In wine terms, 2013 was a vintage year for the 9th art world. Looking to the future it appears the comic book world is gearing up to give us another zestful year filled with fantastic new comics being released from big name creators and major comic book publishers.

Comics have only become more popular in recent years, thanks largely to the success of Marvel Studios and Warner Bros movies. An ever increasing number of audience members’ interest is peaked, curious to see the characters in their original format. As a result, comic readership has grown, and looks to continue growing in 2014. So what do we have to look forward to this year? What new titles are launching and what should we add to our pick lists? Here are eleven of my most anticipated comics coming out in 2014.

New Lone Wolf and Cub #1. This is not one of those American ‘manga’ samurai style series that come out every so often. Originally published by First Comics between 1987 and 1991, Lone Wolf and Cub ran for 45 issues. Written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Goseki Kojima (who passed away in 2000), Lone Wolf and Cub was picked up by Dark Horse Comics in 2000. Since then, Dark Horse (DH) has released 28 volumes. The New Lone Wolf and Cub will follow where the DH series ended and follows his young son Daigoro, now on his own. The new series is written by Koike joined by Hideki Mori as artist and is slated at 11 volumes. (Release TBD)

Batman: Eternal #1 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Layman, Ray Fawkes and Tim Seeley, Artists: Various. Given that Scott Snyder’s Batman series has been one of the major highlights of the entire New 52, it will be interesting to see how Snyder and the other writers make Batman Eternal different. This weekly series focuses on Batman, his allies, his enemies, and even the ordinary people of Gotham, and promises to bring back beloved Batgirl, Stephanie Brown. The series will go beyond just the Dark Knight and his Bat Family, focusing on new characters and exploring new areas of Gotham previously unseen in other Batman comics. Coming out in April 2014.