Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. It’s a pretty big week, with the launch of a sequel to last year’s best-selling superhero graphic novel, not to mention another new Ultimate Universe title from Marvel, a new take on classic Bat-Man and the return of Derek Kirk Kim to comics. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
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.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II Re-Evolution #1 (IDW, $8.99): Given the success of the first Last Ronin series, it’s no surprise to see Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Ben Bishop and company return for a sequel. It features the next generation of heroes –Casey Marie Jones, the daughter of April O’Neil and the late Casey Jones, along with a new batch of Ninja Turtles, facing “the ultimate enemy.”
Ultimate X-Men #1 (Marvel, $5.99): Demon Days creator Peach Momoko brings her unique approach to Marvel’s characters to the new Ultimate Universe, as she writes and draws this very different take on the X-Men. You can check out a couple of preview pages here.
The Bat-Man: First Knight #1 (DC, $6.99): Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins revisit the earliest version of Batman — The Bat-Man — in this three-issue Black Label miniseries that looks at one of Batman’s earliest cases “through an acutely modern lens.” If you enjoyed Jurgens’ work on Generations: Shattered, which featured the Bat-Man, this is something you might want to check out.
The Last Mermaid #1 (Image, $3.99): Derek Kirk Kim left comics for animation some years ago after delighting audiences with projects like The Eternal Smile, Sam Difference and Good as Lily. Now he’s back with a new series about a mermaid in a mech suit roaming across a post-apocalyptic landscape “on a quest beyond reason.”
The Spectacular Spider-Men #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Greg Weisman and Humberto Ramos bring Peter Parker and Miles Morales together in one series, as the older Spider-Man mentors the younger Spider-Man on all things Spider-Man. I’m currently playing the latest Spider-Man video game, which allows you to play as both characters, so if they can capture that dynamic here, this should be fun.
Golgotha Motor Mountain #1 (IDW, $5.99): This new IDW Originals title by Matthew Erman, Lonnie Nadler and Robbi Rodriguez is described as “probably the first Southern Gothic, action, sci-fi, drug-fueled body horror concoction ever made.” It’s about an interstellar meteor that crashes into a meth lab run by two brothers, and they decide to mash it up and sell it as a drug to the horrible people who make up their customer base. Chaos ensues.
Giant-Size Spider-Gwen (Marvel, $6.99): Although Spider-Gwen is set to make the 616 her permanent home in her upcoming series, this Giant-Size special by Melissa Flores and Alba Glez is set in her home dimension, where she must deal with the reemergence of Carnage and the son of Doctor Octopus.
Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Ms. Marvel actress Iman Vellani and writer Sabir Pirzada re-team for another miniseries for the newly christened mutant, as Kamala Khan returns to Jersey City. Scott Godlewski joins them on art.
Batman #145 (DC, $4.99): Following last month’s weekly Joker: Year One storyline, Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez kick off a new arc as Batman tries to escape from Zur-En-Arrh’s prison. Let’s not forget that Zur-En-Arrh is one of the “trinity of evil” DC called out early this year, so it probably isn’t too much of a stretch to guess this could have some ramifications on DC’s big Absolute Power crossover coming this summer.
Weapon X-Men #1 (Marvel, $4.99): If you were a fan of Marvel’s old Exiles series, which brought together X-characters from the around the multiverse before all the cool kids were doing it, then you’ll likely dig this new miniseries by Christos Gage and Yildiray Cinar. Imagine Exiles, but only with Wolverine variants, and you get the idea — Old Man Logan! Zombie Wolverine! Earth X Wolverine! And Jane Howlett!
Night People #1 (Oni Press, $4.99): This new miniseries adapts Barry Gifford’s novel Night People into comics, courtesy of writer Chris Condon and a different artist each issue, starting with Brian Level. “Follow an uneasy cast of wanted men, cartel-killers and lost souls through four interlocking tales as they travel a path of intoxication, lust and spontaneous violence from New Orleans to Egypt City, Florida, and back again.”
Shazam #9 (DC, $3.99): After taking a short break, Mark Waid returns to Shazam this week with artist Emanuela Lupacchino with a story featuring one of my favorite DC characters, the Creeper!
What If? Aliens #1 (Marvel, $4.99): If you’ve ever seen Aliens, the second and best movie in the Alien franchise, then you’ll probably remember Carter Burke, the shady company man played by Paul Reiser who wanted to capture a xenomorph for his employers. He met the same fate in that movie that most of the characters did, but what if he had survived? This new miniseries takes the What If? concept to the Alien universe, courtesy of Reiser himself, his son Leon, Goldbergs creator Adam Goldberg, Brian Volk-Weiss and Hans Rodionoff .. and those are just the writers! Guiu Vilanova is drawing the five-issue miniseries.
