Can you believe it? December is already upon us, which marks the beginning of the end of the year, and of course the holiday season. I’ve been hinting at it for the past few weeks but it has truly arrived in full swing with creepy mall Santa’s and terrible x-mas music. Now, it’s really time to get out those comic wish lists. In the next few weeks I will try to focus on some of the major series that were released over the past year…and stay tuned for out BEST OF THE YEAR features coming soon! This week brings on the newest issues of HELLRAISER, ANIMAL MAN, and the complete collected edition of the Luna brothers’ fantastic horror series GIRLS.

With the ever-increasing number of books coming out between the tie-ins, the
crossovers, and the new series, we’ve got to limit our lists for the week somehow. Rather than cramming so many previews down your throat that you barely breathe, we present you with our ten most anticipated books of the week. So feast your eyes on these! Whether you’ve been into comics since you were a young’un, or you’re new to the game, we’re here to help you decide which books to pick up. Read on for the skinny…

WRITTEN BY: Tony Daniel
ILLUSTRATED BY: Tony Daniel
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $2.99

The Low Down: “ As Batman uncovers a deranged plot with far-reaching tentacles that touch some of the city’s most elite citizens, he finds himself facing off against his newest and most fearsome foes: Dollmaker and his twisted family of killers!”

The Feast: Tony Daniel has been killing it with his new Detective Comics series. It’s dark, it’s disturbing, it’s gripping, and it ranks up there as one of the best current bat-books (and there are a shitload). Daniel has outdone himself in every possible way, and I find this one at the top of my pile every month.

WRITTEN BY: Scott Snyder
ILLUSTRATED BY: Victor Ibanez
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $2.99

The Low Down: “All across the world, those with a primal connection to the forces of life and death can feel that something is very wrong. The war between The Green and The Other has begun, and the knights of decay walk the Earth unchecked — but without Alec Holland, the Green has no champion strong enough to fight back!”

The Feast: Every comic writer today must wish they were Scott Snyder, hell, I know I do. Not only can he deliver a great Batman story, but also he’s been on fire with his re-imagining of Swamp Thing. Taking Holland on a slightly different path from past writers, Snyder is doing his own thing and it’s working wonders. The battle between The Green and The Other started last month, and we expect Snyder to bring us into the thick of things this ish.

WRITTEN BY: Jeff Lemire
ILLUSTRATED BY: Travel Foreman
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $2.99

The Low Down: “After coming face to face with the mysterious Totems, Buddy learns the truth about Maxine’s destiny – but it may be too late, as The Red is infiltrated by agents of The Other, and Buddy struggles to control his new, unfiltered powers with deadly results! Meanwhile, Ellen and Cliff must face the last Hunters alone!”

The Feast: If you’re not reading everything that Lemire writes, by this point, I just feel bad for you. Animal Man is the best currently running book at DC; it’s a superhero horror story crossover, what else could we ask for? Lemire’s crisp writing flows perfectly with the Baker family and Foreman’s dark artwork runs right off the pages. Each issue ends with an unbelievable cliffhanger, and we can never wait to know what happens next.

WRITTEN BY: Joe R. Lansdale
ILLUSTRATED BY: Peter Bergting and Menton3
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $2.99

The Low Down: “The limits of sanity are stretched as the horror continues! After gaining access to the fabled Necronomicon, four young friends attempt to harness its power to stop the cosmic horror they have unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. A new vision of the most famous H.P. Lovecraft story continues, courtesy of Joe R. Lansdale and company.”

The Feast: I wasn’t completely sold on this series after the first installment, but after the second issue I was hooked. Adding a very modern twist to Lovecraft’s age-old vision somehow works, and it works well. Although it seems that any sort of wrap up is a long ways away, this climactic issue of the mini-series should bring revelations. On top of the Lovecraftian goodness, the secondary story, The Hound, is also phenomenal, comprised of single page charcoal drawings and poetic prose.

