WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batman #24 – It was a return to glory for the Batman Zero Year story.  I saw a few online reviews saying that they thought the Villains’ Month thing robbed this story of its momentum.  I couldn’t disagree more.  Previously, the story was idling and doing the necessary work of updating the Batman origin for the 21st century, but the break provided by Villains’ Month and a cleverly timed Act I/II break in the story by the creators, allowed Batman #24 to hit the ground running.  There is no more fussing around with how Bruce discovered the Batcave or how The Bat flew through the window and inspired Bruce to become Batman…..nope, now we’ve just got a kick-ass Batman story.  I bet the rest of the storyline doesn’t set a single foot wrong.

Most Anticipated:

1. Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #22 – I can’t imagine this not being an awesome issue.  It’s going to be both a recap for new readers who want to hop on before the Dark Cybertron “event” AND a between-scenes-type of added material for long-time readers.  Basically, the characters are going to watch the memories of Rewind as a sort of “movie” of what has happened since Rodimus and his followers set off in search of the Knights of Cybertron almost two years ago.  Trust me….it’ll be great.

2. Morning Glories #33 – I may not review MG anymore, but I still really enjoy the series.  If you flinched away from the series because you thought it was confusing, there is now a monthly bit of back-matter by a very engaged MG reader that explains what he thinks is going on with the story.  It has really added to my enjoyment of the series because I’m not totally confused anymore.

3. Avengers #21 / New Avengers #11 – Let’s just treat these two as a joint entry since they’re both major tie-ins to the Infinity event.  Infinity has been great and both of these series’s tie-in issues have been rock solid (although I DO enjoy Avengers more than New Avengers).

4. Uncanny X-Men #13 – Hiding behind Infinity is the other great Marvel event that nobody is talking about…..  And that’s a shame because Battle of the Atom has been very fun.  It seems like all the timelines are exposed now, so let’s see how it all gets mopped up.  You just know that some of these future/past characters will get left behind and some of our present day characters will be leaving.

5. Sheltered #4 – Sneaking onto the “most anticipated” list is this under-the-radar series.  It’s the story of SHTF preppers who have it all go horribly wrong.  What makes this series so enjoyable is that there’s nothing fantastical going on: no zombies, no superplague, no Cthulhu….  It’s just human-v-human out in the woods.

Hugo’s Pick

Best From The Past Week: Infinity #4 – Like always, it’s not exactly the easiest pick when it comes to the most satisfying read of the week, with some titles like Manhattan Projects or Deadpool being close contestants for the prime position. What was most satisfying, though, was the latest chapter of the Marvel event of the moment, delivering on spectacle and big things happening quite well. With some especially memorable scenes and some stunning art, it was the one that held my attention for the pick of the previous week.

Most anticipated this week:

1. Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #22 – With the major storyline pretty much over, this issue is supposed to help build up the big Transformers event coming next month. I have great confidence in the skill of James Roberts and Alex Milne, so even though it is a one-shot written for what will soon be happening, I have faith they will deliver the goods this month like they always do.

2. Avengers #21 – With Infinity going on strongly and this title having bee rejuvenated by its effects and its general plot, it’s a little hard for me not to expect a whole lot of entertainment from this issue. Being anxious to see what will happen with Ex Nihilo and how the conflict will grow, this issue has the potential to be pretty good.

3. New Avengers #11 – Of course, the other piece of the Infinity puzzle is here as well as the Illuminati have to deal with an incursion as well as the invasion by Thanos. The momentum of this book has been a bit slower with the big event going on, yet the art is still good and it never has been dull. Here’s hoping that the book continue to be good this month too.

4. Batman ’66 #4 – Campy fun and colorful art can be more entertaining than grit and realistic sometimes, which is what this title usually delivers. With a tongue-in-cheek tone without being idiotic, this book is a ton of fun and I sure do hope that Jeff Parker will continue to make it so in this issue as well.

5. Six-Gun Gorilla #5 – With the ending getting closer, I have to say I’m curious to see where all of this crazy sci-fi western is going. What will Blue will end up doing, what will happen to the gorilla, what is the secret of the medallion and a bunch of other questions are left to be answered. While I don’t think all of them shall be dealt with in this issue, I do believe we’ll still get originality as well as fun art no matter what happens. Whatever will happen, I am eager to find out.