Last Week's Comics Today - 04/03/2017

I must have used up all my words last week as this week I'm back to my usual brevity.

Pick of the Week

Dark Knight III #8 - Damn, Wonder Woman was the shit.  Batman and Superman show up for a few pages, but this was Wonder Woman's show, and she owned it.  I still don't understand Lara, though.  Maybe her motivation will make sense next issue when this wraps up?

Honorable Mention

Aliens Defiance #10 - I saw a headline or ad this week saying the upcoming Aliens: Dead Orbit is the best thing to happen to Aliens in years.  I have no doubt it will be excellent but also feel that statement overlooks the fantastic work Brian Wood and a handful of artists have been doing for the last 10 issues.

Everything Else

Black Widow #12 - S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to be terrible at everything.  Seriously, how do they still exist?  Compassion trumps vengeance and two lines from Maria along with Tony's money sweep any lingering plot threads under the rug.

BPRD Hell On Earth v15 - I'm not ready for this to be over.  The end was suitably apocalyptic, but I was hoping for more closure.  This is all I find I'm able to say about it as I may be in denial about it being over.

Moonshine #6 - There's a whole lot of death this issue. I'm hoping someone still knows how to make the titular Moonshine, otherwise all this death is just over pride.  This issue marks the end of "Book 1", per the final page, so I'll eagerly be awaiting more as this is always one of the first I read each week it comes out.

The Sixth Gun v. 1 - I avoided this book for a long time because I had my own supernatural western comic I was working on.  Even when it became clear that comic wasn't going to happen, I still kept away.  Now, the series is complete and the team is working on their old series - which I quite enjoyed - The Damned.  This served as a reminder to me that I should finally give this series a try.

I like it and have since bought four more of the nine volume series.  Briefly, there's a set of guns, each imbued with a special power.  There's a gang in control of five of these guns, looking for the sixth, and a loosely held together group in opposition to them acquiring it.

The story moved far more quietly than I expected, and I found this quite satisfying.  Just reading it made me feel like I'd learned something about storytelling from it.

Transformers Lost Light #4 - Whirl and Cyclonus are brilliant together (as always).  Megatron is having a case of deja vu, hoping things will turn out differently this time.  Rodimus doesn't seem to care about what's going on, which seems off, but lets his true feelings known while getting into an argument with Megatron which should make for great drama down the line.  There's also a few pages with Anode and Lugnut, but I couldn't care less about them.

Transformers Till All Are One #8 - I'm lost.  There's a titan, but it's not the titan it's supposed to be.  And someone's locked up with a connection to the titan that's not supposed to be but gets out.  And necrotitans are killed, but it's not clear how many are still a threat.  And someone died (highly doubtful).  I miss the Cybertronian politics.  This extended action-sequence-with-a-twist has failed to impress.

Unfollow #17 - The cover says '40' but that's nowhere near true by the end.  The sprint to the finish continues as a whole lot more people die and Ferrell's plan is finally explained.  Those two sentences read as somewhat dismissive, but it's quite good.

Last Week's Comics Today - 02/13/2017

The shop didn't have any Wicked + Divine, so that'll be in next week's write-ups.

Pick of the Week

Unworthy Thor #4 - This is better than the Jane Foster led Thor title.  Where that book has a lot of storylines to juggle, this benefits from laser-focus on Odinson getting a hammer.  Everyone standing in his way of that goal is screwed.  The writing is some of Aaron's best with art from multiple artists covering different time periods, not unlike recent issues of Moon Knight.

Honorable Mention

Green Valley #5 - It's knight vs dinosaurs.  Either that sentence interests you or it doesn't.  The writing is good, the art fantastic.  There's a moment in this issue in which a log full of dinosaurs gets kicked down a hill and it's utter brilliance.  It's tense, I care about these characters, and I'd love to see the bad guy get a sword through his guts.

Moonshine #5 - Lou's activities catch up to him in a far more tangible way than previous issues where he merely woke up hungover.  Less happens here than usual, but what does happen will have significant ramifications.  This was very much a stage setting issue with seemingly next issue kicking off fireworks on multiple fronts.  This remains one of my favorite books each month.

Everything Else

All Star Batman #7 - This is only loosely related to the previous issue.  Instead of Mr. Freeze, this issue has Poison Ivy.  Instead of Jock, this is drawn by Tula Lotay.  It's okay.  The art isn't Tula's best and the writing is dense with Snyder's research notes.  He tends to over-write but there's usually enough good to off-set the bad.  That's not the case here.  It hasn't been the case this entire series.  I guess I'm just holding out for Murphy's arc at this point.

