the top 25

For those that don't know, I'm a BIG list guy. Top 10s, Top 100, Top Writers, Top Directors, whatever. I love em. Even when I hate the content, I love em. I started this blog in April with a long list of the books I was reading, complete with my current Top 25. Here is the quarterly update, which I've been working on for the past week and was finally able to finish with the Potter book done.

So going into Comic-con, these are my favorite books currently being published. Three months later, there is not much change at the top, but that is because it's harder to earn those spots as my favorites.

The List:

#1 ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
(w. Grant Morrison, a. Frank Quitely)

Previous Ranking: 1
Even though the most recent issue of the series was probably its weakest-- weakest for this title is still better than most books out there. Morrison and Quitely are continuing their stellar run, and this continues to be the first book off my pile regardless of what else comes out that week. REGARDLESS.

#2 FELL
(w. Warren Ellis, a. Ben Templesmith)
Previous Ranking: 2
It still reigns as the best thing Warren Ellis currently writing.

#3 100 BULLETS
(w. Brian Azzarello, a. Eduardo Risso)
Previous Ranking: 3
As Azzarello writes us into the final stretches of this great series, he has created an atmosphere where anything-can-happen, which is both exciting and scary (for my favorite characters). Some people have been tough on the book because its details are hard to follow, and although I can agree with that (I get lost too!) it has been worth it so far, and I think it will all pay off handsomely in the end. Plus, Eduardo Risso is brilliant.


#4 Y: THE LAST MAN
(w. Brian Vaughan, a. Pia Guerra)
Previous Ranking: 5
The most recent issue was its best in recent memory, finally paying off a plot point from the very first issue.

#5 USAGI YOJIMBO
(w/a. Stan Sakai)
Previous Ranking; 4
The long time comics auteur, Stan Sakai, just keeps on quietly putting out good comics.

#6 SCALPED
(w. Jason Aaron, a. R.M. Guera)
Previous Ranking: new
This title wasn't even ranked three months ago, and now it is not only one of my favorites, its just one of the best comics on the stands, period. That's why its jumped all the way on to my Top 10. Sopranos on a Reservation makes me cringe, but it is somewhat accurate. One-by-one, Aaron and Guera are giving each character depth, the most recent, a brilliant issue concentrating on the series' main villain.




#7 CRIMINAL
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Sean Phillips)
Previous Ranking: 10
This book has been rock solid, starting with the great opening arc, and continuing to the even better second arc called "Lawless." Brubaker got a lot of buzz this last year for his Captain America surprise, but this has really been his butter. Not just a great crime comic, its just a great comic.






#8 ASTONISHING X-MEN
(w. Joss Whedon, a. John Cassaday)
Previous Ranking: 6
Drops a couple of notches, but that's more to blame on the books above it, rather than any judgment on its own quality. The shipping schedule is the thing that bugs me the most, but mostly because as an X-Fan, this title seems to exist in its own pocket universe. We are promised that soon it will all work out. The announcement of the new team looms at con.



#9 THE KILLER
(w. Matz, a. Luc Jacamon)
Previous Ranking: 7

#10 LONE RANGER
(w. Brett Matthews, a. Sergio Cariello)
Previous Ranking: 11
Damn right its in the Top 10, because Mr. Matthews and Cariello are doing one of the better comics on the stands for my dollar.

#11 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
(w. Joss Whedon, a. Georges Jeanty)
Previous Ranking: new
This book jumps on to my Top 25 like I knew it would after finishing the first issue. Might be a bit of a "What the fuck?" for non-Buffy fans, but man what a good time I'm having. I do wish the art was better, but Georges Jeanty has been doing a good job, and his commitment to Season 8 is more important to me than a "big name."



#12 THE BOYS
(w. Garth Ennis, a. Darick Robertson)
Previous Ranking: 12
Hughie is one of my favorite Garth Ennis characters to date. I'm really happy this is back.

#13 BATMAN
(w. Grant Morrison, a. Andy Kubert)
Previous Ranking: 8
Dropped a bit, but I'm still digging Morrison's take on Batman.

#14 POWERS
(w. Brian Bendis, a. Mike Oeming)
Previous Ranking: 13
No one is talking about it these days, but I'm still a really big fan of this book.

#15 CAPTAIN AMERICA
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Steve Epting & Mike Perkins)
Previous Ranking: 24
First, Brubaker does the UNTHINKABLE: He brings Bucky back to life. THEN, he goes and kills comic icon Captain America, drawing national attention and forever putting his name in the old history books. Amidst all of that, Bucky aka The Winter Soldier became one of the coolest and fascinating characters in the Marvel Universe, and the only thing that has happened to this title, is that it has improved as it goes along. Really good comic right now.


#16 DMZ
(w. Brian Wood, a, Ricardo Burchelli)
Previous Ranking: 16
This book is rock solid in its second year.

