Can’t Wait for Wednesday | ‘Absolute Superman’ brings hope to a troubled world

This week brings new comics by Jason Aaron, Rafa Sandoval, Ryan Little, Kelly Sue DeConnick, David López, Jamie McKelvie, Caitlin Yarsky, Jeff Lemire and more.

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

I was hoping to have this out earlier, but, you know, it’s one of those days. Sometimes you get work done, sometimes you spend your time stress-eating leftover Halloween candy while you read election news. In any event, this next part of the U.S. election cycle could be another marathon, not a sprint, but at least tomorrow you should have plenty of comics to distract you.

There’s lots of great stuff, too; I’m happy to report that the Captain Marvel team — the ones who redesigned and rebooted Carol Danvers — are in full force this week, as Kelly Sue DeConnick and David López re-team for a creator-owned title at Dark Horse, while Captain Marvel designer Jamie McKelvie has his own new series debuting from DSTLRY. There’s also the third Absolute title landing, the comic book debut of a Marvel Cinematic Universe character and … DuckTales! (I assume you know what to do when someone yells “DuckTales,” right?)

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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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Jeff Lemire’s ‘Minor Arcana’ materializes in comic shops this week

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Cullen Bunn, Christopher Mitten, Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, Jim Zub, Jonas Scharf, Eve L. Ewing, Carmen Carnero, Mark Waid, Dan Mora and more.

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

Labor Day has always marked the end of summer for me, as we shift from August to September and from hot sun to cooler weather (well, in theory, anyway). This week the harvest is bountiful, as it includes Minor Arcana, Jeff Lemire’s new title about the daughter of a fake psychic who may be a real psychic; the appropriately titled The Autumn Kingdom by Cullen Bunn and Christopher Mitten; a milestone Poison Ivy issue; and a new series spotlighting Groot.

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.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Jeff Lemire’s ‘Minor Arcana’ materializes in comic shops this week”

‘Birds of Prey’ will return this fall by Thompson, Romero + Bellaire

Black Canary will assemble the ‘most dangerous’ Birds of Prey ‘for mysterious reasons.’

DC’s Birds of Prey will return in September by the creative team of Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire.

Thompson revealed the news both on Twitter and via her Substack, and also shared the team’s first member, Black Canary, with the promise to reveal more of the members throughout the week. Here’s a look at Romero’s design:

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‘Batgirls’ launches in December from DC Comics

Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern bring Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon together for a new series.

Three former Batgirls will share the spotlight in a new ongoing series, appropriately titled Batgirls. Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad will write the new series, with Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern providing art.

The all-ages title features Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon, “who are only able to navigate the dark, gritty, and oftentimes scary Gotham City by leaning on each other’s friendship.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Jokers, a ronin and the return of the Runaways

New comics arrive this week from Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Rainbow Rowell, Natacha Bustos, Eastman & Laird, and more.

We are back with a look at what’s arriving in comic shops, bookstores and on digital this week.

If you’re wondering what to get this week, check out a few recommendations below. ComicList has this week’s list of new comics arriving in stores, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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Holy cowabunga: Batman, Ninja Turtles team up for action figure sets

GameStop will offer these figures from DC Collectibles exclusively this fall.

Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have met many times now, both in the pages of comics and in an animated movie. So the only logical place this relationship could go next is action figures.

DC Collectibles will release a series of action figures from both universes, as the Bat family and the Turtles appear in two-packs that’ll be exclusive to GameStop starting in September, with a price of $49.99 each, or $249.99 for the whole set.

Check them out below:

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Comics Lowdown: Stan Lee’s former caretaker charged with elder abuse

Plus: Jonathan Hickman details his plans for the X-Men, comic sales in April and more.

Stan Lee’s former caretaker and manager, Keya Morgan, has been charged with felony elder abuse. The charges include felony counts of false imprisonment of an elder adult, theft, embezzlement, and forgery or fraud against an elder adult, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court.

