Can’t Wait for Wednesday | The X-Men + Fantastic Four team up in ‘DNX’

DNX #1 (Marvel, $5.99): The war between the X-Men and 3K — that’s the group led by the evil version of Beast, the White Beast, that wants to turn humanity into mutants — spills into the larger Marvel Universe and becomes the focus of this crossover series. Jed MacKay and Federico Vicentini send the X-Men out to seek the Fantastic Four’s help, while the White Beast moves to unleash the X-Virus on a major population center.

Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow’s Hand #1 (DC, $4.99): This one-shot by Che Grayson and Matías Bergara spins out of Absolute Catwoman to reveal the origin of the Absolute Universe’s most formidable assassin. Years ago, the Joker trained with the League of Assassins, learned everything he could, then slaughtered everyone. From the wreckage came Lady Shiva and her daughter Cassandra Cain.

Creepshow Vol. 5 #1 (Image, $3.99): The horror anthology returns with two new stories: Tyler Boss and Francesca Ciregia deliver clown-colleague body horror with a honk, and Lorenzo De Felici sends the last surviving astronaut racing to trace the origins of a mysterious object from space that’s wiping out humanity.

The Big Shakedown #1 (Dark Horse, $4.99): Jordan Blum, Tim Seeley and Scott Koblish launch a sunbaked L.A. noir with a post-apocalyptic premise: the Big One has finally hit Los Angeles, the government has abandoned it and five years later a down-on-her-luck former P.I. named Ester Blanco takes a missing persons case in a city where a third of the population is already gone. The trail leads to cults, conspiracy and corruption.

Marvel Mangaverse: Arcane Avengers #1 (Marvel, $4.99): Ashley Allen and Mirka Andolfo contribute another piece to the Mangaverse 25th anniversary. In a world of demonic yokai and shadowy organizations, the Winter Soldier leads a reluctant squad of sorcerers, including Bloodline and Wiccan, who are forced to capture and imprison supernatural creatures for their captors. As resources stretch thin, Bucky Barnes sees a chance to escape, until the appearance of his childhood friend Hawkeye complicates everything.

Space Ghost vs. The Herculoids #1 (Dynamite, $4.99): The regular Space Ghost team of David Pepose and Jonathan Lau reunite for this new crossover series bringing together the Hanna Barbera characters. A hijacking leads to the discovery of the rare mineral Quasarite, which in turn leads to the Federation invading the hidden planet of Amzot. The Herculoids launch a harrowing quest for revenge with Space Ghost caught in the middle.

Archie’s Halloween Spectacular (Archie Comics, $7.99): Ian Flynn and Bill Galvan deliver a new story for the annual Archie Halloween one-shot, with more pages than ever. Eyegore Estates is on the move, with Medusa Doom at the wheel, bent on stealing all the candy and kids in Riverdale. Archie and friends get some help from two unlikely allies: Cosmo the Merry Martian and Fly-Girl from the Crusaders.

Exquisite Corpses: Fox Mask Killer #1 (Image, $4.99): The Fox Mask Killer from Exquisite Corpses gets a solo spotlight courtesy of Che Grayson, Adam Gorham and Jordie Bellaire. Feared even among other assassins, the Fox Mask Killer wants the one thing money can’t buy: a way out. The only person who might be able to offer her that chance may be the devil herself.

Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft #1 (Dark Horse, $4.99): Amy Chu and Ariela Kristantina launch this genre-bending mystery set in D&D’s premier horror setting of Ravenloft. Monster hunter Ez D’Avenir is searching the frozen wasteland of Lamordia for an undead creature that may hold the key to why Ravenloft is falling apart, until Darklord Viktra Mordenheim starts hunting her instead.

Avengers: Armageddon #4 (Marvel, $4.99): Marvel’s big Avengers crossover continues with a big issue that, rumor has it, will introduce a familiar hero to the Marvel Universe. Chip Zdarsky, Delio Diaz and Frank Alpizar reach a pivotal moment in Marvel’s summer event with the Avengers torn apart and the entire Marvel Universe being reshaped before the launch of Avengers in November.

Ofiusa #1 (Image, $4.99): Guillem March writes and draws this six-issue multiverse-driven romance series. As the love affair between the irresistible Mar and young entrepreneur Joan unfolds in one timeline, Joan meets the enigmatic Isla on a paradise island in another timeline. It’s a love triangle where everyone is hiding something and a dark secret waits to be revealed, rendered in March’s sun-drenched artwork that makes every panel feel like a Mediterranean postcard about to go wrong.

The Dissidents (Abrams, $29.99): Derf Backderf, creator of My Friend Dahmer and Kent State, delivers what he’s calling his “magnum opus”: a graphic novel about the political cartoonists of The Masses magazine in 1916, who documented a country spiraling into darkness under Woodrow Wilson and were indicted for sedition for doing so. Art Young, Boardman Robinson, Cornelia Barns and others, alongside a fictional young German immigrant from Cleveland, live in a world of racial tension, economic inequality, a pandemic two years away, a far-right militia, a corrupt authoritarian president … wait, are we sure this is the past?

Identical (Fantagraphics, $24.99): Drawing on her own experience as an identical twin, Leah Hayes writes and draws this science fiction graphic novel about two girls born in the near future, where AI-assisted fertility treatments have produced something unexpected: their mother begins to suspect that one twin is human and the other is not.

Skull Cat Book 2: Skull Cat and the Vampire’s Amulet (Top Shelf, $14.99): Norman Shurtliff writes and draws this new Scully Catterson adventures set at the eerily blood-red Le Dark Château, where Scully’s attempt to prove to his worried father that there’s nothing to fear goes immediately sideways when he’s abducted by a flying pirate ship. Joined by a grumpy goblin and a disgruntled vine dragon, Scully races to stop the secrets of the Vampire’s Amulet from being unleashed.

Sgt. Rock by Joe Kubert: Deluxe Edition (DC, $49.99): Timed to what would have been Joe Kubert’s 100th birthday, DC presents 328 pages of his most beloved Sgt. Rock stories in fully restored color. It includes stories from G.I. Combat, Our Army at War, Sgt. Rock, and more, plus never-before-seen original artwork and new forewords by Andy Kubert and Brian Azzarello.

Joe Kubert: 100 Years — A Life in Covers #1 (DC, $5.99): In addition to the above, DC also releases another centennial celebration of Joe Kubert’s work with this collection of covers from The Brave and the Bold, House of Mystery, Sgt. Rock, Ragman and more.