Welcome to a week of change at Challengers! It’s the first week we’ll be getting Marvel Comics from someone other than Diamond Comic Distributors since we opened! It feels like it’s a little bit lighter of a week, probably to make it easier on the new distributor, but it’s still full of plenty of great New Comic Goodness!
There’s also another big change in store, but for that you’ll either have to come in or listen to next week’s podcast (Episdoe #553)...

     —SPOTLIGHT BOOK—
•RIGHTEOUS THIRST FOR VENGEANCE #1
When an unassuming man stumbles upon a dark-web contract assassin's vicious plot to kill an innocent target, he turns himself into one. The Professional meets Road to Perdition in this story of a family's unlikely guardian being hunted by rich and powerful men who are used to getting away with everything. Join RICK REMENDER and ANDRÉ ARAÚJO for a uniquely atmospheric murder mystery with sudden bouts of brutal violence.

     —NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL OF NOTE—
•SCARENTHOOD (IDW)
TO-DO LIST: Drop kids at preschool; Grab coffee with other parents; Go ghost-hunting in woods; Fight demonic entity; Collect kids; Nap time. What's scarier: fighting demons or letting your kids down? That's what a group of parents will find out as their plans to solve the school's long standing mystery lead to one parenting nightmare after another!

     —NEW COMICS OF NOTE—
•AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #75
Spidey is back to thrice-monthly because this story is pure jet fuel. Ben Reilly has returned to NYC and has fully taken back the mantle of Spider-Man, but what does this mean for Peter Parker? The greatest team of web-writers has come together with the most epic arachnid-artists ever assembled to bring you a Spider-story that will shake up Spider-Man's 59th year in ways you CANNOT PREDICT!

•ARE YOU AFRAID OF DARKSEID #1
Gather ’round the fire, fellow campers, because it’s time for that most terrifying of traditions—campfire stories so scary you’ll never sleep without a night-light again! The Teen Titans guide those brave enough through tales of Batman and the hidden killer, Superman and Lois Lane and the killer in their back seat, Harley Quinn and Darkseid versus a furious Bloody Mary, and more stories so hair-raising you’ll call your momma to come pick you up.

•ARKHAM CITY ORDER OF THE WORLD #1
The attack on Arkham Asylum left the long-standing Gotham establishment in ruin, most of the patients killed or missing, and only a handful of surviving staff—a few nurses, a gravely injured security guard, and one doctor. In the chaos of the assault, it is believed that several of the asylum’s patients escaped and scurried off into the dark nooks and crannies of Gotham City. Now, these Arkhamites walk among us, and it’s up to the Asylum’s one remaining doctor, Jocasta Joy, to round up her former patients.

•CHICKEN DEVIL #1
Mitchell Moss is about as regular as it gets. He's married with two children, and co-owns a successful chain of Memphis Hot Chicken restaurants. It's not the life that screams hero/vigilante...until he discovers that his business partner is in bed with the mob and owes them $2 million. Unfortunately, Mitch is ill-equipped to be a badass-he's just a guy who makes really good chicken. Can he protect his family from cold-blooded gangsters? Absolutely not. But maybe the CHICKEN DEVIL can...

•DIRTBAG RAPTURE #1
She's stoned. She's selfish. She's all that stands between us and the end of the world. Where do you go when you die? Kat, a stoner with a flexible moral code, can answer that, and the answer is: not very far. Unfortunately for Kat's peace of mind, a near-death experience has left her with the ability to see and hear ghosts, as well as take them into her "mindscape" so she can bring them to locations of their choosing, essentially playing transporter to the deceased.

•OUT #1
In the waning days of World War Two, with the Allies advancing, a desperate Nazi officer unearths an ancient force of evil that he hopes will turn the tide of battle: a vampire. To test the power of his secret weapon, he unleashes the monster on an unsuspecting group of Allied POWs. It's up to Nocona, a Comanche language expert, to communicate with the vampire to find out what it really wants.

•SOUL PLUMBER #1
From the creators of The Last Podcast On The Left. After attending a seminar hosted in a hotel conference room by a mysterious group called the Soul Plumbers, Edgar Wiggins, disgraced former seminary school student, discovers what he thinks is the secret to delivering souls from the thrall of Satan. But after stealing the blueprints and building the machine himself, out of whatever he can afford from his salary as a gas station attendant, Edgar misses the demon and instead pulls out an inter-dimensional alien with dire consequences for all of mankind.

