Who needs movies and TV this fall when you’ve got so many comics to read? The next few months are shaping up to be a monumental time for comics—at both publishers big and small. Want to see what’s coming to your pile of must-reads in the next three months? Read on for a sneak peek of over 100 new comics coming soon!
September
Zodiac Starforce
Written by Kevin Panetta, Drawn by Paulina Ganucheau (Dark Horse)
What It’s About: A year ago, a group of teenage girls saved the Earth, transforming into the legendary hero group Zodiac Starforce. They’ve moved on with their lives, but when their former leader is infected with an evil disease, they’re forced to suit up once more.
Why You Need It: Okay, so we’re cheating a bit as this comic actually begins this month—tomorrow, in fact. But did you really think we’re not going to be excited by a modern, American take on the Magical Girl genre that’s given us icons like Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena over the years?
The Complete Wimmen’s Comix
Edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
What It’s About: The first-ever collected edition of the landmark feminist underground comic includes work by such luminaries as Phoebe Gloeckner, Carol Tyler, M.K. Brown, Dori Seda, and Mary Fleener, all raw and uncut. As a bonus, you also get It Ain’t Me Babe Comix, the 1969 one-shot that started it all.
Why You Need It: At $100 for a two-volume hardcover set, this is the priciest item on our list. But it’s over 700 pages long and covers 20 years of comics history, much of which has never been reprinted, so you get a lot of bang for your buck. Hey, last year’s Zap Comix anthology cost five times that.
Paybacks
Written by Donny Cates and Eliot Rahal, Drawn by Geoff Shaw (Dark Horse)
What It’s About: What happens when a superhero goes bankrupt? You send in the Paybacks, a team of former (and equally bankrupt) heroes who foreclose on all of your superheroic possessions.
Why You Need It: A quirky take on the side effects of being a superhero, from the creators of Buzzkill.
Diesel
Written and Drawn by Tyson Hesse (Boom Box)
What It’s About: In a world of airships and crackpot science, young mechanic Dee Diesel always assumed she’d inherit her father’s flying city. When disaster strikes, she joins an airship crew and sets out on her own for the first time.
Why You Need It: Tyson Hesse previously drew Diesel as a webcomic, but the new miniseries will rework the premise into a very different story. In the time since he first created Dee Diesel, his artwork has gone from attractive to drop-dead gorgeous, so it’s sure to be a feast for the eyes.
Avatar The Last Airbender: Smoke and Shadows
Written by Gene Lang and Drawn by Gurihiru (Dark Horse)
What It’s About: Aang escorts Zuko and his family back home to the Fire Nation, where a long-thought-dead prophet extoles that the future of the Fire Nation can only be preserved with the death of the ruling family.
Why You Need It: Gene Lang is a fantastic writer, and paired with the wonderful art of Gurihiru, this is a match made in heaven for the official continuation of one of our favourite ever animated series. The story also teases that it’ll wrap up a few of the open plots left at the end of The Last Airbender, too.
From Under Mountains
Written by Claire Gibson and Marian Churchland, Drawn by Marian Churchland and Sloane Leong (Image)
What It’s About: A noblewoman, a female thief, and a disgraced knight become unlikely allies in Akhara, a land of magic dominated by warring clans.
Why You Need It: So far, all anyone knows for sure about this long-awaited series is that it looks beautiful. The creators have poured a lot of love into worldbuilding, visual design, and the stories of their central characters. Will it translate into the epic that high-fantasy fans have been waiting for? We can only hope.
The Flash: Season Zero
Written by Brooke Eikmeier and Katherine Walczak, Drawn by Phil Hester and Eric Gapstur (DC)
What It’s About: The untelevised adventures of Barry Allen, Central City PD Forensic Analyst and scarlet speedster, the Flash!
Why You Need It: If you love CW’s Flash TV series as much as we do, you’ll definitely want more adventures from Barry and the team, set between and sometimes during the stories of the show’s first season.
One-Punch Man
Written by One, Drawn by Yusuke Murata (Viz)
What It’s About: In this sendup of fighting manga, Saitama has trained so hard he can dispatch any opponent with a single punch. Bored by how easy his battles have gotten, he wanders the world in search of a decent fight.
