WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: The Wake #1 – Some weeks it is like comics gives us a big “Easy Button” when it comes to making pick-of-the-week selections.  The combination of Scott Snyder, Sean Murphy and underwater science/horror is pretty hard to resist.  I need to know what the creature does and where it comes from and why it is in this state!  Engaging story and world-class art!

Most anticipated this week: 1). East of West #3 – When the first two issues have been pick-of-the-week, it’s pretty safe to say that the third issue will be highly anticipated.  The combination of apocalypse plus alt-history (alt-Civil War to be specific) and some wonderful art make this a can’t miss.

2). Fashion Beast #10 – Seeing how unread and uncovered this excellent series has been really makes me want to get on my indie-comic high horse, but readers of this site already know that I love it and think it has featured some of the most complex and deep storytelling going on right now.  This is the finale of the series and that means the collected edition of this Alan Moore series shouldn’t be too far behind.

3). Kick Ass 3 #1 – The Kick Ass story might be a little played out, but this miniseries is supposedly the final chapter and I’m curious to see what lengths/depths Mark Millar will go to just to get a rise out of the readership.  Did you ever think that we’d ever see John “Mr. Marvel” Romita, Jr. drawing so many depraved things?  Most of the things that happen in Kick Ass would be off-panel in a Spidey comic.

4). Rachel Rising #17 – This series is kinda going through a “middle-act lull” right now.  We’ve gotten the basic shape of the story and characters out of the way, but we really haven’t begun a march toward the climax–yet.  Even if we have another month of slowness, it’s still nice to look at Terry Moore’s artwork.  The guy draws women soooooooo wonderfully.

5). All-New X-Men #12 – When I was a kid, I was a huge X-Men fan.  My first issue off the spinner rack was Uncanny #162, so it was right in the heart of the classic Claremont era.  When I got back into comics as an adult, I immediately wanted to see what the X-Men were up to.  Unfortunately, this was during the mid-400’s of Uncanny and the comics pretty much sucked.  I mostly blamed the failure on the fact that there were “too many X-titles” and groused about that for years.  But, now, we’ve got about all those titles and most of them are really good.  I don’t know if they’re as good as the classic stuff: different comics for different eras.  But, I haven’t been sorry I paid money for All New X-Men yet.

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Hugo’s Top Picks

Pick of the week: Transformers: More Than Meets The Eyes #17 – There were some good titles this week, but none that personally satisfied me as much as the continuing adventures of those changing robots. With their continuous adventures and the genuine development that they receive each month, I’m always surprised by how much I’m enjoying this title. If this first issue is any indicator, the title will continue its run of excellence as a new arc begins.

Most anticipated this week: 1) East of West #3 – This apocalyptic sci-fi western that seems to be going in an almost political tone filled with mystery is just too tantalizing for words. I have no idea where this series is going, yet the superb artwork of Nick Dragotta coupled with the various revelations given to us by Hickman in the last two issues have made me very eager to see each and every issue being released each month.

2) Daredevil: End of Days #8 – This is it. It’s the final issue where everything will be revealed as we see just what ‘’Mapone’’ means along with the other mysteries imagined in the future vision of Bendis for the Daredevil corner of the Marvel universe. With the pacing, the angle and the art always being top-notch, I am both curious and sad to see the end of this superb series.

3) Dial H #13 – While the news of this title’s cancellation was a hard pill to swallow, I will not abandon such a unique and creative title, especially since the concepts introduced are so captivating. How will Nelson react to the fact that there is a whole team with dials? How did they just find theirs? With a plot as compelling as this, I will stay onboard until the bitter end.

4) Winter Soldier #19 – Another final issue, this one starring one of the better reworked character from the past ten years. While I’m not sure if the story will be able to top the latest issue in its conclusion, I am confident in the fact that Nic Klein will be able to do what he does best: surprise me. His art has been the best part of this title and I do hope that he’ll do some of his best work here.

5) Green Lantern #21 – This is more curiosity than anything on my part, as I do not know if Robert Venditti will reach the same height that Geoff Johns once did with his tenure on the title. Still, with Billy Tan on art and a whole new direction with Hal Jordan and the corps, I do hope that I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The Wake #1 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Sean Murphy (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors)

The Story: We have a lot more to fear from the sea than the urine of our fellow swimmers.

The Review: Coincidentally enough, yesterday morning I happened to catch a clip of Animal Planet’s pseudo-documentary on mermaids, which, if you can believe it, apparently captured the largest audience the channel’s ever gotten for a program.  Even though the whole thing was expressly made up, quite a lot of people tuned in anyway to watch scientists (Real?  Fake?) feign astonishment and amazement at fake footage of humanoid sea creatures.

