Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. Also, Happy New Year! I’m back briefly from a California vacation before I head off on a work trip, so expect things to be quiet around these parts until the weekend, at least. But enough about me — let’s look at this week’s comics.
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! + Dynamite + more)
- ComicList (Pretty much all of the above)
- Amazon/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.
Rise of the Powers of X #1 (Marvel, $5.99): Krakoa has fallen, mutantdom is being put through the ringer and now Kieron Gillen and RB Silva are jumping into the future to show us the repercussions of everything we’re seeing as a result of Fall of X. (Maybe? I honestly can’t remember anymore what all the future stuff has to do with the present, as it’s way more complicated than Days of Future Past ever was. Also, I’m tired). In this miniseries, our favorite Marvel mutants will attempt to stop Omega Sentinel and Nimrod from summoning “their binary god to consume everything in their accession.” This is one of several miniseries wrapping up the Krakoa era.
Action Comics #1061 (DC, $4.99): Jason Aaron returned to DC last year with the Black Label Batman: Off-World, but now he jumps into DC continuity with a story in Action Comics featuring art by John Timms and the return of Bizarro. It’s part of the Superman Superstars initiative.
Adventureman: Ghost Lights #1 (Image, $3.99): Matt Fraction, Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson retrun to the world of the new Adventureman (that’s her on the cover) and the Crossdraw Kid, as they continue their war against “a phantom empire of crime.”
Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (Marvel, $5.99): Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto give Spider-Man the reboot many fans have been asking for since One More Day, as they present the new Ultimate Spider-Man — an older Spider-Man who is married to Mary Jane and has a family.
Rebel Moon: House of the Bloodaxe #1 (Titan, $3.99): This one is listed as being written by Mags Visagio and Zack Snyder, who directed/produced the Rebel Moon film that debuted on Netflix last month. I haven’t seen it, but my dad stopped watching it about 30 minutes in, and he’s usually into that sort of thing. Reviews overall have not been great. This prequel miniseries to that film features art by Clark Bint.
Cruella De Vil #1 (Dynamite, $3.99): Sweeney Boo and Miriana Puglia bring the 101 Dalmatians villain to comics, as Cruella attempts to save her reputation in the fashion world by … stealing the crown jewels? I guess that tracks.
Acid Chimp vs. Business Dog (Ahoy Comics, $3.99): Mark Russell, Bryce Ingman, Peter Krause and Steve Pugh bring together two characters from the Russell-written Billionaire Island and My Bad in this one-shot that helps celebrate the fifth anniversary of Ahoy Comics.
Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 (Marvel, $6.99): Cody Ziglar and Iban Coello help celebrate the anniversary of Marvel’s Giant-Size line with a story featuring Miles Morales and Dylan Brock, aka Venom. Note that a good chunk of this giant issue is a reprint of the first appearance of Miles Morales.
Zorro: Man of the Dead #1 (Massive, $4.99): Writer/artist Sean Gordon Murphy and colorist Dave Stewart reimagine Zorro in modern times, as a young child named Diego witnesses his parents’ death at the hands of a drug cartel and starts to believe he’s Zorro.
Distemper #1 (Blood Moon Comics, $4.99): Tony Bushell and Nenad Cvitcanin present this post-apocalyptic series that ties into the tabletop RPG of the same name — one that’s set in a world where the canine disease distemper mutated and began infecting humans.
Life House (Image, $49.99): James Harvey, David Hine and Max Prentis adapt a 1970 screenplay by The Who’s Pete Townshend into a graphic novel. “Set in a dystopian future where music has been outlawed, Life House follows a small band of rebels who stage an underground concert in an effort to undermine a tyrannical leader…and free Britain and all of humanity.”
Birtle and the Purple Turtles (Andrews McMell, $11.99): Tara J. Hannon writes and draws this all-ages graphic novel about Teeny, who lives in the land of the purple turtles but soon discovers she may not actually be a turtle herself.
Barnstormers (Dark Horse, $24.99): The Eisner-winning comiXology miniseries by Scott Snyder and Tula Lotay, about two aviation stunt people accused of a crime in the 1920s, is collected this week by Dark Horse.
Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser Omnibus (Dark Horse, $29.99): Author Fritz Leiber’s sword-and-sorcery duo have made their way into comics on numerous occasions, going all the way back to DC’s Sword of Sorcery title in the 1970s. Everyone from Denny O’Neil to MIke Mignola to Howard Chaykin have brought the pair to the four-color page, and now Dark Horse rounds up a good chunk of those stories in one thick omnibus.
normalman Omnibus (Image, $49.99): To celebrate its 40th anniversary, normalman creator Jim Valentino is releasing this omnibus that collects the original series, several specials, material that appeared in other titles, and lots of extra. If you aren’t familiar with normalman, he’s like the anti-Superman — a regular guy rocketed to a world where everyone else has super powers. And all he wants to do is get home.