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 + 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.
The Super Hero’s Journey
Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell wrote and drew this somewhat autobiographical graphic novel that also features Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and other Marvel characters. In it, McDonnell “brings together his inspirational and moral sensibilities from throughout his career and muses on how comics changed his life and set him on the course to become a cartoonist.” In addition to McDonnell’s drawings, it also features artwork from many classic Marvel titles, which he uses to help tell this very personal story. (Abrams/Marvel, $29.99)
Blackward
The newest graphic novel by Lawrence Lindell, creator of From Truth With Truth and co-founder of the Laneha House small press, is about an inclusive support group formed for “awkward Black folks” at a local community center. “You’d think a spot to chill, chat, and find community would be much easier to come by for nerdy, queer punks. But when four longtime, bookish BFFs-Lika, Amor, Lala, and Tony-can’t find what they need, they take matters into their own hands and create a space where they can be a hundred percent who they are: Black, queer, and weird.” (Drawn & Quarterly, $22.95)
Summer of Hamn
Public Enemy frontman and activist Chuck D, who has worked in the past with Z2 Comics and Black Mask, jumped head first into comics this year as a writer, artist and publisher. The rapper heads up Enemy Books, an imprint distributed by independent publisher Akashic Books, and Summer of Hamn is one of several graphic journals he’s kept since 2020 to capture his thoughts on everything from the COVID pandemic to the presidential election to, in this volume, gun violence. (Enemy Books, $34.95)
Love Kills
Brazilian comics creator Danilo Beyruth (Necronauta, Ghost Rider) writes and draws this graphic novel about a vampire in Sao Paulo who makes an alliance with a human to protect herself from a rival vampire coven. “But when what seems at first to be a simple fight over hunting territory quickly turns into a lethal game of cat and mouse, Helena is forced to confront a shocking past betrayal and battle for her very existence.” (Titan Comics, $24.99)
Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow #1
Usagi Yojimbo returns to Dark Horse, courtesy of Stan Sakai’s Dogu Publishing imprint. This new, color miniseries features Usagi and his cousin Yukichi, as they continue to make their way through Japan’s northern mountains — but little do they know they’re being stalked by the evil Jei and his familiar, Keiko. (Dark Horse Comics, $4.99)
The Flash #1
Simon Spurrier and Mike Deodato Jr. take over the Flash’s ongoing series, as Wally West and family “race into a new era” that sounds like it’ll be filled with weird, science fiction-y adventures. “Something whispers from the dark vibrations beyond the Speed Force, and as Wally experiments with creative new approaches to his powers he encounters new realms, mysterious allies and mind-shattering terrors.” (DC, $4.99)
Avengers Annual
The Contest of Chaos, which has run through several of Marvel’s annuals this year, comes to a close this week. Stephanie Phillips and Alberto Foche Duarte pit the Avengers against the winners of the previous chaos battles –everyone from Wolverine to Venom. The heroes who aren’t being controlled by Agatha Harkness realize they must choose between saving their friends and stopping the creation of the new Darkhold. (Marvel, $4.99)
Batman/Catwoman The Gotham War: Red Hood #1
The Gotham War crossover event continues in this two-issue miniseries from writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Nikola Čižmešija. “The Gotham War has fractured the Bat-Family in dramatic ways—none more intensely than with Jason Todd. This stunning event will forever alter the destiny of the man who wears the Red Hood!” (DC, $3.99)
Stuff of Nightmares: Red Murder #1
Goosebumps author R.L. Stine teams with Adam Gorham, artist of the awesome The Blue Flame, for the next miniseries under the “Stuff of Nightmares” banner. Things get meta and murder-y in this volume, which will feature a comic writer being stalked by his most famous creation, a hatchet-wielding killer from the comic Red Murder. (BOOM! Studios, $7.99)
Tales from the Cave
As part of their annual talent search, Mad Cave releases an anthology featuring stories by some of the winners working alongside established talent. This year’s one-shot features the work of David Hazan, Keith Frady, Rachel Pinnelas, Shane Connery Volk, Luca Romano, Riccardo Cecchi, Marco Pelandra, Marco Tortella, Marcello Iozzoli and more, as they tell stories featuring other Mad Cave titles, namely Nottingham, Battlecats and Hunt. Kill. Repeat. (Mad Cave, $5.99)
Invincible Iron Man #10
Wedding bells are ringing for Marvel’s newest power couple, Tony Stark and Emma Frost, courtesy of wedding planners Gerry Duggan and Juan Frigeri. I know this is pretty much a near-term, Fall of X-driven plot point rather than the natural evolution of a long-running comic book relationship, but on paper, I think them being together really works. I only wish these two crazy kids the best. (Marvel, $4.99)
Power Girl #1
The Woman of Steel — well, one of them — jumps into her own solo title after a stint as a back-up feature in Action Comics and the recent Power Girl Special. Leah Williams, Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferreira introduce a long-dormant Kryptonian threat that only Power Girl can stop. (DC, $3.99)
Sainted Love #1
Steve Orlando and Giopota present the story of Malcolm Irina and John Wolf, who plan to use a device Malcolm created called the Chronocorridor to escape from the oppression of 1907 to a time “when they can live and love freely.” Things go wrong. This leads to a cross-time caper where they “encounter famous queer people throughout history and fight back against all who would see their names and love erased.” (Vault Comics, $4.99)
Night Cruising
Harry Nordlinger writes and draws this story about a rebellious teenager “getting up to no good” on the highways of L.A. county late at night. “A story of lights, shadows, and everything that lives in between, told in dazzling black and white chiaroscuro.” (Floating World Comics, $5.99)