This Week’s Ones points out great jumping-on points for new readers. This could include new story arcs, as well as actual #1 issues from whole new series. I love when there’s a clear cut book for me to highlight on any given week. This week, the Valiant Universe is holding all aces.

Up this week: Archer & Armstrong #1, Anti #1, Creep #0, Gambit #1, Godzilla: The Half Century War #1, Idolized #1, Moonstone’s Modern Myths: Thor, Unkillable Thunder Christ #1, Sensational Spider-Man #33.1, Star Wars: The Lost Tribe of the Sith #1 & Thun’da #1.

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*** Archer & Armstrong #1***

It’s a globetrotting quest for the Valiant Universe’s greatest secrets, from the New York Times bestselling team of Fred Van Lente (Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Zombies) and Clayton Henry (Uncanny X-Men)! Obadiah Archer was born and raised to cherish three things above all else: the faith of his parents, the love of his 22 brothers and sisters, and his lifelong mission to defeat the ultimate evildoer. Now, after years of training, Archer has been dispatched to the heart of America’s festering modern day Babylon, aka New York City, to root out and kill this infamous Great Satan. Unfortunately, dying has never been easy for Archer’s target — the hard-drinking, 10,000-year-old immortal known as Armstrong. Together, this unlikely pair of heroes is about to stumble headfirst into a centuries-old conspiracy that will bring the whole of ancient history crashing down on the modern day Valiant Universe. And that’s going to mean one Hell of a hangover.

story by Fred Van Lente
art by Clayton Henry
published by Valiant Entertainment

The Valiant onslaught continues. This week they resurrect one of their all time favorite titles. How could I have possibly have given TBO to anyone else?

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Anti #1

Intended for Mature Audiences
Anti blasts out of Free Comic Book Day and into your hands for only $1.00 in this special ‘Buckshot’ 1st Issue Edition! Join producer Gale Anne Hurd (Terminator, Aliens, Walking Dead) as she presents the action-packed tale of Zachary, a faithless man forced to confront the reality that he’s the savior of the world. Chased by demons that have infiltrated earth disguised as humans, while grudgingly protected by demon-hunter Jordan, this journey for knowledge and survival is sure to give you plenty of bang for your buck!

story by Peter Calloway
art by Daniel Hillyard
published by 12 Gauge

This is a fascinating idea! What if you found out that YOU were the savior, and demons and forces of evil were out to stop you from savioring everything? Original concept here, and one I can’t wait to get my hands on.

 

 

 

Creep #0

A young boy puts a gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger. The police don’t care. Not about his death or the death of his best friend two months earlier. The dead boy’s mom seeks help from an old flame that’s employed as a detective. What she doesn’t know is that he suffers from acromegaly-a physical deformity resulting in brutish facial features at mid-life. Will his freakish appearance get in the way of solving the case?

story by John Arcudi
art by Jonathan Case
Dark Horse

This is not going to be light and happy faire. It will have a gruesome mystery, and a poor guy whose appearance stacks the deck against him. I have a gut feeling that this might be an instant classic.

 

 

 

Gambit #1

ALL-NEW ONGOING SERIES! When Marvel’s premiere thief sets his sights on his biggest score yet, he may just end up over his head. It’s going to take more than just playing cards and southern charm to get out of this one! BONUS! Bella Donna is NOT in this issue!

story by James Asmus
art by Clay Mann
published by Marvel Comics

Guess who’s back? That guy that was in 3,754 titles every month back in the nineties! I guess it’s time to see how a Gambit title flies again. I’m curious. I always liked the character and still do!

 

 

 

 

Godzilla: The Half Century War #1

Introducing a new and exciting look at Godzilla’s reign of destruction, courtesy of Orc Stain creator James Stokoe! The year is 1954 and Lieutnant Ota Murakami is on hand when Godzilla makes first landfall in Japan. Along with his pal Kentaro, Ota makes a desperate gamble to save lives… and in the process begins an obsession with the King of the Monsters that lasts fifty years! Don’t miss the first decade in a tale of a lifetime!

story by James Stokoe
art by James Stokoe
published by IDW Publishing

“People of Comic-Dom! Godzilla is approaching! Again”! I kid, but the recent Godzilla comics actually have been pretty damn good.