Why You Need It: Viz has been serializing One-Punch Man as a digital download, and it’s officially become popular enough to merit a print edition. It’s the funniest manga to come down the pike in a long time.
Harley Quinn Roadtrip Special
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, Drawn by Brett Blevins (DC)
What It’s About: Watch out, America! Harley Quinn is hitting the road for a good old fashioned roadtrip, and she’s not alone: she’s dragging along best buds Poison Ivy and Catwoman.
Why You Need It: We’ve been loving Palmiotti and Conner’s take on Harley Quinn so much, the thought of a roadtrip special is just amazing. Should be a lot of fun.
Oyster War
Written and Drawn by Ben Towle (Oni)
What It’s About: Oysters rule the 19th-century village of Blood’s Haven, where oyster fishing is so lucrative it attracts pirates. Commander Davidson Bulloch goes to war against the pirate Treacher Fink, not knowing that supernatural forces have joined the battle.
Why You Need It: Oyster War first ran as a webcomic, where it garnered much-deserved acclaim. It uses a little-known historical oddity—the New England oyster wars, which were absolutely a thing—as the backdrop for a beautifully drawn story that mixes fact and fantasy.
Atomic Robo and the Ring of Fire
Written Brian Clevinger, Drawn by Scott Wegener (IDW)
What It’s About: On the run from their former bosses, Atomic Robo and the Fighting Scientists formulate a plan to save themselves from their longtime nemeses.
Why You Need It: Atomic Robo made the decision to switch to a full-time webcomic earlier this year, but now it’s back as a physical comic book in a new storyline. If you’ve not already fallen in love with the scientific (and punching) marvels of this robotic hero, you can read it online!
Plutona
Written by Jeff Lemire, Drawn by Emi Lenox and Jordie Bellaire (Image)
What It’s About: Stand by Me with superheroes. Five suburban kids playing in the woods stumble on the very dead body of Plutona, the world’s greatest superhero. As they try to keep their discovery a secret, their friendship is torn apart.
Why You Need It: Anything by Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Essex County) is a must-read, and the art by newcomer Emi Lenox and colorist Jordie Bellaire looks like the perfect fit for this story of innocence lost. The advance buzz has been wildly positive.
Tokyo Ghost
Written by Rick Remender, Drawn by Sean Murphy (Image)
What It’s About: In the 22nd century, the world’s population has become slavishly addicted to technology, forced to beg, steal or worse to get their next hit—but only one nation stands against the march of technology: The garden land of Tokyo.
Why You Need It: Blending sci-fi action with cutting commentary on our current fascination with the digital age, this new series has been getting some great buzz since its announcement last year.
Secret Coders
Written by Gene Luen Yang, Drawn by Mike Holmes (First Second)
What It’s About: In the first volume of this smart all-ages series, three kids discover their school is encrypted with messages and codes left behind by its mysterious founder. To crack the secret of the school, they have to become coding experts. In other words, Harry Potter studies computer science.
Why You Need It: Gene Yang is famous for creating award-winning graphic novels like American Born Chinese and Boxers and Saints, not to mention writing the excellent Avatar: The Last Airbender comic book. But in his secret identity, he’s a mild-mannered high school computer science teacher. It’ll be interesting to see how he combines his comics skills with his STEM expertise. Bravest Warriors artist Mike Holmes fills the story with rubbery energy.
Faster Than Light
Written by Brian Haberlin, Drawn by Brian Haberlin and Geirrod Vandyke (Image)
What It’s About: In the near future, Humanity has unlocked the key to the universe: faster than light space travel. But is the human race ready for the beauty and the horror of our universe?
Why You Need It: This incredible-sounding series promises to blend the spacefaring optimism of Star Trek with the gritty realism of Gravity. Neat bonus? A free app being released with the comic lets you use your phone or tablet to project 3D holograms out of the pages.
Step Aside, Pops
Written and Drawn by Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly)
What It’s About: In her second collection of strips for Drawn & Quarterly, Kate Beaton turns her trademark dry, surreal wit on historical figures, weird old book covers, and Strong Female Characters.
Why You Need It: If you’re already a fan of Beaton’s website Hark! A Vagrant, you’ll want the latest print collection to carry with you wherever you go and hug to your bosom at night. If you’re not, do yourself a favor and bring this joy into your life.
