Each week, ComicsXF staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New DC books come out Tuesdays, everything else Wednesdays.
Adam’s pick: X-Men #25: The Hellfire Gala is over. The mutants have been decimated. Again. And Kate Pryde has jumped to the other side of the pirates vs. ninjas debate. Time to stab some Orchis m*****f******. Written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Stefano Caselli. ($5.99) Previously, at the Hellfire Gala …
Bonus pick: Astonishing Iceman #1: But wait, didn’t Bobby get melted during the Hellfire Gala massacre? You mean things that happen in one comic can quickly be recontextualized by the next? And people who have been reading comics for any amount of time should be used to this and understanding that conflict breeds story? HOLY SHIT. Written by Steve Orlando (Marauders) and drawn by Lan Medina.
Austin’s pick: Star Wars: Dark Droids #1: Who or what is the Scourge, and why is no droid safe? Wait, wasn’t the Scourge that guy who killed all those villains in Captain America in the 1980s? Is this a crossover? Is Cap gonna fight, like R5-D4 or something? Written by Charles Soule and drawn by Luke Ross. ($5.99)
Armaan’s pick: Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy #2: Pamela Isley and Harleen Quinzel are so absolutely, utterly in love that everything and everyone around them is just aces. Their neighbors are so happy it hurts. But when a few rotten eggs sneak into Ivy’s perfect little cul-de-sac, things start to go foul. Can the verdant villainess escape the clutches of her own spoiling dream house before it eats her and Janet-from-HR alive? Written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Atagun Ilhan. ($4.99)
Mark’s pick: Fantastic Four #10: Thousands of years ago, a desperate alien race built a colossal sleeper ship to escape their dying sun, setting a course for a new and distant world. A single volunteer was to be awakened from stasis every hundred years to serve as their protector and caretaker, before finally training the next one. But something has gone horribly wrong. Also the FF are there. Written by Ryan North and drawn by Leandro Fernandez. ($3.99)
Tony’s pick: Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2023 #1: Hallows’ Eve doesn’t love that her boyfriend, Chasm, aka Ben Reilly the Spider-Clone turned eeeeevil, is behind bars. Expect a bold take on the carceral state haha just kidding from writer Erica Schultz and artist Julian Shaw. ($4.99)
Matt’s pick: Young Alfred: Pain in the Butler OGN: When Alfred attends Gotham Servants School, he is a clumsy and nervous boy going to fulfill his father’s last wish, that he will become … a butler. But when he suspects his new school may be involved in a criminal plot, Alfred must look within himself to see if he has what it takes to be not only a butler, but a hero. Written by Michael Northrop (Dear Justice League) and drawn by Sam Lotfi (Mosely). ($12.99) Check out this all-Alfred episode of BatChat.
Dan’s pick: Trve Kvlt TP: Marty Tarantella has been flipping burgers for 15 years. He has no kids, no hobbies, no love interests and, essentially, no life. But what he does have is a plan to change everything. Years of watching the daily rhythms of the neighboring stores has given Marty the idea for a perfect heist, but when he accidentally steals a supernatural weapon from a cult full of violent lunatics, the resulting Satanic panic will be way above his minimum-wage pay grade. By Scott Bryan Wilson and Liana Kangas for IDW. ($16.99) Check out the last time Kangas was on WMQ&A.
Rasmus’ pick: Secret Warriors Omnibus HC: Once upon a time, amid Secret Invasions and Dark Reigns, Nick Fury amassed a team of the children of supervillains to wage a shadow war. Collecting the series by Jonathan Hickman, Brian Michael Bendis, Stefano Caselli, Alessandro Vitti and more. ($125)
Dan Grote is the editor-in-chief of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Winston Wisdom.