Birthright #22 - With the introduction of Lore's daughter, this book is even more about family than ever before.  There's a tiny amount of forward movement on multiple storyline fronts, and while that tends to be the case in each issue, it seems to be even less movement than usual.  Still, Lore's daughter is one hell of a wildcard and it's hard to stop thinking about how she'll throw a wench into things.  The series remains good but likely reads better in trades.

Black Widow #11 - Black Widow chases girls through a secret facility while SHIELD once again proves just how inept they are at their jobs.  The art is great and the writing is... Look, clearly Brubaker can write.  There's nothing wrong with the writing, it's the world Natasha inhabits I don't care about.  The fact that SHIELD exists at all in movie or comic form after their constant and continual failures is mind-boggling.  This is supposed to be concluded next issue.  If it gets rebooted again, I'm out.  I'd rather this team were doing an Image book.

Gotham Academy Second Semester #6 - Mysteries deepen (literally in one instance) as a new (super?) villain (?) arrives.  The gang remains split looking for Colton, looking for Pom, and Pom pursuing her own agenda.  There's no end in sight for any of these threads, though things have to end soon with as much escalation happens here.  Second Semester has been darker than the first series but remains a fun read with these characters seeming more real than most at either of the Big Two and making the DC Universe seem more real as a result.

Justice League Of America Rebirth #1 - Pretty standard setup issue as everyone on the team gets introduced.  The way team books generally work is someone will join, leave, or betray the team by the end of the first arc, so let's see if that holds true here.  If you didn't read Justice League vs Suicide Squad, everything you need to know is covered here.  I'm interested enough to grab another issue and see what the real start of the series is like.  The best part here is the one page tease at the end of things to come.

Transformers Till All Are One #7 - I don't know if I'm supposed to be familiar with the final page reveal is supposed to mean something to me, but it doesn't, so I'm just confused.  The rest of the issue is infiltration vs defense of what are supposed to be allies.  It's alright, but the journey really wasn't worth it.  Starscream and Bumblebee remain a favorite pairing of mine.

Last Week's Comics Today - 01/24/2017

I thought about creating a special category below "Everything else" just for Black Widow and Justice League this week.  Read on to find out why.

Pick of the Week

Superman #15 - I was wrong.  Last time I said this would cross over with Action Comics, but that's the Superman Reborn arc which is coming in March.  And I'm still skipping the Action half because I don't like Jurgens.  However, this isn't that.  Multiplicity is on fire!  Writing, art, all of it's amazing.  Basically a continuation of Grant Morrison's Multiversity bookend storyline.

Honorable Mention

Black Road #6 - I got to the last page here and said, "Holy shit."  Which is, unintentionally, a little funny given the context.  Even given the break between the last arc and the new one here, there was no problem picking up where it had left off.  It's brilliant, brutal, beautiful, and if the plan on the last page is the story for this arc, I want nothing more than to be reading more right now.

Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #4 - As much as I want more Powers, it's been clear for a long time that that's not where Bendis' priorities are at.  I'm extremely glad someone has put Oeming to work, since he's perfect for this book.  The character designs, fantastic settings, emotion, violence... he excels at all of it.  It's also really well written.

Descender #18 - Whaaat?  There are some surprising turns of events here.  Look, for the last 17 issues I've been writing about how great this series is.  This issue is no different.  Get it, see what all the alien/robot goodness is all about.

Kill Or Be Killed #5 - If you're not reading this, you're genuinely missing out.  It's easily one of the best written books on the market.  There's a slight time-skip from last issue in which Dylan gets better at killing people without nearly getting himself killed.  I actually winced while writing that because I remember how the issue ended.  Get it!

Trinity #5 - Things that were confusing before make sense now after the explanations given here.  This continues to be a fun read and gorgeous to look at.  Props to Manapul for pulling off both the writing and art so well.

Everything Else

Black Hammer Annual - If you like Black Hammer, read this.  It's a nice collection of stories about each of the cast members, with each one drawn by a different artist.  It's nice.

Black Widow #10 - A few things of consequence happen this issue, but those cover about three pages.  The rest of the book left me wonder, "What was the point of all that?"  If this gets cancelled and renumbered again, I'm out.

Curse Words #1 - I read this on Monday, after hearing nothing but praise about this book for days.  I don't know if that set expectations too high or what, but I don't get what all the hype was about.  It's alright, but it's basically just all character establishment.  I expected more from Soule.  The art is okay.

