Every Wednesday, a whole lot of new and very tempting comics will appear in your local and digital shops. And every Monday, we here at Comic Vine want to make sure you'll be ready for 'em. Narrowing down the options can be pretty tough, so we'll aim to put some of the especially awesome looking issues are on your radar. The staff has reviewed the full list of upcoming releases and we've each selected a couple or so that piqued our interest. Once you're doing seeing what we can't wait to get our hands on, don't forget to chime in with your own list of "essential" comics.
Tony "G-Man" Guerrero's picks
BATMAN #30
Zero Year continues and it’s about to take a strange direction. From the very first page of Zero Year, we saw Gotham City transformed into an overgrown mess. In this third act, we see Savage City begin.
The Riddler’s always been tricky character to write. Scott Snyder had been building the character up as his schemes continue to grow against Gotham City. In the previous issue we saw Batman, sure he had Riddler beat. That didn’t end to well for him or the city. Now the big question is how much time has passed and how has the city become an overgrown jungle? With Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, and FCO Plascencia on board, at least we know it’s going to be glorious, even if Batman is having a heckuva time trying to defeat Riddler.
Visit IGN for one more preview page.
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #31
It’s the last issue but that’s no reason to skip out. We saw the tables turn on SpOck last issue and even though we know what’s sort of coming next for Spider-Man, you can’t help but wonder how this story will actually end. There’s was also that moment SpOck seemingly disappeared into the time stream when Horizon Labs blew up in issue #19.
Dan Slott has been throwing twists and turns at us all the time. It just seems unlikely that this issue and series won’t end with a bang. Things are never easy for Spider-Man so why should his return be any different?
HULK #1
The last issue of INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK had a pretty shocking ending. With the Hulk drained, Banner was apparently left in a vulnerable position. If you’ve seen the cover or preview for the new HULK series, we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Someone shot Banner and who knows what that means for Hulk.
Mark Waid was on board for the previous series. While there may have been some ups and downs, it’s a safe bet he’ll have some interesting developments happening here. Mark Bagley joins Waid and the preview pages look like we’re going to get some fun times.
Honorable Mention: BATMAN ETERNAL #2
Mat "Inferiorego" Elfring's picks
ULTIMATE FF #1
S.H.I.E.L.D. is no more. The X-Men are gone. The Ultimates are a street team. Who is going to stop bad guys from destroying the world! Luckily, the Ultimate universe will now have the Future Foundation to protect them. What really excites me for this book is because Josh Fialkov is writing this book, and not just because he has a very strong, sturdy beard. His work on the Cataclysm: Ultimates mini-series was incredibly brilliant, and I cannot wait to see what he has planned next.
X-O MANOWAR #24
As we move closer and closer to the upcoming Armor Hunter event, things are getting nuttier and nuttier, in the best ways possible. Now that Aric is working for the American government, things have gotten a lot more complicated for the Visigoth king, especially since there's another alien also wearing X-O Manowar armor. Writer Robert Venditti really does a great job at setting up these epic stories. If you've never read X-O MANOWAR, this isn't the perfect place to jump on, but it shouldn't be too bad.
Gregg "k4tz" Katzman's picks
THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #21
I can say with total confidence that Jason Aaron's time with Thor is easily one of the best books Marvel is publishing. Seriously, I'm not even a "Thor fan" and I've fallen completely in love with this volume. The writing is consistently topnotch and there's such a grand sense of adventure. There's big laughs, super fun action, humanizing character work, and legitimately compelling drama.
The writer has managed to strike a unique tone with each story arc, and the latest has a very organic connection between present and future Thor. It has a great message without bashing you over the head with it or being too preachy about it, either. Oh, and did I forget to mention King Thor is having a standoff with old Galactus?! If for some reason that doesn't sell you on this book -- which is highly unlikely -- the fact Esad Ribic is producing the visuals should be some very, very delicious icing on this amazing cake.
