The big news this week is the new on-going X-Men #1 (Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu) series, with exactly ten variant covers available because Hickman is a marketing genius. Although I now have to ask if this means the book is actually called Ten-men...? This entire sentence will only make sense if you heard the Marvel HoX/PoX panel from last weeks New York Comic Con, so apologies if this sounds like the ramblings of a crazy person... On the subject of Marvel madness, this week also sees the return of Crazy #1 (Gerry Duggan, Frank Tieri, Don Simpson, Scott Koblish) with it's star Obnoxio the Clown.
The event of the summer continues with Absolute Carnage: Avengers #1 (Leah Williams, Zac Thompson, Alberto Alburquerque, Guiu Villanova), in which Cap, Thing, Hawkeye and Wolverine take on the evil symbiote, and the 80th anniversary celebrations continue with Johnny Blaze in Marvel Tales: Ghost Rider (Roger Stern, Len Wein, Michael Fleisher. Bob Budiansky, Ross Andru, Tom Sutton). For a longer Marvel read this week we also have the first trade volume of Kamala Khan after G. Willow Wilson, in the form of The Magnificent Ms Marvel (Saladin Ahmed, Minkyu Jung).
From a galaxy far, far away there are three new releases this week: the trade of Star Wars: Tie Fighter (Jody Houser, Roge Antonia, Joshua Cassara), which gives us the tale of Shadow Wing - the Empire's salvation, and the Rebellion's doom! Then there are hardcover "how to" books, for the intrepid entrepreneur we have Be More Lando: How to get what you want (and look good doing it) (Christian Blauvelt) alongside a guide to life and starting your own rebellion with Be More Leia: Find your rebel voice and fight the system (Christian Blauvelt)
DC have got the Wonder Woman Giant (Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Inaki Miranda) featuring one all new story and three reprints. They are also offering up Tales From The Dark Multiverse: Batman: Knightfall (Scott Snyder, Kyle Higgins, Javi Fernandez) which sees Saint Batman take on the son of Bane. Things get real in Superman Smashes The Klan #1 (Gene Luen Yang, Gurihiru), which sees a 1940s Clark learning to use his powers whilst helping a newly-arrived family who are facing racial discrimination, and finally there is the return of Doc Magnus in Metal Men #1 (Dan DiDio, Michelle Delecki, Shane Davis).
There's new titles a-plenty on the indie shelves this week, with magical tattoos on influencers taking a dark turn in a double sized first issue of The Marked (David Hine, Brian Haberlin, Geirrod Van Dyke), and things stay spooky with the Bettie Page Halloween Special (David Avallone, Erica Schultz, Roy Allen Martinez, Fernando Ruiz) where something is lurking in the woods of Upstate New York, and Cult Classic: Creature Feature (Eliot Rahal, John Biven) which sees brain-slugs infecting the people of a quaint small town. We also have Savage Tales: Red Sonja: Halloween Special (Mark Russell, Jacob Edgar), a 28 page special that delves into Sonja's past and a brush with necromancy! Finally on the spokiy-side we have Lady Death: Nightmare Symphony #1 (Brian Pulido, Mike MacLean, Anthony Spay), a tale of diabolical treachery and undead nightmares!
There are also the first ever serialised work from the creator of Blankets, a memoir / travelogue / history lesson on the links between rural Wisconsin and Chinese medicine, in Ginseng Roots (Craig Thompson), a new take on the green-faced maniac hits shelves this week in the form of The Mask: I Pledge Allegiance to the Mask #1 (Christopher Cantwell, Patric Reynolds) where a serial killer has a plan to "Make America Green Again", and finally for new titles we have Robotech Remix #1 (Brenden Fletcher, Elmer Damaso).
Trade and graphic novel wise there is a whole raft of titles to choose from, including the third and final volume of Eisner-nominated (and very very good) Coda (Simon Spurrier, Matias Bergara) which takes the dystopian future genre and bends it into enthralling new shapes. There is also Cursed (Frank Miller, Tom Wheeler) a novel with artwork that gives us a new take on the legend of Excalibur, and for fans of DnD there is Critical Role: Vox Machina: Origins (Matthew Colville, Matthew Mercer, Olivia Samson) which offers the origin story of the fabled heroes.
We are in classic team up mode with Aliens Vs Predator: Essential Comics vol 1 (Randy Stradley, Chris Warner, Karl Story, Robert Campanella, Rick Leonardi, Mike Manley, Jim Hall, Mark G. Heike, Mark Pennington, Ricardo Villagran, Phil Norwood) where the two classic movie baddies clash in over 400 pages of extraterrestrial action! Speaking of classics, we have the very limited Providence:Complete Slipcase Edition (Alan Moore, Jacen Burrows) featuring not-to-be-reprinted versions of the four books in the series, and there is also Gideon Falls (Jeff Lemire, Dave Stewart, Andrea Sorrentino) vol. 3 which takes us further into the mystery of the black barn...
If you are in the mood for a slumbering monster that may hold the key to a nations salvation then Gogor (Ken Garing) is the book for you, but if you would prefer to read about the relationship between two young women, one and environmental activist, in the wake of the floods in 2017 then Rain (Bryan Talbot) is the book for you. For a story about swords, sisterhood and strength check out A Sparrows Roar (C.R. Chua, Paolo Chikiamco), and for sexy vampires trying to better themselves look no further than Angel: Legacy Edition (Christopher Golden, David Fury, Various). Dragonball 3in1 vol. 2 (Akira Toriyama) sees Son Goku taking on the worlds greatest martial arts tournament, and Minecraft: Stories From The Overworld (Hope Larson, Kevin Panetta, Rafer Roberts, Ryan North, McCranie, Stephen, Ian Flynn, Meredith Gran, Savanna Ganucheau, Ryan Maniulit, McCranie, Stephen, Jenn St-Onge) is an anthology set in the world of the popular game.
Check out the rest of this week's releases (again 200+ new things arriving in the shop!)
As ever hit us up if your pull list needs some updates and we hope to see you in the store soon!