Each and every week, I, “The First Avenger” Henchman 21 and “Sentinel of Liberty” 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 of April 2, 2014. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

For me, it’s not the best week of comics ever, as it seems like there are not a ton of books I’m excited about coming out. On the other hand, I can look at this as a chance to try some new titles that I might not usually check out. This is also a week to celebrate one writer’s accomplishment for staying on the same series for a really long time. So, don’t worry, it’s April 2nd and I am not making any jokes today, because I never joke about The GoD List!

Henchman 21

Detective Comics #30 (DC Comics – $3.99) Francis Manapul and Brian Buccelato have been working on The Flash for quite some time now, but they have move on, and Detective Comics #30 marks the start of their run on the Caped Crusader. If you’ve seen Manapul’s art before, you’ll know it to be one of the most impressive styles out, with a soft water color look and a lot of inventive page layouts. Manapul and Buccelato’s work has mostly been seen on bright characters like The Flash and Superboy, so the thing to look forward to in this issue is how their style will carry over to the inherent darkness of Batman. The other thing to worry about with this series is that I don’t think a lot of people were reading their Flash run for the writing that the pair was doing. Their stories were not bad, and from what I hear got quite a bit better by the end of the run, but from what I did read, the writing was solid but not ground breaking. It’s tough to measure up to what Scott Snyder is doing now with his popular work on Batman, so Manapul and Buccelato will have to make sure their art sets their book apart.

Black Metal Volume 3 (Oni Press – $11.99) Heavy Metal, demons, swords, Vikings, and two brothers fighting against the odds and the forces of Hell are just a part of what makes Black Metal so awesome. Over the previous volumes, Rick Spears has gifted us with the story of Sam and Shawn Stronghand, two brothers who love metal music and find themselves with a mystical sword or two that they use to fight angels and demons alike. This is the final volume in the trilogy, with the brothers being forced to make their final battle with Satan. Black Metal is full of a lot of humor, but what I’ve really enjoyed about the series so far is the black and white art of Chuck BB. He has a strong, clean art style that has a fair amount of manga influence but is definitely its own thing. This has just been a highly enjoyable series and I’m looking forward to seeing how the story wraps up.

The Private Eye #6 (Panel Syndicate – $Name Your Price) This came out last Thursday, but due to the nature of The Private Eye‘s release, you can never tell when a new issue is going to drop. The Private Eye is Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin’s digital-only comic series about a private detective trying to unwrap the mystery surrounding a murdered young lady. Vaughan’s anti-cyberpunk vision of the future gets more fleshed out with each issue, and he also keeps the mystery interesting and involving. Meanwhile, you’ve got the jaw-dropping visuals of Marcos Martin, and the pay what you want price, you can easily see why this is a comic that you absolutely must buy.

Ultimate Spider-Man #200 (Marvel Comics – $4.99) 200 issues for a writer on a single series is a pretty amazing accomplishment, so it’s time to celebrate Brian Michael Bendis’ feat. I think the reason Bendis has been able to stay on the series so long is that he has been able to keep the series fresh, whether though a new story line, finding a new artist to collaborate with, or going so far to create a new Spider-Man. It’s startling to think that Ultimate Spider-Man has been through two Marvel Editors in Chief, three United States presidents, and that Amazing Spider-Man has gone through at least 10 writers. When Bendis started on the series, he was a little known writer coming over from Powers, which was still at Image comics. Now he is one of Marvel’s most important writers, having worked on figuratively every major Marvel character, and helped usher in the Marvel film universe. So raise your glass to Ultimate Spider-Man; you helped save Marvel comics and brought the love of comics to a whole generation.

Empress Eve

Black Metal Volume 3: Darkness Enthroned (Oni Press – $11.99) Once again, Henchman21 stole my pick of the week, which is of course Black Metal from Rick Spears and Chuck BB. But H21 does a great job of explaining why it’s awesome. It’s a must-have series for metalheads and those who can appreciate stories like these, so if you’re not familiar with the series, grab Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, then hurry on to Vol. 3.

Angel & Faith, Season 10 #1 (Dark Horse Comics – $3.50) Fans of the Buffyverse will want to jump onto this first issue of Angel and Faith for the start of Season 10, executive produced by creator Joss Whedon. Check out our 7-page preview of the issue.

Aphrodite IX #10 (Image Comics/Top Cow Comics – $2.99) Writer Matt Hawkins and artist Stjepan Sejic bring us Aphrodite IX #10, which is the end of the second arc of this on-going series. Aphrodite IX – she kicks ass!

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Premature Burial (Dark Horse – $3.99) I’m always up for checking out a new Edgar Allan Poe graphic adaptation and this 32-page full-color one shot has artist Richard Corben interpret two macabre tales – The Premature Burial” and “The Cask of Amontillado.”

Monster & Madman #2 (of 3) (IDW Publishing – $3.99) I’m totally into this miniseries from writer Steve Niles and artist Damien Worm that brings Jack The Ripper into the world of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I just wish it was going to last more than three issues. (Grab Monster & Madman #1 if you need to jump on!) Be sure to check out our review of this new issue.

Red Sonja #8 (Dynamite Entertainment – $3.99) If there’s a new issue of Gail Simone’s Red Sonja, you can bet I’ll recommend it. Get on this series if you’re not already. The hardest part will be choosing which of the beautiful covers to buy (each issue has several covers done by some of today’s best female artists).

Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Volume 1 (Hardcover | Kindle – IDW Publishing) Star Trek – that right there will get me every time. Add that this is a continuing voyage of the original starship Enterprise with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, plus GoD’s own BAADASSSSS! recommends the issue in his comprehensive review, and I’m all in. This volume is a reprint of the first six issues of the Gold Key comics 61-issue run, originally published from July 1967 to December 1969.