Milo, aka “Bane of Kings”, looks at the Top 5 Must Read Comics released tomorrow on July 23rd – from Valiant, Image, Marvel and DC.

We have an excellent week of releases this week that should be hitting shelves this Wednesday – or through Comixology if you buy your books online. Regular Founding Fields viewers will know the drill by now, each week, I look at the Top 5 comics hitting shelves this New Comic Book Day and explain why they’re must reads. I try to keep them as varied as possible, so don’t just expect books from DC and Marvel here – we have Valiant and Image also featured in this week’s edition but it varies from week to week. Of course, I can’t talk about every single comics release hitting shelves today – you can find that list here. And, if you’re interested to see what books I’m picking up, hit this link here.

What books are you looking forward to on Friday? How many of these titles make your list? Let me know either in the comments here or on twitter (@baneofkings). Now without further ado, let’s get started.

 

ARMOR HUNTERS: BLOODSHOT #1 (of 3)

Story: Joe Harris | Art: Trevor Hairsine | Publisher: Valiant Comics | Price: $2.99

THE HUNTERS BECOME THE HUNTED! With the major capitals of Earth under siege by the Armor Hunters, the world’s most dangerous weapon has decided to come in from the cold – and into the service of the top-secret Military Extraterrestrial Reconnaissance Outpost (M.E.R.O.)! But when one of the Armor Hunters’ own stages an extraterrestrial jailbreak inside of M.E.R.O.’s fortified command center, the nanite-enhanced commando known as Bloodshot will become the last thing standing between the galaxy’s most feared team of hunter-killers and a classified arsenal of secret weapons far too deadly for human hands!

WHY? Armor Hunters has been a fantastic event so far with Valiant really showing Marvel and DC how it should be done. Armor Hunters: Bloodshot continues the saga, with Joe Harris taking over writing duties for the first in a three issue miniseries that should be very interesting indeed. If you’ve been following the awesomeness that has been Armor Hunters so far, then this is something that you’ll want to check out.

BATMAN #33

Story: Scott Snyder | Art: Greg Capullo | Publisher: DC Comics | Price: $4.99

It’s been one hell of a year in Gotham City, and it all comes down to this: Batman vs. The Riddler! Gotham City and the Dark Knight will never be the same! Don’t miss this special, extra-sized finale of ‘Zero Year!’

WHY?  Finally. Zero Year has felt like the longest Batman story since the start of the New 52, and now it’s over it’ll be interesting to see how Snyder and Capullo wrap it up and where they go in the present day. Whilst this arc has had some excellent issues and others below par, it’s still been entertaining. One thing’s for sure though, you’re in for an awesome ride.

SAGA #21

Story: Brian K. Vaughan | Art: Fiona Staples | Publisher: Image Comics  | Price: $2.9

Not Every robot is lucky enough to be born a royal.

WHY? It’s Saga. If you’re a comics fan who’s not reading it already then what are you waiting for? Head over to your nearest comic store this Wednesday and pick up all the Volumes that you can get your hands on. It’s just that good, and it’s my favourite comic here and for good reason. Each issue is excellent and this should be another superb one indeed.

 

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES FEATURING GI ZOMBIE #1

Story: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti | Art: Scott Hampton | Publisher: DC Comics | Price: $2.99

Meet the soldier they call “G.I. ZOMBIE,” a man who is neither dead nor alive, who fights for his country again…and again…and again!

WHY? When DC tries something unconventional, it’s often ignored, which is a real shame, because there have been fantastic books coming from this publisher that are outside the norm. I, Vampire. Phantom Stranger. The Movement. All have been fresh and sadly all have been cancelled because they’re not mainstream enough. However, I have hope that Star Spangled War Stories Featuring. GI Zombie will break that trend, with a very interesting premise and a solid creative team that should make this very entertaining indeed.

STORM #1

Story: Greg Pak | Art: Victor Ibanez | Publisher: Marvel Comics | Price: $3.99

CLASSIFIED

WHY? Oh, Marvel. Why must you continue to put out some solo titles featuring excellent characters yet make them all $3.99? Storm should really be $2.99, and it really should have a proper solicit – but I’m going to let that slide because right now Storm is one of my favourite X-Men and this should be great fun indeed. Pak’s Action Comics has been nothing short of stellar for most of its run aside from a dip in quality during Superman: Doomed, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can transfer that quality to Marvel. Time will tell.