Curse of the Man-Thing: Spider-Man manages to begrudgingly move the story along while managing to capture none of the fun inherent to either character.

Flat and unexciting, Skull and Bones: Savage Storm #1 suffers from the missteps made an entire industry away. It fails to achieve either of its potential goals: to be a great comic or to be a great promotion.

When all the dramatic action remains level " with not a lot of rising action to climax tension " the narrative holds no real stakes, no matter how many times it explains to me that it does.

While competently made, Fell's Five never manages to fully embrace either its medium or its source material.

Nearly a carbon copy of a much better piece of art, Eat the Rich #1 only strips away any relevance it might have so that it might apply to anyone.

Presenting nothing novel or visionary, '555' also provides nothing for comic fans or fans of the band beyond a sense of novelty.

With nothing but pure aesthetic propping it up, Parasomnia expects more of the reader's patience than it supplies actual mystery.

Initially a compelling, apocalyptic portrait, Post York collapses under disconnected action and violence.

With all action happening off-panel and a lot of implied drama, Fear Case 2 is the perfect example of 'concept over content'.

Droning and inconsequential, Far Cry: Rite of Passage #1 does little to hook readers outside hardcore of franchise fans.

While it delivers a lot of style, the substance of Second Chances is more promised than delivered.

Looking to dig a trifle deeper than your average horror book, Bunny Mask #2 promises an emotionally rewarding future for the story.

Doing the heavy lifting to establish the narrative, The Darkhold Alpha #1 doesn't have a lot of action or intrigue; it only supplies the coming books their grounding.

Delightful spotlights, often on underutilized characters, by no means marks Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun as a must-have release.

Deep but clunky, Fiction Father successfully establishes but never fully resolves its exploration of familial tension.

Despite engaging concepts and crazy action, Ghost Rider #14 continues the series' larger lack of direction.

Despite understanding the feel of old Marvel Knights stories, Make the World Go Away doesn't quite capture their emotional impact.

Without a central theme to ponder, Phantom Road's slow and ponderous nature feels empty and dissatisfying.

Striking if quiet, Primordial #1 is a book that presents a huge scale and a self-assured atmosphere of importance.

While looking to expand on concepts and themes, Refrigerator Full of Heads as a whole strays dangerously close to over-explaining them.

Though exciting to see this particular team return to the character, Rebirth #1 does little to whet the appetite, meaning that future issues will define how strong of a book it is.

While it's incredibly fun to spend time with our two heroes, a lack of tension makes the book feel lackluster.

Despite being one of the best-looking books -- and having an incredible, fan-service cast -- Cable #12 fails to deliver anything world-shaking or emotionally resonant.

While a good time, the Creepshow Holiday Special wouldn't be something to return to without the potential for tradition.

Dawkhark #2 deals with a real-world drama excellently, but it does so while tending to neglect the superheroics.

After being more focused on acquisitions and political maneuvering, Marauders #23 takes the book back to some face-punching crime-fighting.

Shifting tone to focus more closely on a specific aspect of Marc Spector, Moon Knight #2 loses a lot of the action from the first issue -- but builds some serious atmosphere.

Aiming for something sprawling and epic, New Masters #1 gives us just a small taste.

With a bit of a low-energy beginning, Out of Body nonetheless presents enough seeds to promise an intriguing bloom.

All but dropping its human narrative, Primordial uses its second issue to let us hang out with a space dog and be awed by the implications of the infinite.

A shift in perspective begins to shed some light on the larger mystery, and the introduction of some new characters promises to double down upcoming action.

In a book where violence and action have little lasting impact, Stillwater #7 doesn't provide much meaningful momentum.

Non-stop but conspicuously without much Wolverine, X Deaths of Wolverine seems intent on telling a parallel story to its sister series.

Hardly a one-shot, The Onslaught Revelation really caps off Way of X in a very satisfying, quick-hit event package.

Exciting, brutal, and filled with fantasy zeal, Autumn Kingdom #3 stumbles from the series initial, impeccable pacing.

Despite its slow reveal of information, Basilisk never feels anything but jam-packed and full of momentum.

Aftershock continues to crank out surprise after surprise by stellar talents, known and unknown, but Beyond the Breach is definitely one of the ones that has made its way to my monthly pull-list.

With an instant hook and an emotional mystery, Daisy #1 balances the fantastic and the human without toppling, and begs for further reading.

Capturing the world of St. Canard beautifully, Darkwing Duck sticks to the classics without overthinking it.

Seemingly more tone-poem than exposition, Dead Dog's Bite maintains its looming, disconcerting mystery.

With the epic approaching its conclusion, Die #18 pulls us into a tighter focus on character, and the personal stakes in the coming conflict.

