It’s time to peer into the future like a poor mans Bran Stark, and see what is going to be hitting the shelves in your local comic book shop this week…
Marvel
The Mutant nation of Krakoa has quickly become a major force on the world stage… but why stop there? Krakoa has relaunched the Sentient World Observation & Response Directorate – a fully independent organization dealing with all things extra-terrestrial on behalf of all of Earth – meet SWORD #1 (Al Ewing, Valerio Schitti).
You can take a deep dive into Marvel history with a King In Black tie in this week, as Namor #1 (Kurt Busiek, Ben Dewey, Jonas Scharf) splashes down in store. We travel back to the teen years of Atlantis’ most famous resident, but what lies ahead is tragedy, betrayal, and the unleashing of dangerous, deadly magics.
Giant Sized X-Men (Jonathan Hickman, Russell Dauterman, more) is a normal sized book packed with larger than life stories, but a more down to earth read is Heroes At Home (Zeb Wells, Gurihiru) your Marvel favourites have how did they all get on during quarantine?
Also asking questions is Strikeforce vol. 2 (Tini Howard, Jacopo Camagni, German Peralta), like can this team of misfits stay together long enough to complete its mission?!
Hold the door, Norman Osborn is back – and his troubled past will haunt both him and Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 10 (Nick Spencer, Mark Bagley, Humberto Ramos, more). Plus your favorite wall-crawler is also in action in Marvel Action Spider-Man: Shock To The System (Brandon Easton, Fico Ossio) an all ages standalone story.
DC
The iconic anthology series returns with a brand-new slate of comics’ most exciting and innovative storytellers to explore the mythos of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego in Batman: Black And White #1 (Everyone).
Dark Nights: Death Metal: Last Stories of the DC Universe #1 has a pretty self explanatory title really, as the last battle against the Batman Who Laughs is at hand…the final fight for everything in the universe. At the other end of the spectrum is DCs Very Merry Mulitverse, a collection of 10 seasonal sagas just in time for the festive season.
Winter is coming in Superman Special #1 (aka “Endless Winter” chapter three), as Superman finds himself at the center of an epic battle as the Frost King’s hordes of ice monsters come to life.
Spinning out of the events of a world where a single choice by the Flash affected the entire DC Universe, find out what would have happened if Barry Allen had not put things right. In a world where the Flashpoint reality was never undone, where Thomas Wayne still haunts Gotham City as the Batman, and the Amazonian and Atlantean armies still prepare for war, will the Reverse-Flash embrace this darker, deadlier world and finally eclipse Barry Allen’s legacy in Tales From The Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint #1.
Indies
The night is dark and full of terrors, as a haunted house walks across California. Inside is Ami, lead singer of a high school punk band – who has been missing for weeks. How did she get there, and what do these ghosts want? Better grab your copy of the hotly anticipated new hit Home Sick Pilots #1 (Dan Watters, Caspar Wijngaard) and find out.
If you think you can unlock the gates of Hell and just invite yourself in, you must be Dreaming! The Sandman Universe crossover begins here, with a specially priced re-introduction of the storylines and characters who populate next month’s landmark event series, Locke and Key: Sandman – Hell & Gone #1 (Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez)
Christmas toys try to take over the world in Byte Sized #1 (Cullen Bunn, Nelson Blake III), and an interdimensional collective of superheroes, tasked with recruiting members from across infinite worlds. And their newest recruit is revealed in Vampirella: Dark Powers #1 (Dan Abnett, Paul Davidson).
The Misty Winter Special (Anna Savory, Vv Glass, Lizzy Boyle, David Roach) contains two new chilling tales to make you shiver in the winter months, and a year ago, in a remote town, a terrible deed had been committed. The responsible party got away with the crime, or so they thought. But this is the Grimm Fairy Tales 2020 Holiday Special (Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini, Michael DiPascale).
In the wake of the tragic events of Scorched Earth, a group of supernatural anti-heroes are assembled. What is Lady Death’s role in all this? Is she an ally, or an enemy of The Sworn? Find out in Lady Death: Blasphemy Anthem #1 ( Brian Pulido, Mike MacLean, Diego Bernard).
You can return to Eden, Wyoming in two thrilling tales from Top Cow’s Talent Hunt winners in Postal: Night Shift (Levi Fleming, Stephanie Phillips, Cecillia Lo Valvo, Jesse Elliot) a one shot featuring Roy Magnum and Molly.
