After the Labor Day holiday, extend your vacation by kicking back and enjoying these new books. It will be a most excellent experience.
The Rise of Ultraman #1 (Marvel Comics)
(w) Kyle Higgins, Mat Groom (a) Francesco Manna, Gurihiru, Michael Cho (c) Espen Grundetjern
Kyle Higgins has spent the last couple of years writing Power Rangers comics that are way better than they have any right to be. Simply put, they were great. Because of that, it’s exciting to see what he can do with Ultraman. It’s interesting that this series is being published by Marvel rather than one of the industry’s smaller publishers, but that allows The Rise of Ultraman to have top talent like Francesco Manna, Gurihiru, and Michael Cho on art duties.
In darkness there lurks Kaiju—terrifying and unfathomable monsters. Between Kaiju and the rest of us stands the United Science Patrol! But who are these enigmatic defenders, and how do they perform their miracles? Shin Hayata and Kiki Fuji have spent half a lifetime trying to find out—and their quest is about to drive them toward a decades-old dark secret and put them on a collision
course with a mysterious warrior from beyond the stars! Kyle Higgins (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), Mat Groom (Self/Made) and Francesco Manna (AVENGERS) reimagine the classic origin of a pop culture icon as THE RISE OF ULTRAMAN begins!
Bill & Ted Are Doomed #1 (Dark Horse Comics)
(w) Evan Dorkin, Ed Solomon (a) Roger Langridge
There have been Bill & Ted comics in recent years, but in the wake of the release of Bill & Ted Face the Music, Dark Horse is putting out a new series. Bridging the gap between Bogus Journey and Face the Music, this new series brings back Evan Dorkin on writing duties. Dorkin’s previous Bill & Ted work in the 1990s earned him an Eisner nomination. Needless to say, Bill & Ted Are Doomed should be on everyone’s pull list for this week.
After defeating the evil dictator De Nomolos in Bogus Journey in 1995, things aren’t looking as excellent as they should for either Bill and Ted or Wyld Stallyns. There’s tension in the band and worry at home. Bill and Ted’s obsessiveness with writing the one song to bring peace to the world is affecting their playing and their relationships with their families. The band is losing favor with fans and the future isn’t shaping up as they were all led to believe it would from past (and future) events. Desperate for a solution Bill and Ted burst in to announce their great idea to revive the band’s fortunes: A world tour to spread the love-and the rock, and the love of the rock-to the world.
Ice Cream Man Presents: Quarantine Comix Special #1 (Image Comics)
(w) W. Maxwell Prince (a) Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran
Quarantine Comix was one of the best creator-based ideas to come out of the pandemic. Now it’s in print, and being used for the same great purpose. Check out the solicit for more.
In the early days of the pandemic, the team behind ICE CREAM MAN launched an online-only series of mini-comics set in the ICM universe. The project was called, predictably, QUARANTINE COMIX. These strange little ditties were meant to tide folks over while the industry was on pause-and also raise money for struggling comic shops, with 50 percent of all proceeds donated to Comicbook United Fund/BINC.
Now, collected in everyone’s preferred format (a floppy comic book!) are all six issues of QUARANTINE COMIX, featuring brand-new cover art and bonus stories by guest creators.
And, as before, 50 percent of creator profits will go to Comicbook United to help stores get back on their feet-because comic shops are sweet.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #109 (IDW Publishing)
(w) Sophie Campbell (a) Jodi Nishijima (c) Jeremy Colwell, Ryan Kinnaird
TMNT has been so good for so long, but seeing that the series is over 100 issues at this point may be intimidating for modern readers. However, this bottle issue should be a good place for those curious to jump in and explore the current status quo of one of the industry’s sadly overlooked (based on sales figures) gems.
A stand-alone story that delves deeper into the denizens of Mutant Town! Life has changed forever for this part of NYC, but life somehow finds a way to move forward. Follow three interconnected stories as the TMNT immerse themselves in their new home.