Artifacts: The Deluxe Edition
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Michael Broussard, Whilce Portacio, Jeremy Haun, Dale Keown, Stjepan Sejic
Letters by Troy Peteri
Cover by Dale Keown
Image Comics
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Cover Price: $99.99

Talk about the mother lode! Artifacts: The Deluxe Edition contains just about every Top Cow character you can name…and maybe even a few you don’t know. 448 pages of awesome art and great stories is seldom to be found, but this series does it in style!

Thirteen artifacts of arcane power exist in the world and one individual is making it his business to bring them together for his own selfish reasons. Twelve are well known but the last one is shrouded in mystery. Through manipulation and mayhem, this man creates perfectly constructed scenarios that bring the necessary pieces within his range. Some come willingly, others are taken from their owners, but in the end he has to have all of them in one place to bring about the results he needs.

The Darkness #1-3: Raw Edition
Written by Phil Hester
Penciled by Michael Broussard
Letters by Troy Peteri
Cover by Michael Broussard, Joe Weems, Mat Milla
Top Cow Productions
Cover price: $3.00; Available now

Why play God when you can be the Devil, himself? For more than a decade the anti-hero, The Darkness, has been a familiar name in the comic book world. Original creators, Garth Ennis, Marc Silvestri, and David Wohl showcased the first appearance in 1996 in another one of their Top Cow productions, Witchblade. The Darkness has been an amazing success due to its very dark undertone and graphically mature art design. This is one series that has made a creatively nefarious read out of a devilish persona.

Jackie Estacado has been bestowed with the Darkness, an unseemingly evil concoction of ascendancy. He befriends an ingenious scientist that teaches Jackie how to channel his unique devilish gift. The two team up to take on a small tropical city in the South American landmass. Faster than you can say, “Columbia Drug Packing Mule,” the duo have the city and large populated areas of the world dealing and pushing a new drug. The drug, called nightfall, is so pristine it’s undetected, isn’t addictive, doesn’t have any bad long-term effects, and it’s still legal. According to one drug-pushing goon in the comic and a line I thought sounded so natural coming from a pusher:

“You got two choices. You can have Jessica Alba working your knob while you lie on a pile of cash sipping rum on you private yacht in the Mediterranean, or you can take the drug.”