WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Batman #16 – This comic shows what is possible when a publisher puts a stunning level of talent on a series.  In Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia, you have four guys who are probably Top 5 at their current positions right now.  Seriously, there is nobody in that line-up who is a “role player”.  Clearly there are no salary cap considerations on this title!   And with the exception of a single fill-in issue, these guys have been churning out monthly Batman excellence for almost a year and a half.  If you demand “excellence” from your superhero comics and “pretty good” just doesn’t cut it, Batman is the place to be.

Most anticipated this week: 1). Witch Doctor: Malpractice #3 – It’s a shame that the Witch Doctor comics can’t be a 12-issue-per-year thing because they’re really, really good.  These books are funny, have clever concepts, demons and monsters and glorious art.  Seriously, Lukas Ketner is an artist to keep both eyes on.

2). Chew #31 – After the shocking events of last issue, I’m curious to see what direction Chew goes next.  I’ve heard some speculation that this series is planned as ~60 issues and that the second half will not be as funny and frolicsome as the first half.  I hope that’s not the case because Chew is precisely the type of black and slightly mean-spirited humor that I love.

3). Mind Mgmt #7 – If you feel like it’s been awhile since we last saw Mind Mgmt, you aren’t wrong.  The last issue of Mind Mgmt dropped in late October, so we’re a couple of months late on this issue.  That’s a shame because the series was really starting to hit its stride and show how there was more to the tale than a simple plane full of passengers who developed mysterious amnesia.  Matt Kindt was bringing in weird mental powers and the CIA and sinister governmental plots.  I loved it and Kindt’s art is wholly unique in mainstream-ish comics.  Let’s hope that issue #7 pulls me right back into the series rather than leaving me confused because I’m old and don’t remember stuff very well anymore.

4). Saucer Country #11 – Man, I feel like DC is just on a mission to have none of my money.  Seriously, they just want to sell me Batman once per month?  What a shame that Saucer Country is canceled after only a few more issues!!!!!  It makes me almost want to cry seeing what Vertigo has been reduced to: Fables, on-hiatus American Vampire and a few upcoming miniseries.  That’s a far cry from a couple years ago when we had: Fables, Hellblazer, Scalped, AV, Sweet Tooth, DMZ, Northlanders and always a miniseries or two like Spaceman, New York Five or Joe the Barbarian.  Anyway, let’s enjoy the last few issues of Saucer Country and see how the very talented Paul Cornell can give the series a decent ending!

5). Bedlam #3 – Who knows what to expect from this issue?  Issue #1 was light-your-socks-on-fire awesome!  Issue #2 was good, but nowhere near as special.  Let’s hope that talented creators Nick Spencer and Riley Rossmo were just having a sophomore slump and that we dive right back into the warped and transgressive world of Madder Red in issue #3.

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Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week:  Saga #9 – I really enjoyed this issue.  Vaughan’s humour was on point and once again he shows his ability to make likable, human characters.  More than that though, what marked this issue in particular for me was how one of the tools Vaughan used so effective in Y: the Last Man shows up here.  Much as in Y, it’s not as simple as our protagonists going on their own quest, it’s how that quest leads to others going on their own, related missions.  It’s a way of making the book feel larger and gives the cast more depth and it works just as well here as it did in Y.  Furthermore, it makes the mission of our lead characters feel all the more important, when it can spawn epic adventures for other characters, in other parts of the galaxy as well.

Most Anticipated:  Uncanny Avengers #3 – Holy crap, this is coming out this week?  Really?  I realize that Uncanny Avengers is actually THAT delayed.  I mean, I’m a long-standing fan of Powers.  I’m still waiting for issue 2 of Nonplayer and issue 6 of Scarlet.  I know what real delays are all about.  But with Marvel cranking out so many new books, many of them double-shipping, it makes UA look really bad by comparison.  Which is a shame, because I quite like the book.  It’s really solid all around, with great character-work and lots of fun to be had.  So perhaps this is a case of distance making the heart grow fonder.

Avengers #3 – After so many years of Bendis’ Avengers, Hickman’s Avengers is actually a bit confounding.  It’s just so different.  In fact, it’s so different from what I’m used to in terms of “the Avengers comic,” that I still haven’t wrapped my head around it.  Of course, I’ll probably be reviewing it this week, so hopefully I’ll make a little more headway!

FF #3 – The first issue gave us very little to go on, but with the second issue, I feel that FF really has just about crossed the “too early to tell” line.  I think it’s safe to say that this book is just plain fun.

Winter Soldier #14 – And so ends Brubaker’s tenure at Marvel.  As a huge fan of his pulp noir superheroics, this is a bittersweet issue for me but, judging on its rock-steady consistency, this issue of Winter Soldier is sure to be a good one.

