The worst thing that can be said about Amala's Blade is that there simply isn't enough of it to satiate our newfound craving for this character. Indeed, perhaps the only thing that disappoints about this issue is that it's the end of the story for Amala and her merry gathering of miscreants and mayhem. With any luck, Horton and Dialynas have more like this up their sleeves.

Spencer's skill is in spinning a yarn that is perfectly in keeping with both the event and the tone of his book to date, while also providing an easy access point for people jumping in from other places (such as the recent film).

Despite its extended length, Barrier rips along at a pace, but never neglects the core characters who will carry us forward. Apart from being a compelling and beautifully crafted read, the 54-page debut issue comes at the bargain price of whatever you feel like paying for it. Of course, it goes without saying that if you want to keep seeing quality comics like this, a couple of dollars from every reader wouldn't go astray.

Batgirl #49 is partially an answer to critics who have been unkind to the neo-Batgirl, including this one who was incredibly skeptical at the initial change of direction. However, the DC Universe is vast and complex, and a Multiverse with infinite possibilities allows for the constant reinterpretation of those icons. In a primarily art-driven piece, coupled with the wonderfully wilful version of the character that Stewart and Fletcher have crafted at the center, this issue of Batgirl is a reminder that every single one of those interpretations is equally valid, and that the malleable nature and core principles of Barbara Gordon's personality are the reasons why she has been so enduring for the past 55 years.

If digital comics are to succeed in cutting through the digital morass and captivating mainstream audiences, there needs to be more of them like Batman '66. Like DC Nation has done for animated fare, this comic provides a lighthearted and easily accessible version of a familiar character that will be sure to please audiences of all ages. Whether it is nostalgia you crave or a chance to turn Batman's permanent frownupside-down, it is difficult to not have a giant goofy grin on your face while swiping your way through this innovative taste of the future of comics.

As a classic villain is introduced in the final pages of the primary story, we realise that "Year Zero" is not simply the origin of Batman, but of his entire world. Giving greater strength to the argument that present day Gotham is a a result of the escalation that started the moment Bruce Wayne put on the cowl, Snyder fans the flames on a city that is just starting to hot up. We can't wait to see them ignite and blow the powder keg sky high. This is essential reading for any Batman fan.

If you haven't had a reason to read Batman yet"what's wrong with you? Make this your reason.

Tynion and Snyder will, of course, continue their association with the Dark Knight with Detective Comics and All-Star Batman under the Rebirth banner. While Snyder's Batman run has had its incredibly vocal fans and detractors at both ends of the spectrum, his legacy on the character has been ensured with the introduction of some worthy adversaries, and genuinely trying to do something different with an icon that often lends itself to repetition. Tynion, who has been involved in this run almost as long as Snyder, expanding the world with his work on Talon, ends this lengthy run with a stirring embrace of the Batman saga, and just as Bruce Wayne learns by the end of the issue, the best way forward is by honoring that past.

The joy of Batman/The Shadow is not just in the engaging story and the top-notch art that would make it a top pick on any given week. What Snyder, Orlando, Rossmo and Plascencia have created is a mystery wrapped in all those elements, one that draws you in with its flagship characters and holds you there with the promise of a rewarding riddle to be solved in future issues.

Yet Tomasi's requiem issue is as close to a perfect single issue as any you might find. If Batman #18 was caught between violent response and finding human connection again, then Batman and Robin #18 is the mournful silent scream of anguish.

While justice could barely be done in a capsule review, it is worth saying that there isn't an ounce of fat on this, as DC assembles another wonderful collection of writers and artists

Brenden Fletcher and Annie Wu's reinvention of Black Canary comes literally screaming out of the first page, and is relentless in its pace and excitement this month.

Black Canary is about to embrace part of her legacy by co-starring in the relaunched Green Arrow, and Fletcher, Wu and Jarrell leave us in no doubt that they've restored the kick-ass history of one of DC's most powerful female leads. While it might be a shame that Canary no longer has her own series, having never made it past a dozen issues of a solo title, this perfect mashup of music and comics plugs straight into the mainline of everything that has made Black Canary an essential part of the DC Universe for almost 75 years.

Clean Room is a mystery from the start, one that has multiple paths laid out before us. Chloe's self-affirming "Let's see what f--king havoc a journalism degree can create" isn't just a cool line worthy of Spider Jerusalem himself, but a challenge taken on by Simone to see how far down the rabbit hole these notions go. A first issue that is equal parts thrilling and ominous, this has all the makings of an outstanding series.

Yet another perfect example of comic bookery.

While a mix like this is typically difficult to sustain, and some of the characters might seem like complete non sequiturs if you're not familiar with their ongoing series, the Christmas theme makes this an excellent collection overall. It's a whirlwind tour through the DC Universe that highlights the core strengths of these heroes, wrapped up in an accessible and entertaining package. Which is what DC should be doing more of, and its unquestionably one of the best stocking stuffers for any self-respecting comic book readers this Christmas.

Part romance and part mystery, the sense of foreboding Aaron drives home gives this ongoing series massive appeal.

Make no mistake: this is dark and bloody territory. Yet it is also a rewarding and compelling read. It seems there is another Image title that will make four weeks seem like an eternity at least 12 times a year. Judging from the hyperbole around the web, a cacophony of praise that we've just happily added to, this series has a strong foreseeable future.

Russell has already given us two of the best reboots of the last few years with The Flintstones and the sorely underrated Prez, and now he can add a third instant classic to that list. More than just a series of catchphrases and in-jokes, Russell and the art team have taken an easily mockable character and turned out one of the more compelling dramas of recent memory. This might be the first must-read of 2018.

Relying partly on your remembrance of the original work, as well as on the bits you only half-remember, it's entirely appropriate that the familiar face (or what's left of it) that turns up in this book is the very same one that Sebastian wanted to destroy because it was beautiful. Palahniuk might be talking directly to us with these final pages, indicating that if anybody is going to take the last few punches at the beauty that is Fight Club, it's going to be him.

When Percy first took over the New 52 version of Green Arrow, he had an equally strong start, but eventually got lost in an odd tension between horror and his clear love of Green Arrow's background. Here we see something completely different, a flat out classic depiction of a character that owes just as much to his current history as it does to its long legacy, never compromising either.

Almost three years later, this fitting conclusion isn't just a rousing last hurrah for a character, but a reminder that Ollie Queen will always remain the bleeding heart and the conscience of the DC Universe.

It's a mixture of excitement and sadness that fills the final pages of this issue. Robert Venditti will take over the book soon enough, and has some pretty big shoes when he takes over not only this title, but Green Lantern Corps as well. Yet Johns can't help but indulge himself just a little, flashing forward to the "bookends of Rebirth" and giving an epilogue for each of the main players. It's the job of other writers to carry the green torch now, but perhaps Johns has just ensured that his influence will be felt for many decades to come. A perfect way to end a spectacular run.

The issue could work as a strong standalone, but hints at a bigger story, indicating that the off ill-treated character is in safe hands for now. Aja and Hollingsworth's artwork is once again phenomenal, bringing a gritty realism to this world of costumed heroes. It will be interesting to see what they do when Hawkeye suits up on a more regular basis. A must read.

If this was a standalone issue, it would be a near-perfect piece of sequential art and plotting. The fact that it seems to be the beginning of a downward spiral for Clint Barton makes it all the richer. This is essential reading.

"If you just give me one shot to show you how good I can be," declares Kate in two separate instances in the issue, "how hard I work, how much I believe in doing the right thing " I won't let you down. I promise". The repeated mantra could have almost been Fraction's pitch to Marvel, who deserve a tip of the hat for giving one of their cinematic Avengers a chance to let it all hang out in a prominent comic. Hawkeye Annual #1 does exactly what this kind of special should, supporting the main arc while giving an important character time to grow . We just hope it isn't too long before we see Kate and Clint back in each other's lives.

If Huck was simply the story of a warm-hearted hero with superpowers in a small town, it would already stand as one of the more original creations of the year. Yet Millar also gives us something of a mystery in the identity of Huck, telling us only that he was abandoned as a baby and pinned with the note "Please love him." It's been a crazy and devastating week around the world, as violent acts showcase the hatred and fear of a small number of people. If Huck's message is that unconditionally passing on love and being kind to one another creates heroes from the most unlikely of places, then he might also be the most necessary hero of the year as well.

It is early days yet in this six-issue mini-series, leaving us with a key moment in the origin story of Santa. Like many of Morrison's works, this first issue presents us with a series of puzzle pieces. We know roughly what it is supposed to look like by the end of the run, but the joy of getting will be in seeing how he fits all of these disparate threads together and wraps them up in a bow.

Taking the best bits of old school fables and modern sensibilities, this comic might be the best thing that's happened to the Midwest since the Cubs won the World Series.

The final pages will shock and much as they intrigue, and with all the controversy surrounding sex in comics over the last few weeks, we wonder if this first issue's final image will raise any eyebrows in conservative media. It's a stunning debut issue from someone who has already mastered the surreal. Here we watch him harness it, darken it and ride it hard for our entertainment. Bring it on.

As the debut title in a new imprint, Naomi is much more than just a promising start to a new series. It's also a success as an all-ages comic, offering a low barrier of entry to new readers and relatable lead character. More than anything, it's a bold statement about the direction DC Comics is willing to go in 2019 and trust the audience to go along with them.

While human rocket Richard Rider will undoubtedly return in the future, for now this is set to be Ultimate Spider-man in space, and that concept " combined with plenty of crossover potential for Guardians " makes this one of the first great debuts of 2013.

The stark black-and-white art is rough and ready, and allows Murphy to add his own punk rock slant to this wonderfully thought-provoking new series from DC/Vertigo. A solid start to what might become a must read for the year.

The only bad thing about this issue is that it's the penultimate one before the crew takes its end-of-arc break.

Possibly surprising nobody, Saga remains supremely amazing as it enters its fifth arc.

Magical realism is a genre that Bryan Lee O'Malley could rightly plant his flag in after Scott Pilgrim and Seconds, for he has shown the world just how it should be done. Beautiful, emotional and at times deeply personal, it is difficult to walk away from this outstanding graphic novel and not want another helping. Easily one of the best graphic novels released this year, and possibly one of the most magical of the last decade.

It's rare that a book that so summarily dispatches some of its leading characters keeps you compelled month after month, let alone maintain something as close to comic book perfection as this.

In what is effectively an issue-long fight sequence, Hopeless gives us a microcosm of all of the things that defines the modern Spider-Woman, balancing as she does being a mother with superheroics and simply keeping her life together.

One can’t begrudge Orlando for bringing Supergirl in line with her small screen counterpart, and he has mentioned in a number of interviews that there is a lot that the CBS/CW series gets right in terms of tone and flavor. Put simply, Supergirl draws on the best that the character has to offer, and serves it up in a package that fans of the broader super family can dip in and out of. This is definitely one to watch going forward, especially with that diabolically self-referential cliffhanger.

Perhaps the only major issue with The Belfry is that there simply isn't enough of it, ripping us out of the world as quickly as it thrust us into it. In the short time that we spend with Hardman's creations, we get the sense that we have seen the tip of the iceberg of a much larger story. It's a deep guttural scream from the pit of the stomach, or the place under the bed where the really nasty monsters hide. In other words, it's a terrific example of what happens when the language of comics is used to maximum effect in close quarters.

As the series progresses, one wonders if Morrison sees himself as burdened with this glorious purpose. After all, he spends much of this issue almost obsessively cataloguing the gateways to other realms and stories. Opening the door to an infinite number of stories, while warning us of the dangers of the "forces" that threaten to make them homogenous, what Morrison has accomplished with this mammoth 70-plus page The Multiversity Guidebook, and with the series more broadly, is nothing short of breathtaking.

The Sandman: Overture is the wonderful place where art and storytelling co-mixes with waking dreams, vividly bringing back to life a modern classic in a way that exceeds expectations. The final splash pages reveal a cornucopia of detail that readers will go over with a fine comb, including a few surprising appearances if you look closely. Due out bi-monthly as a limited series, the wait will be all the harder for the high quality of this first new issue. An essential piece of reading.

If you loved Shaolin Cowboy to death, but for some reason though it needed to dispense with the speech bubbles, this might be your dream issue. Yet that doesn't stop Darrow's distinctive voice from shining through, and we can almost hear Lord Evelyn Dunkirk Winniferd Esq. the Third commenting on the events as they literally tumble out before us. A wonderful mix of madness, massacre and melee, made merry by a mishmash of mutilation.

With some maxi-series, it is sometimes worth waiting until the book finishes playing out to dip in. This will not be the case with The Wake, which delivers a debut issue that is intriguing, filled with well-rounded characters and surprising at each turn. Put together by a team of creators all at the top of their game, we are genuinely excited to see this unfolds over the next year.

While Lemire has dealt with elements of science fiction before (Sweet Tooth), and explored the depths of love and loss (Essex County, The Underwater Welder), but never before has he attempted such a grand examination of humanity. In this first of an intended 10-issues, Lemire has baited and captured us, laying out a world of possibilities in front of us. If Lemire's work has taught us anything, he might just surprise us and tackle them all.

BIZARRO is one of the most charming books released by DC in a long time. (Or should that be "BIZARRO am worstest most unfriendly book from DC in short time?") Not just perfect for kids, who will love the visual madness of it, but for adults with a pulse as well.

A punk-rock spin on Dazzler, but with edge. Put aside any prejudices or cynicism you may have about this reinvention. It's a punk (re)vision that is completely in the spirit of the character, with the right balance of ass-kickery and hooks to lure in new audiences. Put this one on your reading list immediately.