#17 FABLES
(w. Bill Willingham, a. Mark Buckingham)
Previous Ranking: 23
This book makes a move up for me, basically because the most recent storyline is one of my favorites of the series thus far. The series is at a point where the large cast has been so well developed, that Willingham can just have a lot of fun with the sandbox he's created. As always, the James Jean covers are amongst the best in the industry.



#18 X-FACTOR
(w. Peter David, a. Pablo Raimondi)
Previous Ranking: 14
I wasn't into the X-Cell storyline very much, but David's character work has been spot on, the most recent issue a case-in-point.

#19 WORMWOOD GENTLEMEN CORPSE
(w/a. Ben Templesmith)
Previous Ranking: 17
Dropped a couple of spots only because of the hiatus, one of the surprise books of the past year for me.

#20 LOVELESS
(w. Brian Azzarello, a. Werther Dell'Edera)
Previous Ranking: 7
I'm a bit surprised that this book fell here, because in ways I think its better than it was. The thing that has been missing however: Wes Cutter. So the quality is still high, I'm personally just not as invested. With his health returning and Ruth starting to be discovered, the next few months should be more interesting.




#21 NEW AVENGERS
(w. Brian Bendis, a. Leinil Yu)
Previous: 18
I don't mind the Skrull thing, and I'm willing to see where the story takes us.

#22 WASTELAND
(w. Antony Johnson, a. Christopher Mitten)
Previous Ranking: 20

#23 X-MEN
(w. Mike Carey, a.Chris Bachalo & Humberto Ramos)
Previous Ranking: new
If I was making this list when I was 14, this book would have been near the top. Today, I'm happy and surprised that it has crawled its way back into my good graces and makes it here. Carey gets the X-Men and it shows. Meanwhile, I'm torn with the art because I really like Bachalo, but Ramos doesn't always work for me on this title.


#24 THE WALKING DEAD
(w. Robert Kirkman, a. Charlie Adlard)
Previous Ranking: 21

#25 DAREDEVIL
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Michael Lark)
Previous Ranking: 25

Fell Out:

#15 AUTHORITY: The first two issues were intriguing, but it might not ever come out again.
#19 MIGHTY AVENGERS: Good so far, but just not good enough to make this cut.
#22 GIRLS: Ended.

Books on the rise:

STRANGE EMBRACE, BLACK SUMMER, NEW WARRIORS

adventures on ebay: the red star

I've been wanting to read this series for a long time. I've flipped through an issue here and there, but I never got it because I couldn't start at #1. I couldn't find it anywhere at a decent price. Then later I think they collected them in an over-sized edition, but at that point I had forgotten about it. Looking through the "Full Run" Comics section over at ebay I stumbled across this lot, and I WON.

Details:

LOT: The Red Star #1-9 (and 7.5 issue)
CLOSING PRICE: $6.50
SHIPPING: $5.00
TOTAL: $11.50

I've never seen the issues in one place, in fact, I remember the early ones going for a lot of money when it was still early in the series. I'm thinking I made out like a bandit. So hopefully, they'll be in the mail soon so I can finally check em out.

What's your verdict?

ncrl: july 25 [comic-con week]

So for some reason, the entirety of the comic book industry decided to release EVERYTHING EVER that they plan on putting out this week. Oooohhyyeeeaaaaaaah, is Comic-Con week. Still this makes for an expensive week, right before Con which sucks, but I was going to buy all of these things anyway.

(That and I'm STILL not done with last week's thanks to Potter.)

avatar: supplies warren ellis week before his triumphant return to Nerd Prom
BLACK SUMMER #1
CRECY #1
DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #1

dark horse:
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #5
FEAR AGENT: THE LONG GOODBYE #2
USAGI YOJIMBO #104 woohoo!

dc:
ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #6 it can only be an improvement on last issue, right?
BATMAN #666
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #9
DEATHBLOW #6
GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #2
WETWORKS #11
WONDER WOMAN #11

idw:
FALLEN ANGEL #18
TRANSFORMERS: MEGATRON ORIGIN #2

image:
ELEPHANTMEN #10
INVINCIBLE #44
WALKING DEAD #39

marvel:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #544
CABLE/DEADPOOL #43
INCREDIBLE HULK #108
IRON MAN #20
MIGHTY AVENGERS #4
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #44
WOLVERINE #55
X-MEN #201

oni:
QUEEN & COUNTRY #32 AWESOME! can't believe this is coming out.

TWENTY SEVEN BOOKS !! This is the biggest single week in as long as I can remember. Wow.

blame it on harry potter

Normally my goal is try to get my weekly comic reactions up by Sunday night. That plan was thwarted this week by an evil little wizard. Yeah, THIS GUY:


Yeah,that's right, I've spent all of my weekend free time reading Harry Potter 7 and not reading comic books. (Is this a betrayal to the sequential art gods?) I am almost done with the book as I type this, but my comic pile is still a bit long with the work week looming. Add to this some friends coming into town Wednesday to attend Comic-con, and I might only have time for an abbreviated post about July 18 comics.

ncrl: july 18

A big week again. Which is perfectly ok for this comic book fan. Its a big week full of #1's. I got FIVE of them. MAN, that's a lot of titles to add in one week. Also, I'll see if there is still a Tek Jansen around and one of those Streets of Glory previews that came out either last week or the week before.

