The long-awaited Phonogram 2.2 comes out this week, and I’m stoked to have a print copy rather than just the version on my computer for review. There is also a new Garth Ennis Battlefields book and Madame Xanadu #10, so I’ve got a wide range of reading materials. (Magic! Hipsters! Battle! Time-travel!) But is there anything I’m missing?

(If you suggest Michelle Obama “Female Force” I will have to smack you.)

I know everyone has been waiting as impatiently as I have for the second Neil Gaiman Batman comic, but it finally hits this week and I’m excited. Really excited. (For those of you who live under a rock, that’d be Detective Comics #853.) I promise a long, deep, thoughtful post on both Gaiman books once I’ve read and digested this one.

Also this week is Hellblazer #254, wherein we get to see what’s up with John Constantine’s latest maybe-not-yet-failed relationship, No Hero #5, wherein I have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen other than that it’ll be massively messed up, and Scalped #28, which will continue to be the best book on the stands. Even though I’ve got all the issues, I’m tempted to buy the Scalped trade that comes out this week as well–trades are so much better for repeated reading, and this book simply demands repeat readings.

So this is what we call a really, really great comics week. Is there anything to add to it to make it even better?

What are you excited about this week?

I’m out of witty comments to make this week–it’s been a busy week, if a good one.

Last week was Northlanders week, and since it was the end of an arc, I wrote a long review of it (short version? Best one yet. Read it). I also read Young Liars, which grows more twisted with each issue, and has me working on comparisons to Lolita, Memento, and a few other works with unreliable narrators. And then there was Warren Ellis’s new mini, Ignition City, which was slow to grab me but had me by the end. I’m always waiting for Ellis to make his typical jaded yet idealistic lead character a woman, and so each time a new series crops up with a female lead, I hope. We’ll see.

This week, DMZ #41 is on my list, as is Air #8. But is there anything else I’m missing?

This is what is known in Sarah’s life as a Good Comics Week. Not a Great Comics Week, which would include Scalped and DMZ. But a Good Comics Week brings me Northlanders and Doktor Sleepless, as well as Warren Ellis’s new steampunk-looking miniseries, Ignition City. Also Young Liars, which I am finally caught up on, and which may be the most disturbing yet compelling comic I’ve ever read. It makes me feel icky when I’m done reading an issue, and yet I compulsively want to read more.

Popgun vol. 3 hits this week, too, and budget permitting, I want it.

Since I mentioned Scalped, how good was last week’s issue? Jason Aaron simply will not allow me to hate his characters. Each time I think I’ve found one I can despise, he cracks open their skull and lets me see inside and I find pieces of me staring me in the eye.

So I just don’t know if I even need anything else. But recommendations are always welcome.

It is Scalped week, and therefore I really need no other comics. I mean, really, is there anything out there better? I dare you to find me a book that delivers so much every month.

It’s also The Boys, and Bang! Tango, about which I’m still trying to figure out my feelings. I’m intrigued, and yet not sure–but am still reading, so that counts, right?

So, to recount what I’m asking for with this feature: I want pitches from readers for comics/OGNs/trades that come out this week. Just listing a name isn’t enough–I know the names of books that are coming out. I want to know why I (and the rest of the comics-lovin’ world) should read them. Why are they great?

For instance. Everyone, everywhere, should be reading Scalped, because it’s dark and gritty and twisted yet at its core, is deeply emotional human drama. Yes, the characters’ damage often plays out in brutal violence–to themselves as often as to others–but it’s the glimpses of insight into what brought them to this level of hell (and occasional heaven) that are rarely found in comics, in prose fiction, or film.

Pitch away.

The comics I read really need to spread out some. Also, the new Vertigo series that I am patiently waiting for need to come out already! I’m sitting here, money in hand, ready and willing to buy comics, and there’s just nothing on my list.

You are needed here, readers. What am I missing? Is Jack of Fables better than it used to be? Should I keep up with Madame Xanadu? Some hidden gem you love?

