1) Conan the Barbarian #1

Aside from being a great place for new readers to jump into a new Conan story, this issue also kicks off a run  by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan.  The idea of these two creators adapting one of the most beloved Conan stories (full of pirates and such) should be a reason enough to give this one a try.  The duo previously collaborated on two acclaimed Demo series, and while those bear little relation to Conan, both creators have proven themselves capable of producing good comics in a variety of genres.

2) Deadpool #50

This issue marks another milestone for the fan favorite mercenary.  It also kicks off a new storyline called ‘Dead,’ where Deadpool might just meet an ending.  How exactly can the regenerative mutant die?  And if he does die, how might Marvel bring him back?  These are just a few questions that could be answered in this issue.  The storyline also includes lots of guest start ranging from Uncanny X-force to the Kingpin.

3) Adventure Time #1

This debut comic is based on the insanely popular Adventure Time animated series on Cartoon Network.  The book looks like it fits nicely alongside the quirky, surreal tone of the t.v. show.  Plus, it’s got creators like Dinosaur Comics’ Ryan North and former Muppet artist Shelli Paroline, which suggests to me that if you’re a fan, you should definitely find plenty to like in this new series.

4) Secret Avengers #22

This issue marks the debut of a new creative team (Uncanny X-force writer Rick Remender and Hulk artist Gabriel Hardman), and a new team lineup (including Hawkeye, Beast, Giant Man, Black Widow, Venom, and Captain Britain).  Remender’s top notch work on Uncanny X-force makes him an ideal writer to handle the Avengers’ black ops team, and Hardman’s work on Hulk suggests his style is ready made for a book like this one.  Exatly how these particular characters fit into that group identity is one of  many things worth finding out about in this new storyline.

5) Bone: Quest for the Spark Book 2 HC/SC

It’s impossible not to mention a new Bone book when it hits shelves.  Tom Sniegoski returns as the writer of this novel that features all new illustrations from Bone creator Jeff Smith.  The promotional blurbs for this book indicate there’s a lot to look forward to in this new book.  Everything from dragons and bears, to beehives and traitors!  This remains one of the great properties that continues to offer comics entertainment to kids and adults alike.

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Batwoman #6, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ongoing TP vol. 1, Kevin Keller #1, Wolverine and the X-men #5, Young Romance: Simon and Kirby 1940-1950 HC, Batgirl #6, Carnage USA #3, Richard Corben’s Murky World one shot, and Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #2.

We’re hitting the road for appearances at two conventions this weekend!  Heroes’ own Seth Peagler and Brent Bagwell will be setting up at the Columbia Comic and Toy Con on Saturday, and the Atlanta Comic Convention on Sunday.  They’ll have a huge variety of comics for you to enjoy, including brand new discount books, hard to find recent and new comics, and selections from Shelton’s new Golden Age and Silver Age collections that debuted at the Charlotte MiniCon.  They’ll even be selling advanced tickets to HeroesCon, and will have plenty of information to pass along to you about some of the exciting things we have planned for this year’s 30th Anniversary!  Stop by and say hello to the guys and pick up some comics while you’re at it!

You can find out more information about the Columbia Comic and Toy Con HERE, or click HERE to find out more about some of the cool things you can find at the Atlanta Comic Convention.  Both events will be a lot of fun, and we hope to see you there!

1) Winter Soldier #1

This new series focusing on the adult Bucky Barnes looks very promising.  Not only does the creative team include Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice, both well versed in tales of espionage, but the new series returns Bucky to the Winter Soldier mantle.  This means you’ll see a high action series that will include Bucky dealing with some of the fallout of his actions during the Cold War.  Brubaker clearly cares about this character, and always tells solid stories about him when given the opportunity.

2) Kramer’s Ergot vol. 8 HC

Editor/cartoonist Sammy Harkham always assembles some interesting work for his Kramer’s Ergot anthology.  While the last one was a truly gigantic undertaking (at 16 x 21 it was essentially the size of a coffee table!), volume 8 is more bookshelf friendly.  You can always expect to see some quality cartooning in this anthology, and this week’s volume is no exception.  Among the contributers are Kevin Huizenga, Johnny Ryan, Chris Cilla, Gabrielle Bell, Dash Shaw, Frank Santoro, Gary Panter, and Harkham himself.  It’s also nearly 250 pages of great comics!

