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The question most often asked of the ComicsAlliance staff is a variation of, “Which comic books should I be reading?” or, “I’m new to comics, what’s a good place to start?” The Wednesday deluge of new comic books, graphic novels and collected editions can be daunting even for the longtime reader, much less for those totally unfamiliar with creators, characters and publishers, and the dark mysteries of comic book shopping like variants, pre-ordering, and formats. It’s with these challenges in mind that we’ve created Best Comic Books Ever (This Week), an ongoing guide curated by the ComicsAlliance staff. This is where new comics readers and seasoned Wednesday shoppers alike can find our picks of the best books the medium has to offer.

In Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman's The Few, America is broken and divided, as the people left alive fight for scraps in the remains of what is now the no-longer United States. As the Republic wages war on the Remainder States, two survivalists find a young woman in the woods with no memories --- and a baby. With the first issue of The Few hitting stores this week, ComicsAlliance caught up with Lewis and Sherman to talk about post-apocalyptic fiction in the current political climate, and what it can tell us about the modern day.

We at ComicsAlliance love comics, and we love music, so this week we’ve decided to combine those two loves and create playlist tributes to some of our favorite titles. Think of these as something to listen to while you read the comic, or an introduction to the vibe of a comic if you're not yet a fan. Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro and Cris Peter's Bitch Planet is one of the most important comics being published today. In addition to being an amazing sci-fi story with glorious butt-kicking women, it’s rife with feminist critique of patriarchy, while still maintaining an inspirational tone. Putting together this playlist, I thought I’d be choosing angry, riot grrrl songs, but what I ended up with feels more like a modern celebration of women. I think Bitch Planet itself is kind of the same thing.

The fact that Image Comics is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year has made me feel so old that I'm worried about just deteriorating into a vaguely person-shaped pile of dust any second now, but there's one thing that's really helping to take the sting out of it: An amazing roster of variant covers where current image titles like Sex Criminals, The Wicked + the Divine, The Walking Dead, and Invincible homage the classic first issues from throughout the company's history, like, uh, Sex Criminals, The Wicked + the Divine, The Walking Dead, and Invincible.

If you want to find some of the most villainous villains in comics, you can't quite beat Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard's long-running zombie epic The Walking Dead. When it comes to enemies and antagonist, the zombies are the last thing the survivors need to worry about, but we want to hear from you to find out which one is the worst of the worst.

The question most often asked of the ComicsAlliance staff is a variation of, “Which comic books should I be reading?” or, “I’m new to comics, what’s a good place to start?” The Wednesday deluge of new comic books, graphic novels and collected editions can be daunting even for the longtime reader, much less for those totally unfamiliar with creators, characters and publishers, and the dark mysteries of comic book shopping like variants, pre-ordering, and formats. It’s with these challenges in mind that we’ve created Best Comic Books Ever (This Week), an ongoing guide curated by the ComicsAlliance staff. This is where new comics readers and seasoned Wednesday shoppers alike can find our picks of the best books the medium has to offer.

The question most often asked of the ComicsAlliance staff is a variation of, “Which comic books should I be reading?” or, “I’m new to comics, what’s a good place to start?” The Wednesday deluge of new comic books, graphic novels and collected editions can be daunting even for the longtime reader, much less for those totally unfamiliar with creators, characters and publishers, and the dark mysteries of comic book shopping like variants, pre-ordering, and formats. It’s with these challenges in mind that we’ve created Best Comic Books Ever (This Week), an ongoing guide curated by the ComicsAlliance staff. This is where new comics readers and seasoned Wednesday shoppers alike can find our picks of the best books the medium has to offer.

To say that Deadpool was a box-office hit is slightly understating things, so it’s no surprise that that execs are hoping to get into business with the artist behind the Merc With a Mouth, Rob Liefeld — well, one exec, specifically: Akiva Goldsman. After securing the rights to develop (and possibly direct) an adaptation of Liefeld’s Avengelyne series, Goldsman has acquired rights to another Liefeld property, and this time his plans are a bit more ambitious.

In Gael Bertrand's A Land Called Tarot, the Knight of Shadows comes across all manner of strange and colorful inhabitants during his quest through a mysterious land. The fantastical story debuted in Brandon Graham and Emma Rios' boundary-pushing Image Comics anthology Island, but is being collected in its own hardcover for readers to fully experience Bertrand's beautiful pages uninterrupted. The hardcover also features never before seen material, and Image has provided us with an exclusive look inside.

It’s the end of the year! We’ve made it through 2016, a year of departures, returns, arrivals, civil wars, and young animals. Valiant was building up Faith, Top Shelf completed its March, and Mike Mignola wrapped up Hellboy’s grand journey. Mildred Louis sent the Agents of the Realm off on further adventures, Wonder Woman celebrated her 75th anniversary, and Bleach reached its final chapter. It’s been another staggering year for comics everywhere. So where does that leave us for 2017? As we hit the end of the year, so we reach the ComicsAlliance Yearender once more. Read on; there are so, so many great comics waiting for us all next year!