Captain America: White
Written by Jeph Loeb, Drawn by Tim Sale (Marvel)
What It’s About: Waking up from the his years of being trapped under the ice, Steve Rogers faces a strange new future—but flashes back to a past adventure he had with Bucky and the Howling Commandos at the height of World War II.
Why You Need It: This comic has been in the works since 2008, a continuation of the seminal partnership between Loeb and Sale that brought us Spider-Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow and so much more. Fans have been waiting 7 long years to get their hands on this one.
Tet
Written by Paul Allor, Drawn by Paul Tucker (IDW)
What It’s About: Vietnam vet Eugene Smith wants to leave the war behind and settle down stateside. Then a fellow Marine is murdered, setting him on the trail of a mystery that will span decades.
Why You Need It: It’s more than just a war story: the solicitation promises “hard-boiled crime and star-crossed romance” in a story of epic scope. Paul Tucker’s art recalls classic war-comic artists like Harvey Kurtzman, updated for a modern miniseries.
Star Wars: Shattered Empire
Written by Greg Rucka, Drawn by Marco Checchetto (Marvel)
What It’s About: The Death Star II has been destroyed. Darth Vader and even The Emperor himself have been slain. The Rebel Alliance is victorious... for now. Return of the Jedi was not the end of the Star Wars saga, but the start of a new beginning.
Why You Need It: Marvel is leading the charge in Disney and Lucasfilm’s “Journey to Force Awakens,” giving us our first fleeting glimpse of the new canon’s take on the time period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. We can’t wait.
Toil and Trouble
Written by Mairghread Scott, Drawn by Kelly Matthews, Nichole Matthews, and Kyla Vanderklugt (Boom/Archaia)
What It’s About: Macbeth from the witches’ point of view. A sisterhood of three immortal witches has protected Scotland for centuries. Then a disagreement splits them, and one witch, Smertae, sets out to make Macbeth king.
Why You Need It: The premise is cool and the art is lush and imaginative. If it’s half as good as it looks, it’s a keeper. The title changed at the last minute from Third Witch, so seek it out and make sure it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
Gaiman and Buckingham’s Miracleman
Written by Neil Gaiman, Drawn by Mark Buckingham (Marvel)
What It’s About: The remastered edition of Gaiman and Buckingham’s run on Miracleman begins anew, as the hero finds himself ruling the world as it ushers itself into a golden age.
Why You Need It: Not only is this the change to re-read one of the best runs of Miracleman, remastered for today, Gaiman and Buckingham will continue the saga they couldn’t finish in the ‘90s in this new ongoing series.
October
Rook
Written by Steven Grant, Drawn By Paul Gulacy (Dark Horse)
What It’s About: Bill DuBay’s timetravelling hero returns for more time-hopping adventures.
Why You Need It: The return of Eerie magazine’s most iconic comic creation is some pulpy glory we can’t pass up.
Black Magick
Written by Greg Rucka, Drawn by Nicola Scott (Image)
What It’s About: Witch noir. Rowan Black is a police detective who comes from a long line of witches. Despite her best efforts, her magical private life starts to intrude on her police work.
Why You Need It: The concept is promising, Rucka (Gotham Central, Queen and Country, Whiteout) knows his way around crime fiction, and DC artist Nicola Scott sets the right mood for a supernatural crime thriller. Rucka promises he’s done his homework on traditional witchcraft to give his fantasy the feel of reality.
Batman And Robin Eternal
Written by Scott Snyder and James T Tynion IV, Drawn by Tony S. Daniel (DC)
What It’s About: A horrifying old case of human trafficking comes back to haunt Dick Grayson—but with Bruce Wayne nowhere to be found, can Dick and his allies save the day once more?
Why You Need It: The original Batman and Robin Eternal was fantastic, and this new series has got a lot going for it—including the return of former Batgirl Cassandra Cain!
Gahan Wilson’s Out There
Written and Drawn by Gahan Wilson (Fantagraphics)
What It’s About: For decades, macabre cartoonist Gahan Wilson drew cartoons for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. This book collects them all, plus the short stories, reviews, and cover illustrations he contributed to the classic SF magazine.
