It’s okay, change happens. It’s not the end of the world, we promise. As you may have noticed, we’re bringing a slight format change to what used to be “10 Comics to Buy This Week.”
Now, we’re not trying to tell anyone how to spend their hard-earned money, but our goal for this updated weekly column is for it to be something people can look to for near 100% accuracy when pointing out quality titles. Because as we all know, the problem isn’t finding comics to read, it’s reading the ones that make the most of your limited budget.
Firstly, you’ll notice our typical ten titles have been cut down to five (or there about). But we’re sticking with the old adage: quality over quantity. Lastly, outside further expansion on why we recommend each book, we’re also going to provide preview pages for each title (when available) to give you an idea how the book reads and looks. You can click each image to enlarge.
American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares #5
We’ve come to the final issue in Scott Snyder and Dustin Nguyen’s AMERICAN VAMPIRE spin-off series. It’s about high time Agent Hobbes and Felicia Book run into the Lord of Nightmares himself, Dracula. We’ve yet to see Dracula in this series, with Snyder building up to the reveal something fierce, but odds are it will happen in this finale issue (it better!).
With the sad news coming out of NYCC that AMERICAN VAMPIRE is going on a year hiatus in a couple of months, it’s now time to cherish everything AMERICAN VAMPIRE related that releases before it’s gone for an extended break. That starts this week with LORD OF NIGHTMARES #5. We honestly can’t see this issue letting us down considering Snyder is rolling with his overall AV narrative and Dustin Nguyen’s art fits this series like a glove.
Daredevil #19
The ongoing saga of “Is Daredevil insane or not?” continues here with DAREDEVIL #19. With Matt’s mind still reeling, the Coyote strikes while the iron is hot.
As we’ve said time and time again, DAREDEVIL is arguably the best thing Marvel is pumping out at the moment. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are firing on all cylinders and it doesn’t appear as though they can do any wrong. At least, we have yet to see it.
DAREDEVIL is a series that should be on everyone’s “must buy” list. There really is no excuse that you could come up with to explain why you are not picking this title up. That is unless you hate fun. And if that’s the case, we feel sorry for you.
Hawkeye #3
It feels like it’s been forever since the last issue of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s amazing HAWKEYE series. Thankfully, we finally get our fix with this week’s issue #3.
This month we learn what the Vagabond code is as Clint and Kate get caught up in a deadly chase that, according to Marvel, will blow not only our minds, but our ancestors’ minds too. Hopefully we can get an appearance by Pizza Dog and Landlord Bro while we are at it.
HAWKEYE is the type of series where the creators have been allowed completely off their leash, resulting in one of the most striking comics to hit shelves in quite some time. HAWKEYE constantly surprises and entertains with some of the most imaginative writing and artwork currently found in the business. You need to be reading this book. No questions asked, bro.
Walking Dead #103
I think it’s safe to say everyone has THE WALKING DEAD fever right now, considering the show just returned to AMC (it was awesome too!). With THE WALKING DEAD #103, Kirkman offers a perfect jumping-on point for Walking Dead fans interested in checking out what the comic has to offer.
I’m going to be honest with you; I’m a bit behind in my WALKING DEAD reading. So I’m not entirely sure what is happening in the series right now. With that said, however, issue #103 apparently picks up with a new leader of the pack calling the shots, leaving Rick to shut up and take orders for once. This is definitely a change of pace for this series, considering Rick has led our merry group of survivors for nearly 100 issues.
So if you’re intrigued to check out THE WALKING DEAD comic, now’s a pretty good time to see what all the fuss is about.
Wonder Woman #13
After a slight, but awesome detour to cover Princess Diana’s early years in issue #0, we’re now back to the present for the continuation of Brian Azzarello’s WONDER WOMAN. As we said last time an issue dropped, Wonder Woman is easily one of the best New 52 titles releasing. And after the amazing cliffhanger to issue #12 -- teasing the appearance of a certain grumpy New God -- we can’t wait to tear into this week’s issue #13.
Joining Azzarello for this month’s issue is artist Tony Akins. While it’s sad to see Cliff Chiang taking another break from the book, Akins’ style complements this series’ tone nicely.
If you haven’t yet dabbled in WONDER WOMAN, you best correct that. Rush out to your local comic shop and pick up the first hardcover and the rest of the issues to catch you up for this week’s #13. You won’t regret it.
Erik Norris is a freelance writer for sites such as ComicVine, IGN and CraveOnline.com. You can stalk him on Twitter @Regular_Erik.