Most comics come out on Wednesdays, from what we hear, so we figure we can start your new comics lust on Mondays. We’ll point you in the direction of books WE are interested in, and YOU can, in the comments below, let us know what YOU are interested in, k? This week, we’ve got plenty to get excited about.

Rob’s Picks:

SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN #4 (OF 6)
story Geoff Johns, art Gary Frank
Continues the “definitive” realignment origin story line of arguably the world’s most recognizable hero, Superman. Giving issue #3 a 9/10 rating, IGN praises the story’s masterful writing and amazing artwork. Color us interested. DC Release Schedule

THE WALKING DEAD #69
story Robert Kirkman, art/cover Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn
At long last… they arrive. But will things get better… or WORSE? Thus says the PR copy that accompanies the cover image. One of the better  series out there, TWD is currently being made a series on AMC. Image Comics Release Schedule

JACK OF FABLES # 42
Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges; Art by Tony Akins and Andrew Pepoy ; Cover by Brian Bolland

If the cover by Bolland doesn’t pull you in, the continuing saga of Jack of Fable will. Bill Willingham must not sleep, with all the books he’s written in this fascinating universe. Vertigo January Releases

Previews – New Releases for the week of January 27.

Carlton’s Picks

ABSOLUTION #3 AUXILIARY EDITION
Christos Gage; Art by Roberto Viacava; Cover by Juan Jose Ryp

Only 1500 of special cover editions are available. Juan Jose Ryp shows why he is one of the best with an homage cover to Captain America #106.

STAR WARS: LEGACY #44
John Ostrander; Art by Jan Duursema, Dan Parsons, Brad Anderson; Cover by Chris Scalf

Cade Skywalker cannot escape his father’s legacy, whether it comes in the form of a Jedi Master calling him back to the Jedi Order, or being faced with a mistake from his father’s past. Will Cade survive such a mistake in order to realize his destiny?

Chris’ Picks

IRON MAN: I AM IRON MAN (2010) #1
Creators Peter David (DARK TOWER) and Sean Chen (MIGHTY AVENGERS)

With the movie coming up, the Iron Man excitement will start taking off.  Marvel is grabbing onto this cash cow.  Look for the first issue here to follow the lines of the first movie.  Will we get a sneak peak at Iron Man 2 in the next issue?

PENNY-ARCADE
Written by Jerry Holkins.  Illustrated by Mike Krahulik

This pick is a WebComic, but in this day so many comics have hit the net, you’ll have to bear with me.  This has been on my weekly reading list for years and I look forward to what these guys come up with every week.

Mike’s Picks

SCALPED #34
Written by Jason Arron, Art by RM Guera, Cover by Jock.

Easily the best comic in publication today.  If you only have 2 dollars, borrow 99 cents and buy this book. This issue looks to deliver the blood by the gallon as forces that have been on a collision course finally meet.

KICK-ASS #8
Written by Mark Millar, Art by John Romita Jr.

By now everyone knows about the movie being optioned and made before the comic even hit issue 4, and that this thing ships pretty much whenever it feels like it, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun when it does.

CHEW #8
Written by John Layman, Art by Rob Guillory

Chew has a pretty original premise and Layman isn’t afraid to take chances, both with his story telling and panel work.  Guillory’s artwork is very fresh and fits the series well.  Jump on this issue and watch our beaten FDA agent track down a missing cock (as in rooster).

Publisher’s Weekly Comics Blog, The Beat, broke this story about a book celebrating the 30th anniversary of both the National Women’s History Project AND the first appearance of She-Hulk. What’s really exciting is that the new book isn’t just a bunch of female characters in bikinis, but some serious female talent behind the books as well.

Here’s one of the first projects out of the box, GIRL COMICS, a three-issue anthology miniseries much in the spirit of STRANGE TALES, featuring comics created exclusively BY women. And that means writing, lettering, drawing — everything. Contributors include Kathryn Immonen, Marjorie Liu, Devin Grayson, Ann Nocenti, Trina Robbins, G. Willow Wilson, Stephanie Buscema, Amanda Conner, Jill Thompson, Louise Simonson, Valerie D’Orazio, Colleen Coover, Molly Crabapple, Nikki Cook, Ming Doyle, Abby Denson, and Carla Speed McNeil. The book is edited by Jeanine Schaefer, and we’re happy to debut the cover of the first issue, by Amanda Conner, colored by Laura Martin.

The entire article is an interview with Jeanine Schaefer, the editor of the compilation. Make sure you head over to read more about this cool collection of sweet comics from female creative teams.

You know what a comic is, right? Images, words, etc. It’s fairly easy to get these comics online, especially if you’re a publisher. So, every Friday, we’re going to bring you a bunch of free issues that you can download or read online, legal and easy, right from the publishers’ own sites, blogs and popular series.

If you’re a comics creator, feel free to hit us with your own work and we’ll get it out to all our rabid fans. All three of them! Hah. So, here’s your first Free Comic Friday. This week? We’re focusing on Image and Vertigo books: Continue Reading

Today, Pamela Mullin at the Vertigo Blog (see the post here) is going to reveal covers to three graphic novels that are coming out this Fall.

The first one today is the (not-final) cover to the upcoming Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland, by Bill Willingham and artists Jim Fern and Craig Hamilton. Bigby Wolf searches for  a new home for Fabletown, in a book where he is apparently the star. We’ll keep updating this post as Vertigo reveals their three covers.

The second cover today is A SICKNESS IN THE FAMILY by award winning crime novelist Denise Mina in her first graphic novel and artist Antonio Fuso for Vertigo Crime.

