The Best Books You Didn't Read this Week, Issue 5

Fear Agent #23
Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Tony Moore

This is much like Criminal. One of the greatest books on the shelf that far too few people are reading. This is a book all about Heath Huston, think alcoholic Han Solo, one of the last surviving of a band of Texas Ass-Kickers known as The Fear Agents. He's basically an intergalactic exterminator who does very little thinking before acting. It's simple and fun on many levels and is complex and wonderful on so many others. It's a book that can bend genres and be anything that it really wants to be. I Against I has been a story arc where we have seen Heath get stranded on an unknown planet that has seemed one part Oz, one part Old West, and one part ... a planet where packs of giant ants try to eat you ... y'know? Heath is easily one of the luckiest sacks of skin to ever lace up combat boots but at the same time he is an absolute curse to all those around him. If you're missing a book that can have a 5 page foot chase scene where the protagonist is naked and is being pursued by seemingly invulnerable hot women who appear to be clones ... then look no further, you've finally come home!

Madman Atomic Comics #10
Written and Drawn by: Mike Allred
Colored by: Laura Allred

Seriously this is one of the best titles that Image is putting out, and nobody seems to know. Mike Allred is one of my all time favorite artists who has ever worked in this industry. I have been a huge fan ever since I was first introduced to him many, many, many years ago ... if I remember correctly it was when Tim Kaiser showed me an issue of the original mini-series back when I was in like the 5th grade. But it wasn't until I encountered his work on X-Force (which eventually became X-Statix) with writer Peter Milligan that I realized that he was an artistic genius. So I started going back and rediscovering how amazing his work on his creator owned projects had been. Recently Image has been releasing trade paperbacks of all of his Madman works and they have been great. Each one containing tons of extras and all of them looking just like you remembered. Two weeks ago the first trade paperback of the Atomic Comics run was released and it collects some really stunning material. What Allred is doing with this comics should be looked upon in awe by all those who read comics ... but ... it wouldn't be on this list if it was.

Scalped #20
Written by: Jason Aaron
Art by: Davide Furno

So, we've gotten the Criminal revolution started. Everyone who has taken home Criminal on our (either in store or due to the show) reccomendation has recognized the brilliance. So, not it's time to start the Scalped revolution. What Jason Aaron has done with this book is create a character who is incredibly compelling to follow and is simultaneously one of the most flawed human beings I have ever read a story about. I guess that is something that I love ... I'll be honest, I know that is something that I love. Heath Huston from Fear Agent, Leo from Criminal, Teeg Lawless from Criminal, Spider Jerusalem from Transmetropolitan. Scalped follows Dashiel Badhorse, a Native American badass from the Oglala tribe, he grew up on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation in South Dakota but ran away when he was around 13 and is now returning under suspicious circumstances. Watch as the world around Dash unravels at a truly stunning pace. This is seriously one of the greatest books that is currently coming out right now that too few people are reading right alongside books like Fear Agent, The Walking Dead, Criminal, and Invincible.