With the new semester on the horizon, it's time to begin preparing for another year of Michigan weather, bad cafeteria food and avoiding catching the ring by spring fever. When I'm not busy reflecting on my ever changing five year plan or school work, you can be sure to be find me reading, especially comic books. The other week a friend of mine asked me about what comic books are worth checking out during the semester, so here are my recommendations.

1. "Sexcastle"

By Kyle Starks
Image Comics (From the company that brought you "The Walking Dead" and other amazing stories.)

"Sexcastle" is one of the funniest books from 2015 and absolutely essential for anyone who grew up on ‘80s action films. It plays with every trope you can remember from that era, and sets its hero, Shane Sexcastle (an amalgam of Kurt Russell, Patrick Swayze and David Carradine), against a cast of tough guys that look much like ‘80s mainstays Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T, Steven Seagal and others.

2. "Roller Girl"

By Victoria Jamieson
Dial Books

There’s been an increase in the number of high-quality graphic novels aimed at tween-age girls since Raina Telgemeier proved to publishers that this audience was out there with her bestselling graphic novels "Smile" and "Sisters." Victoria Jamieson’s first graphic novel, "Roller Girl," is a welcome addition that at first may seem to be more niche than Telgemeier’s work. Roller derbies have been growing in popularity in recent years (and seem to have a lot of crossover appeal with comics), but Jamieson’s story about a young girl who decides to pursue her newfound interest while drifting apart from her best friend is a pretty universal story about discovering who you are and what really makes you tick.

3. "WUVABLE OAF"

By Ed Luce
Fantagraphics (An underrated publishing company that more people should know about.)

While the mainstream comics industry has made great strides this year to be more LGBT-inclusive, indie comics continue to show them how it's done with a wide array of comics coming from the web and various indie publishers. Still, you won’t find many out there that are quite like Ed Luce’s "Wuvable Oaf." This is a book that is proud and confident in its depiction of a gay subculture that's made up of thrash metal, professional wrestling, and cats. Oaf is a shy, gentle “bear” who sells toy animals stuffed with his own body hair. When he falls for the diminutive Eiffel, the lead singer of the metal band The Ejaculoids, we get a sweet, hilarious and surprising story of dating in a fictional version of San Francisco.

4. "Girl in Dior"

By Annie Goetzinger
NBM Publishing

"Girl in Dior" is perhaps the most beautiful book released in 2015. Written and drawn by French illustrator and costume designer, Annie Goetzinger, it tells the true story of fashion designer Christian Dior’s rise to fame when he introduced his so-called “New Look” to an unsuspecting but welcoming public in 1947. Goetzinger fictionalizes the biography slightly by inserting her own character, a reporter-turned-model named Clara, to act as our eyes into this world of color that revolutionized the drab post-War fashion of that era. Goetzinger’s beautiful drawings of Dior’s models dressed in elegant and flowing gowns are resplendent.

5. "The Fade Out"

By Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips
Image Comics

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' first book of their unprecedented mega publishing deal with Image Comics seems like the sum of everything they’ve done since "Criminal." The creative team gives readers a noir story full of morally compromised characters, femme fatales and, of course, murder (Cue cliché background music). Set around a troubled 1948 film production that is halted when its leading lady turns up dead, "The Fade Out" explores the seediness of the movie business and the pathos behind the types of films that inspired Brubaker and Philips’s entire body of work.

6. Deep Dark Fears

By Fran Krause
Ten Speed Press

Fran Krause had a great idea a few years back: encourage readers to anonymously submit their deepest, darkest fears and he would turn them into a comic strip. "Deep Dark Fears" instantly became a popular Tumblr comic, and now Krause has compiled them into a hardcover. It’s a fine example of how, deep down, we’re all scared to death of the same stupid stuff.

7. The Omega Men

By Tom King, Barnaby Bagenda, Jose Marzan Jr. and Romulo Farjado Jr.
DC Comics (DC for life!)

When DC Comics released sneak previews for their books in 2015, one that got a lot of attention was "The Omega Men." The scene, made to look like a glitchy terrorist video, showed Green Lantern Kyle Rayner seemingly being beheaded by a group whose name bears the title of the comic. Eventually, this scene turned out to not be what it appeared and it is twists like this that make "The Omega Men" such an engaging read.

Writer Tom King is a former counter-terrorism officer for the CIA and he uses that experience to craft a story about insurgencies and religion set in the deep cosmos of the DC Universe. This has been a breakout year in comics for Tom King, with "Grayson," "The Sheriff of Babylon," and "The Vision all" receiving worthy acclaim (meaning you should also check out his other books). Critical praise doesn't always equal sales, sadly, and DC announced a premature cancellation of this 12-issue series until a vocal fan base rose up and demanded a stay of execution (I'm glad that the Internet agreed on something for once).

Since the semester can be rather long and difficult, I decided to base my suggestions on comic books that can be read in one or three nights, tackle contemporary issues, and are great stories that would engage a college student. So if you find yourself bored one night and walking at your local Barnes and Nobles (Or the good old classic comic book shop), why not check these books out and enjoy a good story... or five.