Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what’s coming to your local comic shop this week. The card this week is packed, so let’s get to it.
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.: Boss Battle #1 (DC, $4.99): Multiverses collide in this DC K.O. tie-in one-shot that features the battle of all battles between DC’s characters and new challengers from IDW, Archie Comics, Dynamite and more. Jeremy Adams teams with a faction of artists as the remaining champions in the K.O. tournament must battle champions of other worlds beyond our own, including horror movie icon Annabelle, Homelander from The Boys, Mortal Kombat’s Sub-Zero, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch and more. It features art by Ronan Cliquet, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Kieran McKeown, Pablo M. Collar and Hi-Fi.
Planet of the Apes vs. Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Speaking of battles that span multiverses, Josh Trujillo and Andrea Di Vito deliver a crossover for the ages. Marvel’s First Family find themselves stranded on the Planet of the Apes, crossing paths for the very first time with Cornelius, Zira, Ursus and Dr. Zaius. But they won’t be going alone—familiar foes from the Marvel Universe have set their sights on Ape City, setting the stage for a battle royale that fans won’t soon forget.
D’orc #1 (Image Comics, $3.99): Writer/artist Brett Bean and colorist Jean-François Beaulieu launch a humorous high-fantasy romp about a half dwarf, half orc orphan who is fated to end the world.
Gargoyles/Darkwing Duck #1 (Dynamite, $4.99): It seems to be the week for odd team-ups, as Greg Weisman, Tad Stones and Ciro Cangialosi unite two beloved Disney Afternoon shows for the first time. When Demona whisks Morgana Macawber to her New York City lair to grill her for a mystical tome, Darkwing Duck and Launchpad McQuack race to rescue his avian amour. But will the Terror That Flaps in the Night be able to handle the City That Never Sleeps and the stone guardians who protect it?
Knight City #1 (Dark Horse, $4.99): Matt Kindt and David Lapham tag team on a three-issue series about a legendary hero caught between two worlds. By day, he soars as a symbol of hope, but the moment he falls asleep, he enters a universe devoid of heroes and leads a mundane life. As the pressure of his dual universes mounts, his heroic self begins to crack, and he’s left with a choice: embrace his extraordinary abilities or seek solace in the ordinary.
DC x AEW #1 (DC, $4.99): Steve Orlando and Travis Mercer deliver a two-issue crossover featuring the superstars of All Elite Wrestling exploding into the DC Universe. The Intergalactic Title, made of pure Element X, is ruptured in a post-match beatdown, and every shard is a weapon that can rewrite reality. With those pieces scattered across the DCU, the Justice League teams with Hangman Adam Page, Timeless Toni Storm, Orange Cassidy and more to crisscross the globe and recover the shards before DC’s worst villains use them to turn our world into their deadly playground. It’s a new version of Justice League Elite, with Excalibur and Booster Gold on commentary.
Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Shadows of Tomorrow continues as Murewa Ayodele and Federica Mancin launch a new chapter for Ororo Munroe. Unaware of the coming threat known as the War Above All, Storm turns her gaze inward to Earth and serves as Earth’s protector once more, sharing a Japanese tea ceremony with an enemy, visiting France for a masquerade with monsters and attending a gut-wrenching funeral.
Thundarr the Barbarian #1 (Dynamite, $4.99): Jason Aaron and Kewber Baal return to the halcyon days of Saturday Morning TV as Dynamite reignites another cartoon classic in comics form. Thundarr has dedicated his life and the power of his mystical blade, the Sunsword, to liberating his world from the forces of evil. With Ariel and Ookla the Mok by his side, this trio is ready to rumble.
Autumn Kingdom: The Wraithbound Queen #1 (Oni Press, $4.99): Cullen Bunn and Christopher Mitten return to their dark fairy tale about two sisters trying to save their parents from the forces of evil. With the human world far behind them, Summer and Winter face a legion of goblins, trolls and corrupted human souls for the life of their father.
Magik & Colossus #1 (Marvel, $4.99): It’s mixed tag-team action as Ashley Allen and Germán Peralta reunite for an X-Men story full of epic fights, mysticism and family drama. When Magik and Colossus return to their mother country, they discover ancient monsters from Russian folklore preying on the innocent and must set aside their differences to save their country.
