This is the first column of the year for our fan-favorite New Number Ones: One-Shots & Specials column.
In this regular column, we collect the one-shot books, special anthologies, and original graphic novels that are being released this month. You can check out our regular New Number Ones column for the month here.
There is an alphabetical list of these special books below by release date, and don’t forget to check for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about these comics.
There are books on the list from: First Second Books, DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comics, Archie Comics, and Oni Press.
Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard HC
First Second Books
Written by Ronald Wimberly
Art by Brahm Revel
Cover Art by Revel
ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL
From author Ronald Wimberly, creator of the viral comic Lighten Up, comes a soaring graphic biography that casts new light on the first African-American fighter pilot.
On the eve of World War I, Eugene Bullard was a refugee of the Jim Crow South who was determined to find a place where a Black man would be treated as a fellow human being. His search took him from rural Georgia to the streets of Paris, from the vaudeville stage to the boxing ring, and finally, from the muddy trenches to the open skies. In 1914, Bullard joined the fight to defend France—and made history as the world’s first African American fighter pilot.
In this candid but sensitive portrait of Bullard, author Ronald Wimberly balances the personal and the historical to interrogate concepts of cynicism, idealism, fear, glory, and the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism.
Release Date: January 3. 2023
PCS NOTES: This is the kind of important content that needs to be seen in the comic form.
History Comics Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes TP
First Second Books
Written by Tracey Baptiste
Art by Shauna J. Grant
Cover Art by Grant
ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL
Turn back the clock with History Comics! In this volume, learn about two brave women who stood up against segregation, setting in motion the Montgomery Bus Boycott!
A Black woman who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus sparked a bus boycott and became part of one of the most iconic moments in American history. Yet, few know that Rosa Parks had actively worked toward social justice her whole life. And even fewer know that the seeds of the statewide bus boycott were first planted by a teenager named Claudette Colvin, who was arrested on similar charges months earlier. Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin inspired a nation, showing how positive change can start with a single defiant act. Their actions have become the stuff of legend, but there is so much more to their lives, their stories, and the movement they began.
Release Date: January 3, 2023
PCS NOTES: First Second’s History Comics has been a great imprint in their OGNs and we are excited about this entry.
Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1
DC Comics
Written by Mark Waid & Gene Luen Yang
Art by Billy Tan, Riccardo Federici, Brad Anderson & Sebastian Cheng
Cover Art by David Marquez & Alejandro Sánchez
ONE-SHOT SPECIAL
CHANGE THE WORLD. Following the explosive (literally) events of Batman vs. Robin #4, the Lazarus Volcano has erupted, spewing dangerous and transformative chemicals into Earth’s atmosphere! As these Lazarus clouds rain down upon the planet, people across the globe begin to develop strange new abilities, watch their already-extraordinary abilities change, and witness a whole host of chaos unlike anything the DCU has experienced before! It’s up to Damian Wayne to put out the distress call for whoever can still hear it: come to the ruins of the Hall of Justice and help save the world! Poison Ivy, Power Girl, Cyborg, Batman, and more answer the call…but why could the fate of all life as we know it rest in the hands of…Monkey Prince?
Release Date: January 10, 2023
PCS NOTES: This seems to be the beginning of the changes that will lead to DC’s new status quo with the Dawn of DC.
Dega HC
Oni Press
Written by Dan McDaid
Art by McDaid
Cover Art by McDaid
ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL
A crashed ship, a lone survivor, a monstrous secret hiding in the dark under the world. This is Dega, the new graphic novel from Doctor Who, Judge Dredd, and Firefly artist Dan McDaid.
Written, illustrated, and lettered by McDaid, Dega delivers a stirring, unsettling blend of hardboiled sci-fi action, hypnagogic surrealism, and existential mystery. Hailed as “electric… A title you have to read cover to cover and back to front” by Richard Starkings (Elephantmen) and “Beautiful… Valerian meets Ronin” by mindlessones.com. The clues are all there, but hurry—time is running in…
Release Date: January 23, 2023
PCS NOTES: This book looks pretty interesting
The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz HC
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Will Franz
Art by Sam Glanzman
Cover Art by Glanzman
COLLECTED EDITION
Finally collected by IT’S ALIVE! and copublished with Dark Horse, The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz was originally serialized in the comic book Fightin’ Army in the 1960s. This series was written by a sixteen-year-old Will Franz and illustrated by the already-seasoned comic book creator and WWII veteran Sam Glanzman. The entire story arc, collected here and finally finished, is one of the most dramatic, moving, and controversial comic book stories ever told! An American solider of German heritage finds himself on the wrong side of World War II in this sweeping epic. This war story is, at its heart, an antiwar story and a story about universal human nature in the hellhole of war.
