WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Creepy #11 – To be honest, Batman #17 was probably a better comic, but I expected Batman to be really good.  Creepy had been a little slack recently, so it was nice to get an issue where the modern stories weren’t totally blown away by the obligatory reprinted tale (that is included in every issue).  In a comic market that supports so many Avengers and Batman and X-Men books, it’s nice to see Dark Horse persevering with a classic format like Creepy.  Check it out…

Most anticipated this week: 1). Saga #10 – Saga is a great series and you’re missing out if you don’t read it.  I love seeing how Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples are establishing a familiar social drama against the backdrop of galaxy-spanning science fiction.  On one hand, it’s just the story of a young couple with a kid learning to get along with the guy’s parents, but their doing it in a wooden spaceship and their nanny is a ghost of a disembowel girl (with guts hanging out and everything).  It’s just super smart.  The only reason not to read it is that it’ll make a lot of the other comics in your pile look shabby.  I’m not kidding.  You read “the good stuff” and suddenly you wonder why you’re wasting time on some of this dreck.  

2). GI Joe #1 – Yes, IDW is renumbering GI Joe again!  And….we’re getting a new creative team in Fred Van Lente and Steve Kurth, so I’m looking forward to this. The Joe books can be honest fun when they’re done competently and with Van Lente, I have a lot of hope for the story.  Van Lente tends to be a a clever writer who researches his topics and he usually doesn’t write for the trade (which was a problem with the Joe books).  I’m not the biggest Kurth fan, but he’s better than some of the other artists the Joe books have had.  Joe books needn’t be challenging.  The formula for GI Joe is pretty simple: lots of specialist soldiers, Snake Eyes, sexy Scarlet…..and fighting Cobra.  When you make it too “real world” it loses something.

3). Mind Mgmt #8 – Did you hear the news about Mind Mgmt getting optioned by Sony movies with Ridley Scott as the Director.  Cool, huh?  This is a really good series and I appreciate it’s commitment to being a “comic book”.  Writer/Artist Matt Kindt includes things in the single issues that don’t appear in the collected editions.  And it’s printed on that toothy newsprint that I love instead of this horrid, cheap and glossy paper that everyone else uses today.  It’s nice to have a comic where you can tell that people are sweating the details.  Plus, the story is all about CIA-ish plots and mind control conspiracies.

4). The Sixth Gun #29 – I didn’t love the last story arc of TSG (which ended last issue), so let’s hope for a stronger outing here.  That last story arc felt like what happens in the middle of some of these longer-running, story-driven series where there is a definite beginning and ending, but where the middle can be as long or as short as the creators like.  You know, as long as sales are good and the creators are engaged, they can ad lib and tell fun stories, but once sales slip a little they start telling us the BIG ending story.  That last story felt a little like the creators ad libbing, so I wonder if we get more of the same or if we begin the end-game.

——-

Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week:  Powers: Bureau #1 – One week after Scarlet‘s return, Bendis and Oeming’s series also returns and it returns in fine form, finally giving us lots of Deena Pilgrim, and cool “X-Files” type vibe, and great, character-focused read that wears the series’ history on its sleeve while clearly turning the page to a new chapter.  Fantastic stuff.

Most Anticipated:  Thor: God of Thunder #5 – There are some really, really great books out of Marvel this week.  That said, the one I’m looking forward to most is Thor, which has, for me, been the best book of the Marvel NOW relaunch.  This issue promises to fill out the tapestry of Aaron’s series a little more, which should be good.  Epic, gloomy fantasy goodness for all!

Indestructible Hulk #4 – I’ll be honest, the first two issues of Indestructible Hulk didn’t blow me away.  The potential was certainly there, but I felt a little nonplussed, possibly due to the creative team’s pedigree.  Well, all that changed with issue 3, where everything really felt like it came together.  If that’s the sort of thing we’re going to be getting going forward, bring it on!

Captain America #4 – Another one of my favourites of the relaunch, Remender and Romita’s Captain America has been very, very different, a sort of kooky Steve Rogers by way of John Carter that is the closest thing Remender’s ever done to Fear Agent at Marvel.  Given the really bonkers last page last issue, I am very, very curious to see where Remender is going with all of this.

Saga #10 – It’s Saga.  Saga is pretty much always guaranteed a spot on this list.  A full, intricate universe with rounded, human characters.  You know the score by now.

Justice League of America #1 – I’ll be honest, I’m a little uncertain of this one so it’s here largely by virtue of the curiosity-factor.  On the one hand, Geoff Johns’ Justice League has generally been a disappointment, but it HAS improved drastically over the last couple of months.  I also believe that this title will likely be the better one, with Johns writing the characters he chooses to, with greater creative freedom.  That should amount to better comics.

——-

Hugo’s Top Picks

Pick of the week: Fatale #12 – This was a gem of a comic, featuring a done in one story that not only deepened the main character, but the series as a whole. Seeing Josephine dealing with her powers and how she is perceived in medieval time is nothing short of genius, showing us that Brubaker and Phillips have a great scope for this tale of noir and horror.

