Ultimate Spider-Man 1 | Marvel Comics | AshAveComics.com

There’s Always Next Week: January 5, 2024

by Paul

Careful observers of this site will have noted our halting efforts to create a weekly feature for the blog, but I think I’ve cracked the code this time! Welcome to There’s Always Next Week, the new feature where we look ahead to next week’s comics and also see which upcoming books are approaching Final Order Cut-Off on Sunday and Monday. What better place to start than with a look at the hot new Spider-Man title that’s got everyone all a-twitter (or all a-X, if you prefer)?

Giant Size Spider-Man 1 | Marvel Comics | AshAveComics.com

GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN #1

Art: Iban Coello | Story: Cody Ziglar (Marvel Comics, $6.99)

But first, let’s talk about Giant-Size Spider-Man #1! Ha ha! That’s the kind of twist and turn you’ll be able to look forward to every week here at TANW. While Ultimate Spider-Man #1 may be the Marcia Brady to Giant-Size‘s Jan, this comic shouldn’t be overlooked. In the main feature, Son of Venom fails to see eye-to-eye with the People’s Favorite, Miles Morales, while the back-up is a re-print of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #22 by Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli. Good value! You can hear writer Cody Ziglar cracking his knuckles here as a warm-up to February’s Spider-Punk: Arms Race #1, so if you’re excited for that, this makes a good appetizer.

PRE-ORDER IT: Bryan Hitch Main Cover | Alexander Lozano Variant | Dave Bardin Deadly Foes Variant

Ultimate Spider-Man 1 | Marvel Comics | AshAveComics.com

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1

Art: Marco Checcetto | Story: Jonathan Hickman (Marvel Comics, $5.99)

Two things we know about the new 2024 model Ultimate Spider-Man: 1) He has a beard (not Mary Jane, an actual beard on his face) which is going to cause all kinds of static cling and chafing under the mask. 2) If I know Jonathan Hickman—and I think I do—there are going to be graphs. Glorious, glorious graphs. Rumor has it that we may be getting the Daily Bugle floor plan during this first story arc, but I’m taking a wait-and-see attitude so my heart doesn’t get broken. Again. This thing is already selling out here and it’s not even on the rack yet. Just because you have FOMO, it doesn’t mean you’re not missing out.

PRE-ORDER IT: Marco Checcetto Main Cover | David Marquez Variant | Marco Checcetto Costume Tease Variant A | Marco Checcetto Costume Tease Variant B | Marco Checcetto Costume Tease Variant C | Mateus Manhanini Ultimate Special Variant | Nic Klein Variant | Ryan Stegman Variant | J. Scott Campbell Variant | Elizabeth Torque Variant | Mark Bagley Connecting Variant | 1:10 Marco Checcetto Design Variant | 1:25 Tony Daniel Variant | 1:100 David Marquez Virgin Variant

Star Wars 42 | Marvel Comics | AshAveComics.com

STAR WARS #42

Art: Steven Cummings | Story: Charles Soule (Marvel Comics, $4.99)

This is one of those things where it’s the first appearance of a character who may or may not become a mover and shaker in the wider Disney+ Star Wars universe, here in the form of a Sith woman sought out by Luke Skywalker so he can get the lowdown on some moves to take Darth Vader down a peg or two. I put it to you: Would a virginal young man with a lingering, thwarted sexual urge for his own sister somehow have trouble getting in touch with his dark side? That’s why he became a gross old hermit who tried to murder his nephew, people. Search your feelings; you know it to be true.

PRE-ORDER IT: Steven Segovia Main Cover | Caspar Wijngaard Rebels 10th Anniversary Variant | John Tyler Christopher Action Figure Variant | Logo Variant

Disney Villains: Cruella De Vil 1 | Boom! Studios | AshAveComics.com

DISNEY VILLAINS: CRUELLA DE VIL #1

Art: Miriana Puglia | Story: Sweeney Boo (Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99)

Alone amongst all Disney characters, I’ve always felt a great kinship with Cruella De Vil. Come to think of it, maybe that’s the reason I don’t get invited to parties at the homes of dog owners. Anyway, if you’re anything like me, you should give Disney Villains: Cruella De Vil #1 a look. It’s written by Sweeney Boo, and even if you’re not a fan of hers yet, you have to admit that it’s fun to say her name.

PRE-ORDER IT: Sweeney Boo Main Cover | Joshua Middleton Variant | Blank Authentix Variant

Deer Editor 1 | Mad Cave Studios | AshAveComics.com

DEER EDITOR #1

Art: Sami Kivelä | Story: Ryan K. Lindsay (Mad Cave Studios, $4.99)

Sami Kivelä of Abbott fame draws this first issue of a murder mystery that entangles a hard-bitten newspaper editor. He’s also a giant talking deer. Get it? He’s a deer editor. It strikes me as a strange line of work for such a skittish creature to take up, but no doubt that’s my own prejudice talking. If this sounds like it’s up your alley, lock this book down now because we only ordered one copy.

