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, Notable #1s, and One-Shots premiering this upcoming New Comic Book Day, Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
New Story Arcs:
X-Men #19, Marvel
LORD OF THE BROOD, PART 1
When the X-Men get a distress call from deep space, they find that the galaxy’s Brood problem is not as solved as they’d thought! Rogue Brood factions have begun running wild (as seen in CAPTAIN MARVEL right now!), and it’s up to the X-Men to get to the bottom of why!
Marauders #11, Marvel
PREGENESIS, PART ONE
GENOSHA WAKES! NIGHTCRAWLER! FANG VERSUS BRIMSTONE LOVE—ROUND TWO! Years ago, Genosha suffered one of the most horrific attacks in mutant history at the hands of Cassandra Nova. Can mutantkind do better than waiting for resurrection? Captain Pryde thinks so, but it’ll take the wildest mutant circuit we’ve seen yet!
LEGACY #38
Notable #1s and One-Shots:
Nightcrawlers #1, Marvel
SINISTER’S PRIVATE ASSASSINS! Ten years into a twisted future, MR SINISTER unleashes his private army of assassins: THE LEGION OF THE NIGHT. Meet WAGNERINE, commanding this killer crew of brainwashed hybrids, each one a genetic mix of NIGHTCRAWLER and another one of Marvel’s most murderous mutants! Mysterious forces seek to break Sinister’s control over these fatal fanatics – to turn them AGAINST HIM. But who are they? And what are their true motives…? Enter MOTHER RIGHTEOUS… and a meeting of the most powerful players in the Universe…
SINS OF SINISTER TIE-IN
Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate #1, DC
NEW THREATS WILL RISE! When the Lazarus storm touches down, people from every walk of life stand to be affected. People who are kind, people who are good…and people who are evil. This epic issue will spotlight the many disastrous new villains created by the Lazarus event and the heroes who stand ready to stop them from doing harm to others! What sinister threat brings a new chapter to the Doom Patrol saga? Can a new hero channel the inexorable Still Force energy to fend off evil? What lurks in the corners of the Spirit World for new character Xanthe? And what early clue to the new direction in Arkham Tower will spell disaster for Gotham City?
Murderworld: Moon Knight #1, Marvel
Under the harsh light of the moon there is no escape, and with only a handful of contestants left, anything can happen! Murderworld is a life-or-death game of treachery and tragedy brought to you by Jim Zub, Ray Fawkes and, illustrated by Luca Pizzari! Arcade and his schemes have been a punchline in the past, but this contest is no joke. Each issue ups the ante, and this penultimate chapter has some of the biggest twists yet. Don’t miss it!
Marvel’s Voices: Wakanda Forever #1, Marvel
The special one-shot arrives just in time to celebrate Black History Month and puts the spotlight on iconic heroes of Wakanda. Black Panther, Shuri, Okoye, and more star in all-new stories by an incredible lineup of both fan-favorite creators and talent fresh to the Marvel Universe. Join them as they grow the inimitable world of Wakanda in these tales of myth, adventure, strife, and more! Creative teams for the book will be announced soon.
The Last Barbarians #1, Image
SERIES PREMIERE
To be Classless is a whole new low…
You’d think in a fantastic world full of giants, magic, and flying fish, it would be a world of possibility. But you’d be dead wrong here! Sylv is a jack of all trades; she can fight with the best of them, pick most pockets, and even cast a third-level spell or two. It’s too bad for her that if you aren’t a member of a guild, you are persona non grata: completely outcast from adventuring. That might be fine, except she has her disabled seven-foot-tall brother to take care of. If she can’t find a job to support them both, they’ll be dead in a ditch in a matter of weeks. So now her only hope is a quest from a sketchy cleric who promises only a true hero can save the day. Sylv has a lot of skills…and she’ll need them all to survive this hero’s journey!
Masters of the Universe: Masterverse #1, Dark Horse
In the depths of Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress and Zodac debate the value of He-Man. To save the life of her champion, the Sorceress must take the Cosmic Enforcer on a tour of the multiverse! First, a tour across a world where a dim, barbaric He-Man bumbles through a world of annoying warrior goddesses and bored demons as he’s pursued by a hungry green tiger in a tale drawn by the legendary Sergio Aragonés! Then, a stop in an Eternia where the power of Grayskull summons an entirely different warrior in a horrific ghost story illustrated by Kelley Jones! Written by MOTU alumni Tim Seeley (Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe, Masters of the Multiverse) with a framing story by Eddie Nunez, this is an anthology series not to be missed!
