Both Jarrod and I had several books competing for our Pick of the Week, including a couple we definitely didn’t expect.

Before getting into the stack, we’re revisiting the seemingly endless supply of #1 issues hitting comic shops. We talk about why they’re so effective at getting us to try something new, whether they’re contributing to the industry’s growth, and why we still miss watching great series reach #50, #100 and beyond.

A Surprisingly Good Week

This week’s stack has a little bit of everything: dark fantasy, superheroes, horror, science fiction, crime, Westerns and some seriously weird comics.

We talk Crowbound, Minor Arcana, Rook: Exodus, Odin, Spawn 77, Terminal, The Omega Book, Detective Comics and plenty more.

And somehow, Spawn 77 nearly became my Pick of the Week. I didn’t see that coming either.

Our actual Picks of the Week couldn’t be much more different. Jarrod surprises us with a Superman book, while I go with a surreal new dark fantasy series from a creative team I’ve trusted since Little Bird and Precious Metal.

Lone Wolf and Cub Volume 15

We finish with Brothers of the Grass, Volume 15 of our ongoing Lone Wolf and Cub readalong.

We’re now officially into the second half of the series, and it feels like the larger story is beginning to tighten around Ogami. This volume digs heavily into duty, loyalty, sacrifice and corruption, showing just how much people are willing or forced to give up in service to those above them.

And by the end, there’s a definite sense that the clock is starting to tick.

Join us for one of our strongest reading weeks in a while and another trip down the assassin’s road.