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 a big anniversary issue for Batman, a prelude to the X-Men event Fall of X, the debut of Dark Horse’s Richard Corben library and much 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.
Shazam! #1 (DC, $3.99): Mark Waid and Dan Mora, the team behind World’s Finest, bring the world’s mightiest mortal back to comics in a new series. The description of this one sounds like fun, promising trips to Billy Batson’s “secret clubhouse” at the Rock of Eternity, appearances by Tawky Tawny and Garguax, and more.
X-Men: Before the Fall–Sons of X (Marvel, $4.99): Before the Hellfire Gala and Fall of X comes X-Men: Before the Fall, a series of one-shots meant to “tie up long-simmering plotlines, reintroduce major players and put all the pieces in place for the dramatic events of the third annual Hellfire Gala.” This one, by Si Spurrier and Phil Noto, features Legion and his team taking on Nimrod in an effort to save Nightcrawler from Orchis.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Lost Summer (BOOM!, $7.99): Casey Gilly and Lauren Knight take Buffy and the Scooby Gang on a summer road trip to New Orleans in this new special, whose subtitle could have a double meaning for Buffy Summers. The plot revolves around Spike’s poetry, so it ought to be fun.
Survival #1 (Dark Horse, $3.99): A young woman returns to her home town in Alaska just as Russia unleashes a supernatural weapon on the state, in this story by Sean Lewis and Bryndon Everett.
Peacemaker Tries Hard! #1 (DC Black Label, $4.99): Kyle Starks, Steve Pugh and Jordie Bellaire present a Black Label take on Peacemaker, whose dog is kidnapped in a blackmail scheme by “an infamously unstable super-powered criminal” that wants Peacemaker to steal something for him.
Groot #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Dan Abnett returns to the Guardians of the Galaxy with artist Damian Couceiro to tell an early story of Groot and his encounter with a young Kree soldier named Mar-Vell.
Starsigns #1 (Image, $3.99): Saladin Ahmed launched this series in his Substack back in 2021 with with Megan Levens, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Shawn Lee and Heather Antos; it’s about the constellations of the Zodiac falling to earth, granting 12 people from very different walks of life the superhuman powers of the Starsigns.
Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Game On! (Archie, $2.99): Ron Robbins, Bob Smith, Dan Parent and more contribute to this collection featuring the Archie gang in stories about video games, digital drama and virtual reality, including a new story that includes Amber Nightstone, Sabrina’s rival.
Batman #135 (DC, $6.99): DC celebrates 900 issues of Batman with this oversized issue by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, Mike Hawthorne, Adriano Di Benedetto and more, as “The Bat-Man of Gotham” storyline concludes.
Edge of Spider-Verse #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Karla Pacheco, Zander Cannon, Pere Perez and more contribute stories to this anthology title featuring various Spider-sonas, including Spider-Rex, Venomsaurus, Spider-Killer and more.
Lamentation #1 (Oni, $6.99): Cullen Bunn teams with artist Arjuna Sushini on this gothic horror miniseries about the cast and crew of a theatrical production that begins to bleed over into reality. Each of the three issues will be double-sized.
Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin (Marvel, $4.99): Peach Momoko’s Demon Wars saga comes to a close in this one-shot that introduces Momiji, the Momoko-verse version of the Scarlet Witch.
Astrobots #1 (WhatNot Publishing, $3.99): Simon Furman, who worked on Marvel’s Transformers comic, is back writing stories about toy robots in this new series featuring artwork by Hector Trunnec.
Star Wars: Lando #1 (Marvel, $4.99): This one-shot celebrates the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi with a story featuring the galactic swagger of Lando Calrissian and the lovable wookiee Chewbacca, as told by Stephanie Phillips and Alvaro Lopez.
Monomyth #1 (Mad Cave, $4.99): David Hazzan and Cecilia Lo Valvo team to tell “a story about the darkest side of stories…how they use people, twist people and affect people and the dangers of getting stuck telling the same tired tales.”
Maple Terrace: Tales from One Dirty Tree #1 (Uncivilized, $6): Noah Van Sciver, creator of the LA Times Book Prize nominee Joseph Smith and the Mormons as well as One Dirty Tree, A Perfect Failure and much more, turns his focus to his own childhood in this autobiographical comic about being surrounded by “90s comics, cartoons, toys, deprivation and painful nostalgia.”
Carnage Reigns Alpha (Marvel, $7.99): It’s the Summer of Symbiotes, as we’ve been told, and that means you can expect a whole bunch of klyntar action for the next few months. This week alone has three projects that prominently feature Spider-Man’s old friend Carnage, starting with Carnage Reigns Alpha, which kicks off a crossover/battle between the evil red symbiote and Miles Morales by Alex Paknadel, Cody Ziglar, Julius Ohta and more.
Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #1 (Marvel, $3.99): Spider-Man 2099 gets in on the symbiote action in this weekly miniseries by Steve Orlando and Justin Mason that pits the future movie star against Carnage.
Cult of Carnage: Misery #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Sabir Pirzada and Francesco Mortarino show us what happens when Liz Allen gets in on the symbiote action — why should her son have all the fun? This miniseries will also introduce Madness, an amalgamation of all the Life Foundation symbiotes.
Basil and Oregano (Dark Horse, $19.99): Melissa Capriglione writes and draws this graphic novel about two students at the Porta Bella Magiculinary Academy, which is “the finest school for the art of cooking with magic.”
Blood of the Virgin (Pantheon Books, $30): Sammy Harkham’s latest graphic novel tells the story of an immigrant film editor named Seymour who is desperate to make his own movies in 1970s L.A., allowing the graphic novel to explore “the intersection of parenthood, 20th-century America, sex, the immigrant experience and the era of grindhouse movies.”
Four Eyes (Graphix, $12.99): Rex Ogle and Dave Valeza explore the perils of sixth grade as a kid named Rex deals with bullies, family issues and the fact that he now has to wear glasses.
The Amazing Camel Toe (Black Panel Press, $24.99): French cartoonist Claire Duplan wrote and drew this graphic novel about a cartoonist who creates a comic called The Amazing Camel Toe, “celebrating the adventures of an anti-macho vigilante in tight, panther leggings: A hero who battles against sexism, harassment, slut-shaming, and unrealistic standards of beauty.” Black Panel Press is currently kickstarting this graphic novel as well.
Superman: The 85th Anniversary Collection (DC, $49.99): DC presents almost 500 pages of Superman stories in this collection that celebrates his 85th birthday; it features comics by Jerry Siegel, John Byrne, Grant Morrison, Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Schuster, Jim Steranko, George Perez, Tim Sale and more.
Murky World (Dark Horse, $39.99): Last year Dark Horse entered into a partnership with Fantagor Press to bring Richard Corben’s library of comics back into print, starting with Murky World. This deluxe hardcover includes the complete story of Tugat the warrior for the first time in one volume, along with an introduction by Mike Mignola and bonus material.
Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil (DC, $39.99): DC reprints Jeff Smith’s classic tale of Billy Batson, Mar Marvel, the Wizard and more in this hardcover collection. It includes an introduction by Alex Ross, and if you ever wanted to introduce someone to the whimsical wonders of Shazam! comics, this is a great way to do it.