Justice League #16 – I have no idea what the hell happened last issue, but it feels as though Geoff Johns has really turned a corner here.  The jump in quality on this book came seemingly out of nowhere and was truly exponential.  With last issue, I felt like Johns was FINALLY delivering on the potential that have had fans clamoring for him to take over the Justice League franchise for years.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Sweet Tooth #40 – I’m sad that this series is ending, but am pretty darn happy with the 40 issues that Jeff Lemire has written/drawn for the last 3 years.  There is something to be said for leaving us wanting more!  This was a very strong ending that wrapped up all the questions about the series and left no stone unturned.  What impressed me most is how this final issue was so much more optimistic than the series itself.  Very nicely done.  If you were waiting until the series ended to start reading, go to Amazon now and buy the trades.  It’s well worth the time and money.

Most anticipated this week: 1). Saga #9 – THIS is the best ongoing series being published right now – and I don’t think it’s particularly close either.  The story in Saga shows the power of science fiction to depict common, everyday problems that we’re all familiar with (young love, parenthood, etc.) and make us think about them differently because the characters are in space and have wings and horns and stuff.  If you’re not reading this you are missing out.

2). Batman #16 – It’s amazing to me how much I love the Snyder/Capullo/Glapion/Plascencia run on Batman but I simultaneously get no enjoyment from anything else that DC publishes.  Weird.  The Death in the Family storyline has been wonderful as this team has made Joker really, really frightening, so I can’t wait to see the next chapter.

3). Savage Wolverine #1 – This is a curious title.  It’s all about Frank Cho as the writer and artist.  It is a bizarre choice for Marvel.  If I had access to Frank Cho’s talents, I’d put him on a She-Hulks 4-issue miniseries and you’d have an all-time classic that would sell in perpetuity.  Instead they’re putting a guy who is known for drawing voluptuous women on a Wolverine title (???), and they’re doing that knowing that Cho doesn’t really do monthly comics.  So, there will certainly be a creative change pretty soon.  It’s a head-scratcher.  Still, I want to see Frank Cho drawing Savage Land ladies.

4). Fashion Beast #5 – Based on an Alan Moore screenplay that is a derivation of Beauty and the Beast, this series has been very strong.  It really shows the power of Alan Moore.  I mean, he wrote this ~30 years ago and the quality of his screenplay and the power of his name to attract quality creators to the adaptation has made this a very high quality series.  I wouldn’t say I LOVE it, but I respect the craft a lot.

5). Black Beetle: No Way Out #1 – I haven’t seen Francesco Francavilla doing interior art since the end of the Snyder/Jock/Francavilla run on Detective Comics at the end of the “Old 52”.  He was awesome on that story, but since then all I’ve seen from Francavilla is a lot of (great) cover art.  So, it’s very exciting that he’s back to interiors on a creator-owned title with a heavy pulp feel.

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Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week:  Sweet Tooth #40 – It may have been a great week for comics, but this was a clear winner.  It’s hard to give a beloved series a perfect send-off, but Lemire manages it.  This issue is a true accomplishment, rewarding in the utmost, and feels absolutely packed with content, but with great pacing nonetheless.  I can’t really imagine the series going out any better than this.

Most Anticipated:  Captain America #3 – Coming up with my list this week is extremely hard.  I’m only picking up 7 books, but all of them would normally find a spot on my weekly list.  But I’ve only got five spaces.  Alas.  As such, New Avengers and Daredevil are going to be the books to just miss the cut.  New Avengers because I don’t know what the hell to make of the book at this point and Daredevil because, I don’t know, the Superior Spider-Man cameo?  Whatever.

For the top spot, I’ll go with Cap; next to Thor, this is my favourite Marvel NOW title (even if it’s apparently somewhat divisive).  I love how different it is.  I love the Burroughs-tinged pulpiness of it.  I love the Lone Wolf and Cub thing Remender’s got going on right now.  There really isn’t much I don’t like about this book.  This is really, really great stuff by one of Marvel’s ballsiest writers.

Saga #9:  It’s Saga.  There’s really not much more to be said.  Great storytelling, great art, great characters, great universe.  If Saga is coming out, it’s going to make this list every time.

Batman #16 – This Joker story of Snyder’s has been fantastic.  I was really wow’d by Snyder’s writing last issue.  That whole bit about Joker’s eyes?  Amazing.  I can’t wait to see what Snyder has in store this month.  Bring it.

All-New X-Men #6 – The biggest surprise of Marvel NOW rolls on.  Bendis has really exceeded expectations with this book, which has turned out to be horribly, horribly addictive.  There’s just something special about this book, with Bendis feeling more exciting than he has in some time.  I really dig that cover too.

Indestructible Hulk #3 – Not as much as New Avengers, but this is a book where I really don’t think we’ve seen much of yet.  I can tell it’s a good comic and that it will be a good comic and it feels very polished, and yet it still feels too early to get a real read on it, let alone judge it.  That said, it’s a very slick comic, the potential is huge, and the creators clearly have a very firm vision.  So much as was the case with the second issue, I’m very intrigued by what Waid and Yu will offer this month.