Conan Road of Kings #12
Written by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz
Script by Roy Thomas
Pencils by Mike Hawthorne
Inks by John Lucas
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Cover by Aleksi Briclot
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 18, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

All good things must come to an end and Conan Road of Kings #12 is no exception. For the past year, we’ve had the good fortune of reading this great title, but sadly, this is the last issue. Now, Conan is not going away, it’s got another series with a different creative team coming up, and if they do half as good as this one, it’ll be amazing!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6
Written by Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script by Tom Waltz
Art by Dan Duncan
Colors by Ronda Pattinson
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Dan Duncan, Kevin Eastman, and Rob Guillory
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 25, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Month after month, this book gets more entertaining and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 is no exception. You get everything you wanted in a Turtles comic, in spades.

I’m not sure how Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz split the writing chores, but they are doing a fantastic job on this book. There’s SO much going on, but the audience is never confused or overwhelmed. What impresses me most is that they’ve stuck to the characteristics of the Turtles, but yet, there’s a tangible tension at times between the four brothers.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5
Written by Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script by Tom Waltz
Art by Dan Duncan (New York City), Mateus Santoouco (Feudal Japan)
Colors by Ronda Pattinson
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Mateus Santoouco, Dan Duncan, Kevin Eastman
IDW Publishing
Release Date: December 21, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Man, it’s a great time to be a Turtle fan! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5 is probably my favorite issue of the series so far. It’s got everything!

Tom Waltz lays out a killer script based on a story by himself and Turtles co-creator, Kevin Eastman. Just when we think we know where the story is going, they both pull the rug out from under us, and the payoff is one that fans have been waiting for and wondering about since the first issue. To their credit, they leave a huge part of a mystery unsolved, ready to be revealed in another issue.

Kill Shakespeare, Vol. 2: The Blast Of War
Created and Written by Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col
Art by Andy Belanger
Colors by Ian Herring
Lettering by Chris Mowry, Neil Uyetake, and Shawn Lee
Collection Cover by Kagan McLeod
Collection Design by Chris Mowry
IDW Publishing
Release Date: November 9, 2011
Cover Price: $19.99

Imagine if you will, all of Shakespeare’s creations brought to life and populating one world, interacting with one another and thinking of him as their (rightfully so) creator. That’s exactly what Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col did in their graphic novel Kill Shakespeare, Vol. 2: The Blast Of War. It had been quite some time since I read the first volume, but I caught back up pretty quickly.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3
Written by Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script by Tom Waltz
Layouts by Kevin Eastman
Art by Dan Duncan
Colors by Ronda Pattinson
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Dan Duncan, Kevin Eastman, Fred Hembeck, Peter Laird
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 26, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

If you’re looking for pizza and shouts of “Cowabunga!,” you might want to look elsewhere. OK, there technically IS pizza in this issue, but that’s beside the point. If your looking for a great comic, you’ve found it here with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3. Some great character background stuff is revealed in this issue, so it’s one that you definitely won’t want to miss.