Avengers: End Times – Marvel Tales #1, Marvel
The Avengers reunite with one of their own, long believed dead, as we celebrate the legacy of the House of Ideas with MARVEL TALES! This anthology series shines a spotlight on fan-favorite characters, features timeless stories and highlights some of Marvel’s most impressive talent from the past eight decades! And, in AVENGERS (2010) #31-34—the explosive climax of writer Brian Michael Bendis’ long and revolutionary run, featuring the artwork of Mike Mayhew, Brandon Peterson, Terry Dodson and a galaxy of stars—a distress call from an unknown ally leads Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Giant-Man into the Microverse! But who has summoned them? Has the mystery Avenger only succeeded in luring their teammates to their doom at the hands of the lethal Lord Gouzar? And who shall rescue the rescuers? Avengers Re-assemble!
Torrent #1, Image
SERIES PREMIERE
From MARC GUGGENHEIM (Arrow, X-Men Gold, Star Wars: Revelations) and JUSTIN GREENWOOD (THE OLD GUARD: TALES THROUGH TIME, Future State: Gotham), the team who brought you the critically acclaimed series Resurrection, comes a brand-new superhero universe. Michelle Metcalf is the world’s most happy-go-lucky hero, CRACKERJACK, until tragedy forces her to cross the line from hero to vigilante.
Batman / Spawn: Unplugged #1, DC
Two dark heroes, cursed by tragedy, find their paths again crossing…but not by choice! What sinister foe is at work, pitting the Dark Knight against the Hellspawn? From the shadows of Gotham City to New York City, this epic event is the blockbuster you’ve been waiting almost two decades for!
Icon vs. Hardware #1, Milestone
Two titans of the Milestone Universe clash — and in the process, set in motion a chain of events leading to a story bigger than you could ever imagine! When Hardware discovers a long-suppressed time machine hidden in a government warehouse, his obsession with righting the wrongs of the past — those of both American history and his own tragic family — will unravel the fabric of time for the Milestone Universe. But while there are many problems with Hardware’s plan, there’s one big one: wherever he goes in America’s last two centuries, Icon is there, having lived through it! And a man as powerful as Icon knows the profound danger of the forces Curtis Metcalf is unleashing…and he’ll do whatever it takes to put the genie back in the bottle! Icon Vs Hardware is the official kickoff of Act One of Milestone’s WORLDS COLLIDE event—and if you think you know what that phrase means, you’d better not get overconfident! This is the ideal jumping-on point for those who’ve sat out the story of Dakota so far, because this ride is headed somewhere unexpected!
Liquid Kill #1, Whatnot Publishing
LIQUID KILL follows sadist-slaughtering vigilantes as they encounter pure evil in a blood-soaked cyberpunk future (à la GHOST IN THE SHELL meets JOHN WICK) written by the creators of the critically-acclaimed series IT EATS WHAT FEEDS IT and artist Gabriel Iumazark (Boom! Studios).
For the staff and clientele of a mysterious island hotel, it’s just another night of luxury and vice until members of Liquid Kill (a notoriously violent, all-female militia), lay siege. Demanding compliance or death as they gather intelligence, the adrenaline quickly floods the halls as the team eliminates all threats with ease in their search for their kidnapped leader. That is until something is unleashed… something hungry.
If there’s anyone prepared for the evils on the island, it’s these fearless killers, but when the undaunted begin to falter, their foe must be truly monstrous.
Banshees #1, Scout
Emily is entering her first year of college and looking to reinvent herself after the loss of her best friend. But when she discovers the terrible history of her dormitory, she channels her guilt into a new obsession: discovering the truth about The Lion, a serial killer that stalked her college campus for nearly a decade. But old ghosts can lay dormant for only so long…
Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #1, Dynamite
Beyond the edge of known space lies…the Unnamable. Myth? Gods? Malevolent force? No one knows. No one but the one force in the universe that can stand against the Unnamable: the Architects, hidden guides of our galaxy for untold eons.