3) Fatale #2

The first issue of this new title sold out across the country, and for good reason.  Aside from being the latest addition to the crime catalogue of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, it also marks a new direction for the pair, as they’re combining the worlds of noir and horror to tell an altogether different type of crime story.  If you’ve read some of their previous collaborations on books like Sleeper, Criminal, or Incognito, you know they always deliver good hardboiled work.  Also, if you happened to miss the first issue, the second printing of #1 also sees print this week.

4) Madman 20th Anniversary Monster HC

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of his infamous character, Mike Allred brought together a veritable who’s who of today’s greatest artists to tell new tales of the zany.  Included here are the likes of Kyle Baker, Darwyn Cooke, Los Bros. Hernandez, Erik Larsen, Paul Pope, Eric Powell, Frank Quitely, Jeff Smith, Craig Thompson, Matt Wagner, and many more!  The book also includes twenty years worth of pinups from legends like Frank Frazetta, Jack Kirby, Moebius, Alex Toth, Frank Miller, Joe Kubert, and Dave Stevens.  This 11 x 17 hardcover is destined to end up on more than a few of the year’s ‘best of’ lists.

5) American Vampire vol. 3 HC

This new collection stands out not onlybecause it features Scott Snyder and Raphael Albuquerque’s American vampires set against the backdrop of World War II, but also because it collects 12 comics and two seperate but related stories.  Along with the seven issues from the regular series, this volume also collects the five issue American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest miniseries by Snyder and artist Sean Murphy.  And it’s also over 280 comics in a hardcover format for $24.99!  If you want an entertaining and affordable read, you can’t do much better than this book this week.

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Animal Man #6, Swamp Thing #6, Twelve #9, Superman: Regin of Doomsday HC, Strange Talent of Luther Strode #5, Action Comics #6, and Avengers X-sanction #3.

Thanks again to all our guests and attendees who were a part of this year’s Charlotte MiniCon.  We all had a great time and hope you did as well.  It makes us all the more focused on making HeroesCon’s 30th Anniversary better than ever!  Now on to this week’s spotlight.

1) Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred #1

The first Bulletproof Coffin miniseries was a mindful blend of pop culture aestheticism and wry commentary on comics’ history and functionality.  Or you could just call it a really well done comic by David Hine and Shaky Kane.  The first issue tells the origin of an archetypal character called The Shield of Justice, and features a detective named Johnny P. Sartre.  The philosophical among you will enjoy surely enjoy it, as will fans of filmmaker David Lynch.  And with one of the future issues being titled “Tales from the Haunted Jazz Club,” there’s a lot of variety to enjoy here.

2) Silence of Our Friends GN

Writer Mark Long joins popular cartoonist Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole, Any Empire) to recount the tumultuous events of Texas in the late 1960′s.  Recounting the struggles to free five men wrongly accused of murder, Silence of Our Friends looks to be a fine example of how the comics form can be used to document Civil Rights history.  I haven’t seen much publicity for this book, but it’s one that rightly deserves our attention.  Plus, the book is co-written by our friend (and Emerald City Comic Con founder) Jim Demonakos!

3) Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm HC

Just a reminder, this is a book for mature readers.  This volume collects 300 pages of Timm’s good girl art, and covers a wide range of subjects in a variety of locales.  There’s even a nice, tasteful section of Timm’s illustrations of female superheroes.  Combine that with the fact that there are both color and pencil illustrations, and you have quite the art book.  Plus, legendary artist Jim Steranko provides an introduction!  Oh, and we also have a limited, signed hardcover edition available.  Get it while you can!

4) Justice League #5

As the first arc from Geoff Johns and Jim Lee nears it’s conclusion, their initial roster gets assembled in this issue.  It happens just in time, too, as Darkseid shows up to threaten humanity.  While this week is unique for all of the non-superhero titles hitting the stands, it’s hard not to mention this book’s arrival.  Johns and Lee have maintained and developed strong new readership, and with next issue’s big throwdown between the League and Darkseid, expect lots of people to continue to pick up this title over the coming months.

