Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.
I’ve pulled out some of the 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 (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. With Diamond going through bankruptcy proceedings, distribution has become even more questionable, with deliveries and arrival dates changing. So check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.
Absolute Flash #1 (DC, $4.99): On the heels of DC’s white-hot Absolute Universe launch comes a second wave of titles, led appropriately by The Flash. Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles present a new take on Wally West that finds him “without the mentor…without the family…without the Speed Force, what’s left is the Absolute Scarlet Speedster!”
Adventureman: Family Tree #1 (Image Comics, $3.99): Matt Fraction and the Dodson return to the world of Adventureman for an origin story that looks back at the Adventureman family tree — including the story of how Adventureman and Mme. Chagall the Superscientist first fell in love.
LA Strong (Mad Cave, $9.99): To support comics creators who lost their homes in the L.A. fires earlier this year, Mad Cave has assembled a new anthology that features contributions from Barbara Kessel, Brian Azzarello, Brian Michael Bendis, Christos Gage, Dan DiDio, Daniel Kibblesmith, Frank Tieri, Greg Pak, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jody Houser, Marv Wolfman, Paul Cornell, Rob DenBleyker, Sina Grace, Stephanie Phillips, Steve Orlando, Alex Cormack, Alison Sampson, Amanda Conner, Christian Ward, Geraldo Borges, Ian Churchill, Michael Avon Oeming, Nico Leon, Rian Gonzales, Salvador Larroca, Sami Kivelä and more.
Out of Alcatraz #1 (Oni Press, $5.99): The powerhouse team of Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook tackle the story of convicts Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin, who successfully escaped from Alcatraz back in 1962. (Clint Eastwood played Morris in the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz). This is about what happened afterwards, as they discover life on the run may not be any better than being stuck on The Rock.
The Last Boy #1 (BOOM! Studios, $4.99): Dan Panosian and Alessio Avallone helm this “sequel” of sorts to Peter Pan, about an aging Wendy living in England and a forever-young Peter Pan still clinging to his adventurous youth.
DC X Sonic the Hedgehog #1 (DC, $3.99): Longtime Sonic writer Ian Flynn teams with artist Adam Bryce Thomas for this new miniseries that sees Darkseid invading Sonic’s world, and the Sonic gang teaming with the Justice League to stop him.
Crush Depth #1 (Mad Cave, $4.99): Morning Star co-creators Tim Daniel and David ‘DB’ Andry explore the depths of horror in the post-apocalyptic undersea thriller, teaming with artist Alex Sanchez, colorist Kurt Michael Russell and letterer Justin Birch.
ThunderCats: Lost #1 (Dynamite, $4.99): Ed Brisson and Rapha Lobosco present this spinoff of Dynamite’s popular ThunderCats series, which features several characters who were introduced later in the acrtoon’s timeline, like Pumyra, Lynx-0, Shen, Ligon and Bengali. They find themselves on a mission in the middle of a war zone that’s tied to the Book of Omens.
New Champions #3 (Marvel, $3.99): The original Champions — well, not the original original, as in Hercules and company, but the previous Champions, as in Ms. Marvel and company — return to challenge the New Champions, in a story by Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli.
Who Are The Power Pals? #1 (Dark Horse, $4.99): Duane Murray and Ahmed Raafat’s new series is about a pair of former actors from a superhero show that was cancelled after three episodes. When they take to the Hollywood streets in costume to make money taking pictures with tourists, they inadvertently become crime fighters.
Mouse Guard: Dawn of the Black Axe #1 (BOOM! Studios, $4.99): David Petersen returns with a new volume of Mouse Guard, this time with artist Gabriel Rodriguez to tell the secret origin of the series’ fabled black axe.
The Littlest Fighter (Oni Press, $14.99): Mermin creator Joey Weiser writes and draws a new graphic novel featuring a young fighter who battles giant monsters and the young villager he encounters who urges him to follow a nonviolent path.