The Fog #1 (Sumerian, $4.99): Steve Ekstrom and Marco Fodera return to the world of the John Carpenter horror classic The Fog — the 1980s original, not the 2005 remake. Set 40 years after the original film, the comic brings some new paranormal events to plague Antonio Bay, the small fishing community from the film that is now a ghost-hunting tourist destination.
Doctor Strange #13 (Marvel, $3.99): Jed MacKay and Pasqual Ferry resurrect a 1990s concept, the “Secret Defenders,” which was when Doctor Strange would grab some random characters for a secret mission. This mission sounds great — a sentient role-playing game takes over New York, so the good doctor recruits Black Cat, Hunter’s Moon and Taskmaster to his party. That’s a wizard, a thief, a cleric and, what would Taskmaster be, a fighter or an assassin? Maybe he’s multi-class …
Blue Beetle #7 (DC, $3.99): Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez welcome several guest artists in this issue, including Cully Hamner, Jeff Lemire and Howard Porter, as they pay tribute to the late Keith Giffen. Trujillo even shared a list of suggested reading material to check out before reading the issue, and base don what he has there, this should be a fun issue.
Avengers #11 (Marvel, $3.99): Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa show us why the Impossible City, the Avengers’ current super-fortress, could use a little more warmth as they bring the Avengers’ former butler Jarvis back into the fold to help make their new headquarters more of a home.
Torpedo 1972 #1 (Ablaze, $3.99): Enrique Sánchez Abulí and 100 Bullets artist Eduardo Risso resurrect the 1980s Spanish comic Torpedo that was originally drawn by Alex Toth and Jordi Bernet. In those comics, Lucas Torelli was born into a crime family in the early 1900s and went on to become a “tough, trigger-happy Sicilian” in New York. Cut to the 1970s, which is when this new story takes place, and a journalist looking for a story on one of those crime families brings some of Torelli’s demons — and bad habits — back to the surface.
Daredevil: Gang War #4 (Marvel, $3.99): Although Marvel’s Gang War crossover officially wrapped up last week, there’s still one more story to finish. In this issue, Erica Schultz and Sergio Davila conclude Elektra’s campaign and battle against Madame Masque and the mysterious assassin she sent to kill Daredevil.
Feeding Ghosts (MCD Books, $40): Tessa Hulls writes and draws a story that draws from her own history, detailing the lives of her grandmother, mother and herself as they defy their family trauma and carve out their own places in the world.
Fat Cop (Fantagraphics, $29.99): Johnny Ryan “returns to his lowbrow humor roots,” the solicit says for this one, and I have to ask — did he ever truly leave them? In any event, this new graphic novel is about an obese police officer who “never passes up a possible grift, a chance to use excessive force or a pit stop at any chain restaurant he passes.” Until he gets a new partner and discovers a child slave ring being run out of the local Trader Joe’s.
Third Shift Society Vol. 1 (Webtoon Unscrolled, $19.99): Webtoon’s print arm collects the Eisner-nominated strip by Meredith Moriarty about Ellie, the young woman who works for a paranormal detective with the head of a Jack O’Lantern.
The Gulf (Tundra Books, $12.99): Adam De Souza is the creator of the wonderful, Ignatz-nominated webcomic Blind Alley, which has been on hiatus since November — most likely because he’s been working on The Gulf, his new graphic novel about four friends searching for a commune they read about on an island off the coast of Vancouver.
Nothing Special Vol. 1: Through the Elder Woods (Ten Speed Press, $22.99): Katie Cook‘s Webtoon comic-turned Kickstarter gets released by Ten Speed Press as the first of three volumes. It’s about the daughter of a magical shopkeeper whose father goes missing, so she enlists her best friend and the ghost of a radish to help her find him inside a magical realm she’s never visited.
I Feel Awful, Thanks (Oni Press, $17.99): The debut graphic novel by Lara Pickle is about a witch named Joana who has secured her dream job with a coven in London, so she relocates and discovers the reality of city life is not so idyllic. I’ve had the chance to read this one, and it’s well done, featuring not only some great world-building in this magical London and some fun page design choices by the creator, but also a good message for anyone transitioning into the working world and feeling the stress that change brings.
The Baker and the Bard (Feiwel & Friends, $17.99): Fern Haught writes and draws this “cozy fantasy” story, which is also their debut graphic novel. It’s about two apprentice bakers who embark on a quest to find magical mushrooms, which leads them into a bigger mystery. You can find some preview pages of Haught’s lovely artwork here.
Alterations (Union Square, $14.99): This is the debut graphic novel by Ray Xu, a story artist who has worked on films like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Trolls, Nimona and many more. It’s a coming-of-age story about an Asian boy living in Toronto dealing with trials and tribulations of middle school.