Why You Need It: Over 250 never-before-reprinted cartoons from one of the squiggly masters of dark comedy? We all need this in our lives.
Telos
Written by Jeff King, Drawn by Jason Paz and Carlo Pagulayan (DC)
What It’s About: The villain behind the recent Convergence event gets his own comic to explore his background and what happens after the DC multiverse is reformed.
Why You Need It: If we’re honest, Telos didn’t exactly have the most interesting motives going into DC’s big summer event—so we’re hoping some more time spent with him could help flesh him out.
I Hate Fairyland
Written and Drawn by Skottie Young (Image)
What It’s About: Once upon a time, little Gertrude was spirited away to the magical candy-colored world of Fairyland. But now it’s 30 years later, she’s still stuck there (and still physically eight years old), and she wants to take an axe to everything she sees.
Why You Need It: Skottie Young (The Wizard of Oz) does some of the cutest art in the business, so seeing him do a dark take on twee children’s fantasy ought to be a blast. This series already has people talking.
Superman: Lois and Clarke
Written by Dan Jurgens, Drawn by Lee Weeks (DC)
What It’s About: An alternate version of Superman and Lois Lane are happily married and have a son—but they are the sole survivors of their world, destroyed during Convergence. Can they start a new life, on a new Earth?
Why You Need It: One of the coolest outcomes of Convergence is that DC are giving creatives the chance to write a wider variety of alternate stories, many drawing from elements lost before the controversial “New 52” reboot in 2011. These alternate tales did well during the Convergence event, so here’s hoping they make good series on their own.
Invisible Ink
Written and Drawn by Bill Griffith (Fantagraphics)
What It’s About: After Bill Griffith’s father died, his mother revealed that she’d had an affair with a cartoonist in the ’50s and ’60s. With the help of her diary and his own detective work, Griffith reconstructs his mother’s secret life.
Why You Need It: Lately, cartoonists of the old guard have been dropping amazing graphic novels, from Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? to Carol Tyler’s You’ll Never Know. But no one saw a project like this coming from the creator of Zippy the Pinhead. We have no idea what to expect, but we have to read it.
Back To The Future
Written by Bob Gale, John Barber and Erik Burnham, Drawn by Brent Schoonover and Dan Schoening (IDW)
What It’s About: Doc and Marty return for new adventures set during the iconic film trilogy!
Why You Need It: Not only is this new comic approved by Gale and Zemeckis themselves, but it also promises not to be Back to the Future IV—instead choosing to be an anthology of tales that flesh out the in between moments of the three movies.
Iscariot
Written and Drawn by S.M. Vidaurri (Boom/Archaia)
What It’s About: Carson, a little girl living with cancer, apprentices herself to Iscariot, a crusty 400-year-old magician, and is ushered into his magical world.
Why You Need It: The preview released for Free Comic Book Day in May looked spectacular. Vidaurri’s delicate watercolor artwork compliments a gently magical story reminiscent of a Miyazaki movie. It’s hard to see how this graphic novel won’t be good.
Transformers Redemption
Written by John Barber, Drawn by Livio Ramondelli (IDW)
What It’s About: Made for the harsh world of the Cybertronian Civil War, the Dinobots are offered a chance to redeem themselves on a mission to repopulate the Transformer homeworld.
Why You Need It: A) Dinobots. B) A follow up to the excellent Transformers: Punishment. C) Dinobots. D) All of the above.
Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
Written and Drawn by Junji Ito (Kodansha)
What It’s About: Junji Ito, the horror artist behind Uzumaki and Gyo, offers a glimpse into his daily life. When Ito moves in with his girlfriend, she brings along her two cats: sweet, fluffy Mu and creepily intense Yon. Despite his initial misgivings, he soon dives into life as a cat owner.
Why You Need It: Imagine a gently funny autobio comic about kitties. Now imagine it drawn in exactly the style of Uzumaki. If you haven’t read Uzumaki, Google some sample artwork and try to imagine it as a cute cat comic. Having trouble? That’s why you need to read this.
Camp Midnight
Written by Steven Seagle, Drawn by Jason Katzenstein (Image)
What It’s About: Two young girls, accidentally sent to the wrong Summer Camp, become best friends—a good thing considering all the other campers are actually ghoulish monsters.
