ComicBook Countdown for the Week of July 20

There's nary a week when great comics, movies, or television shows aren't all vying for our [...]

There's nary a week when great comics, movies, or television shows aren't all vying for our attention. It can be hard to keep up with it all, but that's why we're here. Each Monday at ComicBook.Com, we take a look at the five most exciting things coming to the world of fandom to keep you in the know.

5. Pixels | Happy Madison

It has been a long time since Adam Sandler produced a good comedy, and when I say long, I'm talking decades. But he's still the guy who gave us adolescent classics like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. Those movies still fuse gross-out humor with a surprising amount of heart. That's probably the reason so many of us keep seeing his films, even after crimes against humanity like Grown Ups 2. There's an adamant spark of hope that some day he'll return to greatness. Is it likely? Probably not. But Pixels also stars Peter Dinklage, and that's something.

4. The Goon: Chinatown Artist's Edition | IDW Publishing

IDW's line of Artist's Edition have been winning Eisner Awards year-after-year for a really good reason: They are mind-bogglingly beautiful presentation of true comics classics. For fans of comics art, there is no better way to explore the craft of the medium's masters. Eric Powell is still relatively young, especially compared to guys like Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko, but his work on The Goon is certainly due for a full-sized 11x17 collection. The Goon is the work of a true auteur presenting a combination of noir and horror unlike anything else. This is a can't-miss collection.

3. C.O.W.L. #11 | Image Comics

It appears that C.O.W.L. was just too beautiful to live long. This fusion of Chicago politics, Cold War tension, and superhero drama by Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel, and Rod Reis is perhaps the single most overlooked new Image series of the past year. It was tightly plotted, beautifully illustrated, and enthralling as all get out. And now it's ending. Higgins, Siegel, and Reis all certainly have long comics careers ahead of them, but it's sad to see this section end so soon. Fare thee well C.O.W.L., fare thee well.

2. Rick & Morty, "A Rickle in Time" | Adult Swim

Wubba-lubba-dub-dub! Rick & Morty is back for its second season and I could not be more excited. Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon's brainchild combines all of its creators bizarre humor, insightful commentary, and eclectic tastes into the best animated show on television. Just like Harmon's previous creation, Community, it is able to be almost all things at once utilizing character-driven drama, big laughs, and serious themes into one of the most entertaining half hours on television. Whether or not you avoided watching the two leaked episodes, then this Sunday is going to be a lot of fun.

1. Fables #150 | Vertigo Comics

I still don't believe it. Fables is really ending after more than 13 years, making it the second longest running Vertigo series ever. I found Fables just when I was getting into comics and after so long it feels like an old friend. But the end is really arriving this Wednesday in an issue so big that it is being offered as the complete, final volume of the series. It's a bittersweet finale since the series has wandered from its strengths in the past couple of years, but the highs were so high that it has been impossible to leave it behind. Whatever Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham have planned for these final pages, hopefully it can give all of Fables devoted readers the ending they need.

What new comics, shows, and other releases are you looking forward to this week? Share in the comments below.

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