JUSTIN’S PICK :: UNCANNY AVENGERS #1: Another Marvel relaunch destined to inspire endless diatribes of Internet nerdsnark. Nevertheless, I’m excited to see a new iteration of the Avengers’ Unity Squad. Including a historical Avenger like the Vision on the roster only deepens this group’s significance, and throwing in a left field B-lister like Dr. (Brother) Voodoo is super cool (70s genre Marvel is kinda my jam). Also, Rick Remender and Daniel Acuña play well together, so let’s check the cynicism at the door and have a little fun, shall we?

ANDY’S PICKS :: Classic comics old and new……

BATMAN SILVER AGE NEWSPAPER COMICS HC VOL 02 1968-1969| $49.99
(W) Whitney Ellsworth (A) Joe Giella, Al Plastino (CA) Peter Poplaski
The second half of the comic strip run of Batman that rode on the coat-tails of the popularity of the infamous albeit hilarious TV Series. Sure, It’s a relic but it’s also a riot and it features guest-stars Superman and Aquaman. Same Bat strip, same Bat creative teams.

BPRD PLAGUE OF FROGS TP VOL 02| $24.99
(W) Brian Augustyn & Various (A) Guy Davis & Various (CA) Mike Mignola
An ideal and inexpensive way to dive into the Mignolaverse. Collects B.P.R.D.: The Dead, B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame, and B.P.R.D.: War on Frogs. Plus the storytelling mastery of Guy Davis!

FABLES #148| $2.99
(W) Bill Willingham (A) Mark Buckingham & Various (CA) Nimit Malaviae o
Rose Red learns the truth about her mother, herself and her sister Snow White. As NFL Coach Dennis Green might say at a Post Fables press conference “They’re AREN’T who we thought they were” . There are only 2 issues left. The tension is getting pretty thick.

GROO FRIENDS AND FOES #01| $3.99
(W) Mark Evanier (A/CA) Sergio Aragones
It’s a year long series. Each month spotlights a supportive character whose life gets repeatedly destroyed by everyone’s favorite bungling Barbarian. This first issue features Captain Ahax. Things will get wet.

MMW UNCANNY X-MEN HC VOL 09| $75.00
(W) Chris Claremont (A) Various (CA) Paul Smith
Even though the earlier John Byrne era made The X-Men stars, it is this volumes era that sent the mutants and their scribe Chris Claremont into the stratosphere.Collecting UNCANNY X-MEN #168-175- artist Paul Smith became a star, Rogue became a hero, Cyclops became a husband and Professor Xavier became a Jerk. Also included is the MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #5 “God Loves, Man Kills” a true mainstream high water mark and WOLVERINE #1-4. Featuring art by rising superstar Frank Miller. Last and certainly least, THE UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #7 perhaps the single worst comic book in BRONZE AGE  history. If you think I’m exaggerating, look at the last two pages. POP And POPsicles….yuck.

RUN LIKE CRAZY RUN LIKE HELL HC| $19.99
(W) Jacques Tardi, Jean-Patrick Manchette (A/CA) Jacques Tardi
Following the success of West Coast Blues and Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot (both highly recommended) Jacques Tardi third collaboration with famed crime writer Jean- Patrick Manchette is by all accounts, the best of the bunch. Hard boiled noir action, dark humor and page after page of Tardi. Tres Bien!

ZAQ’S PICK :: IVAR, TIMEWALKER #1: My pick for this week is a doozy, especially given how much time has passed since my last pick. Speaking of “time” I give you, “Ivar, Timewalker”! Published by Valiant, & the brainchild of writer Fred Van Lente and artist Clayton Henry. This book is about time travel, well, more about saving existence from time travel…? Our hero, Ivar, is like an eastern block Constantine. Nuff said!

I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January.
-Lucy Van Pelt
So here are some ripe ones:

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 LIBRARY HC VOL 01| $29.99
(W) Joss Whedon (A) Georges Jeanty
Okay, so Buffy Season 8 was a bit of a let down, but with Season 9, the Creative-Scoobies really got it together. Our world is a world without magic and a new menace arrives–zombie Vampires! Willow is working overtime to bring the magic back to our earthly realm while Buffy has a serious personal crisis. This entire run is a blast. Collects Buffy Season 9 Volume 1 and Volume 2 in an oversized format; plus an Expanded sketchbook by the talented Messer. Jeanty.

FABLES THE WOLF AMONG US #01| $3.99
Reprinting Vertigo’s first-ever digital-first series, FABLES: THE WOLF AMONG US which is a comic adaptation and expansion of the video game. This is an official prequel to Bill Willingham’s FABLES! With the series in the hands of Matthew Sturges (JACK OF FABLES) along with fellow scribe Dave Justus (HOUSE OF MYSTERY), and featuring art by Stephen Sadowski (JSA), Shawn McManus (FABLES/FAIREST), and Travis Moore (JSA ALL STARS) this looks like a solid offering to help fill our Mundane void.

LETS DANCE SNOOPY 65 YEARS OF PEANUTS TP

For those who can’t budget for the complete Peanuts reprint from Fantagraphics or for folks who want to let their kids read the adventures of the greatest daydreamer in comics history and want to keep their collected volumes from excess stickiness, this is a perfect single issue sampler. It’s not just the dog; it’s the WWI Flying Ace, it’s that gad about the Quad, Joe Cool, it’s the greatest unpublished novelist in America, it’s the world famous attorney, it’s the tennis partner of the terrifying Molly Volley.
It’s all Snoopy and it’s all great.