Why You Need It: A fun yet creepy graphic novel for kids and adults alike, just in time for Halloween!
Paper Girls
Written by Brian K. Vaughan, Drawn by Cliff Chiang (Image)
What It’s About: Four twelve-year-old newspaper delivery girls in the 1980s face off against... something. The creators have refused to spoil the plot, but it’s probably no coincidence that it takes place around Halloween.
Why You Need It: The preview pages revealed at the Image Expo back in January have had fans drooling all year long. It looks like both veteran creators are in top form for this one. And who can resist tough-as-nails ’80s paper girls, crimped hair and all?
Switch
Written and Drawn by Stjepan Sejic (Image)
What It’s About: A teenager girl discovers an ancient artifact, and has to deal with the powers and tribulations it brings her as well as her stressful life at school and home.
Why You Need It: Stjepan Sejic’s massively popular webcomic is a sort of new-Batgirl take on Top Cow’s classic series Witchblade. Considering we’re massive fans of Batgirl, that alone is enough to pique interest.
Survivors’ Club
Written by Lauren Beukes and Dave Halverson, Drawn by Ryan Kelly (Vertigo)
What It’s About: Six survivors of different terrifying ordeals—a killer doll, a cursed arcade machine, a slasher—find each other online and band together against new threats in this homage to 1980s horror movies.
Why You Need It: Vertigo is completely renovating its line, dropping twelve new titles between October and December. The grabby premise makes this one stand out, not to mention the presence of horror novelist Lauren Beukes (The Shining Girls) on scripting duties.
Invincible Iron Man
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Drawn by David Marquez (Marvel)
What It’s About: The new adventures of Tony Stark—new armor, new friends, new villains, a new purpose... and maybe even a returning nemesis.
Why You Need It: Now that Robert Downey Jr. has made Iron Man one of the most recognisable superheroes on the planet, Iron Man is leading the charge into Marvel’s “All-New, All-Different” Comic books. Anticipation for this title is through the roof, to the point that Marvel has allegedly already optioned a spinoff series.
The Twilight Children
Written by Gilbert Hernandez, Drawn by Darwyn Cooke (Vertigo)
What It’s About: Strange things are afoot in an isolated Latin American village. A mysterious orb washes ashore, children go blind, a beautiful young woman turns up on the beach, and it all may be the prelude to an alien invasion.
Why You Need It: Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets) and Darwyn Cooke (all the sweet retro-looking art you’ve ever seen from DC) are a dream team. Their team-up alone makes this one of the most exciting of Vertigo’s new titles. Which is good, because so far we don’t know much else about this surreal-sounding miniseries.
Marvel’s All-New, All Different: Wave One
Written by Various, Drawn by Various (Marvel)
What It’s About: Secret Wars has destroyed the Marvel universe—but an all-new, all-different one has risen up to take its place! The first, humongous wave of Marvel Comic’s reboot includes:
Amazing Spider-Man (Dan Slott, Giuseppe Camuncoli)
Angela Queen of Hel (Marguerite Bennett, Kim Jacinto, and Stephanie Hans)
Blade (Tim Seeley, Logan Faerber)
Astonishing Ant-Man (Nick Spencer, Ramon Rosanas)
Contest of Champions (Al Ewing, Paco Medina)
Doctor Strange (Jason Aaron, Chris Bachalo)
Extraordinary X-Men (Jeff Remire, Huberto Ramos)
Guardians of the Galaxy (Brian Michael Bendis, Valerio Schiti)
Howling Commandos of SHIELD (Frank Barbiere, Brent Schoonover)
Karnak (Warren Ellis, Gerardo Zaffino)
New Avengers (Al Ewing, Gerardo Sandoval)
Captain America (Nick Spencer, Daniel Acuna)
Spider-Gwen (Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez)
Spider-man 2099 (Peter David, Will Sliney)
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Ryan North, Erica Henderson)
Uncanny Avengers (Gerry Duggan, Ryan Stegman)
Uncanny Inhumans (Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, Brandon Peterson)
Why You Need It: The first wave of Marvel’s highly anticipated reboot—the first fully fledged reboot of its kind for the company? No, no one’s looking forward to anything that comes out these shenanigans at all.
