Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. This week Archie Comics has two big releases, as Tom King joins with Dan Parent to help Archie Andrews make a monumental decision, while their horror titles converge in The Cursed Library. We also have the Avengers facing off with Aliens, Rob Liefeld’s final Deadpool series, the debut of Skybound’s Frankenstein and a celebration of the 1990s and DC’s Zero Hour. It’s another big week for the final month of summer.
I’ve pulled out some of the other highlights for this week 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.
Archie: The Decision #1 (Archie Comics, $3.99): This is it, the moment we’ve all been waiting for — the moment when Archie chooses between Betty and Veronica. Tom King, making his Archie Comics debut, is writing the story, joined by Dan Parent, the only logical choice to draw it. Expect appearances by Jose and the Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Hot Dog and probably a lot of other Archie mainstays, as they all wait to see Archie finally make a decision … sorry, make The Decision.
The Cursed Library Alpha (Archie Comics, $4.99): Archie’s other big release this week is the first issue of a crossover of their various Archie Horror titles over the last few years. All the various threads from those titles will come together in this three-issue series that spotlights Archie Horror mainstays Jinx, her best friend Danni and Madam Satan by creators Magdalene Visaggio, Eliot Rahal, Craig Cermak and more. You can check out a preview here.
Aliens vs. Avengers #1 (Marvel, $7.99): Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić introduce a grittier take on the Avengers — one set not too far into the future, but seem to have seen some shit — to battle the Xenomorphs from Aliens in this four-issue miniseries. Hickman has promised they have found some ways to ‘Avengerize’ Aliens and ‘alien-up’ Avengers, so this one should be fun to check out.
Universal Monsters Frankenstein #1 (Skybound, $4.99): Michael Walsh writes and draws this miniseries featuring a different take on the classic monster Frankenstein. Each of the four issues will tell the story behind one of the body parts used to create Frankenstein in the original film — which seems like the perfect approach from the creator and artist of The Silver Coin, an anthology series that follows a cursed coin into different horror stories.
Zero Hour 30th Anniversary Special (DC, $9.99): DC celebrates Zero Hour, the 1990s event written and drawn by Dan Jurgens that featured a showdown between DC’s heroes and the villainous Parallax — a.k.a. their former ally Hal Jordan, who went mad after the destruction of Coast City. This one-shot will feature new stories by Jurgens, Ron Marz, Jerry Ordway, Darryl Banks and more, as Kyle Rayner discovers “Parallax and his vision have survived, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make sure their world prevails.”
Life #1 (DSTLRY, $8.99): Stephanie Phillips, Brian Azzarello, Lee Loughridge and Danijel Zezelj team up for this high-concept miniseries that’s also a flip book, telling the bigger story from two different perspectives. That bigger story is about a future where criminals have to serve every day of their consecutive life sentences, and one particular criminal is stuck on a prison planet working the mines, until a space ship filled with criminals looking for a big score show up. One part of the book will be from the prisoner’s perspective, with the other detailing the heist.
Deadpool Team-Up #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Rob Liefeld’s final Deadpool comic brings the Merc with a Mouth together with several friends, new and old, in this miniseries. You’ve got Hulk and Wolverine, plus Spider-Gwen, and another Liefeld creation, Major X, and the very random/obscure Crystar, the Crystal Warrior. They have to team up as the result of the return of another “lost” Marvel character, who has not been revealed yet.
BRZRKR: The Lost Book of B #1 (BOOM! Studios, $9.99): The mega-successful comic returns with a new one-shot by the original record-breakin’, Hall H takin’ creative team of Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, Ron Garney and Bill Crabtree. This one focuses on the immortal BRZRKR’s time as a weapon for the notorious Ghengis Khan.
Flash Gordon Quarterly #1 (Mad Cave Studios, $5.99): Mad Cave’s Flash Gordon line continues to grow with this anthology title that features stories about supporting characters as well as completely new takes on the Flash Gordon mythos. This issue features a King Vultan story, as well as a Western take and a detective take on Flash Gordon. Creators for this first issue include Dennis Culver, Louis Southard, Jordan Thomas, Pasquale Qualano, Nuno Plati, Russell Olson and more.
Venom War: Zombiotes #1 (Marvel, $3.99): Cavan Scott and Juan Jose Ryp are the creators of what may be the weirdest and most fun addition to the Venom War crossover, as this miniseries features “a darker strain of symbiote” that “can reanimate the dead and turn the living into an engine of mindless hunger with just one bite.” Yes, Marvel Zombiotes are unleashed!
Absolute Power: Task Force VII #5 (DC, $3.99): The Flash family and the evil Amazo robot known as Velocity take center stage in this issue of the Absolute Power tie-in series by Alex Paknadel and Pete Woods.
