Welcome, Wednesday Warriors!
The smell of fresh ink, the crackle of crisp pages, and the promise of new adventures—comic book day is here again. This week, our top picks take us from epic heroics to gripping mysteries, with a little chaos sprinkled in for good measure. So grab your favorite seat and settle in; these are the stories that are worth every cent of your pull list.
Pick of the Week: Justice League Unlimited #1
DC Comics
Release Date: November 27, 2024
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
The Justice League is back, not just as a team but as a force of nature—an unstoppable wave crashing against the walls of a fractured universe. Darkseid is dead, but his shadow lingers, spreading a chill through the DCU. In the power vacuum left behind, chaos breeds like rats in the dark. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, burdened by the weight of a world teetering on the brink, are forced to expand their League beyond anything it has ever been. Every hero who stands for good is called to arms, because the evil they face is no longer just a name—it’s an idea, a cancerous unknown taking root in the heart of existence.
At the center of it all lies Ray Palmer’s Atom Project, a scientific marvel turned Pandora’s box. It’s a race against time, a deadly game where heroes and villains alike gamble for control of metahuman abilities that could tilt the scales of power forever. The League stands at a crossroads, their ideals tested as they chase an enemy who may already be one step ahead. As worlds teeter on the edge of annihilation, the question becomes: can the League stop the storm, or will they drown in it?
And then there’s the last page—a whisper, a promise, a shock to the system that will leave your heart pounding long after you’ve closed the book. This isn’t just the dawn of a new era of justice; it’s the cracking of the cosmic egg, the birth of something dangerous, something wondrous. It all begins here, and you won’t want to miss a second.
2nd Place: Absolute Wonder Woman #2
DC Comics
Release Date: November 27, 2024
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Kelly Thompson and Rachel Sherman have crafted a version of Wonder Woman that doesn’t just step out of myth but stomps through it with earth-shaking authority. Diana’s reimagining as a Princess of the Underworld adds layers of depth and intrigue. She’s not just a hero anymore; she’s a force of nature, an avenger of the oppressed, and now, the only thing standing between humanity and an apocalyptic leviathan.
This isn’t your grandmother’s Wonder Woman, and thank the gods for that. This is a bold reimagining that drags mythology into the modern age, with Diana facing threats as monstrous as the world’s most pressing fears. The Harbinger-Prime is only the beginning, a herald of the mayhem to come. And with Diana leading the charge, we’re in for one hell of a ride.
3rd Place: West Coast Avengers #1
Marvel Comics
Release Date: November 27, 2024
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Danny Kim
ULTRON RETURNS… REDEEMED?
Yes, you read that right—Ultron. The genocidal AI with more daddy issues than a Greek tragedy and a body count higher than a summer blockbuster’s finale. But here he is, promising change. He speaks the words of peace, extends the hand of aid, and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with heroes he once swore to destroy. If it sounds too good to be true, you’re not alone. Spider-Woman and Firestar have questions, and they’re not the only ones. Is this a case of the unlikeliest redemption—or the calm before a cataclysmic betrayal?
The tension is palpable, especially when the other recruits—villains and anti-heroes alike—start questioning their own paths. If Ultron, of all beings, can be redeemed, then maybe there’s hope for them too. But hope, as we know, is a fragile thing, and Hickman doesn’t let us forget it. Doubts bubble under every conversation, every uneasy alliance. It’s a powder keg waiting for a spark.
This isn’t just another Avengers tale. It’s a psychological dance on the edge of a blade, a story that dares to ask the biggest question of all: what happens when the monster tries to be the hero? And perhaps even more chilling: what if he succeeds?
4th Place: The Serpent in the Garden: Ed Grey and the Last Battle for England #1
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 27, 2024
Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Ben Stenbeck
When the world lies in ruins, and the final scraps of humanity cling to what remains, who do you summon? Alice, queen of the last bastion of civilization, knows the answer. She calls for Ed Grey, Witchfinder—a man forged in the crucible of darkness and despair, a man who knows that the fight against evil is never clean, never easy, and never truly over. Grey is summoned not just to defend her kingdom but to stand against Morgan Le Fay and her ominous champion in what can only be called the final standoff. The stakes? England’s survival, perhaps humanity’s last flicker of hope, teeters on the edge of annihilation.
This tale, as bleak as the broken world it inhabits, comes from the fertile, macabre mind of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, a master of weaving stories that crawl under your skin and linger there. Paired with the evocative artistry of Ben Stenbeck, who paints despair and courage with the same brushstroke, the narrative unfolds like an ancient legend retold at a dying fire’s embers. The story doesn’t just drip with atmosphere—it floods the senses, pulling you into a land where magic, ruin, and unyielding grit clash violently.
But what makes this tale sing is its finality. This is not the first chapter of an epic but the last page of a long and bloody history. For Grey, for Alice, and for the world itself, this is the moment of reckoning. Mignola and Stenbeck deliver a tale that doesn’t just ask if good can triumph over evil—it demands to know what sacrifices must be made, what cost must be paid, when the end of the world is the starting line.
Honorable Mention: Murder Kingdom #2
Mad Cave Studios
Release Date: November 27, 2024
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Francesca Fantini
The Storybook Kingdom amusement park should have been a place of joy—a glittering wonderland where fairy tales come alive. But in the shadow of its sugar-coated walls, something dark festers. The murders, gruesome and theatrical, tear through the park’s carefully curated fantasy like claws through silk. Blood-soaked crimes staged like twisted parodies of beloved tales. Prince Prince Charming—yes, that’s really his name—and the Queen’s Guard are less concerned with justice than keeping the gates open and the cash flowing. Their solution? Sweep it all under the nearest magic carpet.
But Princess-Detective Tanith isn’t one to let nightmares hide behind candy-colored facades. With nerves of steel and a mind for justice, she ventures alone into the Spooky Forest, that part of the park where no child lingers too long. What she finds there is worse than whispers and shadows. It’s a horror that walks—a masked killer who knows the layout of Dracula’s Castle as intimately as Tanith knows the rulebook she’s about to break. Steel meets darkness in those haunted halls, and Tanith discovers the boundary between fantasy and survival is razor-thin.
As Tanith fights for her life in the castle’s cursed depths, the stakes become clear: this isn’t just a tale of good versus evil. It’s a battle against the rot in the heart of Storybook Kingdom itself. A carnival of horrors, as chilling as it is captivating, this dark tale reminds us that not all stories have happy endings—especially not the ones written in blood.
As Thanksgiving week unfolds, these comics are the perfect indulgence—a feast for the imagination to pair with your pumpkin pie. Between the heroics, mysteries, and moments that catch you off guard, they offer a kind of gratitude we comic lovers know well: the joy of getting lost in stories that make us feel alive. So as you settle in, surrounded by family, friends, or just the quiet hum of your own thoughts, take a moment to savor these tales. They’re the treat you didn’t know you needed.
Read this article and more at August Tales Comics. Your go-to site for trade paperback exchanges and comic book news! Trade. Read. Repeat.
#comics #comicbooks #graphicnovel #graphicnovels #augusttales