5) Secret Avengers #21.1

This .1 issue acts as the lead in to the Secret Avengers’ new direction.  Watch as Cap hands the reins of this covert team over to Hawkeye and the two wrap up a few loose ends.  The other big reason to pick up this issue is that it’s the first to be written by Rick Remender, who has been doing fantastic work over on Uncanny X-force.  In fact, since he’s now writing both of these covert team books, expect them to have some parallels.  Secret Avengers could very well be the Avengers version of Uncanny X-force, and it all starts here, so don’t miss it!

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Absolute Kingdom Come HC (new printing), All Star Western #5, Aquaman #5, Astonishing Spider-man and Wolverine TP, Batman Beyond: Industrial Revolution TP, Irredeemable vol. 8 TP, Vertigo’s A.D.D. HC, Hawkman by Geoff Johns vol. 1 Omnibus HC, and the Manara Library vol. 2 HC.

It’s a big week at Heroes!  Don’t forget that this Sunday, from 11-5 in the Palmer Building, we’ll be celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Charlotte MiniCon.  Make sure to stop by and celebrate with us, and don’t forget to visit the store to pick up some of this week’s new comics.  Click HERE for more info about the MiniCon.  Here are some of this week’s new releases to consider.

1) Batman #5

Part of the reason so many readers have responded so well to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman is their use of interesting new villains like The Court of Owls.  The idea that an old sect has existed in Gotham City for so long, and only recently come into the sight of Batman creates a variety of physical and psychological problems for Bruce Wayne.  Snyder is also tying in threads he first planted in his recent Batman: Gates of Gotham series.  This really has established itself as one of the relaunched DC titles with a very clear plan and direction.

2) Danger Girl: Revolver #1

There are plenty of fans of J. Scott Campbell and this particular spy book among our readers, so it warrants a place on this week’s spotlight.  If you’re a fan of either, you’ll want to know that this new 4 issue series not only returns Campbell and writer Andy Hartnell back to the book, but also features the introduction of  new characters to the Danger Girl family.  Aiding Campbell and Hartnell is series artist Chris Madden, who some of you may know from IDW’s recent Jack Avarice is the Courier series.

3) Daredevil #8

This title ended up on many ‘Best of 2011′ lists, and for good reason.  The significance of this issue is that it’s the second part of a 2 part crossover with Amazing Spider-man (#677).  Mark Waid and guest artist Kano tell the final part of a story centered around a potential love triangle between Spidey, Daredevil and Black Cat.  And though he’s absent from the interior artwork, regular series artist Paolo Rivera provides the excellent cover for this issue.

4) Prophet #21

First things first, yes, this is a new variation on Rob Liefeld’s ’90′s property.  That’s not really the unexpected part though.  Liefeld’s off working on numerous titles for DC’s relaunch at the moment, so Image has decided to take some of his characters (like Prophet and Glory), and have them reexamined by creators you might not have thought would work on them.  Prophet, for example, features the work of writer Brandon Graham, creator/writer/artist of the popular King City, and Simon Roy, whose art is quite different from Liefeld.  The result is a surprising book that puts its own unique twist on the ‘stranger in a strange land’ archetype, complete with crazy monsters and post apocalyptic dangers.

5) Uncanny X-force #20

In an issue that deals with further fallout from the recent Dark Angel Saga, this issue sends X-force to Otherworld to deal with the Captain Britain Corps.  Between this storyline and Captain Britain’s upcoming appearances in Secret Avengers, Marvel seems to be bringing the character back to the forefront.  If nothing else, you can be sure that Rick Remender’s take on the character in both of these books will be unique and worth a read.

>Bonus Picks of the Week: Wonder Woman #5, Bill Griffith: Lost and Found 1970-1994 TP, Lord of the Jungle #1, Nightwing #5, Fraggle Rock Classics vol. 1 TP, Uncanny X-men #5, Twelve vol. 1 TP, and Superior #7.

1) Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1

It’s hard to believe there hasn’t been a full length solo Lobster Johnson story in four years!  Mike Mignola brings back the popular pulp hero from the Hellboy-verse this week for a story featuring phantom Indians and mobsters.  B.P.R.D. writer John Arcudi and Who is Jake Ellis? artist Tonci Zonjic are also on board for this series, which also features great covers from Dave Johnson, who has been killing it on the recent B.P.R.D. covers.

