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, May 17, 2023.
New Story Arcs:
End After End #7, Vault
Haven, Part One: Walt, Grink, and Stills track a relic piece-part of an artifact they need to win the war-to Haven, a city protected by a magical shield. Walt finds a way in, but the city’s leaders are unwilling to relinquish the powerful item. An unexpected ally will step forward to assist Walt, but dark forces inside Haven are already working against them.
Notable #1s and One-Shots:
Hulk Annual #1, Marvel
HULK VS. GIGANTO! A documentary crew is on the hunt for a monster at the heart of a gamma radiation leak, but they get much more than they bargained for when they end up on Hulk’s angry side—and caught in the middle of a brawl between two unstoppable giants, as Hulk battles an unleashed Giganto! Plus: A special preview, exclusive to this issue, of the shocking new direction Hulk is headed in this summer!
Titans #1, DC
The Dark Crisis is over, and the Justice League is no more. Now, a new team must rise and protect the Earth…Titans, go! The Teen Titans are ready to grow up. Each member joined as a much younger hero, certain that one day they’d be invited to join the Justice League. But the time has come for them not to join the League…but to replace it! Are the no-longer-teen heroes ready for the big leagues? Danger lurks around every corner as heroes and villains alike challenge the new team before they’ve even begun. Will the DCU ever be the same? Find out in this landmark first issue brought you by the all-star creative team of Tom Taylor (Nightwing, DCeased) and Nicola Scott (Wonder Woman Historia, Earth 2)!
Disney Villains: Maleficent #1, Dynamite
One of Disney’s Greatest Evildoers Stars in a New Epic!
Disney and Dynamite proudly present Maleficent, Queen of the Forbidden Mountain! Her realm is shrouded in darkness, and evil, and full of all things that go bump in the night. Her soul is cold, hardened by a lifetime of small-minded wanderers seeking to steal her powers to satisfy their mortal greed. Her patience wears thin. Her mystical might grows. It is a matter only of time before she descends the mountain and unleashes her horrible magics upon the powerless people below. A stunning vision of villainy from writer and artist Soo Lee!
The Avengers #1, Marvel
ASSEMBLE! JED MACKAY AND STORMBREAKER C.F. VILLA TAKE THE REINS OF EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES! The Star. The Icon. The Witch. The Construct. The God. The Engineer. The King. The world is ever in peril, and a new team of Avengers mobilizes to meet any dangers that dare threaten the planet. But when TERMINUS attacks, a new and insidious danger rears its head: one that the Avengers know all too well, and one that comes to them in the most dangerous of guises—that of a friend.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1, DC
THE WINNING CARD, PART 1 / DOWN WITH THE KINGS, PART 1 / ORDER OF THE BLACK LAMP, PART 1 / HEROES OF TOMORROW
Coming off the spectacular success of Batman – One Bad Day: The Riddler, the Eisner Award-winning team of Tom King and Mitch Gerads reunite for a horrifying four-part retelling of the first bloody clash between The Joker and the Batman. A tale of loathing, lies, and laughter, this may be the most frightening Joker story in a generation.
Superstar artist Dan Mora (Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Detective Comics) makes his writing debut kicking off a new series of Batman Black & White short stories. In a Gotham City overrun by the cybernetic henchmen of The Joker, the only person who can save us is the mysterious motorcycle-riding, bat-costumed hero of urban legend…
The Justice League may be gone, but its enemies aren’t. Who’ll protect the world from the worst of the worst? Ed Brisson (Batman Incorporated) and Jeff Spokes (Wildstorm 30th Anniversary Special) pick up the story started in the Wildstorm 30th Anniversary Special as Director Bones and his new covert StormWatch team travel the globe on black-ops missions to take super-powered weapons of mass destruction off the board. But this is StormWatch, and as always, not all is as it seems. “Down with the Kings” starts here!
In “The Order of the Black Lamp—Part I,” from writer Christopher Cantwell (Co-creator, Halt and Catch Fire, Briar, Marvel’s Iron Man) and artist Javier Rodríguez (Marvel’s Daredevil, The Defenders), Superman finds a decoder ring with a secret message—“Save Me”—which sends him on a quest to solve a mystery with ties to the Man of Steel’s past.
Cyborg #1, DC
When a family emergency brings Cyborg back home to Detroit, Victor Stone surprisingly finds himself enjoying returning to the simpler life–where everybody sees him for who he really is and always was, rather than a larger-than-life superhero. It’s been a while since Vic’s been able to lower his guard and seek a purpose outside of being Cyborg 24/7. But a lot has changed in Detroit while Victor’s been away. An aggressive new company is turning the Motor City into an overclocked engine for revolutionary artificial intelligence…and no one knows better than Cyborg that technological transformation always comes at a steep human price!
The Vigil #1, DC
Continued from Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution #1
/…/
/Who Are The Vigil?
The shipping vessel Eastwind was taken captive by pirates off the coast of Thailand. 24 hours after the crew had been taken hostage, before communications had been established or any demands made, the crew reported an intervention by a group of unknown individuals. Amid other bizarre claims by the crew, are reports of an individual who changed his appearance at will and a woman who seemingly dodged bullets. Once the pirates were taken out, no attempts were made at rescuing the crew.
There have long been rumors rogue metahumans targeting weaponized illegal technology. With some hinting that they call themselves The Vigil. What were they after? Why did they intervene? Are there metas among us?
