Take two ticks to tinker with the thought of trying the Terrifyingly Tragic Treasury Edition of Joe Hill’s terrific terse tales.

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That’s a fair share of Ts, folks.  You’ll notice that one of the above T words is not “terrible”.  I would shudder at the idea of associating that word anywhere near Joe Hill’s work, as he is one of the most gifted writers in comics today.  Having made a name for himself on his masterpiece, Locke & Key, as well as The Cape miniseries, Hill has quickly become a respected name in the industry.  The fact that he’s Stephen King’s son also helps.  If you’ve devoured the five hardcover volumes of Locke & Key and are looking to fill the void in your life until volume six comes out, the TTTE special is a perfect option.  Containing his Kodiak one-shot, The Cape stand alone issue, and his Locke & Key short story “Open the Moon”, all of which are nominated or won industry awards.   

Fantasy adventure comics have been on the rise lately, what with Pathfinder, the Dungeons and Dragons series, Demon Knights, Conan, and, now, Amala’s Blade.  Striking a tone somewhere between humor and action, Amala’s Blade #1 is the first part of a four part miniseries following the titular assassin hero.  Amala is the head assassin in the kingdom of Naamaron, but has fallen out of favor due to her brash, boastful ways.  So, the emperor does the only logic thing:  send her on a mission that will likely result in her death.  Now, Amala’s skills are put to the test, with a failing grade equaling an end most fowl.  Illustrated in a style that bridges sketchy Indy artists like Becky Cloonan and cartoony pop like Avatar the Last Airbender, Amala’s Blade is feisty fantasy.

If you’re daughter’s ever tried to run past the rebel blockade in a giant spaceship shaped like a fist, Vader’s Little Princess might warm your heart.  You might also enjoy it if you and your daughter are huge Star Wars fans.  Jeffery Brown releases his second Star Wars children’s book detailing the awkward difficulties of raising a daughter who is your worst enemy.  Drawn in the same simplistically charming style of Brown’s Incredible Changebots, Cats Are Weird, and Vader and Son, Vader’s Little Princess is made up of vignettes detailing Vader’s struggle with common fatherly duties.  Tea parties, teaching Leia how to fly TIE fighters, and keeping her from leaving the house in only her slave girl bikini are the tasks of the day for Papa Skywalker.  Grab a copy and bond with your daughter over your shared geekiness.

A legacy can be an awful burden.

The legendary duo of Mark Millar and Frank Quietly (The Authority, WE3, New X-Men) reteam for the first time in years to bring you Jupiter’s Legacy.  This soon-to-be-hit series from Image Comics begins in the far future when all of Earth’s heroes have given up and left the world’s protection to their kids.  But being a better superhero  than your parents can be a demanding task.  Trust us when we say that this series will bring the violence, sexuality, and cinematic action unlike anything else out there (except maybe Saga, that book’s pretty raunchy).  Grab the hit comic of this year before it vanishes from the shelves.

 

Polarity may tell you that car accidents can cause superpowers, but, please, don’t believe it.

Do, however, enjoy the fictional psychedelically tale  that Say Anything frontman, Max Bemis, weaves in his Boom Studios miniseries.  Rule one of writing is to “write what you know”, and Bemis has taken that to heart in Polarity by focusing the story around a bipolar rocker who gets in a car wreck and finds his disorder is actually a special ability.  And if you’ve found you have superpowers and a rocker, you’re probably going to play your guitar with you mind and punch bad guys in their mugs.  You might also choose to include a special downloadable song with each issue.  

This next year brings with it a number of amazing looking video games, primary among them is The Last of Us.  Serving up some gorgeous post-apocalyptic New York landscapery, this game stars a teenage girl and a grizzled older man surviving against the elements and hordes of roving marauders.  Dark Horse‘s The Last of Us: American Dreams tells the tale of how the girl, Ellie, made it through the initial years of the apocalypse before she met her guardian.  Written by one of the creators behind the video game, this miniseries is an essential read before playing the game.

