Krampus #1
Written by Brian Joines
Illustrated by Dean Kotz
Colored by Ron Riley
Lettered by Charles Pritchett
Cover by Dean Kotz
Image Comics
Release Date: December 18, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

What happens if you mix an adventure worthy of Indiana Jones with the sass and sarcasm of Hellboy, and then sprinkle it with a heaping helping of holiday magic? You get the surprisingly entertaining dark comedy from Image Comics: Krampus #1 by Brian Joines.

It’s probably tough to pull off a Christmas-themed comic that actually appeals to fans who prefer a gritty story over one covered in sugarplums and dipped in chocolate, and I say this because I recall only one other (The Last Christmas by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan) that managed it. Brian Joines, however, has stepped up to the Christmas comic challenge and has emerged victorious thanks to his delightfully wicked “hero” and his own twisted sense of humor.

Freelancers #1
Written by Ian Brill & Matt Gagnon
Art by Joshua Covey & Felipe Smith
Colors by Justin Stewart, Vladimir Popov & Zack Sterling
Letters by Pat Brosseau
Covers by Ibraim Roberson, Felipe Smith, Khary Randolf & Ron Riley, Fan Yang, Phil Noto, Stephane Roux, Reilly Brown & Felipe Sobreiro
Boom! Studios
Release Date: November 7, 2012
Cover Price: $1.00

Freelancers #1 is a lot of fun. It’s not going to change your life or win an Eisner, but you will definitely have a good time with this comic. You’ve got the perfect formula-hot girls, guns, cars, kung-fu, and dogs. What more could any red-blooded American male want?

Ian Brill takes parts of existing pop culture icons and combines them into an action packed comic, that’s a TON of fun to read. Part Charlie’s Angels, part Codename: Knockout, this comic is action from start to finish. You’ve got the two main characters that work for an agent that may or may not be 100% on their side. Brill sets up a good mystery that leaves you wondering if their agent is trying to get them jobs or trying to get them killed. I can’t emphasise enough how much pure fun this book is! It’s a great spy/bounty hunter tale that never takes itself seriously at all. It knows what it is, and never tries to be anything different. Really good for a first issue.

Guarding the Globe, Volume 1: Under Siege
Written by Robert Kirkman & Benito Cereno
Pencils by Ransom Getty & Kris Anka
Inks by Ransom Getty, Cliff Rathburn, Jonathan Glapion, Russell Jackson, and Kris Anka
Colors by Thomas Mason, Ron Riley, Rex Stabbs and FCO Plascencia
Letters by Russ Wooton
Editor: Sina Grace
Cover by Todd Nauck & John Raunch
Image Comics
Release Date: August 29, 2012
Cover Price: $16.99

Guarding the Globe, Volume 1 is an interesting comic. I didn’t have anything invested in the characters or the book itself, but I was pleasantly surprised. But, not as much as I’d wanted to be.

Writers Robert Kirkman and Benito Cereno sure know how to write a giant, sprawling superhero team vs super villain team epic, earth shattering story. I just wish I cared a little bit more. And I wish it wasn’t so cluttered. My first problem was that I barely knew any of the characters in the book, which, I’ll admit, was my fault. I’m not a huge fan of the Image Comics’ superhero universe, so almost all of these characters were foreign to me. That being said, I wish they would’ve spent a little more time introducing the characters…because there are a TON of characters in this book. It boils down to a double-page spread with each character getting a “This is…Kaboomerang!”

Near Death #7
Written By Jay Faerber
Art By Simone Guglielmini
Colors By Ron Riley
Letters By Charles Pritchett
Cover By Francesco Francavilla
Price: $2.99
Image Comics
Release date: April 18, 2011

Near Death, an ongoing comic book series from Image Comics, tells the story of a hit man who decides to change his life for the better. Markham was once a hit man, but after he’s gunned down on a job that goes wrong, he has a near death experience as he’s dying. Markham gets a vision of Hell, his current final destination, and it is inhabited by the people that he’s previously killed. After seeing where he could possibly end up, Markham comes back to life and vows to save a life for every life that he’s taken.