Maybe it’s the winter doldrums, but this feels like a so-so Wednesday for comics.

This week, Joss Whedon and John Cassaday sort of complete their popular run on Astonishing X-Men – they wrap things up next month with Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1 — while Mike Carey and Jock finish up their Vertigo miniseries Faker.

Also, Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale finally complete their Superman Confidential arc, and two Image miniseries come to an end: After the Capes II and Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer.

Tomorrow also sees new volumes of The Complete Terry & the Pirates, Gon and Madman, and the Left on Mission trade paperback.

To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.

Chris’ pick of the week: The Complete Terry & the Pirates, Vol. 2

Up till IDW’s introductory volume, I had been lukewarm (to put it politely) on Milton Caniff’s seminal strip of the ’30s and ’40s. I have now seen the light. Caniff wasn’t just a skilled craftsmen. He was a masterful storyteller, with a real eye for body language and how to dramatize the moment for best effect without going over the top into parody. Beyond his ability to work with shadow and light, his ability to humanize his characters is what makes Terry so compelling. And IDW, it must be said, has done a wonderful job packaging this material. It gives me great hope for the upcoming Annie volumes.

Kevin’s pick of the week: Astonishing X-Men #24

Although a little late — something of a trademark of this title — this issue all but concludes Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s well-received three-and-a-half-year run on the series. (The first issue was released in July 2004.) Okay, technically, their final issue is next month’s Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1, but you know what I mean. Right? Anyway, this apparently wraps up the “Unstoppable” arc, but ends with a cliffhanger that takes us into the double-sized issue. And then we begin anew later this year with Astonishing X-Men: Second Stage, by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi.

Little Lulu, Vol. 18: The Expert

Chris: My daughter’s been asking me repeatedly when the next volume of this is coming out, so this will be a good week for her. I should note that Heidi MacDonald is giving away a “cache” of books in this series, if you need to catch up.

Speak of the Devil #4 (of 6)

Chris: That last issue left things on one hell of a cliffhanger, with the main character seeming to have nowhere to go but way, way down. I can’t wait to see where Beto goes from there.

Faker #6 (of 6)

Kevin: Mike Carey and Jock’s peculiar miniseries about memory and identity wraps up with this issue. This may be one of those titles I won’t truly appreciate until I read it all in one sitting.

Gon, Vol. 3

Chris: As recommended by John Jakala’s daughter! Except for the part about eating penguins.

The Legion of Super-Heroes #38

Kevin: As much as I enjoyed this series as a kid and, again, as a college student, I was a little let down by writer Jim Shooter’s return in the previous issue. Maybe my nostalgia-fueled expectations are just too high, I don’t know. I’ll keep reading for a few issues, though, in hopes that everything begins to click.

Showcase Presents: Aquaman, Vol. 2

Kevin: These 1960s Aquaman stories are so charmingly goofy that they’re difficult to resist. This volume collects tales by Bob Haney, Nick Cardy, Ramona Fradon and others from Aquaman #7-23, World’s Finest #130-133, #135, #137 and #139 and The Brave and the Bold #51.

Superman Confidential #11

Kevin: Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale return, in Heinbergian fashion, to finish where they left off with Issue 5 of the series.

Jack Staff Special #1

Kevin: This self-contained story is designed as an introduction to the world of “Britain’s Greatest Hero,” Paul Grist’s Jack Staff.

The Amazing Spider-Man #548

Kevin: With this issue, Dan Slott and Steve McNiven finish the first post-”One More Day” story arc, and the first month of the title’s new accelerated schedule. Marc Guggenheim and Salvador Larroca step up to the plate with the next issue.

The Order #7
Castle Waiting, Vol. II #10

Chris: The two pamphlets I’ll be picking up this week. I’ve pretty much run out of things to say about them other than I enjoy them very muchly.

The Ultimates 3 #2 (of 5)

Kevin: Brace yourselves for Round 2 of “Sweet Moses, what have they done to The Ultimates?”

X-Men: First Class (Vol. 2) #8

Kevin: Jeff Parker and Eric Nguyen take the original X-Men on a journey into a nightmarish future … courtesy of Man-Thing. Yes, Man-Thing! I love what Parker & Co. are doing with this series.

Young Avengers Presents #1 (of 6)

Kevin: Although I miss Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung’s Young Avengers, this series of solo one-shots is a step toward filling the void. This first issue, by Ed Brubaker and Paco Medina, focuses on Patriot.

The Guin Saga Manga, Vol. 2: The Seven Magi

Chris: A middle-to-below-average manga from Vertical about a king with a leopard head — or a leopard mask stuck to his head, or whatever — who’s trying to defend his city from evil magicians while his wife refuses to sleep with him. Apparently this is based on a series of popular novels in Japan — though from what I’m reading here I can’t see how it got so popular. Too much time spent on cool names of characters and not enough on the characters themselves (or the plot, for that matter).

