Hi Comic Shop Friends!

The big thing coming up is February’s Late Nite Comics, which will be the fourth Thursday of the month, the 27th! Ben, John Shearer, and John Dudas will be at ComicsPro the week before, and Kyle and I aren’t doing a Late Nite by ourselves! So, we just bumped it back!

It will be a normal one, with a table full of dollar stock and 50% off back issues, but we’re always adding new boxes of dollar stock, so come in and check out what’s new!

Now onto a fifth Wednesday week to finish off the month!

MARVEL COMICS

The last of the What If…? Galactus one-shots! This time it’s Spider-Gwen’s turn as his herald. Taking the mantle after saving the last of Stardust’s kind, she tries to keep the casualties to a minimum and thinks she has found a promising planet. But when she meets someone with a story similar to hers, she decides to help the citizens defeat Galactus. If you want to see Spider-Gwen fight dragons, here you go! A fun fantasy story that fits the character well. Written by Kalinda Vazquez with art by Daniel Picciotto.

Celebrating 50 years of Earth’s mightiest mutant! This Marvel Voices anthology features all Black creative teams to honor the many lives of Ororo Munroe! Writers and artists John Jennings, Edwin Galmon, Angelique Roche, Alitha E. Martinez, Brittney Morris, Charles Stewart III, Curtis Baxter, and Karen S. Darboe contribute to the history of Storm. As interdimensional archivists use the consciousness of 616 Storm to update their database, their digital construct of Ororo takes the opportunity to learn the pattern of Storm’s memories and trap her. She has been a mutant, a goddess, a monster, and more, but does Storm have the strength to escape this digital dimension before her mind is downloaded and lost forever?

To celebrate ten years of Star Wars comics, Marvel has an anthology with three all-new stories set across the universe!

First, Charles Soule and Ramon Rosanas present “The Grand Imperial Jubilee.” Be on the lookout for any rogue elements, as the 30th anniversary celebration of Emperor Palpatine’s ascendance to Supreme Chancellor takes place on Alderaan! Doctor Aphra, Sana Starros, Grand Moff Tarkin, Valance, Rik Duel, Lord Momin and more collide during an art heist!

Then, Jason Aaron and Leonard Kirk catch up with the Scar Squadron. Who are still out there killing Rebels “For the Love of the Empire.”

Finally, Kieron Gillen and Salva Espin set up the “Rogue’s Gambit” as BT-1 and Krrsantan face off against each other in a perilous game!

DC COMICS

Hope you like Lex Luthor, because DC has not one, but two Lex Luthor specials!

Is this the return of Lex Luthor? Lex had lost his memories during the House of Brainiac story, and after Darkseid’s attack in the All-In special, Superman and Mr. Terrific now believe Luthor may be the only one to unlock an epic mystery. Does Lex even want to uncover his old memories? Would Superman sacrifice Luthor’s peace to solve the mystery, even if it means the return of his fiercest rival? Find out in Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira’s one-shot leading into Superman #24!

Okay, this one’s not all Lex Luthor, but who could resist that pun for the title? Love sweeps the DC Universe, one city at a time! There’s eight stories of heroes and villains looking for love in DC’s Valentine’s Day anthology.

Lex Luthor in “Lex and the City” by Sina Grace. Is Lex taking gossip columnist Trish Q on a date? Does he have ulterior motives?

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy in “A Valentine’s Day Gift for Poison Ivy” by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Leslie Hung. Harley searches for the perfect gift for Ivy, and only the best will do! (But not that fur coat, her environmentalist love won’t like that, and it looks better on Harley anyway.)

Mr. Freeze in “Beautiful Lies” from Jonathan Rivera and Michael Avon Oeming. Two young lovebirds are caught on opposite sides in Mr. Freeze’s heist.

The Titans in “Together Again” from Charle Skaggs and Serg Acuna. It’s a boys weekend for the Titan men, reminiscing about a Teen Titans adventure and how they fell in love with the small town of Happy Harbor.

The Robins in “To Live and Date in Gotham” by Brendan Hay and Stephen Byrne. Damian needs first date advice so he turns to dating expert Tim, who calls in all the Robins to help.

The Riddler in “Riddle Me Kiss” by Sabrina Futch and M.L. Sanapo. Love is the one riddle Edward Nygma can’t solve. Maybe an Arkham breakout will help him find a date.

Raven and Beast Boy in “Roses are Red… Blood is, Too” from Callie C. Miller and Lisa Sterle. Someone is trying to ruin Raven and Beast Boy’s Valentine’s Day plans by twisting the classic elements of the day into terrors.

Hawkman in “Heartbreak Lake” by Dave Wielgosz and Howard Porter. Hawkman wants to relive his memories of his and Hawkgirl’s time in Midway City. It’s been so long since he and Shiera have been together, and something is trying to keep him from the memories they had hidden away.

SMALL PRESS COMICS

Hope you like trains, because there are not one, but two horror train-related titles this week! And issue #1 of the new series Seasons features a scene set on a train!

New Rick Remender! Along with artist Paul Azaceta, Remender weaves a whimsical and dreadful tale of the Seasons sisters. Summer, Winter, Spring, and Autumn are the daughters of world-renowned detectives. Their parents had disappeared, and left the girls to raise themselves. Now their bond is being tested as they begin to fall prey to sinister forces. Autumn is a reporter whose latest story is about the mysterious disappearance of the city of Neocairo, and she finds herself in danger. Someone is after the sisters, and she sends word to the youngest, Spring. Spring may be the last hope of bringing them back together and saving the family. But first she has to make it through a day of delivering mail, as one last letter makes its way through the city of New Gaulia. A very fluid first issue, reminiscent of classic animation, that sets up the distinct characters of two of the Seasons sisters in a visual way. I can’t wait to meet the rest of the family, and the mysterious Ringleader.

Things are not going well for Vanessa. She and her daughter, Kay, have just moved in with her controlling partner, Richard. Her writing gig has fallen through, she needs money and support, but doesn’t have anyone in her life to really turn to. To top it off, she lives in New York City. The city has instituted Kill Trains, a randomized extermination program designed to combat a population explosion. Assassins are placed on subway trains, and every passenger is slaughtered by the end of the line. When Richard tells Vanessa to pick up his dry-cleaning downtown, she’s left with no choice but to take the subway, and finds herself on a Kill Train. Now, her only option is to try to survive. Written by Olivia Cuartero-Briggs, with art by Martina Niosi.

A horror one-shot from Image’s Ninth Circle imprint, Blood Train from writer Adam Glass and artist Bernard Chang, is a little bit 28 Days Later and a little bit Train to Busan. A group of friends traveling through Asia are about to begin their trip back home on the Siberian Express. But when one of them is unknowingly infected at the train station, they’ll have to stop a bioweapon virus from spreading through the train. And if they can’t, the mutated monsters will spread to the rest of the world! It’s a one-way ticket to terror on this Siberian slaughter train!