Each and every week “YES! YES! YES!” MK2Fac3 and “Love Him or Hate Him” Henchman21 read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible”¦ theoretically. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull lists, grab some comics, and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of April 4, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Well, so a lot of things have happened over the past week. Most of them happened at WrestleMania. You see, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, and all of the fans got screwed out of a really good, fun match when WWE booked the match to end in 18 seconds. I know most of you don’t really care about wrestling (I actually don’t know that), but you should check out Daniel Bryan’s stuff on YouTube. Dude’s phenomenal! Anyway, now that the customary wrestling talk is out of the way, let’s address comics! Comics? Yes, comics, Hunter. There’s a whole lot of freaking books coming out this week that are newsworthy. Firstly, let’s address that this is the cancellation month for DC books, so if you’re one of the 50 people reading OMAC, you won’t be reading that anymore. Scott McDaniel and myself won’t be reading Static Shock anymore, and I’m pretty sure no one was still reading Mr. Terrific or Blackhawks anyway, but those books are gone as well. Along with these books, Men of War is getting cancelled, too, and it’s getting replaced with a war book in what I can only assume is a way to stop Viktor Kalvachev from making amazing covers for DC books. Nonetheless, this week’s Men of War features a guest appearance by Frankenstein and it’s written by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt, so make sure that’s on your radar. Am I giving too much away in the intro? Maybe, but there’s still one more thing to hit on. What was it…? Hmm…. Oh yeah! Avengers vs. X-Men officially starts this week! So, if you want a complete rundown of this and all the other books you should be paying for and attention to, keep reading because that’s what The GoD List is all about, mother lovers.

MK2Fac3

ISSUES:

As I previously stated, DC’s canceling a lot of books, and I want that Men of War comic, so I’ll be picking that up. I’ll also be picking up Avengers vs. X-Men (which Hench will talk about later), as well as all these fine stories!

Criminal Macabre: Die Die My Darling (Dark Horse Comics – $3.50): I haven’t read a lot of Criminal Macabre as I basically have no idea what’s going on in that world because I only pick up one-shots like this, but they always provide some rad monster killing, which is always a plus. Also, based on the title alone I have to pick this up. [Check out Spartacus!’s review of the issue for Geeks Of Doom.] Any comic, movie, book, form of entertainment, or consumable product that makes me think of a Misfits song gets a surefire purchase from me, least of all one of my absolute favorite Misfits song. If Steve Niles just took a track list from the band and subtitled every Criminal Macabre story line with Misfits songs, I’d be a happy, well-read young lad. Aside from the Misfits nod, this comic collects the shorts that were available in a few issues of Dark Horse Presents, so I’m assuming that it will be somewhat new reader friendly, which I’m really hoping for because I think there are a few collections that I should be trying to get my hands upon. Anyway, you should just shut your pretty mouth and pick this up because I totally am, and I’ll be seeing you again. I’ll be seeing you in Hell.

Danger Club #1 (Image Comics – $2.99): Okay, that got really weird really quick. Sorry about that. But instead of worrying about my weirdness, you should check out Danger Club! Why should you check out Danger Club? No real reason other than it’s another Image #1 which for some reason has a really good track record. Personally, I’m on a mission to start picking up any number one issue that looks really interesting to me to get a feel for the characters, storytelling, art, and what have you so I can either tell myself, “Hey, this is good! You should totally keep reading this!,” “Hey, this was pretty good, you should check it out when it’s collected,” or simply, “That was butt. What were you thinking?” I’m thinking, though, that Landry Walker and Eric Jones are going to tell a pretty decent story about teen superheroes. Will it blow me away? I have absolutely no clue, but I hope it’s not butt. And I don’t think it will be, either. [Check out RoughJustice’s review of the issue for Geeks Of Doom.]

OMAC #8 (DC Comics – $2.99): OMAC, dear OMAC… I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave. And you’ve got your back turned to me on the cover already? Dang, man. This comic was a blast to read, and it was one of the what, like two or three books that came out with “THE NEW 52″ that gave a crap at all about being a fun comic? Sigh… all good things come to an end, I suppose. But I also supposed that DC would live up to the thing when they said all comics would be getting twelve issues, but I guess promises aren’t always kept, either. In all seriousness, I’m extremely disappointed that more people weren’t legally reading this comic, because, as surprised as I am to say this, Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen did an amazing job at keeping the story going whilst staying highly energetic and, most importantly, fun to read. I am deeply saddened by this book’s passing not just because it was a great book, but the fun books are (not very) slowly going the way of the tag team in WWE. Anyway, I give you my three fingered salute, OMAC! You were one of the good ones!

Skullkickers #13 (Image Comics – $2.99): –Obligatory Skullkickers Mention– Hey everybody, Skullkickers is back! YES! YES! YES! This comic is one of my favorites, and it’s been FAR TOO LONG since it last graced my eyes with humor, action, excitement, and beautiful art. So, welcome back Skullkickers, I love you. I’ve missed you. Oh you’re not reading Skullkickers? WHAT THE HECK, MAN!? I told you to catch up while it was on hiatus! Well, now’s the time to start it because this is a brand new story told in a brand new setting. In fact, I think they’re pirate-ish now. Anyway, buy this book. Seriously buy this issue, you can get caught up on the Treasure Trove later.

