Magical Realism
Air
What It's About: At its heart, Air is a love story between Blythe - a flight attendant who's afraid of flying - and Zayn, who is as much a mystery to himself as everyone else. But Air is much, much weirder, and more interesting, than that: For one thing, Blythe is a natural hyperpraxis pilot, which means that she can travel to places, times and ideas that don't, theoretically, exist... a skill she's honing with the help of Amelia Earhart, who by the way is still alive. For another, there's a war brewing between terrorists over control of the skies, and for a third, certain people may be very interested in that whole "hyperpraxis" thing. A series that's gentle, human, full of wonder and emotion, and at times just beautiful, Air is unlike most comics - and television shows and movies, for that matter - out there.
Where To Start: Two collections are available, Letters From Lost Countries and Flying Machine. Pick both up; the series is great, but the first collection (Letters) stops at a frustratingly bad point, and you need to read the second to fully appreciate what's going on.
Click here for a preview of Air.

Post-Invasion SF
Resurrection
What It's About: We've all seen stories about aliens invading Earth, but what happens after they leave? FlashForward producer and Green Lantern movie scriptwriter Marc Guggenheim's series starts with that idea and spins out a series that's part Y: The Last Man, part Lost and all-over fascinating. Why did the aliens invade? Where did they go? No-one knows yet, but considering they've left behind technology and even one of their own, you can sure that we'll probably find out somewhere down the line... but along the way, you can get sucked into the more down to earth stories of the humans left behind. Even if one of them is former president Bill Clinton, who was revealed to be more alive than everyone thought at the end of the most recent issue.
Where To Start: There's already a collection of the first black and white series out there, but we'd actually recommend waiting until the start of next year, when the 368 page Resurrection Vol 1: Deluxe Edition, featuring the complete first series and the first seven issues of the current series, hits the shelves.
Click here for a preview of Resurrection.

Urban Fantasy
Locke & Key
What It's About: Ignore the punniness of the premise - The Locke family move to the family estate of Keyhouse, wherein there are magic keys that can do various weird and wonderful things, which puts them right in the middle of some bad things that're about to happen - and instead, embrace and enjoy those weird and wonderful things that the keys can do: like open doors that turn people into ghosts or even open their own heads so that you can reach in and take out unpleasant memories. Mixing horror, fantasy, comedy and family drama and featuring moments that are genuinely unsettling, Locke & Key deserves all the praise it's gotten, and a lot more.
Where To Start: There're two collections out already; Welcome To Lovecraft and Head Games. Start at the beginning (Lovecraft), bearing in mind that Head Games is the better, and also the more freaky.
Click here for a preview of Locke & Key.

Nostalgia Done Right
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka
What It's About: A reimagining of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy (with some nods to his other work thrown in), Naoki Urasawa's Pluto is inventive, dramatic and in almost every single way, a lesson in how to take reboot and update an old concept the right way. Instead of retreading the old status quo, the series centers around robot detective Gesicht, who's investigating the murder of various high profile robots around the world... Murders that may have been committed by another robot. Even if you don't get sucked in by the economy and subtlety of the writing, there's no way you could fail to admire Urasawa's amazing artwork.
Where To Start: Unsurprisingly, Vol. 1. The seventh volume of the series is due in January, but that's still too far away; when you finish the first volume, you'll be hooked and get through the other five in days.
(No preview available, due to licensing issues. Sorry.)

Crime/Romance/SF/Everything
King City
What It's About: I've written before about Brandon Graham's stunning future crime book, but now that it's being re-released in an easier-to-find serialization by Image Comics, I'll use the opportunity to gush again; the bastard child of an orgy that included Moebius, Vaughn Bode, Jamie Hewlett and Osamu Tezuka (and maybe a little Alex Toth, come to think of it), King City is the tale of one thief, his broken heart, his cat that can literally do anything if given the right drugs, werewolves with war trauma, stolen organs, sidekicks in wrestling masks and pretty much all that's good in the world, all wrapped in something that takes noir's cliches and gives them a makeover laced with enough absurdity and love that it all seems new again. The whole thing manages to be both laid back and electrifyingly kinetic, and your heart will break for multiple reasons while reading it. Really, really worth tracking down.
Where To Start: The serialized reissue is on #2, so picking up back issues from the start really shouldn't be a problem. The original Tokyopop release may offer more story in one sitting, but the Image re-release comes with bigger pages and brand new material to accompany the serialized reprint.
Click here for a preview of King City.

But we'll get to that comic soon enough. Instead, let's start with Kevin Smith's return to the Dark Knight, in Batman: The Widening Gyre — the first of two mini-series he's doing with the character in an attempt to make some money in-between making movies starring Seth Rogen.

If that isn't enough movie action for you, then don't worry, Boom! Studios has you covered and then some. The first issue of the official 28 Days Later comic offers slow burn and foreboding, but also some fast-paced action to keep your interest. And the Jennifer's Body graphic novel lets you experience the new Megan Fox horror movie in a way that is completely unlike anything you'd expect, thanks to some great artwork from people like Jim Mahfood and Nikki Cook.

