King: Mandrake the Magician #1
Written by Roger Langridge
Art & Colors by Jeremy Treece
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Cover art by Darwyn Cooke, Rob Liefeld & Kyle Ritter, and Ron Salas
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 18, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

King: Mandrake the Magician #1 is the latest installment of Dynamite Entertainment’s miniseries starring all of King Features’ characters on their 100th anniversary. Previously, we’ve seen Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and even Jungle Jim! This time, the spotlight falls on Mandrake, and his turn in defending the Earth against the forces of evil. Will he succeed? Let’s find out!

Red Sonja #100
Written by Eric Trautmann, Roy Thomas, Michael Avon Oeming, Gail Simone and Luke Lieberman
Art by Dave Acosta, Pablo Marcos, Taki Soma, Noah Salonga and Sergio Fernandez Davila
Colors by Valentina Pinto and Salvatore Aiala Studios
Letters by Joshua Cozine
Cover art by Ed Benes & Alex Guimaraes, Robert Hack, Andrew Pepoy & Paul Mounts, Ken Haeser and Pablo Marcos & Austin Janosky
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 18, 2015
Cover Price: $7.99

Red Sonja #100 is truly the definition of “jam packed”! Dynamite Entertainment has truly gotten the gang back together, and in doing so, we get just about every single kind of Red Sonja story that there is right here in this single comic. In this giant issue, you get sword and sorcery, horror, action, and even a little heartwarming drama. What’s not to love?

Consisting of five different stories, by legendary Red Sonja writers like Eric Trautmann, Roy Thomas, Michael Avon Oeming, Gail Simone, and Luke Lieberman, you get everything you want and more in this comic book. Roy Thomas pens a truly great old fashioned sword and sorcery tale with a hint of mystery. Current Red Sonja scribe Gail Simone writes a very entertaining story about Red Sonja finally meeting her childhood “idol.” Then there’s Luke Lieberman’s (Queen Sonja) story about Sonja, a companion, and a sorcerer that is thrilling, yet very heartwarming. Out of all five stories, there’s not a bad one in the bunch.

Conan/Red Sonja #2
Written by Gail Simone & Jim Zub
Art by Dan Panosian
Colors by Dave Stewart
Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Cover art by Dan Panosian
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 11, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99
Kindle Edition: $3.19

Conan/Red Sonja #2 is the second installment in this way too long in the making crossover. We get a follow-up on the first issue’s first meeting between the two most recognizable characters in the fantasy comics genre, but in many ways, it’s also a first issue. Confused? Let me straighten things out for you.

God Hates Astronauts #5
Written by Ryan Browne
Art by Ryan Browne
Colors by Jordan Boyd
Letters by Chris Crank & Ryan Browne
Edited by Jordan Browne
Designed by Thomas Quinn
Covers by Ryan Browne and Nick Pitarra & Ryan Browne
Image Comics
Release Date: January 7, 2015
Cover Price: $3.50

God Hates Astronauts #5 is, hands down, the funniest issue of the series so far. And that’s saying something considering the previous four issues! You seriously have to see some of this stuff to believe it. Now, I’ve all ready spoiled the answer, but is this book worth picking up? Let’s dig a little deeper and find out.

I would hate to meet writer Ryan Browne‘s imagination in a dark alley. I’m pretty sure I would come out on the loosing end of that fight. I have NO idea where Browne comes up with not only these characters, but the story itself, and it’s in the story itself where you realize just how talented this guy is. You have a bunch of characters that don’t belong in the same universe IN the same universe, and as you read through the issue, you realize that where the story goes is very natural and organic yet chock-full of surprises, twists, and turns. And I haven’t even mentioned how laugh out loud FUNNY this book is. I lost count about halfway through the issue at how many times that I actually laughed out loud, and I can honestly tell you that I haven’t done that since I was a little kid reading Popeye comics. Again, anything that I could possibly write here would NOT do the comic justice; you have to read it for yourself.

Doc Savage Special 2014
Written by David F. Walker
Art by Kewber Baal
Colors by Kelsey Shannon
Letters by Rob Steen
Cover art by Robert Hack
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: December 24, 2014
Cover Price: $7.99

Doc Savage Special 2014 is a send-off of sorts to the Doc Savage title that Dynamite published through 2014. While it doesn’t focus on Doc himself specifically, he does play a pretty important role. But, I know you’re all wondering if this book is worth the $7.99 price tag or are you better off buying a coffee at Starbucks. Here’s my take…