What a week, comic book fans! DC is celebrating Alfred E. Neuman’s birthday in style and dropping some bombshell variant covers, Peanuts is getting the silver screen treatment, and we’ve got our first look at Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. And now, our favorite day of the week is here again: Comic Book Day! This week’s pull list is a veritable cornucopia of comic delights with new offerings from Matt Fraction, Scott Synder, Charles Soule, and many more, you’ll find no shortage of ways to spend your hard-earned cash at the local comic book store.

Top Picks

Sex Criminals #5 | Image Comics | Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky

If you’re not already reading Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s wildly inventive, riotously raunchy, larcenous libidofest Sex Criminals, you’ve made a huge mistake. Consistently laugh-out-loud funny and frequently heartfelt, the saga of Sex Criminals gets weirder and weirder, as Susie and Jon, our titular criminals, find themselves running afoul of the mysterious Sex Police, a group of jackbooted thugs clad in white who are trying to enforce the law in The Quiet/Cumworld through any means necessary. Issue #5 picks up where we left off – with our heroes in the custody of the Sex Police – and takes us deeper into Jon’s troubled past, giving us some insight into what makes him tick and why he gets such joy out of routinely shitting in his boss’ office plant (I mean, who wouldn’t?). Still, even while dropping a healthy amount of backstory on us, Fraction manages to keep the stakes feeling elevated and the action moving a steady clip, and it’s to Chip Zdarsky’s credit that he manages to create such a dreamy, ethereal quality to the balls-to-the-wall madness of Fraction’s narrative. Together, they’re as magical a combination as peanut butter and K-Y Jelly.

American Vampire: Second Cycle #1 | Vertigo | Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, Dave McCaig, Steve Wands

They’re baaaaaack. Much like their undead protagonists, Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire is back from the dead with a new series subtitled Second Cycle, and it’s every bit as delightful as you hoped it would be. Set primarily in 1965 in Kansas and Texas during the Vietnam War, Second Cycle checks in with some familiar faces like Pearl Jones and Skinner Sweet, showing that while time may not have aged them, it’s certainly changed them. Skinner spends most of his time alone, terrorizing the Texas/Mexico border Sons of Anarchy-style. Pearl runs something of a halfway house for vampires on the run, obsessively trying to pinpoint the original infection that spawned the hordes of undead. Moreover, it introduces the looming specter of a new, even more dangerous threat: The Gray Trader. No one knows what he is or where he comes from, but trust me when I say you’ll be shocked. If you haven’t been reading American Vampire before now, this is a perfect jumping on point; hell, the book even comes with an extensive timeline to give you a sense of what you’ve missed. Excellently paced, wonderfully illustrated, and supremely engaging, Second Cycle is a perfect blend of the old and the new, and I cannot wait to see how far this rabbit hole goes. One thing’s for certain: this coffin hasn’t been nailed shut yet, and there’s plenty of life left in this excellent undead saga.

Letter 44 #5 | Oni Press | Charles Soule, Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque, Dan Jackso, and Shawn DePasquale

I’ve written before about how much I’ve been enjoying Charles Soule’s writing across his wide variety of comic book projects, but I keep coming back to Oni Press’ Letter 44. Split between the political intrigue and ever-widening conspiracy on Earth and the tense, deep-space drama of the research team off in the far reaches of our galaxy, Letter 44 has a little something for everyone and issue #5 delivers big on both of those fronts with a potboiler of a story that finds our away team in mortal peril and our Earth-based troops left to infiltrate a nearly impregnable compound. Having entered the asteroid, Pritchard, Gomez, and Drum find themselves cornered by terrifying floating prismatic pyramid creatures that evoke Evangelion’s Ramiel, a sequence whose horror is heightened by the comparatively bucolic landscape, for which I’d like to give Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque particular props. Meanwhile, President Blades grows suspicious of his new Chief of Staff Michter, and deals with the problem accordingly. But the President has an even bigger problem: getting his team of elite operatives into said nearly impregnable compound guarded by, well, elite operatives. This is one of the most action-packed, adrenaline-soaked issues yet, and a shining example of why Letter 44 continues to be one of the most exciting books on store shelves.

