The Returning #1
Written by Jason Starr
Illustrated by Andrea Mutti
Colored by Vladimir Popov
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
Cover by Frazier Irving
Boom! Studios
Release Date: March 12, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

It’s no secret that modern readers still enjoy zombie tales. You know, mindless undead shambling around with their next meal their only priority? (The zombies, not the readers!) Jason Starr shakes up this well-established genre and steers it in a new direction with The Returning from Boom! Studios.

Instead of falling victim to a viral outbreak or the after effects of a passing comet, the undead of The Returning are everyday people who experience near death experiences (NDE) and are then resuscitated. This common occurrence somehow changes the person’s psyche and makes them prone to extreme acts of violence””they are then labeled as one of the Changed. Our protagonist, Beth, awakens from a coma following a car accident and finds that, even though she feels the same as before, her life is suddenly turned upside down because of the NDE she experienced.

Rogue Trooper #1
Written by Brian Ruckley
Illustrated by Alberto Ponticelli
Colored by Stephen Downer
Lettered by Tom B. Long
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 5, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Novelist Brian Ruckley (The Edinburgh Dead and the Godless World trilogy) has revived one of 2000 AD’s most iconic characters for the next generation of post-apocalyptic comic fans in the new series Rogue Trooper from IDW Publishing. Ruckley’s Rogue Trooper #1 is the writer’s first attempt at a serial script, and he has stepped into this format slowly and carefully in order to preserve the mystique of the title character.

Rogue, also known by his call sign “Blue,” is revealed for the first time in color in the ruined landscape of Nu-Earth, where he was created as one of an army genetically modified to breathe the poisoned air and endure dangerous levels of radiation. The last of a massacred unit of super soldiers, Rogue is convinced that he and his brothers in arms were somehow set up and ambushed. His mission now is to find out who might have been behind the ambush and why.

Headspace #1
Written by Ryan K. Lindsay
Illustrated by Eric Zawadzki and Chris Peterson
Colored by Marissa Louise
Lettered by Eric Zawadzki
MonkeyBrain Comics
Release Date: March 5, 2014
Cover Price: $0.99

If you’ve ever wanted to take a peek into a killer’s mind, then Ryan K. Lindsay (best known for Ghost Town) has created a lens that will let you do just that in Headspace #1 from MonkeyBrain Comics.

Much like a fever dream, the debut issue of this digital serial introduces the reader to two landscapes””one in our real world, the other inside the head of murderer Max Johnston. What we discover in each realm is quite a bit more than even your typical criminal psychologist is trained to handle.

In Max’s mind is an island called Carpenter Cove. A morphed memory from his childhood, Carpenter Cove has somehow become a very real prison for its residents. Led by Sheriff Shane Garratty, those imprisoned are reclaiming their own memories of life before the island and are acting out in desperation to try and leave it.

Krampus #1
Written by Brian Joines
Illustrated by Dean Kotz
Colored by Ron Riley
Lettered by Charles Pritchett
Cover by Dean Kotz
Image Comics
Release Date: December 18, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

What happens if you mix an adventure worthy of Indiana Jones with the sass and sarcasm of Hellboy, and then sprinkle it with a heaping helping of holiday magic? You get the surprisingly entertaining dark comedy from Image Comics: Krampus #1 by Brian Joines.

It’s probably tough to pull off a Christmas-themed comic that actually appeals to fans who prefer a gritty story over one covered in sugarplums and dipped in chocolate, and I say this because I recall only one other (The Last Christmas by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan) that managed it. Brian Joines, however, has stepped up to the Christmas comic challenge and has emerged victorious thanks to his delightfully wicked “hero” and his own twisted sense of humor.

Sherlock Holmes: Moriarty Lives #1
Written by David Liss
Illustrated by Daniel Indro
Colored by Josan Gonzalez
Lettered by Joshua Cozine
Cover by Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: December 11, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

David Liss does an amazing job of channeling the voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Dynamite’s new Sherlock Holmes: Moriarty Lives #1.

The reader is thrust into Switzerland’s Reichenbach Falls just beyond the last pages of the legendary tale of the showdown between Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Professor James Moriarty. As the title of this release alludes, Moriarty survives the fall that was presumed to have killed him and decides to hide out in a nearby village until he can rebuild his criminal enterprise.