Happy September Comic Shop Friends! Are you ready for some fall reading? We are!

We just did a huge restock of Marvel omnibus collections! Including the ROM-nibus! And they are all discounted at half off the cover price! There are some great graphic novels from that order at half off as well, like the Hulk Grand Design trade paperback!

If you’re looking for Green Lantern stories, we got ‘em! We did a restock of some facsimiles featuring Green Lantern, and pretty much all of the graphic novels that are available. Besides the regular Green Lantern section in the graphic novel wall, we have a row on our rec wall featuring some of our favorites.

John just got in his huge manga order as well! We specialize in keeping hard to get volume ones and early volumes of the top properties in stock. We just got in more Junji Ito books, One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Dorohedoro, Dandadan and more!

DC also has released new printings for nineteen different Absolute Batman issues, including the Absolute Batman Annual! If you’re missing any, let us know and we’ll throw them in your file.

DC is also starting a new line of “DC Start Here” comics that are #1s of titles that are recommended reads, and they’re only $1! This week has the first four, Batman by Tom King, Batman by Scott Snyder, Batman Dark Patterns, and Batman White Knight. They’ve announced the next group of titles in the new DC Previews as well. This is a great way to try out a series to see if you like it, and then you can get the collection to read it all.

Saturday the 19th is Batman Day! We’ll be giving away the main book, Batman of Two Worlds, all day! This one-shot features both Matt Fraction’s Batman and Scott Snyder’s Absolute Batman! With all new stories for both! There are also other exclusives for the day, like new hardcovers for the current Batman ongoing and The Dark Knight Returns with variant slipcovers.

Thursday the 17th is Late Nite Comics! It’s the day before John’s birthday, so he’ll have something to give to everyone who attends! You know what’s going on by now, tons of dollar stock and half off back issues! Stop in to wish him a happy birthday, and get some great deals!

MARVEL COMICS

The big one from Marvel this week is the Alex Ross Marvel Dimensions hardcover! I know there have been some articles where Ross has said he doesn’t want to state clearly what this book is about, in order to avoid controversy. He wants the text and subtext to speak for itself, and have the readers decide for themselves. We’re presented with classic origins for iconic Marvel characters which leads into the introduction of the narrator, and to a 32-page comic within the hardcover! I read it Monday night and without giving away the story, I can say it’s about good and evil, and the push and pull between them. Well worth the $30, it’s a great read!

Reprinted as an $8.99 oversized single issue, the out-of-print Roger Stern and Mike Mignola story from 1989 is an all time classic! This is Kevin’s pick of the week, and I’m looking forward to finally getting to read it. Doctor Doom has a plan to rescue his mother’s soul from Mephisto, and he needs Doctor Strange’s help. Strange has finally been convinced to join him, and this may be what Doom needs to alter the outcome in his favor. As they journey into Mephisto’s realm, they find the cost of one soul may be more than they are willing to pay.

Just in time for the start of spooky season! Marvel Zombies is back! The Punisher finds himself in a different type of War Zone when a zombie outbreak hits Manhattan! A horde of former Hand ninja calling themselves The Hunger attack, leaving carnage and death in their wake. Heroes have fallen. Those that survived have activated a barrier around the city and escaped. Those left trapped, like Frank Castle, now have to fight against an ever-growing horde to survive. But the Punisher is looking for answers, and he’ll take down everyone, including allies, who get in his path as he makes his way to Avengers Tower! Written by Tom Waltz, with art by Jaime Infante.

Spider-Woman turns 50! And she can kick! And stretch! She’s fifty! Ann Nocenti and Stefano Raffaele give a story set in Jessica Drew’s past, “High Tag Wins”. A relaxing pool day in Los Angeles gets interrupted by Flying Tiger, who is adamant that he didn’t steal what he’s accused of stealing. Meanwhile, Drew’s new friend Molly is attempting to win a contest by tagging a skyscraper, and she needs some backup! A little birdie told me there’s more to the story…

Set now, Dan Watters and Andrea Broccardo present “The Mysterious Spider-Woman”! Spider-Woman is meeting with Ben Urich about what she’s found out about six missing construction workers. But something seems off about her. She says she’s just tired, but it seems like she’s not giving Ben the whole truth about what, and who, she found. What secret is she hiding from her old friend? Stay tuned, because it leads to the all-new Spider-Woman series in November!

