Ahhh… The new year is upon us and so are the new comics. Here are the picks for the best of the best bets for new comics this week. Rounding out the list is my pick for best comic reissue of the decade.
As always, weekly picks are provided by our friends over at Dragon’s Lair and uneducated commentary is mine and mine alone.
Monsters! and Other Stories Trade Paperback
Are you kidding? I’ve never seen an image showing the crew of an entire sailing vessel being devoured by a sea monster that was so freaking ADORABLE. I just wanna grab that monster and hug him, and squeeze him, and name him George…
$12.99 is a nice price point for a trade paperback, and I can’t ignore the fact that the solicitation only offers two bullet points:
- In the tradition of Pixar!
- Giant beasts bent on destroying the world!
I don’t know exactly what tradition they’re talking about, but I don’t recall that film. Even though they lose points for overuse of Exclamation! Marks! in both the title and description, just look at that cover again. I’m sold.
Skyman #1,
I can’t really tell what’s going on with the white mess behind his head. Is that his cape? A weird cloud?
Actually, it would be pretty cool if he was sporting a luscious, flowing white ponytail out the back of his mask.
Anyway, the solicit doesn’t have much interesting to say, but since the writer (Fialkov) did some twisted work on The Ultimates, I’ll give it a browse.
Velvet #3
To me, Velvet is a solid base hit every month. I like the title. The story is interesting and the art is just plain gorgeous. I have to confess, though. This is one where I’m waiting for the trade.
For you monthly collectors, though, don’t miss out. The first two issues start the story off with a bang and, well… the thrill ride continues. In fact, #2 is coming up on a second printing, so you might just want to add this to your pull list and make sure it’s waiting for you every month.
Uncanny X-Men #16
You’ll never know how crazily happy I get when a Marvel title is one of the hot picks of the week. Here’s the solicitation:
“Magneto reaches a crossroads.
Everything he’s fought for is called into question and he’s forced to make a decision that will change him forever!”
When was the last time Magneto reached a crossroads, had his beliefs called into question, and had to make a decision that changed him “forever”?
Last month? Yeah, that sounds about right.
Maybe I’m just remembering this epsiode:
Or perhaps this one:
Man, I love me some old Vision and Scarlet Witch comics.
Miracleman #1
Well, it’s about dang time people! For those of you who don’t know the history behind this title, get on over to my recap that covers why “Miracleman” is an important series for any comics fan and why it’s been out of print for so long. Let’s just say that Alan Moore was writing this before he was really “Alan Moore”.
Or… you could just run down to Dragon’s Lair (or your local comic book shop), and buy this one post-haste!
There was never any doubt that this would be the Casual Comics Hot Pick of the Week. But it’s also my pick for the MONTH! I’m calling it now, no comic more important than Miracleman #1 will come out between now and Miracelman #2. And, as I said at the top of the column, no re-issue of this magnitude has appeared in the last 10 years.
I’m just the “casual” comics guy. I’m on a pretty limited comics budget. Yet, I’m probably going to buy every variant cover (and there are SEVEN of them).
I’m almost hyperventilating here… I’m just going to leave you with this.
Cheers, everyone. Support your local comic book shop! I’ll be there scraping up change for Miracleman variants.
– CCG
Casual Comics Guy 
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