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Essential Comics for 7/8/15

He's what we think you need to keep your eye out for this week.

We live in an age of amazing story telling featuring top talent writers and artists. This leads everyone to a problem: What comics are some of the top books to pick up? Well, we have that answer for you. The staff of Comic Vine picks out their personal essential books, every week, and lets you know what you should keep your eye out for.

You can see the full list of releases HERE.

Tony's Picks

BATMAN #42

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(DC)

By now we should be getting used to this new Batman. He’s made several appearances in other Bat-related series and we’re sort of seeing him at different stages of getting the hang of the armor. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo got us excited with their first issue with this Batman last month. They’re getting the chance to try something different. It’s a bit of a risk but issue #41 showed it was one worth taking. We’ve seen so many great Batman stories over the years and this is a way to get a different take on the character and concept. Yes, we have seen others take on the mantle of the Bat but with this creative team, it feels like something different.

What can we expect in the second issue? There’ll be more of the new Batman getting the hang of the suit. We’re seeing new threats instead of the same Bat-villains we’ve seen over and over. With Snyder, Capullo, Danny Miki, and FCO Plascencia, it’s going to be pretty spectacular.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #2

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(DC)

Bryan Hitch gave us a pretty explosive over sized first issue with his take on the Justice League. It was a nice way to see all of the team in different situations as well as coming together to take on a big threat. Plenty of seeds were planted with a big picture threat headed their way. We also had a pretty interesting last page.

For those that thought the extra pages and higher price tag was a little too much, the good news is this returns to the $3.99 price tag. Now that Hitch has established his tone for this series, we can see how the team will take on this threat. It may be out of continuity for now but that just means anyone can dive in and not worry about what’s going on in ten other books involving the characters.

LANDO #1

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(Marvel)

There were some that questioned why we were getting a LANDO comic but I questioned why haven’t we had one before? We’ve seen Lando in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Those that have read the Expanded Universe novels have also learned bits about his past but there’s still a lot we don’t know. This is our chance to see Lando before he got pulled into the Rebellion. We’ll also get to find out more about Lobot. What the heck is his story? What does he do besides take orders from Lando at Cloud City?

With Charles Soule writing and Alex Maleev doing the art, this is going to be a fascinating book. Who doesn’t want to see more about the scoundrel before he became legit?

Click here for the solicit. The preview is below.

Honorable: DESCENDER

Mat's Picks

CONSTANTINE #2

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(DC)

I no longer have my sweet Constantine television show to watch on NBC, which makes me super-duper sad. However, I do have this brand new CONSTANTINE series at DC to read. It has a brand new creative team and an artist and colorist I'm a huge fan of.

The last issue really set the tone for the book. This book is in its own pocket of the DCU, which is perfect because I don't want Batman popping in every other issue. Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV really focused on the character and who he is as much as the world around him. Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia's art was perfect for the tone of the book. With the creative team involved, I wasn't surprised, but I am really excited for this newest issue.

STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN #1

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(IDW)

Sometimes, books come along with the most genius premise. Last month, the cartoon Ghostbusters met up with the comic book Ghostbusters and it was super-awesome. This month, IDW (with the help of DC) puts together Star Trek and Green Lantern. Set your phasers to "awesome."

This is a perfect crossover. Star Trek and Green Lantern together makes so much sense. You have the Green Lantern Corps, which are the space police and the folks of Star Trek, who are sent to explore space. Why are these two forces crossing over? Not sure, but I know it's going to be really exciting for all science fiction fans!

ARCHIE #1

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(Archie)

ARCHIE is being rebooted and while that may not sound exciting to the average reader, who has seen way too many comic book reboots in their life time, Archie Comics does some pretty cool stuff. THE BLACK HOOD is an amazing series and AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE has been dynamite.

More importantly, what got me pumped about this book is the creative team. I'm a huge fan of both Mark Waid and Fiona Staples so seeing them teamed up to take on this iconic character and what they're going to do with him.

I've never read too many ARCHIE books, so I don't know too much about them, but this seems like the perfect place to jump on and see what this new team brings to this new series.

CIVIL WAR #1

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(Marvel)

Civil War is one of my personal favorite Marvel story lines from the past decade. I loved seeing the heroes battle it out over the super-human registration act and it turned the CAPTAIN AMERICA series on its head. However, are Captain America and Iron Man going to make peace in this book or is this war never going to end?

Now, it looks like the fighting never ended and in Battleworld, it rages on. I'm excited to see what Charles Soule does with this story and I loved Leinil Francis Yu did on SECRET INVASION, even though that was also a long time ago, so the creative team is pretty awesome as well. How will all of this tie into the main SECRET WARS story though? Or does it just stand on its own?

Click here for the solicit. The preview is below.

Honorable Mention: STARFIRE #2

Corey's Picks

1872 #1

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(Marvel)

Alternate dimensional alternate history superhero story? Gerry Duggan, you SPOIL me! Secret Wars hasn't stopped picking up steam since issue 1 and the tie-ins have, almost across the board, been absolute delights both in terms of their content and their creative teams. There've been a lot of new names on these tie-ins, and Nicole Virella looks to join the pantheon of incredible talent I'll soon be seeking out more of.

Click here for the solicit. The preview is below.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: RENEW YOUR VOWS #2

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(Marvel)

Well! That was BLEAK. After getting to know the still-married Peter Parker's life, it was completely upended by a new, massively powerful villain capable of wiping out most, if not all, superheroes and completely redefining the status quo of a status we're STILL not familiar with. The family dynamic was one of the strongest parts of last issue, and seeing it brought to the page by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert made it a must-read issue and an absolute must follow-up issue! No one is safe and it's extra-dimensional, so anything can happen, which is precisely how I love it.

Click here for the solicit. The preview is below.

GHOST RACERS #2

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(Marvel)

It's Death Race 2000 only instead of 70s action stars, it's every single Ghost Rider ever, all with new, thrilling looks. Seeing a flaming centaur with miniguns mounted to its sides is one of those things that's been missing from my life that I never even realized WAS missing. It's a hole in my heart that I never knew how to fill until it was filled with high-octane vengeance and violence. Felipe Smith and Juan Gedeon are clearly about more than ridiculous, over-the-top action as there's a real core of tragedy and rage to the book as well, which keeps it from becoming stale or hollow.

Click here for the solicit. The preview is below.

Honorable Mention: EARTH 2: SOCIETY #2

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!