Another month of new comics draws to a close, and after a few solid weeks of publishing there are still new comics to talk about.  As always, check our new releases page for a complete listing.  Here are just a few books that caught my attention this week.

1)  Frankencastle #21

Rick Remender‘s horror twist on the Punisher comes to a close with this issue.  While the idea of turning the Punisher into a literal monster was controversial among fans, we can all agree that it was definitely a new take on the character.  The finale boasts art from Dan Brereton, a talented painter who has proven his skills at illustrating monsters with his creator owned title the Nocturnals, along with various projects at Marvel and DC.  This is one to pick up if you’ve followed the Frankencastle story up to this point, or just want to see how they transition the character out of his current monstrous incarnation.

2) Action Comics #893

Writer Paul Cornell has already brought some attention back to Action Comics with his first couple of issues.  By focusing the title primarily on Lex Luthor he has found a way to appeal to old and new fans alike.  This issue offers a showdown between Luthor and Gorilla Grodd, which is made more entertaining by the fact that the talented Sean Chen is illustrating it.  All this and you get a Luthor and Grodd cover by David Finch!

3) De: Tales HC

This new hardcover printing collects various short stories by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, the twin creators behind works like Daytripper, Umbrella Academy, and Casanova.  Long out of print and widely considered to be among their best early works, De: Tales offers some of the slice of life qualities that made Daytripper so popular.  At the same time the volume illustrates the different ways in which the duo work, with both creators alternating between writing and illustrating different stories.  With a strong year nearly behind them it’s nice to see Ba and Moon’s early work finally back in print.

4) Captain America #610

I’m spotlighting this book not only because today’s issue wraps up the Bucky vs. Zemo storyline, but also to remind you that Cap is still an entertaining book.  While Steve Rogers will always be the only Captain America in the minds of many that doesn’t take anything away from the quality Bucky stories that Ed Brubaker has continued to write.  With artist Jackson Guice on board Cap remains a Marvel title worth reading.  Hopefully the Brubaker/Guice team will be around for a while and continue to build on the foundation built by Brubaker and Steve Epting.

5) American Vampire vol 1 HC

I’ve spotlighted this title before but it deserves another mention.  In a time where vampires run amok in nearly every genre imaginable American Vampire succeeds by telling entertaining stories that rise above a marketplace inundated with mediocre monsters.  The 200 page hardcover collection is impressive because it contains a new sketchbook and art section along with an introduction from Stephen King, who some of you might remember as the writer of the backup stories in the first five issues.  Writer Scott Snyder and Raphael Albuquerque have done an amazing job on the series thus far and it’s nice to see their first run on the series collected in a prestige format.

> Other notable new releases this week: Chew #14, Justice Society of America #43, DC’s Star Spangled War Stories one shot, the X-men: Second Coming HC, and Mad’s Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragones HC