Welcome to Comicosity’s Hot Five. Hot Five is a short list of the top books we think you’ll want to be checking out. Be they new title launches, key issues or just continuing stories from some of the industry’s most acclaimed books, this list is your guaranteed gold in the comic market!
DRAX #1
Written by CM Punk & Cullen Bunn
Art by Scott Hepburn
Published by Marvel Comics – $3:99
UFC FIGHTER CM PUNK MAKES HIS MIGHTY MARVEL DEBUT!
Drax the Destroyer is the muscle for the Guardians of the Galaxy, but what does he do when he’s not adventuring through space with the Guardians? He lets his bloodthirsty quest for revenge take the pilot seat, of course! Determined to find and kill Thanos once and for all, Drax is ready to take on the universe. But when you’re tooling around the universe in a ship aptly named “The Space Sucker”, an unwavering desire for bloodshed isn’t enough to keep a mission from derailing. Drax crash lands into his wildest adventures ever, encountering foes no one will ever expect! The depths of space may not be big enough to contain this much grit, vengeance and all-out action!
Why It’s Hot: Former WWE superstar, and all around “Best In The World” C.M. Punk returns to Marvel Comics for his first ongoing series. Punk will be joined by veteran writer Cullen Bunn, and together they’ll be writing the adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy’s resident bad ass. The first Drax solo series in over a decade is just another example of the Guardians of The Galaxy quickly becoming one of the fastest growing franchises in all of comics.
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Humberto Ramos
Published by Marvel Comics – $4.99
The fate of mutantkind is decided here! Staring down the threat of extinction once more, veteran X-Man Storm pulls together the team she’ll need to ensure her race’s survival. Together, these EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN will struggle with the familiar burden of being hated and feared, while facing threats the likes of which they’ve never seen. Here’s hoping they survive the experience!
Why It’s Hot: People are worried about the future of the X-Men franchise with the rise of the Inhumans. Well as a long time X-Men fan I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead. If you’re trying to kill a franchise you don’t put a creative team of Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos on the flagship title. This week the X-Books finally enter All New All Different Marvel with Extraordianry X-Men. Let’s hope they survive the experience.
JAMES BOND #1
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Jason Masters
Published by Dynamite Entertainment – $3.99
Beginning “VARGR”, the first story in the ongoing James Bond comic series by best-selling writer Warren Ellis! James Bond returns to London after a mission of vengeance in Helsinki, to take up the workload of a fallen 00 Section agent. But something evil is moving through the back streets of the city, and sinister plans are being laid for Bond in Berlin…
In Stores November 4th in advance of the block buster movie on November 6th! Dynamite Entertainment is proud to launch the first James Bond comic book series in 20 years! “Ian Fleming’s James Bond is an icon, and it’s a delight to tell visual narratives with the original, brutal, damaged Bond of the books.” – Warren Ellis
Why It’s Hot: SPECTRE has broken all sorts of at U.K. box office records since its release last week, and is getting ready to take the United States by storm this weekend. What a perfect time to launch a 007 comic book series. Actually, any time would be great to launch a 007 comic book when you have Warren Ellis writing it. Yep, superstar writer Warren Ellis taking on one of the most enduring action heroes in James Bond. There’s almost no way this won’t be great.
KLAUS #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Dan Mora
Published by BOOM! Studios – $3.99
What’s to Love: Grant Morrison is one of the most prolific and best-selling writers in comics, earning a reputation for his ability to effectively revamp superheroes like Animal Man, Batman, and the X-Men. His creator-owned titles are also highly praised, including The Invisibles, Nameless, We3, and Joe the Barbarian, because no one tells mythical stories better than him. In Klaus, Grant reimagines one of the biggest cultural myths in history, and we could not be more excited to pair him with one of our homegrown talents, Dan Mora (Hexed)!
What It Is: Set in a dark fantastic past of myth and magic, Klaus tells the story of how Santa Claus really came to be. Where did he begin? What was he like when he was young? Why does he do what he does? How does he do what he does? And what happens when he faces his greatest challenge? Drawing on Santa Claus’ wilder roots in Viking lore and Siberian shamanism-taking in the creepier side of Christmas, and characters like the sinister Krampus-Klaus is a “Santa Claus: Year One.”
Why It’s Hot: Grant Morrison is back to tell what is essentially “Santa: Year One.” it is a story that nobody knew they wanted, but that is going to be hard not to read. This is one really weird, yet really fun comic book that will make you view Christmas in a completely different light. Throw in some stunning art from Dan Mora, and you have a comic that is well worth your time.
MONSTRESS #1
Written by Majorie Liu
Art by Sana Takeda
Published by Image Comics – $4.99
Astonishing X-men and Black Widow writer MARJORIE LIU returns to comics with artist SANA TAKEDA (X-23) for an all-new ONGOING SERIES! Steampunk meets Kaiju in this original fantasy epic for mature readers, as young Maika risks everything to control her psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, placing her in the center of a devastating war between human and otherworldly forces. The adventure begins in a spectacular TRIPLE-SIZED FIRST ISSUE, with SIXTY-SIX pages of story and no ads for this one-time price of 4.99!
Why It’s Hot: Majorie Liu makes her return to comics with this genre mashing fantasy title, with stunning art from Sana Takeda. To get the party started, readers will get a triple sized, ad free first issue. This series seems to be flying under the radar for many, but has a good chance of becoming a sleeper hit when readers get their hands on it.
ALSO RELEASED THIS WEEK: Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 #1, Citizen Jack #1, Uncanny X-Men #600, Unfollow #1, Vision #1