2) Batman: Through the Looking Glass HC

This all new original graphic novel focuses on the Dark Knight’s first encounters with the Alice in Wonderland-themed villain Mad Hatter.  More significantly, the story was written by veteran horror writer Bruce Jones and illustrated by the Sam Kieth, whose instantly recognizable, angular art should fit the story nicely.  Plus, at over 100 pages, this book provides the perfect chance for those of you looking for a stand alone Batman story to indulge in and enjoy.

3) Batgirl #5

It’s easy to see why Batgirl has been one of the most consistent of DC’s 52 relaunches.  Old and new fans have responded to the return of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, and writer Gail Simone has long established her proficiency at telling stories featuring the character.  Artist Ardian Syaf has also provided a sense of stability to the story of Gordon trying to reestablish her masked persona.  This issue also features an appearance from Batman, who hasn’t yet faced Barbara since her return to costumed crimefighting.  And if you needed yet another reason to give this book a try, don’t forget the always amazing covers of Adam Hughes.

4) Shade #4

Fans of James Robinson’s Shade have rightly been trying to increase awareness of this series featuring the classic Starman villain/ally.  If you’ve yet to pick up the first three issues which featured excellent art from Cully Hamner, it’s not to late to jump on board this book.  If you’re looking for a solid story with equally quality art, make sure to pick up those issues along with this week’s issue which is illustrated by the great Darwyn Cooke.  That’s right, Darwyn Cooke is illustrating this issue telling of Shade’s early career as a villain in the 1940′s.  Don’t miss it!

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Captain America #7, Green Lantern #5, Incredible Hulk #4, Steve Ditko Omnibus vol. 2 HC, Scarlet Spider #1, and Wolverine and the X-men #4.

If superhero books in 2011 largely focused on both sweeping company-wide changes and numerous relaunches, what can we say about indie and genre books of the recently past year?  A few years ago the industry was rightly blown away by the genius work of David Mazzucchelli’s Asterios Polyp.  2011 didn’t necessarily have a single book that was hands down an instant classic, but if you had to choose one book that impacted the industry, it was Love and Rockets: New Stories volume 4.  Jaime Hernandez has been telling the story of Maggie and her friends in real time for over 30 years, always entertaining us with how he has chosen to develop his characters, always impressing us with his ever-focused art.  Volume 4 was one of the first times I can remember where creators and fans were open about how emotionally moved they were by a comic.  This is a tribute to Hernandez’s ability to tell stories that are not only practical and appropriate, but also unafraid to themselves be actively emotional in an unforced way.  If you’ve not experienced Love and Rockets before, you are doing yourself a great disservice.  This is genuinely one of the finest comics of 2011.

Elsewhere in “Indie” books of 2011 we saw the long awaited release of Craig Thompson’s Habibi.  A book nearly 8 years in the making, Habibi was a powerful statement from an artist who has spent his career constantly pushing his own boundaries and the boundaries of the comics form.  Standing tall at over 650 pages, Habibi exemplifies the work of a still hungry artist who is not content to fall into repeating patterns.  While Habibi was rightly controversial, any person would be hard pressed to walk away from reading the book without a greater sense of respect for Thompson as a creator and the potential of comics as a whole.

Unlike Thompson, Dan Clowes is an artist who has regularly released new comics every few years.  2011 was one of Clowes’ most prolific years to date.  Following up 2010′s acclaimed Wilson, Clowes offered up Mister Wonderful, which can be seen as a bookend of sorts to Wilson, or perhaps the flip side of the Wilson coin.  In addition to Mister Wonderful, Clowes released a deluxe, expanded version of his classic The Death-Ray, which contains one of the most interesting explorations of the superhero genre we’ve seen from a non-superhero artist.

Big Questions was finally released in a single format this past year.  Collecting all ten years and 600+ pages of work from Anders Nilsen, Big Questions is a great example of an artist’s development over a decade.  It’s also one of modern comics finest examples of the employment of fable as a commentary on humanity.  Nilsen’s magnum opus was always well received as it was released in single issue format, but there’s something about seeing and experiencing the completed book in a single published volume that makes you realize how significant the book is to comics of the past decade.