Two Brothers
Written and Drawn by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse)
What It’s About: Twin brothers Yaqub and Omar have been apart for five years while Yaqub, the “good” brother, studies abroad. When Yaqub returns to Brazil, their sibling rivalry reignites and family secrets blow open.
Why You Need It: As anyone who’s read The Umbrella Academy, Casanova, or Daytripper knows, Moon and Bá are two of the most gifted artists in the comics world. Their new graphic novel, based on the Brazilian novel Dois Irmãos, may be their most ambitious work yet, and the preview art glows. Moon and Bá are themselves Brazilian twins, so it’s easy to see how they were attracted to the story.
November
Amazing Fantastic Incredible
Written by Stan Lee and Peter David, Drawn by Colleen Doran (Touchstone)
What It’s About: This graphic novel memoir from Stan Lee looks to be as full of high-energy ballyhoo as the Man himself.
Why You Need It: Okay, a Stan Lee graphic novel is a fun idea. But it’s the art by Colleen Doran (A Distant Soil) that makes this worth checking out. Doran is an amazing artist (also fantastic and incredible), and this is a chance to see her draw her way through the history of Marvel Comics.
Joe Golem, Occult Detective
Written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, Drawn by Patric Reynolds (Dark Horse)
What It’s About: Four decades after Lower Manhattan was sunk under water, a Golem detective investigating the supernatural goes on the hunt for a creature pulling children into the depths.
Why You Need It: Not only does 2015 feel like it’s been an insanely good year for supernatural detective comics, this is Mike Mignola himself writing an eerie new crime tale.
Class Photo
Written and Drawn by Robert Triptow (Fantagraphics)
What It’s About: An actual 1937 school photo, dug out of the trash, provides the springboard for a graphic novel imagining each student’s life in one-page installments.
Why You Need It: We’ve never seen anything like this found-art graphic novel, and we like it. Beyond that, Robert Triptow is a brilliant old-school underground cartoonist who almost never emerges with new work.
Kingsway West
Written by Greg Pak, Drawn by Mirko Colak (Dark Horse)
What It’s About: After 13 years in prison, a chinese gunslinger heads out into the old west to find his wife.
Why You Need It: Cowboys and fantastical magic? Asian mysticism blended with fantasy monsters and the old west? Sign us up for this please.
Fiction House Comics’ Ghosts and Girls
Edited by Michael Price (Yoe! Books/IDW)
What It’s About: A collection of vintage horror comics from 1940s-1950s publisher Fiction House, replete with hideous monsters and buxom ladies.
Why You Need It: Ignore the cheeseball packaging. This is a rare look at work from Fiction House, which produced some of the strangest and most daring comics of the Golden Age. Depending on what material made it into the book, this could be a great read.
Itty Bitty Hellboy
Written by Arthur Baltazar, Drawn by Franco Aureliani (Dark Horse)
What It’s About: The cutesy adventures of Hellboy and friends makes a triumphant return!
Why You Need It: It’s been ages since Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani did the first Itty Bitty Hellboy miniseries, which was full of charm and enjoyable for all ages. More as a regular ongoing series can only be a good thing.
The Goddamned
Written by Jason Aaron, Drawn by R.M. Guera (Image)
What It’s About: This hard-R Bible story is set in the years before Noah’s flood and imagines exactly how bad humanity had to get for God to think it was a good idea to wipe the slate clean. Our hero is Cain, cursed to wander the Earth for eternity after killing his brother Abel.
Why You Should Read It: The latest series from the team behind the acclaimed Scalped is getting enthusiastic advance reviews. Judging from the previews, however, it’s not for the squeamish.
Dark Knight III: The Master Race
Written by Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello, Drawn by Frank Miller, Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson (DC)
What It’s About: The final chapter of The Dark Knight trilogy, perhaps one of the most iconic Batman stories ever told.
