In case those X-Men: Days of Future Past Empire covers didn’t get you excited for the veritable bounty of this week’s Comic Book Day, allow me to assuage your fears by telling you that there’s so much great stuff dropping this week. From a brilliant (and long overdue) collection of war comics curated by Garth Ennis to the long-awaited debut of Zack Whedon’s new Serenity comic to the latest from indie darling Michael DeForge, there’s a metric ton of awesome titles at your local comic book shop this week. So, read on, and say goodbye to your hard-earned cash, which will soon be lost like tears in the rain.

Top Picks

Ant Colony | Drawn & Quarterly | Michael DeForge 

Every so often a book comes along that knocks you flat on your ass and makes you wonder where the hell you’ve been and why you haven’t seen anything like it sooner. Ant Colony is exactly that kind of book. The new hardcover tome from Drawn & Quarterly by celebrated cartoonist Michael DeForge began as a one-page color strip in quarterly comics anthology Smoke Signal. DeForge quickly fell in love with the weird, wacky world he’d created, and soon he published a long, overarching story online one page at a time, resulting in the longest finished narrative he’s put out to date. Now, Drawn & Quarterly has collected those strips in one comprehensive package and the results are glorious.

At its core, Ant Colony focuses on the day-to-day lives of, well, ants living in a colony. Black ants, to be precise. There are red ants too, but they are rude, violent creatures and eventually there’s going to be a civil war between the two factions, but I don’t want to spoil anything here. DeForge’s writing has sort of a Tao Lin-meets-A Bug’s Life quality to it, which is to say that these are still very much insects, but they still suffer the same sort of existential ennui and workaday malaise that we do. This feeling of intense relatability juxtaposed with the minutiae of being a drone in a sprawling ant colony makes for an incredibly gripping and often laugh-out-loud funny reading experience that isn’t like any other book I’ve read in recent memory.

What elevates Ant Colony from good to great, though, is DeForge’s singular design sense, which presents us with a sort of psychedelic, trippy vision of what the world of insects are really like. Spiders look like giant eight-legged dogs as seen by someone in the throes of an acid trip. Meanwhile, centipedes are depicted as long, limousine-like creatures hurtling across the landscape with wanton disregard for their surroundings, laughing and shouting things like “Beep beep!” or “Life rules!”. It’s an intensely charismatic, thoughtful, evocative little world that DeForge has filled with memorable characters, burning philosophical questions, and moments of true humanity that shine through the stylized thoraxes and angled antennae of his kooky creations. The year may be young, but I am confident when I say that this may just be the best graphic novel of 2014.

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1 | Dark Horse Comics | Zack Whedon and Georges Jeanty

Excerpted from Eric Diaz’s full review:

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind picks up nine months after the events of the 2005 movie; we find that the galaxy is teetering on the brink of another civil war, much like the one the Browncoats like Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe fought in before the events of the Firefly television series. Although Joss Whedon himself didn’t write this, you might have heard of one or two of his current projects in development), he entrusted his brother Zack to do the honors this time, with former Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons eight and nine artist Georges Jeanty doing the pencils. Joss still gets an “executive producer” credit, so I’m guessing a lot of the story’s broad strokes came from him. Zack is certainly a talented writer, and if anything, he gets the “voice” of these characters just right. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Joss wrote this himself, and that’s the highest compliment I can give.

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind is the first of six issues, and if you love the Firefly universe then you’d be a fool to miss what might be the only sequel or continuation it is ever going to get, so I’d recommend getting this one when it hits on January 29th. (And if you’re not a fan, I’d suggest you watch the entire series and the movie and then pick this up. There are only fourteen episodes, you marathoned through Breaking Bad on Netflix, you can probably marathon through all of Firefly in a week.)  Whether you are a hardcore or casual fan, be prepared to get totally emotionally invested in this crew all over again. Highly recommended.

