The Best Books You Didn't Read this Week, Issue 7

End League #4
Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Mat Broome & Eric Canete

The world has ended. The Super-heroes lost. The Super-villains have taken over. Thor has been lobotomized and has killed the most powerful force for good in all of the world, Astonishman. With little choice but to do whatever it takes to survive more and more of the heroes spread further and further apart as their one greatest shot at re-taking Mjolnir, what might have been the only thing that could have leveled the playing field, has perished. More important than the story this is the first issue with pages pencilled by Eric Canete, the new ongoing artist for the series, and thus with this issue we go from a bi-monthly shipping schedule (which Mat Broome for all his talents could not manage to stay on) to a monthly shipping schedule and one of my early picks for best new ongoing series of the year might actually get 8 or 9 issues out before the year is up. Rick Remender is one of the most exciting new creators working today and if you aren't into what he's doing with Fear Agent, or Punisher War Journal then maybe just maybe you need to check out his mix of super-heroes and "Lord of the Rings" style epic fantasy.

Manhunter #34
Written by: Marc Andreyko
Art by: Michael Gaydos

Kate goes toe-to-toe with the whole of the Suicide Squad and allow me to assure you that if nothing else she gets some much needed stress relief out of the way in her combat with Multi-Plex. There is a pretty big twist to be found in this issue so I will do my best to avoid spoiling it and instead focus on the creators behind this book. Marc Andreyko is one of the most underrated writers currently working at DC and to be honest I think that he might be one of the most underrated writers working in the industry, this guy has just as much going for him as creators like Geoff Johns, Brian Bendis, Greg Rucka, and Ed Brubaker ... all it is going to take is that one big moment for everyone to start paying attention. Allow me to assure you that you should get in now while the getting is good and you don't have to fret about tracking down all the hard to find issues and out of print trade paperbacks. So go get Torso and the first 4 volumes of Manhunter while the getting is good. And if you want great art with your Super-hero books then look no further. Michael Gaydos is perhaps best known for his work with Brian Michael Bendis on Alias but if more people would pay attention to the work he is doing here they would see that he is doing some of the very best work of his career. Great characters who all look distinctly different and all look distinctly great.

Jonah Hex #35
Written by: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Art by: J.H. Williams III

I LOVE WESTERNS! I do. And really there isn't a higher quality western currently on the shelves than Jonah Hex. Each issue is completely stand alone and tells a story with a beginning middle and end. The character of Jonah Hex is incredibly compelling, deeply complex, and a bastard through and through. I assure you that if you check out just one issue of this book that you will find yourself one fine story with incredibly interesting artwork. This issue in particular features the incredible artwork of J.H. Williams III and a story the likes of which you would expect an artist like J.H. to undertake. Jonah fights off a band of ruffians with the help of a posse from town only to be invited to the sheriff's home for dinner ... but the sheriff ... he has ulterior motives. No one illustrates a hallucination better than J.H. Williams III and allow me to assure you that if you decide to just pick up this issue that you will not be disappointed.