Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what’s coming to your local comic shop this week.
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 + Mad Cave + 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 check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.
Deadpool/Batman #1 (Marvel/DC, $6.99): The first of two one-shot anthologies featuring crossovers between Marvel and DC characters arrives this week, bringing us Marvel’s take on Deadpool meeting Batman by Zeb Wells and Greg Capullo. (DC will follow in November with Batman/Deadpool by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora).
But that’s not all — this issue also has stores like:
- Daredevil and Green Arrow by Kevin Smith and Andy Kubert.
- Captain America and Wonder Woman by Chip Zdarsky and Terry Dodson.
- Jeff the Land Shark and Krypto by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru.
Plus many, many variant covers, by Mark Bagley, Skottie Young, Ryan Stegman and more.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #1 (IDW, $4.99): The TMNT ally jumps into his own solo miniseries by Alex Paknadel and Amancay Nahuelpan, as Casey Jones continues his mission to protect New York City, this time from a new villain.
Good as Dead #1 (Skybound, $7.99): David and Maria Lapham reveal “how far a small town will go to keep its secrets” in this new crime comic that was co-created by Chris Black, creator and showrunner of the Apple+ show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Skybound CEO David Alpert.
The Bat-Man: Second Knight #1 (DC, $6.99): Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins’ The Bat-Man: First Knight Black Label series gets a sequel, as the story moves into 1940 against the backdrop of World War II. A new serial killer plagues Gotham and a reporter from the Daily Star, Lois Lane, shows up to investigate.
Marvel Zombies Red Band #1 (Marvel, $4.99): You can’t keep a good zombie down, so once again the Marvel Zombies claw their way into comics, this time as an uncensored Red Band title. The five-issue miniseries is by Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan and Jan Bazaldua, and it’ll feature a Marvel Universe where the Fantastic Four came back from their fabled journey into space changed forever … into super-powered zombies.
Creepshow Vol 4 #1 (Skybound, $3.99): Skybound is back with yet another anthology miniseries featuring tales of horror, with this first issue featuring stories by Jeremy Adams, Rosie Knight, Eduardo Risso, Oliver Ono, Mike Spicer and more.
Blade Runner Black Lotus: Las Vegas #1 (Titan, $4.99): Nancy A. Collins and Jesus Hervas continue the story that started in the 2021 anime series that appeared on Adult Swim, and then spun into a previous miniseries from Titan. This new series sees the deadly replicant combat model named Elle — but who is also known as The Black Lotus Killer — continue searching for answers about her mysterious past.
Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa #1 (Oni Press, $4.99): Hey, if you didn’t realize it, the “C.O.W.” in the title stands for “Code of the West.” And yes, it spells out “Cow,” because this is a comic based on an old cartoon that featured anthropomorphic gunslinging cows in the Old West. Apparently they were mutated by a comet or something, according to Wikipedia, where I spent way too much time reading about a cartoon from the 1990s I’ve never seen — and making sure I typed out the name correctly. This one is by writer Matt Hotson and artist Juan Gedeon, and it’s part of Oni’s bigger Nacelleverse line. (Fun fact: Archie had a series based on the cartoon back in the 1990s as well).
Magic: The Gathering #1 (Dark Horse, $4.99): The first comic out of the deck from Dark Horse’s licensing agreement with Wizards of the Coast is by Dan Watters and Owen Gieni, and is based on the Magic set known as Theros Beyond Death. I am not a Magic guy, so that doesn’t mean much to me, but if you’re a player and want the backstory behind those cards, you’ll be in good hands with Watters and Gieni.
The Expanse: A Little Death #1 (BOOM! Studios, $5.99): Writer Andy Diggle, actor Wes Chatham and artist Francesco Pisa return to the world of the science fiction TV series The Expanse for a miniseries featuring a high-stakes conspiracy.
Boba Fett: Black White & Red #1 (Marvel, $5.99): The notorious bounty Hunter Boba Fett is the latest Star Wars character to get his own Black, White & Red series — which, as implied by the name, features comics that only use those three colors. The first issue features a story by Benjamin Percy and Chris Allen, titled “The Impossible Job,” that sees the Empire and a Rebel faction vying for the same bounty.
Flow #1 (Mad Cave Studios, $4.99): Paula Sevenbergen and Claudia Balboni helm this miniseries about a trio of girls who tortured a girl at summer camp when she had her first period — and the subsequent curse that follows them into adulthood.
No Man’s Land #1 (Image Comics, $3.99): Szymon Kudranski writes and draws this miniseries that features a murder mystery with an interesting twist — the dead body has been found on the ice bridge that connects the Diomede Islands during the winter. Sitting in the Bering Strait, one island is owned by Russia and the other by the United States, potentially causing an international incident if an FBI agent and KGB operative can’t work together to solve the murder.
Cry Out Loud (Random House Graphic, $17.99): Tara O’Connor writes and draws this horror graphic novel about a rebellious Irish teen who visits distant relatives, only to discover that she’s to be sacrificed as part of a generational blood ritual. Family, amirite?
Death in Trieste (Fantagraphics, $24.99): Norway’s greatest cartoonist is back with another anthology featuring three stories — one of which has David Bowie, Rasputin, Nosferatu and more coming together in 1920s Berlin, another of which features 1980s New Wave artists as X-Men-esque superheroes. This sounds awesome.
Boxed (Mad Cave, $19.99): Mark Sable and Jeremy Haun’s graphic novel about rogue AI and the FBI division tasked with controlling it originally came out in 2023 from Comixology Originals, and now two years later the world they imagined seems even less science fiction-y.
“Much of Boxed is inspired by my work with military and intelligence agencies as a futurist for the Atlantic Council,” Sable said when it was announced. “Artificial Intelligence software is shaking up our times, from Chat GPT to Midjourney to Open AI, these entities are becoming more immersed in our everyday reality not only replacing what humans can do, but blurring the line between human and machine intelligence and the capabilities are not to be underestimated.”
Beetle Bailey: 75 Years of Smiles (Fantagraphics, $65): Someone close to this project described it to me as “a beautiful doorstopper of a book,” featuring 75 Sunday pages reproduced from color syndicate proofs, 135 daily and Sunday strips scanned from original artwork, rare photographs, historic debut character appearances, syndicate promotional materials, posters, merchandise, personal drawings and memorabilia from the family archives, as well as biographical sketches and anecdotes. If you are a Mort Walker or Beetle Bailey fan, this one is for you.
Assorted Crisis Events (Image Comics, $16.99): If you have not been checking out Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadzki’s anthology-like series about a world where time has gone crazy and people find themselves stuck in time loops or hanging with cavemen at their local coffee shop, now is your chance to catch up on one of this year’s most unique series.
Exquisite Corpses (Image Comics, $9.99): And speaking of catching up, here’s another recent favorite of mine; James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh’s round-robin story about a deadly competition being played out in small town America by the wealthiest families in America gets its first collection. The high-concept series brings together a dozen creators for the story of a dozen killers facing off in a small town in Maine, and so far it has been bonkers. Check it out if you haven’t already.
Great picks! Always excited to dive into new series like The Bat-Man: Second Knight and Blade Runner: Black Lotus. Love how diverse the themes are, from horror in Creepshow to sci-fi in The Expanse. Cant wait to explore these new worlds!