Rocket Raccoon #1 is a terrific addition to the Marvel Cosmic Universe, reminding us that humour and galactic shenanigans go together like Rocket and Groot. Skottie Young delivers a Saturday morning cartoon in the form of a comic book, and brings a much neglected sense of fun back from wherever mainstream comics have been hiding it for the last few years.

As close to monthly perfection as graphically possible, Vaughan starts things right with an indignant Countess Robot X accusing her underlings of being "overgrown condom failures". While the central story is some downtime for the fleeing family, a second read of the issue reveals just how much is actually going on across the multiple storylines.

Westerns and the Marvel universe were made for each other, having at least a sense of vigilante justice in common, and Gerry Duggan's recasting of familiar heroes in Western tropes is a joyous celebration of both.

It really is the Wild West as familiar faces get shot down, and the good guys and bad guys can be as clearly delineated as they like. Nik Verella's pitch-perfect art is gorgeously dust-covered and ridden off into the sunset by top-shelf colorist Lee Loughridge, a knowing mix of dime store funny book charm and a modern impressionistic view of the genre.

A Voice in the Dark signals a new voice on the scene, one with a clear concept and a firm notion of what makes a rich story with a decent hook. While readers may certainly notice some nods not only to the aforementioned 80"s influences, but also more recent fare such as TV's Dexter, Taylor's strong cast of characters distinguishes this. It's early days yet, and we've only seen the initial incisions into Cutter's Circle. We're looking forward to taking a deeper slice in the months to come.

If you haven't given A Voice in the Dark a chance yet, now is a perfect time to jump on. With fresh blood on the campus lawn, Taylor provides an easy access point to his growing world of the delightfully grim town of Cutter's Circle. It's a world that beckons us to get comfortable, because the surprises it holds are only just beginning to bob above the surface.

Returning to the core story's strength of the anonymity of two killers conversing on live radio, Taylor builds up the tension nicely in this new arc that reveals a killer, but one that may not be alone in town.

A Voice in the Dark: Get Your Gun is a series reinvigorated, and remains a clever blend of 1980s black comedy and serial killer drama. The reveal of Zoey's counterpoint, if that is indeed who this new character is, marks a foil for an already interesting lead that challenges assumptions about comic book heroes. We hope that this is the first of many more ofTaylor's series, as things are starting to get hotter.

The best reason to pick this up is for the art. Samnee brings a grounded feel to his run on Daredevil with Mark Waid, and the street-level fight between Supes and "bad guy" Leon certainly contains similar elements. It's also filled with iconic shots, as the Man of Steel comes rushing towards the reader, we almost feel as though he's about to burst through our screens. Plus: Superman punching himself in the face. 'Nuff said. If this is a sign of what DC's digital comics have to offer, then sign us up immediately for more of the same.

Afterlife with Archie is the Archie book for people who don't read Archie Comics, or perhaps the fringe group of horror fans that have always wanted to read an Archie comic. Peppered with references to pop culture, it's a genuine horror story and proof positive that a good Elseworlds-style mash-up doesn't require a line-wide reboot, but is simply a matter of taking two top creators and letting them run wild.

Bryan Hitch's art is dark and gritty, reminiscent of his work on The Ultimates. His final page on this issue might just be the most heartbreaking of the series, but this is only getting started. Climb on board with this series, as we have the feeling that this is not only going to be one of the bigger events of the year, but one of the best written as well.

Of course, if Age of Ultron simply pointed the way to this and other spin-offs, it would be remiss to not notice that this is also an effective zero issue for Sam Humphries's Avengers A.I. However, unlike that predecessor, it managed to do so in a single issue and imbue it with more emotion in 22 pages than Age of Ultron managed in the ten previous entries. If this is a shape of Hank Pym to come, then an ongoing Ant-Man book with Mark Waid at the helm is something we should rise up and demand.

Akaneiro encourages us to go an play the American McGee game, and in that sense it has achieved its primary goal. Yet it does so because it creates such a rich and inviting world that one can't help but wanting to explore it in more depth.

The strength of this arc is not only in tying back into previous stories, but in also clearly defining what differing characteristics the two Hawkeyes possess and what what makes them stronger together and apart.

Tom Taylor's take on the "All-New" version of Wolverine has been superb to date, this is an excellent example of what he is best at.

If this is an exemplar of the New DC Universe, then we are in for a hell of a trip. Ennis and McCrea effortlessly pick up fifteen years after the fact and running with the glorious insanity that is SECTION 8. This might be the only book we need.

A fascinating world where Steampunk meets Cyberpunk, it is sure to please both crowds and draw in those who are in virgin territory.

Horton is laying enough groundwork for an entire ongoing series here, but readers are lucky to get all the Amala they can handle in this concentrated fun-sized series.

Bears, robots, and would-be assassins aside, at its core Ant-Man is a human drama, the kind that Marvel does so well. It's terrific to see that despite several major characters now existing outside the confines of New York, the essence of that dichotomy remains. In fact, in the case of the Scott Lang version of Ant-Man, the "fish out of water" only serves to heighten this notion of the loveable loser, one that we will enjoy checking in with each month.

As the DC mothership gears up for Aquaman to headline a major film, and a new creative team in the form of Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha dive into the pool, Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth is a perfect ship to lead us there. Or as Wonder Woman puts it: "Whatever strange sea he's sailing, it's off the known map" in completely uncharted waters."

One of the most highly-awarded writers of the last few years (Mark Waid) and one of the biggest artists around right now (Fiona Staples) work with 75 year-old character, and the results have been revelatory.

In updating the formula, Archie is no longer just about the hijinks surrounding teen romance, but about the complex landscape that youth have to navigate in learning to become adults. The plots are not so much soap-operatic as reflections of the heighten sense of drama and immediacy that surrounds every moment of emotion as a teenager, and Waid has tapped into the psyche of the youth without having to pander.

Written as a parody of the heist genre, complete with a "How to Do An Award-Winning Heist, in Twenty Two East Steps" playing out over as many panels, and artist Ramon Rosanas gets to have a bit of fun with every single one of them.

Of all of the events that are running this month, this one eclipses the others by miles.

More than anything, this first issue demonstrates DeConnick's continuing ability to bring humanity to the superhuman. It may be very much the first chapter in a larger story, but it is one that encourages us to want to spend a little more time with these characters.

A white-knuckle ride of a first issue, it is difficult to not get completely suckered in. Giving us just enough information to demand some more answers, it ticks all the boxes of a debut by inviting us to stay a little longer and find out how this (anti)hero gets out of peril.

A book that continually demands our attention each month, the only frustration is that the final panel flags next month for a "Zero Year" tie-in (from Marguerite Bennett, no less), meaning yet another interruption to what has otherwise been a continuous operatic narrative.

While next month promises another interruption to the flow in the "Gothtopia" tie-in, perhaps a shiny happy interlude is exactly what Batgirl needs after all this darkness. Treating this issue as an end point in Simone's extended arc, it gives the character some modicum of redemption in the eyes of her father, and as was always the case from beginning, from Batgirl's own exacting standards as well.

Simone continues to find new depths to explore in the character of Barbara Gordon, a figure she has been playing with in some form or another for well over a decade. The success of this current incarnation of Gordon is in grounding her as a real person who just so happens to be dealing with extraordinary events. Simone leaves readers with a classic cliffhanger that takes Silver's villainy to new levels of psychosis, while adding to our own as we maddeningly enduring another month waiting for one of the best books in DC's current lineup.

Batgirl is exactly where DC needs to be right now, throwing off-the-wall scenarios at established characters, testing their mettle inside situations that are equally grounded in character and high-adventure. Simone is a master of this kind of storytelling, and along with Red Sonja and Tomb Raider, of crafting strong female leads that eclipse their male counterparts. This latest issue is no exception to that rule.

What may have begun as a cynical marketing attempt to attract a new demographic has evolved into something much more than that, and is perhaps even parodying the very audience that it will most appeal to. Which is why Batgirl has been such a success, balancing that fine line between talking to a younger audience in their own language while never making the mistake of condescending to them.

Tuning back into the same Bat channel as last week, the launch title of DC2 continues to offer an enhanced reading experience that is a joy to participate in. Keeping the story as simple and goofy as the 1960s television series works surprising well on the tablet screen, allowing the reader to push on through the adventure at their own pace.

This is more than just a palette cleaner, prior to next month's #0 origin story and the return of the Joker in #13, but is rather an essential tale of the city which Wayne has fought to protect all of these years. We hope to see more of Harper Row in the future.

If "Zero Year" was about overcoming trauma and dealing recasting Batman's origin in a contemporary setting, then the start of "Endgame" sees Snyder pushing the other end of the spectrum. Batman might ultimately be confronting his own death, or at least brushing up against it, and with those closest turning against him, this is setting up to be a killer arc.

"Endgame" is about to rapidly expand and spill out into the other Bat-titles before it concludes, and this is a shame in many ways. Snyder's arc has been tense and tight so far, stringing us along just as the Joker has pulled Batman's chain. This is where Snyder's storytelling excels, in these focused pitched battles between the Dark Knight and enemies that can truly challenge his supremacy as Gotham's defender. Yet with only one issue of the main arc left, we're left on the precipice of a story that has not simply returned the Joker to comic book pages, but one of the best versions of Batman, as well.

As the issue itself suggests, there is little point in pondering whether this is Batman for too long. "You worry about Batman meaning something to people," argues Julia Perry/Pennyworth, "you'll go down fast. If you do it your way, the things you belive in, the things you stad for? Batman will stand for those too." The message from his crew is loud and clear: if Gordon is true to himself, Batman will stand for all of those things as well. Yet Snyder might be reassuring himself here, having rarely shied away from telling the kinds of Batman stories he has always wanted to tell. Even with the bombshell of a closing panel, which leaves us with perhaps the biggest mystery of them all, this issue of Batman is a statement on the Dark Knight, no matter who wears the cowl.

Make no mistake: Snyder's current run with Jim Gordon in the role of the mechanical Batman is a superb shakeup of a familiar continuity. Yet as it touches on salient social issues, including police shootings of unarmed youths and disenfranchised quarters of society, this issue reminds us not just of why Snyder remains such a fan-favorite for the character, but what we have loved about the modern version of the Dark Knight for at least the last 30-plus years.

While there is some action, particularly in the back half of the issue, this is a mostly character-based psychological drama, and a welcome one at that. Without actually featuring Batman in or out of costume, Tynion gives us some answers around the fine line between heroism and madness. As Bruce explains "what crazy is" to the Riddler, he sums up exactly what separates any version of Bruce Wayne from a villain, and exactly what kind of stuff he is made of at his core.

After some especially strong one-shots featuring this team-up in JamesTynion IV and Alex Maleev's"Ghost Lights" backup for Batman, the New 52 version of Batman/Superman proves that a mature and compelling union of these characters is possible in an ongoing series. It's early days yet, but Pak and Lee have laid the groundwork for a terrific exploration of what makes these characters tick. It will be interesting to see if the multiversity of the initial story arc can carry the emotional weight of the story they have set up so far.

The creative team that has brought us the current arc of the Batman: The Dark Knight book almost give us Gotham by Gaslight here, but also surprising with a double-page spread showcasing the madness of the Hatter. It's a great example of the sometimes lost art of single-issue storytelling.

Bizarro is not going to appeal to all tastes, as there will be those looking for the tragic figure of Geoff Johns' B-0 last seen as the failed experiment of Luthor in the pages of Justice League. Yet if the Teen Titans can have their Teen Titans Go!, then Bizarro can happily coexist alongside the rest of the DC multiverse. Perhaps the only problem is that this series has a limited run, at least for now.

This is one of DC's most inventive books out at the moment, and this issue opens the narrative up to a literal world of possibilities.

Leaving us on an intriguing cliffhanger, the comic with its own fictional band continues to be one of "DC You"'s most interesting experiments until the very end.

A completely unexpected and wholly welcome addition to a revived genre, and like East of West, it opens a doorway to the weird through the the shopfront of the familiar. The real Ketchum's final words were reportedly, "Good-bye. Please dig my grave very deep. All right; hurry up," before being decapitated by his hanging due to the weight he'd gained in prison. Fortunately for this Ketchum, it seems that we've only just scraped the surface of what promises to be an original new series.

The journey of Blacksad is almost the story of America, told from the point of view of the people in the margins. While Blacksad: Amarillo may not be as politically ambitious in its commentary as previous albums, or at least not as overtly as the literal black and white themes in Arctic Nation, it doesn't have to be. Just as America was finding its own voice between the Second World War and Vietnam,Canales and Guarnido allow their lead some light before the darkness, and the narrative is necessarily more lightweight as a result. This is foreshadowed in the final gripping pages of the book, when both we and Blacksad come to the realisation that he can only take a break from the cycle of violence for so lo

Bellaire, Mora, and Angulo aren't just remixing a classic TV show but breaking it down to its component parts and rebuilding it for a generation who may not have a connection to the original. By the time we get to the powerful final panels of this sophomore issue, Bellaire has shown us that this Buffy the Vampire Slayer redux is not only welcome, but absolutely necessary for modern audiences.

We never have a bad word to say about this Eisner Award winning run on Daredevil, and the latest issue gives us no cause for concern.

For over two years, Mark Waid's Daredevil has consistently been one of the best books on the market. High praise considering the fine examples of comic bookery we see every week, but since the "stealth reboot" of the series in the pre-Marvel NOW! years, Waid has been building up the character of Matt Murdoch and not just his horned alter ego. Indeed, some of the issues of this run should and will be spoken of in the same reverential tones as Frank Miller or Brian Michael Bendis's runs.

This book continues to be the high water mark of storytelling in the Marvel universe, and if this introduction is anything to go by, then the next two years are going to be another magic ride.

