Salutations, Wednesday Warriors! It’s that time of the week again—time to storm the gates and bring home a fresh stack of new comics. Before you head to the shop, arm yourself with a few recommendations. And for you big spenders out there, we also have a complete list of this week’s releases. The big one this week is the release of the real final issue of Snyder and Capullo’s Batman run. At least, we think this is the final issue. It is, right? We’ve been wrong before.

BATMAN #51

Batman #51 from DC Comics

Written By: Scott Snyder
Art By: Greg Capullo and Danny Miki
Colors By: FCO Plascencia
Letters By: Steve Wands

So, we jumped the gun a little when we called Batman #50 the end of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on. This time, however, we’re confident it has come to a close. In a lot of ways, #50 was the end of their story, the closure of all the big things they set in motion. Batman #51 is a return of the status quo; it’s Snyder and Capullo pulling back the curtain and saying, “see, Batman is still Batman.” In a way, that’s the beauty of serialized superhero comics. Things can change, things can shift, but in the end, Batman is the way we found him. The costume is a little different, the cast is a little bigger, but Snyder and Capullo have reset the character and put the pieces back. The story of Snyder and Capullo’s Batman run ended in #50, but issue #51 shows that the story of Batman never really ends. Batman is forever.

CONAN THE AVENGER #25

Conan The Avenger #25 from Dark Horse Comics

Written By: Fred Van Lente
Art By: Brian Ching
Colors By: Michael Atiyeh
Letters By: Richard Starkings and Comicraft

Speaking of endings, here’s another one for ya. For 25 issues, Conan the Avenger has delivered superb fantasy action. We’ve enjoyed it since day one, but these last months with Fred Van Lante and Brian Ching have really been something special. Van Lente nails Conan’s voice an Ching draws insane action and mayhem. This final issue doesn’t feature much of our favorite barbarian, but the last few pages he appears on make it all worth it. You simply cannot go wrong with Dark Horse Comics run of Conan books and Conan the Avenger is a testament to that. Fast, violent, and epic, this series is exactly what we wanted from Conan. We’re sad to see Van Lente and Ching go, but we’re damn happy with what they left us with. By Crom this is good comic booking!

INJECTION #9

Injection #9 from Image Comics

Written By: Warren Ellis
Art By: Declan Shalvey
Colors By: Jordie Bellaire
Letters By: Fonografiks

Injection is a series that would be easy to peg as a “Warren Ellis book.” Sure, it has his bizarre, subversively angry wit and insane plot, but it’s more than your usual Ellis fair. The reason for this is Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire. This isn’t a Warren Ellis comic; it’s an Ellis/Shalvey/Bellaire comic. The flow, the tone, the feeling, it’s all a sum of these creators and the book simply doesn’t work without each one of them. Shalvey’s clear, crispy structure plays off of Ells’ odd dialogue perfectly. Bellaire’s balanced and smooth colors bring Shalvey’s art to life in new and exciting ways. Right from the first page, you get a sense at just how special Injection is. In the first few pages, as you watch in slow motion as a guy gets his brains blown out, you can’t help but think, “Damn, this is how comic books are supposed to work.” Beautiful, through and through.

Okay, that’s it for us. What’s on your pull list this week, folks? Other than Batman, of course.

THE COMPLETE LIST

(via PreviewsWorld.com