WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: Trillium #1 – I really liked this a lot.  I think I’ve enjoyed just about everything that Jeff Lemire has been the writer/artist on, but there has been a sense of sameness about his stories like Essex County, Sweet Tooth and The Underwater Welder.  All of those stories were very much about the relationships between fathers and sons.  That doesn’t mean they were bad in any way.  Those prior stories all had incredible gut-punch moments that you’ll probably remember for the rest of your comic life.  But…I’m very intrigued by this new work from Lemire because I don’t see how Trillium can possibly be about fathers and sons.  This will be something new.  I also really enjoyed the set-up to this issue where we have a woman in the far future who is trying to cure a galactic plague that is wiping out humanity.  Bonus points for clever use of the flip-book format too.  This is an issue that could be perceived differently depending on which half you read first.  Very strong and promising.

Most Anticipated:  Whoa….this is the week of the heavy-hitters!  Some weeks, a comic can snare Pick of the Week with a B+ effort.  Not this week.  I can’t imagine none of these books turning in an “A” performance.

1. Saga #13 – Yeah….Saga is probably the best comic being published right now.  You know how some comics go away for a few months (due to art delays, usually) and you realize you just don’t care anymore?  That’s not the case with Saga.  I’ve missed it dearly since the last issue came out a few months ago.  Welcome back!

2. The Walking Dead #113 – The last issue really ended on a tense note, and I’m really eager to see what Negan will do now that Rick has completely exhausted Negan’s patience.  That time Rick pulled a stunt like this, [MAJOR CHARACTER] got bludgeoned to death as punishment.  Expect something bad to happen….

3. East of West #5 – Last issue showed this excellent new series turning the corner from clever concept to cool story.  I’m fully on board with this tale of an alt-future where the Four Horseman have to deal with a traitorous Death.

4. Batman #23 – So far, Zero Year hasn’t been awesome, but it hasn’t sucked either.  Sometimes I think I expect too much of the Batman team based on their past excellence.  They’ve been so consistently good that it’s like their still pitching a shutout into the 11th inning.  So, the last few issues have been the equivalent of giving up a run or two, but it’s still a pretty solid story and I’m confident that it’ll have its awesome moments before all is said and done.

5. Infinity #1 – It’s funny how much more I enjoy Marvel events now that I don’t compulsively read all of the Marvel titles.  It’s easier this way and I don’t have to worry about how how all this EVENT stuff can be going on while not affecting the other 20 Marvel books I read.  This is Hickman’s first real shot at an event.  Let’s see how he does….

Hugo’s Pick

Best From The Past Week: Manhattan Projects #13 – There were a lot of release this week, yet none that really caught my attention or thoroughly impressed me. The best thing I did read, though, was this delightful issue by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra. A nice story with some scene with the evil Einstein, Oppenheimer and the same entertaining and crazed super science that make this series worth it.

Most anticipated this week:

1. East of West #5 – Hickman may have a big week with the release of his big event comic from Marvel, yet I’m pretty sure this series will be better in term of ambition and pure enjoyment. Ambitious settings, mysterious characters and innovation are three great strengths this series possess and I’m convinced it will continue to showcase it in this issue.

2. Saga #13 – It’s back. Hurray! I have to admit I had missed the fantasy/sci-fi vibe ith a touch of romance and family life that this series uniquely used in order to make its story progress. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples have something really great here and it’s nice for us readers to see it come back after a few months of wait.

3. Thor: God of Thunder #11 – The conclusion to the, dare I say, epic storyline that Jason Aaron begun is there and I am really curious to see how he can finish this in a satisfying fashion. This title has been a true treat with every issue and with the promise of great cosmic and divine action with the ever-so gorgeous artwork of Esad Ribic makes for something I have high hope for.

4. Infinity #1 – As a comic book reader, I should know better than to believe the hype behind any type of event comic, yet this one does seem promising. Cosmic adventures with tons of fan-favourites, connecting the plot threads of Hickman’s Avengers and New Avengers run with Jim Cheung as an artist, I’d have to say it’s a bit hard not to be optimistic on my part after reading all of this. Here’s hoping Hickman delivers.

5. Six-Gun Gorilla #3 – The second issue wasn’t as strong as the first one, yet it did show us a lot of weird sci-fi goodness with some acceptable amount of fun. It’s a rather unique book that deserves some attention and some love and believe me, it does deserve it thanks to the neat ideas of Simon Spurrier and cartoonish art of Jeff Stokely.

Trillium #1 – Review

By: Jeff Lemire (story & art), José Villarrubia (colors)

Over time, every writer develops a repertoire of subjects, themes, and motifs he’s clearly more interested in than others.  I’m talking about Grant Morrison’s obsession with the nature of storytelling, Geoff Johns and what it means to be a hero, Scott Snyder’s reflections and manifestations of fear.  These are the things which become identified with a writer’s narrative personality, as much as the stylistic elements of their writing itself.

