Yes, I admit it: one of the best comics I’ve read this year is about magical orgasms. This week, Sex Criminals #3 (Image Comics – $3.50), written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky, will be the first book I tear into the moment I get home from collecting my stash.

Sex & Violence
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
Artwork by Jimmy Broxton, Juan Santacruz
Color by Challenging Studios
Letters by Jimmy Broxton, Bill Totrolini
Cover by Amanda Conner and Paul Mounts
Paper Films
Release Date: April, 2013
Cover Price: Kickstarter

Kickstarter…what a change it has brought. No longer does a creator have to hope that they get their idea picked up by a major player in the appropriate genre. Truly amazing the way it has changed business for some people. Not that Sex & Violence needed to worry about any of that. No, with Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray leading the way, this one was destined for print regardless. They did, however, do their fans a solid by making this comic exclusive (for the time being) to the Kickstarter backers and for Print On Demand for a few other exclusive folk. It makes this book a lot more rare than the average comic, no matter how it came to life.

Broken into two sections, this graphic novel is all about sex and violence (obviously). But whereas I expected one about sex and another about violence, these are a bit of both. Each weighs in heavier on one than the other to balance themselves out, however. I would say like yin-yang but in this case it’s all dark so I’m not sure that applies here.

Creator-Owned Heroes #5
Written by Steve Niles, Jay Russell, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
Art by Andrew Ritchie, Jerry Lando
Covers by Dave Johnson, Andrew Ritchie
Image Comics
Release Date: October 10, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Creator-Owned Heroes helps fill the huge void in my monthly comic experience left by the demise of Wizard magazine. This comic/magazine features two serialized comics and articles focused on independent creators. This is my go-to source each month to hear comic creative types talk shop and shower us with tidbits of advice.

The previous issue concluded the stories of American Muscle and Trigger Girl 6. Creator-Owned Heroes #5 kicks off two new stories and, as always, includes fantastic articles to guide wannabe creators on the path to riches and fame.

Creator-Owned Heroes #2
Written by Steve Niles, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
Art by Phil Noto, Kevin Mellon
Letters by Bill Tortolini
Image Comics
Release Date: July 4, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Creator-Owned Heroes is Image’s new monthly series that highlights the original content of established comic book talent. More than “just a comic,” it’s a feature-packed magazine that celebrates creative independence. How appropriate that the second issue was released on the 4th of July. You definitely get your money’s worth; this book is loaded with content with two ongoing comic series, interviews, editorials, and how-to features.

The comic book portion, which makes up about two-thirds of the book, continues the Triggergirl and American Muscle series that kicked off last month. American Muscle is a post-apocalyptic, zombie-ish story where human immune systems have completely stopped functioning. The comic follows a small group of survivors and their search for a safe, permanent place to start a new life. In the last issue, they made their way to Los Angeles only to discover that it has become a zombie-riddled wasteland that’s falling into the Pacific Ocean.

The Monolith
Written and created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Artwork and Cover by Phil Winslade
Introduction by Jim Steranko
Coloring by Chris Chuckry
Lettering by Nick Napolitano & Phil Balsman
Designed by Bill Tortolini
Edited by Joey Cavalieri & Harvey Richards
Image Comics
Release Date: July 25, 2012
Cover Price: $17.99

It’s odd when DC attempts to ground their weird and exciting fictional universe, full of Kryptonians, Lantern Corps, and Ambush Bugs, in some sort of “˜real’ world. How one defines what’s ‘realistic’ is subjective, of course, and has led to approaches like Batman: Year One and Identity Crisis. As you can see, the typical story involves the same line-up of characters in their same fictional locations. There’s a new direction in The Monolith that writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray took. They created a new character, based not-so-loosely on the Jewish legend of The Golem, and the action in the book is smack-dab in the actual New York City (with Depression-era history attached to boot!).

So how does this stack up? It’s got some good qualities and some bad. And how is this an actual DC book and not, say, a Vertigo title? Well, it’s subtle and shows up around the edges, but I’ll get to that in a bit.