This is a slow week for new comic books. There are fewer new ones to get excited about. Don't fret. There are some, and they don't all involve Archie and Jughead hanging out with members of KISS.
Here are my and Evan Narcisse's recommendations:
Comics You Should Consider Buying (from comics shops)
Archie #627 This is only for those of you who would be interested in the name of the story in this comic. That name is: "Archie Meets KISS Part 1: Riverdale Rock City." Yes, they mean that KISS.
Batman Odyssey Vol. 2 #2… because, if you haven't tried an issue of the most insane Batman comic since Frank Miller's sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, you really should treat yourself to an issue (you can download it through ComiXology for your browser, iOS or Android device today, too).
THUNDER Agents, Vol 4 #1 A group of people are given super-powers. The more they use them, the closer they are to death. Writer Nick Spencer revived this old concept a year ago and produced a great run. Then DC Comics relaunched their whole line, seemingly killing off Spencer's series. Nope. It gets revived today with a new number one. Highly recommended.
Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #4 Writer Jonathan Hickman's alternate-universe take on the Avengers has been very good so far. Now we get the end to his first arc. This series' previous incarnations typically involved one world-ending catastrophe after another. That was too tame for Hickman, I guess, who has three world-ending catastrophes ruining Earth simultaneously. I'm excited to read the finale.
Vertigo Resurrected: Sgt. Rock Between Hell and a Hard Place #1 I would have picked up this 100-page collection of war comics for writer Brian Azzarello, whose hard-edged comics are usually very good. Our Evan Narcisse, who knows comics very well, says that we should pick this up for Joe Kubert's art. The old man can still draw, he says. I believe him.
Comics With Video Game Connections (new this week in comics shops)
DC Universe Online Legends #18 Official summary: "Following the cataclysmic events on Earth and Korugar, the Justice League regroups and begins an exploration of Brainiac's abandoned scout ship...will it finally reveal answers or will it be the final stroke of Brainiac's plan in conquering Earth? And how far will Luthor go to clear his name and save the planet?"
Halo: Fall of Reach: Covenant (Hardcover collection) Official summary: "It is a question that man has long asked: Are we alone in the?universe? In this riveting prequel, the United Nations Space Command learns the answer to that question - and the answer is 'no.' Witness the beginning of the struggle between Man and Covenant in this epic series based on the novel by Eric Nylund, adapted by Brian Reed and brought brilliantly to life by Felix Ruiz."
Infamous (Trade paperback collection.) Official summary: "The smash PlayStation 3 video game returns in this volume collecting the 6-issue miniseries! While delivering a strange package, bike courier Cole MacGrath is caught in a massive explosion that gives him electric superpowers. Now, he must defend himself and his city from government forces that'll stop at nothing to capture him."
Sonic The Hedgehog #231 Official summary: "Lost in the Moment': The world is safe - but at a terrible cost. As Sonic tries to rally the Freedom Fighters, Dr. Eggman unleashes his Titan Metal Sonic on the city! Can our heroes salvage the fight, or is there just too much chaos to handle? Then in 'Haunted,' the effects of 'Genesis' bring back some old problems for Ixis Naugus."
Uncharted #1 Official summary: " A quest for the legendary 'Amber Room' launches Nathan Drake on a journey to the center of the earth. As enemies from Sir Francis Drake's past come for revenge on his descendant, Drake must use all the skills at his disposal to stay one step ahead of the game!"
And Over On The iPad/iPhone/Droid/WebBrowser…
Lots of day-and-date comics from Marvel, DC and Image are on the ComiXology app, plus they're always adding interesting back catalogue comics including the first 12 issues of Mark Waid's fun 2007 revival of DC team-up book The Brave and the Bold, all seven issues of writer James Robinson's controversial Justice League: Cry for Justice mini-series (the one where Green Lantern mentions having a threesome with two super-hero ladies), and the start of Secret Avengers, which was initially written by the well-regarded Ed Brubaker.
And the best comic I Evan Narcisse read in the past week….
Xombi #1-6: Superhero comics specialize in putting forth unbelievable things. Men who can fly. The next stage of human evolution. Gods walking amongst humanity. These elemnts usually unfold in bombastic fashion. But the great thing about DC Comics' cancelled Xombiseries is how stripped-down its outré elements are. There's not a lot of shouting when things get weird. The "oh, shit!" moments in Xombi get played somewhere in between "humph" or "whoa." I got to revisit the six-issue run when the digital version went on sale last week. Written by John Rozum and drawn by Frazier Irving, the book's main character is David Kim, a man who becomes immortal after an injection of nanomachines saves his life from mysterious attacks. Becoming someone who can't be killed slides David into a bizarre underworld where the extremes of magic and science collide and he tries to maintain a grip on normalcy.
Frazier Irving's art makes these comics sing. His design sense packs a great one-two punch, where his command of linework and perspective keeps your eye moving across the page and his use of color complements a story's hot, cold, tense or poignant moments. As seen in the fantastic concepts that crowd his work—Vatican occult operatives named Nun of the Above and Catholic Girl, golems with jetpacks, assassins powered by the souls of dead, trapped insects—Rozum's got one of comics' great unsung imaginations. That, coupled with great naturalistic dialogue and believable character dynamics, makes it a damn shame that DC's powers-that-be pulled the plug on a man that can't die. — Evan Narcisse
That's it for this week. Next week, I'll be back with new comics recommendations for all of you.
You can contact Stephen Totilo, the author of this post, at stephentotilo@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.