While there may be slight echoes of a certain "Court of Owls" story from the Distinguished Competition, the parallels between the two are only that they are the finest examples of mainstream superhero storytelling of this century. So far.

In the hands of anybody else, the sudden appearance of an alien and the Silver Surfer in the gritty world of Daredevil would be classic shark jumping. Yet we take the leap of faith due to Mark Waid's flawless track record, and it's to his credit that this still plays like a 70's cop show.

Yet it is the art team of Chris Samnee and colorist Matthew Wilson who are the standout heroes of the issue, transitioning seamlessly from the brighter opening (both tonally and graphically), to a mind-splitting 10-panel grid that shows each of the children testing the limits of Murdock's psyche. A magnificent piece of visual storytelling.

In this concluding chapter of the face-off with Purple Man and his Purple Children (with nary a Prince to be seen), "storytellers" Mark Waid and Chris Samnee bookend their tale with one of the most simple, effective and touching narratives on depression in recent comics.

The stylish finale is mostly an action climax, Samnee forever placing his stamp on the city of some of the most famous car chases with Daredevil actually behind the wheel. This alone should make it worth the price of admission, but it the double twist in the tale (the kind Waid excels at) that keeps this issue gripping until its heartwarming final panels.

As Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil approaches its finale, they prove there is still room to shock, bringing Matt Murdock and the Kingpin face-to-face for a surprising deal.

Given that the current run of the ongoing Daredevil series has been consistently outstanding over the course of the last two years, it comes as a complete surprise as to how much this book was needed. It seems there is no such thing as too much Daredevil, especially when the quality is this high.

This isn't elseworlds, it's an in continuity canonical tale of Daredevil's last days. It's also a frightening vision, but impossible to look away from. We can't wait to see how it all comes together.

There's more chapters of "Trekker", "King's Road", "Bloodhound" and "Nexus", but there couldn't be a more perfect example of Dark Horse's ability to pick up future talent than the one-page story by 15-year-old Emma T. Capps. Simple and sketch comedy based in its approach, it still shows a sophisticated knowledge of structure and more importantly, a love of comics. It's great to see Dark Horse encouraging talent very early in a career. Who knows: one day Capps could be the next big thing, and this issue will be worth a fortune?

There's a continuation of Jane Espenson's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Love Vs. Life" story, tying directly into the Season 9 arc, more "Trekker" from Ron Randall and editor Mike Richardson's interesting adaptation of Andrew Vachss's "Underground". Yet the moment of zen brilliance is Patrick Alexander's "Steggy Wilmot and Spimps", a satirical bit of surrealism in which the idly rich Steggy is brought his morning pig by butler Spimps, creates a list of things he could buy (including Spimps' house and daughter) and is saddened when his Great Newspaper article about why pigs are sad fails to yield the fan-mail he desires. If that doesn't get you running out to buy this always terrific anthology, then nothing will.

The narrow list of suspects for this apparent murder makes the piece all the more fascinating, but not as tantalizing as the possibility that none of the people we've met so far is the killer. Dept. H follows all the hallmarks of a classic Agatha Christie-style whodunit, but nevertheless manages to be shockingly original in its executive, characterization and the precise beauty of its artistic presentation.

From the vantage point of the end of this first issue, we have every reason to be excited about the subsequent chapter in this series. That there's already a cinematic quality to this book is probably indicative of why it has been optioned for a film, but it well and truly stands on its own legs. Taking familiar elements from genre stories and beyond, the combination of Lemire's character-driven narrative and Nguyen's coolly optimistic art makes this something truly unique.

Like the best high concept series, Gillen and Hans may have drawn us in with their core characters, but hold us here with the world that surrounds them.

A perfect jumping-on point for anybody not familiar with previous versions of Doctor Fate, or simply keen to find out what this cat in the golden helmet is on about. A storybook journey with some dark turns, it's mostly a lighthearted adventure from the days of matinee serials, and promises to be a ripping yarn.

There's a little bit of a swagger about this issue, self-assured that Stephen Strange is every bit the hero without his magic as he is with it. It's designed to make all of these characters as proudly epic as their spandex-clad Avengers friends. With a film due out in only a matter of months, Jason Aaron's take on Strange is becoming close to a definitive one, perfectly accessible to the layman while providing something new and exciting to reward those who have stuck with it.

If you don't feel like wandering outside of the main continuity of the ongoing series, it doesn't currently seem necessary to pick up a copy of Doctor Strange: The Last Days of Magic. Instead, it serves as an excellent introduction to the wider magical universe and some Marvel characters that may not be familiar to newer audiences. It also serves as further evidence that Aaron's skills as a writer don't simply lie in the ability to tell a good story, but rather in the ability to build a world around them.

As we face the prospect of a long 2016 without any regular new Doctor Who episodes until Christmas, Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor goes a long way towards helping us forget this fact. Indeed, it helps us forget the fact that we aren't in 1977, and Tom Baker isn't still tripping over his own scarf and lowering his baritone to curse the menace of the week. Like the best Baker episodes, it finds the right balance between Gothic horror and lighthearted adventure, and is the start of a promising set of new stories featuring characters as we remember them.

Greg Smallwood marks his first major break with Dream Thief, but that belies a talent that comes to the page fully formed, complimenting Nitz with an almost noirish crime style that isn't a million miles away from the stuff Sean Phillips is putting out in Fatale or Criminal. His art is clean and bright, using shadow and minimalist colour for maximum effect. TheAboriginalmask that gives Lincoln his Sandman-like abilities is part Australian indigenous and part wrestling mask, and instantly iconic. Indeed, there isn't much here visually that Smallwood hasn't touched, with his fingerprints to be found right down to the lettering. It's a wonderful fusion of art and clever storytelling, and we can't wait to see how the rest of the five-issue series pans out.

Earth 2 is a title that in many ways has sat on the fringes of the New 52, with its continuity barely touching any of the other stories. As this new creative team takes over, it has proven to be the title's greatest strength, opening up a world of possibilities for the ultimate DC sandbox. It's time to take second look at Earth 2.

Despite taking place on a parallel Earth, it remains an exemplar of how DC should be looking at their New 52 properties, stripping them down and rebuilding them from the ground up. The heroes may come out a little misshapen, and miss the odd part, but they are all the more intriguing for it.

With false starts to be found in all corners of the New 52, Earth 2 has become a terrific example of how these reboots should be done, by taking the barest of essentials from what has come before, emptying out the box and building it back up again from the pieces that survive the fall.

Earth 2 could quite easily be the most frustrating book in the entire New 52. In the previous issue, Hawkgirl acknowledged that they all felt like they were meant to be a team, but weren’t quite there yet. So while this edge-of-the-precipice teasing has kept readers guessing since the beginning, the notion that this is still all part of an alternative Earth’s “Year One” is a bold move. However, with the Kryptonians poised to clash next month, one gets the impression that Taylor is set to sweep the old cobwebs away so he has unfettered access to the sandbox that he is currently building, demolishing and re-imagining sandcastles in.

A compelling read that demands your full attention, East of West has now solidified the reputation it rightfully earned last month.

Richard Corben's art, which earned him a place in the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame last year, is masterful. He brings his Heavy Metal aesthetic, honed through years of Eerie and Creepy, and creates something that is both entirely Poe and unmistakably his own.

EI8HT is a stunning and evocative new series from one of the best artists working in the business. The compelling premise takes familiar tropes and turns them on their head, asking readers to trust in it. Given the cliffhanger ending and plethora of questions left unanswered, we're in for the long haul. Highly recommended.

It's a series that has the potential to change the way we look at the DCU, and not just because of it's ability to mess with canon. Here's hoping it maintains this level of momentum.

Sturges manages to hold true to both the wider Fables universe as well as giving this the feel of a genuine period noir film, from the dialogue to the gritty crime scenes. You'd expect a story like this to be in sepia/black and white, and it is. Yet so effective is McManus's artwork that we were not even conscious of this fact until the final pages switch back to a colourful modern-day.

If you aren't reading this book, take the week as an opportunity to catch up. It will be the best comic-related decision you'll make this year.

We are always several paces behind the main characters, which is an impressive feat given that Miles never quite feels as though he is sure what is going on. As Josephine promises to reveal more next issue, Fatale makes the month between issues an excruciating wait.

At a time when there is even more to be angry about in the world, from global politics to the division between rich and poor, Tyler Durden is needed more than ever. It is almost as if the character has been lurking deep within Palahniuk's unconscious mind for the last two decades, to return fully formed and ready to take over the world. A stunning major comics debut from the writer, and an amazing example of how comics can create an entirely new form of expression. Tyler Lives. Rize or Die.

Like the best pulp adventures (although using 'pulp' here is really only to describe the inspiration), we simply accept that these mystical happenings are the norm in Fabian Gray's world. It's not done with irony like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen either, it simply delivers a rip-roaring adventure that gives us more questions about the nature of Gray's "tragic encounter" years ago. Equally dazzling is Chris Mooneyham's distinctive vintage style, that captures the spirit of the pulp adventures that inspire it, raising it to the epic proportions of Alan Moore's Tales of the Black Freighter.

Our advice is to either go out right now and pick up all five issues if you haven't done so already or pick up the trade collection in September. Either way, you'll be wanting to get onboard for the ongoing series, as this could handily rival Fatale for Image's top book with a retro charm.

In all of his various forms, Barry Allen has a penchant for turning his feelings inward, so it's with some degree of cheer that Williamson manages to round out this particular tale on a note of hope. That's a pretty nice anniversary gift for the character and readers alike.

The finale to "The Price" crossover with Batman is full of surprises, but perhaps the biggest is the levels of introversion Joshua Williamson weaves into the majority of this issue.

In the back-matter to the book, Mackiewicz describes his book as an “attempt to process real world horror, centuries of it, magnify it through genre, and learn from it.” In this sense, we have something akin to Scalped but with a more genre-specific edge to it, one that is yet to reveal the full depth of its twists and turns. A terrific new debut that feels all at once highly topical and timeless.

If you've never picked up a Ghostbusters comic, but have always wanted to give them a go, this is a great place to start.

It’s difficult to box Gideon Falls into a single genre at this early stage, but it begins with a frantic search and ends in blood. It’s a thriller, it’s horror, it’s literary, and it’s also something truly unique. With this new creator-owned series, we see two exemplary artists who share an unspoken symbiosis articulating that bond through sequential storytelling.

The new age of Vertigo continues to go from strength to strength as writer Zoe Quinn brings her video game aesthetics to one of the most original comic books of the last few years.

Perhaps the best way to describe the debut issue of Gotham Academy is that it's a pilot. It doesn't manage to avoid familiar tropes entirely, indeed it relies on them at times as a kind of cultural shorthand. Awkward cafeteria encounters, crazy old headmasters and even cameos from local famous billionaires all tick the right boxes, but it's hard not to get caught up in the sheer enthusiasm of the issue. Kudos where it's due should go to DC for trying to do something new with the Batman family of books, an impressive feat after 75 years and literally thousands of issues about Gotham City. If this is a mark of where the 'new' New 52 is going, then the Bat-Signal is shining a little brighter this week.

This is what should have been the reboot back in 2011, and is indicative of what the Newish 52 was capable of. It is a shame that readers may not have made it this far after several false starts. Let's hope DC have finally got their heads on straight as use this title as a template for the other flagging titles, rather than simply cancelling the same misfires over and over again. For now, enjoy a layered action/drama from the best in the business.

From a title than even the most devoted of Arrowites were struggling to stay loyal to, Lemire and Sorrentino have hit all the right targets to deliver a must-read book several months in a row now. We hope this partnership lasts for a long time to come.

For the first time since the start of the Newish 52, Green Arrow is consistently leaving us gagging for the next issue, which should be the primary job of all ongoing series.

Green Arrow #21 is an ending, but also an awakening to new beginnings. The partnership of Lemire and Sorrentino have spent these last five issues lining up their shot, and they've ultimately hit a bullseye. It's with great anticipation that we shall look forward to the next arc to see what they build on this solid foundation.

Lemire gives us a treasure trove of reasons to keep coming back to the book, not least of which is the twist ending, and has provided enough questions in this one issue to last us until the next DC reboot. If you'd given up on previous incarnations of this rebooted title, now is the time to jump back aboard.

The final pages are not so much conclusive as a massive tease for the next arc, including another bit of wordplay on a famous Grell title. Yet it manages to feel organic, a mixture of old and new that doesn’t smack of being forced in sideways as an Easter egg for pre-Flashpoint fans desperate for some sign that ‘our‘ Ollie will return. With two arcs now under his belt, Lemire has shown the potential for a Green Arrow book under the New 52 banner. If it can shake the tenuous links it strives to maintain between the comic book and TV worlds, the Emerald Archer might just be one of DC’s preeminent books again.

Now that he has settled in this revived version of Oliver Queen, Percy is beginning to lean on his wider influence once again. While the main source of antagonism is another shadow group, the not-too-subtle references to Dante Alighieri's Inferno make for some interesting illusions to Ollie's current downward spiral. More encouraging is that this time around, Percy has balanced the difficult task of putting an existing character into a new environment, but managing to balance the tensions between the old and new.

While the titular Green Arrow takes a back seat this issue, it also means that Emiko finally gets to step up into the limelight and be something more than just a plot device or sidekick. Indeed, Percy and Byrne make an incredible case for her as a solo character, or at least being part of a thematic crossover with the aforementioned Gotham Academy or Batgirl. More to the point, it underlines the wider push of Percy’s run: bringing in Black Canary and other characters to craft something closer to the Team Arrow we once knew, but leaving his own distinctive mark on the title in the process.

