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.

Criminal Macabre: The Iron Spirit
Story by Steve Niles
Art and Lettering by Scott Morse
Edited by Scott Allie and Daniel Chabon
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 12, 2012
Cover Price: $19.99

Writer Steve Niles may have had greater success with works like 30 Days of Night, but it’s the embittered hunter of the supernatural demons, Cal McDonald, that is his iconic character and the one Niles has continually returned to for 22 years. And, after all this time, it seems as though Cal is having a bit of an existential crisis with his current predicament.

Criminal Macabre: The Iron Spirit takes a little excursion from the main narrative of the series – the war between man and seemingly every supernatural monster ever dreamed – to do a one-shot detective story. When the book opens, Cal is trying to come to grips with his recent… undeath. The bad is that he can’t sleep, he has no blood, and his hands are kind of cold and clammy; the good is he can still drink and smoke (and do both without the adverse health effects, I assume, so: bonus?) and has picked up the ability to sense other members of the undead. I’m sure Niles will explore it further, but whatever rules he has for the undead, the message seems to be that there is no relief from life in undeath. Or, as Cal put it: “I seemed pretty much like myself, just dead and tooling around like before.” The mechanics of being undead are perhaps the most interesting thing about this comic, and I don’t mean that as a backhanded insult. It’s the kind of thing that keeps Cal compelling beyond the mysteries he’s trying to solve.

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.

Each and every week “Firework Fred” MK2Fac3 and “Firecracker Frank” 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 July 4, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Um, yeah, sorry about the delay, folks! We were just sitting over here drinking non-alcoholic beverages in celebration of freedom and such, so we got a little too distracted by the holiday to get this up in time. You forgive us, right? Sure you do. I mean, I’m sure that you might have gotten distracted by all the booms and crackering of fireworks too and missed picking up new comics, right? That’s what I thought. Well, there’s a decent amount of stuff that came out this week, but a lot of it is more new issues than new comics, you know what I mean? Not a lot of fresh pickings. Nonetheless, you should read on because there are new comics to love and behold. Which ones? Like I said, you’ll need to read on for The GoD List.

Each and every week “Gainfully Employed” MK2Fac3 and “Two More Vodka Cranberries, Please!” 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 June 6, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Guys, a lot has happened over the past week. I got a job, Henchman got a mohawk, and DC Comics thought it would be a good idea to release Watchmen prequels! Well, if you want to read about that, then you can just go look to another article, because there will be none of that here! What will be here? Well, we’ve got some pleasant surprises for you, so just keep on reading as we show you The GoD List, a place where you will find out all of the comics that you should be reading this week!

The Deal of the Day over at Things From Another World today is Dark Horse’s Criminal Macabre: Cell Block 666 trade paperback, from 30 Days of Night creator Steve Niles, for only $7.77 (that’s 40% off of the regular price of 12.95).

Note – The sale at TFAW is valid only for today, Thursday, May 17, 2012, til 11:59PM PST while supplies last (and there’s a limited supply, so it will sell out, so hurry!). Visit the TFAW’s Deal of the Day page to view the hours left in the sale as well as quantities left on the item.

If Criminal Macabre: Cell Block 666 sells out, you can also buy a copy on sale for $11.04 at Amazon.

Each and every week “I Have Until Five!” MK2Fac3 and “Best In The World” 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 9, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Everyone once in a while a man or woman looks at his or her floor and sees large amounts of comic books. This is when that man or woman knows that he or she has either a very unorganized system or a passion that overfloweth. Now, I may not be going anywhere with this, but I’m going to pretend like I am because comics are great, right? Well, yes they are, and some great comics are coming out this week. Oh you want to know what they are? Well we don’t give that information away for free! Oh no! This is The GoD List where you have to read the entire post before you realize all the comics that you should be reading, brohan, but you know what? I’m going to do you a favor, I’m going to give you a teaser! Here: Bats, Owls, Dragons, Mutants, Spiders, Students, Monsters, and Robots! Seriously, that is all you need in life.

Frankenstein Alive, Alive! #1
Written by Steve Niles
Art by Bernie Wrightson
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 9, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Steve Niles is a master of horror comics. His ability to craft deeply frightening, personal horror stories is second to none. Niles is able to capture the darkest moments that any person can experience and reduce them to a conversation or a handful of panels. So, when it was announced that he would be working on a Frankenstein comic with IDW, it was not all that surprising. Frankenstein is just as synonymous to horror as Dracula or zombies. The shocking part of Niles’ Frankenstein comic, Frankenstein Alive, Alive #1 came from the content within the comic. Instead writing Frankenstein Alive, Alive #1 as a horror comic, Niles has infused this comic with a story about sorrow, despair, and the agony of being a monster.

Each and every week “Easy Peasy” MK2Fac3 and “Livin’ Greasy” 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 April 18, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Man, comics are pretty expensive, huh? I’m sitting here looking at my pull list this week, and I’m not seeing a lot of books that fall under the price of three dollars. See, while comics for the most part are less than a gallon of gasoline in some regions, others are more, which is just flat out insane. So, when we’re stuck in an economy such as this, with an unemployment rate as high as it, we need an escape. And if you’re reading this, I’m assuming that you’re escape is the same as ours, comic books. Comic books get a lot of flack for a lot of different reasons, but there’s something about even the super hero books that everyone complains about that offer something that no other form of entertainment offers. So, it’s with this idea that we present The GoD List, a list full of comics that we are looking forward to that should help you, if not solve these real-life situation, then at least provide away to temporarily relieve them by letting you know what’s worth your time and why.

DC Comics announced today that the comic book publishing company would be expanding its digital comics initiative with brand new weekly comics with Smallville Season 11, Batman, and a manga-inspired Ame Come line leading the charge.

Alright DC Comics, you’ve got my attention. This news story comes alongside a nice feature with writer Bryan Q. Miller on USA Today as he discusses preview pages and the previously announced Smallville Season 11 weekly digital comics series that follows the events of the popular TV show, which finally hits the digital platform today. Next month, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti will begin a new weekly digital comic based on Manga style that focuses on Wonder Woman and other female superheroes which takes the Ame Comi name from DC’s popular statue line. Where this gets really interesting to me, however, is with the announcement of the weekly Batman comics.