Pull List
DARK HORSE COMICS

NOV130069 ARCHIE ARCHIVES HC VOL 09 $59.99
NOV130059 BLOOD BROTHERS TP $12.99
JAN140127 BPRD HELL ON EARTH #117 $3.50
JAN140134 BTVS SEASON 10 #1 MAIN CVR $3.50
JAN140150 DARK HORSE PRESENTS #34 (MR) $7.99
JAN140092 HELLBOY 20TH ANNIVERSARY SAMPLER BUNDLE PI
NOV130011 HELLBOY FIRST 20 YEARS HC $19.99
JAN140146 SKYMAN #3 $2.99
JAN140179 STAR WARS DARTH VADER & CRY OF SHADOWS #4 $3.50
JAN140180 STAR WARS DAWN O/T JEDI FORCE WAR #5 $3.50
JAN140133 STRAIN THE FALL #9 $3.99
JAN140175 TERMINATOR ENEMY OF MY ENEMY #2 $3.99
JAN140152 WHITE SUITS #2 $3.99
JAN140168 WITCHER #1 $3.99

DC COMICS

JAN140366 AMERICAN VAMPIRE SECOND CYCLE #1 (MR) $3.99
JAN140320 ANIMAL MAN #29 $2.99
JAN140330 BATMAN 66 #9 $3.99
JAN140301 BATMAN AND AQUAMAN #29 $2.99
JAN140329 BATMAN BEYOND UNIVERSE #8 $3.99
DEC130310 BATMAN BRUCE WAYNE MURDERER TP NEW ED $29.99
NOV130238 BATMAN BY DOUG MOENCH AND KELLEY JONES HC VOL 01 $39.99
JAN140303 BATWOMAN #29 $2.99
JAN140299 BIRDS OF PREY #29 $2.99
DEC130341 DEATH TP (MR) $19.99
NOV130239 DEATHBLOW DELUXE EDITION HC $24.99
DEC130306 GREEN ARROW TP VOL 04 THE KILL MACHINE (N52) $16.99
JAN140317 GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #29 $2.99
DEC130302 GREEN LANTERN RISE OF THE THIRD ARMY TP (N52) $24.99
JAN140308 HARLEY QUINN #4 $2.99
DEC130311 JUSTICE LEAGUE BEYOND IN GODS WE TRUST TP $17.99
NOV130244 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE TP VOL 02 ORIGINS OF ETERNIA $14.99
JAN140309 RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #29 $2.99
JAN140334 SCRIBBLENAUTS UNMASKED CRISIS OF IMAGINATION #3 $2.99
DEC130315 SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX TP VOL 02 $19.99
DEC130316 SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 TP VOL 04 ARGO $14.99
JAN140260 SUICIDE SQUAD #29 (EVIL) $2.99
JAN140289 SUPERGIRL #29 $2.99
OCT130160 SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6 $3.99
OCT130162 SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6 COMBO PACK $4.99
JAN140257 TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #9 (EVIL) $2.99
DEC130305 TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA TP VOL 01 THE CURSE (N52) $14.99
JAN140386 UNWRITTEN VOL 2 APOCALYPSE #3 (MR) $3.99
JAN140268 WONDER WOMAN #29 $2.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

NOV130293 ARROW OLIVER QUEEN DEATHSTROKE AF 2 PACK $49.95
NOV130290 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY TWO FACE AF $24.95
SEP130322 BATMAN HUSH BATMAN & CATWOMAN KISS STATUE $249.95

