All hail the Wednesday Warriors! It’s that time of the week again. Time to storm the gates and bring home a fresh stack of new comics. Time to wallow in that new comic smell. Time to bag, board, and then carefully organize by publisher, character, and title (forget numerical—all these renumberings have made that damn near impossible). 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.

SPIDER-MAN #1

SPIDER-MAN #1 from Marvel Comics

Written By: Brain Michael Bendis
Art By: Sara Pichelli
Colors By: Justin Ponsor
Letters By: VC’s Cory Petit

Let’s be honest. The current status of Miles Morales is confusing. He’s in the “main” Marvel Universe now, right? Maybe? Is that what we are reading? Well, either way, his comic is still written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by the Sara Pichelli, so it’s awesome. A lot of us were skeptical when Morales first took up the mantel of Spider-Man, and that’s to be expected. How could anybody replace Peter Parker? It seemed like something that would never work… and yet it did. Big time.

In fact, Miles Morales is now the go-to comic for classic-styled Spider-Man stories. This issue does not stray from this tend, continuing Bendis’ superb run with this character. We’ve got high school woes, the struggles of being a teenage superhero, and an onslaught of quips. It’s everything you could want in an issue of Spider-Man and more. Pichelli absolutely kills it; she might be one of—if not the—best superhero comic artist out there right now. Plus, she’s got Justin Ponsor coloring her, so this thing is a feast for your eyeballs. Feed your eyeballs and buy Spider-Man #1.

DEJAH THORIS #1

DEJAH THORIS #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Written By: Frank J. Barbiere
Art By: Francesco Manna
Colors By: Morgan Hickman
Letters By: Erica Schultz

This is one that everyone is going to be talking about. Wether you’re familiar with the John Carter of Mars world or not, Dejah Thoris #1 is a comic you’re going to want to check out. Frank J. Brbiere and Francesco Manna deliver an issue that is immediately engaging, beautiful, and fun. It reads like a lost sister of Red Sonja, a rich fantasy/science fiction world that you’ll love immersing yourself in. It’s like a warm bath of awesome art and dialogue that covers your body and relaxes those tense muscles (you work too hard, you’ve earned a good soak). Plus, you just have to see Francesco Manna’s art. It’s only matter of time before the Big Two come sniffing around and steal this guy in one of those fancy exclusive contracts. His lines are smooth and confident; there’s a fluid grace to every panel, every page. Trust us, this guy is going to be huge. Get on Team Manna early so you can be one of the cool kids.

SHERIFF OF BABYLON #3

THE SHERIFF OF BABYLON #3 from Vertigo Comics

Written By: Tom King
Art By: Mitch Gerads
Colors By: Mitch Gerads
Letters By: Travis Lanham

The Sheriff of Babylon is crazy good. Tom King and Mitch Gerads are producing one of the best crime books to hit the scene in years, and if you know how good crime comics have been lately, you know that’s saying something. Tom King brings some intense authenticity to this violent and brutal tale of an attempt to solve a murder in a post Gulf War Iraq. The Sheriff of Babylon is a slow burn peppered with horrific images that we all know are all too real. Then there’s Mitch Gerads, a.k.a. The Slick Beast of Comics. His storytelling is so smooth it often feels like you’re watching a movie while you read. The panels flow beautifully, sucking you into the tale, grabbing you and never letting go. Gerads is freaky good—like, so good he must have made a deal with some sort of art wizard. In exchange for bag of gold and a lock of hair from a princess he became a mighty artist, a.k.a. The Slick Beast of Comics. The Sheriff of Babylon is a comic book that’ll be talked about for decades, the sort of thing you keep coming back to again and again to study and enjoy.

VELVET #13

VELVET #13 from Image Comics

Written By: Ed Brubaker
Art By: Steve Epting
Colors By: Elizabeth Breitweiser
Letters By: Chris Eliopoulos

Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting go together like peanut butter and chocolate. They clearly just click, and when they’re on the same wave length, they produce some incredible comic books. Their run on Captain America might read as the modern run on a superhero series, and somehow Velvet manages to be even better than that. Since the first issue, Velvet scratched the itch that their Cap book left us with (we should see a doctor about that), delivering superspy action in each story. Like most of Brubaker’s work, Velvet builds slowly; every answer just leads to more questions. Thriteen issues in and this dark world of murderous espionage is only getting deeper and more intense. Epting’s art is fantastic, as usual. The man draws one hell of a period piece story; his cars alone are worth the cover price. We also get Elizabeth Breitweiser colors (supremely beautiful) and lettering from industry giant Chris Eliopoulos. A few years ago, this creative team was producing some out the best books Marvel comics has ever put out, now they’re making Velvet. You’d be cheating yourself by not reading it.

What’s on your pull list this week? Share it with us in the comments below!

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THE COMPLETE LIST

(via PreviewsWorld.com)