Hey Comic Shop Friends! It’s time for another week of new comics! Come and get ‘em!

50 cent comic night! This Thursday the 20th is Late Nite Comics and ALL the dollar stock will be 50 cents each! No qualifiers! And 50% off back issues! Including the wall! Open until 11pm, so there’s plenty of time to dig through the dollar boxes! See you then!

MARVEL COMICS

Kevin Smith and Andy McElfresh, with artist R.B. Silva, bring fire and brimstone to a Spider-Man and Hulk team-up! When Mole Man and The Manosphere crash Easter mass in Central Park, Peter Parker swings into action, and into more puns than you can catch in a web! Mole Man, Sandman, Titanium Man, Molten Man, Plantman, Absorbing Man, Stilt-Man, Everyman, and Man-Bull are set to steal the collection cauldron from Cardinal Leviticus Thornhill, leading to an all-out brawl! And then the Hulk shows up! The Cardinal has helped Bruce Banner, and now Bruce is leaning into a spiritual side to help contain the Hulk, but when a young girl is injured in the Central Park fight, Cardinal Thornhill makes a public statement that the only way to save Banner’s body and soul is to eradicate the demon within him. Can an exorcism work on Hulk?! We’re about to find out in this four-issue mini-series!

An Asgardian milestone! Thor hits issue #800! Sigurd Jarlson has been trapped by the Serpent, in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. This is the second trial given to him by Odin. Sigurd keeps fighting, but will the torment be too much? Will Odin’s battle with the Serpent of Chaos allow Sigurd’s freedom? What is the third judgement to come? Can this Mortal Thor be the key to bringing back the God of Thunder? Al Ewing and Pasqual Ferry present the main story in this special, which leads to the retitle of Mortal Thor to Thor, and continuing the legacy numbering with #801, as each of the nine realms is visited.

The second story is told from the point of view of Mjolnir, and asks, “What does it mean to be worthy?” Written by Kieron Gillen with Declan Shalvey art, with an interview between the two creators.

Third, Chris Condon and Jesse Lonergan present the start of a murder mystery. Maxon Pryce has witnessed a murder. The victim, Loki. But who is the killer? Did he see what he thinks he saw? Monark Starstalker wants to know.

What if the Runaways hadn’t run away? You know the story of how Alex Wilder, Chase Stein, Gertude Yorkes, Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes, and Nico Minoru found out that their parents weren’t the philanthropists they thought they were, but a cabal of villains set on destroying humanity! But what if they learned about the Pride, not by witnessing a human sacrifice, but by conversations with their parents. The promise of infinite power and influence may be what draws the teens in, but answering to ancient gods and killing the world may be too far. There’s no running away from destiny. What if they embraced it? Written by Rainbow Rowell, with art by Zulema Scotto Lavina.

DC COMICS

Wally wants to leave Central City and find his dad. Linda wants him to go public like Wonder Woman and become the city’s hero. Neither of them are going to get what they want, because Dr. Thawne is sending in Hunter Zolomon and The Old Man. How can Wally fight a foe that can jump back and forth between a minute in the past and future? Zolomon can counter and re-do anything that the Flash throws at him. The Old Man is causing chaos, leading Linda and Grodd directly to him, and none of this is going to end well. Will Wally finally be captured? Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles won’t let Wally West have a moment of peace!

Solomon Grundy, born on Monday, christened on Tuesday, in comic shops Wednesday! Dinah goes head-to-head with Grundy, and finally learns the secrets behind Hammond and his Island. This is body horror goodness, and Doctor Moreau weirdness! This book is getting darker and darker, and more and more horrible, and it’s so good. I am so glad this is getting extended to a twelve-issue series, and I’m excited for the Absolute Black Canary one-shot! Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Alburquerque are doing a killer job on this book!

The Wonder War Interlude from Stephanie Williams and Clayton Henry concludes. What a beautiful story. Steve finishes telling Trinity the tale of the Contest, and how her mother came to be champion. Diana’s choice to enter the Contest leads her to a life in Man’s World. Where will Lizzie and Steve be led on the River Styx? What choices will they make as they prepare to take down the Matriarch once and for all? Some of you skip the non-Tom King issues, and you’re really missing out on some wonderful character building fill in stories. Stephanie Williams is doing great work with them, and I’d be happy to read more Wonder Woman stories from her.

SMALL PRESS COMICS

Bug Wars returns! The coming of the Wardoom! Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar are back in the Yard and it’s going to be bloodier and even more brutal than before! Six months after the end of the first series, the uneasy peace is about to be shattered. Slade hasn’t entered the Yard. Syd hasn’t left the house. Things aren’t great at school for Slade, as the roach army that vowed to protect him, have made him the target of bullying. Syd is traumatized, loading the house with pest traps and obsessively checking them. They’re trying to survive human life day by day, not knowing that ancient enemies are rising at the edge of the Woods, and that someone is sending drones over the property. Just as things start to look up a little for Slade after meeting the new kids who moved in next door, everything gets upturned and Slade is dragged back into the Bug Wars! We described it as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids meets Game of Thrones, and if you want to check it out, we have the first series in trade paperback!

I’d say if you like the dystopian future race films produced by Roger Corman, like Death Race 2000, you’ll like The Last Driver. A widescreen comic that feels like a classic 1970s car culture film. A lone driver on a mission. A police force after him. Sean Murphy and Simon Gough present a future where no one knows how to drive. Except for Clutch! In a future ruled by money barons, the poor are pushed out of cities, and the Grid is almost complete. Everything is automated, “pods” are the only transportation, and anything with four wheels is illegal. Even slot cars, as Clutch finds out when he’s arrested for “driving” the toys with his granddaughter, Cuda. Now, he’s been asked by his old boss, Kowalski, to do one last drive, off the grid, to settle the debt owed to him, and to save Cuda’s life. Outlaws, racing, rebellion! Everything you want in an action comic!

EC has a giant size special about the real-life horrors of war! You’ve been called to the front lines of fear with four new stories, and a reprint of a classic EC tale “Yellow” from William M. Gaines, Al Feldstein and Jack Davis, originally published in Shock SuspenStories #1!

First, John Arcudi and Shawn Martinbrough go “Scorched Earth” as Corporal Rita Cruces sees what may be a vision of the future in the smoke and flames of a burn pit, during the last days of her tour during Operation Enduring Freedom. She may be close to leaving, but what she sees will follow her home.

Second, it’s “Christmas” in No Man’s Land and a peace truce allows some respite for English and German soldiers. Can they trust each other while they bury their dead and celebrate the holiday? Written by Michael W. Conrad, with art by Albert Monteys.

Third, Dr. Jeremy Davis is working on contraptions for clandestine assassination. His hatred of communism leads to an all-American way of getting close to Castro, but his newest invention may get too close to home in Julio Anta and David Lapham’s “Blowback.”

Fourth, enlightenment has led to the Sepulchre of Peace, and now all conflict across the galaxy will only happen on a neutral planet to lessen the casualty to civilian life or property. Year after year, the neutral planet is the battleground for all wars. Sure, soldiers will die, but the home planets will be safe. Who cares if the local flora and fauna are destroyed? Welcome to the “World of the Wars” from Benito Cereno and Tom Fowler.

Prepare yourself for Shellshock!