Hank Ketcham’s Complete Dennis the Menace, 1955-1958, box set

Chris: You know, $40 for two volumes of classic Dennis cartoons encased in a handsome slipcover box is a pretty awesome deal. I’m just sayin’ is all.

Johnny Hiro #3

Kevin: I can’t say enough good things about Johnny Hiro, Fred Chao’s ridiculously fun series that plays on movie cliches and popular culture. In this issue, Chao toys with a classic Japanese tale as he introduces the 47 Ronin Businessmen.

MILFs on Mars

Kevin: It seems Mars does need women. Specifically, attractive moms.

Therefore Repent! trade paperback

Chris: Salgood Sam’s story of life in a Chicago neighborhood after the rapture has been generating good buzz on the ‘Net. Might be worth a thumb-through at least.

Warriors, Vol. 1: Lost Warrior (offered again)

Chris: This is not, as you may have hoped, a fantasy novel about Patty Smyth fighting off all the guys from that music video by beating on the walls of heartache (bang bang) only to end up marrying John McEnroe. No, this is a OEL manga about cats, based on the popular series of novels by Erin Hunter. I’d much rather read the former.

Art Spiegelman: Conversations

Chris: I wish Diamond would stop sticking books in with their toy listings; I almost missed this release from the University of Mississippi, where all good scholarly comics texts come from. As with the Schulz and Eisner books, it’s a collection of interviews, this time with Maus author art Spiegelman. I’m always interested in reading what he has to say, even if I don’t always agree with it.

Here’s the full list of comics shipping this week:

DARK HORSE COMICS

SEP070086 BERSERK TP VOL 21 (MR) $13.95
SEP070039 LITTLE LULU TP VOL 18 THE EXPERT $10.95
NOV070045 SCREAM #3 (OF 4) $2.99
NOV070052 SPEAK O/T DEVIL #4 (OF 6) $3.50
SEP070090 TRIGUN MAXIMUM TP VOL 12 $9.95
NOV070049 USAGI YOJIMBO #109 $2.99

DC COMICS

NOV070287 ARMY @ LOVE #11 (MR) $2.99
NOV070265 AUTHORITY PRIME #4 (OF 6) $2.99
NOV070202 BLUE BEETLE #23 $2.99
NOV070175 COUNTDOWN LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS #4 (OF 6) $2.99
NOV070167 COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 14 $2.99
NOV070173 COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY #5 ( OF 8 ) $3.99
NOV070174 CRIME BIBLE THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #4 (OF 5) $2.99
NOV078131 DETECTIVE COMICS #839 2ND PTG (GHUL) $2.99
OCT070253 FAKER #6 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
NOV070273 FREDDY VS JASON VS ASH #4 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
OCT070225 GON VOL 03 $5.99
NOV070182 GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #4 (OF 9) $2.99
NOV070296 HELLBLAZER #240 (MR) $2.99
NOV070214 JLA CLASSIFIED #51 $2.99
OCT070194 JLA THE HYPOTHETICAL WOMAN TP $12.99
NOV070215 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #38 $2.99
NOV070253 MAD MAGAZINE #486 $4.99
NOV078081 NIGHTWING #139 2ND PTG (GHUL) $2.99
NOV078082 ROBIN #169 2ND PTG (GHUL) $2.99
OCT070208 SHOWCASE PRESENTS AQUAMAN TP VOL 02 $16.99
NOV070197 SUPERMAN BATMAN #45 $2.99
NOV070199 SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #11 $2.99
OCT070203 TALES OF THE NEW GODS TP $19.99
OCT070205 TANGENT COMICS TP VOL 02 $19.99
NOV070171 TEEN TITANS #55 $2.99
NOV070248 TEEN TITANS GO #51 $2.25
NOV070298 TESTAMENT #22 (MR) $2.99
NOV070181 UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #5 ( OF 8 ) $2.99
OCT070239 WETWORKS TP VOL 02 $14.99
NOV070219 WONDER WOMAN #16 $2.99
OCT070220 ZOMBIE FAIRY VOL 01 $9.99

IMAGE COMICS

NOV072033 AFTER THE CAPE II #3 (OF 3) $2.99
NOV072023 BOMB QUEEN TP VOL 03 BOMBSHELL (MR) $14.99
JUL071951 FRANK FRAZETTAS DEATH DEALER #6 (OF 6) (MR) $3.99
NOV072015 JACK STAFF SPECIAL #1 $3.50
SEP072038 KISS 4K #5 (NOTE PRICE) $3.99
NOV072110 MADAME MIRAGE #2 BALTIMORE COMICON EXCL VAR CVR $10.00
OCT071981 MADMAN TP VOL 03 $17.99
NOV072048 MICE TEMPLAR #3 $2.99
NOV072018 NEW WORLD ORDER #1 $3.50
AUG072030 SPAWN GODSLAYER #6 $2.99

