Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.
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 + IDW + graphic novels + manga)
- Lunar Distribution (DC + Scout + more)
- Diamond’s PreviewsWorld (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.
Deadpool #1 (Marvel, $4.99): The Merc with a Mouth returns for another round of chaos and insanity, courtesy of writer Alyssa Wong and artist Martin Coccolo. Is this really volume nine for Wade Wilson? That probably doesn’t count miniseries, which would up that number considerably. Anyway, in this new series, Wong says to “expect romance, expect body horror and expect a wild time” as Deadpool auditions for a mercenary group called the Atelier and ends up with something strange growing inside of him.
Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1 (DC, $4.99): Marc Silvestri, head of Top Cow and one of the founders of Image — not to mention the artist of everything from X-Men to Cyberforce — returns to DC for a Black Label miniseries. It features mortal enemies Batman and the Joker teaming up after a mysterious enemy kidnaps Harley Quinn at the same time that James Gordon goes missing.
The Ones #1 (Dark Horse, $4.99): This is not a comic book starring Roman Reigns and the Bloodline; no, it’s a new series from Brian Michael Bendis and his Jinxworld imprint, as the award-winning writer teams with artist Jacob Edgar and colorts K.J. Diaz. The story will feature characters from multiple mythologies and multiverses who were told they were “The One” brought together to defeat, naturally, The One.
Hell to Pay #1 (Image, $3.99): This new comic from Charles Soule, Will Sliney and Rachelle Rosenberg was created live on Twitch during the pandemic. It’s about a married pair of adventurers tasked with tracking down 666 coins from Hell that have been unleashed on Earth and can be used to buy the services of a demon.
Secret Invasion #1 (Marvel, $4.99): What looks like it could be a throwaway tie-in to the upcoming Secret Invasion series on Disney+ gets kicked up a notch because of the writing talents of Ryan North, who will soon take over Fantastic Four. North teams with Francesco Mobili for a new adventure featuring Skrulls, Maria Hill, Nick Fury and more.
Bill & Ted Present: Death #1 (Opus, $6.66): Yes, that’s the real price, and kudos to Opus for doing what Hell to Pay (up above) should have done. This special by Erik Burnham, John Barber, Federica Manfredi and Wayne Nichols features Death, the bass-playing reaper all mortals fear, as well as Beethoven, a hell beast and Rufus, Bill & Ted’s original time-traveling mentor played by George Carlin.
Behold, Behemoth #1 (BOOM!, $4.99): Tate Brombal and Nick Robles team for this new series about a social worker whose world starts to crumble after his brother dies, as he deals with his own nightmares, the death of his latest case and the possible end of the world.
CrossGen Tales #1 (Marvel, $8.99): Hey, remember CrossGen? Marvel revives several CrossGen titles in this reprint of material from Ruse, Mystic, Sigil and Sojourn. Is this a copyright renewal thing, or should we be expecting a revival soon (or a Disney+ show)? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Tiger Division #1 (Marvel, $3.99): The South Korean super-team jumps from the pages of Black Cat and other titles into their own miniseries, as Emily Kim and Creees Lee send White Fox, Taegukgi, Luna Snow and the rest on a new adventure.
Nature’s Labyrinth #1 (Mad Cave, $3.99): Zac Thompson and Bayleigh Underwood pit eight felons against each other in a battle of wits and survival on a remote island lined with traps. Think Hunger Games but with felons, or The Condemned but without Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Invisible Wounds (Fantagraphics, $24.99): For this new graphic novel, Jess Ruliffson interviewed returning U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq about their experiences both during and after their years of service. “In this compassionate, probing book, Ruliffson reveals how America’s endless entanglement in wars have affected the psyches of the people who wage them.”