The List:

dark horse:
ZERO KILLER #1 <----- one!

dc:
ALL-FLASH #1 (maybe) <----- two?
AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS #54
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #11
PROGRAMME #1 <----- three!
SHAZAM: MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #4
SPIRIT #8

dynamite:
LONE RANGER #7

image:
GODLAND #19
STRANGE EMBRACE #2

marvel:
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #4
CAPTAIN AMERICA #28
NEW X-MEN #40
MODOK'S 11 #1 <----- four! THE ORDER #1 <---- five!
THUNDERBOLTS: DESPERATE MEASURES
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #111
WOLVERINE ORIGINS ANNUAL #1 (maybe)
WORLD WAR HULK #2
WORD WAR HULK FRONTLINE #2
WORLD WAR HULK X-MEN #2

weekly loot: july 11

Unfortunately, I came home without Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen #1 this past week. I totally forgot it was coming out and never looked for it at the store. Its okay, nothing I was freaking out about, I'll grab it when I can.

On to the books:


100 BULLETS #84
(w. Brian Azzarello, a. Eduardo Risso)
Sigmar Rhone is one of the Trust. He is also someone that we haven’t seen all that much in 84 issues of this series. Why then is he the main character of this standalone 100 Bullets story? To prove the point that Graves is making his move against the Trust, and he is not being nice about it. We get to see Rhone at work and at home with the family he appears to love; as well as see him fucking a woman who is an emissary of the Medici house (bringing a warning), and in the end, watching his entire family be killed in front of him before being gunned down himself. The gunmen of course, were Graves' Minutemen: Victor and Ray, who are turning into quite the scary duo. A really good issue, highlighted always by the superhuman Eduardo Risso.


DMZ #21: Happy to have Burchielli back, but this may have been one issue too many for me, I'm ready for the verdict.


NEW AVENGERS #32
(w. Brian Bendis, Leinil Yu)
Brian Bendis and his Avengers run polarizes people on the internet. From "its brilliant" to "its a disaster" and "Bendis should never have touched the Avengers." 32-plus issues in, and I'm still having a good time with the book. This issue comes fresh after the discovery of Elektra as a Skrull, so being a Bendis book, everyone has to talk about it for an entire issue. And that's fine with me. These kind of conversations makes sense, even though there was a lot of time spent hammering home the point of "WHO CAN YOU TRUST?" that Marvel will put all over their comics next year, but still the point was made. The characters not only argue about who could be a Skrull, but what to do with Skrull-Elektra's body. Suddenly (and mysteriously), the Rand Jet is taken down, our heroes survive of course, but not before Spider-Woman owns Wolverine and leaves the scene of the accident with the body over her shoulder. Um, I guess we couldn't trust HER. Good issue, with moves towards the future.

FABLES #63
(w. Bill Willingham, a. Mark Buckingham)
This title is having one of its best arcs of the series, and that's mainly because of all the stories that have come before it. Willingham has created such a large and diverse cast, that there is so much for him to draw from. This issue continues the great arc, and it does that by checking in with everyone, but in a way that isn’t annoying. A lot of time passes here, but as the Fables and the Adversary prepare for war, we get to check in with Bigby, Snow and Mowgli amongst others. If these characters were not as well defined as they are, this might be an annoying issue (sorry new readers). The final sequence with Flycatcher recruiting the “Dead” Fables as his army was a surprise that didn’t completely work for me, but it was well done. I guess I was over Bluebeard when he was killed the first time. But still, its an interesting turn of events for sure, and this does not diminish my excitement for the rest of this arc (and beyond). Good issue.

X-FACTOR #21
(w. Peter David, a. Pablo Raimondi)
So apparently this Isolationist guy made a cameo in the very last issue of David’s previous X-Factor run, but I don’t remember it. I might need to get out the old run and see sometime, but until then we have him here. Being a creepy ass loner, which I guess is why he’s called The Isolationist. Or is he? The only real name we get is Josef Huber. He appears to be a bit crazy with voices in his head, and he left his seclusion to seek out Jamie Madrox. Everything else in this issue was kick-ass Peter David character work, which he excels at once his supporting cast has settled in. The scenes between Nicole and Layla are entertaining, but Layla always is. The temporary solution between Jamie, M and Siryn makes a lot of sense, and the scene with the entire team where he confronts them, and M asks who was better in bed was hilarious. Everyone’s reaction to what was going on was perfect, and none more than Rahne, which led perfectly into her scene with Rictor. And I never considered it before, but the two of them hooking up here is nice. All this AND we have Guido being offered Sheriff of Mutant Town, AND a new mystery (some twins stuck in a mutant hating cult) AAAAAND someone in the house appears to be pregnant—AND LAYLA DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT IT?!?! Awesome! This was cover-to-cover comic goodness. The ho-hum Endangered Species back-up aside, this was the BOOK OF THE WEEK.

