Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. Two flag-wearing heroes get relaunches this week, as J. Michael Straczynski and Jesús Saiz take over Captain America, while Tom King and Daniel Sampere launch a new Wonder Woman series as part of Dawn of DC.
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 + Dark Horse + more)
- Lunar Distribution (DC + Image + more)
- Diamond’s PreviewsWorld (BOOM! + 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.
Captain America #1 (Marvel, $5.99): After more than a decade writing for other publishers, J. Michael Straczynski returns to Marvel to chronicle the adventures of Steve Rogers. He and artist Jesús Saiz will focus on the current-day Steve Rogers as well as a younger, pre-World War II Cap prior to gaining his super powers.
Wonder Woman #1 (DC, $4.99): Tom King and Daniel Sampere kick off a new storyline that sees an Amazonian accused of mass murder, leading to all Amazons being banned from the United States. Wonder Woman is branded as an outlaw as she tries to discover the truth behind the murders.
Junior Baker, The Righteous Faker #1 (Image, $4.99): Joe Casey returns to the world of his 2011 series Butcher Baker in this five-issue miniseries with artist Ryan Quackenbush.
Predator vs. Wolverine #1 (Marvel, $7.99): Writer Benjamin Percy will be joined by multiple artists for this four-issue series, starting with Greg Land. It centers on the ongoing rivalry/battles between a Predator and Wolverine that will occur across the years and locations like Canada, Madripoor and more.
Green Lantern War Journal #1 (DC, $3.99): Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos bring John Stewart back to Earth for a post-superhero life that doesn’t go as expected. “…when a terrifying and contagious force with a mysterious connection to Oa appears on Earth, the last Green Lantern of another universe comes seeking the only warrior to face this threat and win: the immortal ‘Guardian and Builder,’ John Stewart himself! Can this brilliant but brash young Lantern help John discover the qualities that made him one of the greatest Lanterns of the entire Multiverse?” So much for retirement …
Uncanny Spider-Man #1 (Marvel, $4.99): “BAMF!” meets “THWIP!” as Nightcrawler steps into the spotlight in this five-issue Fall of X miniseries, which writer Si Spurrier describes as “pure, joyful, bold, fun superheroic action.” He’s joined by artist Lee Garbett, as they showcase Kurt Wagner battling Orchis and Spider-Man’s rogues, as well as solving a long-simmering mystery involving his mother, Mystique.
Hexagon Bridge #1 (Image, $3.99): This impressive-looking debut comic from Richard Blake is about explorers who end up trapped in a parallel dimension and the efforts to rescue them by a clairvoyant child and a robot.
The Witcher: Wild Animals #1 (Dark Horse, $3.99): Bartosz Sztybor and Natalia Rerekina present the latest comic book adventures of Geralt and company.
Rumpus Room #1 (AWA, $3.99): Mark Russell and Ramon Rosanas tell the story of a psychotic billionaire who needs a special cream to hide his skin condition. That cream is made from people, so naturally he kidnaps all the people he hates and locks them in his Rumpus Room, letting them vote for his next victim.
What If? Dark: Carnage (Marvel, $4.99): I’m not a huge Carnage fan but the creative team of Larry Hama and John McCrea jumped out at me on this one. It explores a world where the Carnage symbiote re-animated the corpse of Cortland Kasady, Cletus Kasady’s ancestor.
Rare Flavours #1 (BOOM!, $4.99): The award-winning, mega-popular The Many Deaths of Laila Starr creative team of Ram V and Filipe Andrade reunite on this new miniseries about a Rakshasa who loves food and wants to become the next Anthony Bourdain.
Strange Academy: Moon Knight (Marvel, $4.99): The Strange Academy students continue their field trip to New York, as the consequences of the Multiversal Math Bowl at Brooklyn Visions (which was shown in Strange Academy: Miles Morales) bring them into Moon Knight’s orbit. It’s by Carlos Hernandez and Ze Carlos.
Madam Satan: Hell on Earth (Archie Comics, $3.99): Eliot Rahal and Riccardo Federici reunite for another story starring Madam Satan in the Archie Horrorverse … and yes, this issue apparently does establish that an Archie Horrorverse exists. As Hell invades Earth, Madam Satan takes refuge in a suburban house, only to meet someone surprising.
Dark Droids: D-Squad #1 (Marvel, $5.99): Marc Guggenheim, Salva Espín and David Messina enlist a group of droids to help R2D2 battle the Scourge, the virus spreading through the galaxy’s droid population as part of the Dark Droids crossover.
Blood Force Trauma (Dark Horse, $19.99): Jake Smith and Hiram Corbett’s crowdfunded comic that’s “full of laser skull guys, kung fu masters, and mutant shark dudes from another dimension” battling it, out arena-style, gets collected by Dark Horse
Quinnelope and the Cookie King Catastrophe (Oni Press, $14.99): Oh no — the Cookie King is missing, and it’s up to Quinnelope to find him in this new graphic novel by HF Brownfield and Kayla Coombs.
The Left-Hand Path (Dead Sky Publishing, $4.99): Scott Bryan Wilson and Ken Knudtsen created this science fiction/horror comic about a deep space crew that returns home to find their planet completely destroyed by a crashed spaceship.
Shang-Chi and the Quest for Immortality (Marvel/Scholastic, $12.99): Victoria Ying writes and draws this all-ages graphic novel about a young Shang-Chi and his sister Shi-Hua, who head out of their father’s castle and into the larger world to find a way to restore their father’s immortality.