DEADPOOL VS. CARNAGE #2
Love Deadpool? Love Carnage? Love action and comedy? Well, Cullen Bunn's latest Marvel title is likely for you. Yup, it's that simple. The plot of this limited series is incredibly basic but it holds true to Carnage's character. Basically, the red symbiote is back on the loose and looking to create some chaos. Deadpool feels motivated to stop him and, well, violence and lots of banter ensues. It's a little too early to tell where this book is heading, but right now, it's a good dose of entertainment and, given the cast, there's no reason why I wouldn't give this second chapter a shot.
Honorable Mention: FIVE WEAPONS #8
Jen "MissJ" Aprahamian's picks
AMERICAN VAMPIRE SECOND CYCLE #2
Last month's revival of AMERICAN VAMPIRE whet our taste for more, and the SECOND CYCLE continues to deliver expertly-crafted stories and phenomenal illustrations. Snyder and Albuquerque are a power combo, still going strong with this series four years after we first met Skinner Sweet. Issue 2 of the latest cycle centers on Pearl, and is an absolute essential for AV fans. (Not caught up yet? Grab the first couple of trades and pick up last month's issue -- we promise, they're deliciously addictive reads!)
CAPTAIN ACTION CAT: THE TIMESTREAM CATASTROPHE #1
AW YEAH, man! All-ages favorites Art Baltazar & Franco bring a brand new, action-packed Action Cat crossover event that is sure to delight young readers (and old readers, and readers somewhere in between!). These dudes have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of comics history, and their passion for the Golden and Silver Ages is both incredibly clear and cleverly packaged in an all-readers-friendly manner. Expect action, adventure, and plenty of fun in the Aw Yeah Crew's signature style -- this is an essential pick if you've got a young reader in your family and are looking for something age-appropriate and engaging.
Check out CBR for another preview page.
TRANSLUCID #1
TRANSLUCID, a new series in the Boom! stables (Get it, stables? Because horses? I'm here all week.), brings us a strange, fresh take on the superhero genre. Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert pair on script, with art by Daniel Bayliss, for a deeply character-driven story that breaks some tropes and goes full-force on others. Bonus: there's a villain with a horse head, and he's simultaneously majestic and eerie. TRANSLUCID is an essential for anyone looking to jump onto a fascinating new series (which Boom! is doing a pretty swell job of launching lately!).
Go to CBR for additional pages.
Corey "Undeadpool" Schroeder's picks
SINESTRO #1
Sinestro has been one of my favorite DC villains since his relaunch during Green Lantern: Rebirth and all the way into his retconned origin in Secret Origins: Green Lantern. His upright, proper air of authority makes for the perfect badguy-who-thinks-he's-right and his interactions with Hal Jordan in the early days of the New 52 bear this out. Cullen Bunn is a writer with plenty of experience with villains trying to do the right thing (with varying degrees of success) and while I'm not terribly familiar with Dale Eaglesham, I like what I've seen. He's got experience with strange, sci-fi books, so I'm sure he'll be a great match for this one. I'm also salivating to see the return of the Sinestro Corps as one of the most powerful, influential forces in the galaxy.
WINTER SOLDIER: THE BITTER MARCH #3
The retcon that launched a thousand fandoms continues to get better and better. From the second it was revealed that not only was the Winter Soldier Bucky, he'd been active since the 1950s, I doubt I was alone in being immediately hungry some of these "lost" missions. Rick Remender and Roland Boschi have, so far, delivered and they've delivered in the only way they could: by making him a boogeyman lurking in the shadows of the main story, a tone that also informed the recent movie. He's the espionage version of Jason Vorhees and the fact that this book is also directly relating to, and explaining, the new primary antagonist for Captain America's story is a welcome bonus.
UNCANNY X-MEN #20
Bendis and Bachalo return for another issue of my favorite X-Book on the shelf. The solicits have been teasing that an all-out war between the revolutionary X-Men, it sounds like it's finally going to come to a head with the search for this new breed of sentinel. There's a great mystery brewing at the center of this title and it's surrounded by other, more character-focused ones such as what happened to Eva in the Savage Land. The new characters have meshed flawlessly with old and new, interesting relationships are forming up around them, both as they relate to one another AND to the already-established faculty.
Honorable Mention: HARLEY QUINN #5
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