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

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.

weekly loot: may 23

So I passed on G.I. JOE: SPECIAL MISSIONS BRAZIL this week. I had to. The price on these things is too high, even with my 30% discount. Flipped through it, and the characters weren’t ones that interested me (and I’m a huge Joe geek), plus the art wasn’t anything special, so it got left behind. It’ll be a nice acquisition in a quarter bin at a future con.

I also picked up SATAN’S SODOMY BABY on pure impulse.

This week:

CRIMINAL #6
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Sean Phillips)
Right after #5 came out, I got out all five issues and read them back to back, and it was a great experience, leaving me salivating for the next arc to start. Brubaker excels at crime comic fiction, and I couldn’t be happier with the new arc. Tracy Lawless (whose family got its fair share of mentions in the first arc) is not as firmly in the gray area as Leo was, but that didn’t mean anything for the quality of the story. I thought the Iraq soldier background was awesome, but what I love even more is that Tracy Lawless is not dumb. In fact, he’s really intelligent. So far everything is going smoothly for him, and I expect that his revenge will have some roadblocks, and I can’t wait to find out how this unfolds. By a hair (see below), BOOK OF THE WEEK.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #26
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Steve Epting)
Finally. The second part of the biggest little story in comics arrives. The verdict? Pretty fucking good, actually. Brubaker hitting on all sorts of Brubaker cylinders. 1) I’m interested in Sharon Carter. Her character arc is going to be the best one when all is said and done. 2) I’m WAY interested in Bucky. No one could have ever imagined that Bucky would be this bad ass. I fear for Iron Man’s life. Okay, maybe not, but its gonna be an ass-whuppin'. And 3) I’m even interested in the Falcon. (Which is a feat for me, to be honest.) The way Brubaker handled his speech was pretty great, because those things are always hard to write. The scene with the ‘secret” Avengers was much appreciated too (fuck you Fallen Son). Really good stuff. I’m along for the ride for sure. (Nice to see Rick Jones pop up somewhere.)

X-MEN #199
(w. Mike Carey, a. Chris Bachalo)
Mike Carey is good for the X-Men. I thought this after the first arc ended, and it was only cemented with the second and third. AAAAND, I think the best is yet to come. I find myself like the x-fan of old, really excited for #200 and Endangered Species. Rogue and Cable, two of my favorite X-Men characters, are getting a lot of love from Carey, and that makes me happy. He definitely gets the X-universe, and he seems to have an idea about where he is going and it all seems to blend together nicely. I’m not a big Ramos fan, but I am a big Bachalo fan (figure that), so I was really happy he was on fire here. I think some of my enjoyment of this series right now is how good I’m hoping it’s going to be. (The only nitpick I have is the Iceman/Mystique thing. Laaame. What is she, 20+ years older than him?)

NEWUNIVERSAL #6

SHE-HULK 2 #18
(w. Dan Slott, a. Rich Burchett)
OH HOLY SHIT, DON’T PISS OFF SHE-HULK. Okay, this was all spoiled with Incredible Hulk #106, but regardless, it played out well. As other people have said around the internet, finally someone with the voice of the readership smacks Tony around and gives him an earful. Of course, Tony goes and does another blatantly villainous move by de-Shulking our girl. Still, the beat-down was great, and I can only hope that Jen’s words at the end actually play out somewhere. Sadly, unless the follow-up creative team includes someone like Joss Whedon, issue #21 might be my last.

COUNTDOWN #49: Jimmy Olson has powers? So far nothing has been baaaad, but nothing has completely sold me yet. You hear me DC?!?!

GODLAND #18: You know what’s fucking awesome? The mice in suits and capes. Just needs to be said every once in a while.

GUTSVILLE #1
(w. Simon Spurrier, a. Frazer Irving)
Well, this was the surprise book of the week. It wasn’t great, but damn if it wasn’t interesting. The reason I picked it up was because of Frazer Irving. Some really fun work on Klarion the Witch Boy last year and Silent War this year. So couple his interesting eye with a wacky premise and I’m in. but who expected it to be this good? Simon Spurrier does a good job with this story, creating his own dialect and what appears to be a pretty detailed social dynamic with religion and class issues at the forefront. But really, it is carried by its amazing art. This is what Frazer was meant to do. It’s a little bit reminiscent of Klarion for sure, but here he's getting to flex his muscles even more with creative use of panels. Great colors as well. The last page surprised me, but it probably shouldn’t have. Good comic.