Ollie's trial for murder still hanging around in the background, and with a killer of a cliffhanger, this certainly isn't the end to this narrative, but Percy appears to be having the time of his life getting us there. We are too.

Highly publicised by the mainstream media, DC's first major Arab-American superhero makes his debut in the form of Simon Baz, who is introduced as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Touching on the prejudice against Muslims in America since 9/11, the book carefully establishes Baz as his own man, and someone who will bring a distinctive spin to the Green Lantern history.

"Lights Out" is a textbook example of what an event should be: a mostly self-contained quest that not only ends on its own terms, but hints at the future. When Johns left the title, he laid out a road map for the ultimate fate of the characters he had crafted over the course of a decade. With "Lights Out," Venditti has ensured that his own name will become an important part of that history, indicating some major changes on the horizon for all the main players.

It ends with a declarative statement of what the Guardians of the Galaxy 2019 look like, a solid face of villainy, and the promise of a wild ride ahead.

Hadrian's Wall is an arresting new series from an established team, one that should hook in readers conclusive from the first panel. While much of the basic narrative structure and style are borrowed from a clear set of influences, they come together in such a meticulously crafted way as to form something new and exciting. This is one book that demands an immediate follow up, and if this first issue is any indication, the month-long wait between issues is going to be a difficult.

The long-running gag of what happens to the friends and family of villainous henchmen gets trotted out again, but Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld alum David Mandel owns it in this sharp satire

Just as Harvest did a great job of building a tangibly sticky world before pulling the rug out from under us, so too does Morrison in this fully realised creation that is sure to keep us on our toes in the coming months. We really have no choice but to listen to the horse.

Morrison works best in these shorter stories, and at the halfway mark, Happy continues to be one of the best mini-series of the year.

Harley Quinn #14 is a perfect jumping-on point for anyone curious to see what all the fuss about this title is. It perfectly encapsulates why the character has taken on such a massive fan base, and showcases all the major tenants that this series is built around. For ongoing readers, who knows that this book works best as a series of loosely connected one-shots, it was a nice break from the longer story arcs before she embarks on a quest to "harmonificate" her life.

Far from being a cheap and quirky cash-in, Harley Quinn Annual #1 embodies everything that is still fun in comic books. A collision of surrealist storytelling and exemplars of some of the more interesting artists working in the field, this has more than a whiff of joyousness about it.

For every reader expecting the Futures End continuity to get wiped away with a quirky twist of fate (or time travel, as is fashionable these days), Harley Quinn: Futures End treats canon with about as much reverence as it deserves. Where else are you going to find a talking dead beaver speaking to the hero from inside the stomach of a crocodile? Equal parts bloody and bloody funny, it's the antidote to event fatigue.

Just as Mark Waid crafted a version of Daredevil that is wholly familiar yet completely new and fresh, so too has Matt Fraction with the underused Hawkeye. Yet the strength here is that Fraction doesn't concentrate on the Avenger but the man who has come up from the streets and has to work every day at being good.

David Aja's artwork is again the real costumed hero of the day, and coupled with Matt Hollingsworth's understated colours, conjures up a New York of the late 1960s or early 1970s. As if Martin Scorsese had climbed inside the panels and begun filming a documentary about the saddest superhero in New York. Indeed, even the women are all accordingly dressed in retro attire.

Buy this issue, go back and buy the other eleven, and then look out for the annual at the end of the month. No self-respecting comics fan should be without this in their longboxes.

Just as as he did with the magnificent The Many Harold Holts of Space & Time (for the Home Brew Vampire Bullets anthology), Lindsay plunges face-first into the surreal and brings us something fresh and engaging. Offering just enough to hook new readers, Lindsay and the art team lay out an intriguing world that may have a familiar scent, but offers a vibe that is entirely its own.

A must read for any comic book fan with the requisite amount of funny bones.

Howard the Duck has undergone many changes over the last few decades, from failed movie star, to a mature readers line and a recent cinematic cameo. This issue hits the stride of the best aspects of all of those incarnations, proving that any character - regardless of how "fowl" they might be - has an amazing comic book inside of them.

Even in the midst of the Secret Wars event, or perhaps especially during it, Chip Zdarksy and Joe Quinones's ability to mock anything and everything in the Marvel Universe is masterful.

With Jughead, the new creative team have taken the one thing we probably all know about the character (that he is food's biggest fan) and made that an engaging plot point. Archie can have its love triangle between its title character and the two women who want him, but Jughead burns bright with perhaps an even more mesmerizing triptych: Jughead Jones, his food, and the forces that would keep him from it.

As one of DC's flagship books, this is a franchise renewed, and one of the first team stories in a while that indicates we will be guessing and suckered in every inch of the way.

Other creators take note: this is how JUSTICE LEAGUE is done. It might be a case of peaking early, but this opening salvo in "The Darkseid War" really has it all. Putting the Multiverse front and centre as a plot device, and pitting a classic Justice League line-up against one of the heaviest hitting villains, this has all the hallmarks of being a classic in the making.

It is unsurprising, given his heavy involvement in so many of the titles to date, but Johns' encyclopedic knowledge of the entire DC universe has never been more evident than in this issue. Threads from previous New 52 events, Earth 2 and beyond are all present in this outing, with reverberations of Convergence still being felt behind the panels. The absolute bombshell of a twist in the final pages not only flips the script on the concerned character, but leaves us hungrily wanting more.

Geoff Johns has barely given us pause for breath on the recent "The Darkseid War" run of Justice League, and this dive into the Multiverse is an exemplar of how to run a blockbuster epic in comicbooks.

More than anything, Johns knows how to stage a thriller, and the final pages of Justice League invariably lead to a cliffhanger. No matter how the dust settles next month, when "Darkseid War" finally reaches its conclusion, this saga will go down as one of the essential Justice League stories in the history of the medium.

At the end of his Green Lantern run, Johns showed us a forecast of events that were yet to come, not just challenging the next writer to top him, but throwing down the gauntlet and roadmap to ensure his will be done. With a cliffhanger ending of sorts, Johns does something similar here, although it's the fate of the entire DC Universe and not just Hal Jordan's world that hangs in the balance. Of course, Johns also accompanies this issue with his DC Universe Rebirth this week, and there is a literal death and rebirth in the pages of Justice League. With these two books, Johns has set a solid course for the future of the DCU, and the publisher just needs to find an equally set of safe hands to guide it forward.

As the first issue in the “Outbreak” arc, Hitch and his art team have dropped the sequential art equivalent of a surround sound blast to the eardrums. There’s plenty of time for fleshing out the hows and whys, and focusing more on the characters tangential to the main story thrust, but for now we are more than content to see where the tracks of this locomotive lead us.

The great thing about the post-Convergence world is not just a willingness to tell different types of stories, but a variety of stories utilising the same characters. JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA proves there is room for more than one Justice League book on the block.

With a cliffhanger that reintroduces a massive figure in the Kryptonian's mythology, Hitch has us snagged from the beginning. If it seemed unlikely that another Justice League book was needed at the moment, then this allays those fears by filling the void with pure DC comic bookery. What begins ostensibly as a Superman story about putting himself first for a change, turns into a piece that plants the seeds for a tale about what makes the Justice League special.

The double-threat of writer/artist Bryan Hitch delivers a rarity with a genuinely contemplative action blockbuster.

Picking up on themes explored recently in Geoff Johns' "Men of Tomorrow" arc in Superman (not to mention J. Michael Straczynski's Superman: Earth One and the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice notes it inspired), Hitch couches his ponderings in some heavy-hitting action as well. Operating three concurrent storylines that all promise to intersect at some point, Hitch has not let us down in thus run so far, and shows no signs of doing it any time soon.

With one issue left, we are left with the question of whether Mara Prince is irredeemable or incorruptible. One of the joys of this book has been in discovery, and with only one final chapter to go, we still can't guess what is coming next. In an age where comic arc are spoiled months in advance, the element of surprise is a welcome feature.

With a bright splash of Jorge Corona's energetic artwork, the fourth issue of writer Skottie Young's alternate world fable complete envelops us in a carnival spectacular.

Smith has commented that the heavy references to The Goonies are not coincidental, and that the frequent references will be essential to book as the series progresses. This kind of intertextual dialogue is not uncommon in retro-inspired works, but this self-awareness also speaks to what the reader brings to the book. No work is ever created in a bubble, but what Smith has done here is take a concept that could have been a simple old-school adventure and instead created something that will hopefully inclusively inspire a new generation, along with hooking us in for the next issue.

Here's hoping that when this limited series is over, there is more room in the DCU for more wonderful character-based stories like this.

Picking up moments after the first issue, the overarching narrative only progresses by millimeters. Yet the devil's in the details, and the subtle characterizations as Naomi confronts her parents are far more telling than any dramatic exposition.

In a market saturated with the Clown Princess Of Crime, this one stands out from the crowd.

A gripping first chapter to a 4-part mini-series that has convincingly set the scene and left us with a score of questions that will draw us immediately back next month. Miller is not the first to scratch at the dark substance that lurks beneath the surface of the circus, but placing the source of terror to be largely within the mind of a young girl who is discovering her own identity for the first time makes this a compelling read from start to finish. Highly recommended for fans who like their horror a little more on the psycho-surreal side.

Unlike previous attempts at obscure retro revivals (such as The Green Team), PREZ works right out of the gate, taking its time to build up its world a panel at a time. It's almost a shame that this is a finite series, as we could foresee this expanding indefinitely.

Inspired by a reasonably obscure 1970s comic book (one cancelled after only four issues), it spoke to the youth culture that came out of the baby boom following World War II. With the so-called Millennial generation seen as an echo baby boom, Prez is an argument for taking seriously a generation driven to distraction by mobile ubiquity, giving them a voice by showcasing their solutions to problems created by previous generations. This issue promises that the story will be continued, with Beth confident to take her ideas on the offensive. With a very chaotic 12 months of U.S. politics ahead, this might just be the comic the world needs right now.

It's also great to see Vertigo putting faith in the black and white art of Murphy, which sells this world. We are now only a third of the way into this tale, and we literally have no idea where it is going.

Just as it began, the first issue of Redlands defies expectation and leaves us with a cliffhanger. The traditional siege story would reach its climax with the events depicted in this book. Bellaire and Del Rey choose to start their story here, and where it goes now is anyone’s guess. A gripping start to what looks set to be a bold and topical new series.

he world of Saga is an intriguing one, and Vaughn and Staples aren't simply creating a comic book each month, but an entire world. We hope this one sticks around for a while.

Staples once again impresses with a consistent style over the most diverse group of characters in a comic book, also imbuing human qualities in the weird and wonderful. This is essential reading.

Staples doesn't get to play with as many crazy characters in what is essentially a two-hander, although the little seal creature is incredibly cute. Yet she still manages to infuse this outing with the same grounded insanity that we've come to know and love. Another book that should forever remain on the must-read pile on a monthly basis.

Vaughan continues to be one of the most consistently intriguing writers in and out of the the comic book world, balancing out this epic Saga with the slow boiling intrigue of his self-published The Private Eye. We hope we don't have to wait quite as long between arcs next time, but for now readers rejoice: Saga is back, and the comic book shelves just got all the brighter for it.

Satellite Falling doesn't give us everything at once, and instead is the start of a mystery adventure with something genuinely fresh in the world of comic book sci-fi. Horton, Thompson and Jackson have taken a familiar bit of plotting and placed something simultaneously otherworldly and believable on top of it, ensuring the audience is hooked and there are plenty more pieces to be unpacked in future issues.

Satellite Sam is one of the most complex andhandsomelyconstructed debuts of the year, showcasing Fraction's ability to build big and interconnected networks of characters. On any given page, he gives us enough material to sustain an entire series worth of character development, and one of the joys of this book in the coming months will be the discovery of how all of the pieces fit together. We are spectators in this theatre of voyeurism, but Fraction and Chaykin have just invited us in for a closer peep. We would be wise to accept.

There are few more perfect unions than Fraction and Chaykin, with the latter truly in his element here. From the-world weary Ginsberg to the decline of Michael in just three panels, Chaykin imbues these characters with character. Chaykin is reigned in somewhat by Fraction's own restraint, not allowing either party to let it all hang out just yet. If you can stand to be on the edge of your chosen place to sit for the foreseeable future, then Satellite Sam might just be one of the most layered and handsome new comics of this or any year.

Cooke's despair is a tangible entity, and while half of the readers may pick this up for some beautifully rendered skin, the rest of us will stay for Casey's world-building.

Like the deed itself, Sex seems outwardly straightforward but promises a wealth of exciting complications down the track.

With a final page reveal of a new character that promises to change Shazam lore, this is the best the character has been in decades.

At the three-quarter mark of this limited series, Diggle continues to show that his strengths still lie in his creator-owned masterpieces, and the Green Arrow: Year One team are perfectly matched to one another. In a story that uses every inch of the comic book format, it is odd to say that this also deserves a place on the big screen as well.

What starts as something lightweight and self-derogatory rapidly takes on the form of a European thriller, and does so in such a subtle and natural manner that you'll be flipping back a few pages to make sure you didn't miss something. Unlike O'Malley's previous Seconds, we don't have the advantage of reading this all in one hit, but have to wait for the next chapter. The serialized approach adds to the delightful melodrama of it all, and it will be interesting to see where intense character study goes next.

Despite being a part of a much larger crossover, this month's Spider-Gwen remains a complete adventure for the hero, but sets up some mystery for the next chapter in the pages of Silk.

One of the most joyful events of the last year was Spider-Verse, and this Battleworld bubble version almost equals its excellence.

Only the unflappable team of writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Javier Rodriguez could take a one-shot story about cannibalistic Canadians and turn it into a Civil War II tie-in.

