WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Chew #33 – Amazing how much effort goes into the sight gags in this comic.  I loved this issue and appreciate how unflinching the creators are in approaching the boundaries of good taste, but never veering over the edge.  The “story” in Chew almost doesn’t matter.  It’s just about the perfect comic book.

Most anticipated this week: Wow–last week I only had five comics, this week I have SIXTEEN.  If anyone ever wonders about what randomness is, they should check out a comic book release schedule.  My pull list probably has an average of 9 with a standard deviation of 3.

1). East of West #2 – The first issue was “light your socks on fire awesome” and the pick of the week.  I expect no less this week from Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta.  The art is glorious and the story is a weird combination of alternate history, westerns and the Four Horseman.

2). Jupiter’s Legacy #1 – Mark Millar gets to play with all the cool artists.  Even though it seems trendy to bash on Millar, his books sell really well and sometimes get made into movies.  Basically, it’s a nice way for an artist to get PAID more than a page rate.  I generally enjoy Millar’s work, especially how he is willing to push the envelope in pursuit of an attention-grabbing moment; nothing great every came of playing it safe.  So, seeing him do a take on what becomes of the children of superheroes should be interesting.  Plus….it’s illustrated by superstar artist Frank Quietly.  Should be awesome…

3). The Unwritten #46 – It’s a shame that more people aren’t talking about this series anymore.  You can almost see why Vertigo is getting out of the 60-issue series business.  Still, this series is more thought-provoking than any other ongoing series without Alan Moore’s name attached to it (i.e. Fashion Beast).  Last issue saw Tommy Taylor get a surprise in his efforts to rescue Lizzie from Hades and I can’t wait to see what twists and turns this issue holds.

4). Morning Glories #26 – This confounding series kicks off Season Two with this issue.  Even though the finale of “Season One” didn’t answer many questions, I really appreciate the dedication to long-form storytelling that Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma are showing.  I wonder if Season Two will have a unique direction or a different feel about it?

5). Rachel Rising #16 – This series is churning through it’s middle section at an admirable pace.  The heroes and villains are on the board now and the stakes are becoming clear.  Now I’m ready to see Terry Moore begin to transition this series toward a climax.  Of course, while I’m waiting, there’s the pure joy of seeing Mr. Moore drawing women.  He’s among the best in the business.

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Hugo’s Top Picks

Pick of the week: Daredevil: End of Days #7 – This wasn’t the biggest of weeks for me, but I do have to say that the strongest title had to be the story of Ben Urich and his investigation of the Mapone mystery in Bendis take on the future of Daredevil’s corner of the Marvel universe. It had everything: great art, good character moments, revelations, plot twist, action and it succeeded in making me very interested in just how all of this will wrap up.

Most anticipated this week: 1) East of West #2 – What can I say about this title that hasn’t been said in the excellent review featured on this site? Big ideas, big scope, huge world, amazing potential? All there and even more with Nick Dragotta’s fantastic art and designs. If this issue is as good as the first one, I do believe we’re in for a wild ride.

2) New Avengers #5 – Another Hickman book, this time featuring our favourite secret ruler group with impossible choices to make. The visit to another Earth was a very intriguing concept and I really want to know how this secretive group will solve the situation they are in. Combine that with the dark, yet utterly expressive work of Steve Epting and we may have another winner in an already strong title.

3) Jupiter’s Legacy #1 – I am not the biggest fan of Mark Millar. I do admit that he can be really great, but at times he strikes me as a somewhat childish author that tries to makes his work ‘’mature’’ and as violent as possible because he can. Why do I even bother with this title then? Frank Quitely. Ever since I saw his impossibly beautiful work in books like We3, Flex Mentallo and All-Star Superman, I’ve become a fan and I am looking forward to this mostly because of the art.

4) Batman Incorporated #10 – The finale to Grant Morrison bat epic is close at hand and he only has a handful of issues to bring the whole story to a satisfying conclusion. With all the pieces moving into place and Batman desiring to avenge Damian’s demise, we may get something really good out of this. With Burnham on the art, it will surely look good, that’s for sure.

