Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. February, the official Month of Love™, is here, and with it come several Valentine’s Day specials. This week also brings the launch of ThunderCats, which reportedly has almost 200K in pre-orders. ThunderCats ho!
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.
ThunderCats #1 (Dynamite, $4.99): Lion-O and the rest of the team return in a new series by the creative team of Declan Shalvey and Drew Moss. It sounds like the story will be a back-to-basics approach, with the ThunderCats crash-landing on Third Earth while being pursued by the Mutants of Plun-Darr — only to discover an even bigger threat in Mumm-Ra.
DC’s How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days (DC, $9.99): DC celebrates Valentine’s Day with a new anthology that plays off of the fabled rom-com of the 1990s and 2000s. The cleverly titled comic includes stories by Marguerite Sauvage, Dennis Hopeless, Aaron Waltke, Brendan Hay, George Mann, Danny Lore, Alex Galer, Ivan Shavrin, M.l. Sanapo, Baldemar Rivas, Leonardo Rodrigues and more, featuring characters like Plastic Man, The Flash, Red Tornado, Nightwing, Batgirl and of course the harbinger of love, Guy Gardner.
Godzilla Valentine’s Day Special (IDW, $4.99): If you thought Guy Gardner was an odd choice for a romance comic, well, wait until you get a load of this one. Zoe Tunnell and Dani Pendergast tell the story of an intrepid amateur kaiju researcher and a global kaiju-response lieutenant, who are “hopping from country to country to take in the sights and splendor in the fleeting seconds before Godzilla smashes the skyline.”
Archie’s Valentine’s Spectacular (Archie, $3.99): Archie debuts “the official spirits of Valentine’s Day” in this year special, as Ian Flynn and Holly G introduce three new characters named Hearts, Flowers and Candies who try to help Betty and Veronica with their love woes.
A Very Valiantine’s Special (Valiant/Alien Books, $12.99): Valiant and their new publisher, Alien Books, get in on the Valentine’s anthology action with this 50-page comic featuring stories by Lysa Hawkins, Ryan Cady, Buddy Scalera, Will Pfeifer, Aj Ampadu, Andres Ponce, Emiliano Urdinola, Emilano Correa and more. It’ll include stories about Ninjak, Bloodshot, Faith and Archer, and Doctor Mirage.
Ultimate Black Panther (Marvel, $5.99): The second title spinning out of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe relaunch takes us to Wakanda, where the Black Panther stands against a foe who seeks to control all of Africa — Moon Knight. It’s by Bryan Hill and Stefano Caselli, and it’ll also feature Ultimate Storm and Ultimate Killmonger.
Batman #142 (DC, $4.99): Batman goes weekly in February for a storyline that will reveal new details and secrets about the birth of Batman’s greatest foe in “The Joker Year One.” The new storyline is by writer Chip Zdarsky, artist Giuseppe Camuncoli, inker Stefano Nesi, and colorist Alejandro Sánchez, with artist Andrea Sorrentino and colorist Dave Stewart drawing a “juxtaposed” story.
Poison Ivy #19 (DC, $3.99): The Joker isn’t the only villain whose origin is getting retold this week. G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara reveal “the one true secret origin” of Poison Ivy, as told by Pamela Isley herself.
Star Wars: Mace Windu #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Marc Bernardin and Georges Jeanty present a story about Mace Windu set before the Clone Wars, as the Jedi master hunts down a pirate named Azita Cruuz.
The One Hand #1 (Image, $3.99): Ram V, Tom Muller, Laurence Campbell and Lee Loughridge present a mystery miniseries that follows a detective named Ari Nasser who, right as he’s about to retire, gets pulled into a murder case that may have been committed by a serial killer he put away twice before.
Wolverine: Madripoor Knights #1 (Marvel, $3.99): Longtime X-Men writer Chris Claremont returns to the story he started in Uncanny X-Men #268 for this new miniseries with artist Edgar Salazar. It features Wolverine, Black Widow and Captain America in a story set in Madripoor in the 1940s, as they battle the Hand.
Suicide Squad Kill Arkham Asylum #1 (DC, $4.99): This long-delayed miniseries serves as a prequel for the long-delayed but recently released Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League video game. John Layman and Jesús Hervás show us what happened just prior to the game, as Amanda Waller sent the Squad to Gotham to “Kill Arkham Asylum.”
Saucer Country: The Finale (Image, $3.99): Saucer Country by Paul Cornell and Ryan Kelly started out at Vertigo back in 2012 before migrating to IDW in 2017 and then finally getting a conclusion funded through Kickstarter. Now Syzygy Publishing, which publishes its comics through Image, brings that conclusion to comic shops.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #3 (IDW, $3.99): Patrick Horvath’s “cozy horror” story featuring a town populated by anthropomorphic characters and at least two serial killers proved to be one of 2023’s biggest successes in the comics world, and now it returns with a third issue. I include it here mostly because I just wanted to reprint the poem used for the solicitation copy:
As Woodbrook quakes in terror, the killer runs free
The town now plans a funeral, instead of festivity
Sam has her suspicions, she’ll follow her hunch
She better act fast, or more bones might go crunch
But Sam isn’t afraid, she knows she’ll solve the case
Because the killer doesn’t know it, but they left a trace
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #1 (BOOM!, $4.99): The original Pink Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson, co-writes this one with Matt Hotson, joined by Nico Leon on art. It’s set in an alternate timeline where the Power Rangers defeated Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, but at a “terrible cost,” then picks up 22 years after the team disbanded. So it kind of has a Last Ronin vibe to it.
Walt Disney Mickey and Donald Fantastic Futures (Fantagraphics, $34.99): Italian comics creators Francesco Artibani, Lorenzo Pastrovicchio and Claudio Sciarrone create several new stories for this anthology collection that shows what Duckburg and Mouseton could be like in another 100 years. It features futuristic stories starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pete, the Phantom Blot and more.
Aya: Claws Come Out (Drawn and Quarterly, $24.95): Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie’s first volume of Aya, released back in 2006, won the “First Comic” prize at Angouleme that year. Now, more than a decade after the last volume was released, the husband and wife duo return to the Ivory Coast for more stories featuring the college student and her friends.
Art Club (Little Brown Ink, $12.99): Rashad Doucet writes and draws this graphic novel that draws from his childhood. It’s about a young artist who, faced with adults who think pursuing a career in the arts is silly, starts an after-school art club.
Zips and Eeloo Make Hummus (Andrews McMeel, $11.99): Leila Boukarim and Alex Lopez present the story of two aliens who just want to make hummus. Which seems simple enough, but proves anything but. It of course includes a recipe in the back for — you guessed it — hummus.
The Question Omnibus (DC, $125): This giant collection of stories featuring the Question includes not only the landmark series by Dennis O’Neil and Denys Cowan, but also the character’s appearances in places like The Brave and the Bold and Green Arrow, by creators like Kelley Puckett, Mike Grell, Mike Baron, Joe Quesada, Shea Anton Pensa and more.