STORMWATCH PHD #9
(w. Christos Gage, a. Andy Smith)
This two parter has clearly been the first misstep of this series. When I talked about #8, I mentioned that it had some really good character moments and I ranted about my distaste for SON OF HENRY BENDIX being in the series. This issue, everything else goes wrong. Jackson King and his wife Christine, two of the more important characters in the Wildstorm universe take a shit. Or more accurately, Christine was shit on. Are we really supposed to believe, after everything these characters have been through, that she suddenly decides that she is going to laser part of Jackson's brain away so that he doesn't have powers anymore? Wow. For as good as this series has been, this was bad. Not only was it a lame plot point, but-- entitled reviewer attack: it had no respect for its characters at all. To be honest, the issue wasn't ALL bad however, as the character work Gage does everywhere else mostly works. The Malcolm King stuff was good, as was the scenes with Hellstrike and Diva. SON OF HENRY BENDIX was lame UH-GEN though. Anyway, just some bad plot decisions in a mostly good run here. I think Christine, Jackson and everybody else should forget this ever happened as quickly as possible and return to the status quo. I mean, hell, they reset it by the end anyway: Battalion alive and with super powers. Disappointing issue.
[Side bar: I haven't mentioned it before, because I keep forgetting, but of all the dead characters come back to life, do we get an explanation for Cannon too? If I remember correctly, he was in the cryo-prison thing that Bendix had created at the tail end of Volume 1 and was amongst the dead when Skywatch lost power in #50. Right? Whatever, I guess Captain Atom explains that away too...]


GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #1
(w. Andy Diggle, a. Jock)
The only Green Arrow books I own/read are the Kevin Smith ones, and the Brad Meltzer story that followed it a few years back. He’s a fun enough character whenever he shows up, in whatever incarnation, albeit the JLA cartoon or the JLA comic book. But still, normally I would have stayed away from this kind of thing if it wasn’t for the truly brilliant idea of giving the young Oliver Queen to Diggle and Jock. I’m a big fan of their Losers series, and although there wasn’t that much action in this issue, they do a damn good job. The Howard Hill stuff was a little silly, but other than that, this was a good opening issue and I can’t wait until some ass-kicking starts. Jock does the usual amazing job on cover duty. Cover of the week for sure.


GEN 13 #10: Was Burnout ever this interesting in the previous series? The Bob Marley thing was a bit silly, but it kept with the spirit of the series.


PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #9: Still not completely on board this series, but it was okay.


MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #3
(w/a. Mike Allred)
I read a lot of comics. So I get a lot of #1’s. And usually I know at that point whether or not I want to keep going, but not always. Issue #3 is another big marker for me where a series can be dropped. Madman Atomic Comics was under that very microscope this week. How did it fare? Well, not sure. As far as the plot goes, Madman runs around trying to get to reality, which is not very interesting in itself, but this was a really-really fun comic book to read. Mike Allred recreated tens of different art styles so that every panel was an homage to someone else’s style. Brilliant fun. There was too many that I didn’t know, and there were a ton that I recognized but couldn’t name. Still, the ones that I did know made it fun enough for me. I bet Allred had a blast making this issue because it shows. So what’s the verdict? I guess I’m back for at least a little more. I mean, nothing has happened in three issues, but this was an experimental issue so I’d like to see where more of the real story will go. Someone online will break this down by artist, right? Please?


ULTIMATE X-MEN #84: Hints of the old Ultimate Wolverine here. That, in the fog of another boring issue, was nice.


GRIFTER/MIDNIGHTER #5: I'll check in with this after the last issue.

ncrl: july 11

Small week for me considering that I have had over 20 books in each of the last few weeks.

dc:
100 BULLETS #84 (been a bit)
DMZ #21
FABLES #63
GEN 13 #10
GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #1
GRIFTER/MIDNIGHTER #5
STORMWATCH PHD #9

image:
MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #3 (this might be a make or break issue)

marvel:
NEW AVENGERS #32
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #9
ULTIMATE X-MEN #84
X-FACTOR #21

oni:
STEPHEN COLBERT'S TEK JANSEN #1

weekly loot: july 5

There were a couple of really annoying comics in here, but for the most part, a pretty kick ass week with some of my big favorites up top.


ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #8
(w. Grant Morrison, a. Frank Quitely)
Well, it had to happen. Finally, an All-Star Superman issue that I am not freaking out about. It wasn't a bad issue by any means. I guess the book suffered from the expectations it has created for itself. That, and it was part two of a story. The book's strengths have been the done-in-one style, and this storyline has moved away from that. The first part held up beautifully, but this one seemed like what it was: a middle act. A middle act of Bizarro-speak for its entirety. But regardless, the story is still good, the Frank Quitely art was scrumptious, and my faith in this book has not diminished in any way. Still the best super hero book on the market, bar none. (The streak of Book of the Week's for this title comes to an end at seven.)



Y: THE LAST MAN #57
(w. Brian Vaughan, a. Pia Guerra)
For my dollar, this was the best Y: The Last Man issue in as long as I can remember. Granted, it had the advantage of being the issue where Yorick (SPOILER WARNING) reunites with his long lost girlfriend. And everything goes, pretty much how I would want and expect. They fuck like crazy, and then the serious talk comes. I was not surprised in the least when she tells him that she was going to break up with him, it was evident in Issue #1, but it was great to finally see all this play out. Really, it was a great extended scene for both characters. Good job Brian and Pia. The last page was another in a long line of good Vaughan cliffhangers. I am sad and excited to see this book finish up. Runner-up book this week.



SCALPED #7
(w. Jason Aaron, a. R.M. Guera)
I can see this is going to be one of those books that is hard to talk about, only because it's going to be that damn good, month after month. This is Part 2 of the 6 part "Casino Boogie" where each part is told from the point of view of a different character. This time, it's the series' big bad: Chief Lincoln Red Crow. This is arguably the best issue of the series yet. We get opening night of the casino present day, while we get flashbacks ranging from Red Crow's painful childhood to some of his grizzly crimes. We get to some insight as to why he makes (read: rationalizes) the choices he makes, and ultimately we end up sympathizing with him. Which I didn't expect to ever do. The last sequence was punctuated with a perfect last page, which cemented this as my BOOK OF THE WEEK.



UNCANNY X-MEN #488: The main story was good, better than last issue, but I'm still not sure what to make of Endangered Species.


NEW WARRIORS #2
(w. Kevin Grevioux, a. Paco Medina)
I did not love this quite as much as the first issue, but I'm really happy with this title right now. Sofia is standing out as a very nice main character, and the slow reveal of who and what these new New Warriors are is great fun. And helloooo!? JUBILEE! Really happy to see her used somewhere. And this time in a good way: She popped up briefly in Wolverine Origins but it didn't have this kind of pizazz, that's for sure. Some questions that are starting to pop up two issues in: Why are the New Warriors SO intent on getting Sofia? What does she bring to the team that any de-powered mutant does not? I mean, after they pitched big and she turned them down, they come back with Pitch #2 with Jubilee? I'm curious to see what happens, but that needs to be answered for me. Paco Medina is a really fun young artist, and he knocks another one out of the park. He is perfect for this material.


FALLEN SON -- IRON MAN
(w. Jeph Loeb, a. John Cassaday)
So this is finally over. I don't want to be too hard on it, but as it turns out, besides a lot of Marvel hype, this was not necessary at all. We got a bunch of issues that NEEDED TO BE TOLD, that really didn't need to be. The series got better with each issue, but that's not saying much. This one was odd because I was really happy with the way Brubaker handled the Falcon speech in Captain America: Characters talking about the great speech rather than actually hearing it. And this one undercut that with actually having to hear it. I am well aware that that might be a personal thing, rather than a legitimate criticism, but it was something that stood out for me when it happened in Cap. Other than that, John Cassaday was amazing here. His pencils are awesome, and it was nice to see him drawing the rest of the Marvel Universe, even if it was for only one issue (and this one at that). Anyway, less said about this series the better. Moving along.


THOR #1
(w. J. Michael Straczynski, a. Oliver Copiel)
I have never read Thor regularly. I think besides a random book or two from the 80's in my collection, I own the first two issues of the Heroes Reborn book, and that was more because of John Romita Jr's art and the hype of the Heroes returning than the character. Still, I buy most #1's Marvel puts out, especially of the big characters, so here I am. And it was okay. Nothing special, nothing bad. Problem was, most of the issue was Blake and Thor talking between flashbacks about how he isn't really dead, he is a god, etc. All of that stuff is necessary too, since Thor was actually dead, but I'm more curious about what is to come from here. The last few pages back on Earth were good, and I'll be curious to see an eventual meeting between him and the Marvel Heroes that just cloned him. Copiel was good, and his art style definitely suits the material for sure. I'm around for a bit.


DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN #6: A lot of plot in one issue, good stuff, excited to see how it closes out.


ACTION COMICS #851: The issue was okay, but it was fucking FUN to look at the pictures through the 3-D glasses. Good gag, now get back to the story.


RUNAWAYS #27
(w. Joss Whedon, a. Michael Ryan)
Most of my problems with Whedon's Runaways were being put to rest by the end of last issue, and with this book, they are mostly gone. (For now, until they en up back in the present.) Joss' voice for the characters was never in question, it was just the goofy plotting. And somehow we get an even sillier storyline (a time travel caper) and it makes it all come together for me. I've been hard on Ryan's pencils, but this one was pretty good. As always with these things, it was just a matter of distancing himself from Alphona a bit. The cover was awesome too, and I'm totally back on board with the Runaways again. Fun issue.


