This week DC launches a new Azrael miniseries, either as a public acknowledgement that they know they’re recycling Bat-event plot points from the ‘90s or because Azrael is meant to be a red herring for the gun-toting evil Batman seen in last week’s Battle For the Cowl. Azrael: Death’s Dark Knight will be a three-issue miniseries written by Fabian Nicieza, who seems to be writing every other Batman tie-in these days, with art by Frazer Irving and a cover by Guillem March, two creators who are very welcome in Gotham City, as far as I’m concerned.

If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea though, don’t worry! There are plenty of other comic books coming out this week, too.

Such as…? Well, you’ll just have to click on “Read the rest of this entry” to find out!

(Well, honestly, I suppose there are lots of other places you could find out, but click on “Read the rest of this entry” anyway, won’t you?)

The Adventures of Blanche: Out-of-print Rick Geary stories centering on a pianist kinda sorta based on his grandmother having adventures in the early twentieth century get collected in this gorgeous-looking hardcover from Dark Horse. I’m currently working on a review, so I’ll have more to tell you about it later, but as to whether or not it’s something you’ll wanna buy on Wednesday, c’mon—it’s Rick freakin’ Geary. It’s 15.95 for 104 pages. Here’s a preview.

Amazing Spider-Man #588: This is, according to Marvel Comics, “the big one!”  After this, “the world of Peter Parker, Harry Osborn, Lily Hollister, Carlie Cooper and Vin Gonzales will never be the same!” Of course, since those last three’s world is that of the post-reboot “Brand New Day” era of ASM, that might not sound like a bad thing to a lot of Spider-fans. But this is the conclusion of the current “Character Assassination” story arc, and it promises to answer questions you’ve asked since “BND” began. Does it deliver? For $3.99, writer Marc Guggenheim, penciler John Romita Jr. and inker Klaus Janson will let you know.

Batman: Haunted Gotham: There’s a scene in this story where Batman punches a zombie so hard in it’s open mouth that his fist breaks out the back of its skull, and, in the next panel, Batman kicks a zombie so hard in the stomach that the shape of Batman’s foot is scene stretching through its back. And because Doug Moench wrote it, we get extremely specific sound effects for each of these actions (“SPLUTCH” and “KKUFT,” respectively). This collects four-part prestige format miniseries by Moench and the art team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty from 2000, an Elseworlds series in which Batman fights to save Gotham not from ordinary street crime, but supernatural adversaries. It’s $19.99 for 208 pages.

Batman Chronicles Vol. 7: I would just like to take this opportunity to let DC know that while these Batman and Superman Chronicles reprint programs are fantastic, I would honestly kill people for Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and Plastic Man Chronicles. Seriously, DC: Just send me a list of names of people you’d like bumped off and the manner in which you’d like the deeds done, and I’ll get right on it if you promise to get some more Chronicles going.

Marvel Adventures Avengers #34: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos team-up with The Avengers through the agency of time-travel in this issue by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli. If that sounds too light-hearted and you prefer your Avengers stories darker, good news! This week brings the third issue of Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato’s Dark Avengers.

Platinum Grit Vol. 1: This 184-page, $14.99 trade paperback collects the first five issues of writer/artist Trudy Cooper and co-writer Danny Murphy’s series about a shy, bespectacled physicist in a French Foreign Legion hat and his sexy friend and their strange adventures. It began as a print comic in the ‘90s, but has since become a web comic. And, with this collection, it’s back to being a print comic too, I guess. Image has a preview here, and you can check out the electronic version here.

Rawbone #1: Writer Jamie Delano and artist Max Fiumara’s new mature readers four-part pirate miniseries promises a “bloody, terrifying” world in which the pirates are less Johnny Depp and more “roughneck, stealing, heartless bastards.” I’m having trouble thinking of a Delano comic I’ve read that wasn’t good, and Fiumara was responsible for the moody art in Avatar’s Warren Ellis-written horror series Blackgas, so this should certainly have some potential.

Ultimate X-Men #100: The second longest-living Ultimate title joins Ultimate Fantastic Four in Canceledsville with this final issue, an “Ultimatum” tie-in by Aron E. Coleite and artists Mark Brooks and Karl Story.

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