This week brings a few things on my list. Air and Hellblazer (and might I suggest that those of you not reading Air at the moment pick up the first trade this week? Ms. G. Willow Wilson brings the goods, I promise), but I’m starting to feel like there aren’t enough monthlies with my name on them.

I know there are a ton of comics out there that I’m not reading, and I’m sure I’d like a good number of ‘em, but until some of those new Vertigo books they teased us with at NYCC come out, I need new suggestions. Help me out.

I read Blankets this week. It made me cry. It deserves its own post, and shall get one when I have a spare moment.

Of course three books I love hit on the week that I’m taking exams and shouldn’t even stop long enough to go to the comic shop, let alone read Scalped, Northlanders and DMZ. But I’m a junkie, and I gotta have my fix, even if I don’t get to read them until the end of the week.

So I really don’t have time for new things in any case, yet I have to ask. Is there anything that just can’t be missed this week? Don’t say the Sarah Palin comic, I might have you killed.

(Also, if you don’t already own Transmetropolitan, may I suggest to you that Vertigo’s re-release would be an excellent time to pick it up? One of my top three favorite comics ever.)

So, um, this week I kind of forgot to post this earlier. What with our server going down, and then other news and things happening…it just got away from me. It happens, right?

I just got back from the comic shop, and my bag has No Hero #4, Bang Tango #2, and Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #4. No Hero being Warren Ellis and therefore a must-buy for me, Hellboy being a new addiction, and Bang Tango being a new Vertigo series that I’m not quite sure about yet, but intrigued by enough to buy the second issue.

Since I already hit the comic shop, it’s too late for you to tell me what I should buy. So I have a different question for you. Next week, I have to take my comprehensive exams for my master’s degree, and I’ll be spending about 12 hours each day in front of my computer reading and writing. I’ll need something to decompress with at the end of the night. Hence, comics, of course. So. What should I be reading to make me laugh?

It’s one of those bizarre weeks where there are NO comics coming out that I’m regularly reading. They always make me feel like a lousy comics fan, so I’m really desperate for your help this week, guys. The budget’s a bit tight, but I can afford a few comics, so I need your suggestions.

And since I’m in such dire straits, go ahead and recommend something older that you think I should pick up. Got a favorite OGN that doesn’t get enough attention? A series that doesn’t get enough love?

(I did indeed read something new–and awesome–last week, but it’s going to get its own post in a day or so. But I want to hear from you.)

So Neil Gaiman Batman. I don’t have time to do it justice here, so I’ll be writing more about it later, probably after the second issue hits and I can really go into both. Suffice it to say for now that I loved it. Regular readers of my blogs will know that I’m not a regular Batman reader, but that if I’m going to swing in the direction of any superhero, he’s my man. But Gaiman’s twist on the story, and particularly on Catwoman, made me jump up and down and squeal, and Andy Kubert’s art is simply breathtaking. If you didn’t pick this one up, you’re really missing out.

This week, I’m thrilled for Hellblazer–Peter Milligan has stoked the flames on my unhealthy love for John Constantine, and I can’t wait to see what happens next–but that’s it. And I don’t think that’s enough for my addiction! Help me out, ‘Rama readers. What hidden gem am I missing?

I survived NYCC, and there’s an embarrassment of riches waiting for me at my local comic shop this week. Not only are my two favorite monthlies coming out (DMZ and Scalped), there’s even a DMZ trade with a forward by Greg Palast, my favorite journalist ever. There’s also Hellboy: The Wild Hunt, and last but absolutely certainly not least there’s a little Batman book written by, y’know, NEIL GAIMAN.

So I mean, really, what else can I ask for? But just in case there’s something else that you think I’m totally missing out on, please, feel free to pitch it.

(And yes, I know Fables comes  out this week too. But my budget only goes so far, so I’ve been buying Fables in trade.)

