Every Wednesday, tons of new comic books come out and we have to figure out what to buy as our wallets to empty from all the awesomeness modern comics have to offer. To help ease your mind, the staff at Comic Vine picked some books out they can't wait to read. Let's get right down to it and see what books are essential.
To see everything coming out this week, click here.
Tony's Picks
STAR WARS #7
(Marvel)
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Simone Bianchi
Here’s something a little different in this current STAR WARS series. We’ve been following the adventures of Luke, Han, and Leia after the events of Episode IV. We’ve seen them clash with Darth Vader and even Boba Fett. This issue jumps back to events prior to Episode IV.
If you’ve read the novel Kenobi: Star Wars, you have an idea what life might have been like for Obi-Wan after he went to Tatooine in hiding and to keep an eye on Luke. This one-shot story gives us another look. With guest artist Simone Bianchi, we’ll get to see Ben try to fight his need to be a Jedi and keep the peace with his bigger mission of blending in to keep a low profile for Luke’s safety. Any chance to see the evils of Tatooine fleshed out more is exciting.
The story may be limited to what could could happen during this time period but we’ve seen there’s plenty of room to explore the unknown moments within the this time.
BLACK WIDOW #20
(Marvel)
Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Phil Noto
It’s hard to accept the fact that this series by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto is coming to an end. But you know what they say, “All good things, etc, etc.” This has been an incredible series showcasing Natasha in the present as well as allowing us to explore moments from her past. Edmondson has done a great job showing us who Natasha is and Noto’s art is simply gorgeous.
It might be a “Last Days” story from Secret Wars with the world about to end but that won’t stop the truth about Natasha’s past from coming to light for readers. She has a lot she’s dealing with and I can’t wait to see what sort of closure she might get as the Incursion Wave is about to hit Earth.
SUPERMAN #42
(DC)
Written by Gene Yang
Art by John Romita, Jr, Klaus Janson, Dean White, Wil Quintana, and Tomeu Morey
Superman isn’t quite the man he used to be. Gene Yang and John Romita Jr have the task of laying out the part of the story before the world discovered Superman’s biggest secret. We know Lois Lane is involved, which has angered many fans for her betrayal. Of course, there’s always more to a story than a first impression may imply. Yang is a great writer so we know the characters are in good hands. Actually, if you’ve been reading the Before Truth arc in this series, you might have formed a strong theory as to what the full story might involve.
Also, if I’m being honest, I’ve had the chance to read the issue already. I will say, I enjoyed it (which is why it’s on this list of course). We will have a slightly spoiler-y interview with Gene on Wednesday.
Mat's Picks
AGE OF ULTRON VS MARVEL ZOMBIES #2
(Marvel)
Written by James Robinson
Art by Steve Pugh
The first issue of this SECRET WARS tie-in was quite the surprise. When it was announced, the idea for the book felt a bit silly, but upon reading it, it was actually a lot of fun and fit well within the Battleworld realm.
There's a lot more to this world than just a bunch of Ultrons fight a bunch of Zombies though. There's a whole story with Hank Pym as well, the man who originally created Ultron in the 616 universe.
Like most of the books that James Robinson writes, there's a great connection to the history of the Marvel Universe and Robinson does a wonderful job delivering something that really embraces the past. In addition, it's Steve Pugh on art and the man is known for creating some wonderfully creepy pieces of art and we already got a great taste of it in issue one of this mini-series.
RASPUTIN #7
(Image)
Written by Alex Grecian
Art by Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia
RASPUTIN has shown up a lot on this feature, since the first issue came out late in 2014. It's took a fictional look at a historical character and mixed a bit of his real history in with the myth behind the character.
The second arc of the book has thrusted Rasputin into the future. Yep, he's still alive and he's living in America. The first issue offered a lot of set-up for the arc and it was a pretty big departure from where the book started, but pretty dang cool.
I LOVE this creative team. Grecian is such an awesome writer and Rossmo and Plasnencia are an amazing art team, especially on CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER. Do yourselves a favor and grab the first trade of RASPUTIN and pick up issues #6 and #7 this week. It is a HIGHLY underrated comic.
GHOSTBUSTERS GET REAL #2
(IDW)
Written by Erik Burnham
Art by Dan Schoening
The GHOSTBUSTERS team of Erik Burnham and Dan Schoening have done it again! These two have done some amazing work through their run with the Ghostbusters, but this comic kinda takes the cake.
Burnham and Schoening take the characters I know and love from the IDW comic book series and smashed them together with the 80s cartoon and my oh my, it was so freaking awesome.
Conceptually and story-wise, it really worked well, but what really grabbed my attention was the art and color work. The characters from the original cartoon series still have the same look, even in the world dominated by Schoening's character design, which is so cool and a little bit jolting in the best ways possible. The book looks great and has a great sense of humor, so why no pick this bad boy up?
FLASH ANNUAL #4
(DC)
Written by Van Jensen
Art by Bong Dazo, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhouse
The Acolytes of Zoom? What or who the heck are they? Looks like we'll find out in this upcoming annual issue.
The main series came back from the CONVERGENCE break with a heavy focus on Professor Zoom as the main villain, which we talked a little bit about last week. Zoom travels through time, so I'm betting that we're getting to know a bit more about Zoom's side of things.
Rapmund and Dalhouse have been staples of this series for quite some time and while I'm not familiar with Bong Dazo's work, there's still 2 wildly solid artists backing him up and I'm sure Dazo is pretty rad to begin with anyway.
If you've been enjoying THE FLASH, then this will give the series a bit more filler and get us in the head of Zoom a bit more.
Corey's Picks
BATGIRL ANNUAL #3
(DC)
Written by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher
Art by Bengal, David Lafuente, Ming Doyle, Mingjue Helen Chen, Gabe Eltaeb, and Ivan Plascencia
Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon. The relationship everyone wanted to happen until it actually did. Like real-world dicey couples, when they're good they're great, but when they're bad, the police should probably be called.
Having these two run into each other in both their new roles under the watchful eyes of Batgirl's creative team, along with the fantastic art of Bengal, feels like it's a pretty sure bet. Maybe those crazy kids'll make it work this time.
THORS #2
(Marvel)
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Chris Sprouse
Police procedurals, like zombie fiction, always seem like something that's been done absolutely to death until someone finds a new way to tell their stories. And sometimes it's as simple as adding the phrase "only with superpowers" to the end of a description (see also: MARVEL ZOMBIES).
The first issue gave us a glimpse into what goes into Doom's multi-realm law enforcement as well as a trans-realm serial killer and both of those concepts are so ludicrously entertaining on their own, that mashing them together with the right team would be pure entertainment gold. Jason Aaron and Chris Sprouse seem to be that team, cause that's what last issue gave us.
1602 WITCH HUNTER ANGELA #2
(Marvel)
Written by Marguerite Bennett & Kieron Gillen
Art by Stephanie Hans and Irene Koh
After an amazing, visually stunning debut, there's very little not to love about this title. A fantasy take on superheroes that perfectly melds and enhances both. There's enough meat on this bone for it to become an ongoing series, but unfortunately we'll have to settle for taking one step closer to what is an all-too close endpoint.
The creators on this are all top-notch and seem to have a clear, concise vision for their book, honing what could have very easily been a directionless story into a bi-weekly must-read for any fantasy fan.
Honorable Mention: TMNT ONGOING #48
That's it for this week's edition of Essential Comics. Let us know what your books you're super-duper excited for this week in the comment section below!