WRITTEN BY: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
ILLUSTRATED BY: David Messina
PUBLISHER: IDW
PRICE: $34.99

The Low Down: “IDW’s first-ever mega event is collected in this hard cover collection as something goes horribly awry in the IDW universe: a dimensions-spanning zombie outbreak of epic proportions, which threatens to tear many of IDW’s biggest realities asunder! The infestation spreads through the TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, STAR TREK, and GHOSTBUSTERS universes. Zombie apocalypse looms and the remaining members of CVO are running out of options…”

The Low Down: This is something nobody ever thought would happen, a massive IDW crossover event that was wildly successful. Infestation bands together Star Trek, Ghostbusters, Transformers and G.I. Joe to fight off an onslaught of zombie. Sounds like a winner to me. This is a great introduction to the IDW universe, plus you get to see Spock kick some undead ass!

WRITTEN BY: Benito Cereno
ILLUSTRATED BY: Ariel Zucker-Brull
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $4.99

The Low Down: “In the Louisiana Bayou, the murderous ghost of Victor Crowley is maiming tourists in creatively horrible ways. But in his blind murderous rampage, he may have created something worse than himself! Now, Cassie and Vlad are back in New Orleans, and it won’t be long before baseball bat meets hatchet and deformed mutant meets deformed mutant!”

The Feast: Another book that we absolutely love here at Graphic Content, Hack/Slash comes in big this week with a giant-sized annual special issue. What’s so special? Well Cassie Hack and her monstrous friend Vlad team up against the one and only Victor Crowley, that’s right the hilariously deranged slasher from the Hatchet films. If you’re like us at all, you will enjoy this.

WRITTEN BY: Matt Fraction
ILLUSTRATED BY: Terry Dodson
PUBLISHER: Marvel
PRICE: $3.99

The Low Down: “Springing out of Fear Itself! Everyone’s favorite Marvel characters band together to solve a mysterious conspiracy deep at the heart of the Marvel Universe! They are the last line of defense against the forces of the unknown! They are The Defenders!”

The Feast: Though Marvel has been laying down the axe on many of their low-readership titles, they are releasing another one that looks like a lot of the ones they just canceled. Nonetheless it’s written by Matt Fraction and spins off a brand new team at a time when Marvel needs novelty. To tell you the truth, we’re actually pretty stoked for this one.

WRITTEN BY: Rick Remender
ILLUSTRATED BY: Lan Medina
PUBLISHER: Marvel
PRICE: $2.99

The Low Down: “ The death of a loved one reminds Flash Thompson that his secret identity is in the hands of the villainous Crime-Master — and the only way to take his life back is to go rogue. But Captain America is out to shut him down.”

The Feast: After the transitional issue last month, Venom will be swinging back into his normal routine, leaving all that Spider-Island stuff in his wake. Remender’s Venom is a deep character driven book that dives into the life of Flash and those around him, rather than just making him a piece of eye candy that fights Spidey. This is a perfect spot to jump on board the symbiote train and find out what all the fuss is about.

WRITTEN BY: Joshua Luna
ILLUSTRATED BY: Jonathan Luna
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $49.99

The Low Down: “ This edition collects the complete run of GIRLS by THE LUNA BROTHERS (THE SWORD, ULTRA). Experience the epic horror series about a small town that is invaded by beautiful, murderous, egg-laying clones. Collects GIRLS #1-24.”

The Feast: The Luna brothers are an extremely talented duo and boy do they know how to write a bizarre story that keeps you hooked. Much like Green Wake they borrow a lot from Lynch’s Twin Peaks to bring you into a small town where the weird only becomes weirder. This is a very sexually explicit horror story that will leave permanent scars on your mind… a perfect gift for yourself this holiday season!

WRITTEN BY: Clive Barker and Christopher Monfette
ILLUSTRATED BY: Stephen Thompson
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $3.99

The Low Down: “Kirsty Cotton goes back to Hell! When Kirsty receives a startling offer from someone in her past, she’s forced to look at her mission and her entire life in a brand new way. The choice she makes will change the story of Hellraiser forever! Covers by Tim Bradstreet and Nick Percival.”

The Feast: We’ve said it time and time again, Clive Barker and Monfette’s Hellraiser is top notch, the cream of the crop, what daddy hides under his mattress. If you’re a fan of the films, you won’t find a better comic out there.