WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: FF #23 – Hickman’s run on Fantastic Four is sadly over, but this was a very nice send off.  It was so nice that I started rereading his run from the beginning last night because I’d like to experience it again.  Hickman understood that the FF are about adventure and family and that allowed his run to withstand all manner of publishing decisions that weren’t necessarily conducive to great storytelling (renumbering, spin off series, the Death Bag, etc).  Matt Fraction has some big shoes to fill.

Most anticipated this week: LOTS of good stuff this week.  I could probably do a Top 10 if I wanted to.

1). American Vampire #32 – With the news that AV is going on hiatus in a few issues, each remaining issue becomes more precious.  Scott Snyder swears it will come back next year and knowing him, the rebirth of the series will be something awesome – like jetting the series 100 years into the future or something.  However, the fact remains that he and Rafael Albuquerque are telling an outstanding story with The Blacklist that centers around vampires hiding amongst the elite of Hollywood.  Of course, the stars have been Pearl and Skinner Sweet and seeing their interactions change and the relationship grow has been good drama.

2). Bedlam #1 – I really enjoy Riley Rossmo’s art a TON, but unfortunately he’s been collaborating with a writer a lot recently whose work just doesn’t click with me.  So, I’m super-excited to see him paired up with Nick Spencer.  I haven’t been wild about Nick’s work at Marvel (but I’m not thrilled with most of Marvel right now), but his creator-owned stuff has been great: Morning Glories, Forgetless, Existence 2.0/3.0, etc.  If we get that Nick Spencer and Riley Rossmo, this should be great.  Oh yeah, it’s supposed to be a story about a homicidal manic trying to go straight or something.

3). Fashion Beast #3 – Even without it being a traditional Alan Moore work (FB is adapted from a 80’s screenplay that Moore wrote), it’s still pretty good.  What’s more, I think the fact that it is an old Moore work keeps all the people adapting it on the toes – lest the Bearded One give an interview about how pathetic it is that people are making money off his name.  This comic looks like people gave a shit about how it looks.

4). Rachel Rising #12 – If you aren’t reading Rachel Rising, why not?  The story is pretty good (Salem-esque witches coming back to haunt a town) and the art is spectacular.  Seriously, I thought Terry Moore was pretty awesome on Echo and Strangers in Paradise, but he’s leveled-up again with his art on RR.

5). The New Deadwardians #8 – I’m so sad that this isn’t an ongoing because I’d love to read more about this world where the zombie hordes were held back by all of the English nobility infecting themselves with the vampire virus.  As you can imagine, when you have zombies at the gates and vampires inside, some interesting things can (and do) happen.  The character work and art in this series have been outstanding.

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Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week:  Journey into Mystery #645 – It was a week full of farewells at Marvel, and while all were fairly good (FF in particular), the conclusion to one of Marvel’s very best books stole the show.  JIM was a hard-hitting, tragic finale that only served to emphasize how utterly merciless Gillen is to his characters and to his readers.  Packed full of emotion, pulling no punches, and showing some serious balls, this was a big issue and a truly fantastic conclusion.  Long-time series cover artist Stephanie Hans also comes in to do the interiors, and it’s about as gorgeous as you can expect.  It’s digitally painted interior work that actually, well, WORKS being lush and gorgeous without ever feeling artificial or buried in effects.

Most Anticipated: Swamp Thing Annual #1 – This week is a weird one in that there are a lot of solid books coming out, many of which will no doubt be quite good, but nothing that really, truly gets me excited.  I suppose it’s the calm before the Marvel NOW storm.  I suppose I’ll go with Swamp Thing’s annual given that it’s Scott Snyder and Becky Cloonan teaming up (!) to give us a double-sized dose of one of the best books coming out of DC.  On the downside, I do feel a little suckered: I’m staring at my stack right now and have only now discovered that Snyder has a co-writer on this one.  On the plus side, it’s Scott Tuft, the guy Snyder co-wrote Severed with, so it should be alright.

Fatale #9 – Fatale is a remarkably consistent book in quality, offering the same heady mix of pulp horror with every issue with two masters of their craft doing what they do best.  Every issue of Fatale guarantees high quality comics and so Fatale almost always has a place reserved for it on this list.

Mighty Thor #22 – Fraction’s run has certainly been an uneven ride, but with the Everything Burns crossover and the arc just prior to it, I felt the book finally found its footing.  While hardly the most remarkable Thor run of all time, I do respect Fraction as a creator and am a big Thor fan, so I’m interested to see how Fraction bids farewell to Asgardia.  Better still, it’s a done-in-one, so it won’t fall prey to the decompression that so often hampered Fraction’s run.