MARVEL COMICS

OCT072079 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #548 BND $2.99
NOV072210 ANNIHILATION CONQUEST HC BOOK 1 $29.99
OCT072132 ASTONISHING X-MEN #24 $2.99
NOV072238 DAILY BUGLE FEBRUARY PI
NOV072228 FANTASTIC FOUR TP THE END $14.99
NOV072232 HULK VISIONARIES PETER DAVID TP VOL 05 $19.99
NOV072147 IRON MAN #25 $3.99
NOV072157 MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN #9 $2.99
OCT072068 MARVEL ILLUSTRATED PICTURE DORIAN GRAY #2 (OF 6) $2.99
NOV072162 MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #4 (OF 5) $2.99
NOV072203 MMW GOLDEN AGE DARING MYSTERY HC VOL 1 $59.99
NOV072204 MMW GOLDEN AGE MYSTERY HC VOL 1 VAR ED 89 $59.99
NOV072171 ORDER #7 $2.99
NOV072195 PUNISHER #54 (MR) $2.99
NOV072175 SHE-HULK 2 #25 $3.99
NOV072236 SPIDER-MAN BRAND NEW DAY JIMENEZ POSTER $7.99
NOV072118 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #50 $2.99
OCT078494 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #50 WHITE VAR $2.99
NOV072120 ULTIMATE IRON MAN II #2 (OF 4) $2.99
OCT072181 ULTIMATE VISION TP $14.99
NOV072123 ULTIMATES 3 #2 (OF 5) $2.99
NOV072153 WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH DAMAGE CONTROL #1 (OF 3) $2.99
NOV072185 X-MEN #207 MC $2.99
NOV072191 X-MEN FIRST CLASS VOL 2 #8 ( OF 8 ) $2.99
NOV072167 YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 (OF 6) $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

