Gaylord Phoenix is an avant garde work that somehow incorporates truly unique cartooning—shades, shapes, patterns, and character design—with text message etiquette to project a plot and theme rife with the nature of sexuality against the backdrop of creating a deep, worldly mythology.

Writer Simon Oliver (The Exterminators, Gen¹³) and artist Jason Latour’s (Daredevil: Black and White, Scalped) killer noir Noche Roja is a hard-boiled example of how Vertigo’s sub-imprint can truly make old genres fresh again.

Daytripper is the extremely poignant story of the famous Brazilian writer Brás de Oliva Domingos. Essentially, each chapter takes a year from his life and showcases how each moment in anyone’s life is present because you never know when you’ll kick the bucket.

War stories from 1942, created by industry legends Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, this archive from DC Comics certainly has some value as a historical object. But would a modern audience be interested in reading it as more than a curiosity?

The latest Saga of the Swamp Thing hardcover edition (issues #43-50) would have easily received a higher rating if it weren’t for the faded newspaper-style paper quality. I know it’s recycled paper stock, but the colors and inks make this seem like a book that’s been sitting on my shelf for a few years instead of a brand-new edition. Regardless of this fact, Book 4 is a riveting and metaphysical trip. It’s also the culmination of Alan Moore’s year-long “American Gothic” storyline that he built up in previous volumes.

Several comic book series have their main protagonist getting hitched (Spider-Man and Superman come to mind). It’s typically a straight story, aside from some big mishap or a villain showing up to ruin the momentous occasion. In the Hellblazer universe, a chapel hosting John Constantine and Epiphany Greaves’ nuptials, of course, morphs into the demon Nergal’s “theatrical” battleground.

On the home front, the mystery and threat of The Dark Man deepen, causing Frau Totenkinder to reveal some of her roots and Ozma to vie for leadership of the Fabletown gang’s magic folk. There’s further intrigue as the presence of Geppetto jumbles up politics up on the farm.

$2.99. Ahh, it’s good to see that affordable price tag grace the cover of a new DC title once again. My wallet thanks you, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson. One of the marquee issues associated with the comic book company’s day-and-date digital marketing strategy is Batman Beyond.

Tim Seeley doesn’t just utilize the tropes of the horror genre to tell a heck of a tale. He ably repurposes and tweaks horror conventions—and incorporates smatterings of other genres—to weave a compelling, interesting, and damned funny mythology around protagonist Cassie Hack and her supporting cast.