Grounded, energetic, and ambitious, Frontiersman is an easy recommendation to make. The character seems unique in his concept and is, with only an issue under his belt, an endearing old curmudgeon I'd like to get to know; the implied politics of the book seem pointed in the right direction. And while there's a sort of unsavory swagger to the aforementioned letter from Kindlon at the back, it's a swagger that hasn't proven itself unfounded. I'd like to see how this universe works, I want to know if Frontiersman's new crusade comes to fruition.

In gathering up all the right old toys and putting them all together again, Danny Ketch feels both delightful and pandering.

While the book expects a particularly niche academic understanding of the Lost Generation -- a high price for entry -- it's also a mini masterclass in design and cartooning; an inspiration for artistic hopefuls.

Developing month-by-month over the course of a decade and a half, Jessica Farm is a rambling, exciting journey that's just as much a document of its creator as it is a story of its own.

Lure is an emotionally honest book set in a sci-fi world, but lacks the conviction to be outspoken in its concerns.

New Fantastic Four #1 makes no promises beyond its elevator pitch: Ghost Rider, Hulk, Spider-Man, and Wolverine walk into Las Vegas. Luckily, it exceeds its own simplicity and delivers something playful and self-aware.

Avoiding the tropes of JFK stories, while never losing the gravity of the moment, 'Regarding the Matter of Oswald's Body' tells us a story not about how the event happened, but about people it swept up as it did.

Illustrating the struggle of life-after-super-crime, Rogues #1 sets up a compelling 'one last score' narrative.

Though it doesn't provide a lot of momentum or action, Sabretooth #4 nonetheless provides some introspection.

With dynamic establishing moments and direct action, Storm & The Brotherhood of Mutants maximizes the breakneck pace that the narrative of Sins of Sinister demands.

After a prolonged period of world-building, Strange Academy is poised to dive deep into the teen drama.

Presenting an emotional drive alongside its fantastic novelty, The Seasons Have Teeth elevates its unequal halves.

Lovingly built and illustrated, Two Moons #3 nonetheless takes its time as the whole series moves at its own pace.

Even as the innumerable characters are becoming harder and harder to keep track of, Furthest Place #5 is a book filled with care and catchy, catchy mystery.

Refreshingly tidy and self-contained, X-Force #2 struggles with the necessary limitations of a single-use conflict and a one-character focus.

Endlessly creative but narratively obtuse, 7174 AD continues the creative team's trend toward artistic exploration over 'comic book' function.

Inspirational and kind, All My Friends is a sort of go-getter handbook for kids, even if it's light on the action.

As a Cartoonist manages to capture the artist's internal struggle toward something meaningful.

Avengers #55 brings a character in from the cold even as it balances high-concept weirdness, but it does so to the neglect of its principal cast.

Carefully measured and full of vibrant concepts, Basilisk #3 refuses to fall into the general dark, solemn trappings of the genre.

Ever-compelling and beautifully dark, the final issue of Basilisk finds fitting ends for its surviving character arcs and leaves us with an ambiguous new beginning.

With an instantly loveable protagonist and a richly compelling world, Cat's Cradle is an incredible new entry to YA fantasy.

Introducing a huge spiritual struggle, Eternals: Celestial eschews the primary narrative to provide deep, rich context.

Concluding its first act, Ghostlore sets characters off on journeys of discovery while spotlighting amazing art and unique stories-within-the-story.

Snappy and self-contained, Old Man Whittier doesn't do any heavy lifting world-building, but it provides a perfect example of the joys of Hellboy.

Refusing to dive into the apocalypse until the characters are in place, Teenage Wasteland promises an end of the world with a heart on its sleeve.

There isn't any downtime in the first issue of Masterpiece, visually or narratively; each panel sweeps the reader along, pulling them toward the next issue. It's a book that shouldn't slip you by. It deserves to be in the limelight.

Dealing with some very real horror, Maw #1 imparts the unflinching truth about sexual assault before it even gets close to addressing supernatural horror.

Strangely inspirational, For Whom the Doorbell Tolls celebrates the flexibility of Disney more than it does American Letters.

Even in an industry over-burdened by end-of-the-world tales, Radio Apocalypse #2 demands its own unique place.

Chock full of Mignola staples, Radio Spaceman #1 still manages to feel like a separate, lighter, brighter thing.

With all its good-times energy, Rockstar and Softboy is a very accurate analog for BFFs living in a party culture.

Already a medium-defining classic, The Sandman #19 can finally be seen as the historically groundbreaking visual artwork it was intended to be.

Jumping away from the Superman/Lobo action, the House of Brainiac Special provides deep background and deeper stakes for the event.

In total, The Complete Works of Fante Bukowski is less the condemnation of the type of writer for whom Fante is a caricature and more a manifesto of artistic anxieties filtered through long-form gag strips. It's a book that successfully uses an Idiot Hero to poke fun at"and low-key sing the praises of"the truly foolish artistic pursuits.

