Each and every week “Heel Heat!” MK2Fac3 and “Babyface Pop!” 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 July 25, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

I’ve intentionally taken about a week off from writing for the site, with good reason. The shooting in Aurora, CO, has affected me in a way that I have a very hard time expressing. The simple fact is that a completely insane and terrible person decided that he would murder a bunch of people for no reason. In my opinion, this person doesn’t have a name. He shouldn’t be given a chance to be known by anyone and his name shouldn’t be present on the lips of anyone. The majority of us who write for this site and plenty of those of us who read this site were present at midnight screenings across the country. This could have happened to any one of us, but it didn’t. It happened to a group of people who are very similar to us, and they should be remembered. They should be honored, and I’ve been trying to get an idea to honor these people, but nothing I could think of would be enough. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to list their names so that we don’t forget. They’re the people who we should remember, and they’re the people we should be talking about, so to Jessica Ghawi, Matt McQuinn, Micayla Medek, John Larimer, Alex Sullivan, Alex Teves, Jonathan Blunk, Jesse Childress, AJ Boik, Rebecca Ann Wingo, Gordon W. Cowden, and Veronica Moser-Sullivan, we know who you are, we care about who you are, and we won’t forget you.

Now back to your regularly scheduled The GoD List….

MK2Fac3

ISSUES:

The Goon #40 (Dark Horse Comics – $3.50): The Goon is just one of those comics that everyone should read. Eric Powell finds this magic when he writes a comic that can switch from hilarious to heartfelt to exciting to creepy and then right back to hilarious. He mixes his humor with horror in a wonderful way and then ends up with a fantastic comic. It’s kind of hard to try to sell people on this book because it goes all over the place, but its going all over the place is part of its charm. It’s “creator-owned” in the best sense of the word – Powell does whatever he wants, however he wants, but luckily for us, his desires are not hard to read and are, in fact, quite fun. And that’s the whole reason you should read The Goon. It’s fun. We live in a world that has so very little fun in it, especially in comics. You should flock towards the fun. You should flock towards The Goon.

DC Super Pets: Night of Scaredy Crows (DC Comics – $4.95): Look, I honestly have no idea what the content in this book is like. I’m 100% sure that it’s targeted for small children, but at the same time, I’m pretty sure it’s the only place I can read a new comic-related book that features Ace The Bat-Hound. Nine out of 10 times, these kids books play to comic fans in hilarious ways, and as long as you don’t take yourself too seriously, you can have fun with them. Is that the theme for today? Hopefully, but we’ll see as we move forward into the list.

National Comics: Eternity #1 (DC Comics/National Comics – $3.99): Jeff Lemire and Cully Hamner. That’s the whole reason you need to read this book. However, there’s still more to this book than that. National Comics is a way for DC to bring in some of the more fringe characters like Looker and Kid Eternity, who is the star of this book, and bring them in to the mainline DC universe. Each issue is done in a one-shot and features a complete story. This comic, as stated above, focuses on Kid Eternity and revolves around the premise of the star of the book solving a deadly crime within 24 hours, because if he doesn’t, well, I’m not sure. It probably has something to do with the revised original and all that, but I don’t really care about the stakes, I care about the creative team, and what a creative team it is!

COLLECTION:

Underwater Welder (Top Shelf Comics – $19.95): In the grand tradition of Essex County, The Nobody, and Sweet Tooth, Jeff Lemire graces us with his creative brain through his wonderful writing and haunting art. I honestly have no idea what this book is about, and I don’t want to find out, either. Lemire’s creator-owned/self-published books are ones that I like to have no knowledge of going into it because when I come out of it, I feel like I’ve been transported to another world. The stories and art are so engrossing that I wouldn’t want a second taken away from that. I obviously love Jeff Lemire, and if you do too, or you have yet to give his more indie stuff a try, starting with Underwater Welder would be probably be the best idea you could have.

Thanks!

Henchman21

ISSUES:

Debris #1 (Image Comics – $3.50): It’s a weird week for me. None of the books coming out are getting me really excited, but there are a few that I’m at least curious about. One of these books is Debris #1 from Image comics. This is the next series from Riley Rossmo, artist of Proof, Cowboy Ninja Viking, and Rebel Blood. I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed by Rebel Blood, which was his most recent work. The story in Rebel Blood never came together for me and I could never figure out exactly what was going on. I still enjoyed Rossmo’s art though, and that is still why I will at least give this book a chance. Rossmo is joined by writer Kurtis J. Wiebe, and hopefully that will make a difference in this series. The story is a post-apocalytic tale of one woman trying to save a broken world from a race of ancient spirits. Rossmo’s art is totally unique and I very much enjoy his style. I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are aware of his work and like his style, be sure to be on the lookout for it.

X-Treme X-Men #1 (Marvel Comics – $2.99): I don’t think I’ll actually pick this up, but I thought I’d bring it to everyone’s attention, and since it’s a slow week, what the hey. This isn’t a reboot of the early 2000’s Chris Claremont X-Treme X-Men book; no, this is more or less a reboot of the early 2000’s Judd Winick Exiles book. The basic plot of the book is that alternate reality versions of Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Emma Frost jump to other dimensions and have adventures. The series is written by Greg Pak, who I know has a solid group of fans from his Hulk run, and if you’re one of those fans, or if you want an X-Men book that hasn’t been swallowed up by Avengers vs. X-Men, or if you just like alternate reality stories, this may something worth picking up. Hell, I may have just talked myself into buying it.

Axe Cop: President of the World #1 (Dark Horse Comics – $3.50): What was I talking about it being a slow week? There’s new Axe Cop, which makes this an awesome week of comics by itself. You’ve never heard of Axe Cop? Well, it’s a book about a cop who carries an ax, and that’s about all you need to know. Axe Cop is one of those truly fun comics that I love so much. There’s not a lot to it, it is just fun action with plenty of humor and some very charming cartooning. If you want a book that takes itself seriously, this is NOT the book for you. After all, it is written by an 8-year-old. I realize now that I should have lead with this recommendation, but now I just get to finish strong. Seriously, buy this book, have a laugh, go back to reading your pedestrian comics.

COLLECTION:

Scalped, Vol. 9: Knuckle Up (Vertigo Comics – $14.99): I have to admit, I am way behind on Scalped. I have at least the last trade still to read, and I may be two behind, even before this one comes out, which if you’re counting at home would put me three volumes behind. But I’ll take care of that, because Scalped is so good! Jason Aaron’s tale of life on a crime-infested Native American reservation is reaching its ending in the next few weeks, which just means us trade waiters have more to look forward to. Throughout its run, Scalped has never failed to deliver plenty of twists and turns, as well as giving us a whole slew of characters to become invested in. Scalped may be the best TV drama that isn’t actually on TV. It doesn’t have any fantastical elements. It’s not a high concept series like other Vertigo books tend to be. It is a family drama. It is a crime story. It is an action movie. It is a non-comic comic book, in the best of ways. Scalped is a book that deserves its “Mature Readers” tag, not just because of the nudity and drug use and dirty words that get thrown around. Scalped makes you think. You have to be a mature comic reader to appreciate the subtleties of the story, not to mention the subtleties of RM Guera’s art. Even though I’m not as up to date as I would like, I still know that Scalped is an excellent series and should be read by everyone. I can’t wait to get caught up on it.