Buy This! - December 14th, 2011

Every Monday Seth picks out three items that are due to ship on Wednesday and directs you toward your best bets for a quality purchase. Some times it's a single issue of a comic, other times a massive omnibus edition of a beloved series, and occasionally a figure or shiny bauble that caught his eye. Read on to find the three items you shouldn't leave your comic shop without this week.

Welcome to a jumbo-sized edition of Buy This! After two relatively dull back-to-back shipping weeks I was surprised by the multitude of quality books hitting store shelves this Wednesday. Rather than try to pick three I'm just going to list the ones that deserve the most attention.

As usual, I'll start off by saying that these titles are all subject to the whims of their publisher (and shipping/solicitation errors) and could be AWOL by the time you go seeking them out. Also, I don't have it as part of the list since it's essentially a continuation of another book I posted last week but the second issue of the TMNT micro-series is out this week. This issue is Michaelangelo-centric. I didn't get a chance to read it but Paul loved the last issue as evidenced by his Paul's Pick column from last week.

Okay, on to this week's buys...

　

Tale of Sand hardcover:

 If you're a fan of Jim Henson this book has probably been on your radar for a while. It's a graphic novel take on an unfilmed Jim Henson-penned script found in the Henson archives after his death. Obviously film and comics are two very different mediums and a film script doesn't automatically translate to the comics world but given Henson's fantastical imagination I'd wager this will carry over to the four-color realm of comics quite well. The art by Ramon Perez looks beautiful in the short previews found online. Also, it's published by Archaia who put out lovely hardcover editions of their books that stand out on any bookshelf. It's not due to ship for retailers until mid-January but the direct market should have their hands on it this week.

Star Wars: Agent of the Empire #1:

What's this? A random Star Wars comic? Sue me, I like to dabble in the EU from time to time and I've been a big fan of some of the Star Wars comics Dark Horse has published. This particular series captured my attention back when it was announced at SDCC. Essentially a James Bond story with the SW universe as a backdrop, this could be a breakout hit. Or an instantly forgettable tale. Either way it features a nice cover by Stephane Roux who we haven't seen enough of since his departure from Zatanna.

　

Rocketeer Adventures vol 1 HC:

 Okay, it's been solicited again and hasn't yet been pulled from the Diamond shipping list so I'm going ahead and putting it in here. This is an amazing book with short, fun little stories and mind-blowing art by some well-known artists. How well known? Guys like John Cassaday, Mike Allred, and Darwyne Cooke... Oh and with stories written by names like Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek I guess it has that going for it too. Trust me, this is a book you'll want to own in a nice hardcover format. Just don't blame me if it isn't on your store's shelf come Wednesday. Seriously, this book has been solicited, pulled, then resolicited more times than I can count.

　

Red Wing tpb:

This is written by Jonathan Hickman who I've come to love on books like FF, S.H.I.EL.D. and Secret Warriors. I consider him Marvel's answer to Grant Morrison which seems fitting considering the high concept of this time-travelling-fighter-pilots mini series from Image. From everything I've heard this book is a blast. Sort of like Top Gun meets Dr. Who...

　

Avengers: X-Sanction #1:

A few months ago I probably would have ignored this book. It's written by Jeph Loeb who has proven somewhat unreliable since his move to Marvel, and it's an X-Men title. I don't do X-Men titles on a monthly basis. However, after reading Loeb's Ultimate X mini I was reminded of the heights he can hit as a writer. And of course there's the recent announcement that this mini serves as a prelude to the coming Avengers VS X-Men event. I didn't even mention it's drawn my Ed McGuiness who, frankly, I adore. This isn't a book crying out for attention; after all, it's the lead-in to an event featuring some of the biggest characters in comics and this is written and drawn by two huge names. None the less, I suggest you check it out. It's going to be a ride.

　

Demon Knights #4:

 People need to be reading this book. With Paul Cornell's departure from Stormwatch I'm starting to fear a Cornell-free DCU, and this book is in need of readers. It's one of the best and most enjoyable books of the new DCU and it features great art and fun characters. Not to mention lots of face-punching and sword-chopping action. Seriously, do yourself (and everyone else a favor) and buy this book.

That does it for this week. As an afterward, I noticed that Red Wing is available on Thwipster this week for around 8 bucks. Happy shopping!