 

 

 

Idolized #1

Aspen Comics proudly presents their first ever super-hero series, IDOLIZED! What would a real world filled with superheroes look like? In this all-new series it gets ugly, as a young, girl-next door named Joule reveals her tortured past and her desperate attempt for revenge-all while auditioning in front of the cameras and judges of the hot new TV show ‘SuperHero Idol’! IDOLIZED begins here, as we experience the initial audition that will make Joule a household name in homes across America, and we begin to learn the secrets she is hiding may lead to her shocking downfall! Written and created by David Schwartz, with gorgeous art by Micah Gunnell and David Curiel, and featuring a cover by the legendary Art Adams, and a photo cover starring Supermodel Rachel Clark, you won’t want to miss out on this innovative new series only from Aspen Comics!

story by David Schwartz
art by Micah Gunnell
published by Apsen Comics

Aspen is finally throwing its hat in the Super Hero ring! My colleagues and I have been hoping this day would come. With their high production quality, under appreciated talent, and their knack to get out good books on time all the time, we are hoping for the best.

Moonstone’s Modern Myths:
Thor, Unkillable Thunder Christ #1

Real Gods don’t get nailed to crosses, they bludgeon their enemies to death with giant hammers. Featuring a guest appearance by Blackest Terror! The second installation of Esquivel and Sarabia’s thought provoking and hilarious Modern Myths series.

story by Eric M. Esquivel
art by Ander Sarabia
published by Moonstone Books

Of course Thor wouldn’t take any crap from us weakling humans. We’re like lower life forms to him. Give him any crap? Bonk. Bonk on the head with the hammer. This looks hysterical.

 

 

 

Sensational Spider-Man #33.1

Celebrating 50 Years of the Great Responsibility of his Great powers, The Spider-Man 50th Anniversary Series collects the Webbed Wonder’s greatest heretofore secret history! Spanning from his earliest days as a hero to the heyday of the heralded Big Time era and everything in between, a collection of Marvel Legends, venerated comic creators and awe-inspiring artists shine the spotlight on everything that makes Spider-Man the World’s Greatest Superhero

story by Tom Defalco
art by Carlo Barberi
published by Marvel Comics

Here it is. Spidey! It’s 50 years now of quipping, web spinning and wall crawling. Find out what you need to know about America’s most beleaguered hero that never fails to face adversity with a smile and a joke. Much to the fury of his enemies, I’ve been reading Spidey for close to 40 years, and I can pt implore you enough to get in on the goodness.

 

Star Wars: The Lost Tribe of the Sith #1

On a planet ruled by a tribe of Sith-marooned thousands of years ago and cut off from the galaxy-the throne holder is about to be challenged by a power-hungry Sith rebel from the slums . . . and a thwarted royal Sith princess! Their few shared interests set them on a quest together-but most certainly not as partners! The saga of the lost tribe continues in comics, following the release of John Jackson Miller’s Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories-in print from Del Rey Books! Debuts one month after John Jackson Miller’s Lost Tribe of the Sith prose novel from Del Rey Books! An all-Sith tale with heroes, antiheroes, and straight-up villains!

story by John Jackson Miller
art by Andrea Mutti & Pierluigi Baldassini
published by Dark Horse Comics

More Star Wars. Yes more! It never ends. However, this is the part of the Star Wars Universe I always wanted to know more about. The Sith! They’ve always been shrouded in mystery to me and I’m itching to find out more.

 

Thun’da #1

The time is now. A Military helicopter crash lands in a remote valley in Africa. A lone survivor awakens with no memory of who he is or what he was doing there, but he’s wearing a uniform and is a skilled combatant. From the wreckage he learns only his name — ROGER DRUM. As he explores his new surroundings he is confronted by a bizarre lost world of dinosaurs and other strange creatures. Drum must learn to survive in this terrifying new reality while coming to terms with fragments of a past he isn’t sure he wants to remember.

story by Jim Zubkavich
art by Andrew Huerta
published by Dynamite Entertainment

Soldiers and dinosaurs are the new Zombie, Pirate, or Ninja of the comic world. The little kid part of my brain loves these stories. Add to that the fact that the protagonist here doesn’t quite know his past, and I’m itching for some escapist fun,

 

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