Smoke screening the reader with a peaceful, communal life with our survivors, Nice House #7 inserts a horror at the heart of identity and exploits a common fear within it.

The Silver Coin is the real deal, a horror comic that is cozy in its influences and unique in its vision.

The Silver Coin #7 continues to use the book's unique model to deepen and give context to its multitudinous world.

Filled with hooks and compelling characters, Two Moons #1 is an incredibly promising beginning.

Crafted by masters in their field and filled with interesting characters, Underheist #1 promises a stellar series to come.

Developing both its own unique niche and hinting at the larger Transformers aspects of the Energon Universe, Void Rivals is something impossibly unique: a compellingly self-reliant narrative working within licensed-comic territory.

Without expressly spoon-feeding the reader the cultural context, Wesley Dodds: The Sandman still implies the gravity of weaponized gas -- and of Wesley's culpability in using them.

Functioning more as a visual showcase than an effort at storytelling, the 7174 Annual nonetheless captures something exciting, unique, and powerful.

The Avengers #57 isn't an issue that provides a quick, clean representation of what an Avengers comic is. It does, however, perfectly present an issue emblematic of the current Avengers mega-story, which is weird and brilliant and every degree of "big deserving of Earth's Mightiest.

Bold, beautiful, and nesting an over-abundance of secrets, Barnstormers is packed with potential.

Subtly playing with the era's societal concerns, Barnstormers is enriching the larger mystery even without moving it forward too quickly.

Packed with gorgeous artwork and incredible talent, Braba is a guidebook toward discovery, promoting artists otherwise neglected in North America.

With a defining writer on board, Cable #2 applies a deep understanding of the character to contemporary developments in his story.

A striking, early 20th-century art aesthetic lends Celestia a quiet authority, rich in tone for the discerning reader.

Cyclopedia Exotica is a delightful mirror world poking fun at some very real frustrations.

Tini Howard is building the Magical Mythology of the Mutants very adeptly, giving us small snippets of history too big for us to see, as well as slowly sniffing around the basics of how Krakoa even works as it does. Excalibur is a vital book of this new era of X-Men, and issue #18 moves us, very mysteriously, forward.

Spending its time on establishing grounded characters and a delightful tone, Exceptional X-Men #1 promises a great addition to the long line of Young X-Men series.

Equal parts 'Tales from the Crypt' and 'Stand By Me', Fishflies #1 layers young tragedy and gruesome body horror to incredible effect.

Playing with hilarious familiarity and self-aware influencer gags, Gotham City Sirens is one of the most fun books on the stands.

'Stone Ghost' moves on from the last miniseries into new, tonally different and aesthetic-twisting spaces, and continues to showcase Mahfood's ever-evolving style.

Karmen #3 continues its delectable tale, but finally comes to a violent head.

Loose from the most metaphysical aspects of the series, Love Everlasting #8 presents an earnest mid-century malady.

Filled with invitingly uneasy snapshots, Night Terror reminds the viewer of the power of childhood imagination.

Using monumental action as a backdrop, Olympia pays deep reverence for art and friendship.

Relying heavily on Sorrentino's incredible flexibility, Primordial #6 uses the smallest change in detail to tell the biggest truth.

Aping classic Superman aesthetics and a bright tone, issue 8 nonetheless develops a tragic villain by rooting him to the mythology.

After a deceivingly restful pitstop, Tenement #5 stomps on the gas and breaks through into dazzling abstraction.

Rich and deep characters, alongside incredibly atmospheric artwork and compelling abstract concepts, keeps the reader fully invested in The Nice House on the Lake #3.

With major character introductions and huge conceptual bomb drops, Nightmare Country continues to be a constantly shifting ride.

Arriving at a charged political moment, The Variants sees a meaningful character being handled by importantly insightful people.

Without attempting to provide answers for real-world concerns, Thunderbolts provides constant, wish fulfillment action against them.

With a deepening mystery and implications of larger horror, Where Monsters Lie continues to joyfully play with horror tropes.

Without ignoring the ongoing Superman concerns, Action Comics #1051 provides three distinct places to join the party.

Lovingly embracing the zaniness of Bizarro, this issue of action also applies that zaniness to Jason Aaron's signature needle drops.

With both restraint and excess, Avengers Forever #13 implies massive untold stories without quite drawing the dual Avengers Assemble narratives together.

Rather than committing to the originals stuffy urban claustrophobia, The Kryptonian Age explores other aspects of its time as it builds a potential Justice League.

Rather than getting hung up on its big profile guest star, issue #2 sweeps all that aside to build a mythology all its own.

Beautifully colored, hilariously action-packed, Birds of Prey #8 continues to prove how fantastic the series is.

