And a merry New Comic Wednesday to all!

It's the best day of the week, and comic fans everywhere are ready for the new releases from the major publishers hitting the shelves. Here's some of what I'm interested in buying this week.

VENOM #2

This is at the top of my list. I thoroughly enjoyed Venom #1. I've been a Venom fan since his inception in Amazing Spider-Man #300, and I've read plenty of solo Venom stories in those 30 years. In all that time, I've never liked his self-titled stories going all the way back to Lethal Protector. To me, Venom was at his best as the antagonist to Spider-Man. Out of all Spidey's villains, Venom was the most formidable, plus he had the best look when he had the monster appeal. When he became an anti-hero and starred in his own titles, it didn't feel like Venom to me. But this new series has merged the two, and it's the first time I've been excited about a Venom comic in...ever.

Donny Cates has breathed new life into Marvel Comics since he took over writing duties for Doctor Strange and Thanos, which has become the stuff of modern legend. I was intrigued that he was taking over Venom, and I was hooked after that first issue. On the collecting side of things, a 9.8 Venom #1 is averaging $55, and it was just released last month. The virgin variant has a fair market value of $147 and rising. We're also about to meet a new character that was teased at the tail end of the first issue, so Venom #2 will be a hot seller for good reason, and you'll want to get your copy.

THE MAGIC ORDER #1

If you want my thoughts on The Magic Order, check out yesterday's blog entry. For this post, I'll keep it simple. I'm caught up in the hype, plus I am a fan of Mark Millar. On top of that is the fact that Netflix now owns Millarworld, and this being the first title under the new ownership, I am curious if it will become a Netflix original. That makes it worth buying a copy and seeing what all the fuss is about.

OBLIVION SONG #4

I like Robert Kirkman even though I'm not exactly a Walking Dead fan, and I was eager to read his new series. While I've found Oblivion Song interesting so far, I'm not necessarily loving it. Still, I'm willing to stick with it for a few more issues to give Kirkman the chance to get his plot up to full throttle. If I'm being honest, one complaint I have is the artwork, and I'm the type of comic fan who buys for the art almost as much for the story. However, from an investment perspective, Kirkman's creations tend to get turned into television shows, so having a big run of Oblivion Song in the event that happens is sound advice.

THOR #1

I very much enjoyed Jason Aaron's run on The Mighty Thor, so I'm looking forward to seeing where he takes the God of Thunder now that Thor Odinson has regained his godly mantle. Aaron is an accomplished writer, and I'm hoping he gives us a new take on Thor that we haven't seen prior.