Hello, Carol and John’s Comic Shoppers! Sorry for the delay in delivering your weekly news but here is what we have for you this week… so, Happy New Comic Book Day. Or more importantly, Happy Saga Day!!

After a hiatus of nearly 3 years, Saga is back this week with a new issue. We couldn’t be more excited here at the shop, and it was the first thing we did as soon as we got our Diamond shipment this week. We’ve got plenty of swag here at the shop too to commemorate the moment, including pins, stickers, and temporary tattoos (while they last). And I’ve got my Saga shirt on today, because of course I’ve got to rep Cleveland native Brian K. Vaughan and the best book out now, period.

While today’s big book is definitely the return of Saga, we’ve got a few other great books in the shop this week. Let’s see what else you should get.

DC Comics

John Paul Leon has been one of the most influential artists of the past quarter-century, and we were excited to hear when he was announced to be working on a special one-shot set in the Batman Catwoman universe written by Tom King. But unfortunately, he unexpectedly passed away last year before the completion of the book, sending the book into limbo. But friends and colleagues of his have stepped up to remember and honor the late artist, and this week we now have the Batman Catwoman Special out now. It’s a great Bruce and Selina story, telling the story of their lives and love, all set during my favorite time of year, Christmas in Gotham. This $10 special is also an excellent tribute to the late artist, JPL. A great addition to any Bat fan’s collection.

John Cena’s Peacemaker was the best part of the new Suicide Squad movie, in my opinion, and he’s definitely been getting a lot of play in the DC universe since then.  This week, we’ve got an amazing one-shot featuring the antihero written by comics legend Garth Ennis in Peacemaker: Disturbing the Peace. “Long before joining the Suicide Squad, Christopher Smith, code name Peacemaker, meets with a psychiatrist—a woman dangerously obsessed with his bizarre and violent past. From his tragic childhood to his military service overseas to his multiple missions with Special Forces, Smith has more than his share of skeletons in the closet. But who’s actually analyzing whom? And will this trip down memory lane result in yet more fatalities? Garth Ennis and Garry Brown delve deep into Christopher Smith’s history of violence, and reveal what might bring peace—or not—to the Peacemaker.” This issue was brutal, and one of the best books of the week too.

Marvel Comics

The finale to one of the most successful Marvel miniseries in recent memory that I can remember, with each issue getting more and more readers, The Death of Doctor Strange wraps up this week with issue #5. The murderer is revealed, and nothing will be the same. I’m so far behind on this, so no spoilers for me, but I’m excited to see what happens next with the Sorcerer Supreme.

Last week saw the debut of X Lives of Wolverine, and this week sees the debut of the companion series, X Deaths of Wolverine. This series is definitely for fans of current X-happenings and for those who want to see the direct continuation of a certain character’s story after the events of Jonathan Hickman’s Inferno, X Deaths had a lot of anticipation behind it after last week’s X Lives. We don’t have enough copies on the table this week, but let us know if you’d like to be added to this series because it looks to be the definitive Wolverine story of the Krakoan Age.

And that’s just some of the great books out this week. It’s been a hectic and snowy 2022, but we’re wrapping up the first month of the year with a bang with the return of Saga. We’ve got a lot of cool things going on behind the scenes too here at the shop, and we’re excited to share it all with you as soon as we can. In the meantime, thank you all for the support and reading this newsletter week in and week out. There’s more to come. We hope to see you all in the shop this week, have a good one everybody.

Peace, Love, and Comics

Rafael Calzada