BEST COMIC BOOKS OF 2008

So this post comes in just about a month ahead of last year's "Best of" and also has the distinction of being the first post SINCE the 2007 list. Um, whaaaat? I liked reading comics and ranting about what I think, but the time for these blog things are just not there in a way that I would like. Kudos to all those that are timely with these things for years on end. Still, here I am talking about 2008, and who knows maybe I will post more in the upcoming year.

The geeky rules:

#1. Last year I had a strict at least four issues must come out of an ongoing series for it to make my list. Nothing of the sort this year, because that left really good books like Hine's STRANGE EMBRACE and Way's UMBRELLA ACADEMY off of the list. This year, its TWO ISSUES! Seriously, as long as you have a couple of books come out (ongoing, mini or maxi) you will be considered.

#2. This is for weekly floppies only. I read a gang load of OGN's this year, but in MY head, those belong on a different list.

#3. As always, these are my FAVORITE books. Yeah, I said "Best" up there, but it always rings false to me to make a list of the "best" of anything when who am I to make that kind of declaration. These are my favorites, and hopefully some of them are good.

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MY FAVORITE COMICS OF 2008
(in reverse order this year)

#10 MOUSE GUARD: WINTER 1152
(w/a. David Peterson)

You know what's bullshit about this series? Is that unless my calculations are wrong, we only got two issues of this wonderful series in 2008. Mr. Peterson's fantasy series about mice, is not just a great story and not just great art, its a fucking clinic on good comic booking. There is no doubt in my mind that it will move up the accepted canon as time goes by. (I hope that ASP being bought out doesn't delay the last two issues of this mini too much longer.)

#9 LOCAL
(w. Brian Wood, a. Ryan Kelly)

This book has been slowly trickling out over the last few years,releasing the final two issues in 2008 as well as the beautiful hardback collection of the entire series. The hardback got a lot of attention when it came out, and rightfully so: the series is pretty damn good. It follows our heroine Megan from ages 18-30 with each issue being a different year of her life in a different American city. This year's #11 was one of my favorites of the series, with Megan meeting a stand-in for her younger self, and we get to see how much this girl has grown over the course of the series.

#8 WASTELAND
(w. Antony Johnston, a. Christopher Mitten)

This book just keeps getting better and better. I fear that the floppies might be losing folks, but if that's the case, I hope its because they are reading it in (the far more friendlier form) TPBs. The fantasy series gets more complex with its religion and social structure with each arc, and the cast of characters that I care about only grows. The way the art shows flashbacks can be confusing at times, but Mitten is turning into a brilliant artist.

#7 100 BULLETS
(w. Brian Azzarello, a. Eduardo Risso)

You are either still on board with this book and loving it, or you long ago tossed it aside as too confusing to read in floppies. And both reactions would probably be right. I love this series, it was made for me. Azzarello is slowly bringing this series to a close and with only two more issues in 2009 (I've read one of em!) I am going to be extremely sad that this book isn't coming out anymore. Eduardo Risso is one of my favorite artists in comics.

#6 FABLES
(w. Bill Willingham, a. Mark Buckingham and a couple of others)

2008 saw the end of the best story of the series in "Good Prince" and then the series went and had the climactic battle between good and evil with "War and Pieces" and now we are in the aftermath. Its an odd place to be because the first 75 issues built to that climax, but Fables has proved that the cast of characters is too good, and the source material too great for it to lose any luster. The book is as good as its been with no real signs of letting up. (Now if only I could say the same about JACK OF FABLES.)

#5 CRIMINAL
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Sean Phillips)

Or technically, CRIMINAL VOLUME 2. This series is as steady as they come right now in comics. When you open an issue, its just going to be good. This volume increased the page count, giving Brubaker and Phillips more room to do their craft and I'm not complaining. From the first three stand alone issues to the 4-issue "Bad Night" centered on a cartoonist, we got the best most compelling crime comic on the stands. And I fucking love the back matter, leading me to great Noir in book, film and television.