Enter Barbarella, on a desperate quest to find and convince the Architects that a war with the Unnamable will spell the death of Every. Living. Thing.
Get ready for tension, excitement, espionage, and the secret of how to defeat an empire. Fun, romance, and cosmic adventure beyond the furthest reaches of the galaxy!
Kitsune #1, Scout
Kitsunichi Shimitzu is a ronin, a samurai who has become masterless. After twelve years of absence, he returns to his native lands and discovers that his master’s son is a weak man. Bandits terrorize the population, and strange rumors of a powerful enemy spread. Torn between past mistakes and a chance to redeem himself, Kitsunichi will have to fight for his life.
Chilling Adventures Presents…Betty: The Final Girl #1, Archie Comics
Veronica has invited Betty to her luxurious mountaintop chalet for a cozy weekend of skiing. But their girls weekend is interrupted when Archie shows up and whisks Veronica off on their own snowy romantic adventure. What could go wrong at a fancy remote cabin in the mountains all by herself? Betty’s mind races and she can’t tell fact from fiction as she suddenly realizes she might not be so alone. Is Betty believing too much in the horror movies she’s watched, or is someone (or something) really out to get her? Find out in this BRAND NEW horror anthology one-shot that’s equal parts Scream and When a Stranger Calls.
Madballs vs Garbage Pail Kids: Time Again, Slime Again #1, Dynamite
At the dawn of time, the Earth is ruled by furry, apelike beasts – oh, wait, that’s just Kim Kong! From their neighboring caves, the Cro-Madballs and Neanderthal Pail Kids constantly try to one-up each other! Plus: the star-crossed crush between Hornhead and Scary Carrie triggers war between the Trojan GPK and Greek Madballs!
Grimm Universe Presents Quarterly: Cinderella Fairy World Massacre #1, Zenescope
Cindy is a Serial Killer Princess on a mission…er maybe a little vacation-No. Definitely a mission. As she is now thrust, like a sword through a skull, into the Fairy World, she will stop at nothing…well almost nothing for a bunch of fairy-related murders, but who knows-to get her friend Gerald back. Taking on a bloodthirsty and psychotic being, these fairies don’t know what’s coming for them. Don’t miss this next chapter in Cinderella’s anything but sane journey to find herself… and a raccoon.
Impossible Jones / Holy 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!
Ladydarke #1, Blood Moon
DARKE BEGINNINGS continues! Laura Lenox must raid the tomb of her ancestors to complete her training as LadyDarke, while sinister forces work to awaken a powerful new nemesis! Ghosts, skeletons, ancient secrets, and the debut of hulking villain BLOODFYST all collide in this action-packed second chapter of the LadyDarke saga. Can Laura handle the mantle of the Darke while protecting her family, friends, and saving Slate City from complete destruction? Find out in LadyDarke #2!
Hollowed #1, Keenspot
When the bodies of affluent males start popping up around Buffalo with their insides hollowed out, it’ll take Detectives Tyler and Vasquez to solve the case of The Butcher. One part crime noir, one part buddy comedy, and 100% thrilling, the start of this series is going to open up an adventure that readers will be coming back to again and again. Why are the victims always smiling? How is it that no clues can ever be found at the scene of a crime? What in the Flutie Flakes is going on around here!? All these questions and more will be answered inside the pages of Hollowed!
Carmen Courageous #1, Scout
Nonstop Title! Carmen is a plucky private eye with a taste for trouble who is always on the lookout for a new case. In this action-packed first issue, Carmen tracks down a missing businessman and inadvertently uncovers a conspiracy by the evil Mr. Risk and his gang of creepy crooks!
Tower #1, A Wave Blue World
Real-life contestants battle it out in a video game-style competition to reach the top of the Tower! Casandra, Kimi, and Mac are thrust into a brutal (and seemingly virtual) world where danger lies in wait around every corner. With no time to solve the mystery of where they are or why they’re here, they’ll have to smarten up and join forces if they intend to survive, using their individualized weapons and animal assistants to outsmart deadly traps and ambushes. But loyalties will be tested, as only one (or one team!) can become the ultimate champion!
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