DC offers up some great (and diverse) takes on superheroes this week, with The Authority: World's End, Vol. 1, opening up with the day after the end of the world and providing some suitably dark post-apocalyptic stories from that point on. If you'd rather see a happier version of humanity's dark side, 1950s reprint book Showcase Presents: Eclipso gives you a glimpse at the man who can become his own worst enemy, thanks to a magically-powered evil diamond (No, really). And Gail Simone and Nicola Scott's Secret Six: Unhinged almost grabs the Book Of The Week title with its wonderfully screwed-up take on the former supervillains who now operate in the even murkier world of moral ambiguity and professional mercenaryness; funny, disturbing and gripping, it's highly recommended.

However, very little in the world of comics today can measure up to Brandon Graham, and particular King City, his tale of one boy and his magic cat. After original publisher Tokyopop pulled the series after its first volume, Graham is back with a revised version at new publisher Image. Make no mistake: This comic is entirely individual, entirely enjoyable, and easily the sexiest thing you'll find yourself reading this week. And it also has a cat that can do anything, given the right drugs. How could you even vaguely resist?

If that's not enough for you, you can always check Diamond Distributors' official list of everything reaching comic stores this week for other booty, or just go ask your local comic store what they recommend. Just make sure that King City #1 is amongst your reading pile. You can thank me later.

Having his publisher cancel his book and refuse to give him the rights to take it to another publisher hasn't stopped cartoonist Brandon Graham from releasing the second book in his King City series. He's just decided to bootleg it online.

The sequel to KIng City, Graham's sexy and wonderful 2007 book about burglar Joe and his all-purpose cat/weapon Earthling, is currently lost in limbo following the recent near-collapse of its publisher, Tokyopop. Tokyopop has officially cancelled any English-language version of the book, either in print or online (A French-language version will eventually see print), but refuses to revert the copyright back to Graham for him to offer it to another publisher. In response, Graham has simply decided to post the book on his LiveJournal:

I'm thinking of throwing a chapter up here every week until It goes to print in english or until it doesn't. I try not to be snotty about all this. Right now this is what I can do.

You can find the first chapter at the link below; here's hoping that Tokyopop do the honorable thing and let Graham have his book back soon.

Deep dark secrets [RoyalBoiler]

Everything's almost fun and games until you hit Square 3:

Psy-Kicker's Evil Pet Dolphin tries to take over your mind. Roll 3 or higher to break his brain.

Real Pain [Royal Boiler]

Earthling: Futuristic burglar Joe may be the official star of King City, but it's his pet cat Earthling that steals all of the scenes that he appears in. Joe, having trained years to become a "Cat Master", has the skills and medications to repurpose Earthling into whatever he needs in any given situation - whether it's as a screwdriver, skateboard or just plain cat burglar.

Bandit, Tinker and Pirate: We've gone on about We3 before (and we'll continue to do so until everyone has accepted it as the greatest funny animal comic ever made), but there's no avoiding the fact that these cyborg animals aren't the type to perform stupid pet tricks. With laser-sighted guns and enhanced reflexes, you'd have to be a pretty bad stink boss if you expected them to roll over or play dead.

Rex The Wonder Dog: Ever wondered what would've happened if Captain America was a dog? The answer comes in the form of Rex, a patriotic dog injected with a super-soldier serum in World War II before the creator of a serum was killed by a Nazi spy. Suddenly blessed with increased stamina, strength and intelligence, Rex dedicated the rest of his life to solving crimes, battling injustice and fighting T-Rexes. Because, really, what else would a super-powered dog do?

Jake, The Cat From Outer Space: Move over, Star Ka'at - There's only room for one extra-terrestrial feline in my heart, and it's the star of this 1978 Disney movie who can not only talk via his special collar, but also influence the outcome of sporting events to benefit his gambling addiction. Sure, he said that he needed the gold to repair his spaceship, but who hasn't come up with a ridiculous story like that at some point?

The Legion of Super-Pets: Easily the greatest collection of crime-fighting house-broken animals in existence, and that's including Captain Carrot and His Zoo Crew. Also, proof that creators of Superman comics in the 1950s were beginning to get desperate. This particular Legion was made up of past and present pets belonging to Superman and Supergirl - there was Beppo the Super-Monkey, Krypto the Super-Dog, Streaky the Super-Cat and Comet the Super-Horse, all of whom traveled through time to team up and defeat the evil Brain-Globes of Rambat. Yes, you read that right: the evil Brain-Globes of Rambat.

Things got worse when, years later, Comet turned into a human lesbian stand-up comedian who was in love with Supergirl, and also a personification of the Angel of Love, who had once been a male jockey, and... Oh, never mind. We'll just pretend that never happened and think of Comet as a horse with super-powers. That's much better.

So there you have it: Some of fiction's greatest super-powered pets. Because I hate all Hanna-Barbera cartoons, I've missed out Scooby Doo, Dynamutt and Gleek, but who else should be added to the list?