Author: JK Parkin

The Thing takes on everybody in a miniseries next year

When a hit goes out Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew, a cadre of classic villains head to Yancy Street to collect.

With the new Fantastic Four film arriving next year, Marvel is focusing heavily on their first family in the comics as well — which includes a new miniseries starring The Thing by Tony Fleecs and Leonard Kirk.

The solo miniseries finds Ben Grimm back on Yancy Street, where his attempts to stop a criminal conspiracy put him in the crosshairs of a mysterious villain who puts a contract out on him — drawing the attention of everyone from Bullseye to the Juggernaut.

“What I love about Ben Grimm is that he’s just a regular hardworking guy—who happens to have super powers,” said Fleecs, co-creator of Image’s Local Man. “He’s Jack Kirby. He’s not easily impressed by all of the outlandish, cosmic stuff constantly going on around him.”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Deck the halls with lots of comics

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Dav Pilkey, Francesca Perillo, Stefano Cardoselli, Mikey Way, Jonathan Rivera, Piotr Kowalski, Al Ewing, Carlos Gómez, Christian Ward, Fábio Veras, Melissa F. Olson and more.

Happy December and welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

‘Tis the season to read comics, and this week brings several new holiday specials from DC, Marvel, Top Cow and more. I’m such a jolly fellow that I put them at the top of the stocking this time. This week also brings new series starring Venom and Two-Face, a ThunderCats spin-off, the return of Dick Tracy and Snotgirl, a new Dog Man book and more.

I’ve pulled out some of the other 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:

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 always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Sunday Comics | Nightwing’s Butt takes center stage on DC Go

Plus: Crucial Comix, Poetry Comics Month and more!

Here’s a round up of some of the most interesting comics we’ve seen online recently. If we missed something, let us know in the comments below.

In the lead-up to the New York Comic Con, DC announced DC Go, their Webtoon-esque scrolling comics addition to their DC Universe Infinite digital comics. They’ve now posted four chapters of their original comics featuring Harley Quinn, Raven and Nightwing’s butt, as well as several “vertically reformatted” DC and MAD Magazine classics, including Batman: Hush, All-Star Superman and the Court of Owls storyline that kicked off Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s New 52 Batman.

And what’s great is, everything they’ve posted so far is available for free.

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Shobo + Shof Coker team with Alexandre Tefenkgi to steal back history in ‘Bronze Faces’

The heist begins in February at BOOM! Studios.

Shobo and Shof Coker (New Master) will team with artist Alexandre Tefenkgi (Once Upon a Time at the End of the World) for Bronze Faces, a heist story set at the British Museum with the real-life Benin Bronzes at its center.

BOOM! Studios will publish the miniseries beginning in February, which is about three Nigerian friends who reunite in London when the artwork by one of their fathers is debuting at the British Museum. They decide to steal it back, and as they plan their heist, their scope grows to include the famous Benin Bronzes statues.

“Bronze Faces is our bold answer to the question, ‘What if we took our heritage back by any means necessary?’ We’ve crafted a story that’s part heist, part homecoming, and part myth. I can’t wait for readers to dive into the action with us,” said Shobo.

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B. Clay Moore + Mack Chater catch the ‘Last Flight Out of Wichita’

The crime series will debut from DSTLRY in February.

B. Clay Moore (Hawaiian Dick) and Mack Chater (Sword Daughter) will enter a world of “bad decisions and brutal consequences” in Last Flight Out of Wichita, coming from DSTLRY next year.

Set in the 1970s, the crime series will feature two down-on-their-luck Vietnam veterans who become wrapped up in Kansas City’s underworld.

“Last Flight Out of Wichita examines the different ways people try to reach for an American Dream that isn’t available to them through conventional methods,” Moore said. “The series takes place in 1977, at the tail end of a recession and the main protagonists—Vietnam veterans—have already had their lives forever altered by systems beyond their control. In desperation, they decide to step outside of the conventional system and take matters into their own hands, only to realize that there are always other, more powerful, people also existing beyond the system’s control. And when those people are crossed, there’s nowhere to turn for help.”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Mark Waid + Dan Mora kick off a new era for ‘Justice League Unlimited’

See what new comics and graphic novels will arrive in stores this week.

Happy Thanksgiving week and welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

This week brings the return of two teams from DC and Marvel, as the former kicks off a new Justice League Unlimited title and the latter resurrects the West Coast Avengers. There’s also fun new stuff from Peter J. Tomasi, Peter Snejbjerg, Sophie Campbell, Jeff Parker, Lukas Ketner, Tom King, Ryan Sook, James Robinson, J. Bone, Art Baltazar and Franco, among others.

I’ve pulled out some of the other 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:

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 always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Slugfest | Here Comes the DOOM! in Marvel’s February solicitations

Doom’s new order faces resistance from ‘Weapon X-Men,’ Deadpool and Miles Morales clash, and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on Marvel’s February solicitations. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel’s One World Under Doom will kick into high gear in February, as the world’s savior in this past summer’s Blood Hunt event puts his new powers to use as the sorcerer supreme. Marvel announced the event back in October, which will be anchored by a miniseries by Ryan North and R.B. Silva. Originally that miniseries was going to be called The Rise of Emperor Doom, but it looks like Marvel elected to keep things simple and have changed the name of the series to match the event — One World Under Doom. That’s a good choice, although now it doesn’t have a reference to the classic David Michelinie/Bob Hall Marvel Graphic Novel Emperor Doom.