Why You Should Read It: Let’s be honest: Dark Knight III isn’t really on the list because we’re looking forward to a followup to The Dark Knight Returns and the turgid Dark Knight Strikes Again. It’s mainly on here because it’s Frank Miller doing Batman, which guarantees a horrendous mix of batshit insanity and terrible cultural insensitivity that only Miller can deliver. I mean, it’s called The Master Race, for god’s sake. Good or bad, this will be an interesting read to say the least.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency
Written and Drawn by Hirohiko Araki (Viz)
What It’s About: In 1930s New York, street tough Joseph Joestar fights vampires out to get revenge on his family. When the Nazis get involved, Joseph takes off on a globe-trotting adventure to put a stop to all this evil.
Why You Need It: Viz’s quest to publish the entire multi-arc run of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure continues into the second storyline, a pulp adventure with an Indiana Jones flavor. There are vampires, Nazis, cyborg Nazis, psychic powers, mine-cart chases, and characters named after rock bands. In other words, it’s a typical JoJo story.
Superman: American Alien
Written by Max Landis, Drawn by Nick Dragotta, Joelle Jones, Jae Lee, Frances Manapul, Tommy Lee Edwards, Jonathan Case and Jock (DC)
What It’s About: Untold stories from the rebellious youth of Clark Kent, just as the powers that would come to define him as Superman begin to emerge.
Why You Need It: In Chronicle, Landis already proved that he can write spunky teenagers messing around with superpowers they’ve just learned. Applying that approach to a young Clark Kent growing up in Kansas could be really interesting.
Livingstone
Written by Tomohiro Maekawa, Drawn by Jinsei Kataoka (Kodansha)
What It’s About: Odd-couple partners Sakurai and Amano have a peculiar job: seeking out people who are about to die before their time. If they can’t save the victim’s life, they have to collect his or her “livingstone” before it wreaks havoc on the spiritual environment.
Why You Need It: It’s a snazzy-looking dark fantasy with a great hook. If you’re enjoying Jinsei Kataoka’s other manga, Deadman Wonderland, don’t miss this one.
Batman: Europa
Written by Brian Azzarello, Matteo Casali, and Jim Lee, Drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli (DC)
What It’s About: Batman is forced to team up with the Joker on a trek across Europe, in search of a cure for a virus that’s slowly killing the Dark Knight.
Why You Need It: Another one that’s been cooking for a long time—Europa was meant to come out eleven years ago. A Batman/Joker teamup is always intriguing, but really, we’re waiting to see what the hell is up with this series.
The Puma Blues
Written by Stephen Murphy, Drawn by Michael Zulli (Dover Graphic Novels)
What It’s About: In an environmentally decaying future, a government agent investigates the strange new forms of life emerging from the chaos.
Why You Need It: This legendary, unfinished series has been out of print and impossible to find for almost 25 years. Just last year, Rolling Stone ranked it among the best non-superhero graphic novels of all time. It introduced readers to the fantastically lifelike art of Sandman artist Michael Zulli. For the new edition, the creative team reunited to give The Puma Blues its long-awaited ending.
Jacked
Written by Eric Kripke, Drawn by John Higgins (DC/Vertigo)
What It’s About: A neurotic, fattening middle-aged man suddenly finds himself with powers beyond his imagining when he takes an addictive pill.
Why You Need It: The Supernatural creator’s take on the pitfalls and realism of being suddenly turned into a superhero is interesting enough—but the idea is also simultaneously being worked on as a concept for a TV series, so it’s a unique window into comic book adaptations, especially as they become more prominent on our TV screens.
Red Thorn
Written by David Baillie, Drawn by Meghan Hetrick (Vertigo)
What It’s About: Isla, a Scottish-American woman discovering her heritage in Glasgow, gets entangled in a world of magic based on traditional Scottish mythology.
Why You Need It: Urban fantasy, figures from myth and folklore, sexy skinny dudes: looks like classic Vertigo. Scots Gaelic mythology ought to provide a rich vein of stories and plenty of cool Celtic art.
Citizen Jack
Written by Sam Humprhies, Drawn by Tommy Patterson (IDW)
What It’s About: Every Presidential candidate has a skeleton in their closet—but Jack Northworthy’s is a little more tangible than most. He worships the Devil himself, and has summoned one of Hell’s demon’s to help him become the next President of the United States.
Why You Need It: With America ramping up to its own Presidential Elections next year, this fantastical, occult-infused commentary on politics is just what you need between primaries and following the campaign trail.