PRE-ORDER IT: Sami Kivelä Main Cover

ON FOC THIS WEEK

Money Shot, Volume 1 | Vault Comics | Ash Avenue Comics

Ash Ave ComicHub New Release Links for May 31, 2023

Here are the links to this week’s crop of instant classics now available for purchase from our ComicHub store… while supplies last! My pick of the week is the back-in-print Money Shot, Volume 1, but only for you grown-ups! If you’re too young or censorious to enjoy a good light-hearted sexy comedy romp, then how about Amazing Spider-Man #26, another instructive Spidey tale demonstrating the most just way to weigh great power against great—wait, what?! How can that even happen? She’s made out of rubber!

Meanwhile, a new load of TPBs and hardcovers made their triumphant debuts on our ComicHub store this week, including a whole mess of Humanoids collections, always fertile ground from which new favorites grow! Marshals and Child of the Storm are two good places to start.

Alien #2
Alien #2 Dave Johnson Var
Alter Ego #182 
Amazing Spider-Man #26
Amazing Spider-Man #26 25 Copy Incv Larraz Var
Amazing Spider-Man #26 Gary Frank Spoiler Var
Amazing Spider-Man #26 Talaski Spider-Verse Var
Ancient Enemies #4 (Of 6) Cvr A Beyruth
Avengers Beyond #3 (Of 5)
Avengers Beyond #3 (Of 5) Clarke Var
Back Issue #144 
Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #4 Cvr A Chew
Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #4 Cvr B Celina
Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #4 Cvr G 10 Copy Incv Forest B
Betsy Braddock Captain Britain #4
Betsy Braddock Captain Britain #4 Davi Go Var
Black Tape #4 (Of 4) Cvr A Dan Panosian (MR)
Black Tape #4 (Of 4) Cvr B Cary Nord Variant (MR)
Blue Flame TP The Complete Series 
Captain America Symbol of Truth #13
Captain America Symbol of Truth #13 Pete Woods Spider-Verse
Carnage #13
Carnage #13 25 Copy Incv Philip Tan Var
Carnage #13 Ryan Stegman Venom The Other Var
Carnage #13 Skan Var
Carnage #13 Taurin Clarke Connecting Var
Clobberin’ Time #3 (Of 5)
Clobberin’ Time #3 (Of 5) Panosian Var
DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot) Cvr A Mateus Manhanini
DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot) Cvr B Gabriel Picolo Wraparound Var
DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot) Cvr C Oscar Vega Var
DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot) Cvr D Jen Bartel Foil Var
Deadpool #7
Deadpool #7 Ben Su Var
Deadpool #7 Momoko Spider-Verse Var
Deep Cuts #2 (Of 6)
Detective Comics #1072 Cvr A Evan Cagle
Detective Comics #1072 Cvr B Kelley Jones Card Stock Var
Detective Comics #1072 Cvr C Mike Perkins Card Stock Var
Detective Comics #1072 Cvr D Inc 1:25 Sebastian Fiumara Card Stock Var
Doctor Strange #3
Doctor Strange #3 Asrar Spider-Verse Var
Doctor Strange #3 Lee Sister Grimm AAPI Heritage Month Var
Doctor Strange #3 Stegman Var
Door to Door Night By Night #6 Cvr A Sally Cantirino
Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (Of 4)
Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (Of 4) Casanovas Connecting Var
Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (Of 4) David Yardin Var
End After End TP Vol 1
Expanse The Dragon Tooth #1 (Of 12) 2nd Ptg
Faithless HC Deluxe Edition (MR) 
Gargoyles #6 Cvr A Nakayama
Gargoyles #6 Cvr B Conner
Gargoyles #6 Cvr C Parrillo
Gargoyles #6 Cvr E Lee
Gargoyles #6 Cvr F Fleecs & Forstner
Gargoyles #6 Cvr G 10 Copy Incv Kambadais Original
Good Asian 1936 Deluxe Edition HC (MR)
Grim Reaper Pack (Bundle) #1
Icon Vs Hardware #3 (Of 5) Cvr A Rahzzah
Icon Vs Hardware #3 (Of 5) Cvr B Mateus Manhanini Var
Killadelphia #30 2nd Ptg
Lady Death Diabolical Harvest #1 (Of 2) Cvr A Standard Bern
Listen Beautiful Marcia HC 
Local Man #3 2nd Ptg (MR)
Local Man #4 Cvr A Seeley Fleecs Reber (MR)
Local Man #4 Cvr B Maus (MR)
Mindset TP The Complete Series
Money Shot TP Vol 01 New Printing
Pathfinder Wake Dead #1 Cvr A Ellis
Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot) Cvr A Marguerite Sauvage
Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot) Cvr B Stanley Artgerm Lau Card Stock Var
Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot) Cvr C Amanda Conner Card Stock Var
Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot) Cvr F David Nakayama Card Stock Var
Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot) Cvr G David Nakayama Foil Var
Power of Shazam TP Book 02 The Worm Turns
Punisher #12
Punisher #12 Cassaday Spider-Verse Var
Punisher #12 Suayan Var
Retrofan Magazine #27 
Rocketeer Cvr A Hughes
Rocketeer Cvr B Rodriguez
Savage Strength of Starstorm #1 Cvr A Drew Craig
Savage Strength of Starstorm #1 Cvr B Wes Craig
Silver Surfer Ghost Light #4
Spawn Scorched #18 Cvr A Bogdanovic
Spawn Scorched #18 Cvr B Renaud
Spider-Man 2099 Dark Genesis #5 (Of 5)
Spider-Man 2099 Dark Genesis #5 (Of 5) Lashley Frame Var
Spider-Man 2099 Dark Genesis #5 (Of 5) Reis Connecting Var
Star Trek TP Warriors of the Mirror War
Star Wars Doctor Aphra #32
Star Wars Doctor Aphra #32 Ema Lupacchino Var
Star Wars Doctor Aphra #32 Sprouse Return Jedi 40th Ann Var
Star Wars Doctor Aphra #32 Yu Darth Maul Solo 5th Ann Movie
Star Wars High Republic Adventures #5 (Of 8)
Star Wars Sana Starros #4
Star Wars Sana Starros #4 Lupacchino Var
Star Wars Sana Starros #4 Yu Lando Solo 5th Anniv Movie Var
Static Season One TP
Street Fighter 6 #2 (Of 4) Cvr A Ng
Street Fighter 6 #2 (Of 4) Cvr B Panzer
Torrent #4 Cvr A Greenwood & Renzi
Torrent #4 Cvr C Leonardi & Renzi
Vampirella Strikes #13 Cvr A Parrillo
Vampirella Strikes #13 Cvr B Segovia
Vampirella Strikes #13 Cvr C Yoon
Vampirella Strikes #13 Cvr F 10 Copy Incv Stelfreeze Modern
Venom Lethal Protector II #3 (Of 5)
Venom Lethal Protector II #3 (Of 5) Philip Tan Var
W0Rldtr33 #1 2nd Ptg (MR)
W0Rldtr33 #2 Cvr A Blanco (MR)
W0Rldtr33 #2 Cvr B Dani (MR)
Warlock Rebirth #1 (Of 5) 2nd Ptg Ron Lim Var
X-23 Deadly Regenesis #3 (Of 5)
X-23 Deadly Regenesis #3 (Of 5) Parel Var
W0rldtr33 2 | Image Comics | Ash Avenue Comics

