ADVANCE PICK OF THE WEEK
MARVEL/DC DEADPOOL/BATMAN #1 ($6.99): Wait, this is here already? Honestly, I haven't been breathlessly anticipating it. But it's bound to be the best-selling book of the month, if not the year. It includes:
- Batman/Deadpool (main story) by Zeb Wells and Greg Capullo.
- Daredevil/Green Arrow by Kevin Smith and Adam Kubert
- Captain America/Wonder Woman by Chip Zdarsky and Terry Dodson
- Land Shark and Krypto by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru.
“We’re going to all corners of the Marvel and DC Universes, and the creators are having an absolute blast finding the unexpected and unexplored connections between these characters,” Editor Mark Basso shared. “We can’t wait for the fans to experience the same jaw-dropping moments we are! And we’ve got some more secret stories in the works, so keep your eyes peeled for more to be revealed!”
“This has been surreal to say the least!” Zdarsky said. “Captain America and Wonder Woman are the best their worlds have to offer, both warriors for peace. Getting to explore a dynamic and history between them has been genuinely exciting."
"Two ICONS meeting for the first time!” Thompson said. “It's such an honor for Jeff to get to be Marvel's ambassador in this crossover story with Krypto. Anyone who loves comics knows how rare it is for DC and Marvel to crossover, so Jeff getting to be part of this historic moment with Krypto, and Gurihiru and I getting to bring that tale to readers... well, sometimes this job is very cool."
TOP 10 PUBLISHERS
NO. 1: MARVEL COMICS
"ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM"
FANTASTIC FOUR #3 ($3.99) is by Ryan North and Humberto Ramos. North's two books in this crossover are the best, and also the most important. I just read FF #2 last night and it was quite clever. Looking forward to the climax ... and I hope I read it in the comics before I read it online! (Sadly, I already have a pretty good idea how it ends. But I don't know the details!)
RUNAWAYS #4 (of 5, $3.99) is by by Rainbow Rowell, Lee Ferguson, Roberta Ingranata and Elena Casagrande. I lost interest in Runaways after the initial Big Reveal was resolved (IYKYK), and like with Red Hulk, am reading this just to read the complete crossover. This is for youngers readers, not for people who've seen enough teen angst for one lifetime.
MORE MARVEL
MAGIK #10 ($3.99): Probably the last issue, but it’s hard to say with all the “Age of Revelation” hoo-ha.
MARVEL ZOMBIES: RED BAND #1 (of 5, (Polybagged, $4.99) is by Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan and Jan Bazaluda. The zombies have become TV stars, so this was inevitable.
“Writing Marvel Zombies: Red Band is nothing short of a dream come true for Griffin and I,” Parker said. “As lifelong fans of the Marvel Universe and its storied past, as well as writers who have made their love for the genre of bloodsoaked horror a matter of public record, this project could not be more in our sweet spot. With Jan Bazaldua and the rest of the unbelievable talent bringing this crazy book to life, we are rewriting Marvel history in new and terrifying ways, and we sincerely hope you’ll join us.”
“Ethan and I are like mad scientists combining so many different things we love on Marvel Zombies: Red Band,” Sheridan added. “The result is this viscera-drenched, blood-soaked, gut-covered epic spanning across all the biggest events in Marvel history. It really should be clear, we have so much appreciation for the Marvel Universe… which is why it is such a shame that we have to rip it to shreds in the kind of disgusting fashion that one can only find on the other side of a freshly torn open polybag. See you there, True Believer.”
MARVEL MASTERWORKS THE UNCANNY X-MEN VOL. 17 HC ($100.00) collects Uncanny X-Men (1981) #244-255, X-Men Annual (1970) #13, and material from classic X-Men #39 and What The--?! (1988) #1-5.This is probably the last Marvel Masterworks X-Men.
And you know what? I'm good with that. It's actually a relief. Originally I was thrilled with the Masterworks, as it answered a childhood dream to have my Marvels collected in nice hardback collections. And I stopped buying Masterworks after the Silver Age. But then, I got to thinking about how I didn't have any important Bronze Age books in hardback, like Conan the Barbarian and Tomb of Dracula, and maybe I should continue a little further. So I plunged back in to collect the Bronze Age Masterworks. I ended up missing a few, so when the Bronze Age was mostly finished, I kept going anyway, reasoning that I didn't want a repeat of missing books, and (cough) I could quit any time. Well, that never happened, of course.
But Marvel is pulling the trigger for me. So thank you, Marvel, for ending this reprint series and my unhealthy relationship with it!