Garth Ennis Presents – Battle Classics | Titan Comics | John Wagner, Cam Kennedy, Alan Hebden, Mike Western, John Cooper, Garth Ennis

There’s plenty of phenomenal single-issue comics coming out this week, but one of the best bangs for your buck is the brand new, mammoth Garth Ennis Presents – Battle Classics collection from Titan Comics, which as you may have inferred is a collection of some of the best war comics from seminal British anthology Battle curated by none other than veteran comics writer Garth Ennis. Containing stories from HMS Nightshade, The General Dies at Dawn, and a host of short stories, this is a breathtaking look at some of the best British comics to come out between 1975 and 1988. Harrowing, heartfelt tales of true war abound and thoughtful essays by Ennis provide much-needed context and insight into the era that helped define a generation of writers. Whether you’re a hardcore history buff, a fan of gritty adventure stories, or simply a student of the medium, this impressive hardcover is a must-buy.

For more from Dan Casey on his top pick of the week, check out Nerdist News:

Pull List

DARK HORSE COMICS

NOV130037 CONAN PEOPLE O/T BLACK CIRCLE #4 $3.50
NOV130057 FURIOUS #1 $3.99
SEP130083 GANTZ TP VOL 30 (MR) $13.99
NOV130058 NEVER ENDING #3 (MR) $3.99
NOV130031 SERENITY LEAVES ON THE WIND #1 $3.50
NOV130016 SLEDGEHAMMER 44 LIGHTNING WAR #3 $3.50

DC COMICS

NOV130218 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #9 $3.99
NOV130205 ALL STAR WESTERN #27 $3.99
NOV130142 AQUAMAN #27 $2.99
NOV130191 BATMAN AND ROBIN ANNUAL #2 $4.99
OCT130238 BATMAN BATMAN AND SON TP NEW ED $19.99
NOV130185 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #27 $2.99
NOV130256 BEWARE THE BATMAN #4 $2.99
NOV130184 CATWOMAN #27 (GOTHTOPIA) $2.99
NOV130168 DAMIAN SON OF BATMAN #4 $3.99
NOV130264 DEAD BOY DETECTIVES #2 (MR) $2.99
NOV130152 EARTH 2 ANNUAL #2 $4.99
NOV130271 FABLES #137 (MR) $2.99
NOV130144 FLASH #27 $2.99
NOV130135 FOREVER EVIL ARGUS #4 $2.99
NOV130201 GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #2 $4.99
SEP130268 GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS HC VOL 03 LOVE & DEATH (N52) $24.99
OCT130239 GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS TP VOL 02 BEYOND HOPE $14.99
NOV130207 GREEN TEAM TEEN TRILLIONAIRES #8 $2.99
NOV130133 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #27 (EVIL) $3.99
OCT130241 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK TP VOL 03 DEATH OF MAGIC (N52) $16.99
NOV130203 LARFLEEZE #7 $2.99
NOV130204 RED LANTERNS #27 $2.99
NOV130225 SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 SPECIAL #4 $4.99
NOV130160 SUPERMAN #27 $2.99
NOV130195 TALON #15 $2.99
NOV130211 TEEN TITANS #27 $2.99
OCT130295 UNWRITTEN TP VOL 08 ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLDS (MR) $16.99
NOV130154 WORLDS FINEST ANNUAL #1 $4.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

AUG130365 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY CATWOMAN STATUE $124.95
SEP130331 SCRIBBLENAUTS UNMASKED BMB MINI FIGURES SER 1 PI

IDW PUBLISHING

NOV130374 GHOSTBUSTERS #12 [DIG/P+] $3.99
SEP138354 GI JOE COMPLETE COLL HC VOL 02 RED LABEL ED PI
NOV130375 GODZILLA RULERS OF THE EARTH #8 [DIG/P+] $3.99
NOV130380 HALF PAST DANGER HC $29.99
SEP130429 JOHN ROMITA AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ARTIST ED HC VOL 02 PI
OCT130444 LOAC ESSENTIALS HC VOL 04 ALLEY OOP 1939 $24.99
NOV130354 MR PEABODY & SHERMAN #4 [DIG/P+] $3.99
DEC130453 MR PEABODY & SHERMAN TP $17.99
NOV130398 OTHER DEAD #5 [DIG/P+] $3.99
NOV130309 STAR TREK ONGOING #29 [DIG/P+] $3.99
OCT130430 SUPERMAN GOLDEN AGE SUNDAYS 1943-1946 HC $49.99
NOV130318 TMNT ONGOING #30 $3.99
OCT138105 TRANSFORMERS IDW COLLECTION HC VOL 03 RED LABEL ED PI
NOV130371 TRANSFORMERS REGENERATION ONE #98 [DIG/P+] $3.99