On the non-Indie genre side of things, one of the biggest stories of 2011 was the success of AMC’s Walking Dead t.v. series.  What does a t.v. show have to do with comics in 2011?  Suffice to say, the television adaptation and reworking of Image’s Walking Dead comic brought lots of new readers into comic shops, many undoubtedly for the first time.  I’m still surprised when someone comes into the store to buy a gift for a niece or nephew, sees a Walking Dead collection, and remarks ‘Wow, they made a comic of the show?’  Numerous people who realized the comics came first have subsequently made return trips to the store to continue reading Robert Kirkman’s monthly comics.  The Walking Dead phenomenon has brought up some interesting prospects for television and comics, and how the two mediums can work together to inform new audiences.

One of 2011′s other significant genre happenings had to be Mike Mignola’s decision to kill off his ever popular character Hellboy.  While Hellboy will continue in 2012 in the Mignola-penned and illustrated “Hellboy in Hell” storyline, the creator has spoken about how important it is to allow characters and stories to develop, change, and grow over time.  He has always made a point of stating that when characters in his books die, they stay dead.  It’s a testament to Mignola that he works hard to eschew creative stagnation by allowing ideas and themes to run their course.  One need only look at Mignola’s numerous other properties like B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, and the Amazing Screw On Head to see that his work always operates within this dictum.  Fans have been clamoring for more Amazing Screw On Head stories,but he won’t make them because he feels that he already achieved what he hoped to within the one book.  These books are also exemplary of how Mignola surrounds himself with quality storytellers and lets the characters progress in their natural state.  When a creator cares more about staying true to his characters and stories than he does about regurgitating material, the industry is all the better for it.

As with my post about superhero comics in 2011, there were just far too many indie and genre books to talk about here.  Many others made a big impact on readers and the industry as a whole.  So, what indie and genre books from 2011 really impressed you?  Did you discover a new creator whose works you’ve gone on to seek out?  With 2012 just starting, are there any big indie or genre books coming out this year that you’re excited about?  This is your blog too, and we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy New Year to all of our customers and readers from all of us at Heroes!  We wish you all happiness and success in 2012.  There’s a nice variety of new titles hitting stands this week, and here’s just a few to consider in your shopping.

1) Fatale #1

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have spent the last few years turning out some of the industry’s best crime comics.  With Criminal and Incognito the duo have proven themselves the go-to creative team for all things noir.  Their new book Fatale continues to add to their crime catalogue, but also features some decidedly Lovecraftian horror elements.  How exactly mobsters and monsters will work in the same series is just one of the many reasons to give this book a try.

2) Wolverine and the X-men: Alpha and Omega #1

If you’ve been enjoying Wolverine and the X-men, this first of five issues delves further into the relationship between Headmaster Wolverine and his most troublesome student, Quentin Quire.  Aside from this being a miniseries that makes sense, fans will want to be aware that this issue marks writer Brian Wood’s return to Marvel after several years working at Vertigo.  Also on hand are talented artists like Roland Boschi and HeroesCon staple Mark Brooks.

3) Mudman #2

Paul Grist is one of those cartoonists who not only impresses with his keen sense of visual storytelling, but also with his fine writing.  Mudman is his latest original story, and is the another example of his fine comics work.  His previous work on Kane focused more on the crime genre, and Jack Staff, while a variation on the superhero genre, was also a love letter to pulp and adventure stories.  Mudman is firmly grounded in the bizarre origin, costume-wearing superhero, and is as entertaining as one might expect from this talented creator.

4) Goon #37

Eric Powell returns with another issue of his inimitable supernatural romp.  Among other things, this issue features a girdle factory fire, an out of control taco cart, and a monstrous union buster.  In a story that may be as subversively relevant as it is entertaining, Powell gives us yet another example of why he’s a favorite of so many readers and fellow creators.

5) Keep Our Secrets Board Book

This latest children’s book from respected cartoonist Jordan Crane tells the tale of two kids wandering around their house and finding all sorts of things they’d never seen before.  Young readers will love the book’s color changing, heat sensitive ink, which allows them to find hidden images just by rubbing the ink.  Like his earlier book The Clouds Above, plenty of adult readers will also enjoy Crane’s imaginative storytelling and artistry.

