Haunt #8 – Review

By: Robert Kirkman (writer), Greg Capullo (pencils), Jonathan Glapion & Todd McFarlane (inks), FCO Plascencia (colors) & Richard Starkings (letters)

The Story: Daniel, the priestly half of the brothers Kilgore, begins his training as a secret agent.

What’s Good: I’ll take some more art like this, please!  When Haunt first started, it was a bit like an all-star team in sports: great on paper (no pun intended), but not great at working together.  The art in this issue is the best on Haunt yet as Capullo has settled into the penciler job and it appears that Glapion did most of the inking.  From the looks of this, I’d love it if we could just see McFarlane get a “creator” credit from here on out because Glapion’s inks are really awesome.  This would be a good comic to hand to a new reader who is confused about what inking is: “See this….this is good inking.”

And, the layouts/pencils are pretty sweet too.  In particular we have 3 splash pages that are both nicely done AND visually innovative.  Great stuff, although I’d imagine that Haunt is a real pain in the ass to draw with all the ectoplasm squirting all over the place.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: The Walking Dead #75 – This was a really good issue that shows the pressure of leadership finally getting to Rick, plus it had the whacky, cool, back-up story.  You could also consider this a bit of a lifetime achievement award for a creator-owned comic that has never (by my reckoning) had a poor issue.

Most Anticipated: Uncanny X-Men #526 – I really enjoyed Second Coming,  so I’m excited to see the new direction for the X-Men.  My world is just happier when the X-books are good, and they’ve all been pretty sharp recently.

Other Top Picks: American Vampire #5, Haunt #8, Wolverine Weapon X #15, PunisherMax #9, Incorruptible #8

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Avengers #2 – A dose of old-school fun that genuinely surprised me.  It’s nothing complex, nor is it the best for overall narrative progression, but it’s a rippingly enjoyable read and often that counts for quite a lot.

Most Anticipated: Wonder Woman #601 – In an absolutely, ridiculously stacked week that is guaranteed to make the wallet bleed, I decided to go for the unknown.  Where is JMS going with this?  The fact that I have no idea what to expect from this issue, outside of high quality, has me intrigued.

Other Picks: American Vampire #5, Secret Avengers #3, Batman: the Return of Bruce Wayne #4, Fantastic Four #581, The Flash #4, Green Lantern #56, Madame Xanadu #25, Punishermax #9, Action Comics #891, Thor #612, Unknown Soldier #22, Wolverine: Weapon X #15

Joe’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour GN – Bryan Lee O’Malley brought to a close his wonderful pop culture romance in a way that pleased me to no end.  6 years in the making, and even with all of that build-up, I was still satisfied with how the creator wrapped up the many plot-lines and relationships that he set into motion so long ago.  And it was all a heck of a lot of fun!

Most Anticipated: Uncanny X-Men #526 – I’m still riding off of the high of Second Coming, so I’m eager to see where the franchise goes from here.  The fact that Allan Heinberg and  Olivier Coipel have a bonus back-up that connects to Avengers: The Children’s Crusade is the cherry on top.

Other Top Picks: American Vampire #5, Flash #4, Green Lantern #56, Secret Avengers #3, Punisher Max #9, Wolverine Weapon X #15, X-Men Legacy #238