COLLECTIONS:

Lots of collections! HenchMentallo is going to be discussing the greatness that is Flex Mentallo a little bit later, but I had to throw in my two cents (sense) since it’s Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, sunshine! WOOO! Collected for the first time with a supposedly awesome color job! YAY! Also, you should totes check out that Archie Meets Kiss collected edition in either trade or HC. Booyah. Now on to the real reason why we’re all here…

Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus, Vol. 2 Trade Paperback (DC Comics – $29.99): YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! It’s finally here! After being out of print for far too long, the paperback edition of the second volume of what could very well be the greatest comic book story of all time is back, baby! WOOO!! I received the first hardcover for this series a couple of years back and when I was done, I went to get the second volume and I could literally find it nowhere for under three hundred dollars. So, to be able to read these stories, finally, for thirty? I’m freaking ELATED! The first volume of this series blew my mind out of my skull piece by piece with each panel, and the way that it left off made me want to scream. THE CLIFFHANGER! Now that I think of it, I actually did scream. I scream a lot, though, but that’s way too much information. But really, this collection has the issue where Mr. Miracle escapes the building and while that doesn’t seem like a big deal, it totally is. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, buy the first volume, then buy this volume because A.) you’ll find out what I’m talking about and B.) you’ll be reading some freaking AMAZING comics. So get to it! Chop! Chop!

Oh and while you’re at it, make sure to pick up the Legends of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo collection because he’s one of the best artists that have ever drawn Batman. Freaking period.

Oh man, how hilarious would it be if we started calling Henchman21 readers Henchmaniacs? That’s totally going to happen. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you…

Henchman21

Guess who’s back and better than ever? Okay, maybe not better than ever, but I am back, and that’s got to count for something. And I’m here to tell you about some awesome comics that are coming out this week, Let’s get to it!

ISSUES:

Daredevil #10.1 (Marvel Comics – $2.99): First off, this has to be the best cover for any comic that has come out this year. Second, what Mark Waid has done with Daredevil has been amazing. This is another series that is just a lot of fun, which is saying a lot considering the last few years of Daredevil stories. You’ll want to pick this issue up so you can get caught up with the story, but even more than that, you’ll want to pick this up for the art of Marcos Martin. Martin has a wonderfully old school Marvel style that works perfectly on this series. He has a way of constructing a page that shows off Daredevil’s powers in ways that we’ve never seen before. I wish Martin could draw every issue, and fortunately, we’ve got Paolo Rivera to back him up. Marvel’s Point One issues are generally a mixed bag when it comes to being a good jumping on point, but I think this will be a good one.

Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 (Marvel Comics – $3.99): Yeah, like I’m not going to talk about this one. And honestly, I’m not sure how to feel about it. Sure, Avengers Vs. X-Men has some of my favorite creators working on it, between five of Marvel’s best writers and an army of artists. And if you’ve read this column long enough, you know I love me some X-Men. And I like me some Avengers. So I should be super excited for this, but yet I’m not. I think I’m still a little gun shy after Marvel’s last event, Fear Itself, and I’m worried that this series will not be a real story in and of itself, and will just be a means to “shake things up,” whatever than means. That has been the biggest problems with the last few events from both Marvel and DC; none of the stories have been particularly interesting by themselves. And I really, really, really hope that AvX is different. Dear future me, when you invent a functional time machine, you know, take over the world first, but could you come back and let me know how this turns out? No spoilers though. [Check out PS Hayes’ review of the issue for Geeks Of Doom.]

Chew #25 (Image Comics – $2.99): Through the magic of digital distribution of comics, I am now caught up on Chew and can switch from trades to single issues. And that’s what I’m doing with Chew #25, which is the last part of the Big League Chew story. If you haven’t read Chew before, you’re missing out on one of the top five best comics on the stands. Chew is always hilarious, innovative, and intriguing. I love fun comics, and that’s what Chew is at its core. Sure, it may be about a guy who eats stuff and gets impressions of memories from what he eats, and then uses those impressions to solve crimes, but the series is about so much more than that. And you have to see Rob Guillory’s art to believe it. His expressive style is unlike anyone else’s. I just let my brother read the first four trades this weekend, and he’s hungry for more (see what I did there). You have to be reading this series.

COLLECTION:

Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery Deluxe Edition Hardcover (DC Comics – $22.99): I know, I figured MK would be the one to write about this, since he’s usually the Grant Morrison guy, but he left it to me. This series has never been collected before due to legal issues, Flex Mentallo can finally be read by those of us who didn’t want to pay for the back issues. Mentallo comes from Morrison’s early days and spun out of Doom Patrol. From what I know of the series, it contains some of Morrison’s trademark oddness as well as the big ideas that we all know and love. Morrison’s innovation is sure to be on display here, as he tells a story that twists the superhero genre on its head. And then there’s the art by Frank Quitely. When this series originally came out Quitely was not the name he is these days, and I know I’m not alone in overlooking his work way back then. Well, we all made a mistake, but we know better now. Quitely is simply a fantastic artist. His work is highly detailed, and his layouts are always perfectly suited to tell the story. Morrison and Quitely are one of the greatest teams to ever work in comics, and I can’t wait to read this after hearing so much about it for so many years. Yes, this is indeed finally out, no more delays or excuses. Make sure you pick this up.