IDW PUBLISHING

JAN140509 ARTFUL DAGGERS FIFTY YEARS LATER TP $19.99
JAN140435 DANGER GIRL THE CHASE TP $17.99
JAN140516 DREAMER TP VOL 03 $24.99
JAN140510 EDISON REX TP VOL 02 HEIR APPARENT $19.99
OCT130436 FELIX THE CAT PAINTINGS HC $34.99
JAN140427 GI JOE #14 $3.99
JAN140497 ILLEGITIMATES #4 $3.99
JAN140489 JUDGE DREDD BIG DROKKIN TREASURY ED $9.99
DEC130463 MAGIC THE GATHERING THEROS #5 $4.99
JAN140432 MAXX MAXXIMIZED #5 $3.99
JAN140521 MEAN STREETS CRIME ANTHOLOGY GN $29.99
JAN140450 MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #17 $3.99
DEC130457 OTHER DEAD #6 $3.99
JAN140503 POPEYE CLASSICS ONGOING #20 $3.99
JAN140455 SAMURAI JACK #6 $3.99
JAN140474 STAR TREK ONGOING TP VOL 07 $17.99
NOV130393 STEVE CANYON HC VOL 04 1953-1954 $49.99
JAN140469 TMNT UTROM EMPIRE #3 $3.99
JAN140423 TRANSFORMERS PRIME BEAST HUNTERS TP VOL 02 $17.99
JAN140409 TRANSFORMERS REGENERATION ONE #100 $5.99
JAN140417 TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE #27 DARK CYBERTRON PART 11 $3.99

IMAGE COMICS

JAN140622 A VOICE IN THE DARK #5 (MR) $3.99
DEC130558 APHRODITE IX #9 CVR A SEJIC $2.99
DEC130559 APHRODITE IX #9 CVR B SEJIC $2.99
DEC130571 FIVE GHOSTS #10 $2.99
JAN140590 FUSE #2 (MR) $3.50
JAN148144 FUSE #2 CVR B ROSSMO (MR) $3.50
JAN140591 GHOSTED #8 (MR) $2.99
NOV130507 LAZARUS #7 (MR) $2.99
JAN140537 NOAH HC (MR) $29.99
DEC138055 PETER PANZERFAUST DLX HC CURR PTG $39.99
SEP130628 PROPHET #43 $3.99
NOV130519 ROCKET GIRL #4 $3.50
JAN140556 SAGA TP VOL 03 (MR) $14.99
DEC130595 SEX CRIMINALS #5 (MR) $3.50
JAN140538 SOVEREIGN #1 (MR) $2.99
DEC130598 TEN GRAND #8 CVR A SMITH (MR) $2.99
DEC130599 TEN GRAND #8 CVR B PORTACIO & ATIYEH (MR) $2.99
JAN140621 UNDERTOW #2 (MR) $2.99
DEC138395 UNDERTOW #2 CVR B CONLEY (MR) $2.99
JAN140625 ZERO #6 CVR A MULLER & DEL REY (MR) $2.99
JAN140626 ZERO #6 CVR B FRANCAVILLA & MULLER (MR) $2.99
JAN140627 ZERO #6 CVR C DRAGOTTA & MULLER (MR) $2.99
JAN140628 ZERO #6 CVR D STEWART & MULLER (MR) $2.99

