WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Lazarus #1 – It was probably very close between this and The Wake #2, but Lazarus has that nifty NEW smell whereas The Wake is soooo old and last month’s news (haha…just kidding).  Seriously, what put Lazarus over the top is the use of a different flavor of dystopian future than we’re used to and an interesting use of a powered individual that makes me question whether my declining interest in Big 2 superhero comics is due solely to the silly spandex costumes?  Regardless, it was a nifty comic and had great art from Michael Lark (including one great fight scene where the action actually flows from panel-to-panel).  I’m sure we’ll see The Wake here again before it finishes it’s run.  Heck, The Wake is so good that it could sweep the remaining Pick of the Weeks.

Most anticipated this week: Very light pull list for me this week, so there are some comics listed that I kinda anticipate being crap.

1). Transformers: Robots in Disguise #19 – Nothing like the fervor of the newly converted, but since I started catching up on the two main Transformers titles (RoD and More than Meets the Eye) I’ve been amazed at how good they are.  Seriously, I’m enjoying these enough that I rewatched the Transformers movies and was also Prowling (hehehe) on Amazon to look at action figures.  They’re even reasonably new reader friendly.  Pick them up.  You won’t be sorry.

2). Avengers #15 – I enjoy Jonathan Hickman and am moderately curious to see what Infinity will be about.  So, that leaves me mildly curious to see what happens in this issue (since it it touted as an Infinity-related comic).

3). Satellite Sam #1 – This could be a huge miss for me, but I’ll check it out.  It’s supposedly about the murder of a 1950’s serial TV star and it’s a new series from Image.  That sounds promising, but it’s written by Matt Fraction (who is usually a big miss for me) and drawn by Howard Chaykin (who draws faces on the sides of people’s heads).  This is precisely why we have digital comics: So you don’t have to commit to having something on your pull list.

4). Dexter #1 – Awesome timing, huh?  The Dexter TV-program is in its eighth (and final) season, so Marvel decides to launch a comic book to cash in on the popularity.  I do like the TV program even when it has it’s flaws, so the comic is worth a look.  I wish IDW was producing this instead of Marvel.

5). GI Joe: Special Missions #4 – This title is the bedridden, weak sister of the GI Joe line-up.  This initial story arc has been very slow moving and a long-time veteran artist like Paul Gulacy should be kinda ashamed to have his name on this art.  Seriously dude….use a pseudonym if your art is going to be this haphazard.  This title is here to remind us that IDW is, in fact, mortal when comes to licensed property comics.  Even they can screw up.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: X-Files, Season 10 #1 – The biggest challenge for a comic like this is whether it feels authentic.  This is a comic intended for fans of the X-Files TV series that ran from 1994 – 2002 and it needs to feel like the show they loved, otherwise there isn’t a whole lot of point to the comic series even existing (other than to grab some cash before fans discover the series isn’t very good).  This comic really overwhelmed me with how much the characters in the comic felt exactly like the characters from the TV show.  When I read it, it was almost like David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Mitch Pileggi were reading the word balloons to me.  I credit this to three things: one, the artwork captures the basic look and feel of those actors without being too photo-realistic; two, the setting seems like a real X-Files story; and third, the dialogue seems like it could have actually been from an X-Files episode that they just never got around to filming.  It’s really good.  Close runner-up: Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #19 (This series is outstanding!).

Most anticipated this week: Lots and lots of goodies this week.  Probably the longest my pull list has been in months….

1). The Wake #2 – Easy, easy call.  Even in a crowded week, the chance to see more of this underwater, supernatural horror-ish series from Sean Murphy and Scott Snyder really has me excited.  I really want to know more about that monster they had in chains!

2). Lazarus #1 – Greg Rucka and Michael Lark teaming up to tell the story of a powerful woman heroine in a dystopian setting?  How can that be anything but good?

3). The Massive #13 – It’s funny, I often find myself nit-picking on The Massive in reviews, but I’ll be damned if the comic doesn’t give me something to talk about.  Others who have written reviews know what I’m talking about: sometimes a work just doesn’t give you anything to react to even when the work is quite good.  The Massive always has something special about it, even when it disappoints me.

4). All-New X-Men #13 – I’m a little amazed at how much I enjoy this series.  A year or so ago, I was pretty sure that I was done with Big 2 superhero comics, but much of the Marvel Now stuff is really tickling me.  It just shows what happens when you let good creators tell stories that aren’t all tied to stupid “events”. ANXM is as good as any X-Men series has ever been and I love it for helping me rediscover the love of Big 2 superhero books.

5). FF #8 – Isn’t it amazing how much better this is than Fantastic Four?  FF is funky and funny and fun.  I LOVE the Michael & Laura Allred art team.