The Best Books You Didn't Read this Week, Issue 9

SCALPED #21
Written by: Jason Aaron
Art by: R.M. Guera

Yes it was my pick of the week but it also deserves to be on the list of "Best Books You're Not Reading" BECAUSE YOU ARE STILL NOT READING IT! Jason Aaron is easily as good at writing crime fiction as Ed Brubaker, he also pens fantastic characters and deserves your attention and you dollars. I have mentioned before that this is a book that has floored me from the get go, I was sold from issue one. And as I have said before if you don't like it you can get your money back. As a matter of fact if you haven't yet checked this book out then you should go to www.scalped.info and you can read the first issue for free via Vertigo's website, and also as you can see on the website if you buy the first trade paperback and you don't like it you can mail it to Jason Aaron and he will refund your money and the cost of shipping, so if you don't like it you are out absolutely nothing. AND, as I have mentioned before if you are at all interested the first two volumes are currently available buy one get one free at the Fairview Heights location of The Fantasy Shop. So really, there is not a single good reason to have not checked out one of the best books currently being produced. The book that plenty of great people are having even greater things to say about:

"SCALPED is some of the most compelling character work and crime writing I've seen in a long time." - Ed Brubaker

"The best new series in years. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Talk about it. Blog about it." - Garth Ennis

"Aaron's talent for dialogue is complemented spectacularly by R.M. Guéra's vivid pencil work." - Playboy

"One of the richest, most rewarding reads around." - Wizard

"SCALPED has attitude, SCALPED has guts and SCALPED is no holds barred. In short, SCALPED is fucking great." - Crimespree Magazine

"If you're not reading SCALPED, you're crazy. You are literally, not metaphorically, a lunatic, and you will probably end up in some sort of asylum if you're not careful. It's that good. It will keep you sane with its greatness." - Timothy Callahan, author of GRANT MORRISON: THE EARLY YEARS

"If SCALPED doesn't leave shivers down your back, read it again." - Reznet News

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #5
Written by: Paul Cornell
Art by: Pat Oliffe

Often times when a book gets launched as a part of a giant crossover it falls apart after the connection to the crossover fades away. Marvel and DC both have mixed luck when it comes to creating titles that spin out of events or that start in the middle of events. What Paul Cornell is doing with his British super-team though is not only incredibly interesting, and incredibly fun, it is also doing very well for a new title featuring a bunch of characters who have never managed to hold their own ongoing title for too awfully long. I have to honestly say that there is a lot of really great stuff about Captain Britain and MI:13. Part of what is great about it is that despite Marvel being a "Universe" we really rarely see outside of New York City and deep in space. And when we have lately it has either been cancelled or written by Chris Claremont, neither of which is good. But this book is great. And I think that if you haven't checked it out that you are missing out. Jump on to a great new team book that has taken The Order's place in my heart.

LOCAL HC
Written by: Brian Wood
Art by: Ryan Kelly

This is seriously a great series. And add to it the fact that this is perhaps one of the single most handsome hardcover collections I have ever had the pleasure of putting my hands on and adding to my collection and you can soon see why it is one of the best books you didn't read last week. This is another one of those books that great people have a lot of great stuff to say about:

"The coolest short film never shown on The IFC or Sundance Channel." - Sequential Tart

"... Each page is a lush, inky image to be savored." - Variety

"You're going to want this one. Trust me." - Warren Ellis

"The Best Ongoing Indie Comic of 2007" - G4 TV

"The Sharpest slices of life the medium has ever seen." - Bryan K. Vaughn