Jumping On: Series Premieres, One-Shots, And New Story Arcs Kicking Off On October 23, 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, October 23rd, 2024.

Series Premieres, One-Shots, And New Story Arcs:

Alien: Romulus #1, Marvel

Marvel’s latest cracks at the Aliens franchise have been hit or miss. Some have been fantastic. Some have… not. I have high hopes for this one.

Zac Thompson has done some fun stuff in the horror and sci-fi genres. He’s a solid choice to script this tie-in to the recent film. I haven’t seen the film yet. If it sucked, don’t tell me. I’ll get back at you in a couple weeks when it comes to streaming. 

Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre #1, IDW

IDW has been taking the King of Monsters into some interesting spaces lately. Skate park anyone? This one is a bit of a head scratcher, but it’s Godzilla, so I’m game. 

In Monsterpiece Theater, Godzilla takes on his greatest foe yet — The Great Gatsby?

The year is 1922. Mysterious man of luxury Jay Gatsby throws lavish parties from his palatial Long Island estate, all in hopes of attracting the attention of his love, Daisy Buchanan.

But his affair is interrupted as his party attracts the one thing more dangerous than love: Godzilla. Now, Gatsby has no choice but to turn his undying will away from his love of Daisy and onto revenge against the monster who destroyed his home.

I was not a fan of Gatsby in 1991 when they made me read it in school. Maybe Monster Zero-One squashes James Gatz between his massive toes like a grape. It could happen. Also, I can’t read the words “Monsterpiece Theater” without hearing “Me Alistair Cookie,” but that’s just my age showing.

Space Usagi: White Star Rising #1, Dark Horse

Taking place directly after the Space Usagi: Death and Honor arc, Stan Sakai‘s second Space Usagi series sees Miyamoto Usagi continuing to defend the Shirohoshi clan in the far future from scheming rivals, the Kajitori. New friends, like space pirate Rhogen, and new enemies, led by Empress Amateh, are introduced, and this miniseries will be newly colored by longtime collaborator Emi Fujii.

I’ve always been intrigued by the long-eared ronin, but I slipped this one in to avoid a beating by our resident TTRPG expert, Anton, who gets positively giddy over Usagi news and assorted chase figures he finds in the wild.

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