There is a veritable flood of new comics every week: new issues, variant covers, new #1s, and fresh-faced miniseries. Fewer – but still bountiful – are the dozens of bookshelf editions landing in your local comic shops (and attainable by your local indie bookshops, as well!). From fresh original graphic novels, long-awaited archive editions, and collections of recent comics for all you trade-waiters, there are plenty of trade paperbacks and hardcovers to fill your shelves.
After reviewing hundreds of these sorts of books for AIPT over the years, I’ve come to appreciate what makes a collection truly special. Here at Tradewatch, I pick five books releasing in the coming week that seem the most exciting to me. Here are my picks for the week of May 06th, 2026.
The Bat-Man: Second Knight
DC Comics, HC – $24.99 (Buy Now)
The year is 1940, and most of the Western world is embroiled in a war against a fascist regime whose march across Europe shows no sign of defeat. With global war looming and a vicious killer on the loose, it’s a time of fear and paranoia for those living in Gotham! It’s only been a few months since the city was rescued from undead monsters by the masked vigilante known as the Bat-Man, but a vicious killer has been on a murder spree that ‘ s taking the city to its breaking point.
Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins, and Mike Spicer continue their Bat-Man series, which reframes his debut — way back in 1939 — as a grim, gritty, and largely screwed-up noir. It’s such a simple premise that I’m surprised that it hadn’t been done before, which is the hallmark of a great concept. The art is dark, gruesome, and moody, and the Batman himself has big ol’ floppy ears. It’s great.
DIE: Loaded Vol. 1 – Zero Sessions
Image Comics, TPB – $16.99 (Buy Now)
A year after their return from the hellish game world, the players gather for Chuck’s wake. They’ve finished with the game. The game isn’t finished with them. The three-time Hugo Award-nominated series is back. Get ready to roll initiative. Who’s going to DIE this time?
The first run on DIE felt like a true revelation, the marriage of two worlds as they had never properly been married: comics and TTRPGS. Gillen’s world-building and Stephanie Hans’s indelible art make for an incredibly rich world unlike any you’re likely to encounter elsewhere (in either medium, unless you’re playing the DIE RPG). I’m excited to go back to that world, though I’ll admit that I might not start Zero Sessions until I have a nice, big re-read of the complete first series.
Gay Mormon Dad
Graphic Mundi, TPB – $21.99 (Buy Now)
All his life, Chad Anderson was told he was broken. He believed with all his heart that being a good Mormon would make him straight, because that is what he was told. Chad followed the prescribed road map: mission, marriage, and children. But it didn’t make him happy, and it didn’t make him straight. For Chad, coming out meant losing everything and starting again.
I’m a sucker for a story about repression and finding oneself against those odds. The idea of being queer in a community that doesn’t — or won’t — accept you is a frightening reality for many people, and doubly so for people caught in a religious community. This book might just be the eye-opener someone needs, whether they be closeted or whether they’re someone who needs to loosen their thinking around someone else’s identity.
Witch Hat Atelier Grimoire Edition Vol. 1
Kodansha, HC – $49.99 (Buy Now)
This deluxe, keepsake-quality hardcover edition includes three volumes of the acclaimed fantasy manga on which the enchanting anime was based. Experience the beautiful tale of a young witch who discovers her creativity and faces down a dangerous and thrilling world with her friends by her side in these extra-large books, printed on premium paper with intricate gold foil covers and exclusive bonus content.
With a brand-spanking new anime out, Witch Hat Atelier is bound to find a whole new readership. It’s a beautifully crafted manga with heaps of quiet, restrained style, and has a real sense of elegance to its artwork. A young girl discovers a propensity for magic, which in this world revolves around the drawing of runes with magic wand pens; after a disaster that traps her mother in an unknown and devastating spell, she is whisked into a world of quirky, wonderful, practical magics and academic challenges. It really is something to behold in its original manga incarnation (though the anime is beautiful, too).
Zatanna by Paul Dini Omnibus
DC Comics, HC – $100 (Buy Now)
The enchanting Zatanna Zatara has the hottest stage act in Las Vegas. And unlike the parlor tricks peddled by other would-be Houdinis, Zatanna’s magic is no illusion. It’s real. The dazzling Mistress of Magic can warp reality with just a few backward words. But the supernatural is powerful… and in the wrong hands, it’s deadly. So, when mystical menaces start causing trouble, Zee steps in to stop them — from the evil sorcerer Brother Night to possessed puppets to nightmare demons. Not to mention a supernatural team-up with the Mistress of Martial Arts — Black Canary!
Some of the best work on a character happens when the lead creative force on a story is the character’s biggest fan. Writer Paul Dini could be called a professional fan of Zatanna after crafting some of her best animated exploits in the DC animated universe. This book seems jam-packed with adoring, fan-favorite adventures of a character who gets far too little play in the wider DC universe.
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