The Few #1 - You need to pay a tiny bit of attention here because the time jumps aren't immediately obvious.  Other than that, everything is great.  Action, interesting characters, a mission, a twist, and all told with great art.  This is getting added to my pull.

Justice League #13 - There's no reason to buy this.  No wait, even if you get this for free, there's no reason to read it.

Justice League Suicide Squad #5 - Whenever The League get taken out or possessed or incapacitated in some way, it's always Batman that's unaffected.  Because of course it's Batman.  He needs to save them to show how awesome he is.  The same is true here.  Also, the actual bad guy of the series is finally revealed -- scratch that -- finally shows up.  Because DC marketing revealed the character months ago.  Despite all of the above, it's still a fun series.  Especially Lobo.

Lucifer #14 - That's Constantine, right?  I mean, except she's a woman.  But other than that...  Anyway, new writer taking over with this issue and I was concerned at first.  Just like I was with Holly Black until I read the first issue.  The same holds true here.  All the plates are still spinning and not a step was missed.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #6 - The Turtles get a Clayface-equivalent in this Mikey-focused issue.  For reasons I won't go into for spoilers, Pitarra is an outstanding choice for artist this issue.  Which makes sense, since he had a hand in the story too.  And a nice bit of history as a back-up story.

Last Week's (ish) Comics Today - 01/09/2017

Note: Most of the rest of the last three week's worth of books are below.  There's still two or three stragglers that will make it into next week's post.

I complain about Black Widow and the interconnectedness of Marvel's comics below, then give high praise to two nearly stand-alone Marvel books.  So it's maybe not as line-wide as I indicated, but this week also saw that pic of a few panels of Nova complaining about recent Marvel developments that leads me to think that, yes, it really is that bad and I'm just reading the exceptions.

Pick of the Week

Unworthy Thor #3 - This series is kicking ass.  Loads of unexpected characters show up, and oh my god, text boxes explaining references to past events.  TAKE NOTE, BLACK WIDOW, THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE.  Really looking forward to next issue and the eventual conclusion.

Honorable Mention
Exodus Life After #10 - I can't be sure it's intentional, but there's a tiny smiley face on the space potato god early on in the issue that brings me joy just thinking about it.  Oh, and this is the final issue.  Honestly, I'm surprised it lasted this long as it's unlike anything else on the shelves, is trying to convey a message, and has a space potato for god.  It's brilliant.  I love it.  I'll miss it.  And you should absolutely try it if you haven't already.  The only reason this isn't getting Pick of the Week is because it came out weeks ago.

Ether #2 - It's hard to talk about anything that happens in this book.  There's a lot of otherwordly fantasy going on which you wouldn't understand unless you read the book, and then there's something else going on, which I don't want to spoil but is full of emotion and hits hard.  This is only issue two.  I'm SURE you can find a copy of the first issue somewhere, and you really should.  Another candidate for Pick of the Week.

Fix #7 - Below, I comment on things going wrong in Aliens Defiance.  The kind of wrong you can practically predict from aliens, humans, and androids in space.  Things go far more wrong here.  The kind of wrong that's perfectly set up before dropping the hammer.

Frostbite #4 - Nothing is going well for the main characters.  Things are going pretty well for the antagonists, however, so that should tell you something.  I have no idea where any of this is going, but it makes a great comic.

Moon Knight #10 - I don't know when it happened, but this has become my favorite Moon Knight series.  Not that I've read a ton of Moon Knight - really only since Ellis - but this really in phenomenal.  Watching the character struggle with reality and compelling and I'm regularly questioning how much of any of this is real vs in his head.  If you haven't tried it, I can't recommend it enough.

Everything Else

Aliens Defiance #8 - Some surprisingly good things happened last issue, so to balance that out, things go wrong here.  Still, all that wrong was merely setup for things to come.  Which, will very likely involve things getting much worse.  The artist changed, once again, but Wood's script was as solid as ever.

Autumnlands Tooth & Claw #14 - Androids and a human vs a goddess.  This ends another arc, and there's a note at the back about how it will be a while before the book returns so they can get ahead and ship on-time.  But was it shipping on-time for the last few issues?  Doesn't seem like it, but maybe I just haven't been paying attention.  Still a good book, though I find I have nothing else to say about it.

Black Hammer #6 - What the hell kind of ending is that?  It's mildly infuriating, in a good way.  Most of the issue follows Madame Dragonfly and her journey to how she got to the farm, with a gut punch thrown in every few pages for good measure.  In short, it's great.

