Dream, Death, and the rest of the Endless are back in Neil Gaiman’s much-anticipated prequel to his classic Vertigo series in The Sandman: Overture #1. But if there’s one reason you need to read it, it’s for J.H. Williams III’s amazing art, which is perfectly suited to Gaiman’s tale. Plus Marvel gets ready for a Cataclysm, Ash of Army of Darkness returns and more, in this week’s comics!


New Issues

Dark Horse:

• Astounding Villain House: Four tales of dumb supervillains and the house they jointly live in.


• The Raven and the Red Death: Richard Corben adapts two of Poe’s most famous short stories.

• Other releases: 1-for-$1 Baltimore: The Plague Ships, Blood Brothers #3, Captain Midnight #4, Criminal Macabre: The Eyes of Frankenstein #2, Itty Bitty Hellboy #3, King Conan: Hour of the Dragon #5, Star Wars: Dark Times: The Spark Remains #4, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #5.

DC:

• The Sandman: Overture #1: Neil Gaiman returns to his most famous comics creation to reveal how Dream ended up imprisoned in Sandman #1.


• Forever Evil: Argus #1: Steve Trevor and the surviving agents of ARGUS take the fight to the Crime Syndicate.

• Damian, Son of Batman #1: Damian Wayne is a teenaged Robin in this alternate DC reality.


• Other releases: Action Comics Annual #1, Green Lantern Annual #2, Nightwing Annual #1, Smallville: Season 11 Special #3, Swamp Thing Annual #2, Teen Titans Annual #2, V for Vendetta #1.

IDW:

• My Little Pony 2013 Annual: The creepy Equestria Girls do some things.

• Powerpuff Girls #2: Mojo Jojo agrees to take Antidote X and move in with the girls, but why?!


• Other releases: Danger Girl: The Chase #2, Dinosaurs Attack #4, GI Joe #9, Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth #5, Kiss Kids #3, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #12, TMNT #27, TMNT Villains #7: Bebop & Rocksteady, Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters #6, Transformers: Robots in Disguise #22, Wild Blue Yonder #3.

Image:

• Saga #15: Vague official summary: “Everything starts coming together.”

• Sex #8: Simon Cooke finally faces the Saturnalia in the series’ er… climax.

• Other releases: A Distant Soil #42, Bushido #5, Five Ghosts #6, Mice Templar: Legend #8, Prophet #40, Thought Bubble Anthology 2013 #3, Witchblade #170.


Marvel:


• Cataclysm #0.1: This summary is “classified,” according to Marvel. It’s okay, I’m sure you guys don’t want to hear what it’s about.

• Deadpool Kills Deadpool #4: In the final issue of Deadpool Kills Deadpool, Deadpool Kills Deadpool. What else did you think was going to happen?


• Thor: Crown of Fools #1: Thor, Sif, Loki and more search for a mystic crown, but what secrets will it reveal?

• Other releases: Avengers #22, Avengers AI #5, Captain America: Living Legend #2, Guardians of the Galaxy #8, Infinity #5, Kick-Ass 3 #4, Punisher: The Trial of the Punisher #2, Scarlet Spider #23, Superior Spider-Man #20, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up Special #1, Ultimate Comics X-Men #33, Uncanny X-Force #13, X-Men: Battle of the Atom #2.


Other:

• Ash and the Army of Darkness #1:30 Days of Night’s Steve Niles relaunching the comic adventures of everybody’s favorite S-Mart employee, beginning right after the cult classic movie ends.


• Other releases: Adventure Time 2013 Spooktacular #1, All-New Fathom #3, Arcane Secrets #2, Archie #649, The Bionic Man #25, Clive Barker’s Next Testament #5, Crossed Badlands #40, Farlaine the Goblin #2, Ferals #17, Final Plague #3, The Fox #1, Game of Thrones #17, Grimm Fairy Tales: No Tomorrow #3, Hellraiser Annual 2013 #1, Herobear and the Kid 2013 Annual #1, Hit List #2, Knightingail: Shadow Divisions #4, Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #12, Rex: Zombie Killer #1, The Shadow: Year One #6, Skyward #4, Stuff About Sex, Super #2, Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #82, Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #31, Wilder, Wildwork #1, Zombie Tramps Vol. 2 #1.

Trade Paperbacks and Hardcovers

Dark Horse:

• Last of Us: American Dreams: The comics inspired by the hit videogame reveal a 13-year-old girl escaping from her military-run school to the dangerous outside.


• Bad Houses: Two teenagers discover the secrets of their parents and the decaying town they live in.

• Other releases: Avatar: The Last Airbender Vol. 6: The Search Part 3, Bride of the Water God Vol. 14, E.C. Archives: Tales from the Crypt Vol. 2, Gantz Vol. 29.


DC:


• DC Comics One Million Omnibus: The 1999 mega-event from Grant Morrison is collected in its entirety, chronicling the adventures of the heroes of the 853rd century.

• Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family: The Joker returns to Gotham, determined to free Batman from those holding him back — his family.


• Superman: the Man of Steel: Believe: An actual all-ages collection of Superman stories.

• Other releases: Batgirl Vol. 2: Knightfall Descends, Deadshot: Beginnings, JSA Liberty files: The Whistling Skull, Superman Adventures: The Man of Steel.


IDW:

• Joe Kubert’s Tor: Artist Edition: The legendary comics artist’s of Tor, a heroic caveman from a million years ago.


• Samurai Jack Classics Vol. 1: The original Samurai Jack comics return to tell Jack’s origin and his first fight with Aku.

• Other releases: Feldstein: His Mad Life and Fantastic Art, Zombies Vs. Robots: This Means War.


Image:


• Revival Deluxe Collection Vol. 1: A detective must solve a murder in a small Wisconsin town where the dead have returned to life.

• Mara: When a gifted woman develops superpowers, her fame turns to infamy.

• Other releases: Dia De Los Muertos, Mara, Planetoid Vol. 1, Witchblade: Rebirth Vol. 4.


Marvel:

• Inhumans: By Right of Birth: The prince of Attilan is born while the Servitors rise up against their Inhuman masters.


• Thor Vs. Thanos: The Asgardian god must stop the Mad Titan from destroying both Earth and Asgard in this 1998 saga.

• Other releases: Cable and X-Force Vol. 2: Dead or Alive, Marvel Universe: Thor Digest, Scarlet Spider Vol. 3: Big Leagues, Ultimate Comics Ultimates: Disassembled, Wolverine and the X-Men Vol. 7.


Other:

• Other releases: Another, Bites, Black Butler Vol. 15, Classics Illustrated Vol. 18: Aesop’s Fables, Disney’s Mickey Mouse Color Sundays Vols. 1 and 2, Grimm Fairy Tales Unleashed Vol. 2, I’m Not Popular Vol. 1m Is This a Zombie? Vol. 6, K-On Vol. 5, Largo Winch Vol. 6: And Die, Legend of the Scarlet Blades, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Vol. 16, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Pre-Code Classics: Weird Mysteries Vol. 1, Rage of Poseidon, Spell Checkers Vol. 3, Steve Ditko’s Archives Vol. 4: Impossible Tales, Tarot: Shades of Magick, Triage X Vol. 4, Unspeakable Vault of Doom Vol. 2, Vampirella Masters Series Vol. 8, X-O Manorwar Vol. 1