Happy #2 – The first issue of Happy was a thoroughly schizophrenic, bizarre book that seemed like it almost didn’t feel comfortable in its own skin.  And yet, I get the feeling that that was strangely the point.  With the blue horse showing up, things are only going to get weirder this month and just how MUCH weirder is what’s got me interested in this sophomore effort.

American Vampire #32 – Scott Snyder left us with one HELL of a cliffhanger last month as an old foe returned.  Given that this is the pen-ultimate issue of “the Blacklist” and Snyder’s continued promises that the Blacklist would be a huge, game-changing arc, I’m expecting big things out of this issue.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares #5 – This issue really hit all the right notes.  It was scary (or at least appropriately creepy), well written, featured wonderful art and added something to the ongoing American Vampire story.  Whenever this is released in hardcover, it’ll make a great read even for non-AV readers.

Most anticipated this week: When you’ve almost completely disowned the Big 2, it makes for some light weeks.  But, while I’m trying to finish The Twelve this week, here are some of the comics I’m looking forward to.

1). The Unwritten #42 – There’s nothing that isn’t quality about this wonderful series from Vertigo.  This issue starts a new story arc as Tom Taylor ventures into the land of the dead in an attempt to rescue a friend.  I can’t wait to see what inventive stuff the creators come up with.  I mean, if a character can be plucked out of a novel (the words become flesh) what does that mean when such a character is dissolved into words.  Do they vanish?  Do they go back to the character they were before?  Are they some amalgam of their prior self PLUS whatever experiences they accrued in the real world?

2). Mind Mgmt #6 – We’re getting some early answers in this mind-twisting series.  I don’t really want to spoil things in a mere preview for the issue, but this comic is doing an very interesting job of examining some of the reality altering powers that started to drive Dr. Manhattan nuts in Watchmen.

3). Fables #122 – As much as I love Vertigo ongoings, I’ve never been able to stick with Fables.  BUT supposedly, Fables and The Unwritten are crossing over soon, so it would probably be worthwhile to check out the current status quo of the Fables universe.  Who knows?  Maybe this will be the time I get hooked?

4). Amazing Spider-Man #696 – I’m enjoying the build-up to issue #700 when something BIG will obviously happen.  I don’t think I have any interest in reading this new Superior Spider-Man from Marvel NOW! (despite some kick-ass artistic talent: Stegman AND Ramos!), but I could be convinced otherwise.

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Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week: Hawkeye #3 – Not even close.  There is no other comic like this on the stands and Fraction and Aja are putting out a superhero book that is quick, witty, action-packed, and a whole new kind of superhero comic altogether.  If you’re reading Marvel comics and you’re not picking this up, you really need to rectify that.

Most Anticipated:  Invincible Iron Man #527 – There are a lot of farewells to lengthy runs this week, but this one takes the cake for me.  While I know others feel strongly otherwise, this is my favourite Iron Man run and really the definitive Iron Man for the 21st century.  I’ve loved this series throughout, and while there was a period around Fear Itself where the series dragged a bit, it’s ended up closing the show just as strongly as it opened it.  I loved Fraction’s take on Tony and friends and will miss this run/series tremendously, particularly given that I’ve been reviewing it for years, having done my first review of it not long after starting here at WCBR.

Punisher: War Zone #1 – And so Greg Rucka’s swansong on the Punisher begins, a book that was criminally under-appreciated by the marketplace.  This was a fantastic book and given how intimate and “small” it was, I’m curious to see how Rucka tackles a big, Avengers slugfest story with this series.

FF #23 – Another farewell to a lengthy run that will go down as one of the best in the franchise’s history.  Much like Fraction’s Iron Man, this will be a tearful farewell for me.  Hickman got me back into Marvel’s First Family and now I can’t imagine ever leaving them.  And Hickman’s leaving with a Franklin issue?  Sounds good to me.

Captain America #19 – Yet ANOTHER final issue for a long (8 year!), character-defining run.  While I’ve been pretty up-front in saying that I think Brubaker’s run out of gas and has been mailing it in lately, with original artistic pal Steve Epting on board and just one more issue, I think Brubaker can conjure some of the old magic just to say goodbye in this one issue.  And hey, no more Cullen Bunn co-writing; that should be a good sign that I’m right (particularly given how awful the last co-written arc was).

Journey into Mystery #645 – Yup, it’s another final issue.  All I can say is thank goodness Gillen is writing a Kid Loki-led Young Avengers, or I’d be inconsolably sad about the ending of this series.  This has truly been among the very best Marvel comics of the last decade, a ripping fantasy yarn with great character-work throughout.  Young Avengers or not, I’ll miss this one.