Prairie Gods #1 (Mad Cave Studios, $4.99): This five-issue anthology of horror stories by Shane Connery Volk will feature five different stories featuring revenants, aliens and, in this first issue, a car race against the devil.
Phases of the Moon Knight #1 (Marvel, $4.99): I don’t think this has been billed as a Blood Hunt spinoff, but given we had an army of undead former Moon Knights show up there, I can’t help but think it at least inspired this anthology. Anyway, this four-issue miniseries will feature stories about various Khonshu champions from throughout history, with this first issue featruing a story by Benjamin Percy and Rod Reis that introduces the Moon Knight of the Old Crusades, while Erica Schultz and Manuel García show us the night that the Shroud decided to take up the mantle of Moon Knight.
Convert #1 (Image Comics, $3.99): Veteran comics writer John Arcudi teams with artist Savannah Finley for this science fiction comic. The writer of B.P.R.D., Major Bummer and more said the new series is a “more intimate” approach to science fiction for him, as it’s about a lone science officer who is stranded on an alien planet, where he’s haunted by his dead crew.
Eye Lie Popeye #1 (Massive, $4.99): Massive Publishing has picked up some interesting licenses recently, including the rights to make comics starring Rey Mysterio and the recent Assassin’s Creed: Visionaries comics. I like that they seem to be taking a different approach to the material, too, like letting creators share their own takes on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, for instance. Which brings me to this title, which is, essentially, a manga-esque take on the famous cartoon sailor Popeye by Marcus Williams. I nhave no idea what it’s going to be like, but it sure looks fun.
Chasm: Curse of Kaine #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Peter Parker’s clone Ben Reilly returns sporting his latest identity, Chasm. Steve Foxe and Andrea Broccardo send the other Peter Parker clone, Kaine Parker, on the hunt for his clone brother, who he thinks needs saving. But does Chasm even want to be saved?
Barbaric vs. Deathstalker #1 (Vault Comics, $5.99): Vault brings two sword-and-sorcery worlds together in this story by Slash, Steven Kostanski, Tim Seeley and Nathan Gooden that finds Owen the barbarian and Deathstalker summoned by an evil wizard and forced to fight each other.
Gods and Monsters #1 (Cutaway Comics, $9.99): Ian Winterton, Mark Griffiths, John Ridgway and Adrian Salmon helm this title that ties into the BBC’s Doctor Who, which is a bit of surprise considering I thought Titan had the rights to do Doctor Who stories. Anyway, this series features several friends and foes of Doctor Who bring brought together across time and space to the Eltralla, a phantom colony ship lost in space and time, harboring a hidden and potentially universe-shattering secret.
Marvel 85th Anniversary Special (Marvel, $7.99): Marvel has made a habit of releasing an anniversary anthology every August, and this year is no different. This one marks the 85th anniversary of the release of Marvel Comics #1 way back in 1939, although that release and the characters in it don’t seem to be represented here. The anthology will feature stories by Ryan North, Alan Davis, Christopher Priest, Iman Vellani, Sabir Pirzada, Steve Skroce, Josh Cassara, Stephen Byrne, Kaku Yuji, Carlo Pagulayan and more, with appearances by Ms. Marvel, Deadpool and a “lost” story featuring the original Excalibur.
Transformers #1 40th Anniversary Edition (Skybound, $3.99): Skybound celebrates 40 years of Transformers comics with this reprint of the very first Transformers comic that came out from Marvel — and it’s printed on newsprint, to boot. There’s also a variant cover version featuring an homage to Bill Sienkiewicz’s original cover by Christian Ward.
Undergrowth (Top Shelf, $24.99): On a world being attacked by giant robotic monsters, four friends die and are resurrected as the pilots of four massive forest creatures that can help turn the tide. It’s by writer Ricky Lima and artist Daniele Aquilani.
The Night Never Ends (Silver Sprocket, $19.99): Steve Thueson writes and draws this graphic novel about a woman who returns to her hometown to celebrate her 30th birthday by holding a seance (wait, what?) that somehow puts her in the crosshairs of the local bloodthirsty cult. Happy birthday, Kate — I hope you survive the experience …
Full Shift (Penguin Young Readers, $17.99): Jennifer Dugan and Kit Seaton tell the story of Tessa, a werewolf who can’t fully change form yet and would do anything to become humna — even take a cure presented by a group of werewolf hunters.
Buckle Up (Random House Graphic, $13.99): Lawrence Lindell, creator of Blackward, returns with a new graphic novel about Lonnie, whose parents are recently divorced and the only time he sees his dad is when he drives Lonnie to school. So his dad tries to squeeze in conversations about everything Lonnie will ever need to know about life, divorce, racism, sexuality and more during these short car rides.