With Thanksgiving on the horizon, we’re feeling extra grateful for the sequential art in our lives. Today we kicked off our month-long series of comics we’re grateful for, which will include exhaustive lists of the stories that captured each Paste comics contributor’s hearts in big ways. And while these lists are delving deep into our all-time favorites, the comic shop is still carrying great tales on a weekly basis. Take, for instance, some of the books in the gallery above. As always, share your own favorites in the comments section.
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Bloodshot Reborn #8
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Butch Guice
Publisher: Valiant
Bloodshot Reborn's tragedy lies in its title. "Reborn" has graced the covers of many major superhero comics, but any homecoming or last-second recovery was greeted with joy and aplomb, like Jesus welcoming Lazarus from the grave. For Bloodshot, the former military anti-hero wants to abandon his hyper-violent past to work maintenance at a hotel. He'd rather retire than reload, and the large-font words on the cover of his story offer the worst spoiler of all. Bloodshot Relapse may have been a more accurate title. Writer Jeff Lemire has dived into this sad existence with empathy and occasional humor, and even if this is a military-ops tragedy, Ray Garrison Bloodshot still holds his decomposing life together, even when faced with sinister nanotech bugs. Sean Edgar
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Huck #1
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Publisher: Image Comics
Mark Millar asks no better question than what if? The post-modern scribe behind The Ultimates and Superman: Red Son has built a career off injecting realpolitik barbs into Silver Age superhero narratives. At first glance, Huck looks tricky: a "simple," pure agrarian with extraordinary strength and benevolence gets outed to the international media. But Millar's asking a far more basic question: what would really happen if Clark Kent was discovered by the press on a Kansas farm? Millar all but retired old-school capes for post-9-11 military pulp, and Huck could be his return to the modesty of Golden Age good-vs-evil. The answer is far less important than the question, and despite Rafael Albuquerque's stunning linework and colors, expect endless shades of grey in this new miniseries. Sean Edgar
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Jughead #2
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Erica Henderson
Publisher: Archie Comics
There are love stories in the traditional vein of Romeo and Juliet, and then there's Chip Zdarsky's oddly erotic saga that follows one insatiable man with a finite supply of burgers. He's calling it Jughead. And while that's probably grossly misrepresenting the tale at our readers' expense, last month's tale did get the ball rolling on Zdarsky and Erica Henderson's ongoing series that explores the goings-on of Riverdale's most eyeroll-worthy bud, and the tone was pitch-perfect. With writing spots on Howard the Duck and Kaptara, Zdarsky's proven himself as a top-tier humorist in the writer's spot (at least in my book), and Henderson's rendered Jughead as relatable, fun, and a little more attractive than many comic fans are comfortable admitting. Tyler R. Kane
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Ms. Marvel #1
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artists: Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona
Publisher: Marvel Comics
There comes a time when every fan-favorite new book becomes merely a fan-favorite book, with enough issues in the bin to necessitate a lengthy recap page. Under G. Willow Wilson's pen, Ms. Marvel has become one of the company's most successful new characters, and this sophomore outing will almost assuredly cement her place as the company's best ambassador to new and younger readers, even as Kamala steps up to the big leagues in the Avengers. In addition to the welcome continued presence of artists Takeshi Miyazawa and Adrian Alphona, Volume 2 kicks off with gorgeous covers from Paper Girls artist Cliff Chiang. Steve Foxe
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Red Thorn #1
Writer: David Baillie
Artist: Meghan Hetrick-Murante
Publisher: Vertigo/ DC Comics
Between Grayson and Midnighter, DC has the beefcake market covered even without this new Vertigo series, but who ever complained about too many sexy dudes? Positioning something as the perfect next book for forlorn Fables fans didn't work so well for the recently-cancelled Hinterlands, but writer David Baillie and artist Meghan Hetrick-Murante seem to have a much more accessible pitch on their hands: lonely girl discovers that her drawings come to life, and a puckish Scottish demigod awakens to walk the modern streets. Come for Choong Yoon's steamy cover, stay for Baillie's simmering plot. Steve Foxe
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Secret Wars Too #1
Creators: Jonathan Hickman, Al Ewing, Kate Leth, Kyle Starks , Rob Guillory , Ryan Browne , Eric Powell, Brian Churilla, Jacopo Camagni, Brittney L. Williams, Ramon Villalobos
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Is it too early or too late for a Secret Wars parody book? With a good chunk of the All-New, All-Different launched or launching and numerous delays on the Battleworld books, who can say? Marvel has an excellent recent track record at lampooning itself, and a creator list including Rob Guillory, Kate Leth, Ryan Browne, Eric Powell and Ramon Villalobos make this one worthy of a look whether you've been loving or loathing the massive crossover currently remaking the Marvel U. Steve Foxe
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Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler
Writer/Artist: Shigeru Mizuki
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Much as he did in his Showa volumes, Shigeru Mizuki charts the winding and intricate path of history with absorbing (and occasionally goofy) finesse. The mangaka's greatest strength, though, is selective curation, a feat on full display in Hitler. At nearly 300 pages, the graphic novel is still a lithe and engrossing read, cherrypicking the perfect moments to define a man whose atrocities helped define the lives of a global generation. Mizuki veers from hyper-detailed shading to cartoonish parody, sometimes within the same panel. These aesthetic shifts never undermine the subject matter—they annunciate the personality of the "protagonist" with eyes at once inhumanly intense and empathetically sad, all while the world burns in the background. Sean Edgar
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Spider-Woman #1
Writer: Dennis Hopeless
Artist: Javier Rodriguez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Some species of spider lay up to 1,000 eggs at once, and some Spider-Woman covers can easily generate five times as many comment-section debates. No, this relaunch of Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez' acclaimed street-level solo title probably won't accurately portray the ups and downs of pregnancy, but how typical of a trimester can you expect from a former Hydra triple agent with bioelectric powers? With no Jessica Jones title confirmed to hit stands in the immediate future, Spider-Woman remains your best bet for the sort of personal vs. super-heroic drama that Bendis brought to the page in Alias, bolstered by continued pitch-perfect art from Rodriguez. Remember when this book launched with Greg Land? No, we don't either. Steve Foxe
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Swamp Thing: Darker Genesis TPB
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Phil Hester & Various
Publisher: DC Comics
Post-Ultimates Mark Millar has cultivated a reputation for loud, nasty, "cinematic" comic book storytelling, but the Millar American readers first met in the pages of various DC titles carried many of the headier hallmarks of his then-mentor and occasional cowriter, Grant Morrison. Millar's work on Swamp Thing signaled a writer willing to tackle metatextual stories (like an author trapped in her own short story collection) and it's a belated Halloween treat that DC is finally interested in rereleasing these stories. Like Brian K. Vaughan's collections before it, Darker Genesis is proof that Alan Moore isn't the only quality creator to handle the big green swamp monster. With any luck, the rest of Millar and Phil Hester's run, as well as Joshua Dysart's similarly overlooked stint, will be close behind. Steve Foxe