MARVEL COMICS

JAN140660 ALL NEW GHOST RIDER #1 ANMN $3.99
JAN140709 ALL NEW INVADERS #3 ANMN $3.99
JAN140696 AVENGERS WORLD #4 ANMN $3.99
JAN140630 DAREDEVIL #1 ANMN $3.99
JAN140739 DEXTER DOWN UNDER #2 $3.99
JAN140744 DISNEY KINGDOMS SEEKERS OF WEIRD #3 $3.99
JAN140643 IRON MAN #23.NOW ANMN $3.99
DEC130790 IRON MAN EPIC COLLECTION TP WAR GAMES $39.99
JAN148036 LOKI AGENT OF ASGARD #1 2ND PTG FRISON VAR ANMN $2.99
JAN140754 MARVEL KNIGHTS HULK #4 $3.99
DEC130788 MIGHTY AVENGERS TP VOL 01 NO SINGLE HERO $17.99
OCT130743 MMW CAPTAIN AMERICA HC VOL 07 $69.99
JAN148035 MS MARVEL #1 2ND PTG PICHELLI VAR ANMN $2.99
JAN140697 MS MARVEL #2 ANMN $2.99
DEC130723 NEW AVENGERS #15 $3.99
DEC130780 NEW AVENGERS TP VOL 01 EVERYTHING DIES $19.99
JAN140703 NOVA #15 ANMN $3.99
JAN140760 REVOLUTIONARY WAR WARHEADS #1 $3.99
DEC130733 SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #10 $2.99
JAN140764 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2 $4.99
JAN140707 THOR GOD OF THUNDER #20 ANMN $3.99
JAN140770 THUNDERBOLTS #23 $2.99
DEC130789 ULT COMICS SPIDER-MAN BY BENDIS TP VOL 04 $19.99
JAN140665 UNCANNY X-MEN #19.NOW ANMN $3.99
JAN140735 WINTER SOLDIER BITTER MARCH #2 ANMN $3.99
JAN140685 WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #2 ANMN $3.99
DEC130760 WOLVERINE JAPANS MOST WANTED HC $34.99
DEC130787 WOLVERINE MAX TP VOL 03 VEGAS $16.99
JAN140733 X-MEN #12 ANMN $3.99
DEC130782 YOUNG AVENGERS TP VOL 03 MIC DROP EDGE TIME AND SPACE $15.99

