Can’t Wait for Comics | Milestone Media’s revival finally kicks off with ‘Static: Season One’ #1

Check out new comics this week from Tom King, Bilquis Evely, Jason Aaron, Aaron Kuder, Gerry Duggan, Pepe Larraz, Peach Momoko, Stan Sakai and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. This week brings new comics and graphic novels from Marvel, DC, AfterShock Comics, Milestone Media, Fantagraphics and more.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit Diamond’s website for this week’s almost complete list of new comics arriving in stores — you can visit Lunar Distribution’s home page to see DC’s release — and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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Marvel announces a new ‘Amazing Fantasy’ series by Kaare Andrews

Versions of Black Widow, Spider-Man and Captain America from different points in history come together in this new miniseries.

Marvel has announced a new five-issue miniseries, named after the classic series Amazing Fantasy, set on an island of high fantasy and featuring iconic versions of three of their heroes. Kaare Andrews of Spider-Man: Reign, E-Ratic and Iron Fist: The Living Weapon fame, will write and draw the series.

In the series, Red Room-era Black Widow, teenage Spider-Man and World War II-era Captain America find themselves on a dangerous “island of intrigue.”

“This is a story that combines not just different Marvel eras but different art styles to depict them,” Andrews said. “As a creator, sometimes you want to invent new heroes and villains to expand the universe into different places or ideas, but sometimes there is an even greater power in embracing what has come before. In telling fresh and passionate tales with heroes that an audience has already invested a lifetime in. There is a beating heart to these archetypes. And they need to live again!”

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Cantwell + Eaglesham defect to ‘The United States of Captain America’

New miniseries celebrates the 80th anniversary of the character.

Christopher Cantwell and Dale Eaglesham will reunite several former Captains America to find Cap’s stolen shield in The United States of Captain America, a new miniseries celebrating the character’s 80th anniversary.

“It’s an incredible gift and definitely a creative challenge to take on the character of Captain America, especially during these unprecedented times in our country’s history,” Cantwell told Marvel.com. “With this miniseries we’re hoping to explore what the idea of Captain America means at this precise moment—not just on the grand stage of the world—but to everyday and often overlooked communities throughout the United States.”

Steve Rogers will be joined by Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson and John Walker — aka Winter Soldier, Falcon and U.S.Agent — on a road trip across America as they search for his iconic shield. Along the way, they’ll introduce new heroes who been inspired by Captain America, and who will be featured in back-up stories.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Infinite Frontier,’ ‘Nocterra’ and more

This week brings new comics by Keanu Reeves, Dan Rather, Scott Snyder, Tim S. Daniel, Chris Samnee, Peach Momoko, Kalinda Vazquez, Carlos Gómez, Tyler Boss and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide each week to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. This week sees a new one-shot setting up the return of DC’s regular titles, more King in Black tie-ins, new comics by Scott Snyder and Keanu Reeves, and much more.

Also this week I’m happy to welcome aboard Brigid Alverson, who will be helping to cover manga and other things she finds interesting each week.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit ComicList for this week’s full list of new comics arriving in stores, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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Comics Lowdown | Special Nazi-punching edition

In an unprecedented week in American history, comics were all over the place.

After seeing a rioter in Captain America gear during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Neal Kirby, the son of Jack Kirby, has condemned the use of his father’s character by the far right. “Captain America is the absolute antithesis of Donald Trump,” he wrote, later adding “My father, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the creators of Captain America and WWII veterans, would be absolutely sickened by these images.”

