5. ANNA MERCURY
Written by Warren Ellis; art by Facundo Percio
Avatar Press
$3.99 | 32 pgs

The latest mini-series from Warren Ellis comes from Avatar Press and features the kind of thing that Ellis generally excels at: a hot, leather-clad chick running around shooting things in a dark, technology-driven, retro-future city. Anna Mercury lives in a city called New Ataraxia, which is kind of a 1950s sci-fi version of a city of the future. In fact, the city might not even be real, only Anna is (you know, in a Matrix kind of way). Ellis is always trying something new, even if on the surface it might seem familiar. This new book is what he refers to as "NewPulp" and it aims for a wide scope of action and broad-reaching sci-fi mythology. It also introduces new artist Facundo Percio, whose intricate style is very much in the European flavor of other Avatar books.

__________________________________________________

4. HOLMES
By Omaha Perez
Ait-PlanetLar
$12.95

Here's the mashup you didn't know you were waiting for: Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo meets Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Read about the world's greatest detective completely out of his mind on drugs while he tries to solve cases in Victorian England - Fear and Loathing style. The combination makes a little bit of sense if you think about it but it's brilliance is in how far off it is from what you'd expect from a Sherlock Holmes book. Holmes was originally self-published by creator Omaha Perez and is now being collected in trade paperback format by Ait-PlanetLar.

Here's an extensive preview.

____________________________________________________________________________

3. TONOHARU: PART ONE
By Lars Martinson
Top Shelf Comix
$19.95 | 128 pgs

Tonoharu is an wonderful looking book brought to you with the help of the people who give Xeric grants to self-publishing artists. This particular artist, Lars Martinson, spent three years as an Assistant Language Teacher in Japan and used that experience to shape this fictional graphic novel about a group of expatriates living in Fukuoka working as, you guessed it, Assistant Language Teachers. The first volume of this is now being released by Top Shelf Comix.

Read a preview here.

____________________________________________________________

2. AMERICAN SPLENDOR SEASON TWO #1 (of 4)
Written by Harvey Pekar; Art by David Lapham, Chris Weston, Dean Haspiel, Hilary Barta, John Lucas, Zachary Baldus and Ed Piskor; Cover by Philip B
DC Vertigo
$2.99 | 32 pgs

Veteran indie comic writer Harvey Pekar continues his post-Hollywood revival with the next "season" of his cranky memoir comic American Splendor. Since moving his book to DC's Vertigo line he's gotten the added value of getting some well known artists to illustrate his day-in-the-life tales. This issue boasts contributions from David Lapham, Chris Weston, and regular Pekar collaborator Dean Haspiel to help Pekar tell of true life battles with his sofa and his front doorstep.

Slightly more info from Wired here.

_________________________________________________________________________

1. SECRET INVASION #1
Written by Brian Michael Bendis; art by Leinil Francis Yu
Marvel Comics
$3.99 | 32 pgs

So, how well do you really know that Marvel superhero you've been reading these past few years? In the latest earth-shattering event book that picks up on threads that have been planted in various books like New Avengers, Illuminati and even 2004's Secret War. The Skrulls, shape-shifting aliens that have been enemies of Earth since the early days of The Fantastic Four, have been planning a major initiative against the planet and the first wave involved Skrulls taking the shape of different characters to infiltrate Earth's greatest defenses.

Brian Michael Bendis, is one of the modern day architects of the Marvel Universe, and has been planning this story throughout a number of his books for years. Joined by New Avengers artist, Leinil Yu, Bendis is sure to deliver a number of shocks and surprises as we learn who is and who isn't all skrull-y on the inside.