#4 NORTHLANDERS
(w. Brian Wood, a. Davide Gianfelice, Dean Orstron and Ryan Kelly)

This book has catapulted up my favorite books, because like 100 Bullets this is another book that was just made for me. First "Sven: The Returned" wrapped up, with a surprising yet well crafted final issue, then Wood hits us with a little two-parter before rocking me with the first issue of my favorite arc to date, "The Cross + The Hammer." All these arcs star different characters and are in different time periods. Yeah, an anthology book basically, which so far so great. Wood's LOCAL co-hort Kelly comes on board and shocks the hell out of me with a gritty in your face style, which you can obviously make as the same artist that did LOCAL; but who the fuck knew that his art would be so perfect for THIS series!

#3 ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
(w. Grant Morrison, a. frank Quitely)

The genius series closes out its run with the last three issues in 2008. #10 was argueably the best single issue of the series, and in fact of 2008, period. Simple enough, these two guys made a classic. Far better brains than mine will go into the details of how-where-why, but things I do know: it will go down as one of the best Superman stories ever, and yeah, one of the best Super Hero stories of all-time. Quitely is a master comic book artist at the top of his game, and although Morrison's other super hero work this year was muddled and confusing (BATMAN, FINAL CRISIS) this series was near perfect. I miss it, and I want more.

#2 LOCKE AND KEY
(w. Joe Hill, a. Gabriel Rodriguez)

How is it that more people are not talking about this book? Seriously. Joe Hill (son of some guy) and Gabriel Rodriguez are doing a pretty fucking awesome comic. In fact, its the only book that got my "Book of the Week" every single week that it came out. The plot of this thriller, with the spooky house and the keys is great, but Hill gets this right by making the characters so damn good. You hear it every once in a while about a guy that comes in from another medium, but Joe Hill gets comics. His use of panels, the turn-of-the-page and cliffhangers is like a seasoned comics pro.* Gabriel Rodriguez's art is the shit. His people have a distinctive style and his choice of camera angles is always dynamic and fitting. Something must also be said about the presentation of the book itself, because the covers are all brilliant, and the quality of paper is top. So it's not just the story, the entire package is great. The new series has already started in 2009 and it's already taking names too.

*At ComicCon he talked crap about his only other comic work, an 8-page Spider-Man story he did for Marvel. I tracked it down and read it; he is way to harsh on himself. The story was fun and perfect for Spider-Man as well as perfect for the late, GREAT Seth Fisher.

#1 SCALPED
(w. Jason Aaron, a. R.M. Guera & others)

Another year, another #1 from me for Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera's SCALPED. This is only the third year I've ever done a Top 10 list, but my guess is this would be the first time a series has gotten #1 on back-to-back years since the TRANSMETROPOLITAN or PREACHER days. Who the fuck knows. What I do know, is Jason Aaron conitnues to kick all sorts of ass on this book. He got the Marvel bug this past year working on GHOST RIDER, WOLVERINE and a short run on BLACK PANTHER,* but that didn't affect this book any, accept I hope, the sales from some of the Marvel zombies taking a glance. As for the art, its funny to think that at the start of this series the one thing I wasn't sure about was the art, and now 20-some odd issues in, when its not R.M. I'm really bummed. He's critical for the book. Anything else I say here would be repeating what I said last year, but the powerful stories make this my favorite book of the year.

*Just thought this should be noted on a year with SECRET INVASION and FINAL CRISIS dominating everything, but Black Panther #39-41 witten by Jason Aaron was the coolest thing to come out of SECRET INVASION by far. No contest. Awesome superhero story.

BOOKS FROM LAST YEAR'S TOP 10 THAT MISSED:

#3 Y: THE LAST MAN - This book only had one issue come out in 2008, and that was the fantastic final issue. One issue, even as good as this one was, doesn't have enough weight for me to let it on.

DMZ - No judgment on this series that was so high last year, but off this year (it barely missed). I just had other favorites (including two other Wood books).

IMMORTAL IRON FIST - This book made me sad this year. So damn good under Brubaker/Fraction. Their last storyline fizzled a bit, but was still good. The final issue was one of my favorites of the series, but then the creative team change gutted the book. Shitty. I tried to stick with the new team, but just this week I finally stopped getting the series. The magic was just gone.

POWERS - The series that barely comes out, just misses the ten despite closing out its big storyline in style. Really good stuff, and broken record time: this is still my favorite Bendis and/or Oeming production (MICE TEMPLAR got unbearable, and was dropped.)

