5. AL CAPP's COMPLETE SHMOO: THE COMIC BOOKS
By Al Capp Studios
Dark Horse Comics
$49.95 | 176 pgs

At a whopping $49.95 this book is for that 1% of comic book fans that make too much to qualify for the government's tax rebate. Back in the 40's Shmoo was the mid-century equivalent of Tickle Me Elmo or the Nintendo Wii. Having first appeared in Al Capp's popular newspaper strip "Li'l Abner", this bowling pin shaped little guy became a surprise hit that spawned inflatable toys, kitschy knick knacks and of course a comic book called "Shmoo Comics" which is collected here in a hardcover archive by Dark Horse Comics. Here you can marvel at the adventures of Frankenshmoo, Super Shmoo and Fu Manshmoo. The artwork has been recolored so if you're looking at the previews below and thinking "I didn't realize they had Photoshop in 1950" that's why.

When Li'l Abner first stumbled across these weird little Shmoo creatures he was warned that they would be the greatest menace to society the world has ever known. "Thass becuz they is so bad, huh?" He asked. "No, stupid. It's because they're so good!"

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4. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL EDITION
Written by Alan Moore & Brian Bolland; Art and cover by Brian Bolland
DC Comics
$17.99 | 64 pgs

The 20th anniversary edition of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's classic Batman/Joker story gets a hardcover treatment with new coloring (the theme for this week it seems) by Bolland himself. The story, if you haven't read it by now, focuses mostly on the Joker, retelling his origin and showing how crazy both he and Batman really are. It's a pretty sadistic story that really set the tone for Batman comics for the next 20 years. A lot of the graphic violence you're seeing in superhero comics these days is practically born from the shocking thing the Joker does to Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon in this book. Plus, this summer's Dark Knight movie pulls a lot of inspiration from this book.

Also included here is a short story by Bolland called "An Innocent Guy" which originally appeard in the Batman: Black and White anthology.

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3. PRINCESS AT MIDNIGHT
By Andi Watson
Image Comics
$5.99 | 64 pgs

Originally printed in the Best New Manga Anthology, Andi Watson's Princess At Midnight was popular enough that he decided to publish it on it's own with 10 new pages added. Watson tends to write nice, feel-good stories about love and life but lately he's been aiming for a younger manga-oriented audience. In this book we meet Holly Crescent, a quiet unassuming young girl who every night wages war with the Horrible Horde in her evening role of Princess of Castle Waxing.

You can read a pretty extensive preview here.

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2. WAR IS HELL: FIRST FLIGHT OF THE PHANTHOM EAGLE #1 (of 5)
Written by Garth Ennis; art by Howard Chaykin
Marvel Max
$3.99 | 32 pgs

Garth Ennis is best known for his ultra-violent, darkly funny comics like Preacher and The Boys but some of his most highly acclaimed work is when he's telling war stories set during the Great Wars. Here, in a 5 issue series about aviators during WWI, he teams with artist Howard Chaykin who once tread familiar altitudes with his WWII era Blackhawk series in the 80s. Since this is released under Marvel's adult reader MAX imprint expect the violence to be pretty graphic. Ennis knows how to write a compelling war story and how to make it appropriately horrific and Chaykin excels in designing the sets and costumes of period dramas so this has the makings of being a great book.

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1. THE BOY WHO MADE SILENCE #1 (of 12)
Joshua Hagler
Markosia Comics
$3.99 | 36 pgs

Joshua Hagler won the Xeric Grant in 2006 for this comic which has been picked up and is now being published by Markosia Comics. Told in a kinetic painting style with lots of bizarre imagery, the story is about a young deaf boy who creates complete silence all around him. The boy is treated like a prophet by his very religious town members who follow him on a supernatural journey as he searches to find his father.

This looks to be an interesting and imaginative book and the first effort from a rising talent. You can read a longer preview here at Hagler's Live Journal page as well as see some covers from future issues which look pretty damn beautiful.