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.
DC K.O.: Knightfight #1 (DC, $3.99): DC’s big crossover event continues this week, as we learn what happened to Batman after the events of DC K.O. #1. Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora will send the Dark Knight on a different path in the tournament for the Heart of Apokolips—one that has turned Gotham into a deadly arena where Batman must battle against the Batmen of the future, who also happen to be his grown-up sidekicks.
Alien vs. Captain America #1 (Marvel, $5.99): Frank Tieri and Stefano Raffaele deliver Marvel’s latest xenomorph crossover. During World War II, Hydra seeks a new weapon to defeat the Allies and win the war. The Red Skull has sent Baron Strucker on an expedition to the Himalayas to find the fabled city of Atilan, but instead of finding the Inhumans, Strucker uncovers something much more deadly … and Alien.
G.I. Joe #13 (Skybound, $3.99): Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly kick off a new arc as the “Dreadnok War” begins. When Cobra Commander is betrayed by one of his closest allies, he’s targeted for revenge by the Dreadnoks. But in his darkest hour, the only one who can save Cobra Commander is his enemy, Duke. This storyline will come out bi-weekly.
Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1 (Titan Comics, $4.99): Dan Watters and Sami Kivela celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first appearance of the Slitheen as the Doctor, Belinda and an unlikely team of allies infiltrate a prison holding monsters and villains from across the cosmos. With new friends and old foes, and some old foes who might just be new friends, it’s an adventure across the Whoniverse and beyond in this four-issue series.
Space Scouts #1 (Dark Horse, $7.99): Matt Kindt and David Rubin deliver a science-fiction action-adventure odyssey in this magazine-sized title. A young girl heads to the center of the universe to compete in a reality show to become the next “Space Scout.” What starts as a teenage drama turns into deadly war at the edge of the universe as the “winning” recruits are sent into a clandestine battle they most likely won’t survive. The latest release from Flux House Books, Matt Kindt’s imprint that’s going to move to Oni Press, this three-issue series features bonus material in each oversized issue.
Harley and Ivy: Life and Crimes #1 (DC, $3.99): Erica Henderson dives into the definitive origins of Harley and Ivy’s relationship in a new series entirely about the criminal couple. The Eisner Award-winning artist and writer weaves the story of how Ivy and Harley went from enemies to friends to lovers. See their first kiss, their first embrace, their first fight and all the moments that forged their relationship in this six-issue series that promises to be the definitive exploration of how these two iconic characters fell for each other.
Planet She-Hulk #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Aaron Kuder helm this spinoff from Jonathan Hickman’s Imperial miniseries as Jennifer Walters finds herself stuck on Sakaar. She-Hulk made a promise to her cousin Hulk to watch over the planet and its people for a few days, but it’s been longer than that. And now She-Hulk’s in charge of keeping the peace on a planet at war.
Circus Maximus #1 (Mad Cave Studios, $4.99): Mark Sable and Giorgio Pontrelli deliver a blood-soaked five-issue historical thriller. Set in Rome, 64 AD, the most daring heist in history (so far, anyway) is being planned by an unlikely crew—a former slave, a Vestal Virgin, a charioteer and a disgraced architect, each with their own personal motives. While Rome is distracted by the chariot racing and gladiatorial games of the Circus Maximus, the crew plans to rob the Imperial treasury under the Temple of Saturn. But when Emperor Nero sets fire to the city, they’ll be lucky to escape his wrath with their lives, let alone the loot.
NO Place #1 (Ignition Press, $4.99): Writer Tim Seeley and artist Stefano Simeone explore the chilling side of childhood imagination in this dark fantasy story. Years after vanishing from her Chicago neighborhood, Mariposa Montiel has returned to a traumatized family and a media circus with nothing but a tiger-striped feather and an extraordinary tale of her time as the champion of a magical jungle land called Mayahuela. Mari is met as a fraud until a high-tech organization known as N.O. Place emerges from the shadows. Led by a legend from the Land of Oz, the secret agency has its finger on the pulse of so-called fictional worlds, and as its newest recruit, Mari is called upon to save our world from a creeping Lovecraftian nightmare.