6) Annotated Sandman HC vol. 1

Ever want to read Neil Gaiman’s Sandman but felt intimidated by the endless amounts of references it contains?  You’re not alone, and even if you have read the book its density is more than a little much to take at times.  The Annotated Sandman contains the first twenty issues of the acclaimed series and is a panel by panel examination of the numerous historical and literary references within the book.  Not only do you get to read the comics themselves, but you get to see a detailed analysis of Gaiman’s multilayered approach to storytelling.

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Fear Itself HC, Peanuts #1, Animal Man #5, Avengers: X-sanction #2, Defenders #2, Swamp Thing #5, B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth vol. 2: Gods and Monsters.

It recently dawned on me that I’ve written almost every Spotlight on New Releases column since July of 2010.  That’s almost a year and 1/2 of writing about new comics every week for readers of our Heroes Blog.  The biggest lesson I’ve gleaned from this experience is the idea that as a comics reader and critic it’s really important to maintain one’s joy and passion for our industry and hopefully encourage the same in our readers and customers.

Every week there are hundreds of books released, and there won’t always be something groundbreaking or revolutionary hitting the stands.  However, there are always books throughout a given month that entertain us or encourage us to think beyond the scope of our personal experience.  As readers it’s no crime to comment on things we wish were better in comics.  In fact, if you’ve been reading a title or following a character for a few decades, you have a lot invested in comics and should speak your mind.  Let’s remember that we all participate in a truly unique medium where on a weekly basis the opportunity still exists for us to be reminded of the inherent joy that exists within the pages of a comic book.  So with that thought, here are a few things about DC and Marvel comics in 2011 that I believe warrant reflection.

It would be wrong to talk about 2011 without first mentioning the DC reboot.  A gamble on many fronts, DC really took a chance when they decided to restart all of their titles.  The reality of the situation is that DC needed to do something different to try to increase their sales after years of turning in numbers behind Marvel.  They did garner lots of national media coverage for their event, and we did see many new faces excited about comics find their way into our store.  There have already been some concerns about how DC would be maintaining the quality and regularity of creative teams and storylines, but that’s to be expected.  Like it or not, the company did manage to refurbish some of their properties, and whether or not you agree with the strategy or enjoy some of the books, some really entertaining comics were produced.  In Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, Justice League brought two fan favorite creators to the biggest of books and did so with a wide-reaching effect. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s Wonder Woman reminded many of us that this is a character who deserves to have talented creators working hard to tell her stories, and that when they do, good comics are inevitable.  Other books like Animal Man and Swamp Thing found a nice balance between horror and mainstream comics, and continue to build toward memorable stories.  The goal for everyone is to see DC do well, have strong creators on titles, and bring in new readership.  If this happens, everyone can benefit.

Marvel Comics had a bit of an unusual year.  DC clearly grabbed the most headlines for their reboot, but Marvel always seems to have a longterm plan, and certainly has multiple film properties to capitalize upon.  Like DC they offered up several new #1 issues with the goal of reaching new readership.  In some cases, as with Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Marcos Martin’s Daredevil #1, Marvel found a solid creative team who managed to tell some great stories by steering the character away from his typical grim and gritty fare, and back toward some of his more swashbuckling roots.  No, this isn’t a reinvention of the wheel, but it is a good, fun comic that more and more readers are starting to enjoy.

Marvel probably grabbed their biggest headlines with their controversial decision to kill of the Ultimate version of Peter Parker/Spider-man.  Regardless of what you think of this decision, the idea that they then introduced a new Spider-man who might reach a wider range of readers is an exciting prospect.  If comics can’t reach a new, young readership base then the industry will continue to change in increasingly dramatic ways over the next decade.  The effort to gain new readers is also a reason for this year’s breaking of the X-men into two separate schools of thought.  With a lineup in Uncanny X-men consisting of darker, more villainous characters like Magneto, Namor, Emma Frost, and a Juggernaut-powered Colossus, and a younger, more lively bunch of mutants being headmastered by Wolverine in Wolverine and the X-men, Marvel has offered up two distinct X books for readers with very different sensibilities.  The latter has also given us some of the year’s most entertaining superhero comics, and has offered writer Jason Aaron an opportunity to explore a different kind of book than he has previously written.  By the same token, with Uncanny X-force Marvel has maintained and grown a steadfast audience for a mutant-centric book that doesn’t quite read or look like X-titles of the past.