STAR WARS: BOBA FETT — BLACK WHITE AND RED #1 (of 4, $5.99)is by Benjamin Percy (Wolverine) and Chris Allen (Black Panther). I don't know about you, but the abysmal Book of Boba Fett sucked all the juice out of this character for me. Is it because the series seemed to have no point? Is it because The Mandalorian was so good, we resented the interruption? Is it because Temeura Morrison played the character as a thoughtful hero, instead of the dangerous, mysterious b@d@$$ we wanted him to be? Is it because Ming-Na Wen was utterly wasted? I don't know, but I left that series confused, disappointed and with all of my love for Boba Fett consigned to a character that no longer exists.
Well, maybe Marvel will get it right in print.
“We're setting a major sequence in a lava system that Fett has to navigate to hunt down the best thief in the galaxy,” Percy told StarWars.com. “I'm so lucky to join forces with artist Chris Allen, who brings his eye for dynamic action, wild layouts, and granular detail to this twisty, turny story that will keep you guessing until the end.”
“We’re really excited about this talent and stories in these issues,” Editor Mark Paniccia added. “All of them weave seamlessly into a galaxy filled with rogues, criminals, assassins and other bounty hunters and there are some very cool surprises and deep dives.”
ULTIMATES
ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER #20 ($4.99) is by Bryan Hill and Stefano Caselli. Bast gets involved, and T'Challa may ascend to godhood. Which actually sounds more interesting than the 616 Black Panther.
ULTIMATES #16 ($4.99) is by Deniz Camp and Von Randal. This is a spotlight on the new recruits. My understanding is that the Maker returns in two-three months, and that should be the climax of this alt-universe. But from the solicitations, it doesn't look like there's a finale any time soon. Ultimates By Deniz Camp Vol. 2: All Power To The People TP ($19.99) is also out this week.
NO. 2: DC COMICS
ABSOLUTE COMICS
ABSOLUTE FLASH #7 ($4.99) is by Jeff Lemire and Travis Moore. Issue #7, and Wally is still running from the Rogues. Still. I am so ... what's the word? Oh yeah. Bored.
MORE DC COMICS
BATMAN (1940) #1 FACSIMILE EDITION ($9.99): On my pull list. When DC started doing Golde Age-sized facsimile editions, I thought, "Oh brother, just another gimmick to get me to buy Action Comics #1 again." But I find I really like them. The modern-sized facsimiles and Millenniums ... they just didn't feel authentic. These do.
DC FINEST: THE SPECTRE — THE WRATH OF THE SPECTRE TP ($39.99): Oh, you dirty rotten scoundrels! Adding a couple issues of All-Star Squadron just to make me buy these stories again! What a dirty trick! All the dirtier because it will work! This book collects Showcase #60-61 and 64; The Spectre #1-10; Adventure Comics #431-440; Ghosts #97-99; The Brave and the Bold #72, 75, 116, 180 and 199, and All-Star Squadron #27-28.
KRYPTO THE LAST DOG OF KRYPTON #4 (of 5, $3.99): On my pull list.
NO. 3: IMAGE COMICS
ASSORTED CRISIS EVENTS VOL. 1 TP (Image, $16.99): This seems to be popular on the board. Here’s my chance to catch up!
CREEPSHOW VOL. 4 #1 (of 5, Image, $3.99) features stories by Jeremy Adams (Green Lantern) and Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets), as well as the Godzilla: Monster Island Summer Camp team of Rosie Knight and Oliver Ono. I will read anything drawn by Eduardo Risso.
Does that first cover remind anyone else of the Governor's heads in aquariums in Walking Dead? The second cover looks familiar, too ... like an homage to something from the Silver Age? Can't pin it down in my increasingly elusive memory.
GOOD AS DEAD #1 (Image, $7.99)is by David & Maria Lapham (Stray Bullets), co-creators Chris Black (creator and showrunner, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) and David Alpert. Each issue is double size, and seems from the hype like a typical "small town with big secrets" story. But nothing Lapham does is typical, so we'll see.
"I can’t tell you how excited Maria and I are about this book coming out,” said David Lapham. “Chris Black and David Alpert provided us with their initial concept and outline and generously gave us the room and edict to ‘do our thing.’ And we went for it. It’s both completely what you’d expect from us based on our Stray Bullets work and at the same time, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever done before, combining elements of the surreal, science fiction, conspiracy, horror and, of course, classic noir."
"Working on this project was a dream opportunity to tick every box that fires my passion for storytelling,” said Chris Black. “Embracing a classic crime noir while helping to build a world that feels both deeply authentic yet deliciously heightened in the tradition of the most gripping and twisted small town thrillers. But mostly in populating this world with deeply nuanced, flawed and authentic characters that will shock, thrill and break readers’ hearts."
"Good as Dead isn't like anything I've read before," said Nachie Marsham, Senior Editor at Skybound. "The Laphams have created a noir master class, with characters that carry the weight of their lives in the linework of their faces. From the first scene, the storytelling rockets along, but the depth of the world invites you in to peel back layer after layer to discover the mysteries within – and read again and again."
