This Wednesday, a flood of new comic book issues will be available for purchase. If you're trying to stick to a weekly budget -- there's no shame in that, it's a pricey hobby! -- then narrowing down the options each and every week can become pretty difficult. Luckily for you, Comic Vine has your back. Every week, we'll check out the full list of new releases and each of us will highlight a couple or so new issues that have us excited. Once you're done seeing what we can't wait to get our hands on, we totally encourage you to chime in with your own list of "essential" comics!
Tony "G-Man" Guerrero's picks
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1
Peter Parker is back. For many, this is a moment they’ve been waiting for. Others will be missing SpOck but Peter is back where he belongs. Now that he’s made his return, what’s next for Spider-Man. This is an issue readers won’t want to miss.
This is the next stage for Spider-Man. Will we return to the same old stories we have before? Spider-fans have loved those stories but SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN gave us something different. It was Dan Slott who engineered the rise and fall of Otto Octavius. He threw plenty of curveballs at us and we can’t help but expect more coming our way.
If you checked out the preview pages, you know that a new development due to Original Sin is coming. We were already curious about how Peter would re-adapt to being in the land of the living but now that there is another Spider-person coming, who knows what will happen next or where she’s been since being bitten.
THE FLASH ANNUAL #3
Things are getting a little crazy in Flash’s world. People have already been talking about the appearance of a certain character in last week’s THE FLASH #30. This annual was labeled as the New 52 debut of Wally West but we did get a glimpse of him last week. Aside from the physical changes, the big question is what will his character be like? There’s also the fact that something kind of bad happens to him in the issue. It was also shown that something happens to Flash in the future and he’s determined to try to fix things.
Venditti and Jensen are taking Flash in a new direction and this will be an issue to keep an eye because it may spell out who is Wally West now.
IGN has the exclusive preview, so go there for two more pages.
SILVER SURFER #2
Dan Slott, Mike Allred, and the Silver Surfer. That’s more than enough of a reason to look forward to this issue.
In the first issue, we saw a new section of space that Silver Surfer wasn’t aware of. We also saw a new character we all know will be joining the Surfer on his adventures. Slott has some interesting things planned for the series and character. The first issue gave us just a taste of what’s to come and things are just heating up.
Honorable Mention: DEADLY CLASS #4, BLACK SCIENCE #6
Mat "Inferiorego" Elfring's picks
VERTIGO QUARTERLY #1
Vertigo is one of my favorite comic book companies. It's a fantastic imprint of DC that really takes chances on comics and storytelling. This upcoming book may cost $7.99, but you're getting 80 pages of stories from amazing creators like James Tynion IV, Fabio Moon, and Jock. The theme of this quarterly is "cool," so except all the stories to stick to that area.Yeah, expecting folks to pick up an $8 book, on a whim, can be a longshot, but Vertigo is dedicated to high quality books that give readers a new look into how comic book story telling can be told.
RAI #1
I'm a Valiant fan. I like the idea of a connected universe where I'm actually caught up on continuity. This isn't a universe filled with super-heroes though. There are super-powered beings, but each story feels more set in reality, when compared to Marvel and DC's books.
The biggest reason I want to check this one out is because of the artwork from Clayton Crain, who is a beast with his art. On top of that, this is a futuristic story taking place in the Valiant universe. This book seems like it's going to be a big win and pretty exciting, so that's why it's one I'm looking forward to this week.
Gregg "k4tz" Katzman's picks
FOREVER EVIL AFTERMATH: BATMAN VS BANE #1
Okay, so it's a little weird that this is coming out before the conclusion of FOREVER EVIL, but whatever, it's a chance to see the Dark Knight battle one of his most physically formidable rogues! I wasn't the biggest fan of ARKHAM WAR, but I do enjoy much of Peter J. Tomasi's writing and, truth be told, it did offer some amount of mindless fun. It's looking like this chapter will deliver more of the same as it apparently focuses on one big brawl between Batman and Bane. Throw in Scot Eaton's pencils and, as a huge fan of both characters, how could I possibly resist such an issue? Bring on the slugfest, Tomasi!
GHOSTBUSTERS #15
It's part 3 of Mass Hysteria! Why should you care, you ask? Because if you love the classic movies -- and that better apply to many of you or I want off this planet -- then you'll be happy to know this latest tale has a VERY strong connection to what went down in the films. Without blatantly giving anything away, let's just say a relative of Gozer has arrived and this is once again spelling all kinds of trouble for Dana Barrett. Jeez, she can't catch a break, can she? And now the book is throwing Rick Moranis' character, Louis Tully, back into the madness!
Writer Erik Burnham continues to make this a seriously lovable book. The characters are on point and the series is full of moments that'll make you burst into laughter. Plus, Dan Schoening's artwork is wonderfully animated and gives the book a ridiculously fun atmosphere.
This universe is on this book's side, and you don't want to go against the universe, do you? Yeah, that's what I thought. If you dug the films, you owe it to yourself to give this series a shot.
Honorable Mention: SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1,V-WARS #1
Corey "Undeadpool" Schroeder's picks
UNCANNY AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
I have a confession to make, loyal Viners, but I've always loved Mojo and the Mojoverse. Or at the very least I've loved the IDEA of it: an entire dimension of slothful, spiteful entertainment junkies looking for their next big hit. If this had been introduced ten years ago, it'd be hailed as one of the most trenchant, effective satires in comics, but as it is, it's one of the most polarizing locations, characters and storylines. Rick Remender is a writer I have faith in to bring an interesting storyline to the fore, especially involving a group of "supernatural" superheroes taking on supernatural villains. I'm predicting some trope skewering of the recent rise of supernatural pop-culture. Paul Renaud's got the perfect, pulpy style to compliment a story like this one, whether it skews more humorous or more dramatic.
ALL-NEW X-MEN #26
Speaking of polarizing storylines, Battle of the Atom split X-Men fandom down the middle as well, but one thing I enjoyed from beginning to end was the Future Brotherhood. The idea of mutants that were especially young in the current universe seeing their hopes and dreams crushed for the "last" time and deciding to take up with the more extreme Brotherhood idealogy seemed 100% plausible to me, even if some people didn't like seeing "cute" mutants like Molly Hayes become angry and bitter, but it felt earned. Bendis bringing them back for an All-New X-Men-only storyline sounds like a great idea and I can't wait to see more from them without the protracted deception that was needed for them to work the first time around. I'm not sure anything else needs to be said about Stuart Immonen, the artist who has defined the looks of any title he's been on.
GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS ANNUAL #2
As much as I love Marvel, there's something beautiful and novel about getting to a SECOND annual over in DC. I've always liked annuals and their ability to set the tone for the next year of a title as well as being a great jumping-on point, and it's time for Justin Jordan to set up the next big thing involving Kyle Rayner. From the man who helped define him in the new tone and tenor of the Lantern books, I cannot wait to see what is in store, even if it means a temporary cessation of the "exploration" storylines that have come to define Jordan's run on the character. Stephen Segovia is definitely a name I've heard, but not one I'm experienced with, but a cursory look over some of his past work makes me extremely excited. I'm always a fan of jagged, stylized art for weird, out-there titles and this seems like a perfect fit.
Honorable Mention: INJUSTICE: YEAR TWO #4