It's the day before Thanksgiving, so, if you're in America, you should be heading somewhere to start your Thanksgiving festivities. But stop by the comic shop first, or at least check out the new comics you can get for download. There's new stuff out.
As always, I have recommendations:
Comics You Should Consider Buying (from comics shops)
Decision 2012 Ron Paul #1 (super-hero incentive cover). Look, you probably don't need a $10 special edition of a Ron Paul bio comic. But I had to show you the cover.
Dungeons & Dragons #13 I just got caught up with this great series. I don't even care about D&D, yet this remains one of my favorite monthly comics. It's simple. We get to follow a band of heroes through fantasy adventures. It's the most familiar of set-ups, but the book is full of unusual character twists and surprising plots. Try it.
Fantastic Four #600 Official summary: ""FOREVER' Part One THIS IS IT! The 50th anniversary issue of the Fantastic Four! This month we begin the 5-part conclusion to the story that began over 30 issues ago. Joins us for the epic celebration of Marvel's First Family with 96 pages of all-new content written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Steve Epting, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Leinil Yu and Farel Dalrymple."
The Unwritten #31.5 I haven't read Mike Carey and Peter Gross' The Unwritten in a while, because I enjoy waiting and then reading several issues at once. This series seemed to start as nothing more than a book that pondered what would happen if it turned out that Harry Potter was a real magician that only J.K. Rowling knew about (all the names were changed in the comic, of course). But the series has unfolded into a more interesting exploration of books and the not-necessarily-fictitious worlds that fantasy novels are about. The comic has also been formally experimental. We've had a choose-your-own adventure issue and now, a saga running through whole-numbered issues but supplemented by .5-numbered standalone side stories. Official summary for the first .5, out today: "Throughout history, a mysterious group of men and women has shaped the stories that humankind tells. Who were they? Where did they begin? What were their motives and their strategies? From ancient China to Medieval Germany to turn-of the century America – in the pages of Wilson Taylor's journals, the real story unfolds…"
Wolverine & The X-Men #2 Rivaling Action Comics, Wonder Woman and Daredevil for my favorite new series of the year, as long as the quality of the first issue is maintained. Official summary: "Wolverine and his X-Men have very little chance of surviving the new Hellfire Club. And that's without another classic villain (the villain of the most important X-Story ever) returning!"
Comics With Video Game Connections (new this week in comics shops)
Diablo #1 Official summary: "From the world and legends of Sanctuary, the setting for the award-winning Diablo video game, comes the tale of a hero's birth. Jacob has fled from his homeland in the north, hunted by his kinsmen for the crime of murder. Led by the visions of an ancient prophet, pursued by his childhood friend, Jacob finds his destiny in a desert cave at the foot of a mountain carved in two by the sword of an archangel - Tyrael. But will Jacob be able to claim the sword that could save his people, if not the world, before he's brought to 'justice'?"
Sonic Select Vol. 4: Zone Wars (collection) Official summary: "This fourth volume of the popular Sonic Select series collects for the first time the alternate-reality madness of the 'Zone Wars' saga from the Sonic the Hedgehog Super Special comic books plus the entire island adventure from the Sonic Blast Special! Sonic's in for more than a world of trouble as he tackles the biggest baddies the multiverse has to offer. It's a case of mistaken identity as the devious Dr. Eggman and Dimitri swap the minds of Sonic and Knuckles… a 'Crisis of Infinite Sonics!''
Sonic Universe #34 Official summary: "Babylon': Part Two-The Babylon Rogues have found the way to revive the long-lost city of Babylon Garden! The only thing standing in their way is the entire Battle Bird Armada. Feathers fly as the feuding factions finally throw down for the first time! Rogues vs. Armada! Jet vs. Speedy! The Battle Lord in action! You cannot miss this intense installment!"
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 all eight issues of Tales of the Unexpected which had not-very-good Spectre lead stories and wonderful Brian Azzarello-written Dr. 13 back-ups; John Rozum and Frazier Irving's acclaimed but short-lived Xombi series; 13 issues of Tony Bedard's beloved but recently-cancelled space-cop series R.E.B.E.L.S.; Keith Giffen's secretly-amazing Wildstorm-DC crossover DreamWar (which, for some reason is only a dollar each, so get it now before they change that!) and the final issue of Neil Gaiman's Sandman
And the best comic I read in the past week….
Squadron Supreme #1
This comic came out in 1985. I got it on Monday for 99 cents on my iPad. I'd heard that this 12-issue series was Marvel's thinly-veiled riff on DC Comics' heroes. I hadn't heard that it is about these heroes dealing—hilariously and melodramatically—with real life problems.
This book is all plot, and what a ridiculous plot the first issue has. Before this first issue began, Marvel's version of Darkseid had brainwashed Marvel's version of Batman and the rest of the Marvel Justice League to take over the world, creating one America to rule them all. One of the things that made this possible was that Marvel's Bruce Wayne was President of the United States. He still is, up until the issue's end when he resigns in a speech to the public. Moments later, Marvel's Superman announces that he and the rest of his fake Justice League, free from brainwashing, will now take over the world and eradicate all problems. Fake Batman isn't into that kind of fascism and raises his fake-kryptonite-filled handgun to fake Superman's back. But he can't bring himself to pull the trigger. And so the first issue ends.
Awesome stuff. I can't believe there are 11 more issues of this for me to read.
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.