Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week.
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.
I Am Not Starfire (DC, $12.99): Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani team up for a new DC graphic novel for the teen set. I Am Not Starfire shares an alternate take on Starfire, not as a teen but as a mom. Her daughter is her polar opposite, and has to put aside any resentment she has for her mom to save her when someone from her past arrives. It’s an out-of-continuity story clearly aimed at a different audience than any of DC’s regular monthly titles, like all the other graphic novels DC has released over the last few years aimed at non-traditional comic fans, but it has become the focus of a lot of hatred by a certain segment of the comics audience — the one that thinks every project from Marvel or DC should be catered to their desires and tastes. This post on reddit explains the whole controversy very well, if you’d like more context on why people are up in arms about it.
Scumbag #9 (Image Comics, $3.99): Rick Remender teams up with artist Jonathan Wayshak for this issue of Scumbag, which is actually part four of a multi-issue arc. It’s also a comic that was at the center of another Twitter firestorm over the weekend. Scumbag, as you might remember, is the comic written by Rick Remender where he had plans to recruit a different artist to draw each issue. But according to this recent report on Bleeding Cool, Lewis Larosa, who drew the first issue, was supposed to be the regular artist for the series but had to back out due to health issues. You can click on the Bleeding Cool link for more.
Amazing Fantasy #1 (Marvel, $4.99): As far as I know, this one isn’t embroiled in any social media controversies, but the premise is kind of weird. Red Room Black Widow, teenage Spider-Man and World War II Captain America are all transported to a Frank Frazetta-inspired island filled with fantasy characters. Which, again, sounds kind of weird, but it’s written and drawn by Kaare Andrews, whose Iron Fist: The Living Weapon I really liked and whose E-Ratic my son really enjoyed. So I’m up for a little weirdness.
Superman: Son of Kal-El #1 (DC, $3.99): Tom Taylor and John Timms team up for a “whole new era” of Superman comics, as Superman’s son, Jonathan Kent, takes up the mantle from his dad. DC hasn’t released much about the actual contents, but Taylor has breathed new life into Nightwing recently, so I’m hopeful this will follow suit.
The Last Book You’ll Ever Read #1 (Vault Comics, $3.99): This cleverly titled new series by Cullen Bunn and Leila Leiz falls somewhere between movies like The Ring, where performing a certain act like watching a videotape or reading a book has grave consequences, and pre-apocalyptic stories, set right before the collapse of society. I’m not sure if I’m totally sold on it yet after reading a preview copy of the first issue, but it’s still early, and I’m interested enough to read issue #2.
Groo Meets Tarzan #1 (Dark Horse, $3.99): I can’t remember the last time I read a comic starring Groo the Wanderer, but it has been too long. In this new miniseries he meets Edgar Rice Burroughs’ most famous creation, Tarzan, and (spoiler’s warning) probably eats cheese dip. Groo creators Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier team up with legendary artist Thomas Yeates for this pairing.