Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week.
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/Kindle 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.
Twig #1 (Image Comics, $3.99): The always creative Skottie Young teams with artist Kyle Strahm debut a new miniseries this week about a hesitant hero who embarks on a quest to save his world., leading to “an inspiring and imaginative tale of hope, heartache, and determination to overcome insurmountable odds.”
Archer & Armstrong Forever #1 (Valiant Comics, $3.99): Valiant’s buddy team returns in a new series by Steve Foxe and Marcio Fiorito. In the first issue, the immortal Armstrong seemingly loses that immortality and Archer tries to help him reclaim it.
Giant Size X-Men: Thunderbird (Marvel, $4.99): A footnote in the history of the X-Men returns from his early grave in this giant-sized special focused on Thunderbird, the member of the new X-Men who didn’t survive their first encounter with Krakoa. Nyla Rose, professional wrestler and former AEW Women’s World Champion, makes her comic writing debut alongside co-writer Steve Orlando and artist David Cutler.
Nubia Coronation Special (DC, $5.99): Following the Trial of the Amazons and the death of Queen Hippolyta, Amazons from around the world assemble on Paradise Island to crown a new queen. Stephanie Williams and Vita Ayala once again co-write the latest chapter for Nubia, champion of the three tribes, working with an all-star art team that includes Alitha Martinez, Darryl Banks, Colleen Doran and Marguerite Sauvage.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan #1 (Marvel, $3.99): With a new Disney+ show on the horizon, it’s no surprise that Marvel kicks off a new miniseries this week about Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Ario Anindito, the five-issue series will span the character’s “entire life as a guardian of peace and justice, including his days as a Jedi Initiate, Padawan missions, experiencing the Clone Wars as a Jedi Knight, and facing new threats as a Jedi Master.”
Metal Society #1 (Image/Top Cow, $3.99): Writer Zack Kaplan and artist Guilherme Balbi present a new sci-fi miniseries set in a future ruled by robots. When they resurrect humans to serve as manual labor, cultures end up clashing, leading to a human fighter and a displaced robot faceing off in a “public MMA-style sport fight of epic stakes.”
Quests Aside #1 (Vault, $4.99): I already love this comic because it features a former D&D-style adventurer who runs a bar — his name is Barrow, the name of one of my own long-running D&D characters. Well, it’s important to me, anyway; YMMV. This new series is written by Brian Schirmer, who wrote the excellent fantasy comic Fairlady, and is drawn by Greek comics artist Elena Gogou (Campfire Stories, My City).
Suicide Squad #15 (DC, $3.99): It was difficult to get into this latest rendition of the Suicide Squad, which always felt more like a showcase for Peacemaker than something that ever came into its own. But now the Squad’s time comes to an end this week as they, like all those who carried the mantle (and bomb in their head) before them, try to wrench control of their lives from a tight-fisted Amanda Waller.
Spider-Man 2099 Exodus Alpha #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, returns in this miniseries that both celebrates the 30th anniversary of the 2099 comics AND spotlights one of the characters that will be feature in the next Spider-Verse movie from Sony. The first issue is by Steve Orlando and Paul Fry, while subsequent issues will feature different artists and introduce new characters to the 2099 mythology, including Loki 2099 and Winter Soldier 2099.
Dogs of London #1 (AfterShock Comics, $4.99): Peter Milligan and Artecida present this new British crime comic, which features two former members of a gang called The Dogs whose past comes back to bite them on the arse.
Mezo: Battle at Coban Rock #1 (A Wave Blue World, $3.99): This five-issue miniseries by writer Tyler Chin-Tanner, with artwork by Val Rodrigues, Gab Contreras and Varga Tomi, continues the story set up in Mezo: Rise of the Tzalekuhl. Though Mezo has some “show-stopping magical moments,” at its heart it’s a wartime adventure filled with political intrigue and old-world combat, as the daughter of a fallen chief tries to form new alliances to turn the tides against the rising Tzalekuhl empire. You can check out a preview of this first issue.
The Panic #1 (comiXology Originals, $2.99): Neil Kleid and Andrea Mutti head underground for this digital series about a group of stranger on a derailed New York subway car who end up trapped beneath the Hudson River. As they fight to stay alive, they discover one of their fellow commuters wasn’t on the train before the crash. Here’s a preview:
78 MPH #1 (Red 5, $3.95): This high-concept, apocalyptic series by Mauro Mantella and Tomas Aira is set after an environmental catastrophe and a nuclear war basically turn the atmosphere into a giant magnifying glass … and people are the ants. To survive, they have to move at 78 miles per hour or risk being burnt to death, so they build a mobile city that never stops moving.
Richard Starks’ Parker The Martini Edition: Last Call (IDW, $99.99): The late Darwyn Cooke created four graphic novels based on Richard Starks’ Parker novels that were published by IDW, and this second “Martini Edition” collects two of those graphic novels in an oversized slipcase edition. The previous Martini Edition, which came out in 2011, collected The Hunter and The Outfit, while this one will include The Score and Slayground. It will also include more than 100 pieces of never-before-seen Parker art by Darwyn Cooke; a round-table discussion with Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Bruce Timm and Scott Dunbier on Parker and Cooke; and a new 17-page story by Brubaker and Phillips.
Good Game, Well Played (Mad Cave/Maverick, $14.99): This new graphic novel from Rachael Smith and Katherine Lobo features a group of friends at two different points in their lives — when they worked together during high school at a video game store, and 10 years later, when they returned to their home town to say goodbye to one of their own. Here’s a preview.
Sunlight (Clover Press, $24.99): French screenwriter Christophe Bec teams with artist Bernard Khattou for this graphic novel about three friends who become trapped in an abandoned mine. You can check out a preview on the Clover Press website.