PUNISHER #49: Holy shit, Garth! The end was weird as hell, but it amazes me how much sick shit makes sense in Frank Castle's world when seen through Ennis's eyes.


ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #1 & 2
(w. Robert Kirkman, a. Jason Howard)
So I never did make it out to a store for Free Comic Book Day, so I was never able to get this book. But all-around nice bearded man, Robert Kirkman, put out a "Director's Cut" version with the release of the second issue, allowing me (and some others, I'm sure) a chance to catch up.
[Side bar: Shouldn't we come up with a better name than "Director's Cut" for comic books? I mean "Writer's Cut" or even "Creator's Cut" might be better than something that doesn't exist in comics, no?]
Regardless, what Kirkman gives us is basically "if Batman was a Werewolf." Which is fine, really. No reinvention of the wheel, but so far, two issues in it's a fun blend of superhero and horror trappings. If you are a Kirkman fan, you get the exact comic book you would expect from the title Astounding Wolf-Man. I hope this book moves at a pace more like Invincible than Walking Dead, but something tells me with the superhero backdrop, it will. Fun.



G.I. JOE: AMERICA'S ELITE #25
(w. Mark Powers, a. Mike Bear)
After the disastrous ending to the last storyline, we are back with the start of an epic 12-part storyline-- World War 3. Cobra is turning up the heat full force everywhere (with some new characters) and G.I. Joe gets the band back together to fight back. Some really fun action sequences led by my man Mike Bear. I'm critical of some individual panels here and there, but he and colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu (I had to look it up) are bringing a really unique and kick-ass look to this title. Little too early in the storyline to really talk about too much, but good start and the promise of FIREFLY (!!!) next issue always makes me happy. I hope Powers makes him cool again, as some of his appearances under the Devil's Due banner have been lacking. Oh, and for a long-time Joe fan, the cover was cool as hell. It was even my computer wallpaper for a while.


THE EXTERMINATORS #19: Another Exterminators issue, which means: It entertains me, but I'm not sure at all where it is going. The last splash page was nasty.


FAKER #1
(w. Mike Carey, a. Jock)
What the hell was this Mr. Carey? I don't know that I liked it, but I do know that I'm curious. First of all, none of the characters are likable. In fact, the introduction to our first character, where she seduces a professor and blackmails him, lets you know what kind of people we are dealing with. Some kids return to school, and as they show back up some really weird shit happens. One kid (the most likable) is not recognized by anyone, and no one seems to think he even existed before. And another climbs to the top of the clock tower and announces that he isn't real. An odd book, and since Mike Carey has been more hit than miss with me the last couple of years, I'll definitely see this through. Jock is almost a little out of place here (since it's not an action issue), but he's usually good. And he's at least that here. Sweet cover.


MIDNIGHTER #9: Fun Midnighter nonsense, but I feel like I just read this issue.


WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #8


TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT: GALVATRON


ULTIMATE POWER #6: Man, I really wish I had a Squadron Supreme book instead.


LONERS #4
(w. C.B. Cebulski, a. Karl Moline)
I'm not really sure what this title is trying to do at this point, and as an (at times) entitled reader, I'm not sure what I want from it. What I do know, is that it was easily the best issue of the mini so far. But of course, that's not saying too much. This issue concentrates on Julie Power as her life as a super-powered stunt woman comes to an end when she has a Hollywood casting couch moment. Through this she is able to grow up a little, and realize that this whole powers thing isn't all fun and games. It has some sillier emotional moments, like you would expect in a teen drama such as Dawson's Creek, and that's okay, because for the most part it worked. I was getting into the soapy aspect of it all. Then suddenly, at the last page, I was yanked back into the super hero world proper, which just left me cold. Dunno. The covers are still a ton of fun.


CITY OF OTHERS #3: The less said about this the better, too. Not good.

ncrl: july 5

What a kick ass week of comics. Four major for me this week in Y: The Last Man, All-Star Superman, Scalped and Criminal. The rest of the list:

dark horse:
CITY OF OTHERS #3

dc:
ACTION COMICS #851 (in 3-D!)
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #8
EXTERMINATORS #19
FAKER #1
MIDNIGHTER #9
SCALPED #7
WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #8
Y: THE LAST MAN #57

devil's due:
G.I. JOE AMERICA'S ELITE #25

idw:
TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT: GALVATRON

image:
ASTOUNDING WOLFMAN #1 & 2

marvel:
DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN #6
LONERS #4
FALLEN SON -- IRON MAN
NEW WARRIORS #2
PUNISHER #49
RUNAWAYS #27
THOR #1
ULTIMATE POWER #6
UNCANNY X-MEN #488

weekly loot: june 27

X-MEN #200
(w. Mike Carey, a. Humberto Ramos & Chris Bachalo)
Well, this was a lot better than the Endangered Species one-shot. The Marauders make themselves known to the X-Men with deadly force, while Mystique reveals herself to be their new leader after getting a quick bang from Iceman. Um, okay. That whole thing hasn't made any sense to me, but the rest of the issue was old-school X-Men fun. Gambit and Sunfire are the other major surprises running around with the Marauders, and their involvement is perfectly plausible. Cable appears to have died? Rogue mortally injured by Mystique? All-in-all a good anniversary issue headed towards what feels like some big things. I know it’s a fine line, and it’s probably a personal one, but Ramos’ art doesn’t always work for me with the more serious X-Men, yet I love Bachalo. I felt that again here, as I wish Bachalo was doing all of the art. The Endangered Species back-up has started too, and it was good for what it was, with a surprise ending of its own, with Beast turning to some major villains for help. Good.

CRIMINAL #7
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Sean Phillips)
Without a doubt, this is one of the best comics on the stands right now. When books are doing this well, it’s easy to say the same things over and over, but really, the story and art continue to be All-Star. It’s the second issue of the new storyline, and things are heating up for our boy Tracy Lawless. He gets in deeper with his brother’s old crew, after being endorsed by Leo Patterson (our hero from the first arc), and the first complication appears to be a woman, who happens to be the same one his brother was involved with (oooh, this IS noir!). And after they complete a heist, we find out that the bagmen he ripped off on the way into town might be coming back to haunt him. Kick ass comic. My BOOK OF THE WEEK. (Brubaker has now won this four out of the last six weeks for me.)

BOYS #8: Hughie is awesome, and the reason I like this book so much.

X-FACTOR #20: Quicksilver lost the crystals already? Good issue.

DAREDEVIL #98
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Michael Lark)
This issue picked up right where the last one left off, quality- and plot-wise. I never expected Milla to be in any true danger, but for those that were holding their breath, no worries: Milla is okay. Brubaker and Lark put together a couple of damn good action sequences: Daredevil’s escape from the police while being handcuffed and his bad ass showdown with the Gladiator. Although maybe an odd description on the surface, I really feel like Michael Lark is a “Widescreen” comics artist. He is very cinematic with his camera choices. Another nice issue from the Daredevil crew, in what is a really solid storyline.

WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN #1
(w. Christos Gage, a. Andrea Divito)
I really hate to say this because I was rooting for Gage, a very promising young writer, but this issue was bad. Reaaally bad. It all went downhill when Tony and Xavier had this horribly written exposition scene:

“Um, what about the Hulk?” Xavier asks.
Tony responds: “Oh crap, I toooooootally forgot to tell you about that. We sent him out into space to die alone, we fucked up, and he is coming back pissed. Oh, and how would you have voted if you would have been here?”

What the fuck, Tony?
Meanwhile, some time later, the Hulk decides to show up and ask Old Cue Ball the same damn thing. Apparently, on his way to New York ready to destroy the planet, the Hulk decides he TOO needs to know the possible Xavier vote. HORRIBLE. But before he can ask, he has to take out his rage on the New X-Men kids, because they suddenly have to prove their courage to Pappy Beast, so he can see that they will become great X-Men one day. Worthless. I was almost happy when the Hulk tore Rockslide’s arms off, but I didn't care at that point. The most annoying comic I read this week, for sure. And it may even be the worst example of Marvel making a bad tie-in comic, just for the sales. “Let’s do an X-one too!” (Definitely a sign they are spreading themselves thin with the extra tie-in books.)

WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #1
(w. Paul Jenkins, a. Ramon Bachs)
Could this comic fare better than the tie-in above it? Well it's probably not fair that I read it right after the X-Men book, but um, yeah, I guess it was better. But not by much. Things started out really good, with us catching up with Ben and Sally, and we see what they have done between Civil War and now, and how a mysterious benefactor has saved them, and they just need a big story and they'll be okay... and BOOM here comes the Hulk and while everyone is running out of town, they stay and get their big story. Good start. The "take me to your leader" joke even worked, but then the book turned sour in my eyes. In 24 hours, the book suddenly treats the aliens like they’re been there for weeks? Bartenders talking about what good tippers they are? The Warbound come back and integrate? Go to bars and start drinking upon arrival? Huh? And after one of them is killed, Korg takes on a human cop (the same one Sally is banging, of course) to do a bad Alien Nation rip-off. I don’t know. The last Frontline series started strong and became a bit of a mess at the end. The trend hasn't changed that much.

THUNDERBOLTS #115
(w. Warren Ellis, a. Mike Deodato)
This was a good ending to the first Thunderbolt storyline. I just wonder how much legs this concept actually has, especially since Warren is already unraveling it. I mean, the team dynamics are already shifting with Bullseye being put on the shelf after American Eagle (with some help from the neuro-bomb things) broke his neck. The entire issue fight scene was pretty cool, plus Bullseye is scary as hell under Mr. Ellis. Venom is a whack job, ripping off the arm of Steel Spider and having it for a snack. Crazy ass Venom, always eating people’s limbs. The moment with Penance banging his head on the wall was a bit on the nose for me: “I’m not good enough. I’m not good enough.” Lame. Songbird showing her true colors and helping the good guys was nice, and I bet a bit of a relief for fans of the previous Thunderbolts incarnations. She will end up being the most important character here, I’m sure. And although I came out of this series shrugging my shoulders at both the Steel Spider and Sepulchre, I can’t wait until the American Eagle shows up in a comic I’m reading again. His reluctant bad ass self was entertaining. I’m on for Thunderbolts until Ellis isn't.

