Each and every week “Donner” Henchman21 AND “Blitzen” MK2Fac3 read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible”¦ theoretically. Naturally, they looks forward to some more than others. I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull lists, grab some comics, and they’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of December 12, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

This Wednesday is a special day. I mean, 12/12/12 must have some kind of numerological significance or something. More than that, it’s a day for new comics, which is good news for everyone. So, here are a few books to check out this week. Remember, comics make a great gift during this joyous time of year, so pick up a few to hand out or just buy a bunch for yourself. This ain’t no naughty or nice list, it’s the GoD List!

Henchman21

Issues:

The Crow: Skinning the Wolves #1 (of 3) (IDW Publishing – $3.99) If you’ve been waiting for Crow creator James O’Barr to get back to making comics, well now’s the time. O’Barr is back with The Crow: Skinning the Wolves. The story is set in World War II and tells the story of what happens when a certain spirit of vengeance makes a visit to a concentration camp. O’Barr says he has been working on this story for about 20 years, so it should be pretty good by this point. O’Barr is joined by co-artist Jim Terry for the series, which is a little sad to hear. I know there are a whole lot of readers with fond memories of the original Crow series, so make sure you check this out if you’re looking to relive some of your mid-90’s glory days.

Image Firsts (Image Comics – $1.00 each) Image presents the first issues for seven of their best and most popular series, which means if you aren’t reading some of these titles, now is a great chance to give the first issues a try for just one thin dollar each. Check out this list of issues: Chew, Fatale, Revival, Saga, The Manhattan Projects, Thief of Thieves, and The Walking Dead. Now, you probably already own Walking Dead #1, in one version or another, but you may have missed the first issues of the rest of these series. The one I may recommend the most is Revival #1, because there aren’t that many issues of the series out yet. The Manhattan Projects is another great series that you should be reading and that you can catch up pretty easily. If you haven’t read any of these series, pick up the first issues on the cheap.

Avengers Arena #1 (Marvel Comics – $2.99) I can’t decide if I’m interested in this series or not. In many ways, this seems like not much more than a Battle Royale/Hunger Games rip off, and the cynical side of me questions whether this will appeal to me. The basic premise is that a bunch of Marvel’s teenage characters are thrown together on an island and have to fight each other. I’m all about having fun. You know, get a couple of cocktails in me, start a fire in someone’s kitchen. Maybe go to Seaworld, take my pants off. I’m not interested in reading a book where a bunch of superheroes are forced to fight each other. I’m even less interested in a comic where the heroes actually KILL each other, which seems to be where they’re taking the series. On the other hand, it’s got freaking Darkhawk in it, and I love Darkhawk. It’s also got a number of other characters that I would be interested in reading, just not in this series. I’m so split on this series. If the premise sounds interesting, give this a shot, but more than likely you can count me out of this one.

Trades:

Fear Agent Omnibus Volume 1 (Dark Horse Comics – $49.99) if you’re reading this site, there’s a better than even chance that you enjoy science fiction, even if you don’t always dig on comic books. You’re a smart gal or guy, you have discerning taste, you like being buttered up. Well, if you like sci-fi in any way, you need to buy Fear Agent Omnibus Volume 1. Fear Agent is arguably the best science fiction to come out in the last few years. Fear Agent is about the trials and tribulations of Heath Huston, one of the last remaining humans in the universe. His adventures take him all across time and space and back again, fighting strange aliens the whole way. Fear Agent is an epic tale that looks at a damaged individual and looks at what he would do if he had nothing to lose. Writer Rick Remender does a lot to make Huston a fully realized character, and it is this effort that makes Fear Agent such a good series. It doesn’t hurt that Remender is has two great artists working on the series with him, Tony Moore and Jerome Opena. If you’ve seen Opena’s work recently, his style has changed a bit, but even in this early work you could see the talent that he has. And Tony Moore is of course a superstar whose work stands out on its own. If I didn’t already own the issues and the trade paperbacks, I would pick this up. I may get it anyway, if only so I have an excuse to read through the series again.