Blood Honey (IDW, $9.99): Sean Peacock writes and draws this macabre tale of young love set at Manderlay Preparatory High School, where “it” couple Vanessa De La Mora and Edgar St. Claire are at the top of the food chain. While they should be focusing on their homecoming crowning, lately they’ve grown weary and resentful of each other, leading to a cat-and-cat game of two teens trying to murder each other in increasingly elaborate fashion.
Superman: Chains of Love Special #1 (DC, $5.99): Leah Williams, Dan Slott, Ig Guara and Rosi Kampe head to Metropolis for an electrifying Valentine’s Day special. When former felon Livewire is released from prison, an alliance and romance with the Creeper is forged in the fires of a super-villain battle. With two of Metropolis’s most notorious shock-jock media personalities getting together comes the debut of the Wiretap, a new outlet to rival the Daily Planet. Ain’t love grand?
Supernatural Valentine’s Day Special 2026 #1 (Dynamite, $5.99): Preeti Chhibber and Pasquale Qualano deliver a 40-page love letter from the Winchester Brothers’ early years. Sam and Dean understand the heartache that would cause a person to turn to demonic forces to bring someone back from the dead, but what about an ancient and uncontrollable goddess of desire? It’s Sam and Dean vs. the true power of love.
Ripcord #1 (Ignition Press, $4.99): Cullen Bunn and Aneke launch an ultraviolent exploitation comic about a drug known as “Ripcord” that fundamentally alters who you are, transforming users into mindless, frenzied killers. Dillon is one of thousands who has lost a family member to Ripcord, but unlike others, she’s going to do something about it.
Godzilla: Infinity Roar #1 (Marvel, $5.99): Knull and Godzilla form a Dangerous Alliance that not even Paul Heyman would be prepared for, as Gerry Duggan, Javier Garron and Ig Guara send the King of All Monsters into space following his deadly tour through the Marvel Universe. As the god of the symbiotes fans the flames of Godzilla’s anger, a new campaign for galactic conquest begins with the King of the Monsters and the King in Black taking on the Galactic Empire of Wakanda, the Shi’ar empire, the Kree, the Skrulls and more.
Drumsticks of Doom #1 (Part-Time Comix, $5.99): Jon Westhoff and Dan Dougherty’s crowdfunded comic comes to shops as a four-issue, giant-sized series. Set in world where Black Sabbath became the world’s most famous band instead of the Beatles, follow two bandmates as they are drawn into a spiritual battle of the bands to keep metal on top of the charts.
Absolute Superman #16 (DC, $4.99): In this follow-up to Absolute Evil, it’s a clash of champions as Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra introduce Superman to one of the world’s first super-powered protectors: Hawkman, who has a few tips for the new kid, whether he wants to hear them or not.
Archie x The Army of Darkness #1 (Dynamite, $4.99): Erik Burnham and Bill Galvan show us what happens when The Army of Darkness’s Ash, who is doomed to battle evil over and over again, arrives in Riverdale. The mayhem pauses for him until over-curious teenager Archie finds a copy of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis and reads from it, summoning the horrifying Deadites. Now Ash and the townsfolk of Riverdale must hold back the undead hordes in a street fight for Riverdale’s survival.
Nice House by the Sea #7 (DC, $3.99): After a brief hiatus, James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno’s apocalyptic series returns as the first of a new wave of Vertigo titles. The residents of both houses were told they were the only survivors of a global apocalypse, but the Sea House residents have just learned their only path to survival is to kill everyone in the Lake House. And someone in the Lake House has agreed to help them in a sinister heel turn …
Wolverine #15 (Marvel, $4.99): It’s the ultimate handicap match as Saladin Ahmed and Mike Henderson pit Department H’s premier strike team, Alpha Flight, against their most famous alum.
DC K.O.: Knightfight #4 (DC, $3.99): Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora conclude their look at the impact Batman might be having on his sidekicks, as Bruce Wayne visits a world where Gotham City no longer needs its Caped Crusader because Damian has achieved the very peace Batman has always strived for. Will Batman destroy Damian’s peaceful reality, or will we see a reunification we can only pray the Mysterio family will one day achieve?