5) Transformers: More Than Meets The Eyes #16 – With the way everything went down in last issue, how could I not be eager to read this? With James Roberts and his big addition and ideas to the lore of those transforming robots and the excellent, yet very busy art of Alex Milne, this title is certainly something I am always looking forward each and every month.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Saga #12 – This probably wasn’t the best issue of Saga, but it shows what a strong series Saga is that a relatively weak effort is still pick of the week.  I really enjoy the character of Prince Robot IV just because he seems so different than everyone else.  I want to know more about him and his people, why he has a TV for a head and why his subconscious thinks of wagon wheels when he is wounded on the battlefield.  Brian K. Vaughn probably writes smoother dialog than anyone else in the industry right now and Fiona Staples is just wicked with her artwork.

Most anticipated this week: My goodness, it’s like the comic publishers got together and said, “Let’s not publish anything that Dean wants to read this week.”  It’s a good thing we don’t do a Top 6 because I’ve only got five comics coming out this week….

1). Chew #33 – I always love the cutting, black humor of Chew.  This comic is always willing to push the jokes just slightly into the area of poor taste and I love it for that.  I also love the dedication to putting sight gags into 50% of the panels in the issue.  You see lots of artists doing sight gags in issue #1, but not so many still going strong this far into the series.

2). Mara #4 – This series isn’t as great as I’d hoped, but as always, Brian Wood has something deeper to say than “Biff, Bang, Pow!”  I really enjoy the contrast between how offended the public is with Mara and her superhuman athletic performances and how rah-rah they probably will be when those same abilities are used by the military.  I guess in sport you want fairness, but in war you want domination?

3). The Sixth Gun #30 – This series feels like it is heading for a crescendo.  Everything about the action indicates that cute little Becky is getting very comfortable with The Sixth Gun and that won’t bode well for the bad guys (or anyone else for that matter).  Last issue was aces.

4). Age of Ultron #6 – Art change!  The story has been pretty enjoyable despite the really mediocre art of Bryan Hitch.  Remember, this guy used to be THE hot artist.  What the hell happened?  Anyway, the story is hopping along.  I really appreciate the weekly release schedule because this would feel WAY too decompressed if it was spread over an entire year.

5). Wolverine and the X-Men #27 – This wouldn’t make the Top 5 most weeks, but since I only have 5 comics coming out this week…  I guess some of the novelty has worn off of Jason Aaron’s run on this title.  I still greatly enjoy it, but it just doesn’t feel like THE X-Men title anymore.  Still, you can do a lot worse than reading a Jason Aaron comic, especially when he is paired with the types of artists who have been on this book.

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Hugo’s Top Picks

Pick of the week: Thor: God of Thunder #7 – This was a strong week in many aspects, with titles such as Saga getting a new issue, yet to me, Jason Aaron’s take on the god of thunder proved to be a better book this time. With an epic scope, some good character work and art to die for, issue 7 was just absolutely great and is my pick of this week.

Most anticipated this week: 1) Daredevil: End of Days #7 – This series is approaching its climax, as Bendis and Mack proved that they have a definitely great take on the character and his whole mythology. The series has been fantastic so far and with all the wild cards and the mysteries thrown in, I get the feeling this one is going to be just as great as the latest ones.

2) Captain America #6 – This weird sci-fi take on the sentinel of liberty’s adventure proved to be very imaginative so far and it makes me eager to see where Rick Remender is going with this. If John Romita Jr. could manage to bring back the quality artwork he proved he could do in the first issues of this series, this could very well be a strong contender this week as a memorable book.

3) X-O Manowar #12 – This title introduced me to Valiant and it has been my very favourite so far, providing cosmic and utterly good stories thanks to a promise that’s a bit silly, yet is all kind of awesome. With Planet Death going on, there is no way to know just what kind of things will happen to Aric, yet I really want to find out.

4) X-Men Legacy #9 – This definitely weird title is quite different from the other X-titles, which is what makes it so good. The adventures of David Charles Haller are surprisingly creative and well-written, as both the question of actual legacy, infinite power and the fate of mutant kind is discussed and shown in this terrific title. Simon Spurrier made me care about Legion, which is the highest of praise I can give to someone who made me love a character I despised before.

5) Superior Spider-Man #8 – The way the latest issue ended proved to be too good a cliff-hanger. If Dan Slott can actually manage to pull something like this off and surprise us even further, he’ll have proved that he knows very well how to play with our expectations yet again, something he has shown ever since the debut of this series. With Ramos on art, this is something worth being eager about.