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 September 29th, 2025.
Cabin Head and Tree Head: Book One
Tundra Publishing, TPB/HC – $9.99/$13.99 (Buy Now)
These are lighthearted tales of two pals who think differently — and entirely embrace it — set in a landscape of equally unforgettable characters such as Automobile Head, Volcano Head and Trash Can Head. Let’s go hang out with all the Heads!
Scott Campbell’s delightful watercolor cartoons might be familiar to people who follow his Great Showdowns illustrations, in which he illustrates various pairs of media’s most notable rivals. The work is fantastic — his characters are unique, delightful, and comically aligned. This book, though unrelated, exemplifies the most childish ambitions of those illustrations. All-ages fun!
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Compendium Vol. 2
Image Comics, TPB – $64.99 (Buy Now)
Military and martial arts action explodes off the page in this one of a kind G.I. Joe compendium! Experience the Joes’ assault on the Terror-Drome, the return of Storm Shadow, the relentless Dreadnoks, and more! And what is the secret origin of the man known only as Cobra Commander? Find out in the comic phenomenon from Larry Hama that changed the pop-culture world forever.
Larry Hama’s overwhelming (and ongoing) run on G.I. Joe is legendary, comprising decades of stories through a handful of different publishers. It’s a book that not only defined the characters but blew open an entire, colorful world. This book was born as a simple toy tie-in comic, and it became a bible of outrageous, seat-of-the-pants action (and ended up influencing the toyline more than the toyline influenced it). This is the second massive paperback and includes nearly fifty issues. It will certainly eat up some shelf space, but it’s well worth that real estate.
Ghost Rider Epic Collection – Deathrace
Marvel Comics, TPB – $54.99 (Buy Now)
When the Ghost Rider rears his fiery skull, a death-worshiping biker cult, a crazed nuclear scientist ready for meltdown and the soul-stealing Crimson Mage will pay for their transgressions! Then Johnny Blaze enters into a feud with Flagg Fargo for bragging rights as America’s premier stunt cyclist.
The further one gets into the classic Ghost Rider, the more the book gains speed and definition. The first couple volumes of this Epic Collection title veer wildly in terms of narrative quality and commitment to the bit, largely because the creative staff changed around so often. Here, Don Perlin and Michael Fleisher begin a much longer tenure, and I suspect that the mythology of the character will begin to smooth out as we settle in for that run.
Lumberjanes Book 1
BOOM! Studios, HC – $29.99 (Buy Now)
Mal, Molly, April, Ripley, and Jo are the campers of Roanoke cabin, and when they’re not busy with earning badges, making s’mores, and other scoutly activities, they’re in for the adventure of their lives, exploring the woods around camp and discovering creatures and beasties beyond imagination.
A sort of runaway YA smash hit, the Lumberjanes have long been on my periphery but, sadly, I’ve never quite made the jump. These big ol’ collections (there will be at least five, collecting around twelve issues each) might be the exact right moment to dive in. By all accounts, it’s a brilliant, feel-good adventure, and I’ve felt as if I’ve been missing out all this time.
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: This Looks Like a Job for Duck Avenger!
Fantagraphics, HC – $19.99 (Buy Now)
Who wants the world’s richest duck for their landlord? Not Donald Duck! If Donald can’t get a job and make rent, Uncle Scrooge McDuck will repossess his house; and if Scrooge repossesses Donald’s house, he’ll discover the secret HQ of Donald’s secret identity — Duckburg’s super-anti-hero, Duck Avenger — before Donald and inventor Gyro Gearloose have time to dismantle it!
I’ll always have a soft spot for Disney comics, whether they be the massive and immaculate Carl Barks epics or the more esoteric and off-the-wall tales. The breadth of inventive opportunity taken by the world’s most charming cartoonists is truly astounding; these characters can be anything, do anything, experience varied and wild worlds. Duck Avenger is just one of a variety of Disney character takes on superheroes (Super Goof being the most notable). I’m excited to see where this takes us.
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