DC are putting all their eggs in one basket this week, but oh boy what a basket it is! Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth return on top form with the much anticipated Batman: Curse of the White Knight, the sequel to White Knight which sees the Clown Prince of Gotham once again gunning for the Bat...
Meanwhile - and not content with winning all of San Diego Comic Con by announcing all the books, movies and TV shows that you could ask for - Marvel are releasing ten million new books and trade collections this week... okay so it's 12 books not ten million, but still - that's a lot! Lets start at the very beginning, with History of the Marvel Universe (Mark Waid, Javier Rodriguez) a new six party story that promises exactly what the title offers, a trip from the Big Bang to the end of the world, House of Ideas style. We're back on the mutant side of the street with House of X #1 (Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz), and it's all getting a little weird in Secret Warps: ArachKnight #1 (Al Ewing, Jim Zub, Carlos Villa, Carlo Barberi). There is also a new addendum to a classic series in the form of Marvels: Epilogue #1 (Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross).
The ladies are taking over the new release shelves with Valkyrie: Jane Foster #1 (Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, CAFU), Fearless #1 (Seanan McGuire, Leah Williams, Kelly Thompson, Claire Roe, Carmen Nunez Carnero) and Web of Venom: Funeral Pyre (Cullen Bunn, Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, Joshua Cassara) all released this week, and last but not least springing from the pages of the War of the Realms event is Sword Master #1 (Shuizhu, Greg Pak (A) Kris Anka (A/CA) Gunji), which also features a story with the newly-announced MCU start Shang-Chi!
If you're looking for a long read Marvel have your back, with Miles Morales: Spider-Man (Brian Michael Bendis, Chris Samnee, David Marquez, Sara Pichelli), World War Hulk (Greg Pak, John RomitaJr) and Marvel Tales: Hulk (Peter David, Stan Lee, Al Milgrom, Al Milgrom, John Buscema, Dale Keown) while DC continue their Constantine reprints with Hellblazer: The Laughing Magician (Andy Diggle, Jason Aaron, Leonardo Manco, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Landini, Sean Murphy, Goran Sudzuka) all landing on our shelves this week.
Phew - lets see what the indies have got in store as well shall we? There is a whole host of new titles and trades to pick up this week.
Single issue and new series wise we have the GLOW Summer Special (Devin Grayson,Lisa Sterle), Star Pig #1 (Delilah S Dawson, Francesco Gaston) gives us a 90s nostalgia trip in space, perfect for fans of Saga or Guardians of the Galaxy, while Archie vs Predator II (Alex De Campi, Robert Hack) drops us straight into the aftermath of the last time our Riverdale heroes took on marauding aliens, and Aliens: Resuce #1 (Brian Wood, Kieran McKeown, JL Straw) is a follow-up Aliens: Resistance and promises more of the same face-hugging goodness. Finally fans of the StarCraft games can catch up with the extended universe in StarCraft Survivors #1 (Jody Houser, Gabriel Guzman). Something for everyone really!
The girls of Roanake camp and Lumberjanes Vol 12 (Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Ayme Sotuyo), sticking with the ladies, how about Tomb Raider: Omnibus Vol 1 (Gail Simone, Rhianna Pratchett, Derlis Santacruz, Nicolas Daniel Selma) which collects over 450 pages of Croft-ian goodness. Self/Made Vol 1(Mat Groom, Eduardo Ferigato) collects the first 6 issues of this sci-fi series about a sentient NPC in an advanced computer game who wants out.
If you like shirtless heroes and lots of bloodshed, check out Savage Sword of Conan: Cult of Koga Thun (Gerry Duggan, Ron Garney), or there is the graphic novelisation of the screenplay for the never-produced Aliens 3 (William Gibson, Johnnie Christmas, Tamra Bonvillain).
Fans of Valiant can pick up both of Harbinger Wars (Joshua Dysart, Duane Swierczynski, Clayton Henry, Pere Perez), and Harbinger Wars II (Eric Heisserer, Matt Kindt, Raul Allen, Patricia Martin, Tomas Giorello, Renato Guedes, Adam Pollina) which feature characters from across the Valiant universe in epic crossover events. If you prefer your heroes a little more green, we have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection vol 1 (Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird) which goes way back to the original of the heroes in a half shell. If aerial dog-fighting is your thing check out Out of the Blue vol 2 (Garth Ennis (A/CA) Keith Burns) a World War 2 story packed with action.
For younger readers we have Red Panda & Moon Bear vol 1 (Jarod Rosello) about brave siblings taking on increasingly weird mysteries in their neighbourhood, Extraordinary (Cassie Anderson) about a princess blessed at birth to be... ordinary? Plus there is Secret Life of Pets (Stephane Lapuss, Goum) based on the hit animated movie of the same name.
You can see the rest of the week's releases below and let us know if something from the comics menu needs to be on your pull list - See you all in the shop soon & have a great week!