Black Widow #9 - Isn't Bucky supposed to be in space or something?  It's like if you're not reading EVERY Marvel title, you shouldn't bother reading ANY Marvel comic.  Anyway, there's a nice fight scene and characters speak vaguely about things you should remember from months ago.  The art sure is nice, though.

Dark Knight III #7 - I don't remember what happened to Hal.  Not that he's a major part of this or anything, but he makes an appearance in the main book and the mini is almost entirely him.  I'm confused by the actions of both Superman and Lara.  I've been confused by Lara this entire time and would need to go back to read her motivation.  Superman kinda makes sense, though I expect a "why?" as soon as he's able to speak.

Justice League #12 - A Justice League vs Suicide Squad tie-in not written by Hitch.  I wonder if Hitch is the new Johns in that he doesn't care what other writers are doing.  It's not essential reading, but does help flesh out Maxwell Lord specifically and the New52/Rebirth world more generally.

Justice League Suicide Squad #3 - Final page surprise!  The real surprise is the book is still good; everything is chugging along well.  It looks like next issue we'll have three teams in combat with one another, so that's sure to be interesting.  I barely noticed the artist change this time.  There's a couple panels where it's stand-out, but since everyone's been basically doing "DC style" art, it flows better than expected.

Lady Mechanika La Dama De La Muerte #3 - A whole lot of people die here.  A bunch of people died off-panel last issue, but here their deaths are seen.  It's been a fun jaunt, despite the mutilated children and a town wiped off the map.  It would have been better had this finished nearly Halloween rather than started, but still good.

Lucifer #13 - Aw, Christmas with Lucifer and Mazikeen.  This features two entirely skippable but enjoyable short stories.  I've been trying to figure out something more to say, but that really covers it.

Optimus Prime #2 - I'm stopping here.  I could maybe tolerate it for a while longer if there weren't any humans, but then we'd probably just get more Prime snark and worship and I've had enough of that too.  Ultimately, I just don't care about any of this and the only plotlines I did care about ended in the last series.

Ragnarok #11 - I don't care that this book only ships every other month, or that there's less art pages and more backmatter this issue.  It continues to be a great read, with impressive art.  I will happily endure the wait for as long as this series runs.

Superman #14 - Clark has a very real problem with changing into Superman when it would be blatantly obvious to any casual observer.  As he steps out of his own vehicle, for instance.  Anyway.  This should be an interesting crossover since I'll be skipping the Jurgen's half as I can't stand his writing style.  The beginning is interesting in a vague-threat-with-cool-guest-stars kind of way though, but suffers from people talking too much when there should be action... which I've complained about in a few different books recently.

Teen Titans #3 - Three issues in and the Teen Titans are almost, but not quite, a team.  About half of that is because of Damien's actions and the other half is in spite of them.  Things get a bit overly share-y in the middle with people admitting things to strangers that felt more forced than organic.  Other than that, this remains a fun book, in line with Robin, Son of the Batman.

Transformers Till All Are One #6 - It's not going well for Metroplex as he almost single-handedly battles an army or reanimated titans.  The fight takes a surprising and unexpected turn, however, yet once I considered the decisions being made, everything was completely in character.  I have no idea where things will go next, but it's an interesting ride.

Wonder Woman #13 - I don't know what's going on with the artists on this book, but the art here isn't done by either of the regulars.  I'd have to check, but I believe this is about as far into Azzarello's run as I made it before dropping.  It was a book I wanted to like more than I actually did and was hanging on because I liked the author and hoped things would improve.  Maybe it's time I faced reality.

Last Week's Comics Today - 10/24/2016

I start placing these into the categories below as soon as I've read enough of that week's batch to get a sense of the highs and lows.  This week, at about the halfway point, I wanted to put almost everything into Honorable Mention.  So even if a title is under 'Everything Else" it's still quite good as the separation this week was razor thin.

Pick of the Week

Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #1 - This is the Young Animal comic I've been waiting for.  Where the others went heavy on weird, this is filled with substance and the weird clings to that substance.  A lot of time is spent establishing Cave and his family and the immediate effect is that I care about them.  (Crazy, right?!)  Add to that a mystery and some other interesting bits, and it's a great first issue.  Oeming's art is perfect, moving from somber to dream-like to everyday and deftly tackling it all.  Recommended.

Honorable Mention

Black Hammer #4 - Abe's girlfriend comes to dinner, and most everyone acts as expected.  Two characters deviate from the "most" in the previous sentence and they were delights to see. The other surprise?  How emotional issue was.  Everyone shows what's on their hearts and minds here and it was all brilliant.  In a week of some extraordinary comics, this was one of the best.  Any Lemire fans be reading this book, and Ormston does an outstanding job with visual storytelling even in silent panels.

