WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: American Vampire: Anthology #1 – Two things pushed this right to the top in a crowded week.  One, it was absolutely outstanding.  It’s rare to see an anthology that doesn’t have a single weak story…..but AV pulled it off.  Of course, that probably has something to do with the all-star creators on the issue.  Sheesh……just click the link and check out the talent and it really isn’t surprising that it was very good.  The second thing that made it so sweet is that I miss the ongoing American Vampire series.  It’ll be back soon, but even in a comic market that has other great titles (East of West, Lazarus, The Walking Dead, Saga…) I still really miss AV.  Come back soon.

Most Anticipated: 

1. Chew #36 – The last issue of Chew featured some actual, bona fide story.  Mostly, this series has felt like the “story” was there just to service the jokes: “Oh…hahaha…..Tony Chu had to eat dog crap!  Look at the face he’s making!  And that poster on the wall behind him is hilarious!”  It really isn’t a bad thing.  Chew is so funny that I find myself cornering people and shoving my iPad in their faces, demanding that they look at random panels from Chew.  Now, it seems like there is an actual story bubbling under the surface and I’m eager to watch it play out.

2. Trillium #2 – I really enjoyed the first issue.  I wonder if readers experienced it differently depending on which half of the flip-book they read first?  I read the science-fiction part first and then followed it up with the jungle-exploration part.  I thought it was great.  Can’t wait to see how these two worlds interact and you just know that Jeff Lemire is going to punch us in the guts at some point in the story.  I’m also excited to see Lemire doing a story that isn’t about fathers and sons.

3. God is Dead #1 – Hmmm…..another new, creator-owned series from Jonathan Hickman.  I’ve said before in reviews of his work that the guy is just overflowing with IDEAS.  I mean….he’s just slinging them all over and the only blah thing he’s done in the last few years is Secret (but that’s mostly because it almost never comes out) and The Red Wing.  Consider all of his great, recent work: Fantastic Four, SHIELD (ahem…finish this), Avengers, New Avengers, Infinity, The Manhattan Projects, and East of West (and then Pax Romana and Nightly News before that).  Some awesome work in those comics, so this is worth checking out.  Interesting that it is published by Avatar and not Image.  I wonder what’s up with that?  I wonder how Hickman’s control over the graphic sense of his titles will clash with Avatar’s desire to put 20 different covers on everything?

4. Infinity #2 – I love the Infinity event.  I think it’s great so far.  I’m just reading the main series that the two Hickman Avengers series, so I don’t have the problem of it polluting my other stories.

5. X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1 – And it’s another X-event.  I almost always love an X-event.  I love how they publish them too with the event weaving its way through the main X-titles.  Also a good way to see which titles Marvel considers to be the “main titles”.  Sorry Uncanny X-Force and X-Men Legacy….you lose out.

Hugo’s Pick

Best From The Past Week: Thor: God of Thunder #12 – There were some very strong outings this week, with Transformers and Lazarus being very good, yet the one title that gets top billing here is Jason Aaron and Nic Klein creating an issue with a whole story with three eras as they show what Thor does on Midgard when he’s not with the Avengers. It was a beautifully paced and wonderfully drawn issue that just went ahead with a story that was moving, funny and at times even sad. This was a great issue and it really earned the top spot this week.

Most anticipated this week:

1. Infinity #2 – I did not want to board the hype train, yet the first issue hit all of the right note with what I like to read in a story featuring superheroes. Big cosmic threats, big action, and some absolutely stunning art. While Jim Cheung isnt’ the artist this time around, Jerome Opena and Dustin Weaver are no slouches either and with this story continuing its focus on the Inhumans, I am really optimistic for where this is going. The fact that the Silver Surfer story might also get included just like in the latest issue as a bonus digital story is just icing on the cake as well. Bring it on Jonathan Hickman.

2. God is Dead #1 – The concept alone is incredibly interesting: what if gods came back and humanity didn’t want to deal with them anymore, leading to a conflict between deity and man? Jonathan Hickman is usually an idea man and I am eager to see where he goes with such a big idea.

3. Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3 – I really liked the improvement in issue #2 as they brought the fun and general scumbag attitude behind the characters starring in this title. This is a fun title that knows exactly what it is and the simple, yet effective art by Steve Lieber combined with the playful script by Spencer might give some more fun this time too.

4. Superior Spider-Man #17 – Miguel O’Hara. While I never was the biggest fan of that character, I do like him a bit as I do remember that the Peter David penned series was kind of fun at times. With this story dealing with time-travelling shenanigans and Spider-Ock, there’s a high chance that Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman can give us something quite fun to look forward to.

5. Forever Evil #1 – Call me an utter fool and an optimist, yet I am actually looking forward to Geoff Johns writing some of the villainous character he excelled in writing in the last few years. While the quality of his work has slipped considerably in my own opinion, he should still be able to write an effective Black Adam, Sinestro and Captain Cold. I sure do hope I’m not being dumb in my curiosity, though…