So I’m finally making a point to run to the comic book store after putting it off for about a month. The book which changed my mind: Baltimore or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. Set during WWI, this Gothic illustrated prose novel reads like a prequel to Hellboy - focusing on one scarred veteran’s blood feud with a vampire he scarred in the trenches of war-torn Europe. Needless to say, its got my thirsting for Mignola - and right in time for Halloween.

Though I haven’t picked up a book of his yet, I’m anxious to see how Tony Bedard is doing in Birds of Prey, as he’s just pit not one but TWO of my favorite characters from opposite sides of the tracks against one another - Calculator against Oracle. This is one fight I don’t want to miss.

If things weren’t bad enough for Silver Age fans though, we’ve also got “The Death of the New Gods #1″ out this week, written by the great Jim Starlin. Apparently New Gods are dropping likes flies throughout the whole DCU since Countdown, and this eight issue mini sets the stage for, well, a lot of mayhem across the galaxy - and throughout Jack Kirby’s famous universe.

Justice League of America #14 has the group fighting toe to toe with the new Injustice League. I know we already saw a pretty mean Society in Infinite Crisis, but this new story arc is written by Dwight McDuffie of JLU fame, so the results should be interesting, especially in the wake of Brad Meltzer’s heavily-publicized run on the series.

Breaking news on the Marvel front - Captain America returns in January sporting a new gun-touting costume (don’t worry, it’s not the Punisher). Of course, its not Steve Rogers - yet - but it is one way of bringing the character back to the fan base while letting Rogers rest in peace - for now. The direction actually seems pretty interesting - let’s just say I doubt it’s going to last, but this one actually seems to have a better-than-average shot.

Probably paving the way for those events this week is Captain America #31, which features Winter Soldier held prisoner by the Red Skull, while Falcon and Sharon Carter race to save him - and race right into a collision course with the Black Widow. This has been a pretty interesting Cap-less story arc, and since someone is putting on the tights in January, you don’t want to miss anything leading up to it.

Marvel Zombies 2 #1 also opens forty years after the original, with the superheroes turned zombie Galacti returning home to find - well, it doesn’t really say, really - but its sounds pretty bad. The best zombie fiction happens when what’s in store for humanity is a fate worse than zombies, and that’s what MZ 2 is promising. Whether the horribly over-exposed series delivers is another thing, but at the very least, it should make for some timely Halloween reading.

And in the X-Universe,  the biggest story of note isn’t Endangered, but Emperor - Vulcan that is. The third Summers brother has overthrown Empress Lillandra and taken over the Shi’ar Empire, but a team comprised of both Starjammers and X-Men - lead by Havok - aims to stop him. Havok has always been one of my favorite and oft-forgotten figures in the X-Men lore, so seeing him back in the saddle - and his father’s saddle no less - should be interesting.

If you liked that, try...

1. Comic Rundown: Skrulls and Super Friends
2. Comic Rundown: Super-Monkey Houseguests
3. Comic Rundown: Sweet Salvation
4. Comic Rundown: Space, Sorcery and Half-Skrulls
5. Comic Rundown: Still Live in Deadpool

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