Writer Dennis Hopeless, along with co-plotters Jason Latour and Robbie Thompson, have saved a huge showdown for last. Action-oriented as it is, the real hero is artist Nico Leon, who works closely with color artist Rachelle Rosenberg to deliver an animated epic

This isn't just a tie-in: this is Star Wars told in deceptively still frames.

It may be speaking broadly about the Rebellion against the Empire, but as the first issue of a female-driven, all-ages series released in 2018, it's a powerful new hope.

It will come as no surprise to every kid that wanted to be the baddie that Darth Vader has rapidly taken the top spot as the most consistently compelling book in the current line of Marvel Star Wars comic books.

If there is one thing that has made the current crop of Star Wars comics stand out from the crowd, it's the top shelf creators that Marvel has attached to the series. Although Princess Leia was far too short-lived, the slot is ready to be taken alongside the two main titles by stablemate Lando, for the heavy-hitter team of Charles Soule and Alex Maleev. Yet what Princess Leia has proved to Marvel and Disney is that this character, and other strong female characters in the Star Wars universe, are not only compelling and interesting outside of the characters they are normally associated with, but there is infinite scope for expanding the range of stories to be told in a galaxy far, far away.

Darth Vader versus a kaiju: it's the reason comics exist.

Of course, the majority of the issue is an almighty smackdown, with Romita's often divisive style shining as the Man of Steel discovers a new level to his powers. It results in Romita getting to show off the solar aspects to the Kryptonian's power source in spectacular fashion.

In the earliest days of Superman, his muscular feats and strongman costume were designed to represent the peak of what humans could achieve. Despite the ridiculous powers that the subsequent versions have given us, the stories that are most fascinating remain the ones that remember the "man" comes before the "super." Some of this is recognized in the cover to this issue of Superman: American Alien: a sea of average faces that are each opening their shirts to reveal the "S" symbol, indicating that we each have that potential. Superman is a reflection of the best humanity has to offer, with our faults and all. With one issue remaining in the series, Landis' journey through Superman's formative years aren't just a love letter to a hero, but to the people who read him as well.

Cleverly weaving Hayley's Circus into the narrative, extensively explored in the recent issues of Nightwing, this is easily one of the best new titles from the whole New 52 and a great example of how to spin-off a series from a hugely popular title. Guillem March, who copped some flak over his Catwoman #0 cover, is perfect in this world, bringing the right level of seedy Gotham and action framing necessary to propel this series further.

As with the "pilot issue", the art and pacing are all impeccable, with Calvin one of the most interesting characters to spin out of the pages of Batman in a long time. There is some danger that this could be simply replicating what has come before, replacing Batman with Talon as a convenient proxy, but for the moment this is one of the most intriguing new titles since DC's reboot.

This may not be the first time they have crossed over with fellow New Yorkers the Ninja Turtles, but it might just be the most fun. Writers Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz delay gratification with a lengthy exposition, but then hit the ground running with twin stories that spectacularly collide in a fashion that honors both franchises.

Ten Grand marked the return of Joe's Comics, Straczynski's creator-owned imprint. With upcoming works including a limited series from Bill Sienkiewicz (sure to be its own kind of magic) and Straczynski's own Sidekick, it's a solid foundation. If this is your first issue of Ten Grand, you will undoubtedly seek out the rest. It's simply that addictive.

A glorious old-school spin on Hellblazer that remains fresh and sinister, and demanding of your full attention.

In any other story, leaving the lead battered and bruised in the final panels would be a shocking cliffhanger. Instead, here it is a kind of catharsis for both Charlie and Gil, albeit one that leaves both characters and readers on a downer. That itself is indicative of where this series is headed. "It's another betrayal to add to the pile," notes Charlie, projecting Gil's thoughts. "He's sure it won't be the last." The Fade Out hasn't taken us all the way down the rabbit hole yet, but we're only just desperately clinging onto the edges of it.

What Morrison has presented here is the culmination of years of work, and is either pure genius or unhinged madness. Perhaps it is a little of both, but it is undeniably enveloping. Just as the story began, Morrison leaves the reader with the responsibility of how comics unfold, which is perhaps his most pointed bit of industry commentary yet.

Ben Oliver's style infuses the book with the right level of filtered soap opera realism, drawing the reader completely into the world before releasing us just as the would-be heroes are beginning to break their own vicious cycle.

The Multiversity: The Just isn't just a clever spin on existing characters, but an examination of the medium itself. Superman talks of his team-up with The Sandman. "The Sandman?" asks Batman. "Neil Gaim's Sandman?" The unstatedquestion is that if superhero worlds exist because we tell their stories, then who is telling the story that wills us into reality?Like the previous chapters in this series, this issue ends on one hell of a cliffhanger, at the very moment the spell of apathy is broken and our heroes once again have a cause to fight for. It's all pieces of a larger puzzle, one that we can't wait to see fully formed when the final chapter drops.

We really want to see this make it to the end. So wait no longer and head to the Panel Syndicate website and fork out some wads of digital cash now.

While actually a little longer than an average monthly title, The Private Eye rips along at the pace of a book half its length. Just at the point any other book would end with a little cliffhanger, Vaughan drops in those last few tantalising details to add a line and sinker to his already hooky book. The best comic book series currently not available in shops, make sure you do the right thing and head to thePanel Syndicate websiteand pay whatever you think is right. Whatever your cost, it's worth every penny.

Whether you are a fan of Way's comic work or anxious to see more from the world of My Chemical Romance,The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is easy to recommended. Way doesn't rely on knowledge of either to introduce us to his vision of the future, and Way and Cloonan are a match made in punk rock heaven. We look forward to seeing this series unfurl and provide more answers as to the nature of this landscape.

What some may find difficult to crack in this opening salvo is how relentlessly bleak The Violent can be, while others may find that it is a little too close to home. Yet Brisson's admirable attempt to highlight one of the most pressing social concerns of our era is a holistic one, supported by the supplement texts that are set to appear in the back-matter, beginning with this month's 'Head Down' by writer Sam Wiebe. He's also created two characters that we want to spend some more time getting to know, already hooking us in for a second issue.

The art is phenomenally good, taking Murphy's distinctive figures and environments and coupling him with the dream team of Matt Hollingsworth on colours. Just as tightly detailed as the script, the reveal on the final page is ominous, giving us just enough detail to keep us on the edge of our seats for the next month. If you aren't already reading The Wake, then you need to pull your head out of the water and get thee to a comic bookery!

It would be far too easy to simply call this a new spin on the X-Men or a deconstruction of the marvelous Silver Age. Instead, They're Not Like Us updates those core anxieties that plagued the kids of the 1960s, and transplants them to the angst that a myriad of choices gives the so-called "Millennial" generation. In doing so, it embodies the spirit of the original Silver Age books, but filters them through something far more literate and not necessarily heading in the same direction as your average cape. This is definitely one to watch in 2015.

Easily one of the highlights of the whole Secret Wars event.

The opening pages feature several nude shots, but they aren't there for titillation. Instead they show the innocent beauty of a creation before it turns into one of humankind's (kick ass) creations. His colours are delicately applied, with most of the scenery gorgeous. As a bonus, we get some backmatter that includes interviews, concept sketches, cover art and even shots of a model in cosplay. They really have thought of everything.

While not as immediately arresting as the debut issue, Lemire has crafted a world that has us completely hooked at this point. We can't wait until the third issue to see what magic he will weave then.

A difficult concept for a first issue, but so brimming with ideas and grace that it is hard not to be enveloped by it.

If you wandered out of Skyfall somewhat dissatisfied with the treatment of Miss Moneypenny, then Velvet might just be the series for you. The original Winter Soldier team of Brubaker and Epting reunite for something a bit special, as they once again turn their gaze to super spies in this incredibly taut thriller that gets the mix right as soon as it gets out of the gate.

Despite what the cool logic of the Vision and his synthezoid family would have you believe, this book is filled with heartbreaking emotions.

While King has managed to keep his closed world in a discreet pocket of the Marvel Universe for the last six months, the twist ending is a jolt to the system precisely because it drags us screaming back into the mainstream. It will be fascinating to see how this saga plays out now that the Vision and his dysfunctional family unit must deal with reality, or at least the version of it that is replete with capes and powers.

This is a frustratingly beautiful break in the main narrative: frustrating because we were left on such a crushing moment, but beautiful because it is still one of Marvel's best books on the market.

Welcome Back is an arresting debut, taking a concept that could have been worn out from the start and injected it with a much-needed dose of humanism. The twist in the final page hooks us in conclusively for the next month, although it wasn't a hard sell when the story is as good as this one. With massive scope for endless stories that could legitimately take us far into the future, this is one to watch.

It's the versatility of the art that sets it apart, from the quieter clean line-art moments between father and daughter, enhanced with Hollingsworth's pastel colored shades. Yet they too explode into chaos when needed, making for a chilling piece of modern horror that knows all the right buttons to push.

With so many X-Men books already on the market, it's always going to be a tough call as to whether regular readers should fork over cash for yet another spin-off. However, Marvel have shown faith in this as one of their flagship X-titles by assigning it two of the hottest names on their roster, a characteristic of the whole Marvel NOW relaunch. Every bit as vital, or arguably more so, than Uncanny X-Menand the umpteen Wolverine excursions, this starts a new era of X-Men with a bang.

If Miller's series maintains the strength and scope of this first outing, then the horizon is as bright as the one in the final panel of the book.

It's the "Rise of the Third Army" this month as Geoff Johns continues to demonstrate how to do an event within the DCU, New 52 or any other U for that matter. Essential reading for readers of any Lantern book, this issue will have ramifications across the entire Lantern line, and perhaps even the second year of the Newish 52.

Now in its third issue, one of the quirkiest consequences of Age of Ultron remains one of the most pleasurable to read, and shows no signs of wearing its concept thin.

It's always a risky thing when you change a formula that's been in place for eight decades, and Batman has seen this kind of change before. It's not the first "death" of Bruce Wayne, and it certainly won't be the last. Yet somehow Snyder, Capullo and the team have found a balance between radical change for change's sake and experimenting with something new, leaving the escape hatch open for what we can assume will be a return to something more familiar in the future.

Black Market is an noteworthy new title that legitimately has something new to say in the superhero world, even if it does cover some familiar ground. The only potential concern is that for a mini-series, Barbiere has already set up so many potential threads that we won't have them all resolved by the end of the run. Yet that's half the joy of discovery, and we are looking forward to seeing what Barbiere has in store for the rest of the run.

This terrific creative team brings a fresh new spin to CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER. While it is not quite the old school Vertigo title, it is also an evolution from the New 52 version, creating something almost entirely different and immediately arresting.

Percy is still (re)building the elements, and not all of them gel together seamlessly. On the one hand, bringing Jeff Lemire's Emiko back to being a core member and conscience of Team Arrow (after the interim writers Andrew Kreisberg and Ben Sokolowski pretended she didn't exist) gives the book a whole new tone, one we haven't seen since the relationship between Mia Dearden and Ollie in Judd Winick's pre-Flashpoint run. We've even got a dog on that team ow too. Setting up a dichotomy between Ollie's brand of street justice and the less judiciously applied automated kind, Oliver Queen fighting giant robots doesn't seem like a natural fit. Yet GREEN ARROW has constantly adapted to what was required of it, and time will tell if this new direction is one where all those pieces come together.

For what is partly a continuation of an existing story, JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 can almost stand alone as its own book. There are enough new elements to pull existing readers in, while giving new audiences enough information to hit the ground running. For that is the real joy of this book, in always trying to catch up with the action. If you aren't reading this already, and you like a decent chuckle, it may be one of the funniest books on the market at the moment.

Lazarus is an increasingly rich and complex tale that has rewarded our patience, and it will be fascinating to watch these characters flourish.

Spread makes a welcome addition to the horror genre, introducing a badass new hero with a clear goal and end-point. It's a title that could have a long run ahead of it if it maintains this quality and same level of nail-biting cliffhangers for its duration. Come for the story, stay for Strahm's next level art.

Narrated by Immortal Man, or more accurately diarised given the amount of text, there is a world weariness to some of the observations that comes with 40,000 years on the Earth. This makes the dawning realisationthat the world is "much bigger, stranger, and more frightening" than he'd imagined all the more impactful. Like Morrison's Seven Soldiers, this book can be treatedsingle issue with one world's heroes, and it serves a bible for future creators to take up these characters and run with it. Yet as the presence of the comic-within-a-comic "Ultra Comics" issue (by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke) makes its presence known in the chamber of Doc Fate, we get a link that will presumably run throughout all of the chapters. "That comic book," warns Doc Fate, "is the most dangerous thing of all". Forgive us for proceeding with reckless abandon.

It's a convoluted but rewarding first issue, but to Bendis's credit it is also packed to the gills with action and carefully sets up everything you need to know within the boundaries of the issue itself. The art is often quite beautiful, combining Frank Cho and Stuart Immonen's pencils for a high degree of impact.

In many ways, 3 Devils is an ideal first issue, putting all the pieces in place to bring the two protagonists together and literally send them off down the road for their next adventure. It's also somewhat safe in its characterization for the moment, but nevertheless suggests that both of these characters are more than they initially appear. While Hampton only gives us the barest of hints as to what might be coming next, he does convince us that the focus of the book will be on the characters going forward, taking them from the familiar to something entirely new.

Baby Hulk deserves his own series, if for no other reason than the line "Hulk like bear. Him keep bear forever". We also never realised how much we needed to see Baby Galactus suckling on the moon.

