It should have been Tax Day. It should have been New Comic Book Day. Everything is still thrown askew by the coronavirus and we’re still a ways away from things even thinking about returning to normal – whatever normal is for the comic book industry. And who knows if it will ever even happen at this point.
After Diamond Comics stopped distributing new comics the last week of March, forcing APRIL FOOLS DAY to become the first Wednesday without new print comics in a very long time, we’re still in a world where new print comic books are nonexistent. And because of that, digital versions of comic books are on hold for another two weeks. It’s a world without new copies of Superman or Action Comics, without Batman or Detective Comics.
It’s a pretty sad place.
But there are still new comics to be had. Comixology (my preferred e-retailer of funny books) still has new comics from smaller-press publishers, and there are still digital-first comics being released. Unlike LAST WEEK, when I spent zero dollars on new comic books, I decided to pick some things up today. It’s mainly because I just enjoy reading comic books and not having anything loaded on my iPad just feels weird.
So let’s take a look at this week’s comics.
Dark Horse Comics
Bad Luck Chuck (collected edition) – I remember reading the first issue of this limited series from Dark Horse, but the second issue coincided with a huge week where I needed to scale back my purchases some (I have a 10 comic limit for new comics on Wednesdays), so the miniseries got away from me for a bit. But the collected edition is part of a sale at Comixology this week, so I dropped it in my cart and I’m looking forward to giving it a second shot.
DC Comics
Batman: The Adventures Continue 2 – The only “new” book this week is the second issue of the new series from the masterminds of the early-1990s Batman Animated Series. The FIRST ISSUE was a fun reintroduction to a bygone Gotham, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes. And at 99 cents, the issue is a steal.
IDW Comics
G.I. Joe Classics Vol. 13 (collected edition) – For as long as I’ve been buying comics digitally, I’ve been sporadically picking up the original Larry Hama 1980s GI Joe comics that IDW has collected into new editions. It’s amazing how nuanced and involved Hama’s stories about a toy line got over the years, and it’s always fun to revisit a simpler time. No other version of G.I. Joe has come close to being this good, until the latest IDW series from writer PAUL ALLOR (in my humble opinion, of course).
That’s all for this week’s comics check-in. We’re one week closer to things returning to a semblance of normalcy. But until then, how are you getting your comics fix? Let us know in the comments.