HOT FIVE…er, Six: Week of February 25, 2015

Welcome to Comicosity’s Hot Five. Hot Five is a short list of the top books we think you’ll want to be checking out. Be they new title launches, key issues or just continuing stories from some of the industry’s most acclaimed books, this list is your guaranteed gold for the week in the comic market.

This week you get a bonus book, because there are so many great comics this week that by the time I was done with the article I realized I had six books. I already had enough trouble picking the final book to be included here, so there’s no way I can pick one to cut! So for the first time ever I present to you Comicosity’s Hot SIX!

BlackHood#1GaydosCoverTHE BLACK HOOD #1
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Art by Michael Gaydos & Various
Published by Archie Comics – $3.99

New Ongoing Series! “The Bullet’s Kiss,” Part 1 of 5. When Philadelphia police officer Greg Hettinger stepped into the middle of a gunfight, hot lead shredded his face-and he pulled the trigger, blind. Now Greg is waking up in a world where he’s a killer, hopelessly scarred and hooked on painkillers. What does a man do when he can no longer face the world, yet still wants to do good? He puts on a hood. Available with a regular die-cut cover by Michael Gaydos and variant covers by Francesco Francavilla, David Mack, Howard Chaykin, and David Williams.

Why It’s Hot: Archie Comics has gone through one of the most dramatic changes even undertaken by a publisher. They have been taking chances by killing off Archie Andrews in Life With Archie, entering the horror genre with books such as Afterlife With Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and preparing to relaunch the flagship Archie title with an all-star creative team of Mark Waid and Fiona Staples. Also on the list are taking the characters that used to fall under the Red Circle banner, giving them a crime noir edge, and coming out the other side as part of the Black Circle Comics imprint. The Black Hood is the first character to get this treatment, and it looks to be another resounding success.

You can check out Comicosity’s Advance Review HERE

gothac_cv5_dsGOTHAM ACADEMY #5
Written by Brenden Fletcher & Becky Cloonan
Art by Karl Kerschl
Published by DC Comics – $2.99

This month’s assignment: Uncover the hideous secrets of Gotham Academy’s North Hall! Also: smooching?!

Why It’s Hot: It’s rare that in a week that an issue of Snyder and Capullo’s Batman is released that it isn’t the most anticipated Bat-Book of the week. While the penultimate issue of Endgame will be probably be great, there’s something special about what Fletcher, Cloonan and Kerschl are doing with Gotham Academy. The book is progressively getting better, and is one of the best all ages reads at a major publisher. Don’t believe me? Check out Comicosity’s own ’10 Reasons You Should Be Reading Gotham Academy’

OrphanBlack_01-prjpg_Page1ORPHAN BLACK #1
Written by Greame Manson, John Fawcett & Jody Houser
Art by Szymon Kudranski
Published by IDW Publishing – $3.99

One. Of a kind. Sarah’s life was changed dramatically after witnessing the suicide of a woman who looked just like her. Sarah learned that, not only were she and the woman clones, but there were others just like them, and dangerous factions at work set on capturing them all. Now, the mysterious world of Orphan Black widens, with new layers of the conspiracy being peeled back in this miniseries by co-creator John Fawcett!

Why It’s Hot: Orphan Black is one of the best sci-fi shows on television, and star Tatiana Maslany has been giving one of the most spectacular performances in any medium by playing over ten different characters. The nature of the show lends itself perfectly for a comic book series, and the transition will be made smoother with co-creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett co-writing alongside Jody Houser. When you add in the art of veteran Szymon Kudranski you have the makings of a comic book that the Clone Club is going to love. All of the sudden the wait for Season Three feels as if it got a lot shorter.

SPGWEN2015001_DC11SPIDER-GWEN #1
Written by Jason Latour
Art by Robbi Rodriguez
Published by Marvel Comics – $3.99

SPIDER-GWEN SPINS INTO HER OWN SERIES!
•  BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT! The breakout hit of the biggest Spider-Event of the century is taking comic shops by storm this winter with her own new ongoing series – SPIDER-GWEN!
•  Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman, but you knew that already. What you DON’T know is what friends and foes are waiting for her in the aftermath of Spider-Verse!
•  From the fan-favorite creative team that brought you Spider-Gwen’s origin story in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE, Jason Latour and Robbie Rodriguez!

Why It’s Hot: It’s finally here. There’s nothing I can say that you haven’t heard over the past few months as one of the most highly anticipated launches in recent memory comes to fruition. I just hope the retailers ordered enough copies to go around. #TaylorSwift4SpiderGwen

THORANN2015001_DC11THOR ANNUAL #1
Written by Jason Aaron, Noelle Stevenson & C.M. Punk
Art by Tim Truman, Marguerite Sauvage & Rob Guillory
Published by Marvel Comics – $4.99

• Three stories featuring three Thors!
•  Wrestling superstar CM Punk and Rob Guillory (Chew) on Young Thor’s idea for how to prove himself worthy of Mjolnir: a drinking competition!
•  Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes) and Marguerite Sauvage tell a tale of the new Thor!
•  And Jason Aaron on the Girls of Thunder’s quest to find the perfect birthday present for their grandfather, King Thor! How about a new Garden of Eden?

Why It’s Hot: That is one hell of a creative team contributing to this issue. I’m sure just about anybody can find a reason in at least one of the three stories to love this issue. Jason Aaron teaming up with the legendary Tim Truman to tell a King Thor story featuring his Girls of Thunder!? Yes, that’s happening. The all girl power team of rising star Noelle Stevenson, Marguerite Sauvage taking and the current Thor ready to blow Yep! Then finally, the anticipated comic book debut of C.M. Punk as he is joined by Chew artist Rob Guillory to tell a tell a tale of Young Thor’s misdeeds. Three stories, three great creative teams, three different Thors, and way more than three reasons to pick up Thor Annual #1

Wicked+Divine08_CoverATHE WICKED + THE DIVINE #8
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Jamie McKelvie & Matthew Wilson
Published by Image Comics – $3.50

Now the eleventh god is here, it’s time to party. You’re invited. Everyone’s invited. We can sleep when we’re dead-but when you’ll be dead within two years, you may as well turn up in your pyjamas. After seven issues of egomaniacs, it’s time for an issue where the crowd is the star.

Why It’s Hot: The Wicked + The Divine has been good for seven issues. The Wicked + The Divine becomes great with issue #8. With one of the most unique, well executed single issues in recent memory, Gillen, McKelvie, and Wilson take their game to the next level. When December rolls around there’s a good chance that this issue will be still be on the short list for many Best Single Issue of 2015 discussions.

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