WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: Lazarus #4 – I just love this series and it’ll probably be a series that competes for Top Pick honors every week it is released.    I like the overall environment, I like all the characters, I like the art……I like everything.  But what I like the most is the feeling of competence from the creators.  Greg Rucka and Michael Lark have both “been there” before; they’ve told us wonderful stories.  With new(er) creators, sometimes you love the ambition, but watching them execute is like watching a high-wire act: How will they EVER land this story?  With Rucka and Lark, I just feel like I’m in good hands.  They’re not going to screw this up.  Hop on now or plan to pick up the first trade.  It’s very high-quality dystopian future stuff.

Most Anticipated: 

One of those heavy weeks again.  Some weeks, just to get a few reviews in, I have to choose something mediocre like GI Joe: Special Missions.  This week my review list is: Batman, The Walking Dead, The Manhattan Projects, Chew, Rachel Rising AND the return of The Walking Dead Season 4.  Sheesh….

1. The Walking Dead #115 – Well….last issue was a bit of a turd, but this is the first issue of the “Total War” storyline.  I’ll be surprised if we get two teasing, nothing-happens issues in a row.  When TWD does something big, it is often REALLY big.

2. Batman #24 – One benefit of Villains’ Month might be the Batman Zero Year story.  It wasn’t so much that I hated the story, it just didn’t seem to have the same pop and electricity of some of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s earlier Batman stories.  But, those Villains’ Month one-shots might have been just the tonic to make me appreciate a good Batman story again.  Perhaps it is like eating steak.  If you eat steak every night (i.e. read Snyder/Capullo Batman every month), you start to take it for granted and whine about how you aren’t excited by steak anymore.  Then the publisher gets tired of your pissing and moaning about the steak and feeds you jello for dinner a few nights in a row.  Suddenly the steak tastes pretty HOT when it comes back.  I hope that’s the experience I have with #24.  I’m primed to like this oversized issue.

3. Rachel Rising #20 – Last issue was a biggie for Rachel Rising.  We were given a glimpse into the tragic past events that led to the slaughter of all those women as witches.  I anticipate this will kick start the present day story in a big way.  RR is such a good series.

4. Transformers: Robots in Disguise #21 – Even in a very strong week, there is room for Transformers.  I think this is the last RiD issue before it crashes together with its sister title for the Dark Cybertron event.  Consider me stoked!

5. Infinity #4 – Oh yeah…..also coming out this week is the next installment of Marvel’s best event in years.  The only thing that makes me sad about Infinity is that Jonathan Hickman is proving himself so adept at writing Marvel characters that I may never see the sequel to The Nightly News that I really want.

Hugo’s Pick

Best From The Past Week: Lazarus #4 – It wasn’t the best of week, but there were some strong comics nonetheless, like the new issue of Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s latest independent series. Finishing their very first arc, both gave readers pretty much everything they would need and like to enjoy their work: action, manipulative characters, politics, more world-development and strong art. It was a pretty potent reading experience and it warrants the top pick for this week.

Most anticipated this week:

1. Infinity #4 – With the first half of this event mostly living up to its hype, the second half start this week with more cosmic conflicts and machinations from the many characters that are players in this grand tale. Using many of the greater concepts of the Marvel universe along with a very strong artistic direction, it is no wonder I am looking forward to this issue with eagerness.

2. Abe Sapien #6 – The continuing introspection and adventure of Abraham Sapien made for some pretty good comics and I do believe this issue will be no different. With Mignola, Allie, Fiumara and Stewart still driving the book forward, I am curious to see where the story will go as the creative team reveals even more the various effects of the apocalypse.

3. Shaolin Cowboy #1 – I rather enjoy Geof Darrow, with his use of chaotic art and his propensity for violence. I enjoyed him immensely on Hard Boiled and he was apparently in rare form when dealing with the adventures of the Shaolin Cowboy. With a new series being released, I am looking forward to more chaos.

4. Astro City #5 – Kurt Busiek understand the majesty of superheroes. Considering I have a lot of love for the silliness of cape comics, this series and its capacity to put a surprising amount of humanity into a rather strange universe is just very pleasant for me. Every new issue is then simply one I look very forward to.

5. Transformers: Robots In Disguise #21 – Having finally caught up to the latest issue of this series, I found myself quite liking it. The political undertones combined with the twists-filled story makes for a pretty pleasant experience. Now that the big crossover event is getting nearer, I hope that this issue will continue to set things up without losing what made it a quality title to begin with.