Raf’s Punishing Week of New Releases 3.9.2022
Hey there, Carol and John’s Shoppers. First, I wanted to say thank you all to those who came out to our Winston World Sale this past weekend. I may have missed it myself, but I heard it was a big success from all the guys back here at the shop. Back issues aren’t the biggest reason I’m into the hobby, but I appreciate the excitement some of you get from filling in gaps in your collections, and I love hearing little stories about how much certain issues mean to you. We love selling the story here at the shop, and this week, we’ve got a lot of new stories starting up, especially from Marvel. So let’s not waste any more time, let’s see what’s new.
Marvel Comics
Starting things off with a bloody bang, we finally see the return of one of the baddest men in the Marvel Universe as Frank Castle gets a new solo series written by Jason Aaron with Punisher #1 new this week. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Frank, and in our real-world, the Punisher logo has been a point of controversy, but now Frank leaves it all behind and joins forces with… The Hand!? He’s got a new symbol on his chest, but the same chip on his shoulder and the walking meat grinder that is the Punisher has a new role to play as the leader of one of the deadliest organizations in the Marvel Universe. There are a few surprises and new mysteries set up for this new series too, so I’m excited to see where things will go. Welcome back, Frank.
“NOT ENOUGH GWENS! When Gwen Stacy was bitten by a radioactive spider, she gained arachnid-like superpowers and started a crimefighting career as Spider-Woman (or as she’s affectionately known to her peers, Ghost-Spider)! But what would have happened if instead, she had picked up the enchanted hammer, Mjolnir? Or if she received the Super-Soldier Serum? Or built a high-tech suit of armor? Or…you get the idea! Find out in this new five-issue miniseries by Tim Seeley and Jodi Nishijima as Ghost-Spider tumbles through time and comes face-to-face with herselves!” Multiversal adventures are all the rage right now, and the inspiration behind the latest Gwariants from Marvel debuts with Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse #1 this week.
One of the biggest stars of Disney+’s What If series was Captain Carter, and now she’s got her own book with Captain Carter #1. Superstar artist Jamie Mckelvie (Wicked + Divine, Young Avengers) writes this new miniseries that brings the alternate universe World War II hero into the modern age. I still haven’t gotten around to watching What If yet, but for fans of the show, this looks to be a hit.
Han Solo and Chewbacca are one of the greatest duos in all of pop culture, and brand-new this week, they become the stars of their very own ongoing series. Featuring Han and Chewie, teaming up with Greedo on a heist for Jabba the Hut, set a few years before the events of A New Hope… what could go wrong? This is the start to an all-new ongoing series, and has a lot of cool covers including this 1:25 ratio variant from Phil Noto.
We’ve got a couple honorable mentions from the House of Ideas too this week because there’s just so much coming out from Marvel right now; we’ve got the second issue and follow up to the stellar Sabretooth series that started last month as well as new issues in both X Lives and X Deaths of Wolverine. Both series are ramping up as we cross the halfway point in the storyline and we’re expecting big things from issue #4 of X Deaths as the solicitation promises a major turning point for ALL of the X titles. We’ll see…
DC Comics
It’s not very often you get to say there is a big Wonder Woman crossover event, but that’s exactly what we get starting this week with Trial of the Amazons #1. A must-have for fans of Diana, Nubia, newcomer Yara Flor, and the rest of the women of Themsycira, this series sees the different Amazonian tribes battle in the ancient tradition known as The Contest as they prepare for the coming threat of Doom’s Doorway and the future of the Amazons hangs in the balance. The Contest isn’t a battle to the death, but a way for the Amazons to decide which tribe will lead them all and set the course for the future. With Death of the Justice League and Dark Crisis on the horizon, this book looks to certainly shape the future of Diana and the Wonder Woman legacy. Ben’s just happy to get more Wonder Girl.
Small Press
We’ve really been pushing AWA hard at the shop recently, and for good reason! They’ve got great stories from big-name talent, and this week we’ve got a big new series from them in Hit Me from Christa Faust (Bad Mother) and Priscilla Petraites (Chariot). Hit Me is a high-octane crime thriller that looks to be the movie Good Times in comic book form. Lulu is a dominatrix that witnesses the murder of one of her clients, and she’s in possession of a briefcase full of diamonds, that puts a giant target on her back from all the wrong people as she uses all her street smarts to try and survive the night. Chariot is one of my favorite AWA books and had awesome cinematic artwork, and Bad Mother was a no holds barred adrenaline shot, so I’m excited to see what comes from the creators of both series.
“They are the last children on Earth… who also happen to be vampires. For longer than they can remember, these child vampires have lived a life of eternal wander amongst the ruins of humanity. But shocking events fracture the group and set them on a path of discovery that will shatter their innocence forever.” From Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, creators of Descender, Ascender, and the recent series Robin & Batman from DC, Little Monsters is the next creative endeavor for this proven duo and looks to be another hit for this team.
That’s it for this week at the shop. If you haven’t heard or missed out on my latest article, Source Point Press is a small press company out of Saginaw, Michigan that is delivering some truly awesome genre books for fans of sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and pulp. Last year they released Good Boy, an over-the-top John Wick style revenge thriller that asked what if the dog survived and went after the bad guys for killing his owner instead. It’s a lot of violent fun, especially for fans of John Wick (which who isn’t really, it’s Keanu Reeves), and we’re excited to announce that the creative team behind the book, co-writers Garrett Gunn and Christina Blanch, will be HERE at Carol and John’s Comic Shop next Monday, March 14th from noon to 4 pm signing and giving away free copies of the sold-out issue #1. The trade paperback releases later this month before volume 2 kicks off in May, so now’s the perfect time to check it out. Plus, this creative team is a lot of fun and has a few other great books from Source Point Press. Check out more about them here (https://peacelovecomics.substack.com/p/midwestern-genre-storytelling?s=w) and stop by to meet them next Monday at the shop. But until then, I hope everyone has a good week and we’ll see you around.
Peace, Love, and Comics
Rafael Calzada