USAGI YOJIMBO - The long-eared ronin is still one of my favorite books of all time, but slipped a little this year for me. Though the December issue centered on Gen was classic Sakai. Awesome, and didn't even have the bunny in it.

OTHER BOOKS THAT MISSED, THAT I REALLY LIKED:

WALKING DEAD - And man, did it JUST miss. For the frst 20 issues of this series, it was easily one of my favorite books. The middle part of the series dragged, and Kirkman's clunky on-the-nose expository dialogue stood out a bit more. The climatic showdown at the prison in issue #48 was much needed, and breathed new life into a series that was fumbling . The cast has been sliced in half (thank you!) and the post prison-era is responsible for possibly my favorite issue in the series: Issue #51 with Rick and the surprising phone call. It was one of my favorite single issues of the year in any comic.

FOUR EYES
I KILL GIANTS - Two indie books done by a sorta of "renaissanced" Joe Kelly. I KILL GIANTS was a touching story of a kid, dealing with her mother's sickness. But for me, FOUR EYES, the story of a depression era kid getting a job at the underground dragon fights was the biggest surprise of the year for me. Excellent comic. Too bad there was only one or it might be above.

OMEGA: THE UNKNOWN - Written by novelist Jonathan Lethem, this was almost on the Top 10 as well. I think some of it went over my head, but what didn't go over my head is that it was BAR NONE the most original and interesting thing that Marvel has published in as long as I can remember. Too bad it didn't sell very well in floppies, but Marvel was committed to the book and the collected edition should get more notice in book stores. In fact, I've already given it as a gift!

THE TWELVE - I really love the pace and style J. Michael Straczinski is handling this series with. Just coming out too slow. Curious to see how these characters are treated in the Marvel Universe post this series. And there is no doubt that this series will get a lot more love once it is eventually collected.

ECHO - This is moving up my pile with each issue. Terry Moore is a master storyteller. Great art. Fun story.

PAX ROMANA
TRANSHUMAN
RED MASS FOR MARS - All three books by Jonathan Hickman deserve to be mentioned. They were all well written, drawn and most importantly original comic works. TRANSHUMAN was one of my girlfriend's favorites of the year while PAX was probably the one closest to the Top 10 for me. Hickman is a unique comic talent and one to watch, especially with some Marvel work coming his way.

YOUNG LIARS - I don't know what is going on most of the time, and I really don't care. It moves up my read pile, just because its engaging me. Dave Lapham's Vertigo series was a surprise just because it is so odd.

And oh yeah, don't Marvel and DC publish Super Hero comics?

ACTION COMICS - My favorite in-continuity DC super hero book. Johns did a great job with the studly Gary Frank drawing the best Superman out there. The highlight of the year was the Braniac story.

THOR - My favorite in-continuity Marvel super hero book. The pace is slow, but I'm loving Straczynski's take on the character. And the art has been great. I fear what happens to this title when J.M. leaves, but I do know that Matt Fraction (based on the one-shots) kind of HAS TO BE the new writer.

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For my comic-reading friends, girlfriend and 2 guys unlucky enough to have googled their way here some how, thanks for reading.

leap year day (aka my favorites of 2007?)

When I returned from my "break" in late January which I spent out of the city/country since mid-December, I knew that I wanted to return with a "Best of 2007" post, because, that's why you do one of these things, right? Well, it took me for-fucking-ever to catch up on the insane amount of comics that accumulated while I was away. Now, it's juuuust about fucking March (thank you Leap Year Day) and it's way late, and I really don't care because I'm doing one anyway.

Good news is: I finally got caught up on my comics. Meaning, last week, I actually had no more new comics waiting to be read when Wednesday came around. Hopefully I return again with some regular updates.

And now that people have stopped talking about 2007 and moved on to something more important (2008), here we go with the late-as-shit list:

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MY FAVORITE TEN COMICS OF THE YEAR

(Comics that are eligible for me: an ongoing comic that has put out at least four comics in the calendar year.)

#1 SCALPED
(w. Jason Aaron, a. R.M. Guera)

Some people might lump this in as a "Best New Series" candidate since it's new to 2007, but for me, that would just be redundant (see below for my version). This was not my favorite new series, it was just my favorite series, period. It's often been called "The Sopranos on a Reservation," but that's not really fair to this series because it's definitely its own beast. It began as a story about an undercover FBI agent returning to the reservation where he was raised, and with each character that is introduced, and with each dramatic wrinkle that Aaron adds, it just gets better. Whether it's a fair and balanced view of Native Americans, I can't judge, but the dark world that Aaron presents has been an engaging one for comics. The Chief Red Crow issue (#7) and the look into Catcher (#9) were the highlights for me. At first, the art was the weak link: A bit hard to follow and confusing, but as the series has continued, Guera's look for this world has become as important as Risso's to 100 BULLETS or Dillon's to PREACHER.

With the excellent Vietnam series OTHER SIDE and now SCALPED, Aaron is definitely one to watch. It was only a matter of time before the "mainstream" superhero editors came a-calling, as Marvel definitely noticed, grabbing him for 2008 gigs on WOLVERINE and GHOST RIDER. With Y: THE LAST MAN over and the excellent 100 BULLETS heading into its last story, I'm ecstatic that this comic has emerged. Vertigo is in good hands.

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

Unofficially, this was my #1 for 2006 even though I wasn't putting things on the internet yet. But what's to be said about this title that many others haven't said? Basically nothing. So I'll rinse and repeat: Grant and Frank continue their epic run, which (when it comes out) is the best super hero comic on the stands. The time-traveling father issue (#6) and the first Bizarro issue were excellent.

#3 Y: THE LAST MAN
(w. Brian K. Vaughan, a. Pia Guerra)

**SPOILER WARNING** Although as of writing, the final issue has come out, at the end of the year we were still one shy. And the final year, and the final arc especially, have been amongst the series best. From the near perfect reunion issue with Beth, to the touching Agent 355 issue which ended in her surprise death, it has all been great. Since then, I have read the final issue, and I'm sad to see this title go.

#4 DMZ
(w. Brian Wood, a. Riccardo Burchielli)

This was a book high on my list last year (#3), and it still is this year. With the ending of "Public Works" and the awesome "Friendly Fire," this continues to be one of my favorite comics on the stands. "Wilson," one of the done-in-one's at the end of the year, especially stood out for me. I want to see more of him.

#5 CRIMINAL
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Sean Phillips)

Another new book this year, and another comic that exposes my interest in comics that are crime-oriented. Brubaker is just getting started with this series, but both "Coward" (my favorite) and "Lawless" have been excellent stories to start with.

#6 FABLES
(w. Bill Willingham, a. Mark Buckingham - mostly)

The fourth Vertigo series on the list. I guess I'm a fan or something. As fun and as good as this series has been over the years, it has gone up another level. On the heels of the excellent Frog Prince origin story in 1,001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL, Willingham gives us the longest and best Fables storyline to date. The best thing about "The Good Prince" and why it works as well as it does, is because it DID have all of the issues that came before it. And that makes me happy.

#7 IMMORTAL IRON FIST
(w. Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction, a. David Aja & Various)

Um, yeah, so I was late and oh-so-wrong about this title. After getting Issue #1, I didn't think it was good enough to add. After hearing others rave, I ebayed up the books at #8 and read them all in one sitting. So like I said, oh-so-wrong. Brubaker and Fraction are writing a bad-ass super hero comic and I'm glad that I jumped back on. The current storyline with an old-fashioned Kung Fu fighting bracket makes me giddy like a kid, but issue #7, where we focus on Wu Ao-Shi, the first female Iron Fist (formerly known as the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay), was my favorite.

#8 100 BULLETS
(w. Brian Azzarello, a. Eduardo Risso)

Another Vertigo book, and a book that would probably have been on my Top Ten for the last eight years. It was another year of mystery and some confusing plot advancement, and mixed in some of the best-drawn crime stories anywhere. The issue where one of Lono's victims (#85) enacts her own kind of revenge has been one of my favorites of the series.

