BRENT’S FAVORITES OF 2012:

Favorite Superhero Book of 2012: There were lots of great superhero books on the stands this year (the reinvigorated Daredevil, the thematically-unified Uncanny X-Force, and the imaginative Action Comics were definite front runners for me), but my favorite capes-and-fisticuffs book continues to be Batwoman. Operating on the fringes of the Bat-family, it is allowed to move at its own pace. J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman turn in thought-provoking scripts that take the story in introspective directions. The great strength of the book, of course, lies in the art. Williams turns in page after page of gorgeous work. But even when he’s spelled a bit by Amy Reeder or Trevor McCarthy, the storyline shines through. The current arc, featuring a Wonder Woman team-up, is knitting together years of plot threads in high style.

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It looks like departments stores are already setting up their Christmas displays so it’s not too early for me to remind you that Heroes is a great place to do some Christmas shopping while you’re picking up your own comics.  From an excellent All Ages section to art books to comic strip collections, there’s something for everyone on your list.  There’s also the annual Holiday Sale for the bargain hunters among us.  Keep an eye on the blog for that announcement.

Avengers #1 and #2:  Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opena take on an expanded Avengers roster as the team entered the Marvel NOW! era.  This title will be shipping twice a month and the preview art is stunning.  (Marvel Previews, pages 4-8)

Amazing Spider-Man #700: While new titles are launching in the Marvel-verse, this long running Spider-Man series is coming to an end.  It’s ending in a big way with 104 pages and some great covers, including a variant with the names of the creators who have worked on the book appearing in the city skyline. (Marvel Previews, pages 47-50)

Monsters, Inc. #1: Marvel is bringing another hit Disney movie into comics with this adaption of Monsters, Inc. in a mini-series that follows the adventures of a human girl who has sneaked into Monstropolis. (Marvel Previews, page 67)

Hellboy in Hell #1: Mike Mignola returns to both writing and drawing duties as we join Hellboy after his sacrifice in Great Britain landed him in hell with both familiar faces and a throne that have been awaiting his arrival. (pages 31-33)

Rotten Apple: Heroes regular, Sanford Greene, teams with writer Chuck Brown on a hunt for a priceless relic in the dystopian city of Rotten Apple. (page 50)

House of Fun:  Evan Dorkin brings the fun in only the way he can with this issue that includes new Milk and Cheese strips, stories from Dark Horse Presents and much, much more.  (page 66)

Django Unchained #1 and #2: Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie hits comics as an adaption of his full screenplay that tells the story of a dentist turned bounty hunter and his partner a newly freed slave.  If that’s not enough, the art for the series is provided by Scalped‘s R.M. Guera and Charlotte’s own Jason Latour.   (page 137)

Sweet Tooth #40: The journey of Gus comes to an end in this final issue of Jeff Lemire’s acclaimed series.   (page 143)

Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer Artist’s Edition New Printing: If you missed out on the first printing of this beautiful artist’s edition, never fear, just in time for the holidays a new printing is available. (page 173)

MARA #1: Brian Wood and Ming Doyle tell the story of Mara Prince, a celebrity athlete with supernatural abilities that is now famous for all the wrong reasons.  Ming’s art is gorgeous and in Brian’s hands this is sure to be an interesting tale.   (pages 182-184)

Chew volume 6: Space Cakes TP : I’ve been reading Chew in trade and I am ecstatic that a new volume awaits me in December.  Collecting issues 26-30, plus the amazing Secret Agent Poyo one-shot, this trade is sure to make the Chew fan in your life have a very happy holidays indeed. (page 203)

Love and Rockets: The Covers: Fantagraphics has collected over 150 covers from Los Bros. Hernandez and brought them together in one glorious oversized art book for our viewing pleasure.  The covers are almost exclusively presented without cover logos or texts (page 296)

Mermin volume 1: Out of Water: Don’t miss the full color hardcover of the adventures of Mermin the Merman and his human friends after he washes ashore following his escape from the underwater kingdom of Mer.  Originally published by Joey Weiser in mini-comics, this new collection is sure to please comic fans of all ages. (pages 306-307)

Chu’s Day: A new children’s book from Neil Gaiman about a cute little panda with a giant sneeze is the only description anyone should need to pick up this adorable picture book.  (page 352)

Get a head start on holiday shopping with this month’s Previews order and don’t forget to throw in a little something for yourself!

ANDY’S PICK :: LOVE & ROCKETS: NEW STORIES TP VOL 05: Short and sweet: It’s 100 pages of new comic stories by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez.  They only publish one issue of Love and Rockets per year and it is always worth the wait and it always one of the best books published in any given year.  Please try this issue.  This is a perfect place to dive in. You will be doing yourself a huge favor.  It is not just good; it is great.  And it’s only 14.99!!!!

SETH’S PICK :: DAL TOKYO: If you’ve heard the name Gary Panter before, you’ve probably heard it mentioned in association with abstract comics.  He’s got a long track record of producing unique works that stretches all the way back to RAW magazine.  Panter’s punk aesthetic suggests a do-it-yourself mentality, but there’s also a poetic element to his writing.  His cartooning is on full display in Dal Tokyo, Fantagraphics’ 200 plus page collection of Panter’s strip originally published in America in the eighties, and later picked up for Japanese publication.  It is an abstract work, and one not easily digested as a straight ahead narrative.  That said, it’s an interesting piece of cartooning and will entertain and confound you in alternating waves.

Is Peanuts the greatest comic strip of all time? It is hard to say for certain since there have been so many classics that have run throughout our lifetimes and and the lifetimes of our parents (and grandparents) before us. Calvin and Hobbes, Pogo, Popeye and Wash Tubbs/Captain Easy immediately come to mind. They are all masterpieces of the comic strip form–timeless, inspiring and entertaining…but do any of these (along with dozens I neglected to mention) have the true emotional pull and the personal connection we have all felt at one time with Charles Schulz masterpiece featuring Charlie Brown and the gang? Is there any visual ICON from the past 50 years more universally familiar than Snoopy?

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If you attended HeroesCon last month you know it was both the 30th Anniversary of our show and Love and Rockets by Los Bros Hernandez. You also know that Jaime Hernandez was kind enough to provide art for our shirts and program covers to commemorate this special event! These shirts were so popular that  they sold out at the show but Jaime has granted us permission to go back to press on these for those that missed out and for anyone that was unable to attend the show but would like to have one! The shirts will be available for pre-order on our site for a limited time. We only printed the pink and gray shirts for the show but we are going to make teal shirts available for pre-order too. We’ll keep this up for about a month before we go to press so order your today! Place your order here!