Jumping On: New Story Arcs Kicking Off On April 13, 2022

One of the hardest and most frustrating things about finding new comics to read and enjoy is finding a good jumping on point. It can be confusing and disheartening to pick up a single issue from the middle of an arc without having the context of the previous chapters.

With that in mind, here are some titles kicking off New Story Arcs, Notable #1s, and One-Shots premiering this upcoming New Comic Book Day, Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

New Story Arcs:

Star Wars #22, Marvel

THE DAWN ALLIANCE, PART 1 OF 3

The time has come for THE REBEL ALLIANCE fleet to bring its final lost division home……but to do it, LEIA ORGANA, MON MOTHMA and the other Alliance leaders will need to rely on intelligence provided by the notoriously untrustworthy criminal organization CRIMSON DAWN. Meanwhile, Starlight Squadron and a group of rogue PATHFINDERS led by KES DAMERON head out on an unauthorized rescue mission to save one of their own…!

Notable #1s and One-Shots:

X-Men ’92: House of XCII #1, Marvel

THE ’90s ARE BACK—AGAIN! Everyone’s favorite ’90s incarnations of the X-Men have returned…but this time, everything is even all-newer and all-more different! Mutantkind is taking a huge leap forward by founding their own nation on the island of Krakoa, guided by Professor X, Magneto, and a mysterious long-lived woman who knows more than she should. That’s right—the ’90s X-Men are tackling the Krakoan Age thirty years early…and it’s NOT going to go the way you expect!

Flashpoint Beyond #0, DC

After sacrificing everything to help The Flash put the universe back together and save Bruce Wayne’s life, Thomas Wayne wakes up in a world he thought was no more. Forced to don the cowl once again, Batman prowls the streets of Gotham City searching for answers to how this world still exists, but what he starts to uncover will send him hurtling around the globe. The hunt for the Clockwork Killer starts here!

The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #1, DC

Sometimes, nightmares walk the Earth. Every night when you sleep, the Lord of Dreams chooses the path you’ll follow…into a sylvan Elysium, or down the hallways of your darkest fears. And sometimes, if it is Dream’s will, those nightmares escape those halls, and go out into the world. But it is not a choice he makes lightly. 

Today the Corinthian walks the Earth again. The most feared of all Dream’s nightmares, his ravenous mouths have made him a legend among serial killers. Letting the Corinthian out among mortals is the most dangerous thing Dream could possibly do. But he has no choice—because there is another nightmare walking the Earth, one that must be hunted…and this monster is one that Dream, lord of all nightmares, did not make.

Image! #1, Image

SERIES PREMIERE! Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first Image comic with a year-long parade of all-new stories from some of the biggest and best names in comics! 

Featuring a combination of ongoing serials and standalone short stories, this inaugural issue kicks off with the first chapters of two 12-part stories: “The Blizzard” by GEOFF JOHNS & ANDREA MUTTI and “Red Stitches” by BRENDEN FLETCHER & BABS TARR-plus the opening installments of a trio of three-parters: “Gospel for a New Century” by WYATT KENNEDY & LUANA VECCHIO, “Loop / Hopeless” by MIRKA ANDOLFO, and “Shift” by KYLE HIGGINS & DANIELE DI NICUOLO. Plus plus! A first look at DECLAN SHALVEY’s upcoming OLD DOG series and an original ongoing comic strip by SKOTTIE YOUNG!

Immortal Red Sonja #1, Dynamite

Sonja…as you have never witnessed!

It is a time of British legend! A young Red Sonja, cursed by mysterious chainmail, seeks counsel with the mysterious MERLIN. She seeks to be rid of her curse, in order to forge a future of fantasy and adventure! She will be pursued by the loathsome GREEN KNIGHT, and if she survives and arrives at the Castle Of Merlin, what she finds would be infinitely more than she bargained for.

By the all-star creative team of DAN ABNETT (Justice League Odyssey) and ALESSANDRO MIRACOLO (Red Sonja)!

A Town Called Terror #1, Image

Henry West is brutally kidnapped in the middle of the night while his wife Julie watches, terrified. Henry awakens to the reality of his whereabouts, but Julie, with no evidence of the phantom crime, is unable to get help to search for him. A new series from the minds of cutting-edge horror creators STEVE NILES (30 Days of Night) and SZYMON KUDRANSKI (SPAWN, The Punisher).

