Each and every week, I, “Where you at, Eve?” Henchman 21 and “Comic Con International: San Diego, Baby!” 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 July 23, 2014. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Well, it’s Comic Con International: San Diego (still using the full name of the show) and that means lots of people packing, going to the airport, dealing with security, all that jazz. It also means that comic book companies are releasing a lot of product this week, so we have got a lot to talk about. And if Comic-Con wasn’t enough for comic fans this week, DC has also decided that today is Batman Day, in honor of the character’s 75th anniversary. So we’ve got that going for us. Which is nice. So dive in, because there is just too much to list today and I find myself with a lot to write about for this week’s The GoD List!

Henchman 21

Sakai Project Hardcover: Artists Celebrate 30 Years of Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse Comics – $29.99) If there’s one book I would like you to pick up this week, it would be The Sakai Project Hardcover: Artists Celebrate 30 Years of Usagi Yojimbo. The main reason is that proceeds from this book go to Stan and Sharon Sakai, two of the nicest people in comics who have been having a tough time lately. Second you have a list of creators working together to celebrate one of the best comics series you may be vaguely aware of, but have never read in the past. Creators contributing to this book include: Arthur Adams, Michael Allred, Sergio Aragonés, Howard Chaykin, Richard Corben, Dave Gibbons, Michael Golden, Matt Groening, Adam Hughes, David Mack, Alex Maleev, Mike Mignola, Bill Morrison, Paolo Rivera, Tim Sale, Walter Simonson, and Jeff Smith. So you get a gorgeous hardcover featuring amazing art that all goes to a worthy cause. I can’t think of a better reason to recommend a book.

Tuki Save The Humans #1 (Cartoon Books – $3.99) Tuki Save the Humans #1 by Jeff Smith is a collection of Smith’s webcomic that has been running for a little while, and I’m a little ashamed to say I haven’t been reading it online, but I’m excited to A) catch up on the series online, and B) support the series so Smith can keep working on it. If you have been reading the series, this will look slightly different, as the printed art is in black and white, and the webcomic is in full color. I always like the chance to see Smith’s work in black and white, so the printed version is almost preferable to me. As to the story, Tuki is the story of the first human to leave Africa, and harkens back to other jungle adventure comic strips of the past. Smith is one of the preeminent cartoonists working in comics, and any chance to see more art from him is a time to celebrate.

Batman #33 (DC Comics – $4.99) The end of Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Danny Miki’s “˜Zero Year’ story arc. The cover has Batman presumably fighting The Riddler with the help of two lions which may be the most batman thing ever. It IS Batman Day and you should probably buy something Batman related.

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #1 (IDW Publishing – $3.99) This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Transformers vs. G.I. Joe comic, far from it in fact, so it’s not like this is a groundbreaking series. What it does have going for it though is the writing and art of Tom Scioli, along with co-writer John Barber. If you picked up the Free Comic Book Day issue #0, then you know a bit of what you’re in for, which is a unique blending of the two properties with its own continuity and the kind of craziness you get when you blend the Transformers and G.I. Joe. You’re also in for Scioli’s Jack Kirby-style artwork, which is a big shift from the style you normally see on either property. Scioli’s style is very distinctive these days, and I think this is going to be a very fun series that’s different than what we’ve seen with these characters before. It’s time to transform and roll out one more time.

Ragnarok #1 (IDW Publishing – $3.99) Walt Simonson’s run on Marvel Comics’ Thor in 80’s is the thing of legends and is every bit as good as you have been told it is, so it is very exciting to hear that he is going back to the Norse mythology with Ragnarok from IDW. The series is written and drawn by Simonson, and Simonson is going back to the original myths and stories for this series. This is a week with a lot of great art for great talents, but this may end up being the best looking book of the week, with Simonson’s powerful style brought to bear on a story that is close to his heart. Don’t miss a master at work.

Star-Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie #1 (DC Comics – $2.99) Say what you will about DC’s publishing strategy, but they kept publishing Jimmy Palmioti and Justin Gray’s Jonah Hex series for nearly a decade, despite the fact that it never sold in great numbers. DC just let the team do work that they clearly loved and provided a book for a small but loyal audience. So it goes without saying that fans of Jonah Hex should pick up Star-Spangled War Stores Featuring G.I. Zombie #1, but you should also pick up this series if you haven’t checked out Palmiotti and Gray’s work before. There’s a reason Jonah Hex lasted so long, and it’s because the comics are consistently entertaining. They’re not going for the quick shock here, it’s just solid storytelling with interesting characters done well. The main character in this one is pretty evident from the title; He’s a soldier, and a zombie. Put him in a war and you got yourself a fun little comic. Well, maybe not fun per se, but it could be fun. Give it a chance.

100th Anniversary #1: The Avengers (Marvel Comics – $3.99) I said earlier this is a great week for art, and I wasn’t kidding. If you haven’t heard what Marvel is doing with these “100th Anniversary” specials, the conceit is that these are issues that will be published in the year 2061, when Marvel Comics is celebrating its 100th anniversary. So you get a goofy kind of “What If” story that’s supposed to be taking in the middle of continuity you just haven’t read yet. Kind of a fun concept, given the correct execution, but what has me excited for the Avengers 100th Anniversary Special is that it’s being written and drawn by James Stokoe. I wrote about Stokoe a few weeks ago when a new edition of his Wonton Soup series came out, and everything I said there still applies. Stokoe’s hyper-detailed style and vivid coloring is unlike any artist out there, and since he doesn’t do a lot of mainstream work, this will probably be the only chance to ever see him work on the Avengers. At the very least, this should be an interesting read.

Empress Eve

Hi there, everyone, it’s the Empress and I’ve touched down here in San Diego for Comic-Con, and gonna rest a bit before heading over to Preview Night. So, of course, with all this travel planning, I did not properly plan for my portion of this week’s The GoD List. Bad me!!! For all kinds of coverage of the event, keep an eye out here at Geeks Of Doom and you can watch our SDCC category for updates.