DC COMICS

DC’s Next Level continues with three new series! You saw hints in the Next Level One Shot, and this week is the full introduction of The Doom Patrol, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and the Teen Titans! DC is doing great work with the Next Level line by giving you everything you need to know about these characters in order for you to just start reading. You don’t need to know decades of history to enjoy these comics, if something looks interesting, give it a shot. I’d recommend all three of the new series this week!

The Doom Patrol starts with a simple work-for-hire missing cat case. But in Doom Patrol fashion, things get weird. The team is haunted by their pasts, and Dr. Caulder may be haunted by an actual ghost. He’s having a recurring nightmare that ends badly. All endings are a beginning, and this is a beginning you should check out. You know we love cat stories here, so I’d say pick it up just for that. If you like the Brendan Fraser starring Doom Patrol show, pick it up because of that. If you want some wonderful Niko Henrichon art, pick it up for that. Written by Darcy Van Poelgeest, with art by Niko Henrichon.

Here’s another one you should check out for the wonderful art! Absolute Wonder Woman artist Hayden Sherman brings that panel pushing design to Joshua Williamson’s writing in the new Legion of Super-Heroes title. A thousand years in the future, superheroes are outlawed. Different planets give some of their inhabitants different powers, but they are forced to hide them. The richest man in all of the United Planets, R.J. Brande has just been murdered, and a private investigation duo, Brainiac 1 of 5 and Tenzil, decide to look into the case. What they find will lead them to other powered beings, like Lightning Lad, and a telepathic princess on Saturn’s moon Titan. To restore hope to the universe, Brainy must assemble a legion of gifted young rebels! Part mystery, part super team, all excellent.

Writer Kyle Higgins and artist Daniele Di Nicuolo redefine the Teen Titans! The cover gives it away, but they’re led by Red Hood! Red Hood has been hired to find a couple’s missing son. Cole was active on a server named after the Teen Titans, that is used as a fan site for the older Teen Titans teams, and for kids with powers to talk to and support each other, and plan meetups. Cole disappeared after attending a rally for another youth movement, Ascend, designed to train kids to be prepared in a world shaped by superhuman conflict. Ascend may not be exactly what it seems, and now Cheshire Cat, Proxy, Wildcard, Fairplay, and Eugene Choi (formerly Shazam) are looking into what happened to Cole. Jason Todd and the Teen Titans are going to have to work together, whether they like it or not! Can Red Hood lead a team of kids he thinks are soft and reckless? Can the Teen Titans get it together and not run off half-cocked? This reminds me of the Runaways, with a group of kids trying to figure out their powers and use them to do good. They’re going to make mistakes, things are going to go wrong, but they’re going to keep trying to help people.

SMALL PRESS COMICS

The first of Oni’s new Archie universe titles! Ben H. Winters and Fabio Moon update the teen idealism and joy of the classic Archie Comics in this new ongoing series! Along with pin-ups and puzzles, this first issue has a short, “Rude Awakening”, where Archie hits snooze one too many times. Then the main story “Yes, We Cannes!” has everyone asking Archie to be in their movies for the Riverdale Film Festival, but will he be able to finish his own? And open up Jughead’s Journal to find out how he feels about Pop closing the Chock’lit Shoppe to visit his daughter. To be continued! Super fun, and Archie fans old and new, of all ages, will find something to love! It’s Archie!

Four months ago a kaiju appeared in Venezuela, causing mass destruction and death. Felipe and his mother made the long journey to New York, as the city started accepting those affected by the monster. Their struggle for daily survival is about to get exponentially worse as an even larger kaiju rises from the East River. Now Felipe and his classmates, Malik and Jeanie, will have to survive as they make their way to rescue Felipe’s mom trapped in the subway. Writer Julio Anta and artist Jacoby Salcedo mix the action of a blockbuster monster movie, with the real-life consequences suffered by the people and communities impacted by disasters.

Mar and Rhea are young ballet students at the Conservatory. Their training is harsh, their bodies are enhanced, the cost of failure is death. But they aren’t just being trained to dance, they’re being trained to pilot mech suits. Each year the students perform for the Patrons, again and again, using the mech suits to present literal space operas. If the Patrons don’t approve of the performance, the dancers are left to die in space. But yet the girls want to continue, to prove themselves, to get the chance to dance the saga of Appolyta the Huntress, and to be crowned the title of Prima Apparata. But what they’re being told at the Conservatory may not all be true. Why the cutthroat curriculum of competition? Why are they trained to be mech pilots? Why is the final annual performance so important to the ruling class? As the line between art and indoctrination blurs, the cost of perfection will transform Mar and Rhea’s lives. From writer Olivia Dufault and artist Rebekah Isaacs.