Midnight Rose #1, AfterShock

Join the legendary Jim Starlin (Creator of Thanos, Gamora, Dreadstar) and Nikkol Jelenic (AFTERDARK, A Taste for Killing, The Fall, Red Crow) on a journey through the life of a singular, frightening and very human creature: MIDNIGHT ROSE. A particularly bizarre tale of loneliness, love and what happens when you can’t help but give in to the vengeance growing deep within yourself.

Break Out #1, Dark Horse

When massive cube spaceships from another dimension materialize over our cities and routinely abduct teenagers to be held inside their mysterious floating prisons, Liam Watt’s younger brother, Tommy, is taken. But while governments and adults across the world accept this loss as inevitable, Liam refuses to give up hope. Now, in a “take back our future” anthem, Liam assembles a skilled team of ordinary high school students to risk it all-but can they pull off the impossible and succeed in an out-of-this-world prison break?

Join the crew and unlock a sci-fi adventure like no other, written by rising comics star Zack Kaplan (Port of Earth, Join the Future), with kinetic art-buzzing with life-drawn by Wilton Santos (Excalibur, Dawn of X) and colored by Jason Wordie (God Country, Wasted Space).

Dark Beach #1, Behemoth

Earth has been drifting away from the sun for three hundred years, but that doesn’t stop Gordo, a crime scene photographer living inside the dome-protected city of New Reykjavík, from dreaming about its warm glow. Is the sun as dangerous as the NRCE (New Reykjavík Corps of Engineers) led everyone to believe or will a murder rife with old sun mystery throw Gordo down a rabbit hole to find the truth?

Kaiju Score: Steal From the Gods #1, AfterShock

Michelle is back, she has her own crew, and she’s making her own rules. Unfortunately, her tendency for getting into hot water still remains, and her involvement in that now-infamous job in Florida, known as the Kaiju Score, is haunting her in many different ways. It’s about to put her on a collision course with a new job, new characters, and – of course – new monsters. The second volume of the critically acclaimed, best-selling KAIJU SCORE (optioned-by-Sony Pictures) is here, and just like last time, not everyone will get out alive.

Van Helsing: Shattered Soul #1, Zenescope

Van Helsing has been through a lot in the last few months-hell, make that years. But when a phantom of her past makes an appearance, the depth it will pull down her soul may be too deep for even the famed vampire-hunter to claw her way out of. As bodies begin piling up, Van Helsing is thrust into a race against time to discover her connection to the victims-and the killer-but will she be able to lay the cause of all this pain to rest?

Be sure not to miss this emotionally charged, stake-through-your-heart issue!

The Wrong Earth: Fame & Fortune #1, Ahoy

A satirical one-shot from superstar writer Mark Russell spotlighting both gritty vigilante Dragonfly and his cheerful counterpart, Dragonflyman! On Earth-Alpha, Dragonflyman and his billionaire alter-ego Richard Fame work to bring citizens together. On Earth-Omega, the Dragonfly busts heads and breaks unions with a savage intensity. But they both share one goal: build a new sports stadium with Richard Fame’s name on it! All five Wrong Earth specials feature covers by co-creator Jamal Igle and a special incentive variant cover by legendary artist Gene Ha.

Grimm Universe Presents Quarterly: Dracula’s Daughter #1, Zenescope

Charlotte, Dracula’s Daughter, is on a quest to find her notorious father. The only problem is, where he’s lost is the Underworld, and how he got there is because of her half-sister, the legendary vampire hunter Liesel Van Helsingmemory so raw, it’s the only thing Charlotte hates more than the situation she is in now.  All of that is in the past now, and she is determined to locate her dad, but what she finds along the way may be more than she asked for.

Don’t miss this shocking tale of one of the Grimm Universe’s deadliest villains as the terrible past of Dracula’s Daughter is finally revealed.

Fun With Little Archie & Friends Special #1, Archie Comics

Get ready for high-octane fun and adventure with LITTLE ARCHIE and his friends from Riverdale! When Little Sabrina meets up with Little Archie, Little Jughead, and Little Betty and Veronica, all kinds of chaos breaks loose and the gang find themselves transported into new, fantastical game world inspired by their favorite hobbies! Watch as they brave the mystical and mysterious realm of Gryphons and Gargoyles, form a big-wheel gang, and attempt to relax in an unexpectedly exciting animal farming video game! 

Featuring the talents of award-winning Lumberjanes writer Shannon Watters, Little Archie writer J. Torres, and Betty & Veronica: Vixens writer Jamie L. Rotante along with the amazing art team of Erin Hunting, Adrian Ropp, and Agnes Garbowska.