A-Force is a title that would be on the top of the heap were it not for its Secret Wars origins. Just as Spider-Woman began to soar when it was divorced of the Spider-Verse tie-in, Marguerite Bennett and G. Willow Wilson's showcase for Marvel's strong top-tier female leads is precisely the team that the world needs right now - it's just hampered a bit by the fact we know their status quo on Battleworld is to be short-lived.

Ben Oliver's art nicely compliments this change of direction in story, and there's also a nice little backup in which Sholly Fisch draws Morrison's background to the Captain Comet and Neo-sapiens story.

Diggle's setting could just as easily fit within Mark Waid's Birthright origin universe as it does within the so-called New 52, handily drawing on traditional elements in a newish setting. The dichotomy between old and new is nicely demonstrated in Tony S. Daniel's ultra-slick modern interiors, especially the vision of Superman's outfit literally forming underneath his open shirt. It's an exciting story, and it is simply a shame that Diggle won't be going any further.

If Aliens: Fire and Stone doesn't completely soar in its first issue, it is only because it's burdened with necessary exposition. We can already see elements of the two existing series coming together, and there is enough intrigue here to keep us coming back for Alien v Predator: Fire and Stone and beyond. For now we can only echo some of the final words in this issue, and sense that there is "so much still hidden beneath the surface."

As the series comes to a close, Six-Pack at least remains convinced of his own heroism, but Ennis has already made his point about the futility of the never-ending superhero genre. "This is his world. His dream. Whichever," muses the narrative voice (or is it our own?) "As dreams go... well. I suppose you could do worse." It's rare thing that a comic book feels not only fully complete but deflating at the same time, with a character that appears to be wholly contented within and observably tragic end. As every comic book reader knows, the end of one book is merely the beginning of the next chapter of the endless story.

This is in many ways a culmination and combination of Slott's Superior Spider-Man with a forward-thinking Peter Parker, and a renewed Prowler team-up that holds lots of promise for the future. Better still, a final tease indicates that Slott isn't done with his previous stories just yet.

With a renewed media hype around Spider-Man, this is exactly the companion book the character needs right now.

If, like us, this is your first journey with the dynamic duo, then it appears to be a terrific place to start. What is immediately disarming is just how funny this book is, filled with terrific dialogue, visual gags and spins on the comic format itself. The artwork is gorgeous to look at as well, perhaps making this Valiant's must-read debut of the year.

This is a bold marriage of art and story in a way that only comics can truly deliver on. If the uniqueness of comic books is that the reader is the third essential element, joining the dots between the otherwise static panels themselves, then Art Ops is partly about being caught in the middle of that experience. There are some promising ideas teased here that will hopefully pay off in the forthcoming issues, but for now it begins as an clever way of engaging the viewer with a discussion around art imitating life.

The Astonishing Ant-Man always threatens to topple over into being a poor-man's parody of itself, but like the titular character, still finds ways of surprising us each month.

Titan Comics have taken the original 72-page albums and cut them in half for the American market. Given that the robust formatting of the European album offers way more bang for your buck than the U.S. floppies, this is a disappointing move. The story also frustratingly cuts off at an arbitrary point around the 36-page mark. Despite this, the story itself remains as strong as it did in its original format, and this release should ultimately earn these puppers a few more fans across the pond.

Kathryn Immonen's Yuletide one-shot is a breath of fresh air, and sometimes silly but always joyful seasonal romp.

Avengers A.I. arrives as a breath of fresh air after the often stale salesmanship of the event that got us here. The Age of Ultron is over. The Age of A.I. is now. So far, things are looking up for this new age.

Humphries uses this issue to quell any doubts as to whether another Avengers title was needed, populating his panels with a fistful of Datas looking for meaning. What we didn't expect with this title was how much humour would play a part in developing the narrative. Doombot is the comedy smash of 2013"s comic book slate, especially as his recently separated head threatens to return and destroy the Jefferson Memorial in Washington.

Adam Kubert really steps up to the plate on the art too, matching the pace inch-for-inch and giving us some glorious splash pages this time around. It's still not perfect, but another three of these and the event will end much better than it started!

With a dose of Scooby Doo (literally in the case of the Shaggy-esque character Weed), this is a positively fun salute to all things DC across the Multiverse.

Batgirl #25 mostly functions as a showcase for what is happening in the rest of Gotham while Batman figures out his plan of attack in his own titles. While we are itching to sink our teeth back into Simone's wonderful ongoing tale, Bennett at least uses the arbitrary confines of the "Zero Year" structure as an opportunity to flesh out what is already one of the most interesting leads in the current DCU.

There are some stories that don't flow into each other as readily as others, such as the far too convenient inclusion of the Gotham Academy kids for a bit of much-anticipated fan-service. Yet Batgirl Annual #3 is an innovative and original piece that showcases the best that the new DC talent have to offer. If you're looking for a way to inexpensively dip your toes into both Batgirl and Fletcher's other series, this is an excellent starter kit.

Giving the hardworking Greg Capullo a break this month, Andy Kubert delivers an awe-inspiring first half. Witness the shot of Batman taking down a perp in the glow of the Batmobile's headlights. Alek Maleev shifts the tone in the second chapter, delivering a more personalised art style that recalls David Aja (Hawkeye) and Paolo Rivera (Daredevil) in the best way. Snyder and Tynion continue to brove that great Batman stories can still be told in big a small forms.

Even more intriguing is the first part of a back-up story by the very talented James Tynion IV entitled "Ghost Lights", in which Superman and Batman team-up for a supernatural adventures that brings the Man of Steel to his knees. The artwork from Alex Maleev ensures that this is a gritty and frightening tale, the kind of horror story that would fit in nicely in a desperately needed horror anthology.

While the issue may be a little exposition heavy at times, Batman Annual #2 manages to tell a compelling solo story while maintaining links to the main title. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in future issues.

It's terrific to see Tim Drake's Futures End story continued, and while it may be disappointing to some that McGinnis is out of the picture (at least for now) it is difficult to argue with a fast-paced action comic that dares to throw new and existing readers straight into a future world and ask us to come along for the ride and revelations, including a bombshell that is dropped on the final page.

There's some nice moments in the Wayne Industries boardroom, and it is great to see some of these characters such as Knight and Squire back on board. No sign of Batwing, but that can only be a good thing. We only hope the main Batwing title can be as discreet and quietly disappear for us. Frazer Irving fills in for Chris Burnham, and provides a similarly pleasing light take on these dark characters, while losing none of their edge.

What is amazing about this issue is that in rapid-fire panels, jumping through various points in Bat-history that Morrison has covered elsewhere, he manages to get to the heart of what makes Talia a compelling villain, love interest and here, an empathetic character as well.

Filled with the same offbeat humour that has characterised his work to date, and with wonderfully vivid art from Burnham, this also marks a turning point for Robin. Nightwing rather flippantly refers to him as "the new dead Robin", in front of Bruce no less, but that is what makes this book work. It also features, to our great delight, the return of BatCow, who seems to have been tended to by Alfred this whole time.

If this ending is less than the sum of its parts, it certainly doesn't fail from a lack of ambition. Grant Morrison has left an indelible mark on the Dark Knight, and superhero comics generally, and we hope there is still a place for this off-beat Bat in the New 52.

Black Canary is a pleasing change of tone for a series that's now almost a year old, giving pre-reboot fans a taste of the old magic. While it's mostly an issue about D.D. finding out who she is outside the context of the band, there's a dynamic between that eclectic group of misfits that is sorely missed in this outing. Perhaps that is the lesson to be taken away here, that Black Canary works best as a character when she has equally strong characters to surround her.

One of the most interesting things about the first chapter of Black Road is that it feels like a complete piece, so this leaves us with the dilemma of not having a mystery hook to latch onto for the next chapter. Nevertheless, the character and world that Wood and Brown have constructed here are well studied and feel as whole as this issue, and the chance to peel back a few more layer of Magnus - not to mention explore the fascinating tensions between the Norsemen and the Christians - is hard to resist.

While the bottom of the barrel has been scraped clean with this particular revival, Krul compresses something that originally spanned two dozen annuals down to a self-contained and far more focused story. It's a joyful throwback, one that leaves the creative team of plenty of potential opportunities to branch out into different corners of their own universe. Perhaps some of these 'New Bloods' will make their way into the world of DC's Rebirth, ensuring that the dream of the '90s is alive and kicking.

This joy of discovery is really the appeal of The Bounce, and the expectation that the unexpected is only a few pages away. Finding new takes on the superhero genre is becoming increasingly difficult, and while this first issue may not have the same impact as Casey's Sex, we get the same feeling that he is still setting us up to knock us down later.

While some may feel that Buffy is just fine without a reboot, try thinking of this as a journey through the Buffy Multiverse (or Tuna Verse) where you know all the players but everything else is up for grabs.

Setting up just enough story elements to carry this series through several arcs to come, it is a strong start for a new direction.

Picking up from the events of Age of Ultron and Hunger, this tightly packed issue kicks the series off with several bangs, whimpers and lightning bolts. It's light on plotting, with Mile Morales/Spider-man, the Ultimates and Fantastic Four helplessly throwing themselves against the jolly purple giant to no avail. Yet it has an epic grandeur to it that feel as though it is all headed"somewhere.

There are plenty of great ideas here, which is exactly what a first issue should deliver, and it will be interesting to see if Niles can start pulling these strands into narrative in the coming months.

Niles has now given us any number of threads to follow, not least of which are several that have been dropped somewhere between the first and second issue. This has all the promise of a lengthy ongoing series for Image if the book can maintain this standard going forward. It's just crazy enough to work.

Constantine: The Hellblazer is a harder sell than most, because undoubtedly many fans of the classic Vertigo series will have been turned off by the lighter version that has been playing out over the last few years. This is a shame, because this current series comes close to that same darkness that inhabited earlier books, and while it may not capture the same magic of the original, it at least captures its spirit.

It's a filler issue in many respects, but a sharp journey through the darker side of the DCU, setting up a bigger confrontation awaiting the anti-hero.

Another case of an issue building us up for another chapter, but with plenty of mystical throw-downs to keep us entertained as we head to the finale.

Perhaps it's due to a familiarity with this era, butCONVERGENCE: GREEN ARROW #1captures the mid-1990s Green Arrow in a literal bubble. While it would have been interesting to pull in a different periodof the character's history, this largely overlooked era serves as a perfect point for a much angrier Ollie and a more nave Connor. If you've not looked ahead at next month's solicitations, the reveal of Ollie and Connor's sparring partners is an interesting one as well, bringing together two competing '90s realities in the same book. Perhaps when the dust settles, the version of Green Arrow that returns will be something a little closer to this one.

While the story is still leading to a confrontation with the Atomic Knights of Durvale, themselves an alternative future of a post-apocalyptic Earth, it packs in more heart and insight into the characters of this era than many of its contemporaries have done to date. Convergence: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 may follow a similar structure to all of the other event titles in this series, in that it is ultimately leading up to a confrontation, but how many of those have knights in armor riding around on the backs of giant dalmatians?

While ultimately heading towards the same type of confrontation that every other book in this event is mirroring, Jurgens at least uses the opportunity to pay tribute to the mythos of DC's most iconic character. It's as much a celebration of Superman and his relationships as it is an event tie-in, and marks itself as one of the stand-out entries in the line-up. In this sense, Convergence: Superman succeeds where some of the other books in this line have failed.

Like the best of these Convergence books, Convergence: The Flash is a love-letter to the DC Universe and a nod to the important role that The Flash has played in almost every Crisis across the Multiverse. It's not over yet, and perhaps the current Scarlet Speedster has a critical role to play in this Convergence.

Samnee's art continues to impress, with some of the best depictions of what it is like to "be" Daredevil we have seen in years.

The ongoing strength has been in Waid breaking down exactly what is intriguing about the character and playing to its strengths. Simple as that. This month, Waid ponders what would happen if all of that was taken away, and that which makes Matt Murdock special " that is, his radar sense " was suddenly taken away.

Waid’s double-bluff in this issue gives resolution to the deceptive retcon of the previous issue, a trick he has pulled on more than one occasion in the past. Here it is even more effective, as Waid plays with our expectations to create something that adds something to the Daredevil canon, without sidelining the important message about postpartum depression. If it sometimes comes off as heavy-handed or wraps up to conveniently, it never feels like it diminishes the ultimate message of the arc. In the words of Matt Murdoch himself, “We should all fail so tragically.”

The beautiful 80-page volume is what comics were made for, exploring unseen worlds, introducing us to stories outside the mainstream and acting as a showcase for some of the best writers and artists in the business.

Image are knocking them out of the park this year with new debuts, and the new mini-series Debris is no exception.

Debris is a high-concept adventure story done right, and has the potential to be a massive crossover hit for Image, who really can't be faulted this year at all.

From the majestic rolling hills of green, to the roasting rabbit on a spit (something Maya is unable to identify), we view the familiar through the eyes of someone who is effectively a newborn in a strange land. One of the most compelling new titles of 2012, we just don't want this one to end.

Yet with bonus pinup pages by various artists " including some especially gorgeous work by Alex Maleev, Francesco Francavilla and Batman Incorporated's Chris Burnham " this is a fitting celebration of Batman's 900 issues as the world's greatest detective.

Fans can miss Amy and Rory no more as this rollicking adventure kicks off in style. If you somehow miss out on picking this up, ensure you find a TARDIS to go back and order it in time. We're going forward to check out the next chapter!

Buckingham's art is gorgeous, and is almost photorealistic, completely capturing the likeness and essence of the three main characters. We look forward to seeing more of this series, although with Diggle off to more mainstream prospects in the near future (namely, the aforementioned Action Comics), we will see Witch Doctor's Brandon Seifert and Tank Girl's Philip Bond on the title next month. Geronimo!

