Hello Comic Shop Friends! We’ll get into some shop news first, then on to this week’s new books!

First, a note from John: “Well, thanks to the Herculean efforts of the staff, the back room was completely emptied, and we got new carpet installed without any interruption to our hours. However, next Monday and Tuesday (November 13th and 14th), we will be closed to do the same with the storefront. We’ve been in this location for over twelve years and it was time to freshen things up a bit.

Please do your part to help us out by making plans to come in and pick up your file this weekend! It helps us twofold by lightening the load of things we have to move (already an overwhelming task) and adding some sales to help cover the two days we have to close.

Thanks for the support and here’s to a fresher look in the shop.”

“We also thought everyone would like to see the fully exposed Rust Belt Monster Murals hanging in the back room that we use as backdrops during our live videos.”

There will NOT be a Late Nite Comics this month, because we’ll be gearing up for our annual Black Friday weekend sale!

That sale will run Friday, November 24th through Sunday, November 26th. More details to come!

We will also be closed Thanksgiving Day, Thursday the 23rd.

And some details about our annual Holiday Art Show: This year’s theme is DC Versus Marvel! We have blank covers in store now, so pick up a couple. Submissions will be due back by Monday, December 11th, and the Holiday Party and Art Show will be on Saturday the 16th.

MARVEL COMICS

The man is different, the mission remains the same! Frank Castle has disappeared. So who is this new vigilante hunting criminals from the shadows? Evil needs to be punished. There needs to be a Punisher. Described as one part John Wick, and one part The Fugitive, writer David Pepose and artist Dave Wachter deal with all-new threats with an all-new Punisher! Who is he? Will he be able to find who caused the inciting incident to his path of vengeance? And can he outrun the law that thinks he did it?

Writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Luca Pizzari bring us the return of the Mad Titan in this four-issue mini-series! It’s Thanos versus the Illuminati! There is something Thanos has lost, and he’s taking the whole city of Fresno to get it. The Illuminati have to band together and find it first in order to stop him, because they are the ones who hid it from him.

The last of the What If…? Dark titles, Marv Wolfman returns to the Tomb of Dracula, with artist David Cutler, and the character he co-created! Find out what happens when Dracula turns Blade into a FULL vampire! Spoiler alert: there’s tons of vampire slaying!

DC COMICS

DC has two facsimiles this week, one to tie in with the new Golden Age titles released last month, and the other is the first Wonder Woman series! (This is a perfect time to remind you that you should be reading Tom King’s new Wonder Woman ongoing series.)

Presenting the inaugural meeting of America’s first superhero team, the Justice Society! The Atom, The Flash, The Sandman, The Spectre, Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Green Lantern and Hourman assemble to recount some of their greatest tales. With guest appearances from Johnny Thunder and The Red Tornado. Featuring writers Gardner Fox, Jerry Segel, Ken Fitch, and Sheldon Mayer, and artists E.E. Hibbard, Sheldon Moldoff, and Bernard Baily.

Reprinting Wonder Woman’s first self-titled comic from 1942 written by William Moulton Marston with art by Harry G. Peter! Featuring four action-packed stories with Wonder Woman, the original backup stories and the Wonder Women of History!

In the new follow-up to Superman 78, writer Robert Venditti and artist Gavin Guidry ask, what if something else came to Earth with Superman? What if a piece of Krypton landed somewhere no one knew about? Something else did land on Earth, and it ended up in the Soviet Union. Lois Lane is following a story about someone selling military secrets, and that may have ties to what the Soviets are planning. A creation of their own, whose goal is to crush Superman and America, and become the world’s symbol of strength.

SMALL PRESS COMICS

There are a couple of new Small Press #1s this week, but first, we need to talk about an excellent second issue of Transformers.

As Optimus Prime and the Autobots regroup, and learn about Earth, the Decepticons and Starscream terrorize humanity! I would love to tell you about all the amazing moments in this issue, but that would just be ruining it for you. There are some scenes that drive home how powerful these robots really are. Humans are referred to as “squishy”! And this issue features an Energon Universe appearance! We have second prints of issue #1 if you missed out. Grab both this week!

Writer/artist Michael Dialynas has a new all-ages series, an eco-fable about the mountain guardian spirit Zawa, who has been locked inside a factory, along with all of Mesa’s Boon’s fresh food. With only garbage and industrial waste to eat, Zawa has become bitter and feral. But when two siblings break in to take ingredients for their family bakery, they inadvertently help her escape. Now they’ll learn the way to help Zawa, and their mountain village, is through delicious food.

It’s like Death Race, but with robots! Writer Rob Williams and artist Pye Parr start off this new series with a 42 page #1! In domed cities, the Petrol Heads are the hot entertainment, races are broadcast to everyone and each driver has their own merchandise and fanbase. Eventually, the popularity fades and the remaining robots are sent to Smogzones, away from humans and the clean air. One scientist has a plan to reverse the climate back to what it was, but it won’t be easy, and now he and his 12-year-old daughter have to team up with the last Petrol Head to outrace the Robo-Officers on their tail and save humanity.