While there are numerous new superhero titles to check out this week, including several Avengers books and new issues of Brightest Day and Image United, I’ll focus today’s spotlight on two other areas of the store.  So let’s look at five books ranging from a couple of great kids titles, to a couple of genre titles worthy of attention, and a new release in our literature section that I think some of you might enjoy.

1) Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet #1

Marvel had some recent success with their recent kid-friendly adaptation of Secret Wars entitled Spider-man and the Secret Wars.  They build upon that success with this new four-issue all-ages adaptation of the Infinity Gauntlet series.  Brian Clevinger and Brian Churilla are at the reins on this series, and while these two creators have worked on more genre-based stories in the past (like Atomic Robo and the Anchor) they should do a nice job translating the classic Marvel tale for younger readers.  It’s nice to see Marvel focusing more publishing efforts on a younger audience.  Using source material culled from some of their previous stories is a great way of using old properties to pull in new readers.  If a young fan enjoys a series like this, in a few years they may find themselves wanting to read the original story.  That’s the kind of publishing strategy that I can get behind!

2) CBGB #2

We move from a good all ages offering to a new mini-series for a mature audience.  Issue one was one of last month’s favorite issues for several of us on the Heroes staff. Read our new staffer Justin Crouse‘s review of that first issue on our blog to see why this book works.  Grounded in the fabled NYC punk mecca CBGB, this new mini-series takes a look at why the place was so relevant  by telling small stories set in that world.  In the process the creators illustrate how that time and place in New York continues to be relevant to so many writers, artists, and musicians today.  Don’t assume that you have to be a huge punk fan to enjoy this book.  The best thing about this book is that you can value it without necessarily knowing much of anything about punk music or culture. If you look at this series as a kind of historical fiction it’s easy to appreciate it as a set of straightforward stories that are rooted in a very real place.

3) Darkwing Duck #3

It was only a matter of time before Boom! Studios published a series featuring this character, but I’m sure even they were unprepared for how quickly the first two issues would sell.  For those who don’t remember, Darkwing Duck was a newer Disney character that had an animated series in the early – mid 90’s and featured one of animations coolest rogues gallery, including two of the great villain monikers Quackerjack and Liquidator.  Not only does the new title maintain the fun tone set by the cartoon, but its art looks like it was lifted straight out of the old animation!  This is one of my picks for best new kids book of the year and is easily accessible to adult readers as well.  If you’ve got kids or nieces and nephews, this is a book that will be a lot of fun to read to and along with them!

4) The Light #5

The popular mini series from Nathan Edmondson and Brett Weldele wraps up with this issue.  While the plot has been driven by the novel concept of a light-borne virus, Edmondson has done a nice job juxtaposing this genuinely frightening scenario with the nervous relationship between the father and daughter main characters.  Weldele illustrates the horror with an art style akin to Ben Templesmith, which works very well for a story like this one.  For a more detailed look at this series refer to fellow Heroes staffer Jenny Bement‘s recent review on our blog!

5) Set to Sea GN

This week we see the anticipated debut graphic novel from Drew Weing.  Focusing on a poet who winds up spending a life at sea, this graphic novel looks to be a worthy addition to the niche of maritime comics.  In the past several years we’ve seen Sammy Harkham‘s deceptively simple Poor Sailor and Christophe Blain‘s excellent Isaac the Pirate books, and early reviews of Set to Sea have been high in their praise.  So if you’re a fan of pirate or maritime stories or happen to be looking for something new in the literature section of the store, this is one you’ll want to consider.