Most anticipated this week: 1) Thor: God of Thunder #5 – This series has been nothing short of fantastic, with amazing ideas and concepts thrown at us with lovely art by the talented Esad Ribic. With the conclusion of the first arc set in this issue, I cannot wait to see how Aaron can close this and still tell us where he want to lead this series.

2) Justice League of America #1 – Call me an optimist, but I really want this series to work. Johns can do wonder with smaller characters and I would like to see him channel some of his old JSA magic to give us a team title worthy of the talent I know he possess. It would be delightful to have an actual book with Martian Manhunter in a key role again.

3) Captain America #4 – Ed Brubaker made me fall in love with the character, but I do believe that even though Remender’s take on him is ridiculously different, it can lead to very good stories with the Sentinel of Liberty. The previous issue was not as good as the second one, but Remender is usually very good in the long run and I have faith in this title.

4) Avengers #6 – With the latest issue focusing a bit more on the cosmic side with the Imperial Guard and the Shi’ar, I am eager to see what Hickman will do with Captain Universe. Bring on the cosmic goodness and you will have a fan, Mr. Hickman.

5) Action Comics #17 – I love Superman, I love Grant Morrison, but I have to admit that this run was not the most solid thing the amazing author has ever done. Still, there were some very great concepts and stories told and I am curious to see just how he can close all of this, starting with the first part of the two-part conclusion shown here.

 

Avengers #6 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson & Tom Palmer (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The Avengers try to reach an agreement with Ultron to stop Kang’s breaking the timestream.

What’s Good: This issue really goes out of its way to establish the Avengers as the central title for the Marvel Universe through its both hinting at, and setting up, major stories to come.  Bendis is able to do this thanks to the story’s conveniently being located in the future.  There’s a really nice reference to the outcome of the “Trial of Captain America” storyline over in Captain America, while the final events of the issue seem to hint at a major Ultron-related storyline that might possibly lead to an event spreading to other titles.  All told, it’s stuff like this that makes the Avengers feel really important as a title.

Bendis does a good job with the wacky time traveling dynamics.  For the first time, I feel as though things not only made perfect sense, but also were actually rather clever.  Bendis puts everything where they ought to be and, unlike previous issues, the timestream stuff is never dubious.  In fact, it actually allows for Bendis to write a really, really nice ending, allowing for this story-arc to end exactly as it began, as the murder of Immortus is explained and cast in a wholly different light given what we now know.  It’s really quite good, so much so that I was taken by surprise by how eloquent and well constructed it was.

The Avengers’ attempting to stop the war from ever happening is also well done; their dialogue with Ultron is tense but logical.  Bendis writes a really good back and forth, doing solid work in making Ultron’s reasoning and thought processes appear calculating and ruthless.  Honestly, Bendis just writes a good Ultron.

Romita’s artwork continues to sharpen and improve.  This may be his most polished issue yet, as it really cuts back on the “scratchiness” that at times gets out of control in Romita’s work and ends up making things look sloppy.  The detail work is solid and characters look Romita-trademarked cartoony, but never deformed.  The action and pyrotechnics are enjoyable and Romita also joins a very, very nice Ultron.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Hulk #26 – This title now has the championship belt for “best Marvel ongoing” IMO.  Jeff Parker isn’t screwing around and milking a simple story across 6 issues….he’s just cramming and entire trade’s worth of story into a single issue.  And Gabriel Hardman’s art is just incredibly good.  Start reading this one now.

Most Anticipated: Scalped #42 – This could be ‘pick of the week’ every time it comes out, but after a lot of table setting, I get the feeling that things are going to start boiling over sooner rather than later in Jason Aaron’s excellent Native American crime drama.

Other Picks: Bulletproof Coffin #5, Amazing Spider-Man #646, Incorruptible #11, Incognito Bad Influences #1, Avengers #6

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Fables #99 – A really fantastic issue of Fables that did everything right and made #100 one of the most exciting prospects for next month.  Big powers, tension you could cut with a knife, and fantastic artwork that I couldn’t get enough of makes this a treat for Fables fans.

Most Anticipated: Action Comics #894 – Paul Cornell’s Action Comics is my favourite DCU title right now.  It’s energetic and witty and has awesome artwork.  This month, it sees the addition of one my favourite comics characters of all time, and a Vertigo one at that.  Now, putting aside how awesome this collision of DCU with Vertigo is, I have to admit I’m also biased; Vertigo was really how got into comics so this really does have a special appeal for me.  Either, this is a landmark, it’s a guaranteed hit, and I highly recommend picking this up even if you’ve never picked up Action before.  BUY THIS.

Other Picks: Fantastic Four #584, Avengers #6, Secret Avengers #6, Scalped #42, Captain America #611, Secret Warriors #21, Madame Xanadu #28, Wonder Woman #604, Superman #704