Fans of Doctor Who have put up with some less than spectacular adaptations over the years, but there is nothing in Titan’s first major Tenth Doctor release that is remotely cringeworthy. Fully embracing the spirit of the series, all Whovians will find themselves shouting “Allons-y!” in anticipation of the next installment.

DOOMED gets off to a promising start, taking a familiar set-up and infusing it with enough humour and enthusiasm to give us good reason to care about this new character. It's an outright fun book, and like many of the other debuts out this week, is willing to do something new with an existing idea.

In many ways, this is Men in Black or R.I.P.D for the unconscious set, but is written far more in earnest than either of those comedies. Like Ten Grand, Straczynski has taken an existing genre and set it on the path that sets his brain alight. We can only imagine what his dreams look like.

One of the biggest drawbacks of this kind of adaptation is getting something that is already whole in piecemeal chunks, and it is easy to believe that this may have been better served as a singular graphic novel release. All the other elements are here though, with rich visuals, a compelling narrative, and a non-linear story to draw us in for the trip.

Just as James Robinson, Tom Taylor and Marguerite Bennett excited by crafting something distinctly new in the sandbox, so too does Daniel H. Wilson. Elevating the notion of legacy superheroes to a global scale, this feels like a wild west frontier where anything could happen " and just might.

It would be very easy to label East of West as a bit up and down, but like some of the best long-form stories of the last decade (Y: The Last Man, for example) patience is the most rewarding virtue of them all.

Corben wholly makes it his own world by the end of the piece, not only giving us a twist on one of Poe's most chilling ends ("darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all") but loudly winking (is that physically possible?) at the reader while doing it.

The cliffhanger to the issue is not dissimilar to a gimmick that was used at the start of this very issue, one that shows the limitations of their chosen form of transport. Yet it may also show the limits to the format of this book so far as well. While one of the strengths is definitely that it recognizes itself as a high-concept action piece, that dedication to a lack of exposition may ultimately hamper enjoyment down the line.

It was never meant to be incredibly deep, but there is a profundity to the simplicity of the premise.

There's a whole world here waiting to be explored, and this iceberg's tip certainly warrants some further exploration. So whether Farmhand is to your taste or not, it will be impossible to feel ambivalent towards it.

Hickman demonstrates that he already has a firm grasp on the cosmic, and these creepy opening pages really do give us the same tingle we felt all the way back in 2006 at the start of Annihilation. As the cover implies, we will probably see The Inhumans, the New Avengers, Dr Strange and a whole lot more before the saga is out. Cheung's art, accompanied by Mark Morales's inks, is nothing short of epic, from the dark landscapes of the intro to the promise of a galaxy spanning saga at the end of this 10-page teaser. After the very disappointing issues of Thanos Rising to date, this has finally got us excited about his reappearance in the Marvel cosmic universe

Reading Palahniuk's Fight Club 2 in a serialized format is a curious approach, with those king hits of his that we've grown used to reeling from now given a comfortable distance from their consequences. While the temptation might be to trade wait and see how this all turns out in the end, the series provides a rare opportunity to see how Palahniuk's mind unpacks something as complex as the dual narratives running here.

Since Fight Club 2, Palahniuk has gone deeper down the self-reflective path with his 2018 novel Adjustment Day, his Vonnegut-esque exploration of the fringes that holds up a middle finger to haters and lovers alike. So if the opening to Fight Club 3 isn't as explosively in your face as its predecessor, and we don't learn a whole lot that we didn't know at the end of Part 2, one suspects it's only because Palahniuk is getting warmed up.

While the entire saga will undoubtedly work wonders in a collected format, it is almost worth getting it every month simply for Chris Mooneyham's idiosyncratic artwork. Mooneyham's style conjures up visions of pulp book covers from the 1930s through 1950s, and maybe even takes the odd visual cue from Indiana Jones every now and then. Perhaps not a point to jump on at, but certainly one that will encourage you to go back and seek out the first two issues.

The Flash may not be the earth-shattering debut that the "Rebirth" kick-off had initiated, and while there are no big reveals in the first issue out of the gate, it's nevertheless a solid and reliable version of the Scarlet Speedster. The hints are all there for bigger things to come, including the cliffhanger ending, but the contrary to the title, it seems we may have to wait through a more measured pace before we get to them.

That final cliffhanger is potentially something that avid readers will have seen coming a mile of, but the beauty of Williamson’s world-building is that it still feels kind of exciting to get to this point anyway. Even if the story pieces seem somewhat familiar, they are being put together with panache, and after three-quarters of a century that’s an impressive enough feat for a character.

As the latest arc in The Flash comes to an close, the past is very present in the narrative, but a wholly satisfying conclusion is achingly just out of reach.

In some ways, this story is just a massive tease for Flash War event coming up in a few months time. Yet it's also a story that's been well over a year in the making, concentrating on the pre-Flashpoint Wally West and his return to the world.

With about a dozen tie-ins or related issues to Forever Evil over the next month, the event occasionally feels that it is spread a little too thin. Staging an event with the complete absence of any major heroes is a risky move, but for the most part the characters present are compelling and likeable. As the threads slowly come together, we just hope this leads to a satisfying conclusion and not more questions.

Forever Evil has had to contend with the major problem of being a superhero book completely devoid of superheroes, and this issue shows what kind of energy returns to the series when one of those heroes returns. Indeed, even the return of a familiar villain (and sometimes hero in the form of Sinestro) provides more gravitas than a whole syndicate of criminals from another dimension. The saga is now headed in the right direction, so fingers crossed that it can maintain this momentum until the series concludes in a few months' time.

Following the story of a group of thieves who "never wanted to rule the world" has instantly become one of the most engaging aspects of the "Forever Evil" event, and DC would be wise to consider this team for their own standalone title outside of the confines of The Flash following this crossover. It has the potential to be as fun as Gail Simone's Secret Six and fill in a big gaping hole in the current publication line-up that we didn't know was empty until now.

While the rest of "Forever Evil" grapples with the bigger questions of the whereabouts of the Justice League, the moon being shifted out of its orbit and general villainy, Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion focuses on a compelling set of characters at the heart of the maelstrom, and is all the more rewarding for it.

In many ways, this is the comic that Michel Fiffe has been working on for his entire career.

The post-credits scene in Ghostbusters (2016) teased a connection between these universes, and while the book doesn't immediately deliver on this, Burnham brings us something that finds the ley-lines between the original films, his comic book universe and the 2016 movie. Indeed, it's the kind of crossover can only be achieved in this medium, with original cast members having left our mortal coil far too soon. This is a fun start to a promising series, and one that will be irresistible to fans.

As the first issue in a limited series, this looks like it will be one worth sticking around for.

The artistic attempts to keep us on our toes is shared by the narrative, which almost feels as though it reaching a conclusion several times before catching us off-guard with an added twist. This has all the promise of a rich and layered series that invokes new levels of intrigue each month, so it will be interesting to see where this goes when it returns in the new year.

The beauty of this issue is that it gives us a different perspective, a human one, on the Count, but this in no way diminishes his power. Indeed, Lemire's version is far more formidable than the often cartoonish pre-Crisis version ever was. One of the first recommendations of the month.

Perhaps for the first time since the reboot, and to a lesser extent since Lemire soft-reboot in the middle of that, Green Arrow is really starting to feel like a book that has a big story to tell. Having firmly established an identity for the New 52 version of Green Arrow, Lemire is determined to never let him rest for a moment, and this makes for fascinating reading.

The union of various elements of Arrow and Green Arrow was inevitable, and by the end of this issue it is clear that the line between the two is increasingly becoming blurred. Yet this can only be a good thing in the long-term. Comics are just as much a product of outside influences as they are inspirations for film and television, and two successful television writers are primed to bring some of that style to the funny books.

GREEN ARROW #44 is mostly a prelude issue, albeit one that delivers some powerful scenes in the anticipation of the story to come. The addition of an unexpected ally in the final pages comes as a pleasing twist, and the addition of this character may raise some eyebrows who still haven't quite come to terms with her actions with another hero a decade ago. Once again, Percy leaves us pointed in the right direction, and now we patiently wait a month to see if his aim is true.

This conclusion to the brief interlude following the restoration of Oliver Queen to “life” is a terrific character-based entry that really gives us a flavor of what Percy has in mind for the Green Arrow “universe” as a whole. More than that, by the end of this issue, we can see how a few extra characters from bygone eras of Arrow can be dragged back into the world, and that is incredibly exciting.

There's the odd bit of cheese in this issue, from the undercover Dinah calling herself "Officer Kiniry" to a group of football players declaring "This here's the gladiator ring. We hurt for a living." These are hiccups that might take you out of the moment temporarily, but Percy restrains himself to keep this runaway train moving constantly. As this wraps up the current arc, it also leave plenty of room to move forward, showing that these last few arcs are exactly what the Emerald Archer needed to get back on target.

The title of this arc, "The Rise of Star City," is of course a reference to the traditional home of the Battling Bowman. Like Grell's run, Seattle has served as the home for the "New 52" Green Arrow for much of his run. Yet Percy is playing to his own strengths, incorporating some of his horror/occult leanings into a bigger story that looks like it will change the nature of Ollie's relationship to his city in much the same way that Court of Owls changed Gotham for Batman.

Green Arrow is winding down to its final issue, Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing hit the bullseye with their enhanced Count Vertigo, in a surprisingly emotional story has direct ties to Heroes in Crisis and Justice League: No Justice.

The Green Lantern legacy was strong enough to survive the editorial changes resulting in the New 52 without missing a beat, and this issue suggests that it will continue to do so for some time to come. Venditti finds the right balance between Jordan as a man and a space cowboy, and this is just where we want to be as we head into the "Lights Out" crossover event this year.

Rags Morales gives series artist Billy Tan a break this month, and there certainly isn't the same sense of scale. However, combined with Andrew Dahlhouse's wonderful work with colours, he provides something that sits outside of Tan's universe, but is easy to draw parallels between them. Relic is crafted as a worthy opponent for the Lantern Corp, and promises a big crossover event in the coming months.

A promising new direction for Green Lantern. For a primary series that often gets caught up in the epic grandness of longer story arcs, it's nice to have a discreet Lantern-based story that doesn't require a tome of set-up to slip into.

Yet through all the non sequiturs and madness, there is still a core story that drives the historic meeting of Groo and Conan onwards. With the issue ending on a cliffhanger of proportions most dire, readers are left with a legitimate desire for more, a rare feat for books that tend towards the self-referential gags. What could have easily been a one-shot has maintained its humour and pace throughout, and is heading in the right direction to be a memorable series overall.

What a difference a year or two makes, with the Guardians now leading lights after sitting in limbo for several years, now starring in multiple titles instead of just the one. There's a distinct possibility of the Guardians over-saturating the Marvel market, with at least half a dozen titles exploring these characters in their collective or solo outings. The multiple stories in this first issue do exhibit a bit of brand confusion, but the main story returns at least some of the Guardians to position of protecting the galaxy from curious time anomalies, rounding this out to be a fun and familiar tale that will be appreciated by new and existing fans of the team.

The collaboration between Bendis and McNiven is a strong one, and something that we hope will last for a while on this title. This is still the Bendis we've come to enjoy from Alias to Age of Ultron. While the book doesn't have the immediate youthful fun factor of stablemate Nova, or the previous Guardians of the Galaxy run for that matter, this takes the hard sci-fi of the previous incarnation and filters it through a mixture of Star Trek hanging out at the Star Wars cantina, ready to tell us a few stories over a glass or four. It's a big galaxy out there, and we can't wait to see what is on the other side.

For a series that has struggled to find its own identity in this first story arc, with Brian Michael Bendis once again choosing to abandon the groundwork laid by the all-too-short previous series, the addition of a character from another publisher is just odd. However, this issue does manage to find its feet a little more, bringing back some much needed humour in a sparkling two-hander that sees Tony Stark taken down a peg or two by Rocket Raccoon.

Ed McGuinness is at the top of his game in an epic smackdown with Thanos, as every moment with Nova is beautifully realized art.

If this is indicative of the character-based approach that Bendis's Guardians of the Galaxy series will take, then sign us up immediately. Oeming's art is complimentary, the kind of style that perfectly suits the eccentricities of Marvel's Cosmic.

With Grant Morrison slowly pulling out of the capes business, Happy has been one of the best examples of where his current strengths lie. Never over-staying its welcome at a mere four issues, this Christmas cracker (sort of) has kept us off-balance for much of this singular story about a washed-up detective pursuing a kiddie killer with the help of a small blue winged horse called Happy.

Harley Quinn is a pure joy as a self-referential comedic anti-villain, and an antidote to the far too serious superhero operas that it shares its universe with.

As long as you don't mind your comics playing with the fluffy tail of surrealism, then it's difficult not to like this fun outing.

It's Power Girl and Harley Quinn running around the cosmos getting into fights and adventures. This really is a no-brainer: if you like either character (or better yet, both!), there will be very few reasons to turn away from this mini-series. Even if it doesn't have a scratch-'n'-sniff element to it.

Yet Lorimer's art is the star here. Noir in its style and muted colours, he simply has a different way of looking at a scene to most artists, unafraid to take his "camera" to vantage points we don't normally view in sequential art and tripping us out completely on whatever Dane is taking. The only disappointment is that there are only four more of these left in the coming months.

An intriguing title that might barrel through events too quickly this month, but perhaps because Lieberman is keen to get us to the bigger story he has waiting.

It's a wonderful culmination of the community vibe of this entire run. It's just a shame that its timing has robbed it of some of its impact.

Following on from Hawkeye & Deadpool #0, this second issue (numbering notwithstanding) from writer Gerry Duggan doesn't quite have the same meta-awareness of art-driven storytelling as the first issue, but it's a whole lot of fun.

