HOT FIVE: Week of August 19, 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 in the comic market!

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DOOMED #3
Written by Scott Lobdell
Art by Javi Fernandez & Ulises Arreola
Published by DC Comics – $2.99

Is he man? Is he monster? Is he…getting his butt kicked by an 8-year-old? Doomed finally squares off against his first official super-villain, who turns out to be a creature-hunting kid named Miles!

Why It’s Hot: Representation has been a hot topic of discussion in comics circles for years, but the issue has picked up steam over the past few weeks. As seen in the Comicosity exclusive preview of this issue, Doomed is set to introduce yet another LGBT character to its ranks with The Alpha Centurion. This introduction alone is enough to make Doomed #3 HOT, but stay for what seems to be the making of an surprisingly solid series.

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HOWARD THE HUMAN #1
Written by Skottie Young
Art by Jim Mahfood
Published by Marvel Comics – $3.99

Spend a day with Howard, a private investigator and the only human living in city full of animals. But not, like, criminals and lowlifes. We’re talking elephants, apes, ducks and kitty cats. Catching a case, grinding a few gears, dodging some bullets and almost getting killed by an anthropomorchic monstrosity. It’s just another Monday for Howard the Human brought to you by Skottie Young (ROCKET RACCOON) and Jim Mahfood (MIAMI VICE REMIX).

Why It’s Hot: Skottie Young and Jim Mahfood are putting a crazy spin on Howard The Duck by turning rhe tables and making Howard a human in a world of animals! Read that last sentence again, take it all in, and get excited. Young may only be the writer on this project, but the fact remains that two of the most bold, and creative talents in the industry are working together on a comic featuring a crazy twist on one of the craziest characters. This may be flying under a lot of radars, but should be awesome. I don’t think you, yeah YOU, are going to want to miss out on this.

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JUSTICE LEAGUE #43
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Jason Fabok
Published by DC Comics – $3.99

“The Darkseid War” event rages on as Batman takes a dark journey into the depths of Godhood and unlocks the forbidden knowledge of the DC universe! Meanwhile, arch-enemies Superman and Lex Luthor must stand together in order to survive, and Wonder Woman leads the Justice League in an offensive against the Anti-Monitor and Darkseid! But what is Grail’s true mission during this war–and what is the secret she holds over Wonder Woman?

Why It’s Hot: Despite being a top ten seller written by arguably this generation’s greatest superhero writer, and featuring an artist in Jason Fabok becoming a superstar before our very eyes, Justice League feels under appreciated. DC has been launching a lot of new titles, and doing some really cool things that have people buzzing. Of course that’s awesome, but a side effect seems to be that “The Darkseid War” hasn’t received the buzz a story of this magnitude would usually receive %99 of the time. So I feel that it is my duty to remind readers of this column that Justice League is better now than it has been at any point in years, and may very well be the best series currently being published at DC Comics. Oh and Wonder Woman fans, if you aren’t reading this you are missing the best take on Diana currently being published.

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SECRET WARS: SECRET LOVE #1
Written by Michel Fiffe, Felipe Smith, Jeremy Whitely, Marguerite Bennett & Katie Cook
Art by Michel Fiffe, Felipe Smith, Gurihiru, Kris Anka & Katie Cook
Published by Marvel Comics – $4.99

• WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, CAN THEIR LOVE SURVIVE?
•  ROBBIE REYES/KAMALA KHAN!
•  TYPHOID MARY/KAREN PAGE/MATT MURDOCK!
•  AND MANY MORE SECRET LOVE AFFAIRS…

Why It’s Hot: The nature of Secret Wars as an event allows for creators to go all out with their imaginations. Major characters we know and love can be put in situations we’ve never seen before, and in ways we would never expect. That holds especially true with the Secret Wars: Secret Love one shot. New characters given new love interests that we didn’t see coming while classic relationships are explored with a twist! This issue features an impressive lineup of creators doing a homage to the romance genre with some of the biggest characters in pop culture. I can all but guarantee that you won’t find another comic quite like this.

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STAR WARS #8
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Stuart Immonen
Published by Marvel Comics – $3.99

• Luke continues his quest to learn about the Jedi…
•  …heading for the Jedi Temple on Coruscant?
•  Plus: Han & Leia are confronted by an unexpected foe!
•  New series artist Stuart Immonen joins the rebellion!

Why It’s Hot: There was a whole bunch of Star Wars news at this past weekend’s D23 Convention. With all of this news it seems impossible not to be (more?) excited about the franchise. There was new information about The Force Awakens, the first cast shot of Rogue One, confirmation that Colin Treverrow is directing Episode IX, and the announcement that a Star Wars themed land will be headed to both American Disney parks. It’s was enough to get those strong in the ways of The Force itching for new content right now. Lucky for us comic book readers we get another issue of Jason Aaron’s stellar Star Wars series to feed the hunger that fans feel. What makes a good thing even better is that this issue is the start of a new arc, and features the franchise debut for the great Stuart Immonen. Aaron and Immonen would be one hell of a creative team on any series, but with Star Wars they have a chance to do something special!

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!

We are in a “Golden Age” of comic books. There are more great comic books being published today than ever before. Each and every week it’s a struggle to figure out what issues belong on the internet’s premiere “What comics you should be reading this week” column. While Hot Five won’t become the Hot Ten, or Hot Fifteen like it easily could be, more comics deserve to be recognized. So from here on out there will be a list of five “Other issues of note” featured at the bottom of every edition of Hot Five.

OTHER ISSUES OF NOTE: Black Canary #3, Book Of Death #2, Guardians Team Up #10, House Of M #1, Rat Queens #11

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