Andrea’s Exceptional Picks for 09.04.2024

First thing: One of our major shipments was delayed, so we will not have DC, Image, and some small press titles on the table Wednesday morning. It is scheduled to be delivered, so if books are missing from your file, just know they’re on the way and we will process that shipment and get those to you as soon as we can! 

Welcome to September, Comic Shop Friends! We’re getting closer to Halloween, so if you want to start your spooky season now, we have a bunch of great horror titles we’ll recommend! Including some this week!

This month’s Late Nite Comics is on Thursday the 19th! 8 pm to midnight! Dollar books galore! 50% off back issues! Will the wall be included? Stop out to find out!

Can’t make it to Late Nite? Then come on out on Saturday the 21st! We’ll be doing an all-day 50% off back issue sale! Some of the hardcovers and art books that John picked up recently will be part of a raffle too! More details coming on that.

Books and Comics at the Market is happening again at the West Side Market! Sunday, September 22nd, from 11am to 2pm! John will be there with free Superman comics to give out, along with our friends, Comics at the Corner. There will also be a free print by Sina Grace, pictured above. The Rust Belt Humanities Lab, the Cleveland Public Library, and more will be there with other free books as well!

And a head’s up that on October 19th from 11am to 1pm, Bumblebee will be here! Similar to our Sonic the Hedgehog event, we’ll have Transformers #1 to give away, a print featuring Bumblebee, and lots of in-stock Energon Universe titles!

MARVEL COMICS

Kate Pryde’s life right now is pretty far from exceptional. Working as a bartender to get away from all things X-related, trying to blend in as a non-mutant, and overworking herself to try to keep her depression at bay. She’s not dealing with the Fall of Krakoa in the healthiest way, but she does decide to leave the apartment one night for a date. Of course, she can’t help but help a young mutant, Trista, when her powers appear. And what’s Emma Frost up too, with her files and sneaking into Kitty’s mind? Probably just recruiting for the Exceptional X-Men! Written by Eve L. Ewing, with art by Carmen Carnero.

While taking his nephews to an archaeological dig for ancient Viking artifacts, Donald Duck unearths an enchanted cane. That gives him the power of Thor! And just in time too, because the Stone Ducks from Saturn have landed and are starting an invasion of Earth. Can Donald learn how to use Mjolnir to save the planet before everything is turned to stone? What if Donald Duck became Thor? Find out in this fun all-ages one-shot from writer Riccardo Secchi and artist Lorenzo Pastrovicchio! Keep an eye out for the next Marvel/Disney crossover, What If Minnie Mouse was Ms. Marvel?!

The second of the new all-ages Spider-Man titles starts this week! Following high school Peter Parker in two new stories, “Career Day” with She-Hulk and Tombstone, and “Eternal Mystery” with Sersi and Shocker! Written by Steve Foxe, with art by Mario Del Pennino, and Arianna Florean. It’s a fun read and a great introduction to Spider-Man for younger readers.

Groot has the sniffles. Rocket’s scheme has put them in the crosshairs of the Avengers. Then things go from bad to worse when Groot sneezes on Captain America. A new plant-based zombie virus is unleashed, and Groot is patient zero! Only Groot and Hulk remain impervious, and it’s up to them to make their way across New York to work on a cure in Banner’s lab. I am Groot? Writer Thomas Krajewski and artist Jason Muhr bring a little horror to the Marvel Universe in this all-ages friendly mini-series!

DC COMICS

DC’s Absolute Power rolls on with Absolute Power #3, with the last stand of Paradise Island! Can the resistance form an alliance with the Amazons of Themyscira, and stay hidden from the Brainiac Queen?

And in the one tie-in issue, Batman #152, Batman and Catwoman are still trying to pull the ultimate heist and find the key to Waller’s plans. With a Birds of Prey back-up story!

It’s no laughing matter when Plastic Man is involved in an incident that leads to catastrophic cellular damage, so why can’t he get the Justice League to take him seriously? Before he was Plastic Man, Eel O’Brian wasn’t the best person, and now he’s running out of time to make amends. Especially with his son, who may have inherited more than just stretchy superpowers from his father. Writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Alex Lins bring Plastic Man to a Black Label book, described as “hard-boiled Plastic Man noir!” It’s humorous, a little dark, and plenty goopy!

Collecting the Trinity backup stories from Wonder Woman, it’s all the cuteness packed into one issue! With corgis! Homework! Darkseid and math! Super fun, so if you’re not reading Wonder Woman and missed out, pick this up!

SMALL PRESS COMICS

Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque have a new series set in a strange post-apocalyptic America. In 1955. It’s like if Red Dawn was mixed with 50s drive-in sci-fi, a splash of conspiracies, with a healthy dose of a love of film. Friends Delmont, Oliver, and Junior love making backyard movies together, but after an attack by a local racist’s dog, Delmont loses his joy and optimism, along with an eye. Planning to get out of town as soon as high school is over, Delmont works at the drive-in theater. But after a fight breaks out, he, his friends, a jerky jock, and a couple of hot rod gang members end up in “daytention.” The teens learn that duck and cover really does work, when a bomb is dropped near the school. Survival is not without some strange after effects though, including mutations and superhuman abilities, along with the appearance of Russian advanced armored vehicles, a labor camp, and World War III. An oversized first issue, with a bunch of making of extras, this is a great start to an alternate Cold War event.

Theresa got out of Limberlost and moved to a big city, but after losing her job and her partner, she reluctantly returns home to care for her ailing mother, the small-town psychic, Vickie. Her mother wants her to reopen the shop, Theresa thinks it’s just a scam. With recurring dreams of an abandoned hotel and memories of her grandfather haunting her, there is something the town is trying to tell her. There may be hidden magic, and the town might desperately need her help. This is a new longform series from writer and artist Jeff Lemire, with this being the first of four books, the Book of Wands, followed by the Books of Swords, the Book of Cups, and the Book of Pentacles, all linked to the tarot and following different characters.