The most anticipated X-Men book since House of X #1 is out this week in INFERNO #1, the start of Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men swan song. Plus, collections for Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR, The Good Asian and HAHA. And the return of DC’s Fables universe via a wolf in Gotham City!

     —SPOTLIGHT BOOK—
•INFERNO #1 (Marvel)
THE CULMINATION OF JONATHAN HICKMAN'S X-MEN BEGINS HERE! "There will be an island-not the first, but the last..." Promises were made and broken. The rulers of Krakoa have been playing a dangerous game with a dangerous woman, and they are about to see how badly that can burn them. Mastermind of the X-Men JONATHAN HICKMAN brings his plans to a head, joined by an incredible lineup of artists beginning with VALERIO SCHITI... as one woman follows through on her promise to burn the nation of Krakoa to the ground.

     —NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL OF NOTE—
•GOOD ASIAN VOL 01 (Image)
COLLECTS THE GOOD ASIAN #1-4. Following Edison Hark-a haunted, self-loathing Chinese-American detective-on the trail of a killer in 1936 Chinatown, THE GOOD ASIAN is Chinatown noir starring the first generation of Americans to come of age under an immigration ban, the Chinese, as they're besieged by rampant murders, abusive police, and a world that seemingly never changes. Highly Recommended!

     —NEW COMICS OF NOTE—
•10 YEARS TO DEATH ONE-SHOT (Aftershock)
The Shawshank Redemption meets The Sixth Sense, inspired by an eerily bone-chilling true story. A newly-hired prison guard, a notorious mass murderer finally incarcerated for his crimes, and the death that binds them together. What happens when the murdered becomes the murderer? A prestige format "One-Shock" by Aaron Douglas ("Chief" from the iconic TV series Battlestar Galactica), and drawn by Cliff Richards.

•BATMAN VS BIGBY A WOLF IN GOTHAM #1 (DC)
Worlds collide as a Gotham mystery kick-starts a return to the world of Fables! Batman vs Bigby and the return of the Fables universe!

•DEATHSTROKE INC #1 (DC)
After suffering too many losses, Slade Wilson decides it’s time for a change. When he’s enlisted to work with an ages-old secret organization called T.R.U.S.T. who want to take down the heavy-hitter villains, he’s all in. They’ll supply him with an all-new team and resources for his new mission into the depths of the weirdest parts of the DCU, including a new partner…Black Canary!

•ECHOLANDS RAW CUT ED #1 (Image)
Each issue of ECHOLANDS will offer a Raw Cut Edition, featuring the art from J. H. WILLIAMS III as it looked leaving his work studio. And we've kept the lettering intact in a translucent form. ECHOLANDS is a landscape-format mythic-fiction epic where anything is possible-a fast-paced genre mashup adventure that combines everything from horror movie vampires to classic mobsters and cyborg elves to Roman demigods and retro rocket ships.

•HUMAN REMAINS #1 (Vault)
Dax and Bisa love each other. But in this new and terrifying world, love is dangerous. Feeling anything is dangerous. Earth has new and terrible invader-monsters that deprive us of the very feelings that make us human. A shocking tale of pent-up emotions, perilously loud sex, and forced compsure in the face of unspeakable horror...from Peter Milligan and breakout horror artist Sally Cantirino.

•STRANGER THINGS TOMB OF YBWEN #1 (Dark Horse)
It's January 1985 the Hawkins crew survived their battle with the mind flayer, but Will and Joyce are still reeling from the recent death of Bob Newby. Will's friends have been too busy with their girlfriends to notice how much he is struggling. After he and Mr. Clarke discover a mysterious map Bob left in a box of old nerdy memorabilia, Will rallies the crew to investigate. 

A new issue of NIGHTWING (the best super-hero comic on the stands today) is out this week; Reptil #4 has a sweet MARIA WOLF variant cover; Arielle Agbayani, the campus Captain America, debuts in UNITED STATES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA #4; and so much more happens in all the other great NEW COMICS and GRAPHIC NOVELS of the week!

