Jumping On — Series Premieres, One-Shots, And New Story Arcs Kicking Off On January 24, 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 17, 2024. My selections this week are all weird indies, because I like weird indies and there are a bunch in this week’s haul. 

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

Deer Editor #1, Mad Cave Studios

A John Doe slaying (already with the puns) sucks a political journo into a mess of political intrigue. Bucky (Ha!) is the crime editor at “The Truth.” He’s also a deer, because of course he is. Mad Cave is calling this genre they just now invented “antler noir.” 

Aimed at fans of Blacksad and Chinatown, this one promises to be delightfully strange. Like me. 

Crashdown #1, Whatnot Publishing

Whatnot Publishing invoked Lost, Alien, and Lovecraft to describe this one. They also pulled in Ben Templesmith to draw the thing. I was already sold by this point. 

With a script from Tom Garcia and Ryan Sargeant, Crashdown paints a bleak picture of humanity’s future. After destroying the Earth, humanity’s last hope is the distant planet Empyrean and a ship full of colonists ready to repopulate our civilization. Except the new planet doesn’t want them and fights back. 

There Was Another Life #1, Source Point Press

A scientist named Sterling Harcourt wanted to save the planet. Instead, he blew up his lab, altered his own body, and changed the world as he knew it. That was 200 years ago. Somehow, he survived. And became immortal. Forced to face the ghosts of his past, his own guilt, he now pursues redemption. 

The solicit for this one took me back to the Summer of 1986, when I paid to watch Flight of the Navigator, and then spent the rest of the day hopping from Karate Kid II to Friday the 13th Part VI to The Fly. Sterling Harcourt sounds a lot like Seth Brundle, except without the shotgun. 

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