Yesterday, our friends over at MTV Geek posted a list of their most anticipated new comic books landing this fall, so we thought we’d use it as a springboard to make our own, similar list. Female-fronted titles are still kind of a rarity in the wide world of comics, but there are some new books from some awesome lady writers coming our way this season, including stories from Gail Simone, Amy Reeder, Kelly Sue Deconnick, and the incomparable Allie Brosh. At least we’ll have something to pad our pull lists with, in case things over at Batwoman take a turn toward awful.
Check out out list below and then weigh in with your picks in the comments! Powerpuff Girls
Never fear, people of Townsville! Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are back! IDW Publishing’s six-issue mini-series will revisit Cartoon Network’s beloved crime-fighting trio in a story called “Second Chances,” in which they’ll be forced to battle a gaggle of their classic archenemies after Mojo Jojo hangs up his Super Villain hat. It’s been eight years since The Powerpuff Girls left our TVs, but they have never left our hearts. We can’t wait to see them in action again. In stores: September 25. Ghost
No longer content to let Marvel and DC rule the superhero game, Dark Horse has decided to build on the success of Kelly Sue Deconnick‘s Ghost mini-series by launching an ongoing title about Elisa Cameron, a Chicago-based journalist who wakes from amnesia to find herself in semi-corporeal form. She spends half her time fighting crime and half her time trying to figure out what the hell happened to her. If that isn’t enough to pique your interest, consider this: Deconnick will be tag-teaming scripts with Chris Sebela, her writing partner during their revolutionary run on Captain Marvel. In stores: November 6. Painkiller Jane: Price of Freedom
She’s baaaack, and this time she’s using her superhero super-healing abilities to protect a Saudi Arabian princess during her visit to New York City. The four-issue mini-series promises plenty of action and out-of-control antics from Jane, plus there’s a 10-page origin story in the back of Issue #1 that apparently deals with Jane’s relationship with her BFF Detective Maureen Fernandez. (Air quotes implied around “BFF.” Those two have more chemistry than Rizzoli and Isles naked cuddling.) In stores: November 6. Harley Quinn
As usual, DC has us torn between ecstasy and agony over the launch of Harley Quinn’s solo title. On the one hand, we’ll always have a soft spot for The Clown Princess of Crime (and her very special relationship with Poison Ivy), but the way DC decided to promote the new series is infuriating in the extreme. Also, we preferred her Batman: The Animated Series costume/persona to this new Arkham Asylum Suicide Squad version. But we’re going to give the title a few issues, at least, because co-writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti took a very sexed-up version of Power Girl and made her into one of the most engaging and empowered women in the DCU before her plug was pulled with the launch of the New 52. They’ve promised to take that same approach with Harley, “but with a mix of a bit more homicidal maniac added in.” In stores: November 6.
We were bereft when DC kicked Amy Reeder off of Batwoman before she’d found her rhythym. She’s the art genius behind Madame Xanadu, for goodness’ sake! So we were psyched when Reeder decided to Kickstart her own series about Dayoung Johansson, a teenage cop who is sent on a mission from her high-tech future to New York City in 1986 to investigate the Quantum Mechanics megacorporation for crimes against time. A badass time-traveling teenage woman of color in a comic book? Uh, more please. In stores: October 9.
It’s Hyperbole and a Half in book form; what else do you need to know? In stores: October 29. The Witching Hour
Vertigo is releasing a 70-page anthology with nine new Witching Hour tales from Kelly Sue Deconnick, Lauren Beukes, and Annie Mok! The promo blurb promises a spell to destroy the universe and the power to destroy all men. The horror series originally ran from 1969 to 1978 and featured the “triumvirate of womanhood” in sisters Morded, Mildred, and Cynthia, three witches based on Macbeth‘s Weird Sisters. (Also the name of the most famous rock band in the wizarding world in the Harry Potter series, of course.) In stores: October 2. Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake
Fionna and Cake are the gender-swapped versions of Adventure Time‘s Finn and Jake. Their standalone episode is one of the greatest half hours of animated television in history; it even spawned a six-issue mini-series of the cartoon’s comic book! All of the issues will finally be collected in a trade paperback that will be released this fall. All six stories were illustrated by Natasha Allegri, one of AT‘s most celebrated storyboarders and the sole creative force behind Pancake Pancake Pancake. In stores: October 15. Rat Queens
If you like high fantasy, prepare to lose your mind over Rat Queens, the RPG-inspired series by Image Comics that follows the hijinks of four battle-maidens for hire. The story stars Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric, and Betty the Hippy Hobbit Thief. Writer Kurtis J. Wiebe is a master of dark comedy, and early reviews say he’s at his very best here. In stores: September 25. Danger Girl: The Chase
This four-issue mini-series from IDW Publishing follows secret agents Abbey, Sydney and Sonya all over the world as they play keep-away with a live bomb. The book reads like a popcorn action-movie: Sexy, exciting, and fluffy-ridiculous. There’s plenty of leather, plenty of guns, plenty of classic cars and speed boats and every other James Bond thing. It’s not world-changing or genre-shattering, but it’s a lot of fun. In stores: September 4.
So, tell us: What comic books are you most looking forward to this fall?