IMAGE COMICS

NOV138093 BLACK SCIENCE #2 2ND PTG (MR) $3.50
NOV130492 BLACK SCIENCE #3 (MR) [DIG] $3.50
NOV130493 BOUNCE #9 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
NOV130497 CLONE #14 [DIG] $2.99
JUL130521 CYBER FORCE #8 [DIG] $2.99
AUG130616 DARKNESS REBIRTH TP VOL 03 (MR) $17.99
OCT130599 EAST OF WEST #9 [DIG] $3.50
NOV130426 FIVE WEAPONS #6 CVR A ROBINSON [DIG] $3.50
NOV130427 FIVE WEAPONS #6 CVR B GUILLORY $3.50
SEP130624 INVINCIBLE #108 [DIG] $2.99
NOV130444 PERHAPANAUTS TP VOL 03 [DIG] $17.99
NOV130518 REVIVAL #17 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
NOV130520 SAGA #18 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
NOV130521 SAVIORS #2 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
MAR130594 SUPER DINOSAUR #21 [DIG] $2.99
AUG130719 THIEF OF THIEVES #19 (MR) [DIG] $2.99
OCT130634 WITCHBLADE #172 [DIG] $2.99

IMAGE COMICS/MCFARLANE TOYS

NOV131960 ASSASSINS CREED IV HIDDEN BLADE GAUNTLET PI
DEC130608 WWE UNDERTAKER RESIN STATUE PI

MARVEL COMICS

NOV130665 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN MOVIE ADAPTATION #1 $2.99
NOV130618 AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #23.INH $3.99
NOV130722 CABLE AND X-FORCE TP VOL 03 THIS WONT END WELL $16.99
NOV130658 CATACLYSM ULTIMATES LAST STAND #4 $3.99
NOV130563 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #11.NOW ANMN $3.99
SEP130794 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY PREM HC VOL 02 ANGELA $24.99
OCT138254 INHUMANITY #1 2ND PTG DOE VAR $3.99
NOV130616 INHUMANITY #2 $3.99
NOV130680 MARVEL UNIVERSE HULK AGENTS OF SMASH #4 $2.99
NOV130630 MIRACLEMAN #2 $4.99
NOV130714 MMW X-MEN TP VOL 06 $24.99
NOV130697 NIGHT OF LIVING DEADPOOL #2 $3.99
NOV130646 REVOLUTIONARY WAR KNIGHTS OF PENDRAGON #1 $3.99
NOV130726 SUPERIOR CARNAGE TP $17.99
NOV130662 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #26 $3.99
NOV130670 THOR GOD OF THUNDER #18 $3.99
NOV130600 THUNDERBOLTS #21 ANMN $2.99
OCT130754 THUNDERBOLTS TP VOL 03 INFINITY $15.99
OCT130751 ULT COMICS SPIDER-MAN BY BENDIS PREM HC VOL 05 $24.99
NOV130654 UNCANNY AVENGERS #16 $3.99
NOV130687 UNCANNY X-FORCE #17 XFV $3.99
NOV130732 WARLOCK BY JIM STARLIN TP COMPLETE COLLECTION $34.99
NOV130691 X-MEN LEGACY #23 $2.99

