Milo, aka “Bane of Kings”, looks at the Top 5 must read comics hitting shelves on this new comic book day, with titles from Image, Marvel and DC.

Another week, another load of new comics hitting shelves. There’s loads of exciting new books on the horizon and whilst this is a lighter week than last time out at least for me it should be a good one regardless, with the start of a fresh new Teen Titans book from DC Comics leading the way. Image also have some stellar books hitting shelves and you can’t ignore Marvel or the the other publishers that I haven’t featured here as well. But when you make your way down to your comic book store this Wednesday, here are the new releases you’ll want to be picking up. However, if you can manage more than five – ComicList has a full list of titles hitting shelves today whilst you can see my full pull-list over on Comixology.

DARK ENGINE #1

Story: Ryan Burton | Art: John Bivens | Publisher: Image Comics | Price: $3.50

With ribsword in hand, with gore in her curling locks, Sym has been sent to the distant past to murder her creators’ enemies. But the twisted alchemists who made Sym do not know that the engine that powers her is sentient, that it is the seed of their destruction. By blood and by fury, Sym will carve out her destiny in this new ongoing series.

WHY? I know next to nothing about this comic an its creators, but Image have a great track record for new releases and I figured that given the stuff that we’ve seen from their company in the past it’ll be worth trying out any new number one from them. In this case, it’s Dark Engine and has an interesting premise that could be loads of fun.

INFINITE CRISIS: FIGHT FOR THE MULTIVERSE #1

Story: Dan Abnett | Art: Various | Publisher: DC Comics | Price: $3.99

In the tradition of INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, a new videogame sensation makes its comics debut. Developed by Turbine and WBIE Games, INFINITE CRISIS brings together unique versions of DC Universe heroes from across the multiverse to head off a crisis that threatens to destroy all of their worlds! Heroes and villains from Gaslight, Atomic, Arcane, Mecha and other worlds battle and join forces with Prime Earth Batman in this rapidly escalating conflict!

WHY? Dan Abnett is a writer who many Founding Fields readers will probably know due to his Warhammer 40k work, which is mostly excellent. However, his comics are normally equally as good and with a new DC-related game on the way, why not launch a comic in the same style as Injustice: Gods Among Us? Tom Taylor’s comic is popular and mostly enjoyable, so we’re hoping for something along a similar line here as it combines heroes from a variety of universes.

MAGNETO #7

Story: Cullen Bunn | Art: Javi Fernandez | Publisher: Marvel Comics | Price: $3.99

Magneto is on a one-man mission to safeguard the future of mutantkind by any means necessary. So far, he’s done so by eliminating human threats…

But what happens when it’s MUTANTS who pose a threat to their own species?

Will Magneto cross a line and raise his hand to his own kind? And if so, just how far will he go?

WHY? The best Team X-Book would probably be All New X-Factor (also out this week) but Magneto probably takes the award for the best solo X-title right now, with some great, well written script by Cullen Bunn. Javi Fernandez on art and it pits its titular character against Mutants who pose a threat to their own species, giving Erik a choice to decide whether or not he raises a hand against his own kind. One thing’s for sure, this issue should be great.

RAT QUEENS #7

Story: Kurtis J. Weibe | Art: Roc Upchurch | Publisher: Image Comics | Price: $3.50

‘THE FAR REACHING TENTACLES OF N’RYGOTH,’ Part Two You didn’t see that coming, did you? Neither did the Queens but now they have an ally on their side with an innate knowledge of N’Rygoth, which is good because they’re going to need every bit of help they can get. Palisade is overrun with tentacle monsters. Retailers: see order form for special incentive virgin cover!

WHY? If I had to rank the best Image titles, Rat Queens would probably come near the top. It’s smart, clever, funny and original – and falls just shy of Saga in terms of overall quality. Kurtis J. Weibe is an excellent writer capable of bringing a great script each issue so this is going to be a must read for me, and with The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’Rygoth reaching its second issue, things should be just as entertaining.

 TEEN TITANS #1

Story: Will Pfeifer | Art: Kenneth Rocafort | Publisher: DC Comics | Price: $2.99

Red Robin, Wonder Girl, Raven, Bunker and Beast Boy step out of the shadows of the adult heroes of the DC Universe to offer bold, exciting and sometime dangerous ideas on how to protect a world full of superpowered teenagers – any one of whom could be the next heroic figure or major villain!

WHY? After thirty issues of a Scott Lobdell-written comic,the new Teen Titans feels like a breath of fresh air, and with Kenneth Rocafort on board, things should be very awesome indeed as he is a pretty good artist. Will Pfeiferis a writer who I’m not  familiar with however, so this should be a fresh and exciting experience that will ideally make the Teen Titans fun again.