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.