NOV073778 2000 AD #1568 $4.50
NOV073786 AFTERBURN #1 $2.95
DEC073326 AFTERDEAD 1.2 DESERT PEACH CROSSES OVER (MR) $16.95
AUG073945 AMELIA RULES #19 $2.95
NOV073386 ANT UNLEASHED #2 (MR) $3.99
NOV073659 ASCEND SPECIAL EDITION HC $75.00
NOV073658 ASCEND SPECIAL EDITION TP $35.00
OCT073734 ATLANTIS RISING #3 $3.99
SEP073351 BANZAI GIRLS #4 $3.95
NOV073322 BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #181 $2.49
JUN073446 BLACK MIST CCG SGN VAR #1 (OF 2) $30.00
NOV073551 CASTLE WAITING VOL II #10 $3.95
JUL073354 CAVEWOMAN PANGAEAN SEA GOLD FOIL COVER #10 PI
SEP073352 CLOCKWORK GIRL #2 (OF 4) $1.99
NOV073396 COMIC EYE TP $12.95
OCT073633 COMPLETE METAL GEAR SOLID HC (AUG063391) $55.00
OCT073748 COMPLETE NEMESIS THE WARLOCK VOL 03 $29.99
SEP073760 COMPLETE TERRY & THE PIRATES HC VOL 02 $49.99
NOV073881 DAN DARE #3 (OF 7) $2.99
NOV073261 DANGERS DOZEN #2 $3.50
NOV074075 DELETER DIGITAL SCENERY COLL VOL 03 TRADITIONAL $29.95
NOV074074 DELETER SCENERY COLL VOL 03 TRADITIONAL $7.99
OCT073863 DOCK WALLOPER #2 (OF 5) (MR) $2.99
DEC073884 DREADNOUGHT INVASION SIX #1 $3.95
NOV073309 EVE VAMPIRE DIVA #2 (OF 4) $3.95
SEP073353 FROZEN WASTELAND GN $12.95
OCT073218 GARGOYLES TP VOL 1 CLAN BUILDING $19.95
NOV073775 GENUS MALE #7 (A) $5.99
SEP073898 GHOSTING #4 $3.99
NOV073505 GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE #31 $3.50
NOV073293 GOLD DIGGER #92 $2.99
NOV073294 GOLD DIGGER II POCKET MANGA VOL 03 $14.95
NOV073295 GOLD DIGGER SOURCEBOOK #13 $3.95
AUG074110 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #20 (MR) $2.99
NOV073876 GUIN SAGA MANGA TP VOL 02 SEVEN MAGI $12.95
NOV073499 HACK SLASH SERIES #8 BEAR CVR B (MR) $3.50
NOV073498 HACK SLASH SERIES #8 SEELEY CVR A (MR) $3.50
AUG073647 HANK KETCHAMS COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE 1955-1958 BOX SET $39.95
OCT073408 HIGHLANDER WAY O/T SWORD #2 $3.50
NOV073236 HOPE FALLS #3 (OF 5) (MR) $3.50
NOV073336 IRON & THE MAIDEN BRUTES BIMS & THE CITY #1 $2.99
SEP073288 JOHNNY HIRO #3 (MR) $2.95
OCT073749 JUDGE DREDD MANDROID GN $26.99
NOV073783 JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #267 $7.50
NOV073326 JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #137 $3.69
OCT073422 KAGETORA GN VOL 08 $10.95
OCT073682 KONG KING OF SKULL ISLAND CVR A #2 (OF 5) $3.99
NOV073699 LADY DEATH #0 S/N ELITE EDITION $24.99
DEC073456 LADY DEATH 2007 SWIMSUIT SP GOLDEN CVR $5.99
DEC073532 LADY DEATH 2007 SWIMSUIT SP SWORDPLAY ED $5.99
DEC073458 LADY DEATH BLACKLANDS ROYAL BLUE #1/2 $75.00
OCT073358 LEFT ON MISSION TP $14.99
OCT073925 LIVING CORPSE #1 (MR) $2.99
SEP073326 MICHAEL GOLDEN COMIC CON S&N SKETCHBOOK $29.95
SEP073664 MILFS ON MARS GN (A) $9.95
JUL073571 MILK MAMA GN (A) $18.95
JUN073236 MISCHIEF & MAYHEM POCKET MANGA VOL 1 (NOV068437) $14.95
SEP073528 NEW BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON ZERO #5 $2.99
OCT073869 NICOLAS CAGES VOODOO CHILD HYRAPIET LTD CVR #6 (MR) $19.99
SEP073329 NINJA HIGH SCHOOL SHIDOSH TP VOL 01 $14.95
NOV073388 OMEGA ONE #1 (MR) $3.25
NOV073798 PETE POD POSTAL WORKER CHILDRENS BOOK SICK & TWISTED (MR) $12.95
NOV073298 PIRATES VS NINJAS II UP THE ANTE #7 ( OF 8 ) $3.50
SEP073508 RED SONJA #29 $2.99
SEP073557 RETURN OF THE SUPER PIMPS #4 (OF 6) $2.99
NOV073291 ROD ESPINOSA PRINCE OF HEROES #1 (OF 3) $3.50
NOV073328 SABRINA VOL 2 #91 $2.25
AUG074055 SADHU THE SILENT ONES #4 (MR) $2.99
NOV073406 SIMPSONS CLASSICS #15 $3.99
NOV073646 SNAKED #2 (OF 5) $3.99
NOV073641 STAR TREK ALIENS SPOTLIGHT BORG $3.99
OCT073620 STAR TREK YEAR FOUR #6 $3.99
NOV073233 STARSHIP TROOPERS #5 $3.50
DEC073955 STEVE DITKO SPACE WARS HC (O/A) $34.95
DEC073954 STEVE DITKO SPACE WARS SC (O/A) $16.95
NOV073785 STRONTIUM DOG SEARCH DESTROY AGENCY FILES GN VOL 04 $31.00
SEP073951 SUPER REAL VS MOVIE INDUSTRY SPECIAL (MR) $4.99
NOV073728 TALES OF TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #42 $3.25
SEP073465 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE DLX ED #47 (MR) $19.99
NOV073660 THEREFORE REPENT TP $14.99
SEP073556 THIRTEEN STEPS #4 (MR) $3.99
NOV073812 TOKYOPOP PRE-PACK BESTSELLERS 2 (JUL078241) (MR) PI
JUL078241 TOKYOPOP PRE-PACK BESTSELLERS 2 (MR) PI
NOV073813 TOKYOPOP PRE-PACK CINEMANGA (JUL078242) PI
NOV073814 TOKYOPOP PRE-PACK HARDCORE GUYS (JUL078243) (MR) PI
NOV073394 TOTEM #3 (MR) $3.25
NOV073618 TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED VOL 1 TP $7.99
NOV073620 TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT BLASTER $3.99
NOV073629 TRANSFORMERS TARGET 2006 TP $19.99
AUG073666 UNCLE SCROOGE #371 $7.99
AUG073667 WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #686 $7.99
DEC073686 WARRIORS VOL 1 LOST WARRIOR GN (OF 3) (O/A) $6.99

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