#9 POWERS
(w. Brian Bendis, a. Michael Avon Oeming)

This series jumps back on my Top Ten list for the first time in a couple of years. Mostly because the publishing schedule seems to be getting back on track, but also because Volume 2 has been a really nice burn to the current point of the series. The ongoing soap of Deena and Christian has sucked me back in, and although I know I say it all the time, I still think this is the best thing Bendis writes.

#10 USAGI YOJIMBO
(w/a. Stan Sakai)

Back on my list with a really strong year for this series. In the aftermath of the amazing run where Usagi was traveling with his son Jotaro, the title took a step back from its own high standards, but with the series hitting the century mark (at Dark Horse), things have ramped back up. Sakai teased us for issues culminating in an epic battle vs. Shizukiri in #102, and then went right into the excellent Origin of Jei two-parter. The year ended with the multi part "Sparrows" which continues the Jei storyline, as the demon cements himself as the series' arch-enemy.

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MY FAVORITE "NEW COMIC" OF THE YEAR

(Basically, my version of the award is: a new title that has its first 3 or fewer issues in the calendar year, so I can't gauge it for best ongoing, but deserves to be recognized as one to watch.)

NORTHLANDERS
(w. Brian Wood, a. Davide Gianfelice)

This was a rather weak year, as last year (again, unofficially) I had a tie between CRIMINAL and LONE RANGER who both had just a couple of issues on the stands by the end of the calendar year 2006. NORTHLANDERS was the only new series to show promise and generate "fucking cool!" reactions from me. It does help that I've become a big Brian Wood fan, and that this has been one of my most anticipated books all year. Exhibit A. So far, I have read two more issues and I'm still really enjoying the opening arc.

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COMICS THAT MISSED THE LIST AND WHY

WASTELAND - Only missed because I think the ten ongoings above have had a better year. I'm really happy with what this book is doing.

LONE RANGER - The origin storyline that started out the series was great, and although the second arc had its moments, it wasn't as good, bumping it under the books above.

X-FACTOR - Probably the best Superhero team book that I'm reading. The Isolationist story was a nice culmination of character work that Peter David had been building to since the beginning.

ASTONISHING X-MEN - This is really an excellent title, but the publishing schedule and its furthering distance from main X-Men continuity have hurt it for me.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER - A really fun comic book continuation of the famous TV series. Not good enough however.

BATMAN - The three-issue J.H. Williams arc, "The Island of Mr. Mayhew" was as good as any super hero story I read all year, but at the start of the year, the publishing schedule was still erratic, and it ended with the awful Ra's al Ghul crossover, killing its chances for the list.

FELL - The best comic book not to make it on my list (#2 last year), but it was hurt by the fact that it only had two issues to come out all year. I look forward to more content in '08.

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MY FAVORITE SINGLE ISSUES OF THE YEAR

(My favorite single issues. Spoiler Warning in case you haven't read the issues and you wait for the trade on some of these titles.)

#1 SCALPED #7
"Down on the Killing Floor"

This was originally part 2 of the 6-part "Casino Boogie" storyline, but these six issues were essentially one shots that concentrated on individual characters in the book. This issue was the "big bad" issue, as the title's villain, Chief Red Crow, takes center stage. On the night of the grand opening of his new Casino, we get a glimpse into his past and his head and how he rationalizes decisions that he makes. The final sequence, and the last page were perfect.

#2 Y: THE LAST MAN #57
"Why and Wherefores, Chapter 3"

This actually came out the same week as the book above (what a week!), but it was still good enough for #2 on my list. The five years-in-the-making reunion of Beth and Yorick was somehow exactly what I wanted, expected and needed and Vaughan and Guerra expertly gave it to me. Awesome.

#3 100 BULLETS #85
"Red Lions"

The controversial and unpredictable Lono is my favorite character in the series. With that said, a victim of his from an earlier issue makes a surprise return, enacting revenge in her own way, exposing him for the monster that he is. Azzarello and Risso have created a comic with such unpredictability, that it actually got my heart rate up as I was tricked into thinking that this was his end. Good good issue.

#4 Y: THE LAST MAN #58
"Why and Wherefores, Chapter 4"

On the heels of the Beth issue, comes this issue where Yorick and Agent 355 talk about their feelings for each other, what it all means, and then when you are actually rooting for this and happy, Vaughan stuns you with her death. One of the things I was never sold on, was Yorick and 355 having feelings for each other. Slowly they won me over, and by the time I was half way through this issue I was sold, making the ending all the more tragic.

#5 ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #6
"Funeral in Smallville"

This issue was the done-in-one Time Travel issue where Superman comes back to his farm (with a couple of other traveling Supermen) to save the past from a monstrous threat. The art by Quitely is amazing as always, and Grant does Silver Age in the present so damn well it looks easy. There are some really nice moments between Clark and his dad.

#6 SCALPED #9
"A Thunder Being Nation I Am"

This was Part 4 in the "Casino Boogie" storyline. This issue focused on the mysterious Catcher, who up until this point had only been seen a few times. Usually cryptically, usually on a horse. We see that he is a bit of a joke, we see that he is Oxford-educated, and we see that like everyone else in this comic, he is complicated and surprising. Granny Poor Bear gets some extended panel-time as well.

#7 UMBRELLA ACADEMY: APOCALYPSE SUITE #1
"The Day the Eiffel Tower Went Berserk"

Since I didn't do a FAVORITE MINI-SERIES this gets no love there, but what a wonderful little surprise this was. Gerard Way, creator of lame-ass music, writes a wall-to-wall kick-ass fun comic. Including, but not limited to: Time Travel, a so-cool-could-be-a-villain Dad called Monocle, Zombie Robot Gustav-Eiffel as the first issue's villain, and not one, but count em, TWO monkeys. Well, it's one half-ape and a chimp, but still. Gabriel Ba, artist of the first arc on CASANOVA, shines here in full color. Not as original as some people claim it to be, but still really good, and one of the funnest single comics I read all year.

#8 CRIMINAL #5
"Coward Part 5 of 5"

The final part of this arc was definitely my favorite. This was the last part of the first series, where our main character Leo puts a huge spin on the arc's title. He was scared, but only scared of the monster within himself. Not only is this my favorite issue, "Coward" has been my favorite arc and this issue cemented the quality of the crime stories to come.

#9 USAGI YOJIMBO #104
"The Darkness and the Soul, Part 2"

This was part 2 of the two part Origin of Jei, and it was damn good. Jei has become arch-nemesis of our Yojimbo, but he is a demon and not an actual human. This issue we get more of the great samurai-turned-priest that is first possessed by the demon and you feel really sorry for what came of this man. Then we are invited to the pure fury of this demon unleashed, as an entire town falls at his spear when he is angered. Testament to this title and the brilliant Stan Sakai, this issue doesn't even feature the title character.

#10 RIPCLAW PILOT SEASON #1
"The Harrowing"

An odd choice for sure. From my original reaction, Jason Aaron is of course the writer:

What is such a unique Vertigo voice going to do with RIpclaw? The often derided character for being a Wolverine rip-off couldn't be interesting or worth your time, could he? Well, yes, yes he can. Aaron gives us a Ripclaw that for unknown reasons is being haunted by spirits, spirits that have unfinished business that Ripclaw needs to take care of. For this issue, it leads us to Japan and a small odyssey as Ripclaw has to fight through various levels of the heavily guarded headquarters of Boss Yamamoto. Ripclaw is quiet, violent and basically an uber bad ass. There were some levels of this place that were only hinted at, leaving me really curious what exactly Ripclaw even fought! Jorge Lucas's art is detailed and gritty, and what really struck for me about this book was that as violent as it was, aside from the final showdowns, a lot of the fights happened off panel.

The caveat to this series was of course that it was to be voted on for a possible ongoing series (which it inexplicably lost -- WTF Top Cow fans!?), and although who knows how it would have worked for ongoing, for one issue, this was one kick ass comic book.

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And that's all. I wanted to do more, such as BEST WRITER, BEST ARTIST, BEST STORY ARCS, BEST MINI-SERIES and BEST GRAPHIC NOVELS, but being sooooo late, maybe next year.

Since I referenced them so much (read: posterity's sake), my Top Ten Ongoings of 2006 were:

1. ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
2. FELL
3. DMZ
4. ASTONISHING X-MEN
5. LOVELESS
6. NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E.
7. Y: THE LAST MAN
8. 100 BULLETS
9. DAREDEVIL
10. LOCAL

new book: CRIMINAL and LONE RANGER

quick takes: september 12

It felt like it took forever to get through these TWENTY-SEVEN books, but it was worth it, as there was some good stuff. Today could be catch-up day, with a couple of weeks of reactions. Hopefully.

book of the week:

100 BULLETS #85

(w. Brian Azzarello, a. Eduardo Risso)

EXTRA SPOILER WARNING. Without a doubt, the most entertaining 22 pages of the week. It is of course one of my favorite comics and Eduardo Risso is in my personal Hall of Fame, but this was the only issue this week (and in some weeks) that I was emotionally involved in. Azzarello has created a comic, that I no longer know who is going to make it through the series and my favorite character, Lono, is the one tested here. A victim of his makes a surprise return to the series and enacts revenge in her own, very appropriate way. I read the last few pages thinking Lono was a dead man. As it turns out, he wasn't. The relief I felt was an interesting one, because she deserved her revenge (and she got it), but the most unpredictable character in an unpredictable series still lives. And I'm happy about that. How cool and perfect did the cover turn out to be?

other real good comics:

POTTER'S FIELD #1: No secret that I'm a big crime comic fan, as 100 Bullets (above), Criminal and The Killer are all amongst my favorite comics. Although I can't with good conscious throw this in with them yet, it is only because there is only one issue out. This is probably the best thing I've read from Mark Waid in a long time. Who knew he had it in him to do this kind of genre. The John Doe character was great, and seeing how he peices his web of information together was pretty damn cool. The art was good, but more importantly, appropriate. This kind of series would be a huge hit on TV I would think.

DMZ #23: A really good done-in-one, concentrating on a character other than Matty. Showing that Wood could do stories here for a long time if he wanted to.

X-FACTOR #23: Holy shit! The Isolationist is a bad guy! Okay, its not that much of a surprise. Although it was pretty cool when he finally revealed himself. How weird is the whole Pietro storyline becoming?

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #113: With respects to the rock solid punctual work of Bagley, Stuart Immonen kicks all sorts of ass. I'm really happy that he is here, and the escape of the Green Goblin and the ensuing battle is a strong example of why. Good issue.

NEW AVENGERS #24: Another good issue, in a series I'm enjoying. I don't want to spend every issue with the paranoia, but it makes sense. Some fun moments (Strange with Night Nurse, Wolverine vs. The Hood, and Jessica Jones) and some cutesy moments (the Strange spell showing the true self) all makes me a happy camper with this series.

LONE RANGER #8: This series is settling into "good every month" territory. I'm really enjoying this series.

FABLES #65: Another month, another good issue. this time we return to the "The Good Prince" storyline. The only thing that is bugging me right now, is the return of Blue Beard and Kahn. Not that I dislike the characters, but I thought their individual stories were done. Silly me I guess, consdering I'm reading a book about immortals.

CASANOVA #9: The bad news: Gabrial Ba > Fabio Moon. Green tones > Blue tones. Good news: Storyline #2 > Storyline #1. Still some of the coolest covers in comics.

PARADE (WITH FIREWORKS) #1: This was my impulse buy this week, and I'm glad I did. Some cute, cartoony art, but in this case, it does not distract from the story. A pretty serious story about brothers during turbulent 1923 Italy. Nice to see Image publishing a book that is normally left to smaller "artier" publishers.

THOR #3: I'm sorry to people looking to hate on Strazynski, but I'm really enjoying this series so far. Yes, even though its moving reaaaally slow. Thor whooping Iron Man's ass was sweet, and the Copiel art really helped show the sheer power of Thor. Heimdall looked cool as hell too.

three-star comics:

DAREDEVIL #100: The was a pretty good, with Mr. Fear driving Matt batshit crazy with his new and improved fear gas. To use different artists in this way, has been done before of course, but it's affective. Only problem is, Milla accidently killing a man is the more interesting part of this storyline, and this issue, necessarily so delayed it a month. Now that Matt knows, that storyline can continue in earnest. The backup reprints were fun, but it was a bit nauseating to see that Black Widow, although still portrayed tough, was still being a "damsel in distress," crying in Matt's arms. It was a product of its time, I guess, but it just seemed out of character compared to the hard-as-nails Russian spy she is now.