SETH’S :: ANT-MAN #1: You have to give Marvel a little credit for some of their recent publishing strategies. Since they were acquired by Disney and their films became one of the hottest commodities in Hollywood, Marvel has gotten increasingly better about publishing new comics that have a more obvious correlation with some of those t.v. and movie projects. Just a few weeks ago they published a new SHIELD comic, and this week we see two new series that will hopefully appeal to new readers. Operation Sin #1 sees an Agent Carter comic just in time for the new show, and Ant-Man #1 arrives just in time for the first film trailer. Ideally, such cross-promotional efforts will translate into more people walking into comic shops.

I’m particularly excited for the Ant-Man comic. Whereas most of the other Marvel Film properties have had multiple comics series over the years, Ant-Man is a relatively unexplored character. He’s one of those characters who has been a go-to guest star in the past, but hasn’t really had much by way of his own series. Marvel wisely tapped Nick Spencer to help define Ant-Man before the film. He’s coming off an acclaimed run on Superior Foes of Spider-man, and should do a nice job developing the criminal turned tiny hero. Ramon Rosanas provides the art, and while I’ve not seen much of his previous work, the previews suggest his cartooning is a good choice for this series. Wrap it all in one of the nice covers by Skottie Young or Chris Samnee, and you have a fun read for the week.

HEATHER’S PICK :: UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1: Confession time, I had never heard of Squirrel Girl until a Free Comic Book Day a few years ago when a local cosplayer, Amberle, showed up in a most amazing costume.  A bigger confession, until someone told me that she was a Marvel character, I thought Amberle just really loved squirrels.  This week I will be able to start learning all about Doreen Green and her best squirrel friend, Tippy Toe.  Doreen is leaving her secret apartment in the attic of Avengers Mansion (I seriously love that little detail and all of the fun things that are stored up there) and heading off to college to study computer science.

Written by Ryan North, adorably rendered by Erica Henderson, and colored by Heroes’ very own, Rico Renzi, this all ages tale is sure to thrill.  I for one can’t wait to have another female centric book from Marvel to read.  Did I mention there’s an awesome Skottie Young variant cover and an Art Adams variant as well?!? Don’t be a nut and miss out on this great new book!

JUSTIN’S PICK :: MULTIVERSITY THUNDERWORLD #1: I am not a Grant Morrison fanatic, but I’m not repelled by his work, either. I think he’s a very good writer, mostly in that he has a broad and elastic style that can suit a plethora of subject matter. Multiversity has been proof positive of that. But I have anticipated none of the offerings in this mind-bending miniseries more than Thunderworld. Cam Stewart is an inspired choice to delineate the Marvel Family, and Morrison has a pretty sterling track record of modernizing the tropes of yesteryear. Holy moly! 

SETH’S PICK :: RUMBLE #1: What a way to end my year of Staff Picks! I’ve been eagerly awaiting Rumble #1 since it was first announced months back at the Image Expo. Sure, the blurb heralding the series – “a scarecrow-Conan fighting in a Louis C.K. TV show directed by David Fincher” – has an excellent hook. What ultimately sells it to me, though, is the creative team of John Arcudi and James Harren. Their involvement makes me think this will be one of Image’s most consistent and innovative series for as long as the creators produce it.

While many of you may best know Arcudi and Harren from their reliable work on B.P.R.D., it’s important to realize that these two possess far more creative dexterity than to simply be labeled as horror creators. Arcudi excels at humor just as well as he does with developing rich characters. Harren, while known for capturing scenes of violence or horror, is a fine storyteller just as capable at crafting small, quiet scenes. These guys always produce comics worth your time, and their combined skills should be on full display with this new creator-owned series. Rumble is the kind of new comic that makes me happy to be a comic retailer, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

MATT’S PICK :: SQUARRIORS #1: Go Nuts Over Squarriors!
I’m all about the idea of comics featuring woodland creatures taking up tiny bows, arrows and swords! Sadly, I missed the boat on “Mouse Guard”. So, this is my (our) chance to get in on the ground floor of an interesting post-apocalyptic tale of battle-hardened sentient-animals. This title looks like it will borrow some story-arc pacing from “Mouse Guard” – they are based on seasons. The art featured in this book looks lush and kinetic, suitable for a book about tiny woodland-warriors. Artistically interesting “camera angles” and engaging dialog make this a book worth investigating. Based on the sample pages I’ve seen and the creators’ successful crowd-funding campaign, Squarriors looks like a winner!

“We’re gonna need a bigger book shelf”–Sheriff Brody

ART OF RICHARD THOMPSON HC| $35.00
I will let our esteemed Warehouse Manager talk about this one, but I can’t say enough about the great Richard Thompson. This book is indispensible!

ART OF THE SIMON AND KIRBY STUDIO| $60.00
KIRBY KING OF THE COMICS HC NEW PTG| $45.00
Two books that showcase the art and the artist! Titan has done a splendid job with their S&K Library and this artbook is a terrific accoutrement! Who knew Kirby better than long time assistant and devoted friend Mark Evanier? Evanier is one of the most engaging writers around and this book is a proud and respectful testament to The King.

NANCY COMPLETE DAILIES GN VOL 03 LOVES SLUGGO 1949-1951| $39.99
Have you ever taken the time to read and devour Ernie Bushmiller’s masterpiece Nancy. Deceptibly simple and oddly corny, it is surprisingly funny and a virtual textbook on comic storytelling.

COMPLETE FARSIDE SC SLIPCASED BOXED SET| $100.00
in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Calvin and Hobbes was the comic strip page gold standard, but it was Gary Larson’s odd and consistently laugh out loud funny single panel the Far Side that got the most buzz around the water cooler. The strip is still influential today with strips like Bizarro, Lio and rhymes with Orange mining the vein Larson tapped.