Hi Comic Shop Friends! This month is packed full of goodness, so let’s get right to it!

First, Late Nite Comics! Thursday the 17th from 8pm to midnight! And as a Halloween treat for you, we’re making all the dollar stock just 50 cents that night! And all back issues including the wall will be 50% off! Trick or Treat Yo Self!

Second, Bumblebee! Saturday the 19th from 11am to 1pm you can stop out for a free photo op with Bumblebee! We’ll have free copies of Transformers #1 and free prints with retro and modern Bumblebee to hand out! The artist, Erin Caruso who does @supergrouphugs will be here to sign them! Get here early because if our Sonic event is anything to go by, this one will be big! (And Bumblebee has to transform back promptly at 1pm.)

Third, Trick or Read! Saturday the 26th from 10 am to 4 pm put on a costume and trick or treat in the shop! We’ll have candy and free comics for all ages!

Finally, mark your calendars for November 10th! Tony Fleecs will be here for a free signing from 2 pm to 5 pm! We’ve stocked up on Stray Dogs, Feral, and Local Man graphic novels, so stop in and grab something to get signed!

MARVEL COMICS

First off, not enough blood and guts in this Red Band title! Step it up, Marvel! If you’re wary of the Red Band titles being too explicit, don’t be. I would say, besides Blood Hunt, they’ve been pretty PG-13.

Blade has placed himself in exile after the events of Blood Hunt. What’s left of the Daywalker? Did any of the vampires within him survive? Did any of the men? His solitude won’t last, because you know those suckheads won’t leave him alone for long! When he’s called upon by a mystical group to take down a Van Helsing turned bad, Blade decides he’ll do it his way. Which involves lots of decapitations! Written by Bryan Hill with art by C.F. Villa.

To protect a fragile peace between mutants and humans, the new Sentinel program falls into the hands of mutantkind, led by Lawrence Trask. Powered by cutting-edge nanotech, Lockstep, Sawtooth, Shellback, and Voivod are tasked with capturing the most heinous mutants, starting with Omega Red. But when being a Sentinel is your whole life, is it possible to retain your humanity? Writer Alex Paknadel says he and artist Justin Mason are trying to tell a story in the vein of Robocop and Starship Troopers, “something that satisfies as… ultraviolent entertainment, but that also poses provocative questions.”

DC COMICS

This is Absolute-ly the book to pick up this week! I know you’ve heard us talking about it already because we got to read an advance pdf, and a lot of you already took our recommendation and added it to your pull. If you didn’t, now’s your chance before we sell out! The first print is already sold out at the distributor level, and a second print has been announced, so we will have those coming in later.

DC’s first Absolute Universe title starts this week with a reimagined Batman and Bruce Wayne from writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta! Without the mansion, the money, the butler, who is Bruce Wayne? This is a street level hero. As Snyder says in his author’s note, “Instead of being a generational billionaire, he’d be working class, an everyman with the odds stacked against him like never before. A hero who has to go bigger, be bigger, to go up against these new, overwhelming challenges…” With a very bat-inspired costume and weapons, Batman goes up against the Party Animal gang, who are terrorizing Gotham. Alfred Pennyworth is assigned to a surveillance mission to gather intel on the Party Animals, but with the “other party” interfering, he’s now on his own mission to learn the identity of the Batman. And possibly take him down. Re-reading his issue again for the newsletter, it still packs a punch (literally) and as someone who’s not a big fan of billionaire Batman, I’m into seeing a blue-collar Bruce Wayne and how he moves through this version of Gotham City. Give this book a shot.

SMALL PRESS COMICS

The first superhero from New Jersey is back! In comic form! Who knows what’s happening with the new Toxic Avenger movie, but in the meantime, we have a new Toxie comic! Writer Matt Bors and artist Fred Harper reimagine the Toxic Avenger for the 21st century with a new origin story. Bullied teen Melvin runs away from another horrible prank being live-streamed by some jerky kids, and runs right into a train full of toxic waste, transforming him into the massive, mop-wielding mutant you love! But he’s not the only one mutated this time! Corporate overlords have quarantined Tromaville and have moved the remaining victims to a secure location. But for what purpose?! Goopy fun that’s not as gross as the Troma films!

When all of history becomes a war zone, nowhere is safe in Declan Salvey and Luke Sparrow’s new Terminator series! Terminators are dispatched throughout the world and throughout time to target the human resistance fighters, their ancestors, and anyone else who ends up in their way. Will Skynet be successful when all of the time is on their side? First up, an older couple living off the grid has their past catch up with them. “Time escapes no one.” Then, the start of a continuing backup story, “Buried Alive” from writer Sal Crivelli and artist Colin Craker.