The problem with the Punisher: The Punisher’s elongated skull logo (and specifically, the version used in the 2004 film) has become an icon for white nationalists, Proud Boys and Blue Lives Matter enthusiasts. At Inverse, Eric Francisco offers a brief history of the alt-right’s use of the skull and Disney’s failure to assert its IP rights. At CBR, Cass Clarke summarizes the thoughts of Gerry Conway, who created the character. At SyFY Wire, Mike Avila calls on Marvel to retire the logo and “give the Punisher a makeover.” He also reached out to former Punisher writer Garth Ennis, who had this to say:

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Mail Call | Marvel celebrates 80 years of Captain America

A round-up of news and announcements from Marvel, DC, Top Shelf, Z2 Comics, AfterShock and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel will pay tribute to the 80th anniversary of Captain America next year with a special project involving John Cassaday, Alex Ross, Marguerite Sauvage, David Lapham, Declan Shalvey and many more. Captain America Tribute #1, coming from Marvel in March, will feature a bunch of current artists redrawing both Captain America Comics #1 and Avengers #4, with each page by a different artist.

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ ‘The Vain’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

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What Are You Reading? | Red Goblins, celestial avatars, Klan smashers and Texas blood

See what the Smash Pages crew has checked off their ‘to read’ list lately.

Like I said last week, summertime is the right time for crossovers and comics. This week brought us a taste of Empyre, Marvel’s big crossover event featuring the Avengers, The Fantastic Four, the Kree, the Skrulls, the Blue Area of the Moon, the Swordsman and all that crazy cosmic space action Marvel fans have come to know and love. You can see Carla’s thoughts on it below, along with a list of comics Shane has been buying for his kids and Tom’s thoughts on two politically minded books from DC.

You can tell us what you’ve been reading in the comments below or on social media.

Shane Bailey

Lately my kids have started wanting to read more comics. My little one has always been into them, but now the older kids are as well. So I let them pick out their own comics to read on comiXology Unlimited.

My 9 yr old son picked Amazing Spider-Man: The Red Goblin by Dan Slott and Stuart Immonen, and he loves it. He wouldn’t stop commenting on how crazy scary Norman Osborn is, how it was gross when Carnage bit the head off a rat, and during one issue when the Goblin had a captive and was interrogating him, he wondered aloud over who it was, making guesses and gasping when he found out who it was and that Norman knew who Spider-Man was. It’s great seeing him get excited at things that are old hat for me. It made me appreciate those moments more.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Building toward ‘Empyre’

New comics arrive this week from Terry Moore, Mark Russell, Steve Rude, Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino and more.

The summer crossover season gets in full swing at your local comic shop this week; following the release of Dark Knights: Death Metal last week, Marvel delivers the start of their big cosmic event, Empyre. This week also brings several debuts from IDW, AHOY and Image, among others … it’s almost starting to feel like comics have returned to normal.

If you’re looking for something to get this week, check out a few recommendations below. You can check the Comic List page to see what’s arriving in your local shop, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally. As always, you should check with your local shop on their hours, curbside pick-up, mask requirements, etc. due to COVID-19. Stay safe out there.

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Marvel’s ‘The End’ returns to tell the final stories of Captain Marvel, Venom and more

Marvel revives its line of specials that detail the final stories of characters like Miles Morales, Deadpool and Captain America.

It’s been quite awhile since Marvel released one of their The End specials, where they tell a What If? style story about the end of a character’s career, but that all changes next year. Marvel announced at the New York Comic Con this weekend plans for five new one-shots that will see several characters reach the end of the line.

Get ready to be depressed with the “final” stories for:

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‘Weapon Plus’ explores Wolverine, Captain America’s shared history

New series debuts in July.

The secret connections between Wolverine and Captain America will be explored in a new series by writer Ethan Sacks, artist Diogenes Neves, colorist Federico Blee and inker Adriano Di Benedetto.

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Comics Lowdown: Jack Kirby special edition

A roundup of some of the Jack Kirby 100th birthday news this week!

Not only is it “Kirby Week” here on Smash Pages, but the entire comic industry has come together to honor and remember one of the industry’s greatest and most influential creators, Jack Kirby, for what would have been his 100th birthday. Here’s a round-up of links related to “The King.”

The first place to check is Marvel.com, which has an entire section dedicated to Jack Kirby. The colorful articles have been posted throughout the month of August, with reading lists, character features and articles by Jim Zub, Carlos Pacheco, Mark Waid and Mike Allred. Plus there are several videos about the life of Jack Kirby.

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