Every week there is a true flood of new cartoons: new issues, variant covers, new #1, fresh miniseries. There are plenty of dozens of bookshelves to land in local comic shops, but it can also be achieved at local indie bookstores! ). From fresh original graphic novels, the much-anticipated archive editions and recent collections of cartoons, from collections for all traders, there are plenty of trade paperbacks and hardcovers to fill the shelves.
After reviewing these types of books for AIPT over the years, I have come to appreciate what makes the collection really special. Here at TradeWatch, I picked five books next week and it seems like the most exciting to me. This is my recommendation for the week of September 1st, 2025.
Adventure Time Oni Compact Comics Edition Vol. 1: Down Memory Lane
oni press, tpb – $9.99 (buy now)
Take your time down memory lane on this specially curated collection of adventure times: adventure!
Diving into the new “compact comic” trend (a cheap and modest book packed with content) brings a collection of 2014 adventure time written by Christopher Hastings and Dinosaur Comics and Fantastic Fours Criveners Ryan North. This is a selective collection, and rather than presenting a complete chronology, it incorporates stories from a wide range of issues, but a collection of geeky action cherry picks may improve the experience better.
Creepy Archives Vol. 10 / Eerie Archives Vol. 10
Dark Horse Comics, TPB – $24.99 each (buy now)
In this Cranium-Cracking collection, Eisner Award-winning Creepy Archives Run continues to bring classic Warren horror anthology stories to modern readers with an affordable paperback edition.
These archive versions collecting the problems of legendary black and white horror magazines are the work of preserving the Lord. I have little experience cracking one of these oversized magazines, feeling the newsprint, or incorporating a scary interior. Something really strange. Take this summary of the story from Eerie #49:
‘Marvin, dead! One is the loneliest number.”
Marvin was lonely for weeks… He has been lonely ever since committing suicide by jumping from a bridge into a slime that crossed a river, but Marvin finds a friend. And she was dead too.
How can I pass it on?
Daredevil’s Epic Collection: Dare to the Devil
Marvel Comics, TBP – $54.99 (Buy Now)
One of the most influential driving in Marvel history, not just in the history of all cartoons, begins with the arrival of Frank Miller as Daredevil’s driving creativity.
Daredevil wasn’t doing well on the sales side, so the book was at risk of cancellations around the time Frank Miller shaking and taking over. It became a huge hit and quickly changed the industry. These are comics that helped inspire the teenage mutant ninja turtles (if you can believe it), and while Miller’s run reaches its peak some time after being reborn, these issues mark the beginning of its revival.
DC Finest: Batman – Red Sky
DC Comics, TPB – $39.99 (Buy Now)
From the dark alleys of Gotham, the red sky of crisis on endless earth, DC Finest: Batman: Red Skies presents some of the most compelling stories in the history of the Dark Knight.
Resetting the DC universe just before the crisis and turning in a more self-energizing, self-merciful direction, Batman spanned the line between his serious tendencies and the Batman TV series camp and goofy, prolonged memories. Writer Doug Mornch worked hard for those who were dark and bleak even when injustice like Penguins and the Two Class leaned against their fullest cartoons. Like his later work on Moon Night, Moench (and his co-writers Gene Colan and Tom Mandrake) helped define the more noir and creepy orientation of the characters. These comics point to the path to Batman that we know today.
weight
Drawing and Quarterly, TPB – $29.95 (Buy N0W)
Melissa Mendes’ idyllic comics capture the openness of rural America. But all the while, cruelty, the man’s disappointment lurks behind the barn and in the trailer.
Based on the weight (very few) preview pages I’ve seen, Mendes seems to be quietly creating a powerful age-old work. I’m a sucker for coming-of-age stories of all shapes and sizes. It is amazing how long that life is literally important to everyone and is moving. If you’re interested in gross bumps (or dark to elation), this might be in your alley.
