New Comic Book Day:
what's dropping.

Two big Wednesdays back to back this time. The 22nd brings the superhero launch of the year and a genuine round-number milestone on the same day, and the 29th keeps the pressure on with a major crossover chapter. Here's what's actually worth your money, and what I'd leave on the shelf.

Wednesday 22nd July: the highlights

Terminal #1 (Image / Skybound): what's hot

This is the week's real story. Robert Kirkman writing a new superhero series with Joe Casey, and art rotating between Andy Kubert, David Finch and Arthur Adams, is about as stacked a creative team as this hobby produces. It's Kirkman's first superhero work since Invincible, which alone makes it the most-watched debut of the summer. The blind bag variant programme means first prints will be genuinely scarce in places, and a Kirkman-superhero #1 with that kind of pedigree is exactly the profile that becomes a key. If you're only buying one comic this fortnight, this is it, and I'd grab it day one rather than wait.

Action Comics #1100 (DC): milestone watch

Round-number milestones on the title that started the entire medium back in 1938 don't come along often. Expect extra pages, a stack of variant covers and the kind of anniversary treatment DC does well. Milestone issues are a "one copy for the shelf" buy for most collectors rather than a speculation play, since print runs on anniversary issues tend to be generous. Still worth having.

Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers #1 (IDW): what's not

A fun premise, monsters teaming up to escape their own dungeon, but a new licensed #1 in a crowded D&D line needs more than a clever hook to move as a spec book. Read it for the story, don't buy multiples expecting a flip.

Also landing the 22nd

Absolute Superman #21 and Absolute Wonder Woman #22 keep DC's strongest current line moving, Amazing Spider-Man #33 continues Marvel's flagship, and Detective Comics #1111 quietly racks up its own big number the same week Action Comics gets the spotlight. A broad week outside of Terminal, good for catching up on runs.

Wednesday 29th July: the highlights

Queen in Black #2 (Marvel): what's hot

Al Ewing's symbiote event continues, with Hela having seized Knull's throne and Tony Stark assembling twin teams to fight her. Event second issues are where a series proves the first issue's promise wasn't a fluke, and Ewing's Venom and Knull work has been some of Marvel's most consistently strong cosmic writing of the last few years. Tie-ins are stacking up around it too, so if you're collecting the event, budget for more than just the main series.

Ghost Pepper #13 (Image / Skybound)

A new story arc opener for one of Skybound's more purely fun action books. Not a speculation play, but a solid jumping-on point if you've heard people talk about it and never started.

Absolute Green Arrow #3

The Absolute line remains DC's most important current project, and early issues of each title keep getting chased once a run finds its feet. Third issues rarely spike the way a #1 does, but they're the honest, patient way into a line that's shown real staying power.

Also landing the 29th

A steadier week outside of Queen in Black, with a good spread of horror and crime books (Corpse Knight, Excommunicated, Something is Killing the Children) for anyone whose pull list leans that way rather than capes.

My collector's take

If you buy nothing else this fortnight, Terminal #1 is the one with real key potential: a superstar creative team, Kirkman's first superhero work in years, and a variant structure that will thin out first prints. Action Comics #1100 is worth owning but isn't a spec play, treat it as a shelf copy. Queen in Black #2 is the one to watch if you're already following the event, and worth starting now if you're not, since second issues of a strong first are usually the last cheap entry point before word spreads.

And the same advice as always: buy what you'll enjoy reading first. Chasing every variant of Terminal #1 with money you can't afford to lose is how people get burned. One or two copies you're genuinely happy to hold beats a stack you're only holding to flip in six months.

New Comic Book Day rundowns drop here regularly, follow Retro Relics for the picks that matter.