weekly loot: september 19

So I didn't get this up yon Sunday as I wanted to, but here we go anyway.

My retailer did end up having Dr. Thirteen after all (his last copy), so I was able to give him my money rather than give it to Amazon. And I ended up leaving Zero Killer #2 behind. Even though I enjoyed the artist a great deal, it failed the flip-through test.

book of the week:

UMBRELLA ACADEMY: APOCALYPSE SUITE #1
(w. Gerard Way, a. Gabriel Ba)
So I don't like Gerard Way's music much at all. And that, quite honestly, has NOTHING to do with the fact that this is a pretty kick ass comic book. I was won over after having read only the description of .01 on the inside cover. "My favorite." Everything else from then on, was pure comic book FUN. From the origin of the kids, to the could-be-a-bad-guy Monocle, as the kids' Dad. Villains? How about Zombie-Robot Gustave Eiffel as one of the most gloriously hilarious concepts in quite a while. After the kids have their first adventure, the book jumps forward in time (but that looks to be part of the storyline), to reveal half-apes and full-on chimps. And ANY TIME you can fit that into a comic book, most normal people will be happy. All of this is drawn by the talented Gabriel Ba. Who comes fresh off of the first arc of critical darling Casanova, bringing his quirky, stylized and highly competent art (this time in full color) and it is absolutely perfect for the material. So yeah, Gerard Way's music sucks ass, but his comic is fun as hell. (BONUS: Mass points to the crew for getting James Jean on covers. Awesome.)

runner-up:

GUTSVILLE #2: This was real close this week, but on pure comic entertainment, Umbrella Academy got the nod. Still, this comic was really good too. The story of Albert Oliphant the Ratcatcher continues, and with it, we go deeper into the plot, the world Spurrier is creating and yes, the belly of the leviathan. Frazer Irving's art is amazing. He makes individual pages just beautiful to look at. Oh, and he does the letters too!

other real good comics:

WASTELAND #12: This book is pretty much in "GEM" status: Good every month. All hell has broken loose in Newbegin, and as our main characters escape near death, it is only to have to face hundreds and hundreds of Sand-Eaters. Something tells me that after the next couple of issues, the status-quo of this book will be changing again. Good stuff.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #30: So Captain America is dead, but the quality of this title doesn't seem to give a shit. The Winter Soldier is a bad-ass, as shown again here in the opening scene where he eeasily takes out Crossbones and Sin. Iron Man and the others finding out about Sharon happened a little sooner than I expected, but that's fine with me. Moving things along! Nice cliffhanger too.

three-star comics:

PROGRAMME #3: Things are starting to happen here, with another Russian villain and the reveal of what appears to be secret American heroes. This book looks fantastic, with awesome covers, and I'm happy that its getting better with each issue. I'm in for the 12 issues for sure.

WORLD WAR HULK #4: Wall-to-wall ass kicking: Hulk ass-kicking Strange (after getting his own ass kicked), Super Heroes ass-kicking alien monsters and Mr. Fantastic ass-kicking Iron Man. All of course leading into next issue, where Sentry will get to ass-kick the Hulk. WWH is definitely everything it advertised itself as.

EX-MACHINA #30: Good, solid start to a new storyline. This title is not the comic legend that Y: The Last Man will be, but its a solid comic all the same.

JLA/HITMAN #1: I've read exactly ONE Hitman comic in my time. The reason I even picked it up, was because it was the "other book" that Garth Ennis had going while he was writing the legendary Preacher run (a series that is one of my favorite comics of all-time). Needless to say, I loved the Hitman comic. Problem was, I could not read anymore. I felt that I had to wait until I could read the series from the very beginning to read it at all. I'm still waiting. (Side note: FUCK YOU DC FOR NOT PUTTING THIS THING IN TRADES!) Aaaaanyway, that doesn't mean I can't get this, right? Right. And I'm glad I did. If the only for the look on Batman's face when Superman and Tommy reunite as old friends. Awesome. (Also funny: How everyone was a dick to newbie Kyle.)

NEW X-MEN #42: I really liked this "slower" issue. And I'm really starting to like the greater cast of kids here, and I'm curious how they will be handled in the upcoming crossover and beyond.

STREETS OF GLORY #1: Solid, if gory (hello Avatar!) start to this comic book western. With the arrival of our villain on the last page, I expect the story to really get going next issue.

WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #17: This could be the most solid Wolverine: Origins comic I've read in the entire run. Maybe because its devoid of Wolverine's STUPID SON and STUPID ROMULUS, and instead is telling a neat little flashback story to Cap and Logan fighting during WW2. Nick Fury showing up was a nice surprise.

AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS #56: As much as I've been (oddly) entertained by the short Williams/McManus run, I'm reaching my limits. Although I'm not necessarily ready for the book to be canceled, I am definitely ready for the inevitable return of the real Aquaman. Stat.

PENANCE: RELENTLESS #1: In Thunderbolts, there are too many villains to touch upon, so I guess its okay that they gave Penance's "creator" Paul Jenkins a mini-series to further explore the change in Robbie's character. So far, nothing out of this world good or bad has happened. Solid storytelling, with really good art by Paul Gulacy. Funny thing about Robbie Baldwin, is that I think once his character comes out the other side of all this Penance nonsense, he is going to be a really interesting character. Still not sold on the trip there however. We'll see I guess.

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #4: Nothing earth-shattering happening, but I'm enjoying the trippy ride that Allred's unique art is taking us on. For a series on probation, I guess it was successful issue, since I will be getting #5.

TERROR, INC. #2: Some really cool sequences, especially the opening one as Terror "returns" from the dead. I'm just not sure I care too much about what is going on.

comics with problems:

GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY: WEDDING SPECIAL #1: EXTRA SPOILER WARNING. Since the release of this issue, it has been all over the Internet in various forms: A) People that hate the end where Oliver Queen (for now) appears to be dead again. B) People that think it is bad for Black Canary's character, and C) People that just hate the fact that Judd Winick is writing these characters since he is a "horrible writer." And all the ways in which A,B and C overlap. Basically, a lot of emotion flying around! I am familiar with the characters (Arrow more than Canary), but I am not invested in the same way as long term DC fans are. With all that said, this issue fails for me too. It was a cutesy wedding story with some good moments (the Superman/Wonder Woman conversation) peppered into too many bad ones (Canary's "dress," our greatest heroes being stupid to serve the plot, and the out-of-left field ending). I will say one thing, the Amanda Conner art is fucking awesome. Why the hell she doesn't do more regular work is beyond me (and I only have this and The Pro to go on). And if it wasn't for the A-level art, this book would be getting even more shit than it is.

WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #4: Since when has World War Hulk been happening long enough for aliens to be chilling at bars with humans? Did I miss 18 months of integration? For me, this series just appears to be happening in alternate universe where World War Hulk is happening. I still enjoy Sally, but just not this series.

um, just no:

MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #1: I almost feel bad putting this here, because I bought this issue for Mr. And Mrs. Immonen Hellcat story, and it wasn't that bad. But the rest of the issue, was a waste of space for me. Okay, more specifically: The "main" story, Vanguard didn't do anything to get me excited for more, and the Omega Flight story CERTAINLY didn't. Not for one more part, much less twelve. The Thing story was mostly pointless. Of all the Thing stories they could have done, they chose this one? A look back to when Alicia loved the Thing? The Spider-Man story was probably the only one I would have liked to see an actual plot develop from (even if it was out of continuity) and it ended in one. Sorry, maybe anthologies just aren't for me. I'm done with #1, and I would be surprised if the series isn't done in 12.

CYBLADE PILOT SEASON #1: As much love as I gave Ripclaw just some weeks ago, Top Cow fired back with this piece of nonsense, and I don't even know where to begin for fear that I will rant about this far longer than I really want to. What it is? A TOP COW book in all its glory, basically, a T & A chick book. What it isn't? Very good. Also, maybe I don't remember my old Cyblade history from Cyberforce (or maybe it doesn't matter here), but I don't remember her being 19 at all. Wasn't she kind of an heir to her father's business or something before Cyberdata got a hold of her? Whatever. I think being 19 with your tits out fits the TC style more accurately anyway.