We did it folks! We're almost to the end of the year. Hold fast and hang on tight, because this comics look-ahead guide is a double-header. We've got all of our recommendations for books arriving in November and December ready and waiting, with contributions from Ko, Sloane, Elise, Madi, and V! So read on to discover everything we've got in store for you.
Reviews and Recommendations
As one might expect for a look ahead for two months worth of books, we've got a lot to talk about. There's everything from a new Avengers title, to the return of Power Fantasy, an entire new line-up of X-Books, a new Daniel Warren Johnson title, and more. Not to mention all the cool one-shots and graphic novels we found. Have a look through and check out our recommendations. We're sure you'll find something for you here.
Quick reminder: If you see something you want you can always reach out to us and ask us about ordering it or setting it aside for you, or head over to our subscription page and add it to your pull (you can also use this to put yourself down for any fancy variants you see)! Anything in these look aheads are ready for you to order.
Avengers
Marvel Comics
By Chip Zdarsky (writer) and Marco Cecchetto (artist)
For the last year since Matt Fraction’s Batman started coming out I have been a broken record saying over and over again, “I don’t usually read superhero books BUT–”. First it was Absolute Wonder Woman, then Batman, then Daredevil. At some point I need to admit to myself that I just do read superhero books now. I’m not too cool. I’m exactly like other girls. When I read the first volume of Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run last year two things happened: first, it instantly became one of my favorite single volumes of a comic that I’ve ever read. Second, I got too scared to read the rest of the series because the first volume was so perfect I was worried it wouldn’t live up to that start. Idk man my brain is a weird place to live.
You can imagine my surprise and excitement when I learned that Chip Zdarsky and Marco Cecchetto would be collaborating again on this book AND Daredevil would be in it. As a sort of newbie Avengers reader this team lineup also looks crazy to me? Daredevil, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Luke Cage and… somebody else who has not been named [Editor's Note: That's Miracleman!]. I’ve heard that this is somewhat similar to the early 2000’s New Avengers lineup but like I said, I’m a fake fan and this is my first Avengers book I’ve ever subscribed to. This book will be coming out hot on the heels of Zdarsky’s explosive Avengers Armageddon series which aims to really shake up the status quo. Overall it’s a creative team I’m really excited for and Zdarsky’s been on a hot streak with Marvel for the last year so I’m hoping this will be a good spring board to get me into the Avengers.
- Elise
Jessica Jones: Alias
Marvel Comics
By Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Michael Gaydos (artist)
My main complaint about Alias: Red Band, which came out earlier this year (and I was a little let down by) was that they didn’t get the vibes right. Jessica Jones was in many ways still her usual hot mess self, but something about the writing and the art didn’t quite line up with what I expected from an Alias book. It wasn’t giving “noir detective story” in the way that I wanted it to – it was just another generic Marvel comic. And without properly capturing the mood it lost me pretty quickly.
You know who will get the mood right on a Jessica Jones comic though? Her original creators, that’s who! Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos are back at Marvel for a 25th anniversary tribute to character’s first appearance back in 2001. (This is especially big news after Bendis has been away from Marvel for almost a decade doing other projects.) It’s a five issue mini-series set after the recent Avengers: Armageddon event, where Luke Cage is no longer the mayor of New York, and Jessica is no longer its first lady. Jessica takes a case to find a missing child and it takes her to Latveria, the Savage Land, and beyond – and in classic Jessica Jones fashion, she also immediately blows up her entire life while she’s trying to solve it.
In talking about returning to the character, Bendis has mentioned how personal Jessica is, and how she’s grown as a character just as he’s grown as a writer and person. Which makes sense. She’s a mom and a wife now, just like Bendis is… well, whatever grown up stuff he’s doing now. I’m not gonna engage in parasocial behavior by pretending like his personal life is my business. I’m excited to see where this more grown up version of Jessica takes us.
- Sloane
Power Fantasy #17
Image Comics
By Kieron Gillen (writer) and Caspar Wijngaard (artist)
Power Fantasy is back!! Lock in!! After a significant (but well-earned) hiatus my heroes Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard are back with what has remained one of my top-three ongoing series, if not my favorite overall. Power Fantasy has been a store favorite and an extremely consistent recommend from everyone behind the counter for its entire run, and given the immensely compelling situation we were left off with at the end of of #16, I doubt that will be changing any time soon.
For those who shop here and have somehow avoided any one of us raving about how good this series is, I’ve been describing it as a mature and realistic superhero story where “mature” does not mean the standard “there’s lots of gore.” There is some, a couple guys get turned into goo balls by gravity powers, but that’s beside the point. I see Power Fantasy as more in line with something like Watchmen, where the politics of power is the core focus. Six super-powered people fill the role of nuclear threats more than benevolent heroes, and to make matters worse none of them like each other very much.