A warrant for Morgan’s arrest had been issued. The 43-year-old memorabilia collector was served with a restraining order by Lee’s family last summer, when they accused him of elder abuse. Lee passed away in November.

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Two new artists join DC’s Artist Alley statue line

Joe Ledbetter and Chrissie Zullo will tackle a range of DC characters in the popular vinyl figures line next year.

Two new creators are moving into DC’s Artist Alley, as Joe Ledbetter and Chrissie Zullo join the likes of Chris Uminga, HaiNaNu “Nooligan” Saulque and Sho Murase in creating vinyl statues for the line.

Ledbetter will put his signature spin on Batman, Penguin, Catwoman and Robin.

“I’m a huge Batman fan and to have the opportunity to work with DC Collectibles on a set of Batman characters is a huge deal in my world,” Ledbetter said in a press release. “I just love the idea of a bat in a Batman suit, a penguin as the Penguin, etc. There’s something there that’s quite funny and interesting and really excites me. I like to think that these animal Batman characters inhabit a parallel universe where Gotham City is entirely populated by anthropomorphic critters, including the Caped Crusader himself. I think the fun, enthusiasm and love of Batman, Robin, Penguin and Catwoman will shine through on these designer toys and I hope they find a special place on collector’s shelves.”

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DC Collectibles adds Flash, Nightwing, Batgirl to their ‘Artist Alley’ statue line

New designer vinyl figures include Chris Uminga’s Flash, HaiNaNu ‘Nooligan’ Saulque’s Nightwing and Sho Murase’s Batgirl.

DC Collectibles has revealed some new additions to their “DC Artist Alley” line, which debuts in about a month.

“The DC Artists Alley line marks our entry into the designer toy market, and we couldn’t be happier with the fan and retailer reception we’ve received thus far,” stated Jim Fletcher, executive creative director of DC Collectibles. “The first wave has nearly sold out at the retailer level, and the figures haven’t even hit stores yet. We’re doubling down on this excitement by adding three new characters to the 2018 lineup.”

DC Collectibles will offer black and white variant editions of The Flash and Nightwing figures, and a vibrant green holiday variant for Murase’s Batgirl design. These new additions will be released in December. Take a look at them below:

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Batgirl and Supergirl hit the road as ‘Gotham City Garage’ statues

DC Collectibles reveals new Gotham City Garage, DC Bombshells merch at Comic-Con.

After announcing a Gotham City Garage comic last week, DC Collectibles revealed two new sculptures at Comic-Con International for the popular series. One features Batgirl showing off her skills, while the other features Supergirl.

“The idea behind Gotham City Garage is to explore the tough and gritty alter-egos of DC’s most iconic characters such as Wonder Woman and Catwoman, and now Batgirl and Supergirl,” said Jim Fletcher, executive creative director, DC Collectibles. “Just like with DC Bombshells, it’s exciting to see these character designs strike a chord with fans and transcend from statues into comic books and beyond, and we’re eager to find out just how far Gotham City Garage can ride.”

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How much ‘old’ does DC Comics need?

How much “old” do you need?

That question was more hypothetical back in the spring, before DC’s “Rebirth” initiative started quantifying it. “Rebirth” was as direct a response to the New 52 as the publisher has ever given, even bringing back specific characters from the old days to help the healing process along. “Rebirth” also up-ended the normal relaunch paradigm, which seeks to streamline a character’s presentation so as to keep what works and discard what doesn’t. By contrast, “Rebirth” took the position that the status quo generally needed fixing, and specifically could use a healthy dose of what had come before.

Regardless of its inelegance, though, the New 52’s streamlining had to come from somewhere. The old regime had been in place for at least 25 years, ever since the great cosmic streamlining of Crisis On Infinite Earths. Back then, the question of “how much old” related to what the character could do without. Today, it seems like the question is what the character needs to have put back.

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