Whatever you might take away from comics in 2011, it’s worth noting that like with almost anything in art there can be strong, entertaining possibilities if you look hard enough.  If you find a comic that moves you or offers up great escapism, support it by buying it and encouraging your friends to give it a try.  If you’re unhappy with a book you might have read for a long time, don’t be afraid to put it down for awhile and look for something new.  There are plenty of  books well worth your time and money.  The important thing to me is that we all do our best to try to be positive about our industry, encourage new readership, and support writers and artists who are focused on producing quality comics.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg.  Both companies had plenty more worth mentioning this year, and we’d like to hear from you about what you think.  What DC or Marvel books really impressed you this year?  What book did you buyon a whim and then proceed to pick up every month thereafter?  What are some things in 2012 that you’d like to see, or might be looking forward to?

1) Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #8

With the recent announcement of Marvel’s big 2012 event being Avengers vs. X-men, look for this 9 issue series to increase its popularity in the coming months.  Aside from the fact that this series features Avengers, X-men, and the Young Avengers, its return of Scarlet Witch to prominence will undoubtedly play a role in next year’s event.  Allen Heinberg and Jimmy Cheung are also apparently killing an Avenger in this issue, which may be yet another instigator in the upcoming conflict between the heroes.

2) Shaky Kane’s Monster Truck GN

I first came across Shaky Kane’s name reading Eddie Campbell’s excellent Alec series.  At that point it was just a name associated with an artist whose work I hadn’t seen.  Then, last year fellow Heroes staffer Justin Crouse recommended a book called the Bulletproof Coffin by David Hine and one Shaky Kane.  To my surprise the art was a strange combination of surreality, psychedelia, and clearly the product of a fan of Silver Age comics.  This week’s Monster Truck is another fine example of this captivating artist.  Spread out over the 50 page continuous single panel are an assortment of American pop culture bits including zombies, killer clowns, car-sized insects, dinosaurs, monsters, and classic cars.  It’s also quite poetic in a strange, quirky way.

3) Justice League Dark #4

There have been quite a few customers who have mentioned how much they’re enjoying this tale of supernatural Justice Leaguers.  For those who might not like the more mainstream of DC’s 52 titles, this one might be a good one for you to pick up.  Following the exploits of darker characters like John Constantine, Deadman, Zatanna, Madame Xanadu, and Shade the Changing Man, this title benefits from veteran Vertigo writer Peter Milligan, as well as the appropriately horror-tinged art of Mikel Janin.  To top it all off, they get a great cover from artist Ryan Sook every issue.

4) X-men: Schism HC

Wisely, Marvel decided to release a collection of this popular minseries before the end of the year.  Teaming writer Jason Aaron with talented artists like Frank Cho, Adam Kubert, Daniel Acuna, and Carlos Pacheco, this hardcover not only collects the entire 5 issue series chronicling the schism between Wolverine and Cyclops, but also contains Generation Hope #10-11, and the X-men: Regenesis one shot that led directly into the new Uncanny X-men and Wolverine and the X-men series.  Plus, you get almost 225 pages in a hardcover format for considerably less than you would if you were to purcase all the single issues contained in this book.

5) Chase TP

Readers over recent years have really responded to the dynamic art of J.H. Williams III.  If you’re only familiar with his work on books like Batwoman, Promethea, and Detective Comics, this week DC collects one of his popular series from the olden days of the 1990s.  This title was interesting in that it focused on a shady government organization that monitored superheroes, while allowing it all to be seen through the eyes of one of the agents who began to develop strange abilities of her own.  In addition to collecting the entire Chase series, included here are also lots of other Chase appearances from that time.  Over 350 pages of comics for under $30!

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Aquaman #4, Captain America # 5 AND 6, Flash #4, Kick Ass 2 #6, Batman: The Dark Knight #4, Walt and Skeezix HC vol. 5, and Spaceman #3.