The first three-volume arc of Power Fantasy is one of the first things I recommend in the store, and everyone here has been waiting for close to a year for the next chapter of this excellent series. If you haven’t read it before, now’s an excellent time to jump in!
- Madison
New X-Books!
Marvel Comics
The X-Line’s big summer / fall event, DNX, is finishing up in November. Which means there’s time and room for some new status quo shifting titles to hit the shelves. There are four this time around, two for November and two for December, and the lineups look pretty great for all of them. These will join the two ongoing books (Uncanny and adjectiveless Men) that comprise the core line going forward.
X-Orcists (Ashley Allen / German Peralta)
Maybe the one I’m most excited for. X-Orcsists puts Magik, Madelyne Prior, and the Juggernaut together for some deeply spooky mutant magic adventures. We don’t have the full team roster yet, but these three characters alone are big fan faves who could easily command a solo series before (some of whom have). Of all the books debuting in the next few months, this is the one I’m most confident in. Ashley’s written Magik before and her recent stint with the character was well received, as was her tenure on the Moonstar five-issue mini earlier this year.
Jean Grey (Jed Mackay / Roge Antonio)
Having finished her journey through the cosmos as Phoenix, Jean returns to earth this winter in a series that appears to pull the character back to her telepathic and telekinetic basics, and I think I’m here for that. Don’t get me wrong - Phoenix is and probably always will be my favorite form for Jean. That said, writing a cosmic entity is tough to do all the time, and there’s a limit to how you can challenge a character who can go toe to toe with threats like Galactus and Thanos. Bringing Jean back down to the mortal realm for a while may just be the best thing for her, and I trust Jed Mackay to write her well and Roge Antonio to make her look good doing it.
Maximum X-Men (Christofer Yost / Tony Daniel)
I know I said I was most confident about X-Orcsists, but Maximum X-Men is the book amongst this line-up that I’m maybe most excited for. Christopher Yost and Tony Daniel are a great team together, and the line-up feels very much of an era of X-Men. The team lineup here of Storm, Colossus, Captain Britain (Betsy Braddock), Wolverine, Bishop, Iceman, Firestar and Justice(?!) looks like a fascinating team line-up to read about. This book is giving somewhere between “Muir Island X-Men” and “X-Men trying to be Avengers” based on the ad-copy I’ve been reading and I’m kinda down for it.
Fugitive X-Force (Tim Seeley / Athilla Fabio)
And for those of us who want some mutants on the outskirts, I think Tim Seeley’s Fugitive X-Force is gonna fit the bill nicely. A team made up of Daken, Archangel, Ms Marvel, and Boom Boom (as team leader no less) has a very specific feel. And that feel is edgy and dark, two things Tim Seeley excels at. I’m not wild at the idea of Kamala on the team, but I’m oddly curious about how her inclusion will play out if that make sense?
- Ko
Vampire on Aisle 6
Image Comics
By Zoe Thorogood (Writer and Artist) and Joe Whiteford (Story)
Zoe Thorogood knows how to make comics good and basically any time she has an original comic I want to read it. While this one’s story isn’t fully original – it’s an idea from her now-husband, the guy who was represented by the frankly creepy cat dude in It’s Lonely At the Center of the Earth (if you know, you know) – there’s enough of her in it that it absolutely feels like a Thorogood book, and I am excited.
The preview pages for this are bonkers. They’re Thorogood at her most engaging, with weird panel layouts and fun designs. Exactly the kind of stuff that made Lonely the hit that it was, and that I had hoped for more of in Hack/Slash. The plot involves a young man who’s bitten by a customer while working his dead-end job at a mascot themed superstore, and the weird symptoms he experiences afterwards, including the traditional vampiric aversion to sunlight and taste for human flesh, but also strange, psychedelic visuals – being turned into a vampire comes with a free acid trip, apparently. It’s hard to say where the plot’s going for the book’s sparse preview pages, but Thorogood’s work is so vibes forward and visually interesting, whichever direction she decides to take this journey will be a treat to read.
- Sloane
Chainkata
Image Comics
By Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer (writer) and Daniel Warren Johnson (artist)
I think it’s really funny that chainsaws as weapons have become cemented in the “heavy metal” aesthetic. Doom, Warhammer 40,000, Evil Dead and so many others really love the depiction of a chainsaw gorily tearing through the evil pulp of whatever bad guy abomination is in the way of the wielder. The humor in that is at least partially helped by the fact that a chainsaw is just kinda dumb to use as a weapon over something like, a sword. But it’s awesome. Chainsaws are pretty awesome! And it really does not take much to convince me to read a comic about a chainsword-wielding, headband-wearing warrior space-queen.