The Bunker #19 - This marks the end of The Bunker, a time-travel mystery centered on five people trying to do the right thing.  It was written exceptionally well with art that impressively captured the emotional rollercoaster ever character was on.  There were certainly other things to be seen in this series, but a good deal was emotionally charged friends yelling at former friends about what to do and how everything was going to shit.  It's been an incredible series that I highly recommend.

Mighty Thor #12 - This is the perfect story to follow last issue's big reveal - the origin of Mjolnir.  It's suitably epic, highly enjoyable, and recommended for all Thor fans.  This is all I'm going to say because you should be reading the comic rather than this paragraph.  Bonus: callback locale from Aaron's earliest issues.

Rumble #15 - I can't believe they ended the issue that way... and then announce they're going on hiatus.  UGH!  Things don't look good for Rathraq, and that's a serious understatement.  The big battle that started last issue concludes here, and things don't really go well for anyone except Lerna.  The combination of writing and art on this book make it one of my favorites.  And now, I'll have a Rumble-shaped hole in my heart until it returns.

Lucifer #11 - I opened the cover, thought, "Oh that's right..." and immediately closed again so I could make a snack.  This is one I didn't want to be interrupted for, and it was fantastic.  Even better than expected.  I'm somewhat heart-broken Holly Black is leaving the title in a few issues, because this book has been exceeding my expectations from the beginning.  The writing and art are phenomenal and this is absolutely a worthy successor of the Carey title.

Spread #19 - The cover is a spoiler.  So there's that.  Inside, I continue to love No especially as he replies to people with one word answers... which is almost all the time.  Jack was amazing, and Molly gets out with Hope.  Last time I talked about not knowing how they'd get out of the pickle the cast found themselves in, and then they did!    It was brutal, rather bloody, and accompanied by absolutely brilliant narration.  Earlier today I commented how I don't read The Walking Dead because it's so depressing, yet I love this.  If I had to explain why, the only answer I have is that it's the narration.  Hope narrating gives me hope that things, ultimately, will end well.  At least for her.

Everything else

Dark Knight III the Master Race #6 - Things happen in this book that I want to talk to other people about.  I'm not going to mention any of them here... mainly because I haven't figured out my own feelings about any of it yet.  The art is the same as the rest of the series, so that's down to personal preference.  The story... I'm curious what all of it means, what's going to happen next, and where all of this is leading.  I thought I was getting a sense at the beginning of the issue, but all of that changed by the end.

Black Widow #7 - Was there a longer-than-usual break between this and issue 6?  It feels like it and I'm struggling to remember where things ended after Widow confronted Weeping Lion.  The recap page kinda covers it, but not to the level of detail I want and it's that level of detail that's demanded here right from the start.  (I really should just re-read that those final pages, but I'm probly not gonna.)  In any case, there's a mission in the present and another in the past that has consequences for the present.  Also, Natasha gets a new task that should occupy her for the rest of the arc.  After that, it's anyone's guess, but I think her new ally won't last long.  Wait and Samnee continue to knock this out of the park.

Ghostbusters International #10 - Since the last issue - which seems like only two weeks ago - an annual has been solicited for January.  So even though the series is ending next issue, I've got my fingers crossed Ghostbusters continue at IDW in some form.  As for this particular issue, the plot advanced on multiple fronts and everything is now primed for (sadly) a conclusion next issue. Schoening is back on art for the whole issue, which was great to see once again.  

Justice League #7 - Though this arc wrapped up quickly, it seems like there will be some lasting consequences.  Specifically, Aquaman and Wonder Woman do some things that can't simply be taken back with an "I'm sorry, but we were under the influence of a fear-based attack."  In fact, that would probably make things worse.  I really hope some of these threads get followed up on, but that may depend on how long Hitch is writing.  Tim Seeley is taking over in January, but is Hitch coming back?  I'm going to miss him if Hitch is gone.  The early issues had an Authority feel due to the huge action, but so does this for the personal interactions and admitted desires (intentions?) of some of the cast.  I'd very much like to see this continue.

Superman #9 - Much like Justice League, this wrapped up quickly.  Issue 8 was slow and ended just as it was getting rolling.  Things are back on track here with plenty of action and character development.  Unfortunately, there's no movement on the overall mystery, but that only makes me want to know even more.  Overall, it's a good issue, though I think it might have worked better as a single 40-something page issue instead of two singles.  But what are you gonna do?  Also: Mahnke drawing Superman smiling is just creepy.