Journalist Reed Tucker examines the battle for the comic book marketplace in Slugfest, a look at the decades-long rivalry between Marvel and DC. The expose on the sometimes-vitriolic competition between the Big Two will be in stores on October 4. MSRP is $27.00.

Anyone interested in the process of making comics will get a first-hand account from artist Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) and comics historian Tim Pilcher in How Comics Work. The 192-page guide to scriptwriting, page layouts, lettering, and more will be in stores on October 2 for an MSRP of $24.99.

Dan Gearino’s examination of the direct market, Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture, will be out October 11, three weeks earlier than the original November 1 release date. Comics journalist Tom Spurgeon provides the foreword to the 264-page hardcover, which includes interviews and profiles of more than 40 comics shops in the U.S. and Canada (see “Upcoming Book Tells the Story of Comic Stores”). MSRP for the release from Ohio University Press imprint Swallow Press is $26.95.

In a similar vein, My Comic Shop Country is a feature-length documentary from Anthony Desiato, who runs a podcast of the same name and previously directed a feature about now-closed New York comic shop Alternate Realities (My Comic Shop DocumentARy). Desiato has turned to Kickstarter to fund the new film, which is a behind-the-scenes look at the retail side of comics, featuring interviews and footage from comic shops around the country. If Desiato meets his fundraising goal, he’s looking to finish the film in fall 2018. 

Click on the Gallery below for cover images.