Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. As we approach the end of the year, you’d expect the Wednesday haul to get a little lighter, but there’s plenty of comics and graphic novels to enjoy this week between holiday parties and Hallmark movie marathons.
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:
- Penguin Random House (Marvel + graphic novels + manga)
- Lunar Distribution (DC + Scout + more)
- Diamond’s PreviewsWorld (IDW + Image + Dark Horse + many more)
- ComicList (Pretty much all of the above)
- comiXology new releases (digital comics)
Also, 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.
Avengers Forever #1 ( Marvel, $4.99): Marvel resurrects the “Avengers Forever” name for this new series from Jason Aaron and Aaron Kuder. While Kurt Busiek/Carlos Pacheco’s classic miniseries brought together Avengers from throughout time, this new series will bring together Avengers from throughout the multiverse to face off with the Multiversal Masters of Evil.
Batman: One Dark Knight #1 (DC, $6.99): Jock, whose signature style has graced the pages of The Batman Who Laughs, Batman: The Black Mirror and Snow Angels, not to mention countless covers, is writing and drawing this new Batman miniseries for DC’s Black Label imprint. The three-issue series finds the Dark Knight escorting a new villain, E.M.P., to Blackgate Prison through a blackout.
King Conan #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Following their 12-issue run on Marvel’s Conan title, the trio of Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar and Matt Wilson return for a five-issue miniseries set after Conan takes the throne (but still kicks ass).
Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit #1 (Marvel, $3.99): Marvel has recruited Young Adult author Samira Ahmed to work with Runaways artist Andrés Genolet on this new miniseries starring one of their most popular young adult characters — and the star of an upcoming Disney+ TV series — Ms. Marvel.
The Trial of Magneto #5 (Marvel, $3.99): Leah Williams, Lucas Werneck and David Messina wrap up the five-issue series that spun out of the Hellfire Gala earlier this year, as “the guilty will be judged, the innocent absolved, the victims avenged… and all shall endure their own trials.”
Darkhold: Spider-Man (Marvel, $3.99): The Darkhold event, which has been a series of one-shots over the last month or so, continues this week with a Spider-Man-focused story by Alex Paknadel and Diogenes Neves. After Peter Parker reads from the Darkhold, this issue journeys into the “warped world of Spider-Man’s broken mind.”
Wastelanders: Hawkeye (Marvel, $3.99): Ethan Sacks and Ibraim Roberson put the spotlight on Old Man Hawkeye, who you of course know better as the blind Hawkeye who drove around with Wolverine in the Old Man Logan story. This issue will show how Matt Murdock trained Clint Barton after he lost his sight.
Deserter (Viz, $15.99): Viz collects a dozen of manga horror master Junji Ito’s earliest works in this collection, including the story of a vengeful family that hides an army deserter for eight years after the end of World War II, cocooning him in a false reality where the war never ended.
Cats: Purrfect Strangers (Dark Horse, $14.99): Dark Horse brings Frédéric Brrémaud and Paola Antista’s humorous cat stories to the United States from France, courtesy of translator Annie Gullion. This volume collects three of the original six French albums.
Enigma: The Definitive Edition (Dark Horse, $24.99): Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo helped kick off the Vertigo imprint back in 1993 with Enigma, an eight-issue avant-garde miniseries that was met with much critical acclaim. Now that miniseries is collected into a deluxe edition by Berger Books, the Dark Horse imprint named for former Vertigo chief Karen Berger.
Mafiosa (Dark Horse, $19.99): Dark Horse releases a graphic novel about a mafia family’s youngest daughter deciding to join the family business, which started life on Kickstarter. The story was developed by Thomas Brooke of Portland’s Rainwerks Studio, and was created by Sunshine Barbito, Alessia Alfano, Débora Caritá, Ronda Pattison and Mariacristina Federica.
The Tea Dragon Festival (Oni Press, $12.99): Finally, if you’re looking for a last-minute gift for a younger reader on your list, Katie O’Neill returns this week with another chapter in her Tea Dragon series. In this volume, Rinn meets a dragon who has slept for 80 years, and tries to help solve the mystery of its enchanted sleep.