It’s the year 3797, and botanist Nika Temsmith is researching a strange species on a remote science station near the outermost rim of colonized space. It’s the year 1921, and renowned English explorer William Pike leads an expedition into the dense jungles of Peru in search of the fabled “Lost Temple of the Incas,” an elusive sanctuary said to have strange healing properties. Two disparate souls separated by thousands of years and hundreds of millions of miles. Yet they will fall in love and, as a result, bring about the end of the universe. Even though reality is unraveling all around them, nothing can pull them apart. This isn’t just a love story; It’s the LAST love story ever told.

Vertigo has been kicking ass with their recent releases, and I expect this to do no less. The description above of the comic just makes me drool. Add in the fact it’s Jeff Lemire on writing and art duties and you have a top pick and possibly one of the best comics of the year.

Check out below for the rest of the picks from some of the Graphic Policy team!

Andrew:

Top Pick: The Black Bat #4 (Dynamite) – This is seriously one of the best pulps on the market. If you think you won’t root for a former mob attorney turned vigilante, you’re wrong.

Helheim #6 (Oni Press) – I am still in denial that this is the last issue. Viking bloodshed at its finest.

Quantum and Woody #2 (Valiant) – This brotherly duo hero comedy is a great read. It has witty banter and a fun premise.

Satellite Sam #2 (Image) – Truth be told, I haven’t read the first issue…but with all of the buzz around it, I’m getting both of them.

Sheltered #2 (Image) – Lord of the Flies meets Doomsday Preppers. Yes please.

Brett:

Top Pick: Trillium #1 (Vertigo) – see above

Burn the Orphanage: Born to Lose #1 (Image) – A young orphan named Rock was left for dead, now he’s out for revenge! With partners Lex and Bear by his side, our hero will find out who burned his home and family to the ground. If that means taking on every goon, punk, and topless stripper ninja in the city… then so be it. Really, I need to give more of a reason?

The Final Plague #2 (Action Lab: Danger Zone) – The first issue freaked me out. Rats, rats and rats. I hate rats and this comic is full of them. Not for the squeamish.

Princeless: Tales of Girls Who Rock (Action Lab) – I’ve loved every release for this series so far. There’s so much awesome in this series, the fact that part of it is it turns common tropes on their head is just one example. Perfect for kids and adults the like.

Sidekick #1 (Image) – The Cowl and Flyboy: renowned superhero and sidekick despite dopey names. They were famous, popular, and happy until the Cowl’s assassination. Now, no one takes Flyboy seriously. Follow his trajectory from barely tolerated hero to figure of ridicule, and witness his slow descent into madness, darkness and crime. Done numerous times it’s kind of hard not to be intrigued by J. Michael Straczynski’s take.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #2 (Marvel) – The first issue blew me away. The pacing. The dialogue. It all was amazing. The team of Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber knocked it out of the park and could have one of the best debuts this year!

TPB/Graphic Novel of the Week: Rubicon (Archaia) – The story is straightforward and not all that complicated. The characters are cookie cutter and what I’d expect from this type of tale. What really drew me in was the interaction between all of those characters. It gives a bit of an insight into the mindset of them all and a glimpse of what mentally goes into being a Navy SEAL. That is cool and worth the read. You can read my full review.

Scott:

Top Pick: Trillium #1 (Vertigo) – It’s been a while since Sweet Tooth and The Underwater Welder, and I’m so pleased to see Lemire doing creator owned work again. Everything I’ve read about this series leads me to believe it’ll be so much fun, and emotionally resonant to boot.

Fatale #16 (Image) – I’m a sucker for the hardboiled, and in my eyes Brubaker/Phillips team can do no wrong. Now that the current arc is getting closer to modern times, I’m interested to see what’s in store for Josephine.

Satellite Sam #2 (Image) – As an avid lover of television, Matt Fraction’s story really speaks to me, and Chaykin’s art brings 1950s New York to life.

Sheltered #2 (Image) – The debut issue of this series saw expansive world building, and then immediately upended the status quo. I’m so excited to see what happens next.

Ten Grand #4 (Image) – Ben Templesmith drawing an otherworldly, foul mouthed PI. I just can’t get enough of that art.

Sean:

Top pick: Daredevil: Dark Knights #3 (Marvel) – Lee Weeks’ past two issues have been absolutely incredible, but it comes to a crashing end in this finale. Weeks is no Waid and Samnee, but he’s a close second.

Swamp Thing #23 (DC) – because it’s Swamp Thing and he’s going to beat up that punk John Constantine.

Superior Spider-Man #15 (Marvel) – two other ‘superior’ titles out this week, but Superior Spidey takes the cake, as issue 15 starts to close a Hobgoblin plot that’s been long in the making.

Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible #5 (Dark Horse) – Abe is kicking ass in his own on-going series, despite everything going to hell in the B.P.R.D. world, literally. And just when things couldn’t get worse for the identity-torn Abe, they do.

Detective Comics #23 (DC) – so you know that whole Wrath guy who’s been killing cops? Well, maybe you don’t, since there’s a kajillion Batman comics to follow, but check out Detective Comics just this week and you won’t be disappointed.

TPB of the Week: Daredevil by Mark Waid, Volume 5 (Marvel) – this collects the current Daredevil run by Waid and Samnee, issues 22-27, which include among other things the first appearance of Superior Spider-Man, and is just fantastic because it’s Waid and Samnee’s award-winning, humanistic and emotionally captivating Daredevil!