Andrea’s Radioactive Picks for 07.29.2026
Greetings, Comic Shop Friends! First, a thank you for making our Not At Comic Con Sale a success! Now that you’ve cleared out some space in our back issue bins and dollar stock boxes, we can fill them back up with new stuff!
We’ll have another sale for August’s Late Nite Comics on Thursday the 20th!
If you didn’t get enough comics last weekend, or even if you did, make sure to check out the NEO ComicCon this Sunday August 2nd! Comics, art, collectibles, and cosplay at the North Olmsted Soccer Sportsplex! Only $5! Check out neocomiccon.com for all the details!
Send your congratulations and well wishes to Missty as she and her partner Ben get married this weekend! Congrats you two, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you!
There’s one more big item for shop news, but you’ll have to scroll to the Small Press section to find out!
MARVEL COMICS
Queen in Black starts this week! Along with the main title, there’s also the start of the first mini-series, and a Hela one-shot! Venom, Thor, and Venom Unchained are still to come!
The Queen in Black has her sights set on Earth, backed with an army of the galaxy’s deadliest symbiotes! If Earth’s mightiest heroes aren’t prepared for Hela, then they’re definitely not prepared for Knull and his newfound powers of Light. This isn’t just good versus evil, this is evil versus evil, with good trapped in the middle! Tony Stark is putting together a new Avengers team to tackle the threat, including Venom, Agent Anti-Venom, and Toxin. As the only one who remembers Asgard and that Norse gods are real, Beta Ray Bill is the only team member who knows what they’re truly up against, but they’re going to need more than just knowledge. Time to bring in the big guns! And that includes Cable, Nova, Captain Alliance, and Scarlet Witch! Iron Man sends teams across the globe to stop the four new symbiote groups from activating their weapons, but the best chance at saving Earth may be his secondary teams heading into space. Al Ewing and Iban Coello kick off the five issue cosmic collision here!
Now, follow the Defenders of Light and Dark! Iron Man’s other two teams assemble to take on the Queen in Black and the God of Light head on! Team Dark is led by Tony, with Agent Anti-Venom, Cable, Darkstar, and Cloak. Team Light is led by Beta Ray Bill, with Photon, Sunfire, and Dagger. Team Light heads straight to Hela’s ship with the mission to “Win the day… or die valiantly in the trying!” But will the God of War’s promise of the return of Asgard turn Bill to the dark side? Team Dark is armed with Tony’s new Knullbuster armor, but the element of surprise they planned on has been perceived by Knull. As Knull commands his seraphim to slaughter, Cloak deviates from the plan. Will his decision help or hinder the team’s mission? Al Ewing, Tom Waltz and Ze Carlos’s three issue mini-series may decide the outcome of the Queen in Black saga!
Al Ewing and Carlos Magno reveal the secrets of the Queen in Black in the Hela one-shot! Balder the Brave travels to Hel to seek answers. Why was Hela not at Thor’s wake? Where is she now? Karnilla of the Norns tells him of what she has seen of the future, of Hela’s fate, of how she came to cage Knull and take his power. The tale is told of how Hela travelled from Hel to Midgard’s Hell, with a dead stowaway who will play a part, to find Knull and become the Queen of Nothing! The fate of the Earth will be changed, but Karnilla has only seen the threads of fate of those who stand against the Queen in Black. Who will become the last Ruler in Black?
What if Kraven survived his last hunt? What if Kraven took up the mantle of Spider-Man? Kraven has left Peter Parker broken and buried, but the monster he thought he was hunting is just a man, scared and sick. As Kraven wrestles with what he’s done, he takes Spider-Man’s name and suit, hoping for a sense of purpose. Peter seeks treatment, but is he making progress? With the darkness of the symbiote lurking and infecting Peter’s mind, Kraven may be his only hope of truly being free. Kraven has a chance for one more Last Hunt as he battles both symbiote and his own existential conflict. Written by J.M. DeMatteis, with art by Yildiray Cinar.
DC COMICS
DC has packed this fifth Wednesday with two specials, featured below, and three annuals! First, Superman: Year One Thousand and whatever happened to the Omega Champion? Superman must fix the future in Joshua Williamson and Yasmine Putri’s story that leads into the new Legion of Super-Heroes series, and the Kingdom of Zod storyline starting in August in Superman, Action Comics, Superman Unlimited, and Supergirl!
Second, Detective Comics guest starring Lobo! Someone has framed Batman for the murder of an intergalactic king, and Lobo’s out to collect the bounty! From Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott. Plus, an art studio collective has a new member, Mr. Sty, and things are starting to become disturbing. Written by Dave Wielgosz, with art by Fran Mariscal.
