Every week, Comics! The Blog goes through the list of new releases and we tell you which comics to plug into your mindhole. Your mileage may vary.

AMALA’S BLADE: SPIRITS OF NAAMARON TP (Dark Horse Comics)

One of the most original comic book series of last year is finally collected! Amala’s Blade began it’s life like a lot of new Dark Horse series do these days - in the pages of Dark Horse Comics Presents, where a series of three short stories blossomed into a larger story. Amala is an assassin of some renown in a kingdom that is currently enjoying a very precarious bit of peace. She’s one of the best in the business, but her acumen for killing doesn’t translate to good people skills, and so trouble naturally follows. Oh, and so do the ghosts of pretty much everyone she’s killed. Including a drunk monkey. So there’s that.

Steve Horton and Michael Dialynas do a fantastic job of telling a story, along with building a world in this series. Dialynas amazing sense of design alone is worth the price of admission, but the pair working together created something you should really check out when it hits the stands in this more permanent format.

BLACK WIDOW #2 (Marvel Comics)

Did you all run out and read that first issue like I told you? I really hope you did, because the second issue is upon us, and Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto are still bringing their A-game, telling a strong spy story tinged with just a bit of Marvel super-flavour. The book looks and feels like a great, lost spy movie from the 60s, one that hits all the right notes, and takes you on a ride you’re not going to forget any time soon. It’s another addition to the diverse Marvel line of strong solo books that are doing immeasurable good for their future at this moment. Hopefully, this series, and other new launches that serve different audiences, stick around for quite some time, building a richer fan base as they go. I would love to see that happen.

JUDGE DREDD: MEGA-CITY TWO #1 (IDW Publishing)

The line of Judge Dredd books IDW has put together is something else. Anchored by the main series and bolstered by a series of minis, they’ve told some compelling tales, taking some classic Dredd and adding a bit of modern (and decidedly American) flair to the British strip.

In this series, Dredd aficionado Douglas Wolk gets to write the character he’s written so much about over they years, along with some stunning art from Ulises Farinas, whose super detailed work reminds me a bit of Geoff Darrow smushed with Shaky Kane. I’m not sure what to expect from this book, other than a trip out to Mega City Two (the Dredd-verse West Coast Mega City) and a bit of trippiness, but I’m on board for the ride thanks to the quality of work I’ve seen so far from this line.

DEADLY CLASS #1 (Image Comics)

Rick Rememnder’s return to creator owned comics keeps rolling on with this Wes Craig collaboration about an 80s Harry Potter school for criminal assholes. Image was kind enough to provide retailers with a preview of the first issue before it hit the stands this week, and I have to say, that move paid off. I immediately sent away an order increase, and I have a pretty good sense of exactly who is going to enjoy this book. If my tagline amused or intrigued you, then this is absolutely the thing to put your hands on this Wednesday. If not, hey, no harm, no foul. As evidenced above, there’s a lot of great stuff hitting the shelves this week, and I didn’t even get to things like Umbral #3 or Pretty Deadly #4. That’s how strong this week is. Go out, and buy something you’ll love. Make us proud, you nerds.

These are some of the many great books being released this week! You can find the full list of comics being released here. If you have any other recommendations, let us know in the comments below.