Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.
This a pretty packed week for comics, with a new entry in the Energon Universe saga, an ending to the Krakoa era of the X-Men, a prelude to a new dawn for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a YA take on Big Barda that looks incredible. And that’s only scratching the surface!
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.
Scarlett #1 (Skybound, $4.99): The red-hot Energon Universe welcomes multiple Eisner Award nominee Kelly Thompson to the squad, as she writes this miniseries featuring a new take on Shana “Scarlett” O’Hara. Featuring artwork by Marco Ferrari, the story continues to introduce classic G.I. Joe characters as Scarlett heads to Japan to infiltrate the fabled Clan Arashikage. I’m going to roll the dice and guess this might be setting up a future miniseries featuring a certain member of that clan …
X-Men #35 (Marvel, $9.99): Gerry Duggan, Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, Lucas Werneck, Joshua Cassara, Chris Claremont, Gail Simone and more contribute to this oversized issue that celebrates 700 issues of Uncanny X-Men. It also serves as a bridge from the concluding Krakoa era and the upcoming From the Ashes era, which will kick off this summer.
My Adventures with Superman #1 (DC, $3.99): Adult Swim’s wonderful My Adventures with Superman animated series comes to comics, thanks to the show’s producer Josie Campbell and artist Pablo M. Collar. This six-issue miniseries featuring a young Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen will serve as a bridge between the first and second seasons.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Alpha (IDW, $6.99): Following the epic conclusion to the long-running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and serving as a prelude for the new era coming under writer Jason Aaron, this “alpha” issue features a story of a Turtles-less New York by Tom Waltz and Gavin Smith, showing how Old Hob, Jennika and others are coping. It also includes a story by Aaron and Chris Burnham that sets the stage for what’s next.
Canto: A Place Like Home #1 (Dark Horse, $3.99): David M. Booher and Drew Zucker’s Canto found a new home at Dark Horse last year, when the publisher announced plans to release new printings of the first two volumes that were previously published by IDW. But the story doesn’t end there, as Booher and Zucker are back with the conclusion to their tiny clockwork warrior’s battle with the Shrouded Man.
Cult of the Lamb #1 (Oni Press, $4.99): Alex Paknadel and Troy Little bring the popular roguelike/social simulation game that lets you run your own cult to the comics page. They tell the story of young Lamb, the final sacrifice to the dark gods who gets a second chance at vengeance.
Falling in Love on the Path to Hell #1 (Image Comics, $4.99): Gerry Duggan and Garry Brown team up for this ambitious creator-owned series about an Onna-musha warrior and an Old West gunslinger. After being mortally wounded on different continents, the pair “awake together in a purgatory ruled by a ruthless, nightmarish society of damned warriors.” So, yeah — it’s a love story.
Profane #1 (BOOM! Studios, $4.99): Veteran comics writer Peter Milligan teams with Detective Comics and Justice League Dark artist Raül Fernandez for this “mind-bending murder mystery” set in Los Angeles.
Wolverine: Blood Hunt #1 (Marvel, $3.99): The Last Ronin writer Tom Waltz joins artist Juan José Ryp on this tie-in miniseries for this summer’s big Blood Hunt event. It’ll conclude Logan’s private war against the vampire nation, which has been a running theme in his ongoing series for a few years now.
Monster High Pride (IDW, $5.99): IDW announced last year that they had acquired the license to make comics based on Monster High, the line of monster-themed dolls owned by Mattel. For their first offering, they’ve recruited Megan Brown, Hannah Templer, Siobhan Keenan and Bowen McCurdy to create Pride-themed stories featuring the students on the “spooktacularly inclusive campus.”
Beyond the Pale #1 (Dark Horse, $4.99): Christofer Emgård and Tomás Aira, who previously combined eldritch horror with war stories in The Secret Land and The Whispering Dark, once again bring their trademark “impending doom” approach to the Vietnam War.
The Ultimates #1 (Marvel, $5.99): Honestly I was skeptical when it was first announced, but Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe line has been a lot of fun so far. Now a title I think we were all expecting to come first makes its way into the line, as the Avengers-esque team featuring Iron Lad, Captain America, Thor, Sif and more jumps into its own ongoing series by writer Deniz Camp and artist Juan Frigeri.
Archie & Friends: Blockbuster Movies (Archie Comics, $3.99): Summer movie season, the most glorious time of the year, is here and in this one-shot Archie Comics introduces a new character, PoolNoodle, to usher it in. Created by Ian Flynn, Steven Butler and Lily Butler, the character resembles a certain Merc with a Mouth who you can find on the big screen this July, and in this one-shot he’ll take Archie and the gang on a fourth-wall breaking adventure through the movies. Find out more about PoolNoodle here.
Precious Metal #1 (Image Comics, $5.99): Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram return to the world of their Eisner-Award-winning series Little Bird in this new miniseries. Set 35 years before the events of that series, Precious Metal follows disillusioned mod-tracker Max Weaver on a routine hunt for a modified child that takes a grisly and unexpected turn.
Coins of Judas: The Gambler #1 (Band of Bards, $4.99): Travis Gibb is back with another miniseries about the Westergaards, a family fighting a hidden war against demons that were spawned by the 30 pieces of silver that Judas dropped when he betrayed Christ. This time he’s joined by artist Rolands Kalnins as our heroes Sophia and Gunther travel to America to investigate a mystery man in possession of a coin that allows him to take control of a small town.
