Every week, one item or another in my pull and hold stands out for me above the rest in one way or another. Sometimes it’s a periodical, sometimes a graphic novel, sometimes a collection. Does that happen to you? If so, let’s hear about it here. It can be an item you’ve long anticipated or something you bought on a whim. If it’s something you were really looking forward to but ended up being a big disappointment, let’s hear about that here, too. I’ve been meaning to start this topic for a long time now, but chose today to post about something I’ve been waiting for a long time, long before it was even solicited.
SILVER SURFER EPIC COLLECTION BY STEVE ENGLEHART AND MARSHAL ROGERS
This is a favorite run of mine, but I’ve read it only twice: once as it was released, and I re-read it once after that. It came out as an “ESSENTIAL” a few years ago, but for this I held out for color.
EDIT: Most weeks I make my picks before I have read them, but feel free to choose either the books you anticipate most before you read or enjoy the most after you have read them.
Replies
It is a rare week when a new AHOY! #1 ships and doesn't get the 'Pick of the Week" nod, but today legendary R. Crumb returns after 23 years! At 81, the underground comics master still draws brilliantly while diving deep into conspiracy, paranoia and modern madness. How can you miss a new Crumb comic?
The seminal cartoonist who single-handedly invented the alternative comics format of the one-person anthology in 1967 with ZAP returns at age 81, still raging at the world and himself, still drawing like a master, and still funny... mostly. In his latest comics excursion, Crumb dives down internet and newspaper rabbit-holes, and comes up asking questions. Why don't we know the real background of deep state careerists? And is Crumb himself just as paranoid as everyone else tells him he is? Or is that just what THEY want you to think?
Mixing memoir, essay, polemic, neurosis, and conspiracy across 12 short comics — including the final Dirty Laundry story, drawn by Crumb with a script written with Aline Kominsky-Crumb before her death in 2022 — Tales Of Paranoia shows there's still plenty of life in both the artist and the classic underground comics format.
It is a rare week when a new AHOY! #1 ships and doesn't get the 'Pick of the Week" nod...
Oh, screw it.
In a near-future America, Wyatt—an innocent 13-year old accused of shoplifting—is pursued by murderous robot police dogs. But an accident transforms one of his terrifying pursuers into a tame, docile, and affectionate robodog who tries to bond with and protect Wyatt! A touching tale of a terrifying future, from the deranged minds of Bryce Ingman (MY BAD) and Alan Robinson (New Fantastic Four).
I can recommend this to dog lovers.
This week I think I'll have to go with Capes #1 by Robert Kirkman and Mark Englert, a spin-oof from Invincible. I never did make it all the way through Invincible (although doing so is still on my list, believe me), but Kirkman's projects are always interesting and worth a look.
LONG OUT-OF-PRINT AND VERY IN-DEMAND! RE-INTRODUCING ROBERT KIRKMAN AND MARK ENGLERT’S CORNER OF THE INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE!
A special remastering of CAPES, featuring new art and dialogue!
BOLT! KID THOR! KNOCK OUT! CAPTAIN COSMIC! CLAIRE VOYANT! BIG BRAIN! COMMANDER CAPITALISM! Welcome to Capes Inc, employers of your favorite super heroes that protect — well, at least when they’re on the clock — New York City from threats like MACHINE HEAD, TITAN... and now are in the crosshairs of an enemy they never expected!
While I'm here I might as well also mention...
Rich Koslowski’s original F.A.R.M. System graphic novel pulled back the curtain on the superhero community to reveal a satirical blend of pro sports and show business, filled with heroes and hustlers alike. Now the shocking sequel, F.A.R.M. System: Rage, explores the intersection of super-powers, performance-enhancing drugs, and American politics.
I wonder if they will reprint the second features of the characters that came in issues of "Invincible".
Those are fun characters!
For (much) more information see "Comics shipping Nov. 19, 2025."
The first issue was delightful! I didn't previously know anything about this series or these characters. I'm glad I bought it.
I wonder if they will reprint the second features of the characters that came in issues of "Invincible".
"The first six issues of this series will be a representation of the material that ran in Invincible for a year or so." From #7 it will be all-new, with Robert Kirkman staying on as "a story editor of sorts."
TRIGGER WARNING:
This is exactly what it purports to be: a SIP story set in the Old West.
This "done-in-one" would be a good sampler of the kind of stories Terry Moore tells for someone who has never read Strangers in Paradise.
And putting them in the Old West would not hurt continuity any worse than the last few years of SiP.
CRIMINAL #1:
I've heard a lot about these Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips fellas (all of it good), but until now the only of their wares I have sampled had been the western Pulp. the first think I noticed about Criminal is that it is printed on newsprint, an interesting choice which gives it a kind of "pulp" feel. I don't read much of the "crime" genre, but I was drawn into the story in the way way I am to an issue of Dave Lapham's Stray Bullets. The story is supplemented by a brief "Welcome to the World of Criminal" essay written by Brubaker, introducing the series to new readers or providing a refresher for old ones. (There is also a "Criminal" RPG module, for those who are interested in that sort of thing.) Their entire catalogue is printed, plus there's a streaming TV in the works. I don't know whether or not I'll buy any of the collections of previous material (or what the TV show), but I will definitely continue to buy this series.
These guys are among my favorite teams in comics -- everything they work on is a must-buy for me. It's definitely worth looking into their other Criminal books, as well as Reckless -- that series of graphic novels is a total knockout.
-
67
-
68
-
69
-
70
-
71
of 71 Next