An interesting week this week as it was a rare 5th Wednesday in the month. And when this happens, typically there is a shortage of comics and this month’s victim was DC. Only a couple of DC titles were released and nothing of any note. So, to still meet our required five, I’m going to look at three Marvel comics that at least had a few decent titles come out and a pair of indies. Enjoy!

1) Marvel – Uncanny X-Men #2: As the X-Men continue to try to work their way through Mr. Sinister’s army of clones to get to the headman himself, the remaining Celestials are making an interstellar beeline for Earth, infuriated that their sleeping brother has been tampered with in such a way. Can the X-Men get to the root of Sinister’s plan before the Celestial turns everyone on Earth to dust?

The plan that Mr. Sinister lays out is one of the most nefarious schemes we’ve yet to see from any X-Men villain and puts him in the running again with guys like Bastion to be the number one threat to the X-Men’s plans of a peaceful existence. To see his new power levels and how he handles many of the X-Men’s heavy hitters like they were rag dolls makes you wonder how the heck Cyclops is going to find a way out of this one and compels you to keep reading this awesome series re-launch story arc.. Not to mention I want to see what is going to happen to Emma and how they’re going to reattach her arm when she leaves diamond form.

2) Marvel – Daredevil #6: Daredevil is still trying to get to the bottom of this international terrorist organization conspiracy while saving his new client from becoming the latest loose end tied up by these criminal power players. On top of this we finally learn about the new and mysterious Bruiser who looks to be able to brush off Daredevil’s best moves like they were nothing. Can Daredevil overcome this and save his new friend?

Daredevil has surprised me every issue so far as it finds a way to creatively find a way for Daredevil to overcome each situation thrown his way and this issue doesn’t disappoint as Daredevil’s unique radar sense saves the day for him twice. Tempered by some light humor and cool action sequences, this monthly should be in your pullbox for the foreseeable future even if not a diehard fan of The Man Without Fear as the high quality of this monthly may turn you into one.

3) Marvel – X-Men Legacy #259: Not sure whether to join Cyclops or team with Wolverine in Westchester, Rogue and the rest of X-Men who have returned from Shiar Space are having a tough time coming to a decision. When Rogue meets with Magneto though and hopes to borrow his thoughts to maybe come to a decision herself, she sense something familiar piggybacking on Magneto’s consciousness. Once brought together, Emma finds that each of the space farers have a fraction of this consciousness and once pulled together, a blast from the past looks maybe return to the fold.

With a dwindling number of mutants in the Marvel continuity, the chance to bring back a thought dead character is always refreshing and I don’t think anyone would have seen this coming. If successful, it can add a new dynamic to whatever team chosen by this mystery character while also bolstering ranks. The biggest downside of this issue though is we mostly already know for the most part who from the space farers goes where in terms of Schism, but the return of this new character still makes this a worthy title to pick up and is definitely worth it as our extra Marvel title this week.

4) IDW – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4: Old Hob finally catches up with Raphael as we come to learn just why Old Hob is still so adamant about taking out all the turtles. Just when things look to be their darkest though, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo finally catch up with their wayward brother and once this fearsome foursome reunite, Old Hob starts to realize he may have bitten off more than even he can chew.

Basically closing this opening arc while reintroducing old and new characters alike in a way that should please all diehard old-school TMNT fans, the future is wide open for this book now that Raphael is finally brought back into the fold. The only question now is what threat will emerge to take on the Heroes in a Half-Shell now and just what will happen to Old Hob when he has to report to his mysterious masters that he has failed. Old and new TMNT fans alike should be reading this fresh take on some of our favorites heroes as this book looks to really start amping up now and looks to only improve on an already solid start.

5) Top Cow – The Darkness #95: Jackie is in trouble and from an unsuspecting source: his sister. Revealed to also be a Darkness wielder, Jackie starts to learn just how long the Darkness has been around and has to make a tremendous sacrifice in order to get out of the harrowing situation he finds himself in once again.

Wrapping up this 6-issue story arc as the Top Cow universe prepares for their universal re-launch, which seems to be the theme in comics in 2011, we see Jackie continue to make sacrifice after sacrifice to expel the evil that is the Darkness from the world while trying to avoid the temptation that always come with wielding so much power. The twisted demonic action that has been a staple of this monthly continues and only looks to increase as we steadily approach what will likely be a landmark 100th issue as this sets up the next great story arc for this monthly that will kick off explosively in the next issue. If you haven’t read The Darkness before, now would be a good time to get into it, especially with an awesome looking game related to the franchise coming out in February.