5. THE COMPLETE BADGER
Written by Mike Baron; art by various
IDW
$24.99 | 176 pgs

This week IDW is reprinting one of my favorite comics from the mid-80's. Badger was at the forefront of the indie comic movement, surviving the demise of it's original publisher Capital Comics and getting picked up by successful direct market publisher First Comics. On the surface it was a superhero comic but it courted it's share of controversy by being a comedy about a mentally ill superhero. Norbert Sykes was a Vietnam vet with a multiple personality disorder and a tendency to refer to everyone as "Larry". One of those personalities was Badger, a vigilante that can talk to animals.

With a new series about to debut, this collection of the first 6 issues of the original series might be a good primer though since I haven't read this since I was a kid I can't tell you how dated it may be or (or how potentially offensive the use of mental illness for laughs might be).

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4. GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #1 (of 8)
By Matt Wagner
Dark Horse
#3.50 | 24 pgs

Keeping the '80's indie comics scene alive is a new mini-series featuring the character that made a name of writer/artist Matt Wagner back in 1982. Grendel is a criminal mastermind and assassin whose name and costume have been worn by many people. The most popular Grendel by far though is Hunter Rose - novelist by day, criminal mastermind by night. After showing how the Grendel legacy lives on beyond Rose and into the far future in various books over the years, Wagner has returned to tell a story from the early days of Rose's career in this new 8-issue mini-series.

The saga of Grendel has proven to be a far-reaching epic but long-time fans will be excited to see Wagner return to its roots.

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3. GOON: CHINATOWN
By Eric Powell
Dark Horse
$19.95 | 128 pgs

Furthering our theme this week of backstories for fan-favorite characters, Eric Powell releases his long-awaited original graphic novel telling a story from the past of his popular character Goon. For anyone who hasn't read it (myself included, shh!) the Goon can be best described as "hillbilly horror". Accompanied by his sidekick Franky, Goon battles zombies in the deep south in rip-roaring, old-fashioned fisticuffs style.

This self-contained story should be a good jumping on point for anyone interested in seeing what makes this character so popular and why Eric Powell is considered one of the best in the business.

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2. ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #1
By Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch and Franco Urru
IDW
$3.99 | 32 pgs

With Dark Horse Comics' new Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic turning into the unsurprising hit of 2007, it's only more unsurprising that creator Joss Whedon would further this venture by releasing a comic version of Buffy spin-off, Angel. Like the Buffy comic, Angel: After the Fall acts as the next season for the now cancelled TV series, picking up where the story left off.

The book is described as a maxi-series meaning it will run longer than a few issues but will tell one long story much like a TV season and then end. This first issue ships with multiple covers. One by series artist Franco Urru and the one pictured here by Ex-Machina and Starman artist Tony Harris.

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1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA
Written by Ed Brubaker; art by Steve Epting
Marvel
$19.99

I don't think it's spoiling anything to say that Captain America is dead. If you haven't heard by now then you just don't care. Plus the name of the book that collects the now famous story is called "The Death of Captain America". This hardcover volume collects issues #25-30 which begins with Cap's death and continues on with how that effects the Marvel universe and the supporting cast of this book which writer Ed Brubaker has been developing up since issue #1.

Under Brubaker's helm, this book has been the best it's been since the days of Captain America beating the crap out of a mutating Ronald Reagan. And with the surprising event of killing off the title character this is where the book gets really interesting.