If the "Rebirth"-ed run of The Hellblazer had to be summed up in just a handful of words, it would be a "pervading sense of threat." Oliver is still playing his cards fairly close to the chest on this one, hinting with quoted passages from William Blake that there is some great calamity to come to knock the cocksure magician off his perch. There's also continual indications that the darker members of the DC Universe are being drawn back together, and it will be great to see this happening within the reframed context of "Rebirth." Yet it's still early days, and Oliver and his art team are off to a cracking start.

This collection of short vignettes from some of the best in the business read like spooky campfire stories from three different periods.

Leaving the reader on a cliffhanger, Sheridan, Bagenda and Fajardo point us in the direction the series will take without spoiling the fun of getting us there. There's still so many mysteries left after this first issue, from the idyllic family scene in the opening pages to the truth behind High Level, that keeping us on the hook should be a breeze.

We get a strong feeling that by the time this and Infinityis through, the world devourers at Marvel editorial will have brought the Ultimate Universe to a close. From a marketing standpoint alone, the line has served its purpose, with the Marvel NOW! event and the films finally serving as the mass-market jumping-on points that the rich history of the Ultimate Universe no longer does. For now, the first chapter of Hunger gives us a reason to look forward to the rest of the series, especially as we know it is leading into Infinity and the reintroduction of Thanos.

The arrival of Galactus in the Ultimate Marvel Universe would be where most event series end, and that this one has begun that way is one of the many reasons that this mini-series is worth more than a cursory glance

There's almost too much of a good thing in this first outing, with Gertrude's post-mushroom "puking rally" potentially where readers will be at by the time they hit the last few pages of this debut. Being this unrestrained is a double-edged sword: on the one hand there's never any sense that Young has compromised his vision, but we do get a lot of that vision all at once. Nevertheless, there's a lot to love in I Hate Fairyland, and with the world now set up with a healthy sense of "anything goes," Young has the makings of a cult favourite on his hands.

It's difficult to tell from this opening issue, but the titular Ice Cream Man would appear to function as a kind of Crypt Keeper for the series. In this vein, it seems that his van will travel from place to place, intersecting with the lives of fateful human, and creating minor winking breaches in the fourth wall. It's a promising start, filled with at least 31 flavors of possibility.

This one-shot is a chance to slip into a familiar world, spend some time learning some more about well-trod characters, and get a little bit nostalgic about Picard while safe in the knowledge that it's all going to work out just fine.

It may have taken us dozens of Avengers and New Avengers issues and countless chapter headings to get here, but Hickman's vision is now fully formed, birthing an epic space opera every bit the equal of Annihilation or War of Kings.

Chip Zdarsky brings back the Invaders in a seamless blend of past and present.

Ironheart is off to a solid start with a new series that continues to mark Marvel’s commitment to expanding the diverse hero gallery they’ve put together over the last few years. If anything, it would have been good to see Ewing go deeper some of the social issues she only hints at throughout this book. Of course, as this is the first issue in an ongoing series, there is plenty of time to explore the many plot and character threads that Ewing sets up here. “Ironheart is an engineer who uses many tools,” we are told in one of the most perfect lines in the book. Here’s hoping we get to see Ewing and the art team take a few more of them out of the box in the coming months.

An incredibly satisfying start to what we hope is a long series full of cheeky humour, retro fun and groovy wibbly-wobbly timey wimey bits.

John Flood is undoubtedly an intriguing pilot, with loads of potential, and there is definitely a sense of the familiar in the loose framework. Yet we also conclude the issue with far more questions than answers, having been sucked into the premise wholeheartedly. Not all of the elements presented here pay off immediately, including Flood's own high-concept eccentricity, but they all have the promise of leading somewhere, and you really can't ask more of a first issue than that.

MIllar's short runs have always been his strength, and it will be interesting to see him once again work on an ongoing book. Jupiter's Legacy is a strong opening to what has the potential to be a terrific dissection of comics in the 21st century, a topic that Millar is well and truly familiar with at this stage in his career. A roster of compelling characters, lovingly illustrated by Quitely, certainly put this on a must-read pile for next month and the foreseeable future.

Justice League #22 comes at a time when DC needs to win back fans, jaded after two years of reboots and gimmicks. With an issue packed with portents, action, and a couple of major deaths, The Trinity War shows the promise that the New 52 did back in 2011. Let's hope it survives its own first wave.

The last panel of "Trinity War" leads directly into "Forever Evil", effectively making this one big event that begets another. It's a crime that both major syndicates are repeatedly guilty of these last few years, one so commonplace that it is increasingly difficult to take umbrage with a singular instance anymore. Regardless of whether this was just good salesmanship, the arc has been undeniably good storytelling from start to finish, cleverly weaving in threads set up two years ago in all related titles. While it may not be the conclusion that pre-Flashpoint DC fans were hoping for, and bears striking similarities to several endings from their marvellous neighbors, DC have just cracked open a Pandora's Box of possibilities for the next two years and beyond.

While the issue only mildly progresses the overall "Forever Evil" arc, Johns seems to enjoy bringing these long-absent characters back to life (albeit briefly) and the reading experience is all the more pleasurable for it. With the goal posts now finally in sight for the end of this event, there comes the corresponding sense that the landscape is going to have a very different population on the other side.

Can Lex Luthor really be a force for good? It's the question that Geoff Johns has been playing with since the end of Forever Evil, and even with the revelation of some of his plans, the compelling part of this arc is that it convinces you to constantly shift your allegiances.

While many events that run across multiple titles often slap a logo on an existing series and call it a tie-in, quite the opposite is happening in "Trinity War". While the second chapter, in last week's Justice League of America #6, put the titular team in a supporting role, Lemire ensures that his team are an integral part of the overall arc in Justice League Dark #22. Seamlessly integrating the often convoluted world of magic alongside the capes and heroes, the team finally feels as though they are part of a wider DC universe. Indeed, in many ways, this appears to be the primary goal of "Trinity War", in that it unites the often disparate strands of the New 52.

This event may just be a massive advertisement for the next big thing, but that's true of all events and this one has been done particularly well. Janin's art is kinetic, using interesting layouts and vivid colours to carry the action. The few splash pages involving Shazam are frameable. Yet there are still so many loose ends, and with the event officially ending next week in Justice League #23, there are bound to be plenty more crossovers to come.

Rising from the ashes of Justice League International, this series may have taken a few months to find its feet. Yet what this event has so far achieved for the series is wrapping it inside the outstretched arms of the New 52, and embracing it as if it were a child of its own. The titular team was created to bring down the Justice League, but in narrative terms, they are doing a fine job complementing that title on a monthly basis.

A bit of an exception to the rule here, this is a one-off story that is just fun to read, regardless of whether it ties into anything. Floyd Lawton has always been a compelling anti-hero, driven by a combination of family loyalty and money. Written best by Gail Simone mid last decade, Matt Kindt does a fine job in bringing a suitably tragic tale to the New 52.

Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 is a classic origin story, but nevertheless feels fresh and accessible for both new and old audiences. It’s also a massive tease as well, directing us to next month’s Justice League of America: Rebirth #1 to “follow the adventures of The Atom.” Yet Orlando, who will also pen that one-shot, ensures that no matter what size the diminutive hero plays int the narrative, he will be noticed.

Hal Jordan often gets a bum rap from some fans when it comes to comparative Lantern lore, with successor Kyle Rayner unquestionably less of an insufferable jerk than Hal could often be. (There's also the small matter of Hal slaughtering all of his comrades once upon a time, but we'll just quietly put that to one side for the moment). Yet this is one of those rare pieces that gets to the heart of a character by defining who he is by those actions he chooses not to take, a decision that will certainly have ramifications before this event is through.

Justice League: The Darkseid War: Batman #1 is but a small vignette in a larger epic, and is to be continued in the Justice League run, yet it is also one that mostly works outside of the confines of that saga. It would be very easy to see this as another set of tie-ins to an overblown event, but instead this is a rare time where the opportunity is being taken to explore the impact a major twist has on the individual members of the League.

There are so many reasons that this series shouldn't work as well as it does: it's an unlikely combination of heroes, and a Multiversal McGuffin that could be exchanged out for just about anything, and the well-publicized behind the panel shenanigans that led to the scrapping of some issues. Yet writer Joshua Williamson's exploration of the Ghost Sector and the planets coming out of Colu is as exciting and new as the worlds of Dark Knights: Metal.

This book is genuinely weird, evidenced by the fact that the mismatched crew find themselves on a planet that worships the Azrael while Starfire and Jessica Cruz ride Lantern constructs while battling robots. Yet in the heart of all this insanity, writer Joshua Williamson end his run by cleverly weaving in a story involving Cyborg and Darkseid that promises to have Multiversal implications.

Perhaps where Kick-Ass 3 falters is in finding the right hook for an audience that has bathed in the blood, sweat and fears of these characters already. However, Millar seems to be legitimately interested in developing these characters again, turning them from caricatures back into real humans with real problems. He hints in an afterword that this is the final arc for many a reason, and perhaps that is all the hook we really need to keep going in this always busy series.

DC's New 52 is hitting a strong average this month with debut issues, and Klarion adds a sense of the magic surreal to the DCU that has been missing for some decades now. Nocenti's mesmerising tale is bolstered by McCarthy and Major's magnificent art, something that can be devoured over and over again.

Once again, Michael Lark is one of the main reason to pick up this book. Despite the sci-fi leanings and the dystopian setting, it's as if Lark has taken up a pencil and merely recorded the reality he sees in front of him. Coupled with the earthy colours of Santi Arcas, Lazarus is a cinematic event presented as sequential art.

As good as the set-up is, with a cracking set of action sequences and witty one-liners, a big question mark hangs over whether this can continue to distinguish itself as a necessary separate entity from Star-Lord's already ripping team book. That said, if every issue is fast-paced as this one, we'll barely have time to draw breath to ask that question.

A home for some of the missing-in-action mini-series originally announced under DC You, there's something for most punters in the four ongoing stories

We've been sorely neglecting this outstanding series for the last few months, simply because it has taken us a while to catch up with everything. It's a serious crime, because Brian Wood's own creation is seriously good. It shouldn't be surprising from the guy who brought us DMZ and Northlanders, but Wood continues to build his future dystopia flawlessly, revealing just enough details to get us permanently hooked.

The issue begins with a quote lifted from Bruce Springsteen's 1995 song "The New Timer" from the album The Ghost of Tom Joad, itself a reference to a character originally from John Steinbeck's 1939 classic The Grapes of Wrath. That song and album told parallels between the Dust Bowl period and the 1990s, in the same way that Aaron draws comparisons between images over a century apart. It perfectly sets the tone for a series that promises to be another of Aaron's musings on the nature of hereditary violence in America.

Midnight of the Soul is a mystery, of course, with the catalyst being the ubiquitous girl in trouble. Yet the mystery of her nocturnal activities and the cause of her trouble is almost second to the mystery of where the parallel threads of Joel's life intersect, from the frequent flashbacks to the War through to his anger over the developments in this issue. It's a puzzle worth pondering, and it will be curious to see how it unfolds as Chaykin continues to level his gaze at a very particular period in American history.

Some will focus on violence being a part of the DCU, while others will point to Midnighter's open homosexuality, but either way MIDNIGHTER is one of the most promisingly progressive books DC has released in the last five years

The magazine style format of the publication gives the reading experience a quality that is tangibly different to reading any other book on the market, which is possibly the best way to describe this increasingly intriguing series.

We don't know if any of these National Comics one-shots will spawn series, but this is one character than seems fleshed out enough to justify it.

There might be a problem when things are already a bit confusing by the second main tie-in issue with Jonathan Hickman's Infinity, but this issue does focus on the far more interesting aspects of the Infinity crisis.

Coupled with Guardians of the Galaxy and the events of Age of Ultron, we get the feeling that this will serve as one of the major titles for Marvel in 2013 and beyond, so you may as well jump aboard now.

This is a fun and energetic issue, leading up to something big, but we've been building up to it for three issues now. We can't wait to see what is unleashed in the next two issues, because this bit is well and truly chomped at. McGuinness matches Loeb pound for pound, and the subtleties of a very one-sided conversation with The Watcher are some of the most priceless moments in the book. Brings the "Now!" into the Marvel NOW! line.

Occupy Comics puts its money where its mouth is, donating 100% of the monies received to people involved in the actual Occupy movement. If you want to support this important moment in history, or you just like reading a whole lot of great writers and artists in one place (the list of names is growing), then support this book and any of the subsequent ones that come out.

At its core, this is Oliver with a twist but Whitta sets us up with an entire world that is waiting to be explored. Rather than simply update the story to a shattered Earth, Whitta has used the character as a way to open the door to something darker and more mysterious. As Dickens, quoted in the final panel, once wrote: “Surprises, like misfortunes, rarely come along.” Dare we say: we want some more?

The Peanuts: The Snoopy Special #1 is effectively a sampler of the work that Kaboom! has been doing over the last few years in bringing Snoopy and the crew back to life. It's a bit of a cop-out that this tie-in special contains a chunk of material from a book that was only released two months ago, but peppered as it is with some actual Schulz strips, it's a timely reminder of how sharp and adaptable these characters and scenarios were in the 1950s and today.

Penny Dora & The Wishing Box #1 is the first issue in a planned five-issue arc, with the writer already planning a second arc to follow this one. It's a familiar story, albeit one that is incredibly readable, and it's easy to see how this could become a modern all-ages favorite, with the right mixture of youthful exploration, cautionary tale, and sheer magic. It's even got a cat for good measure. What more could any discerning reader want from their fantasy stories?