Hello, Carol and John’s Shoppers! And greetings from Fairbanks, Alaska! Wait, WHAAAAAA? Yup, Rafael here, and I’m into the wild this week and I’m chilling in the last frontier. My girlfriend and I, and some friends, are holding up in an Airbnb and we’re really hoping to see the Northern Lights this week. Have any of you ever been to Alaska? It’s my second time in a year, and it’s pretty neat. It’s an otherworldly vibe, but it’s also still pretty ‘Merican. But all the while, the guys are holding it down back home at the shop and still delivering the goods to everybody this week! All of our pull lists will get another stack to the file this week, but we’ll all have a little more excitement and great comics to enjoy too! This week heroes unite, and others collide, and a shop favorite series of ours comes to a close. It might seem like a lot to take in, but let’s see what’s good.

Small Press

Ben was a big fan of this series when it was coming out in issues, and now this week the trade paperback is available for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. Ram V was one of the most prolific writers of 2021, and this might have been his best book of the year too. Drawn by Filipe Andrade (Captain Marvel), Laila Starr tells the ultimate story of humanity and immortality. With the avatar of Death having been cast down to Earth and living as a twenty-something-year-old woman in Mumbai, it’s also the time and place where the creator of human immortality will be born. This leaves Laila Starr with a chance to make the choice of several lifetimes, whether to let humanity unlock the key to everlasting life or not, and also learn what it means to be alive. I missed out on this title when it was coming out, but I’ve been hearing from Ben and from several of you how good this series was. I’m excited to finally read it.

“On a seemingly normal August day in Boulder, Colorado, the skies are clear, and Honeysuckle Speck couldn’t be happier. She’s finally moving in with her girlfriend Yolanda. But their world is literally torn apart when dark clouds roll in and release a downpour of nails-splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely undercover. Rain makes vivid this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads across the country and around the world, threatening everything young lovers Honeysuckle and Yolanda hold dear.” Based on the novella by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King and mastermind behind the hit Locke & Key series, Rain is a new miniseries and the launch of a new imprint from Image Comics, SYZYGY, spearheaded by Ashley Wood and Chris Ryall (Zombies vs. Robots). Rain is written by David M. Booher (Canto) and drawn by Zoe Thorogood (the phenomenal issue #2 of Ha-Ha), this mini looks to be one not to miss out on and the start of an exciting new line of comics from Image.

Marvel Comics

Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run has been one of the best books from Marvel in recent years, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most dynamic turns at the character with Elektra Natchios having taken up the mantle of Daredevil in the wake of Matt Murdock’s turn in prison. The main title is on hiatus, Devil’s Reign is the current event sweeping across New York, and now the next chapter in Zdarksy’s Daredevil saga starts this week with a new miniseries Daredevil Woman Without Fear. Now that she’s the Guardian Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, she’s taken up a vow to never take another life, but that new vow is put to the test now for one of the deadliest assassins in the Marvel Universe. Any more Zdarsky is something to celebrate, and this is the perfect companion piece to the Daredevil saga in the wake of Devil’s Reign. And there are some great variants too, this one by Nicoletta Baldari.

It’s the end of an era, Gerry Duggan’s Savage Avengers comes to a close this week with issue #28. It’s a huge shop favorite, full of big Marvel action and some really brutal moments thanks to an exciting team of Avengers including Conan of Cimmeria brought forward in time. But all good things come to an end, and now it’s time for the Savage Avengers to go off into the sunset. The latest arc of the series was AWESOME with the vile Kulan Gath nearly destroying all the heroes and the multiverse, and this is definitely a series that is ripe for an omnibus collection in the future, but until then, witness the end of one of the coolest Avengers teams ever.

DC Comics

“One thousand years in the future, a Legion of Super-Heroes comes together to dedicate their lives to recapturing the great age of heroes of the 21st century. When the heroes discover that reality is falling to great darkness in both times simultaneously, the Justice League and the Legion of Super-Heroes must team up to stop it all. But what is the connection between the secrets of the new Gold Lanterns and the coming of the Great Darkness? A monumental DC epic event miniseries!” Written by Cleveland’s own Brian Michael Bendis, it’s the first big DC event of the year.

And that’s just some of the great comics this week at Carol and John’s. I hope everyone is having a great start to their new year. Tell the guys and Winston I say hello, I know my cat Lily wishes I was home also, but I’ll be back home soon and hope to catch up on all my books with all of you. Hopefully, I’ll have some cool photos of the Northern Lights and my Alaskan adventure to share with you all too next week. In the meantime, take it easy.