Sean Murphy produced the artwork for the surreal toyland adventure series Joe the Barbarian, showing the comic world how expressive, expansive comic storytelling is done.  Last year Murphy brought his scratchy style to Vertigo and the series Punk Rock Jesus.  Now, all six issues are out in a handy trade paperback presentation.  Religion and television are crammed together in the series as a cloned version of Jesus, named J2, becomes the star of a hit reality show.  How J2 affects those closest to him as well as the entire country, is what the series becomes interested in discussing.  Profanity, lewdness, vulgarity, and sacrilegious debauchery are the order of the day in Punk Rock Jesus, so pick it up if you dare.

Let’s be honest, everyone who saw The Avengers last summer loved it.  However, only about a third of those people understood who the purple-chinned dude was in the after credits scene.  No matter which person you are, you’re going to want to pick up Marvel‘s Thanos Rising miniseries.  Jason Aaron brings a hefty dose of the legendary epicness he’s been serving up in Thor God of Thunder to this soon-to-be-classic series detailing Thanos’ rise to power.  Brought to life not only by Aaron’s stellar words, but also Simone Bianchi’s tapestry-esque paneling; a painterly equivalent to Esad Ribic’s art on Thor.  Plus, this series will lead into the upcoming arcs of both Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova, two of the hottest Marvel NOW books on the shelves.

 

I reckon with the first book under discussion being none other than Constantine #1, a rather fine rogue of a gentleman, if I do say, there’s a wee amount of deception bound to occur.

A’right, me fingers are crossed, no lying.

Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes, the present writers of the phenomenal Justice League Dark series, bring their lead character, John Constantine, into his own ongoing series.  Supported by the vivid pencils of Renato Guedes, Constantine sets out on a quest across the mystic underbelly of the DC Universe to hunt down an artifact capable of such destruction…you may actually be rooting against Constantine to get his deceitful hands on it.

Trust me, love, you don’t want to miss it.

Steve Niles returns to his long on hiatus fan-favorite title, Mystery Society, this Wednesday.  The Mystery Society Special 2013 is an oversized, one-off adventure featuring the cast of the previous Mystery Society miniseries, Anastasia and Nick Mystery.  This time venturing to the depths of the ocean, these resilient investigators of the paranormal run across a collector of ancient memorabilia who may not be carrying a full deck.  Crazy, is what I’m saying, he’s crazy for cocopuffs!  Classic, pulpy adventure in a modern day package, the Mystery Society Special 2013 should be in your collection on new comic day.

Speaking of pulpy, it doesn’t get much more so than this week’s Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Grey.  I mean, that title alone should tell you something.  Fabian Grey is a notable treasure hunter, much like a certain fedora wearing, whip carrying hero of the silver screen, who was long ago bonded with the ghosts of five literary heroes (including Sherlock Holmes, Merlin, Robin Hood, and more).  Now, he may call upon their abilities during his expeditions…as long as they’re willing to lend them to him.  Honestly, they cause more trouble than it’s worth.  But that means enjoyable reading for you, so pick up a copy of #1 because it’s better than a cockpit full of snakes.

Picking up where last year’s hugely popular and extremely well-adapted Avatar the Last Airbender:  The Promise miniseries left off, this year’s The Search begins this week.  This time, the story sets out to answer the long awaited question of: “What happened to Zuko’s mother?”  With Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka at his side, Zuko leaves on a journey to find his mom and the answers she carries.  The only caveat is that Azula, Zuko’s loony sister, is the key to finding their mother.  Yeah, things are not likely to go well.  For fans of the Avatar series who wished there was more, these comics are like lost episodes of the series, written just as well, drawn in the exact same style, and full of the same blend of serious drama and goofy comedy.

 

Hey, everyone, come on, grab your friends!  We’ll go to very distant lands!

Jake and Finn have stopped playing with BMO and are back for a second round of Adventure Time trade paperback mathematics!  Adventure Time volume two collects issues five through nine of the series that’s sweeter than Peppermint Butler.  Within these flippin’ sweet pages are stories of Finn and Jake turning into robots, traveling in Princess Bubblegum’s time machine, and laying some smack down on the Ice King.  Make your kids (or, hell, yourself) happy and pick it up!

Liches and zombies need not apply.