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

SEP131320 ACCIDENT MAN HC (MR) $29.99
NOV130900 ADVENTURE TIME 2014 SPECIAL #1 [DIG] $4.99
NOV130922 ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 01 PLAYING FIRE SDCC EXC $19.99
SEP130922 ALL NEW EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT IRIS #3 ASPEN RESERVED CVR $3.99
SEP130921 ALL NEW EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT IRIS #3 DIRECT MARKET CVR [DIG] $3.99
SEP130925 ALL NEW FATHOM #5 DIRECT MARKET CVR A CAFARO [DIG] $3.99
SEP130926 ALL NEW FATHOM #5 DIRECT MARKET CVR B LAISO $3.99
NOV130776 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #248 [DIG/P+] $3.99
SEP131105 ARMY OF DARKNESS VS HACK SLASH #5 CASELLI CVR $3.99
SEP131107 ARMY OF DARKNESS VS HACK SLASH #5 MITTEN CVR $3.99
SEP131106 ARMY OF DARKNESS VS HACK SLASH #5 SEELEY CVR $3.99
FEB120951 ART OF RAMONA FRADON HC $29.99
NOV121063 ART OF VAMPIRELLA WARREN COVERS HC $39.99
DEC131302 ASSASSINS CREED BRAHMAN GN $19.95
NOV131124 ATTACK ON TITAN GN VOL 11 $10.99
NOV131354 BAR MAID #2 A CVR TUCCI (MR) $3.50
NOV131355 BAR MAID #2 B CVR QUALANO (MR) $3.50
NOV131356 BAR MAID #2 C CVR FRANCHESCO (MR) $3.50
NOV131311 BLACK BUTLER TP VOL 16 $13.00
DEC131341 BLEACH GN VOL 59 $9.99
DEC131284 BLUE MORNING GN VOL 04 (MR) $12.99
DEC131351 BOKURANO OURS GN VOL 10 $12.99
NOV130894 BRAVEST WARRIORS 2014 ANNUAL #1 [DIG] $4.99
SEP130970 CRITTER (ONGOING) #18 $3.50
DEC130928 CROSSED BADLANDS #33 BLAZING HOT 4 CVR SET (MR) $39.99
NOV130810 CROSSED BADLANDS #46 (MR) $3.99
NOV130812 CROSSED BADLANDS #46 TORTURE CVR (MR) $3.99
NOV130811 CROSSED BADLANDS #46 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
NOV131117 DAY OF THE MAGICIANS GN $29.95
DEC131338 DEADMAN WONDERLAND GN VOL 01 $9.99
NOV131037 DEFLOWER THE BOSS (MR) $12.95
OCT131100 DEJAH THORIS & GREEN MEN OF MARS #10 (MR) $3.99
OCT131101 DEJAH THORIS & GREEN MEN OF MARS #10 ANACLETO SUBSCR $3.99
DEC131354 DEVIL & HER LOVE SONG GN VOL 13 $9.99
MAY131091 DF WARLORD OF MARS #32 RISQUE RED EXC $19.99
DEC131340 DRAGON BALL FULL COLOR TP VOL 01 SAIYAN ARC $19.99
NOV131215 DREDD UNDERBELLY MOVIE SEQUEL ONE SHOT (MR) $3.99
NOV131312 DURARARA SAIKA TP VOL 03 $13.00
OCT130800 FINAL PLAGUE #4 $2.99
OCT130793 FRACTURE ENCORE ED ONE SHOT $3.99
DEC131339 GANGSTA GN VOL 01 (MR) $12.99
NOV130921 GARFIELD #17 BALTIMORE COMIC CON EXC $9.99
DEC131286 GARTH ENNIS PRESENTS BATTLE CLASSICS HC $29.95
NOV131327 GFT CODE RED #2 A CVR CAFARO (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
NOV131328 GFT CODE RED #2 B CVR QUALANO (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
NOV131329 GFT CODE RED #2 C CVR CALDWELL (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
NOV131330 GFT CODE RED #2 D CVR GARZA (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
NOV131334 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #93 A CVR REYES (AOFD) $2.99
NOV131335 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #93 B CVR REI (AOFD) $2.99
