyefo and Jamal Igle return to the world they introduced in Black with a new miniseries, White. As the United States adjusts to their new reality, where only Black people have super powers, the country elects a new president who promises to control the super-powered community. The only people standing in the way are Kareem Jenkins and his allies.
Chibi Usagi (IDW, $12.99): Stan Sakai and his wife Julie team up for a new all-ages graphic novel featuring “chibi,” or short, versions of the Usaji Yojimbo characters. In this tale, Chibi-Usagi and his friends must rescue a village of clay people from the threat of the dreaded Salamander King
Everyone is Tulip (Dark Horse, $19.99): Dave Baker, Nicole Goux and Ellie Hall team up for a new graphic novel that examines the price of fame in the internet age. Becca dreams of Hollywood fame and fortune, which seem to come true when she’s hired for an experimental internet art project that goes viral. But complications arise when her online persona becomes bigger than she could have imagined.
The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher: A Johnny Constantine Graphic Novel (DC, $9.99): The least “young adult” character in DC’s stable gets the young adult graphic novel treatment, courtesy of Ryan North and Derek Charm, and boy does it look fun. Little Johnny Constantine has pissed off the spirits of England, so his parents ship him off to a boarding school in America, where he’s convinced his home room teacher is actually a witch.