Adventureman vol. 1 (Matt Fraction, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, Clayton Cowles) sees a single mum and her comic-fan son take up the mantle of a pulp hero, as the boundaries of fiction and reality blur, and you know it is getting bad when the questions “maybe the Hellmouth wasn’t so bad?” comes up – find out why in Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Legacy Edition vol. 3 (Christopher Golden, Cliff Richards, Various).
Lords of Misery (Eric Powell) reveals the adventure the Goon, along with several other mysterious figures, found himself entangled in after he departed the Nameless Town. The you meet the Duke of Wellington (Delilah Dawson, Aaron Mahnke, Piotr Kowalski), one of England’s most decorated military heroes and, unknown to most, her most daring monster hunter
Spring comes to the supernatural town of Blitheton, which can only mean one thing: it’s time for the annual Mermaid Festival in Moonstruck vol. 3 (Grace Ellis, Claudia Aguirre, Shae Beagle), but when their relationship starts to take on water, Julie and Selena have to wonder where they are going wrong.
If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention: the Ice Cream Man vol. 5 (W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran) is back with more tricks than treats. Meanwhile, in the wastelands of California, a lovable drunk named Denis awakens on the outskirts of an odd little village called Nowhere, home to a friendly populace of deformed, mutated, and just-left-of-normal citizens. Not knowing where he is or how he got there (or if the town is even real), Denis acquaints himself with the townsfolk – but just when he starts to regain his memories, his past catches up with him in King of Nowhere (W Maxwell Prince, Tyler Jenkins)
Upon the publication of his latest novel, G. H. Fretwell, a minor English writer, embarks on a book tour to promote it. Nothing is going according to plan, and his trip gradually turns into a nightmare. But now the police want to ask him some questions about a mysterious disappearance, and it seems that Fretwell’s troubles are only just beginning, in The Book Tour (Andi Watson). Based on the hit novel of the same name, Anno Dracula (Kim Newman, Paul McCaffrey) see the original author adapt his own work into comic form.
Nathalie and Marie are 17 years old and best friends. Since elementary school, they’ve been creatively filling moments of boredom with a game called “What If We Were…?”. What If We Were… (Axelle Lenoir) collects dozens of these games as hilarious and addictive comic strips, along with super-fun bonus material like diary entries, bonus comics, and more.
All ready for the latest Netflix series, there are new editions of Hilda and The Ghost Ship and Hilda and the Time Worm (Stephen Davies, Luke Pearson, Victoria Evans) landing this week.
In 1860s England every town has it’s own monster, and the local are usually proud of them. But when you are supposed to be terrorised by a ferocious dragon, but they are actually just depressed, it’s time to do something about it. Soon to be the basis for the feature film ‘Rumble’, Monster On The Hill (Rob Harrell) is a tale about life’s challenges, the power of friendship, and creative redemption, packed with epic battles and plenty of wild beasts!
Manga
Unsuspecting students and blood-thirsty zombies collide in Corpse Party: Blood Covered vol. 4 (Makoto Kedouin, Toshimi Shinomiya), and the party keep on adventuring in Fairy Tale: 100 Years Quest vol. 6 (Hiro Mashima, Atsuo Ueda).
Around the world, a phenomenon is observed where those whose mental stress reaches a peak transform into monsters called “Kaijin” and succumb to murderous impulses. Slasher Maidens vol. 1 (Tetsuya Tashiro) is the tale of an all-girls school that is actually a front for an anti-Kaijin special agency!
To Love Ru Darkness vol. 18 (Saki Hasemi, Kentaro Yabuki ) is the final volume in the series. So many girls have feelings for Rito that there just isn’t enough of him to go around – until a cloning experiment gone wrong leaves the school suffering the exact opposite problem. Then the mystery deepens in Toilet Bound Hanako Kun vol. 6 (Aidalro)…
The Birth of Kitaro collects seven of Shigeru Mizuki’s early and beloved Kitaro stories, making them available for the first time in English, in a kid-friendly format, and we also have volumes 2 through 7 dropping into the new Manga section this week! We also have Swans In Space vol. 1 (Lun Lun Yamamoto), a full-color Manga For Kids series! Corona and Lan have joined the Space Patrol and are ready to help outer space friends in trouble.
As always, our thanks go out to CGC Chichester for kindly sponsoring the new releases post!
