Jumping On — Series Premieres, One-Shots, And New Story Arcs Dropping January 3, 2024

One of the 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 a few New Story Arcs, Series Premieres, and One-Shots that caught my eye for this upcoming New Comic Book Day, Wednesday, January 3, 2024.

Featured Series Premieres, One-Shots, and New Story Arcs:

Beware the Planet of the Apes #1, Marvel

Marvel has been hit or miss with the licensed properties they picked up recently. The 2023 relaunch of Planet of the Apes under the Marvel banner brought some hope, as David Walker and Dave Wachter nailed the thing to the wall. Now, steeped in a love for the classic tales, Marc Guggenheim and Álvaro López will attempt to take the Planet of the Apes legacy to explosive new heights.

Critical Role: The Tales of Exandria – Artagan #1, Dark Horse

With the meteoric rise in popularity of tabletop roleplaying and TTRPG-adjacent spaces, it comes as no surprise that Dark Horse is all-in with their Critical Role titles. The Mighty Nein Origins, Vox Machina Origins, The Chronicles of Exandria, Tales of Exandria- The Bright Queen… and now writer Sam Maggs, artist Aviv Or, and colorist Cris Peterbring team up with the cast of Critical Role to bring you The Tales of Exandria- Artigan. 

The Walking Dead Deluxe #80, Image

The ‘No Way Out’ arc kicks off this week. Alexandria is surrounded and the community turns to Rick for guidance. I’m really enjoying this Deluxe, full color treatment of the original TWD series. The original was awesome, but the art style and black and white presentation always screwed with my eyes just a little bit. In addition to the color, TWD Deluxe #80 also has another installment of Cutting Room Floor and creator commentary for the hardcore TWD smarks.  

More Series Premieres, One-Shots, and New Story Arcs: