Oh man, have plenty of other things I could be doing, but here I am writing a blog for you. You owe me! Let’s do this!
My Top Five (The Five Best comics of the Week)
Amazing Spider-Man #647 Writer/Artist: Various
This is one of the rare occasions where a $4.99 price tag actually makes sense. This comic is huge, wrapping up all the pieces of Brand New Day, and setting everything up for the next set of arcs. As it has been for months, this Spidey issue is a lot of fun. It gives a lot of different writer artist combos to provide their own pieces of the Brand New Day ending. There’s a really strange conclusion to the Harry Osborn section that makes me wonder where it is going to go. Mission accomplished both in terms of overall quality and ability to make me wonder what’s coming next. I’m tired of enjoying Spider-man! Heads up that it now will be twice a month, and I believe moving to a $3.99 price point (but how can you let that stop you?)
Batman and Robin #16 Writer: Grant Morrison Artist: Cameron Stewart, Frazer Irving, Chris Burnham
That’s a freaking sweet line-up of artists. Are you guys tired of me heaping praise on B&R yet? Well this is the last Morrison issue, soon to be followed by Batman Inc., so I’ll change my viewpoints accordingly. This issue kinda wraps up most of the loose ends that Morrison has planted throughout his entire run, but leaves just enough of a new status quo to keep us all interested. It’s so damn pretty to look at, regardless of who is doing the art. Stewart tears up the huge fight scene, Irving has plenty of crazy Joker/Hurt goodness, and Burnham fills in every gap. Just missing some Frank Quitely, but really, who am I to complain?
Irredeemable #19 Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Peter Krause
Is this series ending soon? Because it reaches a stopping point this issue that has me wondering how much longer Waid can keep it going. This entire story has been very enjoyable, but I always have problems keeping track of the characters. I honestly find myself going “ok, who was that again?” most of the time. All of these characters are undeniable parallels to Marvel and DC, so that makes it a little more confusing. However, this issue was absolutely fantastic. It used a lot of pieces from previous issues to tie things together, and advanced the plot several different ways in the space of its limited pages. This is what you do with a single issue of a comic people!
Secret Six #27 Writer: Gail Simone Artist: Jim Calafiore
You should stop reading whatever you are reading (except this blog) and go pick up all the Secret Six stuff you can. It’s the perfect little enemy espionage book, much in the style of the 80’s Suicide Squad series. It’s just a way for a lot of evil people to be doing a lot of evil things. Mix in the fact that Simone actually uses Amanda Waller from the Suicide Squad, and this story is probably one of the most interesting on the shelves right now. Cat-man was literally wearing a Warlord costume. Do you really need to know any more than that? You don’t, so just get out there and buy this thing right now!
Wolverine #3 Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Renato Guedes
I can barely explain why I’m enjoying this so much. It’s a really strange, really weird tale about the soul of Logan in hell, and I’m enjoying the hell out of it. I find the use of dead heroes, and Puck to be strangely interesting. The fact that the body of Logan is being used for some kinda demon murder spree in the real world also works for me. I find myself wondering where this is going to go, and expecting disappointment, but that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy the ride. Also, it’s been interesting to see Guedes, who formerly drew Superman, changing styles and tone almost completely for the Wolverine title.
Stuff Worth Noting (Not the best, but you still should know it came out)
Strange Tales II #2 Writers/Artists: various: Not as good as the first issue, but plenty to enjoy. Hernandez bros, Hornschemeier and Tony Millionaire make this easily worth checking out.
The Boys #48 Writer: Garth Ennis Artist: Russ Braun: A much more gentle opening to an arc after the intensity of the last issue. Surprise to see Braun still on art; I need my Robertson fix!
Crossed: Family Values #5 Writer: David Lapham Artist: Javier Barreno: I feel dirty for even remotely enjoying this. It’s borderline repulsive, but achieves it’s gross-out goals very easily.
Scarlet #3 Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Alex Maleev: I still really enjoy this. I cannot explain why, but I’m very intrigued by the whole thing and I wonder where it’s going to go.
Batman/Catwoman: Follow the Money Writer/Artist: Howard Chaykin: Worth noting for the Chaykin goodness. Overall an average story, but if you’re a fan of Chaykin, you’ll like it.
Generation Hope #1 Writer: Kieron Gillen Artist: Salvador Espin: The newest series developing from Hope’s recruitment of new X-gene people. Not quite for me, but definitely would be for fans of the X-anything.
Iron Man/Thor #1 Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Artist: Scot Eaton: Baron Mordo, Crimson Dynamo, Ulik, and the High Evolutionary. All four in one book, how can you complain?
Punisher: In the Blood #1 Writer: Rick Remender Artist: Roland Boschi: Just crazy enough to work. If you’ve liked Remender’s Punisher before, you’ll still like it now.
Superboy #1 Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Pier Gallo: Worth noting cause Lemire goes mainstream. Also a solid issue for fans of the character.
Sweet Tooth #15 Writer/Artist: Jeff Lemire: Sweet Tooth? Still Awesome. That’s all.
The Weak of the Week (Definitely not the Best, If you Know what I mean…)
JSA All-Stars #12 Writer: Matthew Sturges Artist: Howard Porter
How do you make a mediocre comic worse? Throw Porter in to draw it. I can’t even tell you what happened this issue cause I was so busy sighing at the mediocrity presented to me. It just wasn’t any good at all, and it kind of hasn’t been since the series started. Did the DC Universe really need two JSA books? No.
DV8 #8 of 8 Writer: Brian Wood Artist: Rebekah Isaacs
A very lackluster finish to an enjoyable mini-series. I found myself hoping for closure of some kind, and instead got a dead team member and nothing to really show for it. This may read better in a trade, but I don’t really want to put the effort into reading one. Is Brian Wood gunna write anymore DV8? I have no idea, but if they end like this one does, it’s not gunna leave me happy.
And that’s it! More to come tomorrow.
“The” Dan Jacka