Ringside
Written by Joe Keatinge, Drawn by Nick Barber and Simon Gough (Image)
What It’s About: This ensemble drama gives readers a look into the world of pro wrestling through the eyes of a rotating cast of characters.
Why You Need It: The preview pages look smart and stylish. Keatinge was inspired by his favorite wrestler, Mick Foley, whose career also influenced Darren Aronofsky’s film The Wrestler. In other words, expect a fearless look at a colorful, brutal subculture.
Double D
Written by Eddie Argos, Drawn by Steven Horry (Image)
What It’s About: An overweight teenager bullied at school discovers his excess weight can fuel incredible superpowers, but finds his dozy suburb isn’t the ideal environment for action-packed crime fighting.
Why You Need It: If you hadn’t already noticed, this Fall offers plenty of deconstructions of the superhero genre—but this one, giving a nerdy teen the chance to be a superhero only to find that it’s not all that good in real life, definitely has an interesting hook.
Slash and Burn
Written by Si Spencer, Drawn by Max Dunbar and Ande Parks (Vertigo)
What It’s About: Rosheen Hayes is a firefighter. That’s good. She’s also a recovering pyromaniac. That’s bad.
Why You Need It: Firefighting comics! Why didn’t we think of that? Si Spencer (The Vinyl Underground) sold this one on the three-word pitch “Female Pyromaniac Firefighter.” Hopefully he can follow through with a solid action series.
Monstress
Written by Marjorie Liu, Drawn by Sana Takeda (Image)
What It’s About: Set in early 1900s Asia, a young girl in a steampunky-world discovers she has a psychic link to one of the many horrifying Kaiju that roam the Earth.
Why You Need It: One of Liu’s rare comic projects that isn’t with Marvel, this blend of alternate-universe storytelling and giant monsters could be a lot of fun.
Marvel’s All-New, All Different: Wave 2
Written by Various, Drawn by Various (Marvel)
What It’s About: Secret Wars has destroyed the Marvel universe—but an all-new, all-different one has risen up to take its place... again! Part two of Marvel’s major reboot features:
All-New, All-Different Avengers (Mark Waid, Adam Kubert, Mahmud Asrar)
Nova (Sean Ryan, Cory Smith)
X-Men (Dennis Hopeless, Mark Bagley)
Spider-Woman (Dennis Hopeless, Javier Rodriguez)
Web Warriors (Mike Costa, David Baldeon)
Star-Lord (Sam Humphries, Javier Garron)
Venom: Space Knight (Robbie Thompson, Ariel Olivetti)
Drax (CM Punk, Cullen Bunn, Scott Hepburn)
Illuminati (Joshua Williamson, Shawn Crystal)
Deadpool (Gerry Duggan, Mike Hawthorne)
Hercules (Dan Abnett, Luke Ross)
Wolverine (Tom Taylor, David Lopez, David Navarrot)
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (Amy Reader, Brandon Montclare, Natacha Bustos)
Carnage (Gerry Conway, Mike Perkins)
Silk (Robbie Thompson, Stacey Lee)
Ms. Marvel (G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona)
Black Knight (Frank Tieri, Luca Pizzari)
The Vision (Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta)
The Ultimates (Al Ewing, Kenneth Rocafort)
Hawkeye (Jeff Lemire, Ramon Perez)
Howard The Duck (Chip Zdarksy, Joe Quinones)
The Mighty Thor (Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman)
Why You Need It: Marvel wants to take over the comic book world this Fall, and they’re certainly putting out enough comics to do so. If you regularly make yours Marvel, I’d start girding your wallet now. Want to know even more about each of these series? Here’s a comprehensive roundup of all the currently announced comics.
Star Wars: Vader Down
Written by Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen, Drawn by Various (Marvel)
What It’s About: Darth Vader finds himself on his own as he battles the Rebel Fleet, and when he crash lands on an unknown world, the Rebel Alliance are eager to put an end to his tyranny once and for all.
Why You Need It: Marvel’s first Star Wars crossover series will bring together its myriad comics set in the galaxy far, far away in a plot that pings across the different comics. Plus, Darth Vader is presumably going to be extremely badass while he battles the Rebels single handedly.