Weekly Shout-Out: May 30, 2023

by Drew Sullivan

SPOTLIGHT TITLES

W0rldtr33 #2 (Image) from Jam3$ T¥n10n, F3rnand0 B1anc0, and Jordie Bellaire (I lost the enthusiasm for the numbers as letters gag halfway through Fernando Blanco). Holy smokes, what a nightmare factory James Tyrion IV’s imagination, churning out all types of terror and fright in Something is Killing the Children, The Closet, and Department of Truth; and now in his latest W0rldtr33, the underbelly of the underbelly of the internet, the undernet has loosed a force of violence as memetic spectacle on the earth. Great, like people using the internet for evil wasn’t bad enough? First rate horror from Tyrion, Blanco, and Bellaire returns this week, check it!

Clobberin’ Time #3 (Marvel) from Steve Skroce. Call me nuts, but I prefer my Marvel Comics a little unhinged, so I’m an easy mark when it comes to Marvel handing the keys to their Marvel Two-in-One team up title to comic visionary Steve Skroce.  You get The Thing, in this issue joined by Dr. Strange, and a lot of weird story turns, and insane art by Stroke. Perfection! I also highly recommend Skroce’s Doc Frankenstein, Post Americana, and Maestro; and, y’know, he and Geof Darrow were the designers of the first Matrix film, so dude has his chops on some mind bending sci-fi visuals.

Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Marvel) from Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. I figure there’s been enough digital ink (and blood) spilled regarding this issue over the last few weeks, so I’ll keep it short and simple. We have copies.

The Rocketeer Special (IDW): An anthology issue of three short stories timed to release with the new documentary on Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens, Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection, including a story written by the film’s director. And of course, there’s the cover art by Adam Hughes. Great cover, and some fun Rocketeer stories? Sounds good.

AT A GLANCE

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures Continued 1 | IDW Publishing | Ash Avenue Comics
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures Continued #1

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #1 (IDW): Get your 80s nostalgia satiated with another mini-series relishing the carefree cartoons of yesteryear.

Punisher #12 (Marvel): Jason Aaron and Jesus Saiz’s run on the ol’ Punny comes to an end, will Frank Castle stick it to the Hand? Maria Castle is resurrected? Ares, the god of War was up in here too? It all comes to an end this issue, wrapped up and tied with a bloodstained bow by messrs Aaron and Saiz.

DC Pride 2023 and Power Girl Special (DC): DC’s big releases this week also serve a reminder that this month has a 5 Wednesday release so the publishers usually spread releases out and add some annuals or event books. So, DC fans, in light of the sparse slate from DC, look to these titles for some new stories, including a short story in DC Pride from Grant Morrison.