Each and every week, I, “Dasher” Henchman 21, and “Dancer” 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 weeks of December 4, 2013 and December 11, 2013. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Well, it looks like the comic companies out there don’t want you buying gifts for anyone else because they have dropped a metric crap-ton of must-buy issues and collections this week. Now, you could choose to hold off on buying these or maybe give them to others during this holiday season, but we all know you’re going to buy these now and buy them for yourself. And you know what, I will make no judgments because I’m going to do the same thing myself, so who am I to cast stones? I’m Henchman 21, that’s who, and I can cast stones if I want, but I won’t. Because I love you, my dear readers. And because I love you so much, we’re going to add in some picks from last week as well now that we’re over our Thanksgiving coma. So, join us as we spread some holiday cheer with a gingerbread-spiced The GoD List!

Sleigh bells ring are you listening? In the lane, something’s glistening, a beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, because we’ve got some comic book gift suggestions! That’s right guys and geeks, “The Hench” and “The Fac3” have reunited (and it feels so good!) for the sole purpose of giving all of your crazed souls a nice long list of comic books for everyone on your holiday gift list. This one’s going to be hefty, so make sure to pull out that list of folks you’re giving gifts to this holiday season, compare it with our list of all of this year’s top releases, and give Santa a head’s up on what everyone should be getting. Speaking of “should be getting,” should we be getting this list started? Yes. Yes, we should. Also, speaking for “The Face,” I’m pretty sure you could also get these for us. I’m just saying…

Hellboy: The Midnight Circus
Hardcover | Kindle Edition
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo
Colors by Dave Stewart
Cover by Mike Mignola
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 23, 2013
Cover Price: $14.99

Something wicked this way comes, and it augers ill-portent for a young Hellboy in Hellboy: The Midnight Circus.

The previous story about the young Hellboy proved to be rather touching, and this one evokes a similar feeling. There’s something inherently sad about a child seeking to belong, to have a family, especially when it’s an orphaned child (which Hellboy is, demonic origin notwithstanding).

Without spoiling too much, we briefly revisit the story of Pinocchio, whose situation is made poetically similar to Hellboy’s, and from there, descend into a nightmarish, midnight circus, operated by characters who clearly have a strong knowledge of, and seemingly cryptic connections to, our young hero.

Was it all a dream? Was it real?

Lobster Johnson: The Scent of Lotus #1
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Sebastian Fiumara
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Clem Robins
Cover by Tonci Zonjic
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: July 24, 2013
Cover Price: $3.50

In 1993, Mike Mignola created Hellboy and later, the B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense), but he didn’t stop there, expanding the Hellboy mythos and with it, the Hellboy universe through an ongoing monthly series for both Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. With Dark Horse Comics as the home for the Hellboy universe, secondary, supporting characters have received their own spin-off series, including, most recently, Lobster Johnson, a pulp adventure-era costumed vigilante. Johnson made his first appearance in 1999, but didn’t get his own series until 2007. Since then, he’s appeared in no less than five additional series or one-shots, including Lobster Johnson: The Scent of Lotus, the first issue of a two-parter.

The Scent of Lotus #1 opens with a familiar, if not entirely unwelcome, scene – the titular character, Lobster Johnson, racing across a rooftop in pursuit of his prey. While his associates on the ground keep him apprised of developments via radio receiver (it’s the 1930s, after all), Johnson suspends his pursuit when he comes across a murdered Chinese courier. While he listens in from his rooftop perch, a girl reporter, Cindy (and Johnson ally), quizzes a couple of detectives about the crime. We soon learn the courier worked for the Chinese mob (tongs), but that connection did little to prevent his death to his superiors’ as yet unknown competitors for the underworld dollar.

Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem #1
Written by Steve Niles
Illustrated by Dave Watcher
Lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 12, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Fans of Hellboy, B.P.R.D. Secret Origins, and FUBAR should definitely straighten up and pay attention! The latest addition to the horror-and-mythology-meet-WW2 family – and arguably the most beautifully rendered of the lot – is Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem from Dark Horse Comics.

Set in Poland just before the German invasion, the story unfolds around a Jewish boy named Noah who watches all of the men in his village “” including his own father “” march off to join the Allied forces in an attempt to hold back the enemy. Noah stays behind with his grandparents and has only the regular radio broadcasts to keep him informed of the battles that are drawing closer every day to the peaceful countryside he calls home.

After the long wait for his father’s return to the village with no word of his condition, Noah and his grandfather brace themselves for news of his death. This moment of emotional bonding between the boy and the old man quickly takes a turn when an Allied fighter plane roars overhead and crashes just outside the boundaries of their village.