I have to admit, I did find eerie this one part of the clip where the scientists are watching a video taken deep underwater, and suddenly, breaking the pitch darkness, you see an illuminated, finned hand briefly slap the camera with a startling thump.  It had the same vaguely chilling effect of an alien movie, not the kind where the aliens are already rampaging about in droves, but when the humans are only just starting to see incontrovertible signs of their existence already on the planet.  It reminds you just how mysterious and threatening the ocean remains in our knowledge.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: The Unwritten #49 – Not the best issue of this series ever, but it’s still more thought-provoking than most other comics.  I like how the stage is pretty clearly set for what should be the final stages of this story.  It’s just really fascinating to see the way Mike Carey and Peter Gross have played with the idea of story vs. reality.  Can’t wait to re-read this series someday.  Let’s just hope that the looming crossover with Fables doesn’t screw things up.  I read Vertigo comics to get away from crossovers…..

Most anticipated this week: 

1). The Wake #1 – Some weeks I don’t know what to place atop my “most anticipated” list, but this one is really easy.  The Wake is written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Sean Murphy, so this comic could probably be about the Care Bears and it would be excellent.  But, the subject matter has me just as intrigued.  It’s something about deep underwater mining platforms and mysteries of the deep.  Knowing the creators a little bit, it wouldn’t surprise me if they hold some affinity for those late 80’s underwater sci-fi/horror movies like The Abyss and the less-highly-regarded Leviathan and Deep Star Six.  This should be awesome.

2). Chew #34 – This is one of the best comics being published.  I can’t think of another comic that makes me laugh so much.  Even some of my non-comic friends quote lines from it just because they’ve heard me say them (even if they don’t know where the funny lines come from).  The story doesn’t even really matter any more than “the story” matters on Saturday Night Live.  Just enjoy and laugh.

3). Elephantmen #48 – Compared to Chew, Elephantmen is a series where “the story” really matters.  Last issue was a real gem that plugged me right back into the narrative.  We now know so much more about how the elephantmen are being manipulated and what was going on with all those Chinese Tiger-men on the moon.

4). Morning Glories #27 – Speaking of series that I need to reread…  It really wouldn’t hurt to spend a little more time getting myself reacquainted with the plot threads of Morning Glories because I’m 99% sure I’d enjoy the series a LOT more if I just refreshed my memory on a few key plot-points.  That being said, I still deeply enjoy the series and respect the long-form storytelling.

5). G.I. Joe #4 – Fred Van Lente has been having a snappy time with the main Joe title since taking over as writer.  Last issue was really kinda clever and showed how Cobra was interrogating a captured Duke into revealing some vital information.  Main-line GI Joe comics aren’t usually going to be great comics, but they can be a lot of fun.

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Hugo’s Top Picks

Pick of the week: Journey Into Mystery #652 – While there was some good things coming out this week, none were as satisfying as Sif’s continued adventure as written by Kathryn Immonen and drawn by Valerio Schitti. Good and satisfying character works is not something that any writer can pull off, yet she did so admirably and this series deserves as much love as it can get just for that.

Most anticipated this week: 1) New Avengers #6 – Even though the main Avengers title has its share of up and downs, this title kept on going up in its quality and this issue should be no different. With this one being the finale of the first arc involving the colliding Earths, I am eager to see just how this will all be resolved and what kind of things will entail from the actions of the Illuminati.

2) Adventures of Superman #1 – I love Superman. I like the character, the mythology around him and the symbol he represents, yet I can’t say that we’re in a particularly good position right now in terms of comics starring the character himself. I hope this title, with people like Jeff Parker, Chris Samnee and others, shall fill out that niche for quality stories about the Man of Steel himself.

3) Transformers: More Than Meets The Eyes #17 – With the first mega-arc being over, I have to say I’m curious to know where this comic will be heading. Still, if it keeps on being the smart, conceptual and funny read featuring interesting character that it kept on being for sixteen issues, there’s no cause for less anticipation for this title.

4) The Wake #1 – While I do like Scott Snyder, I have to see I’m more eager to see Sean Murphy at work here. I love his art and I do want to see him drawing a more horrific story with monsters and the like. If Snyder can channel his American Vampire talent into this, this should prove to be a quality read.

5) Dark Avengers #190 – I have to be honest here: I don’t really think this will be a satisfying conclusion to the whole story that Jeff Parker has written since Thunderbolts. However, I still have some hope that he can brings some closure to some of the characters and I do want to see just how he can close this whole run. Curiosity is more the factor here.