Scott Snyder just finished what is sure to become a classic Joker story in the main Batman series, but, before he made a name for himself, Snyder wrote one of the creepiest runs of Detective Comics ever.  Set during the period of time where Dick Grayson was Batman, this extended run has an entirely different tone from other Batman books as Grayson is all about the sarcasm and acrobatics, both brought to life by Jock’s expressive pencils.  Faced with a complicated murder mystery to solve, Grayson must team-up with Commissioner Gordon to crack the case.  Not only do Gordon and Grayson share sleuthing duties, but the story is also evenly split between them.  Gordon must deal with the arrival of his prodigal son, James, Jr., who may or may not be entirely sane.  Snyder is incredibly dept at pacing horror and suspense on the page, a talent uses handily during many of Gordon and James, Jr.’s scenes together.  Just remember to watch out for that water running under the bathroom door.

One thing you will certainly not find in Image Comics Five Weapons miniseries is a sorting hat.

That just makes it all the more important to choose wisely when you’re enrolling in The School of Five Weapons, because the weapon you choose will define the rest of your life.  Knives, staves, archery, exotics, and guns may be deadly, but they have nothing on the brain of Tyler, the most recent arrival to the premiere assassin school.  Join Jimmie Robinson (Bomb Queen), handling both art and writing duties, as he leads you through the halls of the deadliest high school in the country.  

Just don’t call it Harry Potter with guns.

Talking raccoons make every comic better.

Brian Michael Bendis got to sample the Guardians of the Galaxy in his recent run on Avengers Assemble, but now he launches deep into the stars with the beginning of another ongoing Guardians of the Galaxy series.  The first point one issue details the origins of Starlord, the boy from Earth who grows-up to lead the meanest bunch of space police in the universe.  With crisp, detailed artwork from Steve McNiven (Civil War), the addition of Iron Man, and the eminent Marvel Studios film adaptation the only reason to skip this book is if you’re off planet.

 

The Missouri/Kansas rivalry has seeped into basketball, politics, and history.  Now it’s found its way into comics.

Geoff Johns and David Finch spread the Justice League love to the land of stars and stripes with Justice League of America #1.  And, yes, we’re going to have the special Missouri and Kansas flag variant covers.  Now, as to the actual content of the comic.  IT’S GONNA BE AWESOME!  Geoff Johns has been writing Justice League since the beginning of the New 52, bringing his talent for reinvention to the big shots of the DC Universe, but now it’s his time to dig into the supporting characters.  An eclectic team C-List heroes like Hawkman, Stargirl, Vibe, Green Arrow, Catwoman, Martian Manhunter, and more are hired by the government as their own personal, super-powered task force.  The real selling point here is that Geoff Johns understands character.  He’s proven it time and again on ensemble books like Justice Society of America, Teen Titans, and Justice League, given an assortment of unusual characters, Johns will make you love them.

Prepare your bro hooves.

My Little Pony, the fan-favorite and cult hit cartoon, became a fan-favorite, cult hit comic book last year.  Now, another Pony book has arrived.  MLP Micro is a six issue miniseries that focuses on six of the most popular ponies of the series on their own unique adventure.  First up, this Wednesday, is Twilight Sparkle (yeah, you knew that’s who it would be).  Having fallen in love with a series of novels, Twilight sets out on a journey to find the books’ author when she finds out it never finished.  Alert the Bronies!

Jeph Loeb, author of Batman: Long Halloween, Ultimate Comics X, Dardevil Yellow, and much more, lost his son, Sam, about five years ago to cancer.  Sam, by all accounts, was a positive, joyful joker who made everyone smile and was always ready for an adventure.  In honor of Sam, Jeph Loeb has created a new Nova for the Marvel NOW! universe, Sam Alexander, imbued with all the qualities of his own son.  Outside of the personal connection, Sam “Nova” Alexander has a mysterious background that will be explained over the course of the series as he eases into his heroic moniker.  After making his debut in Avengers vs. X-Men and Marvel NOW! Point One, Sam is getting his own series with top-notch writer Loeb and stylized art master, Ed McGuinness!

Fresh on the heels of the announcement that 2013 will bring another release in the impressive Batman Arkham Asylum video game series, the third set of Arkham City action figures hit shelves this Wednesday.  As per usual, this set brings with it another version (the best, in my opinion) of the Batman himself, this time in his original costume, detailed to the extreme!  Fleshing out this assortment are three beloved characters, Deadshot, Talia al Ghul, and Nightwing, complete with his electrified batons.  Complete your Arkham rogues gallery by picking each of them up.

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