Echo: Seeker of Truth #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Taboo, B. Earl and Jim Terry launch a new era for Echo, the former Avenger and host of the Phoenix force. When her cousin goes missing in Los Angeles, Echo heads there to find out what happened, but discovers a series of disappearances centered around a mysterious wellness cult called Wisteria Meadows. As Echo dives deeper into the mystery, she’ll discover a truth about herself she never imagined.
Crownsville #1 (Oni Press, $4.99): Writer Rodney Barnes and artist Elia Bonetti present a century-spanning tale of suspense and sorrow as true crime meets shocking terror inside an infamous asylum. Founded in Maryland at the turn of the 20th century, Crownsville Hospital was a notoriously segregated, all-Black psychiatric institute. Today it stands condemned, but when an unexplained death inside the abandoned hospital is ruled a suicide, detective Mike Simms and journalist Paul Blair dig deeper to discover the horrors that once took place there.
Death Dog #1 (AHOY Comics, $4.99): Bryce Ingman and Alan Robinson deliver a touching tale in a terrifying future. In near-future America, Wyatt—an innocent 13-year-old accused of shoplifting—is pursued by murderous robot police dogs. But an accident transforms one of his terrifying pursuers into a tame, docile and affectionate robodog who tries to bond with and protect Wyatt.
ThunderCats: Pumyra #1 (Dynamite, $5.99): Ed Brisson and Alice Leclert deliver a one-shot exploring Pumyra’s origin. In the aftermath of a war against the Mu’tants that claimed her parents’ lives, orphaned Pumyra is taken in by Jaga, who sees untapped potential in the scrappy young cat. As she trains in the art of healing, Pumyra discovers the power of compassion to transform pain into hope as she makes her way to becoming a ThunderCat.
Monster High: Shock and Aww! (IDW, $3.99): For the first time in a decade, Monster High and IDW partner to bring out-of-print comics back to unlife. Heather Nuhfer and Kellee Riley’s short story gets a new format as Invisi Billy wishes he could read Scarah Screams’ mind, but gets more than he asked for when a shock from Frankie Stein causes them to switch bodies. It’s Freaky Friday, Monster High edition.
Die!namite: Blood Red #1 (Dynamite, $4.99): Fred Van Lente and Marco Finnegan unleash the undead in this bloodcurdling chapter of Dynamite’s all-star supergroup adventures. Outside Sunset City’s fortified gates, zombie hordes search ceaselessly for their prey — women, because of the gender-targeting Deadman virus. Inside the walls, rival factions jockey for power under Purgatori and her Furies, including Vampirella, who’s stuck on Earth under Drakulonian quarantine. But when someone from a certain red planet arrives on the scene, everyone’s plans get scrambled.
Dogtangle (Fantagraphics, $19.99): Max Huffman makes his graphic novel debut with a rich satirical fable about an awful power couple who defy God and nature. A man bleating about zoning laws at a town hall meeting in a Taco Bell meets a woman in pharmaceutical marketing. They begin a relationship, get married and from their union springs the idea of the Hypermutt: a many-headed mass of dogs that absorbs each new dog it encounters. Chaos ensues.
Big-Ass Sword (Rebellion, $24): Andreas Butzbach makes his English-language debut with this Heavy Metal-esque adventure. In a world far from our own reality, a robot warrior and his talking skull wander through a vast and hostile techno landscape filled with strange lifeforms and mechanical beings left over from a long, forgotten war. And on his back? A big-ass sword.
Agent Cupcake (Oni Press, $14.99): Mel Hilario, Lauren Davis and Katie Longua deliver a “sparkle-spy” middle-grade graphic novel from the team behind Debian Perl, Digital Detective. Twelve-year-old Miguel Mangayayam has always loved mystical beasts, so he’s thrilled when he’s hired by the Mystical Beasts Bureau as their first human spy. He’s partnered with Agent Cupcake, a supercool unicorn superspy, and together they’ll go undercover, gather intel, crack codes and collect clues to solve the MBB’s toughest mysteries.