Comic Picks of the Week for Delivery 12/11/24

Every week, tons of new books hit the stands, each with potential. Some live up to that potential. We pick the ones we think have the best shot at heating up. Here are the picks of the week for delivery this Wednesday

What’s up Wednesday Warriors? Kind of a smaller week, but one must grab book. Here is what is on tap

New Series
Alien Paradiso #1 – Welcome to Paradiso, where the money flows like blood and the blood flows like acid! The Tulum of space, Paradiso is a hidden gem among the colonies with its tropical climate, white sand beaches and a remarkable population of hyper-wealthy criminals. When Colonial Marshals Dash Nanda and Lydia Reeves are sent there to bust a smuggling ring, they think they’ve hit the job-assignment jackpot. But the only ones getting lucky here are those HUNGRY enough to take what they need.

Batman Dark Patterns #1 – Set during the early years of Batman’s career, Batman: Dark Patterns delves into four mysterious cases as he attempts to cement his place as Gotham City’s protector while the city itself ?ghts back against him. This is the Dark Knight Detective at his most stripped-down core, a man relying on his wits, his skills, and little else as he tackles some of the most twisted mysteries Gotham City and its protector have ever encountered.

In Bloom #1 – a boundary-pushing science fiction saga evocative of The Last of Us, Blade Runner, and Annihilation. 43% of the cells within a healthy human body belong to something other than the human host. Microbiomes, invasive bacteria, fungal and viral agents, and something else, something… more. When the BLOOM happened, humanity was changed forever, transformed by symbiotic fungal megasystems that infected their bodies. Some affected people grew new body parts, some found their personalities changed in radical new ways, while others reported contact with some… other intelligence not their own. In this revolutionary new world, Agent Spears finds herself investigating a series of mysterious murders, a chain of violence that leads her to a terrifying question on which the fate of every living being rests.

Infinity Watch #1 – Sorry, Thor. Sorry, Hulk. These are the seven most powerful people in the universe, each wielding one of the embodiments of all power in existence – THE INFINITY STONES. Half of the Stone Bearers are villains, and the other half certainly aren’t hall-of-fame heroes, so what does this mean for the Marvel Universe? If Star has anything to say about it, we can start calling it the Star Universe.

Laura Kinney Wolverine #1 – Some great covers on this new X-23 Wolverine series

Warm Fusion #1 – New York City, over two decades into the future, has been devastated by crime, ongoing storms, radiation from a terrorist incident in Times Square and the genetic mutations caused by a life-saving “cure.” After a series of murders rip through the city’s brothels, an escort named Vin Young, who cosplays as Snow White- and is one of the generation of deformed victims – decides to help find the killer, or killers, responsible, reluctantly joining forces with Jarrod Hannover, the lone cop assigned to the case. The two are led to a biotech megacorp launching a cellular metal called Warm Fusion – a pioneering technology meant to replace prosthetics limbs – and soon confront the sociopathic scientist Nicholas Fleischer, his monstrous alter-ego Mr. Barnaby, and the hideous monster that he’s been secretly creating. WARM FUSION is a dark, sci-fi thriller, mixing the body horror of David Cronenberg with the bleak urban future of Blade Runner.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 – All Ages Spidey book based around the cartoon of the same name.

Notable Reprints
Captain America #117 Facsimile Edition – First appearance of the Falcon reprinted in facsimile format

Green Lantern #59 Facsimile Edition – First appearance of Guy Gardener (well before he was ruined with all that Warrior stuff)

One and Done
Dread The Halls #1 (One Shot) – The perfect holiday stocking stuffer-a collection of horror tales to read curled up by the light of the Yule log “Be of Good Fear!” Long before Americans celebrated horror on Halloween, the Victorians did it gathered around a fireplace on Christmas Eve. Dread the Halls honors this macabre tradition by wishing you and yours “Happy Holidays” with stories of ghosts, ghastly abominations, and vile creatures

Small Press Pick of the Week

Shiver Suspenstories #1 – Just in time for Christmas, Oni Press and EC Comics are proud to present Shiver SuspenStories #1-the FIRST in an ALL-NEW series of extra-sized EC specials colliding tales of horror, science fiction, and powerfully potent suspense in one joyously wrapped, squarebound package that may or may not be leaking something strange under the Christmas tree . . . I am grabbing the Adam Hughes cover personally.

Pick of the Week
Ultimate Universe One Year In #1 – First full appearance of Ultimate Wolverine, this will not sneak up on many, but is a good pick up all the same. The Spoiler Variant is already going for 2-3x cover price on eBay already.