Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. This week brings more Dawn of DC titles, an adaptation of the animated Dungeons & Dragons cartoon from the 1980s, and new projects from Mark Millar, Matt Kindt, Cathy Malkasian, Steve Skroce, Curt Pires, Stefano Cardoselli and more.
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.
Unstoppable Doom Patrol #1 (DC, $3.99): From the ashes of Lazarus Planet, a new Doom Patrol miniseries rises by writer Dennis Culver and artist Chris Burnham. This one is set in the DCU, unlike its predecessor, which was part of the Young Animal line, and it features the original line-up with a bit of a twist — Crazy Jane now has a personality called “The Chief” who seems to be running things. There’s also a few new characters joining the team as a result of the Lazarus volcano erupting and giving a bunch of people powers.
The Ambassadors #1 (Image Comics, $3.99): Mark Millar is teaming with several different artists for this miniseries, where each issue will be set in a different country. This first issue features artwork by All-Star Superman superstar Frank Quitely, with subsequent issues featuring the work of Travis Charest, Olivier Coipel, Matteo Scalera, Matteo Buffagni and Karl Kerschl. It takes place in a world where a Korean billionaire has cracked the superhuman genome and holds a competition to turn six ordinary people into super-people.
Clobberin’ Time #1 (Marvel, $3.99): This new miniseries written and drawn by Steve Skroce is all about the punching, as the Thing teams up with various heroes each issue to clobber things. I mean, really, it’s a great name for a series, isn’t it? They could have gone with Marvel Two-in-One, but this title has a bit more punch. Anyway, in this issue the Thing and the Hulk take on Deviants and a Celestial to protect an ancient alien race.
Don’t Spit in the Wind #1 (Mad Cave, $4.99): Stefano Cardoselli writes and draws this series set on an Earth overcome with trash and waste, where people have moved off planet while a company called Atomic Bros INC. is contracted to clean it all up. Kind of like Wall-E. But when a crew member disappears near an old nuclear facility, things get complicated.
Harley Quinn #28 (DC, $4.99): Tini Howard and Sweeney Boo take over the Harley Quinn ongoing title, which now falls under the Dawn of DC banner. Kind of makes you wonder why they didn’t just reboot this with a new #1, doesn’t it? I’m surprised and kind of impressed that DC didn’t reboot it. Anyway, you can see some preview artwork from this issue right here.
Saturday Morning Adventures: Dungeons & Dragons #1 (IDW, $3.99): Hank, Diana, Bobby, Uni and the rest of the party from the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons Saturday morning cartoon return in this new series by Sam Maggs, David M. Booher and George Kambadais. It’s perfect timing, given the Dungeons & Dragons movie arrives in theaters last this week, and maybe we’ll find out if these crazy kids can ever make their way back home.
X-Men: Unforgiven #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Tim Seeley and Sid Kotian continue the story of the Forgiven, the team of vampire superheroes introduced during Fear Itself many moons ago, with this one featuring a team-up with the X-Men, most notably former vampire Jubilee.
Indigo Children #1 (Image, $3.99): The Youth creative team of Curt Pires, Rockwell White and Alex Diotto reunite for this new ongoing series about a journalist trying to track down the mysterious Indigo Children, a group of extraordinary gifted kids who disappeared 15 years prior.
Avengers Beyond #1 (Marvel, $3.99): The All-Out Avengers team of Derek Landy and Greg Land continue their Avengers stories with this new miniseries that also features the Jheri-curl hairdo-wearing cosmic entity known as The Beyonder.
It’s Jeff! (Marvel, $5.99): This is a collection of the Jeff the Landshark digital series, which originally appeared on Marvel Unlimited. This one-shot by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru features Jeff teaming up with the Avengers, Spider-Man and more
Songs for the Dead: Afterlife #1 (Vault, $7.99): Michael Christopher Heron and Andrea Fort’s series about a necromancer named Bethany returns for its big conclusion in this one-shot featuring art by MJ Erickson.
Venom: Lethal Protector II #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Venom co-creator David Michelinie returns to the character for a second miniseries set during the character’s early days. He’s joined by artist Farid Karami as they pit Venom against Doctor Doom.
Waller vs. Wildstorm #1 (DC, $5.99): This Black Label miniseries from the writing team of Spencer Ackerman and Evan Narcisse with artwork by Eric Battle is set in the early 1990s and features Jackson King from Wildstorm’s Stormwatch going head-to-head with an up-and-coming Amanda Waller, who has some novel ideas about how metahumans can serve their country.
Jabba’s Palace #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Hey, remember that scene in Jabba the Hutt where C3PO gets a job as Jabba’s interpreter because the previous droid did something that made Jabba angry? We then see that previous droid getting tortured. Well, this one-shot by Marc Guggenheim and Alessandro Miracolo will finally show us what exactly that poor droid did to get on Jabba’s bad side.
Mister Mammoth (Dark Horse, $29.99): Matt Kindt’s Flux House imprint at Dark Horse imports this graphic novel that Kindt did with artist Jean Denis Pendanx, who is making his U.S. debut. It’s about a seven-foot-tall pacifist who’s covered head to toe with an impressive collection of horrific scars and also happens to be the world’s greatest detective (don’t tell Batman). But his latest case may be his most difficult, and could unlock the secrets of his traumatic childhood.
Black Phoenix (Floating World Comics, $14.95): Rich Tommaso’s comic magazine comes to print after starting life on his Patreon and a successful Crowdfundr campaign. The magazine is “like a journey through comics history itself,” with each volume focusing on a creator or house style from the Golden Age of Comics. Tommaso has done a lot of really interesting things in comics, including Spy Seal and Clover Honey, just to name a couple, so I can’t imagine you could go wrong by checking this out.
The Heavy Bright (Fantagraphics, $39.99): Cathy Malkasian’s latest work is an allegorical graphic novel that “grapples with the themes of greed, corruption, ignorance and bigotry, toxic masculinity, female empowerment, gender and queerness, love, death, and the urgent necessity for all to come together to heal our ailing world.”
The Karmen Line (Mad Cave, $17.99): Dennis Hopeless and Piotr Kowalski team up on this graphic novel about a reality show being filmed on the International Space Station where things turn deadly.
Tombs (Viz, $25): This collection of manga horror master Junji Ito stories features stories both frightening and grotesque, including one where a girl’s tongue turns into a slug. I’m cringing already …