WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: Infinity #3 – I’m really enjoying this event and I think you have to give Jonathan Hickman all the credit in the world.  Anyone who reads this site knows that I’m generally down on superheroes, but Hickman is finding ways to be bold enough that I’m very intrigued.  I almost wonder if Marvel may actually let him do something BIG at the end of this event (rather than forcing him to put all the furniture back where he found it).  It’s amazing that this event comes from the same company that recently foisted Fear Itself and Avengers vs. X-Men on us.  There’s still time enough for Infinity to derail with a 3-issue trip to The Savage Land, but I haven’t been this excited about a Marvel event in years.

Most Anticipated: 

1. The Wake #4 – This series hasn’t taken a wrong step.  I loved the last issue with that whole montage of the ________ getting lose inside the underwater base and causing havoc.  Now that Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy have established the basic rules and stakes, I’m curious to see where this series goes.

2. Saga #14 – Always one of my favorite issues.  This will be the 2nd issue of the most recent arc and I’m excited to see some direction after last month’s more reflective issue.

3. East of West #6 – Amazing that we’re already up to issue #6 since it seems like the first issue wasn’t that long ago.  Very eager to see the continued story of an apocalypse that can’t quite happen because Death fell in love and ditched the other Horsemen.

4. Avengers #20 – The next chapter in Marvel’s Infinity event.

5. Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #21 – I wish this series could come out bi-weekly.  I’d read it.  This should be a climactic issue as Rodimus and Gang have to fight with Tyrest – who is bent on committing a Transformer genocide.

Hugo’s Pick

Best From The Past Week: New Avengers #10 – There were some fun titles this week, yet the one particular that was most satisfying to me was Jonathan Hickman’s continuous story with the Illuminati. While the previous issue had killed the momentum a bit, this one got it back quite quickly as the politics and larger problems of the Marvel universe are portrayed to the forefront of the issue. It was a great addition to Infinity and Mike Deodato was still as excellent as usual, so that was a clear winner for me.

Most anticipated this week:

1. Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #21 – Yes, East of West is being released this week, but this series has always been astounding. Why it’s in the top spot is for a special reason, as the result of two years of storytelling are bound to happen in this very issue. While this is the kind of things many writers tend to say to get the issue some hype, I believe James Roberts and Alex Milne can pull it off. I unabashedly love this series and if it can come close to the spectacular #16, it will be particularly memorable.

2. East of West #6 – The fact that it’s number two on this list instead of number one as usual does not diminish the quality of this story by one bit. With a big direction and some incredible events happening in the last issue, Jonathan Hickman’s should still deliver the same excellence, just as Frank Martin and Nick Dragotta should. It’s a good time to be a Hickman fan.

3. Avengers #20 – Speaking of Jonathan Hickman, another piece of the Infinity event is being delivered this week with another issue of Avengers. While this series had a rough start, this event really focused the whole storyline as the cosmic elements and the war against the Builders is really interesting to follow. Combine that with Leinil Francis Yu and it’s hard not to be a bit hyped.

4. Deadpool #17 – While this series has seen great highs and some lows, the current arc has been absolutely great thanks to the darker takes on the character and its problem. Declan Shalvey has been a boon too, with his clean, yet evocative artwork. This is one of the best take on the Merc with a Mouth in the previous years, so this should still be a work of quality if this status is maintained.

5. Uncanny Avengers #12 – This series has been a little slow, yet I have hope that this current team-book can reach the level that Rick Remender could very well attain. The elements are there, the characters as well and Remender do seem to have a direction that could very well be fascinating, but it’s how everything is handled that seems to be lacking. Let us hope that this series can get better and soon.