Can’t Wait for Comics | Free Comic Book Day, ‘Run,’ the final ‘Runaways’ and more

New comics arrive this week by Jeff Lemire, Tyler Crook, Michael Walsh, Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Brandon Thomas, Sam Hamm, Eric Powell, John Ridley, Al Ewing, Javier Rodriguez and more.

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 releases, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

Suicide Squad: King Shark Special Edition (DC Comics, Free): This Saturday brings not only a free edition of this King Shark comic (which also has a preview of Suicide Squad: Get Joker! in it), but also more than 50 other Free Comic Book Day titles. Be sure to check with your local retailer to see if they’re participating this year, or check the Free Comic Book Day website to find a shop near you.

Run, Book One (Abrams ComicsArt, $24.99): Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell return to the story of Civil Rights icon and Congressman John Lewis, picking up after their award-winning March trilogy. This time they’re joined by artist L. Fury, who makes their graphic-novel debut. This is already in book stores, but arrives in comic shops via Diamond this week.

Rainbow Bridge (Seismic Press, $16.99): The debut graphic novel from AfterShock’s new YA imprint arrives this week, by Steve Orlando, Steve Foxe and Valentina Brancati. Rainbow Bridge is about a young boy who loses his best friend when his dog dies, and he crosses the rainbow bridge to have one more adventure with his pup.

Tech-on Avengers #1 (Marvel, $3.99): This new miniseries by Jim Zub and Jeff “Chamba” Cruz is described as a “tokusatsu-inspired action-adventure comic series featuring stellar new armor designs for some of Marvel’s most iconic heroes and villains.” It’s being done in coordination with Bandai Spirits, who are also releasing action figures to go along with it.

Defenders #1 (Marvel, $3.99): Marvel’s “non-team” returns as Doctor Strange and the Masked Raider assemble a new squad with some old favorites that “will uncover the hidden architecture of reality itself.” Al Ewing and Javier Rodriguez continue the Masked Raider/Eternity Mask story started in Marvel #1000.

Runaways #38 (Marvel, $4.99): Runaways reaches its 100th issue (if you count the previous series), which also turns out to be the last issue of the current series by Rainbow Rowell. She’s joined for this extra-sized issue by series regular Andres Genolet, as well as two former Runaways artists — Kris Anka and Runaways co-creator Adrian Alphona. This latest volume has been excellent, capturing a lot of the heart and emotion of the original series, so it’s a shame to see it end.

I Am Batman #0 (DC, $4.99): The adventures of Jace Fox, as told by John Ridley and Travel Foreman, continue in this new series that ties into DC’s Batman event Fear State.

Batman ’89 #1 (DC, $3.99): Screenwriter Sam Hamm, who wrote the 1989 film Batman and its first sequel, Batman Returns, returns to write Batman ’89, a new miniseries drawn by artist Joe Quinones. It will feature Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent targeting the Dark Knight — and asking for Bruce Wayne’s help in taking him down!

Hardware Season 1, #1 (DC/Milestone, $3.99): The Milestone Media revival continues with the debut of its third title, Hardware, which puts Curtis Metcalf back into the spotlight. This one would be worth getting just for the art alone, as it features the legendary art team of Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz, along with Brandon Thomas as writer.

Pennyworth #1 (DC, $3.99): For fans of the Epix TV series — a channel I don’t have, so I’ve never seen it — Pennyworth debuts in comics form this week from Scott Bryan Wilson and Juan Gedeon. Seriously, why is this not available on HBO Max yet? I’d totally watch it if it was. Anyway, the comic stars a young Alfred Pennyworth as an MI6 counterintelligence agent in Cold War-era Soviet Russia.

Campisi: The Dragon Incident #1 (AfterShock Comics, $4.99): James Patrick, writer of the AfterShock title The Kaiju Score, teams up with Italian artist Marco Locati and letterer Rachel Deering for Campisi: The Dragon Incident. It’s the story of a mob fixer who has to deal with a dragon that’s decided to nest in his neighborhood.

The Silver Coin #5 (Image Comics, $3.99): Artist Michael Walsh’s horror anthology featuring different writers continues past its original four issues, as it continues a full-blooded ongoing series. While previous issues featured Walsh working with the likes of Jeff Lemire and Chip Zdarsky, this time around he’s flying solo, as he writes and draws a story about the origins of the silver coin that has caused so many problems for so many people in previous issues.

The Unbelievable Unteens (Dark Horse, $3.99): Jeff Lemire and Tyler Crook reunite for another comic set in the Black Hammer universe, which Lemire co-created with artist Dean Ormston. The Unbelievable Unteens is described as a “meta team superhero saga” that will introduce a new superhero team.

Dead Legends II #1 (A Wave Blue World, $0.99): James Maddox and Gavin Smith return with the next chapter of their Dead Legends saga. Yan, a widow who sought revenge for the death of her husband by entering a fight-to-the-death tournament in the first volume, returns and is on the run with a new daughter in tow from a horde of assassins. And yes, that’s right; this one is available digitally for 99 cents, so it’s a good intro to the world Maddox and Smith have created.

Farewell, Brindavoine (Fantagraphics, $19.99): Fantagraphics offers a new edition of French cartooning master Jacque Tardi’s first solo graphic novel, which was originally released in France in the 1970s. This madcap adventure set in 1914 sees Lucien Brinvadoine head to the Middle East to “seek his destiny” while avoiding assassins along the way.

The Bug Club (Drawn and Quarterly, $17.95): Elise Gravel follows up The Mushroom Fan Club with her latest, as she moves from fungus to fireflies, from ‘shrooms to silkworms. Do you like bugs? Better yet, do you know a kid who likes bugs? If so, this may be the book for them, as Gravel shares facts about bugs with lots of charm and her signature cartoony style.

Did you Hear What Eddie Gein Done? (Albatross Funnybooks, $29.99): The Goon creator Eric Powell teams up with true-crime writer Harold Schechter for a graphic novel about notorious serial killer Ed Gein. The pair “takes the Gein story out of the realms of exploitation and gives the reader a fact-based dramatization of these tragic, heartbreaking and psychotic events.”

Dark Nights Death Metal Soundtrack (DC, $22.50): This is a direct-market exclusive vinyl edition of the Dark Night Death Metal soundtrack that arrived digitally earlier this summer; it features an exclusive Wonder Woman cover, along with a poster and trading card, and is limited to 2,000 copies.

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