With a format and style all its own, Echolands is nearly a brochure for its own potential to be the Next Big Important Comic.

With little as little context or exposition as possible, Ephemera delivers a powerfully concentrated sense of emotion and understanding.

Though obviously Johnny and the Rider's story, Ghost Rider's most incredible star is the corrupted America through which they move.

Capturing the wonderful feeling of youth and confusion, Hypericum establishes a solid entry into the coming-of-age novel.

With clever sweetness, Rain #1 pulls us into a loving relationship that should, by all rights, be safe, before tearing that safety away.

Even with dozens of things happening all at once, Knights of X #3 still manages to give its characters depth and care.

A single issue of pure inspiration, Marvels Snapshots: Captain Marvel is the perfect one-shot.

Exploring new possibilities with a somewhat forgotten corner of classic X-Men mythology, New Mutants carves out one of the most unique spaces in the franchise.

Quiet and reflective, Ocultos offers up flash fictions hauntings and tone poem visitations that seem to carry a great and emotional weight.

With a violent world and a whimsical alien protagonist, Our Bones Dust hooks the reader with both gore and delight.

An extraterrestrial retirement home grounds and upends a wide spread of comic book tropes, promising a shining example of deconstructionist comics.

Parenthesis is a book that will stay with you, however imperfect your memory of it will become. And, like Durand's lost time, perhaps it will inspire you to be a little more aware of the tenuous nature of living, of self, and of memory. Perhaps it will inspire you, as the experience inspired her, to be hungry for life.

Despite its alternate reality, The Last Days of Lex Luthor explores the very hearts of its characters and their relationship.

Tapping into the weird mythology of its source material and injecting beautiful extremes and cutting-edge eco-anxiety, Green Hell doesn't skip a beat from that long-ago first issue.

Instantly engaging and beautifully composed, Tenement #1 shows the growing potential to a much larger whole.

Packaged as a horror story, The Closet is really about something a lot more mundane and human: a failing marriage.

Filled with striking characters and endless charm, The Great British Bump-Off #2 dives into the suspect list.

Up against frankly overwhelming odds, Gatsby: The Essential Graphic Novel may very well have the aesthetic chops to stand against a flood of Gatsby pretenders.

Committing to a childlike frankness and a proliferation of Southeast Asian-styled specters, Dead Boy Detectives expands the already prolific mythology of the Universe.

Nightmare Country continues to be both a loving homage and a compelling and clever story all its own.

Playing with huge concepts and utilizing classic characters, Nightmare Country continues incredible work building in a sacred mythology.

Contrasting medicine and magic, The Ward effortlessly marries two powerful traditions.

A creepy, seedy world full of cool kids doing violent stuff, 'Furthest Place' is a book that doesn't just want to present a good story but also the contagious joy of music.

Educational, impactful, and accessible, Blab! brings deep consideration to extremely niche media studies.

Atmospherically on point and socially aware, Dead in America understands that it is capable of telling important stories; it also understands that our hero can do nothing about them.

For the right type of reader, Kommix presents a comic collection they dream of exploring.

Precise, insightful, and painfully honest, No One Else best illustrates its emotions by not discussing them.

Wrapped in a violent veneer, Slash Them All tells a story as much coming-of-age as it is full-on horror.

With a meditative pace, Tenement continues to flesh out its protagonists even as they slide into the uncanny and horrible.

With a healthy distrust of authority and police threading through this story of ecological anxiety, The Extraordinary Part subtly speaks to the very distinct concerns of contemporary youth.

Uncovering the magic in the mundane world, Tyler Crook continues crafting a great American fable with The Lonesome Hunters.

Overwhelming in its sweetness, Always Never tells an utterly unique love story that manages to feel eternal all the same.

Subtle, beautiful, and vague, Barnstormers #5 is worthy to sit along the greats of outlaws-on-the-run fiction.

Filled with a deep understanding of its characters and its mythology, Betsy Braddock continues laying foundations for its own wonderful corner of the Marvel Universe.

Painfully witty and almost frustratingly well-illustrated, Bubble is a masterclass in comic timing for the medium.

With an indelible soul and careful understanding of the human heart, Clementine brings something altogether new not only to the Walking Dead franchise but to the zombie genre as a whole.

Unlike anything else in the genre, Clementine continues to be an emotionally powerful examination of an incredible character undergoing incredible odds.

Steeping in its emotional grounding and flirting with a deeper terror, Ten Thousand Black Feathers continues to set an impeccably curated tone for the Bone Orchard Mythos.

Expanding on classic Sandman themes and effortlessly enriching mythology, The Glass House #1 promises another meaningful entry in a comics masterpiece.

Bombastic, playful, and filled with care, X-Cellent #1 also houses a not-so-coded commentary about the state of media at large.