NO MAN’S LAND #1 (OF 4, Image) is by Szymon Kudrański (Something Epic, Blood Commandment).
There's a murder in 1963 on the ice bridge that supposedly forms between Big Diomede Island (Russia) and Little Diomede Island (U.S.) in the Bering Straits in winter. I looked it up, and while that stretch does freeze in winter, it's not safe for foot or vehicle traffic. But hey, it's a comic book. Let's see where this Cold War thriller goes.
“I contacted multiple Russian and American governmental institutions. None responded. That led to deep research. I read more than a century’s worth of archival newspapers. The Cold War era stood out as the most active period — marked by disappearances, murders, and unsolved cases concentrated around the Diomede Islands and their villages. These events became partly an inspiration for the story.
“What makes this place truly unique is not just its geopolitical significance, but its geographic singularity. It is the only place on Earth where a 21-hour time difference runs directly across an ice bridge—earning the islands the names ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Tomorrow.’
“The ice bridge between the Diomedes is one of those rare zones where legal jurisdiction remains undefined—a real-world Catch-22. This location was screaming for a story. And what could be more mysterious than the discovery of a body lying between the world’s two superpowers and rivals, on an ice bridge that no nation can definitively claim?” said Kudrański.
G.I. JOE #11 (Image, $3.99) is by writer Joshua Williamson (Duke, Cobra Commander) and Andrea Milana (Cobra Commander). "THE FINAL SHOWDOWN WITH MAJOR BLUDD." Starring The Baroness and Cover Girl. I looked up"Major Bludd," and he first appeared in 1983, and oh, those were simpler times. If he'd been named 10 years later he'd be "Major Blackbludd" or "Major Dethbludd" or "Major BlackBloodDarkDeathWing."
INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE: BATTLE BEAST #5 (Image, $3.99) is by Robert Kirkman (Void Rivals, The Walking Dead) and Ryan Ottley (Invincible, The Amazing Spider-Man)
NO. 4: IDW PUBLISHING
GODZILLA THE MONSTER COMIC ART COLLECTION HC (Image, $49.99) is llustrated by Matt Frank, Jeff Zornow, Bob Eggleton, Simon Gane and James Stokoe. This oversize (8” x 12”) hardcover collecting art from various IDW titles might be a nice treat for a Godzilla fan.
STAR TREK LOWER DECKS VOL. 1: SECOND CONTACT TP ($19.99) is by Ryan North and Derek Charm and Jack Lawrence, collecting the ongoing Star Trek: Lower Decks #1-6. Check out Kirk from Star Trek: The Animated Series below!
NO. 5: DARK HORSE
MAGIC THE GATHERING: UNTOLD STORIES — ELSPETH #1 (of 4, $4.99): From what I can gather, this character is dead, and these stories are from back when she was alive. In the Black Widow movie, knowing the main character was already dead kinda deflated the thrills for me. I imagine I'd feel the same here, if I was a Magic fan.
"Elspeth’s journey has always resonated deeply with our fans and bringing her untold story to life in this exciting new format has been a real creative highlight for us,” said Jackie Jones, Vice President of Creative for MAGIC: THE GATHERING at Wizards of the Coast. “Working with Dark Horse and this phenomenal team of artists and writers, we’re thrilled to give players and readers a deeper look into one of MAGIC’s most iconic heroes.”
"We can't wait to finally tell the story of Theros: Beyond Death,” said Roy Graham, Senior Story Lead for MAGIC: THE GATHERING at Wizards of the Coast. “Our fans and dedicated readers have wanted to see Elspeth's escape from the underworld brought to life since the iconic set was first released and working with Dark Horse to make it happen is a dream come true.”
“I'm so honoured to illustrate the story of these great characters and lore," added Gieni. "And Dan’s scripts are absolutely amazing, legitimately brilliant stuff. The only request I gave him at the start was to give me some of those epic Theros gods and monsters to draw, and he fully delivered with a vengeance! Killer stuff that I think MtG fans are gonna love.”
STARLIGHT LIBRARY EDITION HC ($49.99): I didn’t read this Mark Millar epic when it first published, and now I have a second chance in a nice format. Anyone want to recommend it?
NO. 6 BOOM! STUDIOS
EXPANSE: A LITTLE DEATH #1 ($5.99): I haven't tried any of the BOOM Expanse books, as I'm a little worried that the TV show set too high a bar. (Younger me would never have guessed I'd ever type a sentence like that.) But maybe some of you are keeping up. Here's a PREVIEW.
SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 TP ($49.99): Here's another book I feel like I should havbe been reading all along, and maybe I should catch up in collections. Can anybody recommend this? I admit I'm curious how it's going to acknowledge the prequel currently being serialized in Hello Darkness.
