1. DAREDEVIL #16
Marvel's best series continues to, you know, be their best series as the Avengers attempt to bring back Matt Murdock. Left without any of his senses after being captured by the Latverians, a recent preview revealed that Giant Man has shrunk down and has travelled into Daredevil's brain in order to reactivate his senses one by one with the help of Doctor Strange and Iron Man. As if that isn't enough, the secret discovered by Foggy Nelson will FINALLY be revealed. What could be so awful that it leads to the end of Nelson & Murdock?! I for one can't wait to find out! Chris Samnee's pencils are perfectly suited to the series and he maintains the high level of quality set by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin. The Eisner Award winning comic is a must-buy, and if you're not picking it up, kick yourself. Hard.
2. AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #9
Avengers Vs. X-Men #8 was a huge disappointment. Featuring little more than an underwhelming battle between Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the Phoenix powered Namor, it did little to move the main story along and was perhaps one of the weakest instalments in the series yet. Well, this week sees Jason Aaron back on writing duties and with the promise of Spider-Man being given the spotlight, this is sure to be an essential read. Aaron showed what a great grasp he has on Peter Parker back in
Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine, while those disappointed with the lack of any real involvement for Spidey in an event since
Civil War, fans will surely be glad to see him play a pivotal role in
Avengers Vs. X-Men. With Adam Kubert on pencils, it's hard not to recommend this one.
3. HAWKEYE #1
The last few Hawkeye solo series have been good, but they've never really taken off. Marvel are now hoping to change that after the character made his big screen debut in
Marvel's The Avengers earlier this year (where he was played by Jeremy Renner). With Matt Fraction (
Defenders,
Invincible Iron Man) on writing duties, and David Aja (
Immortal Iron Fist) on art, the new series has a lot of potential. There's not an awful lot of details on what we should expect from the title, although it looks set to offer up a much closer look at the character of Clint Barton outside of his adventures with The Avengers. Throw in the fact that the
other Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) is set to be his partner/sidekick and there should be something for everyone here.
4 & 5. ANIMAL MAN #12/SWAMP-THING #12
Easily two of DC's best series in "The New 52" continuity, the "Rotworld" crossover finally begins in these two prelude issues. Alec Holland and Buddy Baker have been on a collision course since their first issues as they've each battled The Rot, and now it's finally time for these two to team-up and face the threat side-by-side. Jeff Lemire (
Animal Man) and Scott Snyder (
Swamp-Thing) have each done an incredible job with their respective titles and the thought of them now working with one another should be a dream come true for any fan of these characters. With the promise that the past year's worth of stories will be recapped for new readers, now might also be a great jumping on point for those of you who have been missing out!
THE BEST OF THE REST...
6. BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE OWL #2
7. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #522
8. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #10
9. EARTH 2 #4
10. FIRST X-MEN #1