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.