Daniel Warren Johnson’s Do a Power Bomb! And Wonder Woman: Dead Earth have been some of my favorite recent reads, and I think he really has a knack for making over-the-top or fantastical scenarios interesting outside of just being a fun idea. On top of that, I am a big fan of his art in all of his books. Bold lines and sketchy shading really put me in the mind of some of my other favorite artists like Dan McDaid and Tom Parkinson-Morgan. I always find myself staying on pages I’ve long since finished reading just to look at all the little details DWJ puts in things, and I’m sure I’ll be doing the same with Chainkata once the first issue comes out!
- Madison
Vampire Hunter D: Fortress of Blood
Dark Horse Comics
By Chris Condon & Hideyuki Kikuchi (writer) and Filipe Andrade (artist)
Oh my God. I LOVE Vampire Hunter D. Far-future space mutant vampires and vampire hunters in the style of shonen like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Dragon Ball?? I honestly can’t get enough, and if you haven’t seen the 1985 movie, do yourself a favor and make some time to do so. It is so, so worth it. For the uninitiated, Vampire Hunter D is set 10,000 years in the future, where a post-apocalyptic earth hosts millenia-old vampires who seek to control the ruins of an Earth scarred by ancient nuclear war. D is a half-human, half-vampire vampire hunter, with all the melodramatic identity crises that entails. It’s a masterwork blend of pulp sci-fi, western and fantasy, wrapped beautifully in a package of shonen fun that delights my idiot inner child.
Chris Condon (That Texas Blood, Of The Earth) I think is a great choice to be on as a writer for a pulpy post-apocalypse store like Vampire Hunter D, and I’m really excited to see what ideas he brings to the table along with Hideyuki Kikuchi’s original story idea. This will be an unexpected early Christmas gift for me personally, and I’ll be looking forward to each issue of this 4-issue run.
- Madison
Creature Corps
Image Comics
By Curt Pires (writer) and Jok (artist)
Have you ever heard of Pokemon? Silly question I’m sure. Well have you ever thought to yourself “Geez, the glorification of creatures battling for sport is kinda messed up isn’t it?” Creature Corps explores exactly this question! Step into the footsteps of Dusty Gotem- a Creature Corps world champion who earned his title at 14 years old, before turning away from the sport in disgust. 17 years later he’s dragged back into the fray after a “time quake” leaves his mother hospitalized and facing massive medical bills. Naturally, there is only one path to salvation. Dusty must reunite his former team, and reclaim his title as Creature Corps world champion.
Join writer Curt Pines (Lost Fantasy, Fireborn) and artist Jok (51, The Body Trade) in this irreverent romp through a satirical, creature-centric world. Jok’s uniquely eclectic art style is on full display here, with a host of glorbos, glup shittos, and little guys to see in action. I think Dusty’s tired attitude as a former champion will click perfectly with anyone who remembers their glory days as a pokemon trainer. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how this team continues to play with the classic creature-battling trope!
- V
Magic: The Gathering: The Mage of Zhalfir
Dark Horse Comics
By Ray Fawkes (writer) and Rahpa Lobosco & Paris Alleyne (artists)
Teferi Akosa is known by many names - Master of Time, Hero of Dominaria, Student of Urza and both Father and Destroyer of Zhalfir. I am so excited for this comic! Absolutely mandatory reading for any fans of the Magic the Gathering lore, Teferi is one of the most prominent and powerful mages of both new and old, and this ongoing series promises previously unimaginable accounts of his life and journeys. Of course, a story about Teferi could not be complete without the great enemy of the multiverse, the biomechanical monstrosities known as the Phyrexians. From the precious few available preview pages, this comic promises to go back to the beginning, starting with Teferi’s early scholarship under Urza at the Tolarian Academy. For me one of the greatest joys of this series is the vast breadth of material to draw upon. What will we see of the upcoming Phyrexian invasion? The temporal displacement of Zhalfir? Maybe the great Planeswalker war? None can say for certain, but I can assure you I will be keeping up with every issue to find out!
- V
The Princess Murders
Image Comics
By Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley
Once upon a time, Princess Lottie and her wicked stepsister Edwige arrived in the land of Sardinia to compete for the hand of the charming Prince Carlo. And then the murders started! Now the princesses must navigate cutthroat royal politics and even more cutthroat killers in this campy yet self-aware fairytale slasher. The Princess Murders seeks to combine a charming self-awareness of the animated fairytale princess genre with the bloody camp of your favorite slashers. I’m thinking Princess Bride meets Cabin in the Woods. Tony Fleecs (Feral, Stray Dogs) and Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash) promise dark humor, satire, and plenty of slasher fun in this self described “Princess Giallo” title. A perfect read for anyone who enjoyed D’Orc, I Hate Fairyland, or Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.