“One World Under Doom is a story I’ve been working on since 2023,” North shared. “This huge head start is such a gift when telling a story like this: I can make sure it all hangs together properly, and for other artists working on tie-ins with their books, I can share completed scripts instead of just an idea of what happens.”

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Slugfest | The Green Lantern Corps flies again in DC’s February solicitations

Let’s take a walk through DC’s February 2025 solicitations, which include GLC, Zatanna, DC’s Misfits of Magic and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on the new titles debuting in DC’s February solicitations, which you can find here. Hit the links for more information.

The Green Lantern Corps will soar into a new series in February as a part of DC’s All In initiative.

The series will be written by Jeremy Adams, writer of the ongoing Green Lantern series, along with co-writer Morgan Hampton. They’ll work with artists Fernando Pasarín and Oclair Albert on the adventures of John Stewart, Jessica Cruz, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, Jo Mullein and more.

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Exclusive Preview | Jessica Oublié  + Nicola Gobbi’s ‘Toxic Tropics’

Jessica Oublié and Nicola Gobbi look at the impact a pesticide has had on life in the French Antilles in their new graphic novel.

Courtesy of Street Noise Books, today we have an exclusive preview of Toxic Tropics, the upcoming graphic novel by writer Jessica Oublié and artist Nicola Gobbi.

The graphic novel explores the use of the chemical Chlordecone on the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, even after it was discovered to be toxic to people and wildlife. Originally produced by a company called LifeSciences in Virginia, the chemical was used in pesticides in the 1960s and 1970s, until the company shut down after it was found they were poisoning the James River. But in the French Antilles, farmers continued to use the pesticide even after it was banned there in 1993. Oublié learned of the chemical’s impact when she moved to Guadeloupe and has interviewed scientists, government officials and locals about the decision to keep using it.

Check out the preview and more information provided by the publisher below, along with a video featuring Oublié discussing her work. Toxic Tropics will arrive in stores on Dec. 10.

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Almost 50 titles announced for Free Comic Book Day 2025

Diamond reveals the silver sponsor titles, which include Godzilla, The Phantom, Black Mirror, Herobear and the Kid, and more.

Diamond has revealed the remaining Free Comic Book Day titles for 2025, which, along with the Gold Sponsor titles announced earlier this week, brings the number of titles that will be available to retailers and fans on May 3 to 46 — and that’s before DC reveals what they might be doing, as they aren’t included in this batch.

Some of the highlights include:

  • BOOM! will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a special issue that I’m guessing will be an anthology.
  • Fantagraphics has a Lost Marvels title featuring Dominic Fortune on the cover that’s promoting a collection of “never-collected Marvel comics”
  • IDW will have two FCBD titles, one featuring Godzilla: The New Heroes and one collecting stories from their new IDW Dark line.
  • Mad Cave and their all-ages imprint Papercutz are going all in on FCBD, with Speed Racer and Phineas and Ferb in the gold tier, and The Phantom, an all-ages Flash Gordon and Herobear and the Kid in the silver.
  • Graphic novel previews that will land on FCBD include Vault’s Def Leppard, Skybound’s all-ages Transformers book and Scholastic/Marvel’s Hulk Teach.
  • The list includes a couple of licensed comics I wasn’t aware of, including a Black Mirror comic from Twisted Comics and Diablo from Titan.

Check them all out below:

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Marvel is finally publishing their ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ adaptation

Delayed since the early days of the COVID pandemic, the five-issue series by Jody Houser and Will Sliney will feature scenes that weren’t in the film.

Marvel’s long-delayed adaptation of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will finally see print almost five years after the film originally debuted.

The miniseries by Jody Houser and Will Sliney was originally intended for release in June of 2020, a year marked by the COVID pandemic and related shutdowns. It was a tragic and tumultuous year for everyone, and the comic industry was no exception. The Rise of Skywalker was one of several comics Marvel delayed or cancelled when Diamond went into shutdown mode as a result of COVID, and I never expected for it to see the light of day.

But now that Marvel is shifting their Star Wars timeline from the post-Empire Strikes Back period to a post Return of the Jedi period, set before the most recent trilogy, maybe it felt like a good time to dust this one off. It’ll also have scenes that weren’t in the film’s final release.

“There’s a resurgence of interest in these characters, especially Kylo Ren, Darth Vader’s blood heir,” Editor Mark Paniccia said. “Jody’s script captures the impact of these iconic moments between the film’s heroes and villains, while the art by Will Sliney and dazzling colors by Guru-eFX give a visually unique experience of this epic finale.”

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Stan Sakai will pay tribute to his late brother in the next ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ miniseries

The five-issue ‘Usagi Yojimbo: The Thousand Plums’ will debut in March.

Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo will return in a new miniseries next March, featuring two different stories — “Ten Thousand Plums” and “Tabo.” That second story, in particular, has significant meaning for Sakai, as it pays tribute to his deceased brother.

“‘Tabo’ is very personal to me,” Sakai said. “It was written as a tribute to my younger brother, Kenneth, a month after he passed away and was inspired by his struggles during his last days. I cherish the time growing up with him in Hawaii. When she saw how deeply I felt about this story, Emi (Fujii) volunteered to color it as she knew Kenneth and his gentle spirit.”

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