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.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13 (IDW, $4.99): Eisner-winning writer Gene Luen Yang teams with Freddie E. Williams II for a new TMNT era. The Turtles face a different New York where they are viewed as heroes, but the celebration will be short-lived as new threats vie for control. The mutant yak Papa Beng is determined to widen the power base for his gang, but he and other villains are being stalked by a new assassin named Ujigami.
DC K.O.: Wonder Woman vs Lobo #1, Aquaman #12 (DC, $4.99 + $3.99): The big DC K.O. tournament continues this week in two different issues, as Aquaman faces off with Hawkman and Wonder Woman battles Lobo. Given how the Superman/Captain Atom fight went last week, it’ll be interesting to see what twists the creative teams introduce here. Jeremy Adams and John Timms are the team behind the Aquaman issue, while Diana’s battle with the main man is by Joelle Jones, Jason Howard and Cary Nord.
Various Ultimate Universe issues (Marvel, $4.99-5.99 each): Hey, it’s two penultimate Ultimate issues this week, as the pen-ultimate universe heads toward its big conclusion. Marvel isn’t telling us anything about Ultimate Spider-Man #23, which is by Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto and David Messina, while Bryan Edward Hill and Carlos Nieto’s Ultimate Black Panther promises to answer questions about Erik Killmonger, Vodu-Khan and the Child of Light. There’s also an issue of Ultimate Wolverine this week by Christopher Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio, but it is not the penultimate issue — meaning I can make this joke again next year when it’s second-to-last issue arrives.
Miss Truesdale and the Rise of Man #1 (Dark Horse, $4.99): Mike Mignola and Jesse Lonergan continue the “Miss Truesdale” saga in this four-issue miniseries that features gladiator Anum Yassa as she wanders the forest to learn about her past, present and future lives — and fight big, scary monsters along the way.
The End 2099 #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Steve Orlando and Ibraim Roberson head back to the future for a new (and final?) 2099 series that’ll introduce Marvel 3099. After the Age of Heroes ended, vigilantes like Spider-Man 2099, Nova 2099 and Red Hulk 2099 emerged to forge a new future, but that future has come to an end with the arrival of Abyssyus, a fusion of a Knull and Galactus. Mephisto bets the fate of 2099 in a battle of survival, pitting the warriors of 2099 against characters from across the Multiverse, many of whom look familiar: Age of Apocalypse-era Wolverine, Claremont/Byrne-era Cyclops and Marvel Girl, and House of M-era Scarlet Witch. Each battles for their own universe’s survival as Marvel’s past and present face off, with the future arriving in the form of Spider-Man 3099.
The Darkness (2025) #1 (Image Comics, $4.99): Co-creator Marc Silvestri returns to the character after many years away, with first issue art by Ed Benes. Mafia hitman Jackie Estacado was both blessed and cursed on his 21st birthday when he became the bearer of The Darkness, an elemental force that allows those who wield it access to an otherworldly dimension and control over the demons who dwell there. Thrust into a supernatural war between the dark and the light, Jackie faces forces rising up against the evil his gift represents. There is one small problem in this story: evil is good. Raymond Gay takes over art duties starting with issue #2 in this new era.
Devil’s Luck: A Hailstone Story #1 (Comixology Originals, $2.99): Rafael Scavone and Eduardo Ferigato return for a second season of their digital crime comic. Stuck in a remote mining town during the Great Depression, a naive dentist desperate to fund his California dream takes part in a sinister plot to profit from the golden teeth of a mysterious patient.
Our Soot Stained Heart #1 (Mad Cave Studios, $5.99): Debut writer Joni Hägg and artist Stipan Morian launch a four-issue steampunk Christmas adventure. The Coalition is a city of wonder in the deep north, ruled by the cruel Governor Glass and his factory lords. Coal is the lifeline of the city, and for young worker Peggy Stones, life is hard because of the nefarious quota. To get extra coal at the end of the year, you must be bad every day. Peggy’s life is thrown into chaos when she is imprisoned and sent into exile, beginning a journey to the ends of the world to find answers that could change everything.
Absolute Batman #15 (DC, $4.99): Scott Snyder reunites with his Wytches and Detective Comics collaborator Jock for an Absolute Universe tale that introduces the Joker. Alfred reveals to Bruce the story of the man he’s been chasing for years, which leads to an all-new, and twisted, take on the Clown Prince of Crime.
Ordained #1 (Bad Idea, $5.99): Robert Venditti and Trevor Hairsine launch a three-issue action crime thriller with a holy twist. Father Royston Craig performs last rites at a St. Louis hospital, and when called to hear the confession of dying Irish mafia head Cormac Byrne, he listens to a horrifying litany of gangland violence and killings. Father Roy absolves Byrne of his sins, leaving the man to die at peace—until the next morning when Byrne makes a miraculous medical recovery. No longer at death’s door, Byrne returns to his old ways and decides to kill the priest who now knows where all the bodies are buried. But the priest has a secret of his own …
EC Shiver SuspenStories 2 #1 (Oni Press, $8.99): EC Comics and Oni Press return for the second year to stab your stocking with all-new tales of holiday horror and Christmastime catastrophe in this giant-sized, 56-page annual. David M. Booher, Melissa Flores, George Northy, Ben H. Winters, Sami Kivelä, Dan McDaid and more deliver gruesomely gift-wrapped new stories, while the anthology also includes an EC Comics classic restored to its authentic original coloring.
Defenders of the Earth: Dark Destiny #1 (Mad Cave Studios, $4.99): Dan DiDio and Alex Sanchez helm another four-issue series with the beloved characters from the classic animated series. Mongo is a shattered empire, and it’s at least partly Flash Gordon’s fault. The Defenders of the Earth may have saved their home planet, but Mongo paid a hefty price for Ming the Merciless’s games — and now the toll’s come due.
Yojimbot Volume 2: Nights of Rust (Dark Horse, $19.99): Sylvain Repos and Noiry continue their saga of robots who live by the code of the samurai on a Japanese theme park island deserted by humanity. After miraculously escaping the brutal Topu and his drones, Hiro has spent months in hiding, working tirelessly to charge and repair his friends. But he can’t hide forever, and now he must venture out once again to find a way off the island.