Last week money was a bit tight, so I ended up with only Northlanders. Didn’t even get my hands on a copy of 08, though Caleb did and reviewed it for you.

This week, well, it’s NYCC and I’ll be running around like a crazy woman. Plus, someome brought me a copy of Labor Days, so I’ll be trying to finish that, as well as finally getting 08. So the only comic on my radar this week is The Boys. Anyone have any other suggestions for me?

I’m sure I’ll pick up things and stuff at the con this weekend. I’ll be running around with my press badge on, talking to people, catching panels, taking pictures, and of course blogging, so if you see me, say hello.

So last week I restarted my off-again, on-again affair with John Constantine (Hellblazer #251) It’s been ongoing for almost as long as my love affair with comics, and it’s always nice to slip back into familiar territory, though it’s a little different, each time, as a different author puts his (or her!) stamp on John.

This time, it’s Peter Milligan, and his Constantine has a new girl in his life and a strange skin condition, and there’s some unexplained-as-yet connection to labor unrest. In short, politics, sex, magic, and a bit of wickedness. Just what we want from John. Why did I ever leave him?

So I’ve got Northlanders this week, and I fully plan on finding 08. Otherwise, it’s a light week for me. Any suggestions?

Last week, at the advice of almost everybody, I picked up Blue Monday: Thieves Like Us. I think perhaps I should start at the beginning with Bleu and the gang, since I was a bit confused as to what was going on, but was certainly capable of cackling at the naughty humor. Naughty is the right word for it, I think. Though the sex jokes are obvious, the book has an innocent feel that almost seems quaint, looking back. Dirty would imply that they knew what they were talking about.

Anyway, this week, I’ll be reading DMZ #38 (seems so appropriate, the week before the inauguration)…and that’s it. Been tradewaiting Fables, so no need to recommend that, but all other suggestions are welcome.

Someone tell me about Young Liars, in particular. Probably not a great time to pick it up in the middle of things, but I’m intrigued.

And no, I will not be buying Obama Spider-Man.

I’ve been trapped in South Carolina, so haven’t even gotten my comics from last week yet. Can you believe it? Really. I’m sad, too–it was Scalped week! And the new Vinyl Underground trade! But they’ll be waiting for me when I get back to Philly and convenient comic-shopping.

There’s plenty of goodness this week, too, so I’d appreciate some advice on what I should snag.

Unless Midtown is lying to me, it appears to be Anna Mercury and No Hero week. I’m also getting Hellboy: the Wild Hunt #2, the result of my first Tell Me What To Read post. I’ve got The Boys, too.  I’m tempted by the prospect of a new American Splendor GN, but am not completely sure.

So, my dear readers, as usual, what’s coming out this week that you’re excited about and think I should be too?

Last week I lied to you, dear readers. I thought my pull list was only one book long, but, well, Diamond’s site lied to me and when I got to the shop I got a nice surprise, as Doktor Sleepless and Air were also out. I must admit that I didn’t take anybody’s recommendations last week, as I was excited to have three books I wanted rather than one, and I’ve been tradewaiting Fables for a while (sorry, guys).

The Hellblazer Christmas special was good fun, though, with several different stories by different writer-artist combos adding up to an oversize issue. John Constantine’s been around for so long and been done by so many different writers and artists that it’s fun to see old faves come back as well as new people get a crack at him. My long-standing comic-crush…

I’m in South Carolina for the next two weeks visiting the fam, and don’t have access to my favorite local comic shop (Brave New Worlds at 45 N 2nd St, Philadelphia! No, they didn’t pay me to say that) so I might not get to pick up new books this Wednesday. I have to drive an hour and a half to get to the comic shop in Savannah. Yes, I will do it, but probably not on Christmas Eve, especially since none of my regular books come out this week.

Still, I’m always looking for your recommendations. I’m tempted by the Young Liars trade, so your opinions are especially welcomed on that book, but as always, feel free to pitch me anything you love, as long as you back it up.

Happy Holidays, everyone.