Let's get the new stuff out of the way, first; Dark Horse and DC are both celebrating Hallowe'en a little bit early, with a new Hellboy novel (The All-Seeing Eye) and a new adaptation of The Evil Dead from the Oregon publisher, and a special DC Universe: Hallowe'en 08 oneshot from the Gotham City purveyor. DC's also putting out Final Crisis: Submit, a one-off tie-in to their ongoing Final Crisis series - which has a much-delayed fourth issue out this week, as well.

In terms of new material from Marvel, you're pretty much stuck with Wolverine: Manifest Destiny, which sees the short hairy one with the claws fight super-powered ninjas in San Francisco (and I only wish that I was joking about that), or Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch, a new series about the Ghost Rider that wasn't the one that Nicolas Cage played in that ill-fated movie.

But, really, this week is all about the reprints. Marvel have the most run-of-the-mill of the week, although for every X-Force: Angels And Demons, you also get an Elektra By Frank Miller Omnibus or Sky Doll hardcover. They're also putting out a hardcover of Longshot, the wonderfully neurotic miniseries about a fake boy in a fake decade by Ann Nocenti, who later found her niche as the editor of High Times. It's genuinely worth checking out. DC have two must-have collections this week: a new edition of Paul Pope's wonderful Heavy Liquid and a new collection of Will Eisner's The Spirit strips called Femme Fatales that will both tie in with, and embarrass in terms of quality, the Frank Miller movie at the end of the year. There's also the first in a series of six Y: The Last Man hardcover collections, for those who missed out on the series the first two times.

Weirdly enough, though, the most unexpected release to hit stores tomorrow is a blast from my past and enough of an oddity to make the curious and strong of stomach amongst you shell out the $30-odd necessary to try out The Complete Ace Trucking Co. Volume 1, a lengthy and entirely unusual collection of 2000AD's misguided attempt to try and jump on the CB radio craze of 1980s Britain by creating an unfunny sitcom about space truckers. Who talk in CB lingo. Really, there's no way to do it justice by trying to explain it. Just buy it and see for yourself.

The complete list of this week's new comic releases will give you even more ways for you to spend your money, but only the Comic Shop Locator Service will tell you where said money should be spent. Your humble narrator, of course, simply tells you which of the new releases you should be craving.

Science Fiction opens the mind to more than just fantastic concepts about technology and alien planets. At its best, it also makes you realize that there's more than you could be doing with your life than sitting at your desk and wasting time on the internet. That's where we come in, with the SF Alternative Career Guide. They say that travel broadens the mind, so it stands to reason that the further you travel, the broader your mind would be. In that case, why not become the broadest-minded mother you know, by becoming a Space Trucker?

Think of how perfect the job would be - The romance of the wild open road, multiplied by the infinite skies of outer space. How can you resist?

Many people first became aware of the role of the Space Trucker through Deep Purple's seminal ode to the career, Space Truckin from their 1972 album Machine Head (AKA "The one with Smoke On The Water on it"). The lyrics summed up the appeal of the lifestyle with subtlety and wit:

We had a lot of luck on Venus
We always had a ball on Mars
Meeting all the groovey people
We've rocked the Milky Way so far
We danced around with borealis
We're space truckin' round the the stars
Come on let's go Space Trucking

It's not all the peaceful transportation of goods around the galaxies in this lifestyle, however. If popular culture has taught us one thing, it's that every space trucker will, at least once in their career, find themselves carrying some kind of cargo that is both unexpectedly dangerous and important to the survival of the universe. Take, for example, the crew of the Nostromo in Alien (described by Ridley Scott as truck drivers on, of all places, The Force Is With Them, a documentary about Star Wars): They happen to find a multi-million dollar franchise just lying around in an abandoned spacecraft. Or the truckers from the European comic Sky Doll, who not only have a cosmic messiah sexdroid castaway, but are also running around doing secret missions for the bad guys.

If the idea of sexdroids, secret missions and life amongst the open skies sounds attractive, then you'd probably want to check out the 1996 infomercial for the career, Space Truckers:

No, wait. Maybe not.

I know what you're thinking: I'm sold! How do I get to be a space trucker? Well, that's the tough part. Sure, you could apply to Ace Trucking Co., but they're never hiring these days. Instead, I think you just have to rely on the same kind of dumb luck that led to Marvel Comics' Ulysses Solomon Archer to the career:

A group of aliens came to Earth, seeking to recruit people to become starship pilots. They chose truckers, because of their experience with the solitude of the open road, much like that of space... [The aliens] revealed the secret of their actions: "What the Universe really needs are truckers! Why sure! Men of courage and intelligence who are strong-willed and independent!"

While it's true that the pay will probably suck, and the hours, solitude and personal hygene resulting from the gig aren't great either, if you're the right man for the job, none of that will matter. Hell, if you're the right man for the job, you'll have made up your mind and be selling all your personal belongings in preparation for your new life already. Godspeed, my friends... or rather, 10-10, good buddies.