5. USAGI YOJIMBO #100 (Dark Horse)
By Stan Sakai and others

A roast is not something you see everyday in comics and who knows if it will actually come across as what it's supposed to be but some very talented people have decided to do just that in order to celebrate Usagi Yojimbo's 100th issue at Dark Horse Comics. People like Frank Miller, Jeff Smith, Sergio Aragones and Guy Davis tell some anecdotes about creator Stan Sakai and help explain what makes this comic so special that it has lasted all these years (not just the years it's been at Dark Horse). This is meant to be a good jumping on point for new readers as well as a tribute to be enjoyed by all longtime fans.

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4. RED EYE, BLACK EYE (Fantagraphics)
By K. Thor Jensen

Shortly after 9/11, having lost his job, his girlfriend and his apartment K. Thor Jensen hopped on a Greyhound bus and traveled the country. This is his 300 page graphic memoir describing things like riding the back of a burning couch in Birmingham, Alabama and building a giant paper-mache vagina in Columbus, Ohio.

Click the image below to preview a page. Or go here to read the first 16 pages.

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3. DOOM PATROL VOL. 5: MAGIC BUS (DC/Vertigo)
Written by Grant Morrison; Art by Richard Case, Stan Woch, Ken Steacy, Philip Bond and Mark McKenna; Cover by Brian Bolland

If you're looking for a good book to read while you're high off your ass then you'll be glad to know a new volume of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol is out today. It took a long time for DC to realize there was a demand for Morrison's classic Doom Patrol run but now that they've come to their senses they've been pretty quick about churning these collections out. This volume is full of lots of absurdist mayhem like the Brotherhood of Dada and the unstoppable Candlemaker. This includes issues #51-57 including the popular Jack Kirby tribute called "And Men Shall Call Him -- HERO!"

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2. THE END #1(Fantagraphics)
By Anders Nilsen

Anders Nilsen is one of the most unique creators in comics today. So unique that most people might glance at his work and not realize they're comics. His characters are about as simple as you can get and they're usually placed in a sparse photographic setting or a sparsely drawn setting that is almost not even there.

This book, the latest in Fantagraphics line of "floppies" but printed on hi-quality paper, is Nilsen's collection of stories that explore loss and transformation. It is very personal work and the fragility of his drawings convey his emotions quite clearly as you can see on this page.

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1. SEVEN SOLIDERS OF VICTORY VOL.4 (DC Comics)
Written by Grant Morrison; Art by Doug Mahnke, Freddie Williams III, Yanick Paquette and Michael Bair; Cover by Mahnke

The 4th and final volume of the Seven Soliders collection wraps up the most complex, albeit at times hard to follow, super hero comics of the past year. If you haven't read Grant Morrison's dark but mature deconstruction of the various superhero archetypes yet then pick up all four volumes and read them twice. Then go here to read the annotations.

This volume wraps up the Frankenstein, Mr. Miracle and Bulleteer books and contains the remarkably illustrated Seven Soldiers #1 in which all the characters (and the artistic styles of their respective books) come together (sort of) for the action packed finale to save the world. If only all superhero books were this well thought out.