Dean’s Top Picks
Best of the past week: Mara #1 – Well, the competition was pretty light since only ~5 comics came out last week. I’m sorry, Amazing Spider-Man #700 loses out because it’s impossible to have “emotional resonance” from a death when you can see/predict how that death will be undone in the next year or so. Hell, Marvel even found a way to keep publishing Spider-Man comics in the interim. That earns it a colossal “meh”. I tried Justice League #15 and was just reminded that I don’t care for Geoff Johns’ storytelling style where something DRAMATIC must happen every other page. So, we’re left with Mara and her story of a future-world where everyone is super into volleyball. It wasn’t a great first issue and in a normal week of comics, it wouldn’t sniff the top spot, but it is fresh and different and that counts for a lot when the Big 2 are mostly reheating the same leftovers week-after-week.
Most anticipated this week: Not a lot of comics coming out this week either (for me), but there are a few biggies.
1). (tie) American Vampire #34 & Punk Rock Jesus #6 – How bittersweet these two issues! AV is going on hiatus after this. Everyone swears AV is coming back; I’ll trust them… but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss the comic book every month. AV hit an emotional climax after the last issue and I’m very eager to see how Snyder and Albuquerque arrange the pieces for the future. You just KNOW they will do a good job. Punk Rock Jesus has been outstanding. When it started out, I worried a little bit how Sean Murphy was going to neatly wrap this complex and ambitious story. I’m not worried anymore. Murphy has show us a lot of talent for nuanced storytelling in this series and that makes me confident that he’ll nail the ending.
3). The Manhattan Projects #8 – I’ve noticed that the shipping schedule for this book is slipping with issue #6 coming out in September and issue #7 coming out in early November. The delay is not a good thing and it has resulted in me losing the plot a little bit. Still, TMP is one of those comics where “losing the plot” isn’t that big of a deal. It’s all about weird, alt-versions of early 20th Century scientists doing crazy science stuff for the US government (like committing genocide against alien species). I love how this series isn’t afraid to push the bounds of good taste.
4). All New X-Men #5 – See! I do read some Big 2 comics! I’ve been pretty pleased with All New X-Men since it started. I’ve been an X-Men fan since I was a kid and will probably always pick up the “main” X-Men comic book. Brian Bendis is doing a pretty good job with the X-Men characters (Emma’s dialogue aside) and the art team has been stellar.
5). I Love Trouble #2 – I’ll be curious to see how I respond to this issue. I had zero expectations for the debut issue so it kinda snuck up on me how good it was. Now, I have some expectations of quality and we’ll see just how solid this comic really is. The art should be bouncy and fun and the heroine is kinda a smart/scampy girl who gets the better of the mob. Who doesn’t like that combo?
——-
Alex’s Top Picks
Pick of the Week: Justice League #15 – I only picked up two comics this week, both of which were by Geoff Johns. That being said, I still think that this issue of JL is worthy of recognition because it is far and away the best single issue of Johns’ run thus far and is the first one to truly begin to tap the potential most saw in a Johns-penned Justice League comic.
I honestly don’t know what the hell happened with Johns between issues 14 and 15, but while this isn’t “best comic of the year” material, this is a huge about-face in terms of quality. Out of nowhere, Johns suddenly shows a MUCH firmer handle of the characters, their voices, and their personalities, all slapped against the sort of traditional, epic superhero plot he’s always employed so well. It’s like Johns has finally figured out how best to use these characters. Hell, even the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship actually works. This is really shocking stuff. The series HAS been gradually getting better since the first arc, but this issue feels like Johns just woke up from a coma and we can forget all the mediocre issues that came before.
Most Anticipated: New Avengers #1 – It’s Jonathan Hickman writing the Marvel Universe’s Illuminati. That should really sell itself, as it’s exactly the sort of thing Hickman’s talents are best suited for. And if you’re still not convinced, he’s bringing along Steve Epting, with whom he did some of his finest work on Fantastic Four/FF
Manhattan Projects #8 – MP is always a big load of crazy and it feels like the seven issues thus far are only barely tied together by an incredible vague to the point of being nearly unrecognizable overall story. That said, I really don’t care. Because MP is fun and lots of it. The art is hyper-detailed awesomeness and the book is Hickman going totally, irreverently batshit. I may prefer Hawkeye and Saga by just a little bit, but Manhattan Projects is firmly entrenched as my #3 for Best New Series of 2012.
Fatale #11 – Brubaker and Phillips tackling 1930s noir? Sold! The fact that it’s a prequel of sorts is also just what the doctor ordered: mysteries still abound in this series regarding Jo’s nature and backstory so I welcome any bit of light willing to be shed.
All-New X-Men #5 – I still don’t know why I’m enjoying this series but I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that, yes, I’m enjoying it. The core concept is completely and utterly ridiculous, sure, but compared to his last few years of Avengers work, Bendis feels revitalized here and Immonen’s art is killer. More than that though, there’s just something compulsively readable about All-New X-Men. Maybe this is the whole “soap opera” thing everyone keeps talking about? I don’t know, all I know is that there’s something addictive about this series, whatever that is.
American Vampire #34 – Sadly, it’s the final issue of AV before the series goes on hiatus. For that reason alone, this issue has to be on my top picks list. The fact that it picks up the pieces and gives us a welcome epilogue to the sledgehammer that was issue 33 only makes this doubly the case. But hey, AV going on hiatus isn’t all bad, I guess, since we’ll be getting the latest Snyder/Murphy joint, The Wake, in the near future!
Grade
Conclusion