Crickets #9 (Fantagraphics, $14): Sammy Harkham returns with the first new issue in two years. A new full-color serial begins with The San Fernando Kid, a story that combines robbery, racism, prison and the proper way to tie a noose. The issue is rounded out with a story about Frederick the Great and a tale about bumping into old friends.
DC and Marvel Present Superman and Spider-Man (Marvel Treasury Edition #28) Facsimile Edition (DC/Marvel, $17.99): This reprints the classic team-up by Jim Shooter, Marv Wolfman and John Buscema, as Doctor Doom and Parasite unite to rule the world, with only Superman and Spider-Man — plus a run-in by Wonder Woman and the Hulk — there to stop them.
Action Cat & Adventure Bug: Let’s Do This (Papercutz, $17.99): Art Baltazar and Franco return to the AW Yeah Comics! Universe with new stories following comic shop employees Cornelius and Alowicious as they save the world from supervillains, evil aliens, giant monsters and the diabolical Evil Cat.
The Woodchipper (Drawn & Quarterly, $24.95): Joe Ollmann returns with a suite of comic short stories focused on his trademark nervous wreck characters caught in escalating personal disasters — including a city maintenance worker who keeps pulling an accident-prone newbie’s limbs out of the woodchipper.
Wake Now in the Fire (Ten Speed Graphic, $24.99): Jarrett Dapier and AJ Dungo deliver a fictionalized account based on true events when Chicago Public Schools banned Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis from all classrooms and libraries — and the subsequent movement by students to rise up and protest via a school-wide walkout and library sit-in.
Hilo Presents: The Mighty (Random House Graphic, $14.99): Judd Winick introduces new stories, heroes and worlds in these “Hilo Presents” spinoffs of his main Hilo series of graphic novels. This one is about Miranda, an average kid trying to make it through the school day, who just might be the superhero known as The Mighty — a giant, furry, mythical creature who keeps Willow City safe in times of need.
Kid Flash: Going Rogue (DC, $12.99): Steve Foxe and Jerry Gaylord deliver a story about teamwork and second chances as Kid Flash and his uncle Barry team up to teach a teenage group of rogues, namely Golden Glider, Pied Piper, Trickster and the Top, an important lesson.
Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S. (Mad Cave Studios/Maverick, $16.99): Abandoned as a child by her adventurer father and having fought her way up through the ranks of the kingdom’s premier espionage agency, Bec has become their top operative, and must leap into action when a Dwarven princess is kidnapped in this graphic novel by Andrew Clemson and Mau Mora.
Lovely Recipe (Random House Graphic, $18.99): Myra Rose Nino cook up a savory and sweet Yougn Adult romance about a senior in high school trying to learn her grandma’s recipes to reconnect with her distant mom. Enter a super cute classmate who’s a gifted chef. Soon enough, they discover the sparks between them are more than just stovetop flames.
Supergirl’s Zoo-per Heroes: Krypto’s Big Break HC (DC, $12.99): Rob Justus returns with another all-ages graphic novel set in the DC Universe. Krypto is waiting for Supergirl to finish some important business at the Watchtower when he accidentally sends the Justice League’s superhero costumes hurtling toward Earth. Down on Earth, a group of unsuspecting zoo animals end up with the costumes and, thanks to some cosmic rays, their superpowers too. Now Supergirl and Krypto must wrangle the Justice League’s laundry from the Zoo-per Heroes, including the fastest sloth on Earth, a wonder seal, a bat rhino and a super-lion.
Darwyn Cooke’s The Complete Spirit Connoisseur Edition (Image Comics, $100): Darwyn Cooke’s The Spirit comic stories, originally published by DC, are collected in their entirety for the first time in this oversized hardcover from Act 4, editor Scott Dunbier’s new publishing imprint. Designed by Sean Phillips and featuring an introduction by J Bone, the collection includes a gallery of covers, two variant covers from a Rocketeer/The Spirit crossover and several never-before-seen drawings. Collects The Spirit #1-6, #8-12 and the Batman/The Spirit one-shot. (If, like me, you’re wondering why issue #7 isn’t included, it’s because it featured stories by other creators).