NO. 7 DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
CAPTAIN PLANET AND THE PLANETEERS #5, $4.99
HERCULOIDS #8, $4.99
VAMPIRELLA: ARMAGEDDON #3, $4.99
NO. 9 ONI PRESS
CATACOMB OF TORMENT #3 (Oni Press, $4.99): On my pull list.
RICK AND MORTY VS. THE UNIVERSE BETH 'TIL DEATH #1 (One-Shot, Oni Press, $4.99): A recent Oni press release says they're not going to make any more Rick & Morty comics (after this one, presumably). The way they've been making bank on Rick & Morty, it's either a trick or it's not voluntary.
WILD WEST C.O.W.-BOYS OF MOO MESA #1 (of 4, Oni Press, $4.99) is by Matt Hotson and Juan Gedeon. Based on an animated series I didn't know existed, and part of Oni's "Nacelleverse" of D-list toys.
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AHOY COMICS
TOXIC AVENGER COMICS #3 ($4.99): For you Toxie and/or Ahoy fans.
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
DEATH IN TRIESTE HC, $24.99: "nter the topsy-turvy world of the Dadaists and Surrealists in this new suite of graphic short stories by the internationally acclaimed cartoonist Jason." Here's a PREVIEW.
MORT WALKER'S BEETLE BAILEY 75 YEARS OF SMILES HC, $65.00: "A handsome coffee-table career retrospective of one of the most respected, dedicated, and prolific cartoonists in the history of comics, Beetle Bailey’s Mort Walker." Here's a PREVIEW.
PSYCHODRAMA ILLUSTRATED #9, $4.99: "Gilbert Hernandez returns to Fritz’s world in an issue that should be retitled Psychosexual Illustrated." I assume there will be a number of women with freakishly large breasts, which I find rather unpleasant. But each to their own.
LIVING THE LINE
MY GORILLA FAMILY (126 pages, $19.95) is by Iijima Ichiro. I have never heard of this before. Now I'm not sure I can live without it. Here's the solicitation:
"Have you ever pondered what it would be like to marry a gorilla? Or to have your deepest desires granted by a satanic genie? Have you ever considered sacrificing your children to culinary aliens, separating your soul from your body, or bioengineering an orgiastic sex beast? If so, MY GORILLA FAMILY is for you! Comprising 14 mind-melting stories from the early 1970s, Iijima Ichiro's MY GORILLA FAMILY offers an intimate, profoundly humanistic — and profoundly disturbing — introduction to one of the most bonkers imaginations in the history of Japanese comics. With an essay by wacko-manga archaeologist Onishi Shohei, MY GORILLA FAMILY is the fifth volume of Living the Line's SMUDGE, a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga curated and translated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg."
TITAN COMICS
BLADE RUNNER: BLACK LOTUS — LAS VEGAS #1 (of 4, $4.99) is by Nancy A. Collins (Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Swamp Thing) and Jesus Hervas (Blade Runner: Origins). I did know this combat model Replicant existed, but until this issue's info, I didn't know the series was based on an anime. Live and learn.
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT
VALIANT BEYOND: ALL-NEW HARBINGER #1 (of 3, $4.99): I thought I’d already mentioned this in one guide or another. Maybe it got bumped.
Replies
ADVANCE PICK OF THE WEEK - After two weeks in lock-step, we diverge this week. My pick is...
BATMAN: SECOND KNIGHT #1:
I loved Batman: First Knight, and I have high hopes for this one as well.
This is probably the last Marvel Masterworks X-Men. And you know what? I'm good with that.
Me, too. You know what I wish? I wish I had stopped buying MMW X-Men when it got to #200.
KRYPTO THE LAST DOG OF KRYPTON #4: On my pull list.
As it should be.
ASSORTED CRISIS EVENTS VOL. 1 TP: This seems to be popular on the board.
Well, I like it.
GOOD AS DEAD #1 is by David & Maria Lapham
Now, see, here's why I come here every week. If it hadn't been for "Comics for Sept 17, 2025" this would have flown entirely beneath my radar. (Now if they'd only finish Stray Bullets.)
MORT WALKER'S BEETLE BAILEY 75 YEARS OF SMILES HC
I particularly like the "pre-Army" Beetles, when the strip was set on my college campus. When I went there, there was a place called "The Shack" (since burned down) that still had Mort Walker grafitti carved into one of the tables. After I graduated, a "Beetle Bailey" statue was erected, but I have never been back to see it.
I haven't read First Knight Vol. 1, but now it's on my Amazon order list.
I'm really looking forward to Batman: Second Knight. I loved the first series too -- and I honestly can't get enough of these large-format DC books if they're well done. I somehow had forgotten this was coming out!
I'm also looking forward to the DC Finest: Spectre book, one that I hadn't expected to buy, at least so soon. But it's a character I like, and I haven't read a lot of those early (pre- Fleisher/Aparo) stories... so bring it on!
There are still about 40 Spectre stories from the Golden Age that have never been reprinted. Annoying!