WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best From The Past Week: Saga #15 – It’s between Saga and Infinity #5.  Infinity was also good, but spent a lot of time getting ready for the grand finale.  Saga was just awesome (again).  The extent to which I have grown to know and care about the characters in this series is really amazing.  They all just seem so real and they all remind you of people you know in real life.  And that’s the clever thing about good science fiction: Once you strip away all the big picture stuff, Sci-Fi is really just human drama and Saga is about as good as it gets.

Most Anticipated:

Not a huge number of comics that ultra-excite me this week, but a great depth of quality.  I could make a Top Ten this week without putting anything shaky on the list.

1. Transformers: Dark Cybertron #1 – It’s a Transformers event.  I think this flows mostly from the Robots in Disguise series (which is good, but is only 80% of what More than Meets the Eye is).  This event has been carefully plotted since RiD began its run with little hints about weird stuff going on in the outlands of Cybertron and these interstitial issues about the big plot by Shockwave, Jiaxus and Bludgeon to create a better class of combiner Cybertonians.  I mean….the creators of RiD have created an entire mythology around combiners; they aren’t just, “Wow…..they make a bigger robot that can smash stuff!” its more tied into the vital nature of Cybertron, where they all get their sparks from, religion, etc.  Great stuff.  If you read these Top Picks columns, you know that Hugo and I both love these series.  This is probably a GREAT JUMPING ON POINT.  Trust me.  The last 20 issues of both Transformers series have been just as good as Snyder’s Batman and Hickman’s Avengers or Bendis’ All-New X-Men.

2. Hinterkind #2 – I really kinda liked the first issue of this new series from Vertigo.  I liked the post-apocalyptic setting.  I liked the characters we met.  I liked the “call to action” where they set off to discover why the other settlements are ceasing communications.  I liked the hint of violence and death.  The only thing I’m uneasy about was the suggestion that it could be fairy-tale creatures causing the problems.  That could be handled really well (for me) or they could totally fumble the ball and make this like Fables.  Anyway, I’m very eager to read this issue.

3. Amazing X-Men #1 – It’s the mission to bring back Nightcrawler!  When I was a kid in the mid-1980’s everyone was sticking pencils between their fingers to be Wolverine, but they were trying to leap and tumble around like the fuzzy elf.  Honestly, X-comics really aren’t the same without the classic Claremont characters around, so I’m all for anything that gets Logan and Kurt in the same room again.

4. Trillium #4 – We’re into the meat of the story on this 9-issue miniseries.  I’m kinda eager to see how it turns the corner from nifty concept to real story.  Last issue showed us that the cosmic disease that was killing humanity had reached this solar system they’re all hanging out in (which they negotiate with the natives for the natural resource that can save humanity).  Now, it looks like they’re start taking the resource by force and that should quicken the pace of the series.

5. East of West #7 – I’ve kinda lost the plot thread in this series, but I love it and everything will come flooding back to me when I pick it up.

6. Ballistic #3 – Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this.  It’s like giving yourself a colonic made out of psychedelic drugs.  It’s just a good cleanser after reading all the other stuff in your pile.

Hugo’s Pick

Best From The Past Week: Sandman: Overture #1 – I can’t say that there wasn’t any contest of some sort for this position, with Saga being pretty good this week, but this was simply breathtaking. The writing was poetic, some of the concepts grandiose, but what was simply astounding was the art. J.H Williams III is a beast and his clever panels and page layouts, combined with the tones and the atmosphere he is able to display and the fact that he can change his style without hurting the story flow was something that was too beautiful for words. Reading this made me remember how great a series Sandman was and I cannot wait for the next issue to come out.

Most anticipated this week:

1. East of West #7 – I have a big affection for this series, with its willingness to mix grim realism with a touch of sci-fi and magic. With the Ranger being properly introduced in the previous issue and Death searching for his son, I am eager to see where Jonathan Hickman will make this title go. With the promise of more excellent Nick Dragotta art and the superb colorization of Frank Martin, I cannot wait to read one more chapter of this weird yet delightful story.

2. Transformers Dark Cybertron #1 – This was a potential first place, but there’s a little part of me that is a bit unsure about it. I normally love the Transformers comics by IDW, with John Barber and James Roberts finally collaborating for a huge crossover between their titles, with this issue opening the tale. It has the potential to be absolutely great and I am curious to see if it will actually reach it.

3. Swamp Thing #25 – I really like where Charles Soule is taking this title so far, with many new ideas being introduced without destroying what came before. With this issue being a new step in the confrontation between Seeder and Swamp Thing, with Jesus Saiz on art, it should be a really satisfying read.

4. X-Men Legacy #19 – While the previous issue proved to be a bit of a misstep, I still do believe that Simon Spurrier can come back from this with another clever issue dealing with David Haller and the mutant corner of the Marvel universe. With big things happening in the previous arc, I sure hope that the creative team will use those concepts to bring some more insanity that this title is great at bringing to the readers.

5. Forever Evil #3 – I am a bit disappointed at Geoff Johns currently, yet this rather unsubtle event where villains are clashing against villains is making me curious. Could this be the return of the Geoff Johns that made such characters as Black Adam, Sinestro and Captain Cold personal favorites of mine? I suppose we’ll find out in this issue, with David Finch providing more art and Johns moving his plan forward.