And third, in Batman Superman World’s Finest it’s take your dad to work day! Bruce and Clark take their father figures out for Father’s Day, but when Batman and Superman get trapped at work, it’s up to Alfred and Pa Kent to save them! Written by Mark Russell with art by Clayton Henry. Plus, a Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk back-up story! The little duo do some big mischief as they mess with date night! From Mark Waid, Tyrone Finch, and Pat Boutin.
Eight stories to heat up your summer! DC’s Hawk-Girl Summer is here! This one-shot has: Hawkgirl in “Hawk-Girl Summer” by Meghan Fitzmartin and Meghan Hetrick, where she and Catwoman are after the same amulet. Shining Knight and Kid Quick in Trick Weekes and Nikola Cizmesija’s “Quick and Shining” finds them fighting a kraken. Bunker’s date cancels on a beach day in “All the Good Ones Are Taken” but Psycho-Pirate makes a good distraction in Josh Trujillo and Andrew Drilon’s story. It’s “Hotter Than Hell” at Grace Choi and Thunder’s vacation rental when Sabbac shows up! By Dacy Lim and Rowan MacColl. Kid Eternity is having a rough time on a cruise, and that’s even before Black Manta gets there! It’s “Lawless on the Lido Deck” from Andre Frattino and Rafael Perez. “Idle Hands” are the Devil’s playground when Jason Todd and the Robins are on the boardwalk. By Siobhan Chiffon and Cathy Le. The Female Furies aren’t having a fun time at the beach with Barda, Scott, and their son, in Ramon Perez’s “Greetings From Shell Beach, Apokolips.” Until they get to fight Giganta! A holographic Superboy gives fans “The Superboy Experience” in Cavan Scott and Rafael Loureiro’s short, until it goes off program and it’s up to the real Superboy to stop it! This is a great beach read, if you don’t mind getting sand in your comics!
The aftermath of DC K.O. gave all of those present at the end of the tournament visions, except Batman and Lex Luthor. But now their visions have been revealed. They received a shared vision of a well-armed man in the swamplands outside of Gotham City. Now forced to team-up, Luthor and Batman arrive in Slaughter Swamp and into an arms deal in progress. But who is the buyer? And where did the weapons come from? As the Crooked House rises from the swamp, they learn what Justice League villain wants to fill the void left by the villain amnesty program, and what dangerous new weapon they mean to create! Will Batman and Lex put aside their differences long enough to work together? Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson and Miguel Mendonca set up new threats for the Justice League as the All In Saga continues! In the back up story from Tate Brombal and Sami Basri, Static’s life is about to change, and not just because his girlfriend is breaking up with him! Static is back in New Titans #38!
SMALL PRESS COMICS
1954. Tokyo, Japan. Two scientists start an experiment in the Pacific Ocean. They are searching for a new power source. What they find has more power than anyone could imagine. Witness the horror of Godzilla! This is Godzilla’s first attack as you’ve never seen it before, full of death, mutilation, and terror. Writers Griffin Sheridan and Ethan S. Parker, with artist Tristan Jones, put us on the ground during the kaiju’s rampage in this four-issue prequel to the Kai-Sei Era comics. Witness the destruction of the King of the Monsters, and the destruction and consequences of interfering with nature. No heroes. No survivors. There is only the wrath of Godzilla!
Christian Ward and John J. Pearson. The Patron, 2026. Sequential art, mixed media on paper, 6.625” x 10.1875”. The Patron is a new comic series set at the bloody intersection of art and commerce! Unknown artists know that a patron of the arts supporting them would change their lives. Mr. Cherish is just that. He has dedicated his life to scouting and supporting emerging talent, getting them gallery shows and launching their careers. The artists have differing styles and mediums, but the one thing they all have in common? They end up dead. The secret to Cherish’s success is that nothing makes art more desirable to collectors than the untimely deaths of the artists. But after the deadly overdose of painter Matty Barnes, something is different. His girlfriend Luce knows he wasn’t using drugs. Cherish thinks he’s free and clear, but now his empire is in the crosshairs of both the law and a mysterious third party.
Carol and John’s Comic Book Shop is proud to announce we are the featured comic book shop in the Ghost Machine titles this month, including this week’s Geiger #24 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank! There’s a little bit of shop history in there, a bit of civic pride and a lot of family. We’re only the second shop in the world to get this honor, and we’re so happy with how it turned out that we’ll be giving free copies away with any purchase this week until they run out. We have hundreds to give away! We’ll even let you pick from the regular cover (pictured above) or the awesome America 250 variant featuring Junkyard Joe (pictured below). Congrats to our staff and a big thank you to the crew over at Ghost Machine for believing in us!
Grab a free copy of Geiger because our shop is featured in the back! Or grab it because it’s a new story arc! Or grab it for the first appearance! Or grab it because of Junkyard Joe! We love Junkyard Joe! We love all of the Ghost Machine titles, and they’re setting up some new stories, characters, and comics, so ask us about our favorites to get caught up!