Release Date: January 11, 2023
PCS NOTES: We are excited to see this content collected and published.
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins – Nott The Brave HC
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Matthew Mercer, Sam Riegel & Sam Maggs
Art by William Kirkby & Mildred Louis
Cover Art by Kirkby
ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL
Veth Brenatto doesn’t have an exciting life, but she likes it that way. Unlike her childhood, it’s safe. Predictable. And her husband and son love her as fiercely as she loves them. But Veth’s cozy existence is turned on its head when she and her family are captured by raiders. In order to save them, Veth will commit an atrocity that will sever her from all that she loves––maybe forever––and lead her to become Nott the Brave of the Mighty Nein.
Release Date: January 17, 2023
PCS NOTES: A new story in a fun property for the new year. And it is just in time for the new season of The Legend of Vox Machina which is streaming on Amazon Prime this month.
Archie Vs the World #1
Archie Comics
Written by Aubrey Sitterson
Art by Jed Dougherty & Matt Herms
Cover Art by Dougherty
ONE-SHOT SPECIAL
In a post-apocalyptic future, our hero Archie Andrews is cursed to walk the world alone-well, alone with his souped-up jalopy. But Archie can defend himself-in fact, he’s the master of a brutal, deadly form of martial arts and must use his skills when he comes face-to-face with his rival and evil mirror image, Reggie. This action-packed one-shot is equal parts Mad Max: Fury Road and The Fist of the North Star, and reunites the Jughead the Burgarian team from 2022’s smash-hit comic THE BEST ARCHIE COMIC EVER!
Release Date: January 18, 2023
PCS NOTES: This is the Archie comic that I didn’t know I always wanted. Really looking forward to it.
Carmilla: The First Vampire TP
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Amy Chu
Art by Soo Lee
Cover Art by Lee
ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL
Before Dracula, before Nosferatu, there was…CARMILLA.
At the height of the Lunar New Year, an idealistic social worker turns detective when she discovers young, homeless LGBTQ+ women are being murdered and no one, especially the police, seems to care. A series of clues points her to Carmilla’s, a mysterious nightclub in the heart of her neighborhood, Chinatown. There she falls for the next likely target, landing her at the center of a real-life horror story-and face-to-face with illusions about herself, her life, and her hidden past.
Inspired by the gothic novel that started a genre, this queer vampire murder mystery is a mesmerizing tale of identity, obsession and fateful family secrets by fan-favorite writer Amy Chu (Red Sonja, Netflix’s DOTA: Dragon’s Blood) and fine-line illustrator Soo Lee (Ash and Thorn).
Release Date: January 24, 2023
PCS NOTES: If, like me, you are craving some new Amy Chu comic goodness, I think this will scratch that itch for you.
Batman: One Bad Day – Catwoman #1
DC Comics
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Jamie McKelvie & Tamra Bonvillain
Cover Art by McKelvie
ONE-SHOT SPECIAL
Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman, is the greatest thief that Gotham City has ever seen. She’s effortlessly stolen countless items of immense value over the years and successfully evaded the GCPD and Batman. But when Catwoman finds out an item from her past is being sold for way more than it used to be worth, it sends Catwoman into a spiral, and she’ll do everything in her power to steal it back. Batman tries to stop her before she goes too far, and a mysterious figure known as the Forger will change Catwoman’s life forever. The all-star creative team of G. WILLOW WILSON (Poison Ivy, Ms. Marvel) and JAMIE McKELVIE (The Wicked & The Divine, Young Avengers) unite for this epic story!
Release Date: January 24, 2023
PCS NOTES: As DC continues their trip through Batman’s Rogue Gallery, this one piqued our attention as a great combination of creative team and character.
Sins of Sinister #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Lucas Werneck & David Curiel
Cover Art by Leinil Francis Yu
ONE-SHOT SPECIAL
POWERS OF ESSEX! It’s the end of the world as we know it, and at least Sinister feels fine. For now. Can that last? Especially when we discover that he really is his own worst enemy… The universe-melting X-event begins here, in a horror timeline that makes Age of Apocalypse look like the X-Men Swimsuit Special. Join Kieron Gillen (IMMORTAL X-MEN, A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY) as he kicks off the X-Men crossover Sinister has been planning since the beginning…and is going to have to see through to the bitter end.
Release Date: January 25, 2023
PCS NOTES: The next big event in the lives of Marvel’s Merry Mutants starts here. It is going to be a big deal.