-V
One-Shots & Graphic Novels
Bitter Pill
Abrams Comic Arts
By Clement Xavier (writer) and Heloise Chochois (artist)
Anyone who knows anything about the history of the LGBTQ rights movement knows how much the AIDS crisis affected not only gay men, but our entire community. In many ways, the American queer rights movement was still in its early stages in 1981. The stonewall riots had taken place only twelve years ago, and it had been only three years since Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States and was then tragically assassinated. When a strange disease that seemed to only affect gay men began to spread across the country, the first openly gay reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle Randy Schilts was desperately trying to piece together what was happening in his fledgling community.
Queer history has always been important to me – you can’t understand where you’re going without knowing where you’ve been, after all – and what’s always struck me about this time in our history was how scary it was not fully understanding what was happening as AIDS ripped apart a community of people that had only just begun to establish itself out in the open. French comics writer Clement Xavier paints a portrait not only of this particular time and place, but also of a man who is doing his best to make sense of things and shed light on a growing crisis. Though his journalism was divisive (for different reasons) both then and now, Randy Schilts was ultimately someone doing his best to protect his community from a danger the extent of which no one fully knew. From the interviews and preview pages I’ve read, it seems like Xavier’s bringing a thoughtful and nuanced touch to this biography, and I’m really interested to see what he has to say about this complicated time and man.
- Sloane
Scott Pilgrim: Dawn of Metal Scott
Oni Press
By Bryan Lee O’Malley (writer and artist)
Bryan Lee O’Malley writing Scott Pilgrim again in the big year of 2026 is such a throwback. I’m especially excited because this seems like a fun little interstitial between the recent Netflix show Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and the upcoming game Scott Pilgrim EX. It sees Scott and Ramona living their version of a happily ever after as things start to get weird around Toronto. There’s a weird robot clone of Scott running around? The Evil Exes have all moved on and don’t seem to be to blame? What is happening??
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off really caught me by surprise when it came out as someone who was expecting a straight forward readaptation. It was really interesting and cathartic as someone who read Scott Pilgrim as a young person to get to engage with the story and characters in a new way. O’Malley has talked about not being a shitty 20-something anymore and not wanting to retread that same ground so instead we got a story made by someone in their 30’s for people in their thirties that was exploring those same characters and concepts from new angles. I’m just happy to see him still playing around with these characters and having fun and trying new things even all these years later. This is a pretty short little one shot (with some behind the scenes back matter from what I can tell) and even though it’s ultimately promo for a game I’ll never play I’m still excited to read it.
- Elise
Adventure Time: Bonnie the Vampire Hunter Special
Oni Press
By Caroline Cash (writer and artist) and Tia Roxae (artist)
Caroline Cash (Peepee Poopoo, Nancy) is writing more Bubbline!! This is not a drill!!!! After the fantastic Bubbline College Special last year I could not be more excited to see her take on more of these two little freaks. I wish I could get paid to write a toxic yuri, vampire hunter, enemies to lovers, Bubbline AU fanfiction as my job. Instead I guess they’re paying to me write about writing about it (thanks Ko 👋). This self-contained alternate universe story will follow Bonnibel Bubblegum on her life’s mission to eradicate the world of vampires and sees her teaming up with an unlikely ally in the form of… a vampire? That can’t be right. No, it says here she’s teaming up with an “extremely pretty, extremely kissable vampire.”
Caroline Cash has shown how good she is with these characters and her sense of humor fits in perfectly with this setting. She perfectly captures the energy of two stubborn, headstrong girls who don’t want to like each other but do anyway. Even when they’re being a little mean about it. She’ll be working with Tia Roxae who I am actually not familiar with but I trust Cash’s choice in collaborators implicitly. Overall I’m very excited for this book and I can’t wait for it to hit shelves in November.
- Elise
Upcoming Comic Catalogs
Wondering where we find all of these books? We go through a number of upcoming comic book catalogs, which you can find below. If you want to do some digging for something we might have missed, please have a look! If you find anything you want, just head over to our subscription page to place a preorder or update your subscription.
(Quick word of caution - the Next Phase catalogs are very large and may take a while to download!)
September Comic Catalogs (November Releases)
DC | Marvel | Image | Dark Horse | DSTLRY | IDW | Boom | Oni | Titan | PRH Panels | Next Phase
October Comic Catalogs (December Releases)
DC | Marvel | Image | Dark Horse | Drawn & Quarterly | DSTLRY | IDW | Boom | Oni Press | Titan | PRH Panels | Next Phase
And that’s a wrap for November and December! Thank you for reading, and we hope that a couple of these books piqued your interest. In our continued attempts to get out ahead of ourselves, we’ll have our January 2027 look-aheads out next month, with our end of year / best-of retrospective blog out in December. In the meantime If you see something you want please reach out to us and ask us about ordering it or setting it aside for you!