WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: Saga #13 – What a great series this one is!  I loved having it back in my comic-reading life after that several month hiatus.  This issue had all sorts of coolness: wacky newlywed stuff, weird mother-in-law stuff, funky self-assembling bone monster stuff, possibly reforming mercenary stuff and a great Lying Cat moment to top it all off.  Just love it….

Most Anticipated: Man… Light week…  I can’t even do a Top 5!

1. 100 Bullets: Brother Lono #3 – This series feels exactly like 100 Bullets.  You needn’t have read the classic 100-issue series to enjoy this though.  Just track down the first two issues of Brother Lono and catch up.  It has all the grit, grime and sin of the original without all the convoluted conspiracy that made the last ~40 issues of the original series a bit of a chore to read.  Spectacular art too…..  I love when Eduard Risso does those panels that go almost like a photo negative.

2. Avengers #18 – Okay, so Infinity #1 was pretty hot.  I really love what Jonathan Hickman has done with this series.  He’s actually doing something meta within the pages of a mainstream superhero book.  I think that those origin bombs that were being chucked at Earth are actually analogs for doing creative destruction within the stolid superhero comic book industry.  Anyway….Infinity was great.  Avengers has been great.  I’m sure this will be great too.

3. Creepy #13 – Always a place for black-and-white horror anthologies.  There have even been a few decent contemporary stories in the last few issues too.  And the reprint of an old classic story is almost always good.

4. X-Men #4 – The first story arc was just kinda so-so, but this title will feature in the upcoming Battle of the Atom crossover, so it’s worth hanging on for another month.

Hugo’s Pick

Best From The Past Week: Infinity #1 – What?! Someone picking a big mainstream comic event instead of East of West or Saga? Blasphemy! It is true, however, that I did really enjoy the opening issue of Hickman’s big event comic, as it featured action, a whole lot of cosmic happenings and the stunning and polished art of Cheung. It was gripping and it succeeded quite well in making me want to read the rest.

Most anticipated this week:

1. Batman ’66 #2 – The first issue was so full of absurd fun, I am stoked to see if this one can continue on the same trend. With psychedelic color and a tongue-in-cheek tone and a self-awareness that is very pleasant, this comic by Jeff Parker accomplish something that not too many comics can claim: being actually fun and entertaining.

2. Avengers #18 – It’s no secret that I love the Marvel cosmic universe. Kree, Skrulls, Shi’ar and so forth are things I like to read in my comics and to see them heavily featured in an issue do succeed in catching my interest. If Hickman can continue on what he set up in the first issue of Infinity and if Leinil Yu can draw convincing cosmic characters, this could be a blast to read.

3. Superior Spider-Man #16 – I rather like, so far, the various adventures of Otto Octavius as Spider-Man. The arrogance, the surprises and the playfulness it has with the mythos surrounding the character makes for a fun read and I do think this trend will continue as the conclusion to this two-parter comes this week.

4. Indestructible Hulk #12 – This storyline seems so full of crazy potential, I cannot just ignore it. The Hulk travelling in time, collaborating with cowboys and fighting dinosaurs, or perhaps the other way around. I do enjoy sequential art and how comics can portray real life in symbolism, yet sometimes all you need is a big green dude punching dinosaurs.

5. Thunderbolts #14 – This is the actual beginning of Charles Soulle tenure on the title as he handles the whole team for a whole arc with regular artist Jefte Palo. I have some hope for this, as I do like the artist, writer and characters, so here’s hoping it will live up to its potential.