Each and every week, I, “I was Naughty” Henchman 21, and “I was Nice” Empress Eve read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible”¦ theoretically. Naturally, we look forward to some more than others. I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of our pull lists, grab some comics, and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week December 31, 2013. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Well, we’re back after a nice holiday break, and once again we’re ready to bring you a hot stack of comics to pick up this week. It’s been a pretty wild couple of weeks so we’re going to play a little catch up today with books that you may have missed while we were gone. Also, remember that comics are out a day early this week because of the New Year’s holiday, so if you’re planning to go to your local store on Wednesday (New Year’s Day), double check that they won’t be closed that day. And if they are open that day, maybe bring them a little bit of hangover food and remember to use your indoor voice, because they may be a little worn out from partying. So, without further ado, it’s time to let old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind, because it’s time for The GoD List!

Henchman 21

Rachel Rising #22 (Abstract Studios – $3.99) Rachel Rising creator Terry Moore has recently said that if sales for the series don’t go up, he may have to cancel it. This frankly cannot be allowed to happen. A) Moore is way too talented an artist for people to not be reading his work. His art is beautiful in black and white and super detailed, and he’s been working long enough to know exactly how to build a page. His characters are expressive and character looks and moves like a real person. B) The story for Rachel Rising continues to be an intriguing mix of mystery, horror, and history with a couple of young women coming back to life, trying to figure out who killed them and why. And there’s a mysterious young girl who is killing people and may be possessed. Rachel Rising is totally different from Moore’s most famous work, Strangers in Paradise, but it is just as satisfying. C) Each issue of Rachel Rising just smells the way comics should. Seriously, find a copy and take a whiff. That is what comics should smell like. So do yourself, do others, and do me a favor by picking up the first trade of Rachel Rising, get caught up and order yourself some issues, because this is too good a series to get cancelled because of low sales.

Atomic Robo: The Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur (Red 5 Comics – $3.50) There is a new issue of Atomic Robo out. Your dinosaur overlords command you to buy it. You wouldn’t like to anger your dinosaur overlords, now would you?

Manhattan Projects #17 (Image Comics – $3.50) I’m ready to declare Manhattan Projects as my favorite series of 2013, and I don’t think it’s going to be removed from that pedestal in 2014. Jonathan Hickman’s tale of the 20th Century’s greatest scientists working together and falling apart has been building for the last few months and this looks like the issues where everything comes to a head. Manhattan Projects is just such a good series, mixing a lot of deep characterization with a smile and a wink that keeps the whole thing running. Just buy it already.

Legenderry: A Steampunk Adventure #1 (of 7) (Dynamite Entertainment – $3.99) Vampirella. The Green Hornet. The Phantom. Flash Gordon. These are all characters that you’ve heard of and they are all characters that Dynamite has published in the last few years. Dynamite has made a name for themselves by bringing back a host of pulp characters (and Vampirella) and has done a pretty good job with them. With Legenderry, they are bringing together a bunch of these characters and throwing them into a setting that they haven’t been put in before. As the title says, this is a steampunk adventure, which is going to make for a unique take on these characters. Writing the series is Bill Willingham, who is already used to throwing characters from many different stories into the same world as he did on Fables. All in all, this sounds like a lot of fun, and even if you’re not a fan of any one character in Dynamite’s stable, you have to admit that it could be pretty cool to see them all together.

Baltimore: Chapel of Bones #1 (Dark Horse Comics – $3.50) Baltimore is another one of Mike Mignola‘s really good series. On this one, he is joined by co-author Christopher Golden and artist Ben Stenbeck, and they tell the story of a certain Lord Baltimore, a man who lost his family to a vampire in a very different version of the early 1900s. Baltimore has spent the previous mini-series and one-shots tracking down the monster that ruined his life, and with Chapel of Bones, it looks like he finally tracked him down. Baltimore is another dark and spooky story from Mignola, and between the setting and the art of Stenbeck, there is enough to set this apart from his Hellboy/BPRD work. If you want a good horror story, look no further than Baltimore.

Avengers 24.Now (Marvel Comics – $3.99) This one came out last week, but you may not have gone to the store on Christmas Eve, so I’m adding it to this week list. There were two main thrusts to Marvel’s Infinity event; one thread dealt with Thanos and setting up the Inhuman’s new status quo, the other dealt with bringing the first year of Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers run to a close. While reading Infinity, I was always more excited to see the Avengers side of the story, and you could tell that that was the side that Hickman was more tied into. Well, Avengers #24.Now (I know, don’t get me started about the fairly stupid name, I don’t work for Marvel) kicks off the next batch of Hickman’s Avengers stories. I may be in the minority of people who have enjoyed Hickman’s Avengers run thus far, but I still find it to be a heady mix of big ideas mixed with big superhero action. Hickman has the Avengers fighting threats that no one hero can handle alone. Sure, there are a lot of characters running around (that’s why Marvel has created a second title) but I just get pumped for every new issue. This issue has some fun moments with the team, some big action for the team, and is a great point to jump onto the series.

Locke & Key: Alpha #2 (of 2) (IDW Publishing – $7.99) This came out a few weeks ago, and I don’t know if I had the words at the time to express how much I have enjoyed the Locke & Key series. L & K is truly one of the best series of the last series, and once the final volume is collected, I hope people who may not have read it yet will pick up the first volume and get hooked into the series. It is scary and touching in equal parts and this final issue was everything that I hoped it would be. I look forward to reading the series over and over in the future, and I hope this is not the last we see of this world. Or, I just hope that writer Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez team up in the future to bring us a new set of characters to fall in love with.