Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. With Valentine’s Day coming up next week, there are several love-filled comics and graphic novels to choose from.
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)
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.
Strange Love Adventures #1 (DC, $9.99): DC celebrates Valentine’s Day with a one-shot anthology, featuring stories by Stephanie Phillips, Rex Ogle, Devin Grayson, Ram V, Phil Hester, Roger Robinson, Scot Eaton and more, featuring Batman, Superman, Shazam!, Blue Beetle, Flash, Gorilla Grodd, Harley Quinn and more.
Archie: Love and Heartbreak Special (Archie Comics, $3.99): Archie Comics also celebrates Valentine’s Day with this themed anthology that features stories by Thomas Pitilli, Stephanie Cooke, Sina Grace, Lisa Sterle and Iolanda Zanfardino, starring Veronica and Dilton, Kevin and Devon, and Betty and Jughead.
Secret X-Men #1 (Marvel, $4.99): The losers of last year’s X-Men fan vote get a consolation prize in the form of a one-shot by writer Tini Howard and artist Francesco Mobili. It actually makes for a pretty cool line-up, so maybe Marvel will see fit to give them more than a single issue.
Justice League Annual #1 (DC, $5.99): Artist Sanford Greene joins writer Brian Michael Bendis for an issue that not includes the return of Wonder Woman and OMAC, but also sets up Justice League vs. the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Suicide Squad: Blaze #1 (DC, $6.99): Writer Simon Spurrier and artists Aaron Campbell and Jordie Bellaire team the Suicide Squad — Harley Quinn, King Shark, Captain Boomerang and Peacemaker — with five inmates given extraordinary powers that will eventually kill them in this new Black Label miniseries.
Norse Mythology III #1 (Dark Horse, $3.99): P. Craig Russell returns to adapt several Neil Gaiman stories from his Norse Mythology book into comics, with this issue featuring the sea giant Aegir setting Thor and Tyr off on a wild quest to find a cauldron and pitting the heroes against a multi-headed giantess, fire-breathing sea serpents and more bizarre mythological creatures.
Faithless III #1 (BOOM! Studios, $3.99): The erotic trilogy by Brian Azzarello and Maria Llovet concludes with this new miniseries about Faith and her diabolical lovers.
Land of the Living Gods #1 (AfterShock, $4.99): This new fantasy series by South African writer and producer Isaac Mogajane and Brazilian artist Santtos features a post-apocalyptic tale about a teenager seeking out the gods to help restore his ruined world.
Maestro: World War M #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Writer Peter David returns to the world of the Maestro with this new miniseries about the former Hulk trying to seal his power base — and facing down his final enemies, the Abomination, Doom and Namor. German Peralta and Pasqual Ferry provide the art.
Life Zero #1 (Ablaze, $3.99): Daredevil artist Marco Checchetto teams with writer Stefano Vietti for this story of a mysterious cloud that appears and starts killing people.
Crema (Dark Horse/comiXology, $19.99): Dark Horse brings Johnnie Christmas’ comiXology Originals graphic novel to print. Check out our interview with Christmas for more info.
Deadpool: Samurai Vol. 1 (Viz/Marvel, $6.99): Originally released in Japan, Viz brings this Marvel-fueled manga to the United States, as writer Sanshiro Kasama and artist Hikaru Uesugi bring the Merc with a Mouth to Japan.
Children of the Woods (Dark Horse, $19.99): Joe Ciano and Joshua Hixson head into the woods with this new horror/mystery graphic novel that “will explore the monster within and what is left when that monster finally comes out.”
Metax (Fantagraphics, $34.99): French cartoonist Antoine Cossé wrote and drew this dystopian science fiction tale, about a group of characters whose lives intersect in a city that mines “a precious material that has become indispensable to survival because of its extraordinary qualities” called Metax.
Across a Field of Starlight (Random House Graphic, $16.99): Blue Delliquanti wrote and drew this graphic novel about two friends from different solar systems who reunite when a galactic empire targets both their planets. Also available as a hardcover.