WALKING DEAD #38: Man, Tyrese was an idiot, and I hope he doesn’t get too many of them killed.

INVINCIBLE #43: Things are going almost TOO well for our hero here…

CROSSING MIDNIGHT #8: The Kuato moment with the Demon was fun.

SHE-HULK 2 #19

WONDER WOMAN #10
(w. Jodi Picoult, a. Paco Diaz)
So I went back and bought all of the Jodi Picoult issues (#6-9), and I read them a couple of weeks ago, and now this. I feel bad that Jodi had to come in here and have a run that was upset by an exterior crossover. I know nothing of her writing outside of comics, but it must suck to come in and have your storyline’s last two issues be a tie-in to a crossover that was conceived (as rumor has it) a while before. And Jodi probably knew, I’m not saying she was surprised, I’m just saying that it made the already really short run a bit uneven. For the most part her take was average with some dips above and below that. Wonder Woman herself was handled well, although at times, the fish out of water theme was taken to a goofy level. The much-talked-about gas pumping scene does stand out: I understand Wonder Woman never having pumped gas before, but come on, Diana isn’t a fucking moron: a Justice Leaguer who has been around a while can figure out how to PUMP GAS. So yeah, some good moments in between some sillier ones, but as a whole, the arc never clicked. The art was pretty good throughout, even with the fill-in art on the last two parts. Regardless, I’m around for the two fill-in issues because I’m waiting for Gail Simone’s arc to start.

FALLEN ANGEL #17: I’ve never read or been interested in Shi, so this issue was kind of boring for me.

CABLE/DEADPOOL #42: So is this just Deadpool’s book now?

SILENT WAR #6
(w. David Hine, a. Frazer Irving)
First off, Frazer Irving was awesome. He’s not the best artist in comics, but he is one of the more interesting ones right now. His characters have such a genuinely original look that it is always good times looking at his pages. As for the story, the last issue was executed well, with good action and some family intrigue amongst the royal family: Blackbolt was usurped by his brother. BUUUT-- count me in with those that were a bit let down that there wasn’t some sort of connection between this and World War Hulk. Now, I knew there wasn’t going to be going in, or else Marvel would have let us know. And I even know this is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t moment for Marvel as far as tie-ins go. It's just that while reading the issue, this one seemed like a perfect place for a crossover. Imagine the Hulk showing up at the end here? Anyway, I guess now we just need some sort of story (somewhere) about how we got from status-quo changing last issue here, to back to normal in World War Hulk #1.

WETWORKS #10
(w. J.M. DeMatteis, a. Joel Gomez)
So, Mike Carey’s run started out iffy, then it got pretty good there in the middle, right before fizzling into the reappearance of the old Wetworks team. And now, they pass the baton to writer J.M. DeMatteis. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, as the story wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t all that interesting. However, DeMatteis is definitely trying to elevate the conversation here, with characters wondering whether their real lives (as odd as they are) are something worth living. It doesn’t totally work for me, but this Vertigo-esque take was a nice try. I’ll give him a couple of more issues to see where his approach is going. I still enjoy Dane, and I like Ab-Death and the Deadworld as concepts enough to give it a chance. Especially if J.M. continues to throw some character work into an action-horror comic.

JACK OF FABLES #12: The covers will never be James Jean good, but Brian Bolland’s first one is a whole lot of fun. As for what's inside...This book continues to move down my pile.

FANTASTIC FOUR #547
(w. Dwayne McDuffie, a. Paul Pelletier)
I’ve been pretty critical of the recent McDuffie run (even though I may be the only one), but I have to admit that this has been the best one so far. There was some fun “family banter” at home between Johnny & Ben and the visiting Storm & Black Panther, even though Storm caring that much about her hair is silly. Meanwhile, Reed had a scientific mystery to deal with and has a conversation with Yellowjacket, where Hank expresses some distrust in T’Challa. Good use of some of that Civil War stuff. But the stupidest thing Reed ever did was leaving Sue out in space in the Marvel Universe. That was the ballsiest move I’ve ever seen in a superhero comic, since Reed HAD TO KNOW that something was going to go bad. Reed’s a Skrull, Evidence A. Paul’s art was more consistent here too.

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #43: Pasqual Ferry is really turning into a nice little artist. Overall, this was an average comic.

ULTIMATE X-MEN #83: Well, the art here was pretty atrocious and the book is still mostly boring. This needs a serious restart soon.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #15: This is slowly starting to read better, but Son of Wolverine is still pretty lame. Always the bottom of my pile.