Stay tuned for more/
/…/
/you are being watched./
Arcade Kings #1, Skybound
ROUND ONE: FIGHT! Joe, a mysterious new face in Infinity City, has suddenly become the hottest new player at the Round House Arcade. Anyone can challenge him, but no one can win. But Joe’s secret past is about to catch up to him when his most formidable challenge yet rolls into town, forcing Joe to combo his powers with a joystick, his fists…and his fighting family legacy!
Writer and artist DYLAN BURNETT (Ant-Man, Cosmic Ghost Rider) unveils a new prestige comics series sensation, perfect for fans of INVINCIBLE and MURDER FALCON.
Dawn of DC: Primer #1, DC
For years, Amanda Waller has seen the heroes of the DC Universe as a dangerous threat that could lead to the end of the world. Ever since Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Amanda Waller has operated in the shadows to collect deadly weapons and to create an army of allies who agree with her. Now she’s forced to bring some of the worst enemies of the DC Universe an offer they can’t refuse.
Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #1, Marvel
DANNY KETCH IS BACK! Flashback to a time when innocent blood was spilled, a Spirit of Vengenace was born, and Danny Ketch found himself transformed into the GHOST RIDER! A gang war is breaking out across New York City, with Ghost Rider caught in the middle! But if it’s just rival gangs killing each other, does Ghost Rider need to get involved? Join us for an untold tale written by Danny Ketch co-creator Howard Mackie and artist Daniel Picciotto!
Red Room: Crypto Killaz #1, Fantagraphics
The media won’t leave Brianna Fairfield alone since her father was arrested and identified as the Steel City Cannibal. But what more sinister forces are also following her? Mistress Pentagram and the Red Room Players return in this all-new, four-issue miniseries from Ed Piskor (X-Men: Grand Design)! Splatterpunk never looked so good! As seen on YouTube’s Cartoonist Kayfabe!
Star Trek: Echoes #1, IDW
When a space anomaly thrusts a bounty hunter and her target-a criminal mastermind-into their universe, it’s up to Kirk and his crew to stop them from unintentionally starting a war with the Romulans and unleashing a superweapon of foreign tech onto the system. But the strangers from another universe are more familiar than they assume for underneath their helmets are their doppelgangers from an alternate reality!
Elvira in Monsterland #1, Dynamite
IT’S MONSTER MOVIE MADNESS AS ELVIRA FACES DRACULA!
What’s scarier than Dracula? ALL THE DRACULAS! Vlad the Impaler is back, and he’s raiding the Multiverse of Movies to build a monster army and conquer the world. And only one woman can stop him! Vampirella! But she’s busy in her own books… so it’s up to Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark, and bane of Vlad’s existence, to stop his evil plan! It’s monster movie madness horror from writer David Avallone (Elvira in Horrorland, Bettie Page: Unbound) and artist Kewber Baal (Vampirella, Red Rising, Red Sonja).
Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1, Dark Horse
One of the last followers of a failing Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, the unassuming Miss Truesdale, finds herself on the receiving end of Brotherhood leader Tefnut Trionus’s final vision. Connecting her life in Victorian London to a young gladiator’s in ancient Hyperborea, Truesdale discovers she now has the chance to change the future by altering the bygone past.
Grit N Gears #1, Blood Moon
The wonders of steampunk technology have reached the old west! It is 1879 and the world is about to meet Ranger ONE, the first self-aware automaton programmed to eradicate crime in the town of Steam’s Eddy. But what happened in the next few years that made the federal government ban the existence of self-aware automatons? And whatever happened to the hero Ranger ONE? There are whispers of a grifter automaton named Screw Driver who’s saving humans and automatons ali-ke. He’s a machine wanted by the law… functional or dismantled.
Dark Spaces: Good Deeds #1, IDW
Scott Snyder’s Dark Spaces anthology line returns with an all-new story and creative team! In search of a fresh start, teenager Cheyenne Collins and her mother, Rebecca, move to St. Augustine, Florida, where they cross paths with Jean McKnight, a disgraced big-city journalist determined to pay her dues and rebuild her career, starting with a fluff piece on the town’s upcoming 450th anniversary celebration.
When the quaint community’s festivities give way to bloodshed and Cheyenne is the sole witness, Jean begins an investigation and the women find themselves at the heart of a supernatural conspiracy linked to St. Augustine’s colonial past. Together, they vow to expose the town’s historical sins, but the deeper Jean digs, the less clear it becomes: Who is Cheyenne Collins, and when does a quest for truth become a thirst for vengeance?
Chilling Adventures Presents… Jinx: A Cursed Life #1, Archie Comics
When Archie and company come looking for her help because Jughead is acting weird, Jinx and her BFF Danni embark on a mission to exorcize Jughead. It’s the two BFFs vs. Satan for the good of humanity — or at the very least, for Jinx to just be free to be a normal 14-year-old girl who just happens to dabble in necromancy and rock ‘n’ roll.
Red Sonja: Pearls Before Swine #1, Dynamite
Red Sonja just wanted to take a breather between her perilous adventures. The Hyrkanian heroine has been up the snow-covered mountains, through the wind-swept valleys, across scorched deserts, and felled an endless number of foes of man and beast. Even the hardest-working adventurers deserve some rest and recuperation. No chance for that though in the life of Red Sonja!
She discovers a band of soldiers, most dead the rest quickly bleeding out. They tell her of a fabled vicious mermaid that watches over a captivating and valuable pearl. With the promise of gold and glory, Sonja sets out to take on this foe – and this isn’t any bright cartoony mermaid! Will she be able to survive this deadly underwater battle? And could there be more to the pearl than its shiny visage lets on?
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