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

NOV130758 16-BIT ZOMBIES #1 $3.99
JAN141306 AAMA GN VOL 01 SMELL OF WARM DUST (MR) $19.95
DEC131245 ACG COLL WORKS ADV INTO UNKNOWN SLIPCASE ED VOL 05 $64.99
JAN141015 ADVENTURE TIME #26 MAIN CVRS $3.99
JAN140976 ANNE BONNIE #1 $3.99
DEC130858 ARCHIE FUNHOUSE DOUBLE DIGEST #3 $3.99
JAN141132 ARMY OF DARKNESS OMNIBUS TP NEW PTG VOL 01 $29.99
JAN141145 BAD ASS #3 (MR) $3.99
JAN140977 BART SIMPSON COMICS #89 $2.99
JAN140835 BASEWOOD HC $19.95
NOV131003 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #9 $3.99
DEC131166 CANNON WALLY WOOD TP $35.00
JAN141275 CLASSICS ILLUS DLX HC VOL 11 SEA WOLF $17.99
JAN141274 CLASSICS ILLUS DLX SC VOL 11 SEA WOLF $13.99
DEC130924 CROSSED BADLANDS #49 (MR) $3.99
DEC130926 CROSSED BADLANDS #49 TORTURE CVR (MR) $3.99
DEC130925 CROSSED BADLANDS #49 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
JAN140990 CURSE #3 $3.99
JAN141168 DF LEGENDERRY #1 STEAMPUNK ADV FAT JACKS LTD ED $10.00
NOV131190 DOCTOR WHO TP FLOOD $24.99
DEC130801 FEMFORCE #166 $9.95
JAN141240 GENSHIKEN SECOND SEASON GN VOL 04 $10.99
JAN141450 GFT ROBYN HOOD LEGEND #1 A CVR LASHLEY $2.99
JAN141451 GFT ROBYN HOOD LEGEND #1 B CVR FRISON $2.99
JAN141452 GFT ROBYN HOOD LEGEND #1 C CVR SEJIC $2.99
JAN141453 GFT ROBYN HOOD LEGEND #1 D CVR RUFFINO $2.99
JAN141447 GFT WONDERLAND #21 A CVR MCTEIGUE (MR) $3.99
JAN141448 GFT WONDERLAND #21 B CVR CUCCA (MR) $3.99
JAN141449 GFT WONDERLAND #21 C CVR CHEN (MR) $3.99
JAN141444 GFT WONDERLAND ASYLUM #3 A CVR MILLER (MR) $3.99
JAN141445 GFT WONDERLAND ASYLUM #3 B CVR EHNOT (MR) $3.99
JAN141446 GFT WONDERLAND ASYLUM #3 C CVR NAKAYAMA (MR) $3.99
OCT130824 GHOST COP #3 $3.99
JAN140951 GOD IS DEAD #9 (MR) $3.99
JAN140952 GOD IS DEAD #9 CARNAGE WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
JAN140953 GOD IS DEAD #9 END OF DAYS CVR (MR) $3.99
JAN140954 GOD IS DEAD #9 ICONIC CVR (MR) $3.99
JAN140938 GRAVEL COMBAT MAGICIAN #2 (MR) $3.99
JAN140940 GRAVEL COMBAT MAGICIAN #2 HORROR CVR (MR) $3.99
JAN140939 GRAVEL COMBAT MAGICIAN #2 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
JAN141134 GRIMM #11 $3.99
JAN141360 HARBINGER BLEEDING MONK #0.2014 PULLBOX CRAIN $3.99
JAN141359 HARBINGER BLEEDING MONK #0.2014 REG HENRY $3.99
OCT131227 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #206 $5.99
JAN141097 LEGENDERRY A STEAMPUNK ADV #3 $3.99
DEC131235 LETTER 44 #5 $3.99
JAN140988 LOKI RAGNAROK & ROLL #2 $3.99
JAN141412 MARCH STORY GN VOL 05 (MR) $12.99
NOV131239 MONSTER MASSACRE HC VOL 02 (MR) $22.99
JAN141334 NEMO ROSES OF BERLIN HC (MR) $14.95
DEC130994 OKKO HC VOL 04 CYCLE OF FIRE $19.99
JAN141307 PARK GN (MR) $24.95
JAN140827 PRINCELESS TP VOL 01 NEW PTG $11.99
JAN140981 RUSH CLOCKWORK ANGELS #1 $3.99
DEC131210 SAINT MAN WHO WAS CLEVER GN $9.99
DEC131066 SHADOW #23 CALERO SUBSCRIPTION CVR $3.99
DEC131065 SHADOW #23 MOTTER CVR $3.99
DEC131064 SHADOW #23 ROSS CVR $3.99
JAN141375 SHADOWMAN #16 ORDERALL DAUTERMAN $3.99
JAN141374 SHADOWMAN #16 REG DE LA TORRE $3.99
JAN140978 SIMPSONS COMICS #210 $2.99
JAN141261 SIXTH GUN #39 $3.99
DEC130868 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #258 REG CVR $2.99
OCT130854 SPOTLIGHT GN $14.95
DEC130846 STEAM ENGINES OF OZ TP VOL 02 GEARED LEVIATHAN $19.95
JAN141004 SUICIDE RISK TP VOL 02 $16.99
SEP131128 THE SPIDER #18 $3.99
JAN141234 UQ HOLDER GN VOL 01 $10.99
JAN141304 US BANZAI BATTALION JUST ANOTHER BUG HUNT GN $19.99
JAN141413 VAGABOND GN VOL 35 (MR) $9.95
DEC131232 WASTELAND #52 (MR) $3.99
NOV131167 WASTELAND TP VOL 09 THOUSAND LIES (MR) $14.99
JAN140877 WORLD OF ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #38 $4.99
JAN148062 WWE ONGOING #2 2ND PTG $3.99
DEC131231 WWE ONGOING #3 $3.99
JAN141358 X-O MANOWAR #23 ORDERALL RANEY (AH) $3.99
JAN141357 X-O MANOWAR #23 REG CAFU (AH) $3.99
JAN141238 XXXHOLIC OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 $19.99

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