WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: Jupiter’s Legacy #3 – Last week had a LOT of good comics.  I enjoyed the sparks of love in Saga #14 and can’t wait to see more of the BIG monster from The Wake #4.  But, I think I was most surprised by what Mark Millar and Frank Quietly are doing in Jupiter’s Legacy.  For one thing, I was very impressed at how quickly they made us care about the two characters who died in this issue.  They didn’t have much time, but it was obvious that they were really good, decent characters who didn’t deserve THIS (and wow….what brutal deaths!).  I’m also very curious about what will come in the next issue.  What direction are we going?  What kind of story will this be?  Mark Millar’s strongest quality as a storyteller is that he doesn’t treat his ideas as being too precious.  He reminds me of the maxim about photography: The best way to take more GREAT pictures is to take more pictures.  Just keep flinging the ideas out there…..most will be “okay” but some will be great.  This one has a chance to be great.

Most Anticipated: 

1. Hinterkind #1 – I love that we’re getting so many new series from Vertigo.  Even if some of the series are kinda misses (like Dominique Laveau or Federal Bureau of Physics), each new Vertigo series could be the next Y the Last Man or Scalped or The Unwritten or DMZ or Sweet Tooth or American Vampire or Transmetropolitan or……well…….you get my drift.  Almost all of my favorite series of the last 15 years come from Vertigo, so I’m always excited about something new.  This story looks to be about a post-apocalypse where fairies and other magical beings return to the Earth.  Hmmm…..

2. Lazarus #4 – I think this has been a GREAT new series.  Above I mentioned all the great Vertigo series?  Well, despite the fact that Lazarus is from Image, I think it has a chance to be in that same category with the great Vertigo series.  It just has the heft and feel of something that could run for 40-60 issues and tell a really wonderful, self-contained story.  Last issue put our protagonist in a bad position and now she’ll have to start clawing her way out.

3. Trillium #3 – Now that the first couple of issues have established the basic setting for this sci-fi story, I’m curious to see where Jeff Lemire takes us.  He’s never told us a poor story in his creator-owned work, so this should be great.  Strap in.

4. All New X-Men #17 – The Battle of the Atom has been pretty good.  Act 1 has pretty much wrapped as we’re learning the Future X-Men haven’t exactly been telling the truth.  Now let’s see what happens next.

5. God is Dead #2 – The first issue was good, but not great.  This issue could either descend into being very blah (US Army vs. Zeus) or really do something innovative and transgressive about the nature of organized religion.  Let’s see.

Hugo’s Pick

Best From The Past Week: Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #21 – This was mainly a contest between this, East of West and Saga, but this month’s issue of MTMTE was particularly memorable. Featuring conclusions to a load of storylines, a good deal of action and sincerely touching moments, James Roberts went and pulled at my heartstring with his excellent handle on characters interaction. It was just plain great.

Most anticipated this week:

1. Lazarus #4 – I wasn’t the biggest fan of this series when it started, but it rapidly grew on me as the political play and the immersive world Rucka and Lark have created proved to be much more interesting with every issues released. With Forever being a rather interesting protagonists and the story already beginning to develop in curious ways, this could very well be what I’ll be most eager to read this week.

2. Superior Foes Of Spider-Man #4 – Spencer has been pretty good at Marvel lately, but his best book has to be this one. Featuring a rather satiric and unapologetic vision of how much it must suck to be a low-tier villain in the Marvel universe, this title is proving with each month that those losers can be pretty fun if given a chance.

3. Swamp Thing #24 – This is perhaps one of the few titles in DC’s staple that I’m still reading with hopes of enjoyment. Charles Soule’s take on the elemental and his adventures have been very enjoyable and with Villains month out of the way, I suspect we’ll be able to get back to the fun with this title this month

4. Hunger #3 – This series hasn’t wowed me yet, but I do love me some cosmic shenanigans and the art by Leonard Kirk, when dealing with this very topic, is especially strong. If the plot can actually get there and move some of the pieces in convincing ways, this could be something rather enjoyable in itself.

5. Thunderbolts #16 – This title has been quite fun and I am curious to see how the action might actually get better now that the aliens might finally be involved in the story. There may be some problems with some characterizations and the art may be a bit too weird, but it is still very much enjoyable thanks to Charles Soule. Here’s hoping that it gets better this month.