Sometimes the greatest mysteries, and the most frightening horrors, occur right at home. I’m sure some of us can attest to that. Well, together, Mina and Fuso unravel a dark story of a family destroying itself from the inside out.

Third Cover Exclusive, right here, for How To Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less:

Like many bright, young Jewish Americans, Sarah Glidden participated in a Birthright trip to Israel. HOW TO UNDERSTAND ISRAEL IN 60 DAYS OR LESS by Glidden is her first person account of that journey. Here, she questions everything she knows, or thinks she knows, about Israel and being Jewish and everything her tour guides tell her about Israel and being Jewish.

“What we’re debuting in this series is a brand-new villain. It’s a mystery as to exactly what’s coming.” says Brian Michael Bendis, to Comic Book Resources, of his and Rafa Sandoval’s new book.

Characters involved here are Sue Storm and Ben Grimm of the Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, Ultimate Nick Fury, and several others. We’re hoping for a glimpse of Ultimate Blue Beetle, but we’re guessing a big no on that one.

Make sure to click through to see these in all their full rez glory folks.

Via @brianmbendis at http://forum.superpouvoir.com/

Sweet googly moogly, there is no better time to be a comics fan. There are just tons of online ways to waste time, this current site among them. We’re here to point you to the best of the best, and I suppose we need to start with the big guys. Consider this, then, Episode 1 of a new weekly feature: Slacking at Work, in which we show you some prime examples of great comic work that you can minimize when the boss comes in.

So, Marvel steps in and shoots us some videos. Full on episodes, as in the case of Super Hero Squad and The Astonishing X-Men motion comic. Embed and links below:

http://superherosquad.marvel.com/videos/ – Yeah, we know it’s really about selling toys and teaching them to love comics, but is that so wrong? This one won’t let us embed, but here’s a link and a screenshot:

The Motion Comics Hub – Here’s an embed of the first episode of Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, originally the first part of Joss Whedon’s run on the book, and now a major motion comic.

re-published with permission from The Portable Gamer:

This is a smaller update for the goodness that is comics on the PSP.  There are still some good stuff coming in though.  Check out this weeks update, pick something you like, and spend a bit of down time with a good wholesome comic.

Comics added today:

• 2000AD Prog #1663 – $1.99
• Blade (2006) #7    - $1.99
• Blade (2006) #8    - $1.99
• Blade (2006) #9    - $1.99
• Blade (2006) #10 – $1.99
• Blade (2006) #11 – $1.99
• Blade (2006) #12 – $1.99
• Daredevil (1998) #90 – $1.99
• Daredevil (1998) #91 – $1.99
• Donald Duck and Daisy Duck in: “Donald and Duckolde” #2 – $1.99
• Donald Duck Replacement Lecturer #1 – $0.99
• G.I. Joe: Cobra    #4 – $1.99
• G.I. Joe Origins #5 – $1.99
• Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft #4 – $0.99
• Mickey Mouse and the Flavoured Bubbles #1 – $0.99
• Nanovor: Game Day #3 – $0.99
• Scrooge McDuck, the Blue Ice and the Song of the Sirens #1 – $0.99
• Shaun the Sheep Comic    #1 – $0.99
• Shaun the Sheep Comic    #2 – $0.99
• The Avengers (1998)    #77 – $1.99
• The Avengers (1998)    #78 – $1.99
• The Avengers (1998)    #79 – $1.99
• The Avengers (1998)    #80 – $1.99
• The Avengers (1998)    #81 – $1.99
• The Avengers (1998)    #82 – $1.99
• Uncanny X-Men (2003)    #474 – $1.99
• Uncanny X-Men (2003)    #475 – $1.99
• Uncanny X-Men (2003)    #476 – $1.99
• Wallace & Gromit Comic #6 – $0.99
• Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse: It Only Hurts When I Pee #7 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #157 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #158 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #159 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #160 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #161 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #162 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #163 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #164 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #165 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #166 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #167 – $1.99
• X-Men (2004) #168 – $1.99
• X-Mickey: Before the Break of the Day #5 – $0.99

Apparently, Flickr is the place to be, as Avatar unleashed a flurry of all the comic covers they’ll be publishing in April. Here’s a couple to whet your whistle, but you really oughta go over and check out the flickr tag set.

Marvel Animation and Method Films have released their next installment of the Iron Man: Armored Adventures series.  Iron Man: Armored Adventures Volume 2 is a six episode DVD to wet your appetite until the Iron Man movie hits this May.

Armored Adventures Volume 2 will introduce two new villains by the names of Living Laser and Madam Masque.  All this fun for the ultimate gadget man, Tony Stark.  It may not fully hold you over till the movie, but you know you want it.  Here, I’ll even give you a link to get you started!

Wow. I have not personally read much of this comic, but I lust after the trade paperbacks every time I’m near a bookstore. What’s fantastic about this is that a) it’s not a superhero comic and b) it’s a “grown up” book. This isn’t kids’ fare, nor do we need to worry about men in tights. AMC has a growing reputation as a serious creator of quality storytelling (see Mad Men and Breaking Bad for examples). Great work to everyone involved!

Says Variety:

“The Walking Dead” is based on the graphic novel series about survivors of a zombie apocalypse by Robert Kirkman. Frank Darabont penned the adaptation and is on board to direct. Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Motion Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion will exec produce with Darabont.

“Walking Dead” revolves around a group of survivors, led by a police officer, who travel the country in search of a safe home.

Working with people like Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd is the right way in for us to deliver a project of distinction in this genre,” AMC prexy Charlie Collier said.

I hope this show gets made – the book looks fantastic, and has garnered praise from around the comic community.