      —SPOTLIGHT BOOK—
•HE WHO FIGHTS WITH MONSTERS #1 (Ablaze)
From the artist of the bestselling Something is Killing the Children. On All Hallows' Eve during World War 2, a community struggles under the boot of the Nazi war machine when supernatural forces come to play a part in the conflict! With the ruthless SS tightening their grip on every street and neighborhood with overwhelming might, only one hope feeds the struggle. A crazy hope, which rests on the fragile foundations of an ancient, monstrous legend...

     —NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL OF NOTE—
•WRASSLE CASTLE BOOK 01 (Vault)
Lydia Riverthane has always dreamed of being a professional wrassler, the greatest of all fighters in the kingdom of Grimslade. But when her brother is mysteriously arrested for treason, Lydia and her friends must find a way into the year-end tournament. There she can win back his freedom the only way she knows how...wrassling!

     —NEW COMICS OF NOTE—
•AQUAMAN THE BECOMING #1 (DC)
Jackson Hyde finally has it all. Well, he had it all—until half of the Atlantean palace got blown to kingdom come with Jackson in it. Now Jackson stands accused of wrecking the life he worked so hard to build. Aqualad’s going to need all of his skills, wit, and cunning just to prove his own innocence, let alone graduate from sidekick to Aquaman!

•BATMAN SECRET FILES MIRACLE MOLLY #1 (DC)
Discover what led a regular Gothamite to reject their past, name, and humanity to embrace the promise of a blank slate—the promise of the Unsanity Collective! Batman series writer James Tynion IV teams up with rising superstar artist Dani to bring you all the way back to the beginning of Miracle Molly in this exciting and integral Fear State special.

•DEATH OF DOCTOR STRANGE #1 (Marvel)
Doctor Stephen Strange is the world's greatest neurosurgeon and Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. He defends our planet from the supernatural and interdimensional threats no other hero is equipped to handle. But what would happen if he unexpectedly died? Who would protect Earth and keep the mystical evils at bay? And most importantly...who killed Stephen Strange?! The final chapter in the life of Doctor Strange starts here by Jed MacKay (Moon Knight, Black Cat) and Lee Garbett (Captain Marvel)!

•FRONTIERSMAN #1 (Image)
Patrick Kindlon & Marco Ferrari retunite for an all-new ONGOING SERIES at Image! Classic Green Arrow-style adventure blends with the thoughtfulness of Concrete in a superhero odyssey for mature, but uncynical, readers! Frontiersman is coaxed out of retirement by an environmentalist group, only to find that being a spokesperson makes him a target for old and new enemies alike! For the superhero reader looking for more.

•IMPOSSIBLE JONES #1 (Scout)
The grin gritty origin of comics' newest sensation! A thief gets powers, is mistaken for a superhero... and runs with it! With no intention of giving up her criminal ways, mind you! (With these powers? You crazy?!) All she has todo is fool all of the people all of the time! It's not impossible - it's Impossible Jones! Full throttle thrills by Karl Kesel (Harley Quinn) and David Hahn (Batman '66).

•STAR WARS ADV GHOST VADERS CASTLE #1 (IDW)
Join Cavan Scott, Francesco Francavilla, and a host of classic Star Wars artists in the epic conclusion to the Vader's Castle saga! Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle is a horror-packed, star-studded, five-week event guaranteed to haunt your dreams. In issue #1, life is looking up for Lina and Milo Graf and Crater, but Milo has been having nightmares... about zombie droids! Find out what's causing these dreams and if Milo can handle being haunted by the GHOSTS OF VADER'S CASTLE.

•SUICIDE SQUAD KING SHARK #1 (DC)
On leave from the Suicide Squad, King Shark and unfortunate tagalong the Defacer get swept into a mystical tournament for totemic animal spirits at the behest of King Shark’s father, the god of sharks! Now King Shark must battle brutal warriors like Queen Tiger, King Roach, Prince Nematode, Princess Peregrine, and the terrifying Man King to finally attain his destiny and make his dour dad proud!

•X-MEN ONSLAUGHT REVELATION #1 (Marvel)
You have strayed from THE WAY OF X. The X-Men's greatest foe, mutantkind's primal evil, slithers in the minds of its most senior leaders... The kids whisper of the CRUCI-BALL: a party to end everything. The seals are broken, the trumpets have sounded; only a small band of eccentric mutants can hope to break the fall... Can Nightcrawler light the spark that will drive out the shadows... or will Krakoa slip into the abyss...?