NOV131336 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #93 C CVR FRANCHESCO (AOFD) $2.99
NOV131337 GFT TALES FROM OZ #1 TIN MAN A CVR ORTIZ $2.99
NOV131338 GFT TALES FROM OZ #1 TIN MAN B CVR SPAY (MR) $2.99
NOV131339 GFT TALES FROM OZ #1 TIN MAN C CVR GARZA (MR) $2.99
NOV131313 GOONG GN VOL 14 ROYAL PALACE $25.00
NOV131121 HARTLEPOOL MONKEY HC (KNOCKABOUT) $20.99
DEC131352 HAYATE COMBAT BUTLER TP VOL 23 $9.99
DEC131343 HIGH SCHOOL DEBUT 3IN1 TP VOL 01 $14.99
NOV131314 HIGURASHI WHEN THEY CRY GN VOL 24 FESTIVAL ACCOMPANYING ARC $18.99
OCT131433 HIT LIST #4 A CVR KROME (MR) $2.99
OCT131434 HIT LIST #4 B CVR JOHNSON (MR) $2.99
OCT131435 HIT LIST #4 C CVR CUCCA (MR) $2.99
OCT131436 HIT LIST #4 D CVR SEJIC (MR) $2.99
DEC131353 INU YASHA VIZBIG ED TP VOL 18 $19.99
NOV131317 KINGDOM HEARTS 358 / 2 DAYS GN VOL 02 $12.00
NOV130967 LIL SONJA #1 $3.99
NOV130968 LIL SONJA #1 EXC SUBSCRIPTION CVR $3.99
SEP131249 LOST AT SEA HC $24.99
DEC131342 MAGI GN VOL 04 $9.99
OCT131137 MERCY SPARX #4 (MR) $3.99
NOV131196 NINJAGO GN VOL 09 $6.99
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NOV131318 OMAMORI HIMARI GN VOL 11 (MR) $13.00
DEC131349 ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 08 $14.99
DEC131244 POKEMON ADV PLATINUM GN VOL 10 $9.99
DEC131162 PRINCE VALIANT HC VOL 08 1951-1952 $35.00
NOV131032 RED SONJA TP VOL 13 THE LONG MARCH HOME $29.99
NOV130743 ROLL HARD GN (MR) $9.99
DEC131346 SAKURA HIME LEGEND OF PRINCESS SAKURA GN VOL 12 $9.99
JUL131015 SHADOW YEAR ONE #7 CVR A WAGNER $3.99
JUL131016 SHADOW YEAR ONE #7 CVR B ROSS $3.99
JUL131017 SHADOW YEAR ONE #7 CVR C SAMNEE $3.99
JUL131018 SHADOW YEAR ONE #7 CVR D CHAYKIN $3.99
OCT130846 SIEGFRIED HC VOL 02 VALKYRIE $24.95
NOV130859 SIMPSONS ILLUSTRATED #9 $3.99
NOV131240 SNOWPIERCER HC VOL 01 THE ESCAPE (MR) $19.99
SEP130907 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES TP VOL 22 [DIG] $7.99
NOV130883 SONS OF ANARCHY #1 NYCC EXC (MR) $9.99
NOV131319 SOUL EATER TP VOL 18 (MR) $13.00
NOV130923 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #84 (MR) [DIG] $2.95
DEC132116 TEZUKA BUDDHA SC 03 DEVADATTA $14.95
SEP131229 TOKYO MEW MEW A LA MODE OMNIBUS $14.99
DEC131350 TORIKO GN VOL 20 $9.99
NOV131320 TRIAGE X GN VOL 05 (MR) $14.00
NOV130796 TRISH OUT OF WATER #4 DIRECT MARKET CVR A [DIG] $3.99
NOV130797 TRISH OUT OF WATER #4 DIRECT MARKET CVR B $3.99
NOV130798 TRISH OUT OF WATER #4 DIRECT MARKET CVR C $3.99
NOV130799 TRISH OUT OF WATER #4 DIRECT MARKET CVR D $3.99
NOV130836 UBER #9 (MR) $3.99
NOV130838 UBER #9 PROPAGANDA POSTER CVR (MR) $3.99
NOV130837 UBER #9 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
NOV131321 UMINEKO WHEN THEY CRY GN VOL 05 BANQUET O/T GOLDEN WITCH PT $22.00
NOV130856 URSA MINOR ONGOING #3 (MR) $3.50
DEC131344 VOICE OVER SEIYU ACADEMY GN VOL 03 $9.99
JUL131072 WARLORD OF MARS #33 (MR) $3.99
NOV131198 WWE ONGOING #2 $3.99

What’s on your pull list this week? Let us know in the comments below or whisper it to me softly on Twitter.

Additional reporting by Eric Diaz.