Jumping On: New Story Arcs Kicking Off On August 9, 2023

One of the hardest and most frustrating things about finding new comics to read and enjoy is finding a good jumping on point. It can be confusing and disheartening to pick up a single issue from the middle of an arc without having the context of the previous chapters.

With that in mind, here are some New Story Arcs, Series Premieres, and One-Shots available this upcoming New Comic Book Day, Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

New Story Arcs:

The Amazing Spider-Man #31, Marvel

SPECIAL OVER-SIZED ISSUE! IT’S THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR! Peter Parker is the best man, and Tombstone is walking the bride down the aisle! That’s right—Janice Lincoln and Randy Robertson are tying the knot, and there’s NO WAY all the crime bosses in NYC aren’t seeing this as an opportunity to off Tombstone. This story sets up our big Spider-Event of Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr.’s second year on ASM, and that’s just the HALF of it! Also in this issue: bachelor/bachelorette parties, other ASM-story preludes, glimpses of some of the biggest unannounced Spider-projects and extra bonus awesomeness!

 

Series Premieres and One-Shots:

Superman 2023 Annual, DC

METROPOLIS’S SECRETS ARE REVEALED! Lois Lane is now editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, but at heart she’ll always be an investigative reporter. And lately Metropolis has had a whole new set of secrets she must uncover. Even if it means investigating her own husband…Superman! Featuring Livewire, Parasite, and Mercy, this special issue is your next big puzzle piece leading to a massive Superman crossover in 2024! Don’t miss out!

My Little Pony: Best of Pinkie Pie #1, IDW

Join this celebration of the silliest, most cheerful pony around! From launching the Festival of the Two Sisters to helping a clown find his smile, revisit the gags and giggles that make Pinkie Pie the life of the party! Collecting My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #86, #94, and #95, and My Little Pony: Micro-Series #5.

Immortal X-Men #14, Marvel

TO ME, MY NO ONE. Xavier had a dream. Now he has nothing. This is the Fall of X. He fell. He fell furthest.

The Enfield Gang Massacre #1, Image

The THAT TEXAS BLOOD duo returns to Ambrose County, Texas with an all-new MINISERIES set 150 years in the past!

Gunslinging action meets dark frontier drama in this original Western thriller, as Montgomery Enfield and his gang of outlaws find themselves in the crosshairs of an aging Texas Ranger and a newborn county that’s hungry for law.

Spider-Man Annual #1, Marvel

THE CONTEST OF CHAOS BEGINS! SPIDER-MAN VS. WOLVERINE! Agatha Harkness is building a new Darkhold—and she’s pitting Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against each other to do it!  First on her list is Spider-Man, whose regular day is turned upside down when he involuntarily walks through a portal to a remote, magical city…and is attacked by Wolverine!

Blade in the Dark Remastered Edition #1, Scout

Remastered edition with a new cover of Scout’s hit samurai series! They came, masked, in the dead of night and burned the village to ash. Rook of the Hidden Song, sole survivor to his people, must seek Vengeance. Yet the path ahead is strewn with hidden dangers; monstrous creatures inhabiting the skins of the dead and dying, human soldiers warped by supernatural forces and rogue gods intent on mischief and destruction. Rook must cut a path of blood and reclaim the treasured heart of his ashen village or die in the attempt and take his place alongside his slaughtered kin. 

Ghost Rider / Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance – Alpha #1, Marvel

LOGAN & BLAZE—THE WEAPONS OF VENGEANCE! LOGAN’s the best there is at what he does—and what he does as the deadly WOLVERINE isn’t very nice. When innocent blood is spilled, JOHNNY BLAZE becomes the GHOST RIDER, equipped to deal punishment with the power of hellfire! A demonic serial killer is murdering innocent mutants. But what is it about this deadly new villain that forces our two heroes to team up? And what buried secret does he share with Wolverine and Ghost Rider’s never-before-seen very first meeting in the past? Get ready for claws, chains and violence as only Benjamin Percy (WOLVERINE, GHOST RIDER) and Geoff Shaw (THANOS, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) can bring in this four-part epic!