Even though Lemire has relatively few major works to his name, he’s already revealed certain patterns in his storytelling.  That he enjoys spending his time on the purer side of science-fiction is quite obvious.  Trillium, involving a plot which traverses not only the far reaches of space, but also between the expanses of time, certainly fits the bill.  There’s even a bit of conceptual ingenuity reminiscent of Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. in Lemire’s notion of a sentient virus with a particular vendetta for Earthlings, wherever they may reside.

Lemire also has a fascination with new frontiers and end-days scenarios, with a scattering of people facing an uncertain future.  There’s an obvious connection between this series and Sweet Tooth in the way plague threatens humanity’s survival, although the scope of Trillium is far more expansive.  Looking at one of the last science colonies, perched on a practically barren planet on the far edge of known space, a massive black hole barring any other paths of escape, and the weight of isolation and loneliness here is equal to any felt by the humans surviving in Sweet Tooth’s wilderness.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: The Wake #3 – This issue was SO good.  The first part of the issue was incredible, “monster on board” action-horror.  It’ll remind you of the Alien movies OR – more appropriately – 80’s underwater horror B-movies like Leviathan and Deep Star Six.  It just has a wonderful and scary pacing as the monster causes mayhem and the crew tries to escape.  There are also a few really clever panels where the creature is using it’s hypnotic powers on people and the panel only makes sense if you look at it from the proper point of view…..so it’s almost like you (the reader) were hypnotized too.  This is just a wonderful series.

Most Anticipated: 

1. Trillium #1 – Yay!  Another new series from Vertigo!  New Vertigo series make me feel happier about comics.  Anyway, this is written and drawn by Jeff Lemire and is a science-fiction themed love story.  Sounds great!

2. Transformers: Robots in Disguise #20 – After our diversion last issue to follow the much-less-intersting Orion Pax (i.e. Optimus Prime) storyline, we return to the much-MORE-interesting happenings back on Cybertron.  I’m not sure this series is quite as good as its sister-title (More than Meets the Eye), but it is still among the best ongoing series in the superhero-ish category.

3. The Manhattan Projects #15 – Funny how these series get started and everyone raves about the first 2-3 issues, makes them Pick of the Week and all that…..then by the 7th issue nobody even bothers to talk about them anymore.  That won’t happen here.  This is a wonderful and clever series.  I’m still not sure I really understand what the bigger story is, but I’m certainly enjoying the journey.

4. GI Joe: Cobra Files #5 – This continues to be THE best of the multiple GI Joe titles.  It’s always a little darker and a little more espionage-themed than the more mainstream Joe books.  I love how almost every character in the series has impure motives.

5. Sheltered #2 – The first issue of this series was pretty good.  It focuses on a “prepper” community where the teenage kids go rogue and start taking over by force.  It isn’t clear what the kids are up to yet, but it is an entertaining and somewhat unique scenario.

Hugo’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #19 – This was a relatively small week in term or releases, yet there was still a very strong title coming out as a new issue of MTMTE arrived. Delivering once more in terms of great characterization, beautiful and detailed art and just too many great ideas, this was the most satisfying issue I had to read as the quality of this title simply continues in a consistent way.

Most Anticipated:

1. Dial H #15 – This is just plain sad. A wonderful series full of new ideas, new characters and a willingness to exploit them in ways that made for good stories. And it’s cancelled. It is with a certain sadness that I’ll be reading the final issue of that series, yet I am really looking forward as to how China Miéville may finish this whole adventure as we see Nelson for one last time.

2. Abe Sapien #5 – The latest issue was particularly well-written, as the focus on how humanity, both in the figurative and literal sense, struggled with the apocalypse made for a surprisingly philosophical and gripping read. With this issue being the conclusion to this arc about Abe discussing those kind of things with a bunch of young men and a young woman, I am really curious to see how the writers will connect the subjects of those discussions with what is going on in the comic.

3. Manhattan Projects #13 – The delightfully weird super-science adventure written by Hickman and drawn by Pitarra makes for some insanely entertaining comic and there’S no reason to believe that the quality will drop off anytime soon. I am looking forward for more stories featuring those crazy versions of Oppenheimer and Einstein as those scientists continue their expansion in a world without limits.

4. Fatale #16 – Ed Brubaker. Sean Phillips. That’s pretty much all I need to know when I see both names on a cover. This creative team made some astounding series together and this one is not disappointing in any way as the mix of lovecraftian lore and noir mix very well together to create a very interesting narrative and world for us readers to explore.

5. Avengers #17 – This title really got its groove as the prelude to Infinity made use of the massive number of plot points it had set up in the first 12 issues of the title. With big stakes and this issue being the very last one before the big event kicks off, I am really eager to see if Hickman can deliver in order to bring some more hype into this event that is to come.