JLA WEDDING SPECIAL #1: Although the rest of the online comics community seems to be in love with McDuffie, I've felt his Fantastic Four run has been laugh-at bad. So what to do with him taking over the JLA? So far he shows why he was succesful with the cartoon, because in all honesty, he's really quite good with these characters. His first issue is a Wedding tie-in, so he is allowed to have some fun and he definitely does. Its a bit light-hearted, with some bits of the cartoon brought in, but it works. Its at the very least, more accesible than Brad Meltzer's run was, and that's after only one issue. Mike McKone was really good on art too.

WALKING DEAD #42: It has been a good couple of issues now that the series has slowed down to show us what all the characters at the prison are up to. Some of the choices have been a bit odd, but it was good to re-focus I think, because based on the last page, this series is about to be spun completely on its head.

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #11: A pretty good War Journal issue, focusing mainly on two conversations. One between Winter Soldier and Punisher, and the other between Bridge and Iron Man. And what appears to be Jigsaw's kid in-between. The respect Punisher has for Bucky ("If we fight, you'd kill me."), as well as the cool little altercation they have was pretty awesome.

STORMWATCH PHD #11: Although I'm still whining internally about the HOOORRIBLE two parter where Gage and Co. smacked Christine's character around, this was another solid go for Christos. Too bad that there is only one more issue, as I thought he really had a good thing going here. It will be interesting to see how, where and if these characters pop again.

FEAR AGENT: THE LAST GOODBYE #3: Another good issue, with some fine Tony Moore art. I'll say it again: I'm a bit bummed that this whole war flashback is only going to be 4 issues, as I think it had legs for a bit more.

G.I. JOE: AMERICA'S ELITE #27: Good issue, with some pretty decent fill-in art by Mike Shoyket. The only real problem I had, was the lame internal excuse they had to come up with for Skull Buster not to kill Shipwreck and Cover Girl immediately. I mean, otherwise there wouldn't have been an issue, but without a doubt, Skull Buster would have ended their lives before they even awoke.

JACK OF FABLES #14: Pretty solid Jack of Fables issue. Still not sure what I think of characters called Revise and what not, and whether or not this title really needs to exist. But since the Fables universe is so damn popular, this book will probably exist as long as Willingham wants it to.

FALLEN ANGEL #20: Well, it gets big points for being past the Shi storyline. Blah. And more points for concentrating on Jude, who I think has been one of the more interesting bits from the new volume. Good issue.

GEN 13 #12: I'm not altogether sure that wicked smart kid-Grunge meshes with adult-Grunge, but the Grunge with tits was pretty damn hilarious.

comics with problems:

ULTIMATE POWER #7: This just feels like a lame duck series at this point. Although the appearance of the "real" Squadron Supreme was a genuine surprise. Just not one I cared about too much.

X-MEN: EMPEROR VULCAN #1: Kind of a ho-hum start to this mini-series. So far, the whole Vulcan idea just hasn't led to anything that interesting. I'm also not sure what I think of giving Vulcan/Shiar and Starjammers/Resistance a common enemy to fight. I think each other might have been enough.

LONERS #5: A lot of late teen/early 20's romance, culminating in the reveal of Phil Urich as evil Darkhawk. Just kind of eh, although I know this has its audience out there. Once again, fun cover!

WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #10: For some reason this book felt all-over the place to me, and I had a bit of trouble keeping everything in line. The Scooby Doo backup didn't work for me either. Good Googe art on the main part however.

um, just no:

ULTIMATE X-MEN #86: I'm a skipping record at this point, but I'm just bored by this series. Some of the action okay I guess. Oh here's something positive: The visual design for Pyro here is WAY cooler than his 616 counterpart.

MOON KNIGHT #12: I have been so patient with this title, but really, at this point, what the fuck was this!? Something tells me that this book might (read: miiiiiight) be better if all 12 issues were read in one sitting, but what I got from reading it in single issue leaves me kind of uninterested in ever picking up these comics again, so I guess I will never know. A title that started out interesting, failed to quite get anywhere. This was my final issue.