Children of the Vault #1, Marvel

TO SAVE THE FUTURE! The Children of the Vault are back, and they are determined to be humanity’s salvation! But not everything is as it seems, and every utopia has its costs. What is the motivation behind these highly evolved beings gifting the world with their advanced technology? And how do Bishop and a now-Orchis-captured Cable figure into their plans? Find out in rising stars Deniz Camp and Luca Maresca’s miniseries!

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Max Rebo #1, Marvel

WHO IS PLOTTING TO KILL JABBA THE HUTT? Wait…someone ELSE is plotting to kill one of the galaxy’s most infamous gangsters? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! When you’re JABBA THE HUTT, you make a lot of enemies…and sometimes, they’re even under your employ! MAX REBO and the band have their own plans on how to deal with a mobster like Jabba… This issue bookends our JABBA’S PALACE one-shot and leads directly into the RETURN OF THE JEDI film!

The Madness #1, Artists Writers & Artisans Inc

Legendary writer J. Michael Straczynski teams with superstar artist ACO for a tale of bloody vengeance.

In THE MADNESS, Sarah Ross has been using her power as a thief, stealing from the rich and…well, keeping it. Until the day she stole from the wrong person, a highly placed official who pressures the government to assassinate her. The plot, aided by so-called “good” superheroes sponsored by the government, misses her but wipes out her family. Driven mad by grief, and laser-focused on revenge for the murder of her family, Sarah and a hidden side of her personality – an imaginary friend who may be more real than she believes – goes after these superpowered operatives determined to take her revenge, at any cost.

Vampirella / Dracula: Rage #1, Dynamite

THEY’RE COMING FOR HER BABY…

…AND SHE’S GOING TO KILL EVER LAST ONE OF THEM!

Picking up where Vampirella: Year One left off, Vampirella/Dracula: Rage presents Vampirella as you’ve never seen her before. Inconsolable grief hardens into unquenchable rage as Vampirella tracks the cultists who threaten her son across Europe and America, unsettling political and economic alliances and unraveling the global network of the baby’s father – Dracula!

In a macabre exchange of norms, it is Dracula, the Lord of Vampires, who now hunts the elusive Vampiri in an effort to save Vampirella from herself – or, more precisely, to save her from becoming like him. To this end, Dracula recruits Victory, once Vampirella’s closest friend, to act as his ersatz Renfield while they try (and fail) to anticipate the next moves of a woman whose anger has now completely consumed her.

This bold new limited series bookends Vampirella/Dracula: Unholy, bringing Vampirella’s conflict with the Prince of Darkness to its ultimate conclusion and setting up a dramatic change in direction for the Daughter of Drakulon!

Leaded Gasoline #1, Black Mask

In the 1980s a killer stalks the streets of South Central Los Angeles. Task forces are assembled, detectives work overtime, but the bodies keep coming. This is the story of a community college professor who believes there’s more to the story than a single madman. From writer Patrick Kindlon (Frontiersman, Nobody Is In Control, We Can Never Go Home) and your next favorite artist Lorenzo Re, Leaded Gasoline captures the mad energy of the most brash and risk-taking horror comics that are smart, dangerous, and intent on taking a sledgehammer to your mind.

Ranger Stranger Summer Special #1, Scout

It’s Summer! Another hot, scorching, fireball of fun. At least the bluegill are biting. And the ticks. And the African hornets! And the slithering, bloodthirsty rattlesn–where were we? Oh right, summer. Fear not, because your favorite deranged wilderness guide, Ranger Garland Woodburn, has cooked up a real humdinger of a Summer Special full of camping tips, water safety, and other questionable gems of nature knowledge to learn and enjoy while the world burns all around.

Mech Cadets #1, BOOM!

Fans of the highly anticipated Netflix series won’t want to miss this perfect companion series by highly acclaimed writer Greg Pak (Star Wars: Darth Vader), superstar artist Takeshi Miyazawa (She-Hulk), and colorist Ian Herring (Spider-Man / Deadpool).

