Looking for Group #3
Written by Ryan Sohmer
Illustrated by Lar Desouza
Colored by Ed Ryzowski
Covers by James Silvani and Chris Eliopoulos
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 10, 2015
Cover Price: $4.99

In Looking for Group #3, the optimistic elf Cale’Anon and his band of misfit companions continue their quest for The Sword of Truth, taking them into abandoned lands and an adventure through time. With a motley crew comprising of a do-gooder elf, a hulking, yet wise minotaur, an ex-priestess, and an evil wizard named Richard, what could possibly go wrong?

Flash Gordon Annual 2014
Written by Chris Eliopoulos, Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Jeff Parker and Nate Crosby
Art by Chris Eliopoulos, Faith Erin Hicks, Lee Ferguson, Jeremy Treece, Craig Rousseau
Colors by Jeremy Treece, Marissa Louise, Omi Remalante
Letters by Chris Eliopoulos, Simon Bowland,
Cover art by Marc Laming & Jordan Boyd
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 26, 2014
Cover Price: $7.99

Flash Gordon Annual 2014 is a really more than just an annual. It’s a love letter to the franchise from the creators that all had their work published in it. And, boy, there sure were a lot of them. With five different stories covering the whole Flash Gordon universe, almost nothing goes untouched. But, is it worth the $7.99 price tag and your time?

Battlestar Galactica #3
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Illustrated by Cezar Razek
Colored by Vinicius Townsend
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Covers by Alex Ross and Chris Eliopoulos
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 14, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

There’s a good chance I might get some flak for this, but here goes nothing: I’ve never seen the original Battlestar Galactica television series. Ronald D. Moore’s 2004 series happens to be among my favorite shows of all time, but I’ve never really been interested its predecessor. With that being said, I decided to give the new Battlestar Galactica comic book series from Dynamite a chance as an introduction of sorts to the show that started it all. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and illustrated by Cezar Razek, Battlestar Galactica is now on its third issue and there are some frakkin’ crazy inter-dimensional happenings going on.

Starbuck and Apollo are still stuck in an alternate timeline where those who should be dead are alive and vice versa. Captured by none other than Boomer, Apollo struggles to convince the downtrodden resistance of this dimension — including his dead wife, Serina and his father, Adama — that he is, in fact, Apollo from another history.

Battlestar Galactica #1
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art by Cezar Razek
Colored by Vinicius Townsend
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Alex Ross & Chris Eliopoulos
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Battlestar Galactica #1 proves the theory that if you want the best, you get the best. In this case, if you have a tremendously popular science fiction franchise with a huge cast, you call DnA to write your book.

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have proved time and time again that they know to write an entertaining science fiction story. Add to that the fact that they’re great at working on team books or books with pretty big casts and you have the perfect match here on this book. Abnett and Lanning take everything that was right, fun, awesome, and slick about the original Battlestar Galactica series and kick it up a notch in this debut issue. Sure, we get some introductions that we don’t really need, but it’s a first issue, so, statistics would dictate that it’s someone’s first exposure to these characters and in that sense, it’s great first issue. It’s also a great first issue for fans of the property, we get a great start to what looks to be a fantastic story starring the characters that we all know and love.

The Amazing Spider-Man #700
Written by Dan Slott, JM DeMatteis, Jen Van Meter
Pencils by Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncol, and Stephanie Buscema
Inks by Victor Olazaba, Sal Buscema
Colors by Edgar DelGado, Antonio Fabela
Letters by VC’s Chris Eliopoulos
Covers by MR Garcin, Steve Ditko & Marcos Martin, Humberto Ramos & Edgar DelGado, Oliver Coipel & Justin Ponsor, J. Scott Campbell & Edgar Delgado & Joe Quesada, Danny Miki & Morry Hollowell
Marvel Comics
Release Date: December 26, 2012
Cover Price: $7.99

This is IT, True Believer! The Amazing Spider-Man #700 is the LAST issue of Marvel Comics’ flagship title starring their most popular character. Now, I don’t want to incur the Twitter wrath of writer Dan Slott, so you won’t find any spoilers here, BUT you’ll get the nuts and bolts of if this issue is worth it or not.

Slott has been writing Spider-Man a loooooong time. And, like he himself stated, this story began way back with his earliest work on the title, about 100 issues ago. First, let me say, the lead up to this story has been pretty entertaining. Not mind-blowing, but very entertaining. This issue, however, does have some VERY mind-blowing moments. It’s a classic Spider-Man story that will have fans of the series recalling all of their favorite issues, as so many of them have been told at this king of break-neck, beat the clock manner.