DC Pride: A Celebration of Rachel Pollack (DC, $9.99): Trans writer Rachel Pollack, who passed away last year, introduced DC’s first trans character, Coagula, during her run on Doom Patrol back in the 1990s. As a part of Pride Month, DC is releasing this collection of some of Pollack’s work, which includes Coagula’s first appearance; Vertigo Visions: The Geek, the long out-of-print one-shot by Pollack and Mike Allred; and a new Coagula story by Joe Corallo and Rye Hickman.
The Mammoth #1 (Mad Cave Studios, $4.99): Paul Tobin, writer of the horror comics Bunny Mask and Croak, continues his trail of terror in this new horror series with artist Arjuna Susini. It’s about four scientists investigating odd seismic activity in a town known for its local legend — a monstrous phantom that appears and disappears for decades at a time.
Barda (DC, $16.99): Ngozi Ukazu, creator of the wonderful Check, Please, brings the New God Big Barda to DC’s young adult graphic novel line. In this story, Barda is the right hand of Granny Goodness and has been tasked with an impossible task — break their prisoner, the unbreakable Scott Free. It’s a story of self-discovery, deep friendships and first loves, set on the fiery Apokolips.
Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (Maverick, $14.99): The 1990s cartoon of the same name returns as a series of graphic novels from Maverick, Mad Cave Studios’ YA imprint. Jordie Bellaire writes and Koi Carreon draws the adventures of Gwenevere, the princess of Avalon and wielder of the Sun Stone, and her friends, Fallon and Tamara, as they try to keep Avalon safe as the enchanted Jewel Riders.
When the Lake Burns (Conundrum Press, $25): Conundrum is releasing this intriguing-sounding and lovely looking graphic novel through their Bdang imprint. It’s by Luke Langille and Genevieve Bigue, and it’s about a group of teenagers investigating a local lake that has caught on fire — causing an old local legend to re-emerge.
A Pillbug Story (Black Panel Press, $19.99): Allison Conway combines humor and terror in the story of Millie the pillbug, who tries to enjoy her summer and figure out where she fits in during her very short lifespan.
Attaboy (Mad Cave Studios, $17.99): Tony McMillen, who has an amazingly kinetic art style, writes an draws this “action-adventure comic disguised as an illustrated instructional booklet for a video game.” It’s about a video game character trying to avenge the death of his father, but there’s a lot more going on here than what’s on the surface.
Griz Grobus (Image Comics, $19.99): Simon Roy, Jess Pollard and Sergey Nazarov’s webcomic-turned-successful Kickstarter gets a print release from Image Comics, bringing the story of priest-bots and chickens inhabited by war gods to comic shops.
Rune: The Tale of a Thousand Faces (Flying Eye Books, $15.99): Carlos Sanchez writes and draws this graphic novel about two orphans whose search for “fresh adventures and ingredients” to cook with lands them in a magical land plagued by the Thousand Faces Monster and inhabited by all sorts of magical people and critters.
Sink or Swim (Random House Graphic, $14.99): The creators of Just Roll With It, Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie, are back with a new graphic novel set in the same universe. It’s about a boy who, after breaking his arm, has to regain his confidence and reconnect with his teammates on the swim team as he considers whether he wants to get back into the water or not.
The Complete Web of Horror (Fantagraphics, $49.99): Web of Horror was a short-lived horror comics magazine in the vein of Eerie and Creepy published in the late 1960s. It included early works by Bernie Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, Bruce Jones, Ralph Reese, Frank Brunner, Roger Brand and Wayne Howard, among others, but only three issues were published. Now Fantagraphics collects those three issues, along with material from a planned but never published fourth issue, into one hardcover volume. It also features historical and contextual essays, including a foreword by original Web of Horror editor and science fiction novelist Terry Bisson, an account of the magazine’s origin by the late Clark Dimond and more.
Hurricane Nancy (Fantagraphics, $30): If you’ve been wondering what Alex Dueben, who used to interview creators here at Smash Pages, has been doing lately, here’s your answer — he’s been working with Fantagraphics and Nancy Burton on this collection of her comics. This is the first collection of Burton’s work, which reprints many of her comics and drawings from the 1960s in addition to her more recent work that she began posting online about 15 years ago. You can learn more about this comix legend, appropriately, in this 2016 interview conducted by Alex.
Identity Crisis: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (DC, $49.99): DC’s somewhat famous, somewhat infamous crossover series by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales turns 20 this year, and DC is releasing this deluxe hardcover to mark the occasion.
Ginseng Roots Complete Box Set (Uncivilized Books, $69.99): With Craig Thompson’s 12-issue series now complete, Uncivilized Books releases this boxed collection of all 12 issues, along with a new minicomic and a sticker. The autobiographical series follows Thompson and his brother as kids working in the fields of their family’s Wisconsin farm, weeding and harvesting ginseng — a medicinal herb that fetched huge profits in China and funded Thompson’s obsession with comic books
DC Compact Comics: Watchmen (DC, $9.99): DC’s new Compact Comics line offers a smaller 5.5″ x 8.5″ format that’s closer in size to the ever-popular manga format and what you might find overseas. It’s also cheaper than most of their current trades at $9.99. This week the new line debuts with the classic Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons Watchmen, while future releases include Batman: The Court of Owls, All-Star Superman and Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens, among many others.