SPIRIT #6

WETWORKS #9
(w. Mike Carey, a. Dave Taylor)
I was never a big fan of the older series. I only read a couple at the beginning, and since then maybe a half dozen that I’ve picked up in quarter bins. But I am really familiar with Wildstorm, and I’ve read almost any appearance they’ve had outside of their book. So with this final part of a storyline, the old Wetworks team comes back and we appear to be at a new status quo at the end with monsters running around the Earth just waiting to be caught. Carey did a good job of getting me interested as the series continued, but for some reason I’ve waned here in the last couple of issues. As much as I love Darick Robertson, the art has been a mess. And maybe that’s because he was JUST doing breakdowns. Who knows. It was just inconsistent and lacked some excitement here in the climax of the issue. So I’m left here with a new staus quo, new-old characters (I really like Ab-Death) and I’m not sure that I’m excited for what is next. The book has shitty sales and now DeMatteis is coming over to be the new writer, so I’m not expecting it to be consistent. We’ll see. I’m a sucker for the Wildstorm Universe, that’s for sure.

ELEPHANTMEN #9; Not much happens (AGAIN), but I still enjoy this series.

WISDOM #6
(w. Paul Cornell, a. Juan Garica)
A fun series while it lasted, although I think my girlfriend is more bummed than me that it is over. It was a tale of two halves for me. The first three issues were awesome, and way better than the final three as far as I’m concerned. Not that the end was bad, mind you, because it wasn’t, but the first three were great, especially my favorite: #2, with the dreams becoming reality. Back to this issue, one of the hallmarks of this title (and issue) was the Skrull Beatles. Does it get any cooler than that? They were amazing. But the stand-out scene for me was Wisdom killing Miss Raven. Sad, but a really good scene nonetheless. Trevor Hairsine of course was the better artist that this series saw, but he’s too damn slow to apparently finish anything ever. I’m not sure if this series is in continuity (I’m guessing no), but I would be open to more Cornell-written Wisdom. Or anything for that matter. Has that British writer insanity that I love so much. (And I hear his Dr. Who episodes are awesome.)

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #2: Okay, what IS going on in this series?

FANTASTIC FOUR #546
(w. Dwayne McDuffie, a. Paul Pelletier)
I won’t rant like last issue, but this is still more of the same and not doing anything for me. Pretty much the same annoyances: First, can someone tell me why Sue is buying any of Reed’s crap? Do we forget that not too long ago she left her husband for helping commit murder? Whatever. I guess we have to get back to the staus quo as quickly as possible. While I’m on the subject of couples, why the hell does Storm put up with T’Challa’s crap? Kidding-- aside from the fact I hate these two together, Black Panther actually comes across as a bit of a tactical bad ass. So that’s good. The frogs were kind of an old-school-esque plot device that was a bit silly, and the fact that Gravity has lived to fight another day I could care less about. So, YAWN. Bring on the Frightful Four.

SATAN’S SODOMY BABY
(w/a. Eric Powell)
Okay, I bought this on pure chance. Maybe I was a sucker for the big YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN’T sign on the cover. Regardless, this is the second time I’ve tried The Goon and wow, I think it might be my last. The first time was the .25 cent issue (#15?) of the regular series. It was okay storywise with some real fun art. I thought it was a bit overrated based on one issue, and left it at that. Then there was this. And boy was this a mess. Truly, a MESS. Like I said, it's going to take a lot for me to try this again. So demon boy comes out of guy's ass with huge flamethrower dick. He scares some people. Priest does dirty things to him. Goon and pal take a hammer and smash him back in. Oh, and there is an unfunny two page fake gay ad, and an even less funny and pointless scene where a female’s breasts are fondled because there weren't any tits in the book. Um, okay. Just not very funny to me. Still, I like Eric Powell’s art, and I thought the four panels where the different religions were joked on was pretty good.

WONDER WOMAN #9: Thrown on the Read Pile with #6-8.