Every holiday season, “He’s a mean one, Mr.” Henchman21 and “Cindy Lou” MK2Fac3 give a lot of comics. Seriously, you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics? I mean, it is possible.. theoretically. Naturally, they look forward to some gifts more than others. I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their Santa bags, grab some comics, and they’ll let YOU know what the top books to buy for this holiday season. Hardcovers and trades, they’re all here.

What’s this? What’s this!? Hunter’s writing again. What’s this? He’s writing in a pair. What’s this, I can’t believe my eyes, I must be dreaming, wake up, Hench, this isn’t fair! What’s this!? What’s this? What’s this? There’s something very wrong. What’s this? There are people singing songs. What’s this? The streets are lined with little creatures laughing. Everybody seems so happy, have I possibly gone daffy? What is this? The GoD List. Holiday Edition.

Each and every week “Yes! Yes! Yes!” MK2Fac3 and “What’s Wrong With MK2Factor3?” 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 May 30, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that this week is the fifth week of the month, and it’s the Wednesday after a holiday here in the United States. These factoids typically add up to the fact that there just aren’t going to be that many comics in your local stores this week. And while there won’t be too many single issues, there are some high profile issues, as well as plenty of great new collections coming out this week. Now, if you haven’t been following this list for the last couple of decades, we’ll also be having a section of this week’s The GoD List that also shines a nice light on some comics that you can check out that you may have missed… since, you know, the light week and all. With all of this information, please continue as we provide you with all the information that you need to be armed with when you step inside your local comic book shop (or online retailer).

Comics have a deep history with the western genre. For many years weekly books were filled with hard-talking, quick-shooting cowboys and vigilantes. Needless to say, it is a form that is constantly being reinvented for new and interesting content. Nate Cosby (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, Pigs) and Chris Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius, Misery Loves Sherman) have taken the western in an entirely new direction with their new comic Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse.

Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse tells the story of Boyd Linney, a 10-year-old bounty hunter who is on a hunt for his very own family. Cow Boy also features four western short stories from Roger Langridge, Colleen Coover, Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener, and Mike Maihack.

I was fortunate enough to be able to talk with Nate and Chris about the origins of Cow Boy, as well as what it was like pitching the story of a child bounty hunter to publisher Archaia Entertainment.

Cow Boy: A Boy And His Horse
Written by Nate Cosby
Art by Chris Eliopoulos
Addtionial stories by Roger Langridge, Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener, Mitch Gerags, Colleen Coover, and Mike Maihack
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: March 28, 2012
Cover Price: $19.95

Most all-ages comics try to avoid the hard, harsh realities of growing up. The idea is to typically remind readers that being young is supposed to be full of wonder and magic. Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos take the alternate road in their graphic novel Cow Boy: A Boy And His Horse. The story’s main character, Boyd, is a 10-year-old bounty hunter on the hunt for his own criminal family. Growing up just got a little harsher. Cow Boy: A Boy And His Horse is a beautifully written and illustrated graphic novel that reminds us that sometimes our parents are not always good people.

Fear Itself #1
Written by Matt Fraction
Pencils by Stuart Immonen
Inks by Wade Von Grawbadger
Colors by Laura Martin
Letters by Chris Eliopoulos
Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Release date: April 6, 2011

There is a delicate line between the amount of realism that I am looking for in my fantasy escapism and Fear Itself, the newest event from Marvel Comics, straddles the line very closely. The series, written by Matt Fraction with art by Stuart Immonen, is the next in a line of Marvel books that have taken a more “realistic” look at the world in comics. Marvel has prided itself by taking place in a world very much like our own. The President in our world is the President in the Marvel U. Problems in our world become problems in their world. They have examined many real world issues, such as drug use in Spider-Man, racism in Uncanny X-Men, and a host of other topics. However, I have to question just how much realism can exist in a fantastic world filled with colorful characters fighting against villains who can be blamed for all of society’s ills. How much realism is too much, and can real world issues exist in a world where they could be conceivably solved by the characters within that universe? I don’t just read comics for fun, I want my mind to be involved and I want the comics I read to inform the world around me. On the other hand, I still want to have fun while reading my comics, and I will admit that they are a form of escapism from the reality of my everyday life. So when reading this issue, I had to decide how much realism do I want, and how much do I just want to escape into a world where problems can be solved by an Ultimate Nullifier.