General Park-head of Sky Corps Academy-must assemble a team of heroes to protect humankind from alien invasions, and Stanford Yu, Maya Sanchez, Frank Olivetti, and Park’s own daughter Olivia may have been pulled into the role by fate… as they are Earth’s best hope.

But there is more to their relationships with the symbiotic, sentient giant Robos they pilot… and the alien threat of The Sharg is far more epic and widespread than any could imagine!

While Mech Cadets makes a fresh debut for new readers and viewers, long-time fans can delight in having more adventures after the long awaited collection of Mech Cadets Book One!

Dwellings #1, Oni

SHOCK! TERROR! FUN! SATURDAY MORNING MEETS THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT IN AN ALL-NEW, BI-MONTHLY LIMITED SERIES PRESENTED IN PRESTIGE FORMAT, 72-PAGE CHAPTERS WITH TWO COMPLETE TALES IN EACH ISSUE!

Welcome to Elwich – an oasis of American perfection, where the schools overflow with cheery-eyed children, lovingly adorned homes line

the historic boulevards … and only the crows can see the deep, festering rot that lurks beneath the pristine surface. Murder. Demonology. Possession. Obsession. Elwich has them all on offer-and behind every DWELLING awaits a horrifying new story to be told!

Scarlett Couture: the Munich File #1, Titan

AN ANIMATION-STYLE THRILLER FROM CELEBRATED DC COVER ARTIST DES TAYLOR! THE COVERT INVESTIGATION GROUP’S MOST DEADLY SPY RETURNS

Agent Scarlett Carver and her team embark on a THRILLING GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE as they’re thrown into the high stakes world of technological espionage. It soon transpires that the effects of PROJECT STARDUST reach further than anyone had anticipated – there are new threats emerging, and THIS TIME, IT’S PERSONAL!

Each issue contains a digital token with special rewards, including the chance to meet creator Des Taylor in the Metaverse. Powered by metagallery LTD.

Impossible Jones / Holly Daze #1, Scout

Impossible Jones (a thief pretending to be a hero) and Holly Daze (a former hero, now a thief) join up for a Girls’ Night Out of drinking, dancing… and danger! With Holly’s ex, Krampus, lurking in the shadows, Imp learns that sometimes the only thing harder than being enemies-is being friends! Added bonus: first glimpse into the secret Dark Files being kept on Impossible Jones and other crime-fighters and criminals in New Hope City!

Snow White Zombie Apocolypse: Legendary Edition #1, Scout

Snow White awakens to True Love’s kiss…28 days later. Shoulder-to-shoulder with his tough-as-nails paramour Rapunzel-the lovable-but-philandering Prince Charming braves the darkness of Snow White’s enchanted forest in a desperate bid for survival. But how long can the pair hold out as the denizens of Grimm’s Fairy Tales rise from their graves to devour the flesh of the living?

This new “Legendary Edition” format measures 11″ x 17″.

Comic Books Kill! #1, Scout

NONSTOP. NYC. 1939. Comics creator Jack Levi places his life and career on the line when he begins an affair with the femme fatale lover of his mafia boss publisher. Comic Books Kill! is a crime noir tale of myths, mistresses, and mobsters sure to thrill fans of Kirby, Brubaker, and Phillips.

Calexit Battle Of Universal City #1, Black Mask

WHAT IF CALIFORNIA REFUSED TO BE RULED? It’s total war on the streets of Los Angeles as Zora leads The Mulholland Resistance to seize freedom or die trying.

Killer Queens 2 #1, Dark Horse

During a day of questionable choices at Space Pride, Max & Alex bump into their old boss. The grumpy little simian tries to dragoon them into chasing down a runaway heir to the throne of Sarelia, an alien planet ruled by a brutal patriarchy. Little does he know that the heir in question is closely connected to Alex. As Alex and Max race to save the runaway heir from a galaxy-wide bounty hunt, they’ll dredge up Alex’s past and confront her planet’s misogynist present. If that means burning the patriarchy to the ground, well, get out the torches.