5 Comics You Absolutely Must Read This Month
January is traditionally a slow month in comics—but not this time around.
DC Entertainment
Once upon a time, January was a slow month in comic book stores. That's no longer the case, with two big events happening this month (DC's Justice League vs. Suicide Squad, in its second month, and Marvel's Monsters Unleashed, which launches January 18) and a raft of new launches coming from multiple publishers. With all this variety on offer, who's to know what's worth picking up? Well, we are. Here's what you should really be checking out when you hit the comics shop this month.
Marvel EntertainmentU.S.Avengers #1 (Marvel Entertainment)
Marvel's latest *Avengers* comic isn't just another superhero title: It's the publisher's most intentionally patriotic one, as writer Al Ewing and artist Paco Medina plug the former *New Avengers* title into the Stars and Stripes and see what happens. Expect one of the funniest (and also most fun) superhero books out there, expect subtle explorations of what patriotism really is, and also expect more than 50 covers to be available: the first issue has variant editions for every state of the union, as well as ones for the United Kingdom and Canada. (Surreally enough, this isn't the first time that's happened; 2012's *Justice League of America* relaunch from DC did this particular trick first.)
DC EntertainmentJustice League of America: Rebirth One-Shots (DC Entertainment)
Speaking of the JLA, that title is getting a relaunch in February. But ahead of that, DC is pushing out four one-shots to reintroduce some of its cast to readers, all written or co-written by Steve Orlando, one of DC's brightest lights. (Orlando will be writing the *Justice League of America* comic next month.) Three of the heroes getting the spotlight will already be familiar to *The Flash* and *Legends of Tomorrow* viewers—the Atom, Killer Frost, and Vixen—while the fourth revives the Ray, and each one gets all the necessary backstory to make you realize you have a new favorite hero (or four).
Image ComicsCurse Words #1 (Image Comics)
What if a powerful wizard showed up in the middle of New York and started showing everyone how wonderful magic really was? And what if he was actually, secretly, an *evil* wizard taking advantage of our mundane sense of amazement for his own, very nefarious, ends? That's the hook behind this new series from Charles Soule and Ryan Browne that updates a whole host of fantasy tropes with glee in twisting them just a *little* bit more than you might expect.
Dark Horse ComicsHouse of Penance (Dark Horse Comics)
In case the real-life story of [the Winchester Mystery House](http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/) isn't strange enough, this horror tale inspired by what really happened makes things even more bizarre. Hypnotic and creepy in the very best ways, Peter Tomasi (currently writing DC's enjoyable *Superman* series) and Ian Bertram's take on the mythology behind the spooky attraction only makes everything seem more disturbing. Really good stuff.
Rebellion/2000ADThe Complete Scarlet Traces, Vol. 1 (Rebellion/2000AD)
A forgotten classic of British comics gets the attention it deserves in this first of two volumes, as Ian Edginton and D'Israeli take H.G. Wells' *The War of the Worlds* as their starting point for an alternate history of a post-alien invasion reality. With extra-terrestrial technology available at the turn of the 20th century, the British Empire never falls, but becomes something both awe-inspiring and horrifying, and the result is a comic that takes world-building to a degree rarely seen in the medium. Don't miss out on this now that it's back in print.
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