Last Week's Comics Today - 10/04/2016

Pick of the Week, Pick of the Month, Pick of Whatever-since-the-last-Deadly-Class came out should go to Velvet vol. 3, but it came out a couple weeks back.  Instead, I'm giving it to Frostbite.  There were several great books this week, but only one was a new #1 and first issues need all the help they can get.

Pick of the Week

Frostbite #1 - Great first issue.  Lots of world-building and great character work.  Basically, a new ice age has set in and everyone is struggling for heat.  On top of that, a new disease called Frostbite has emerged that's both fast-acting and fatal, further devastating a population fraught with hardship.  It's well written with art that perfectly suits its bleakness.  Recommended.  

Honorable Mention

Saga #38 - This feels like the Saga of old.  A character dies and agendas are revealed to be at cross-purposes.  It makes me remember that the last few issues have seen the cast working together, which is probably why they felt weird at the time, but I couldn't figure out why.  Surprise appearance by The Will, which is always nice.  And another, brief, time jump.  I thoroughly enjoyed this and can't wait to see what happens next.

Transformers More Than Meets the Eye #57 - The letters page may have been the best part of this stellar ending.  The Sentinel plotline seems (?) to have wrapped up quickly, though I know we haven't seen the end of one element of his plan, and wouldn't be surprised with another returns down the line as well.  All-in-all, it's a nice end, even as it acknowledges there's still a lot left unresolved that will carry over to the new Lost Light title.  I can't wait!  Ordinarily, opening with "the letters page is the best part" would be an insult, but it's not meant to be here.  It's just a really good letter from the writer to the readers about endings and beginnings and things left undone.

Paybacks #3 - Best cover of the week.  I get the feeling the series is ending next issue, but can't find confirmation of that anywhere, just an old comment by the creators about wanting to do the series as a series of mini series, like Hellboy.  Anyway, events came to multiple heads this issue, so things should be rather explosive for the conclusion... aaand I'm hoping that comment about a series of mini series still stands because I'm not ready to let this go yet.  The art is amazing and writing phenomenal.  I really can't even vaguely reference events of the issue as everything would be a) a spoiler, or b) you wouldn't understand it anyway unless you're already reading.  Let me just say this issue felt a bit like Invincible.  If you like Invincible, check this out.

Velvet vol. 3 - "Brilliant" is really the only word I can use to describe this.  Due to both story twists and the amount of time it took this volume to be released, I want to go back and re-read the series from the beginning.  The writing is exceptional and Epting makes everything look fantastic.  Velvet has been a favorite of mine (both the series and the character), but this is starting to top Queen & Country, which is one of my all-time favorites and a title I frequently recommend to everyone.  The way everything unfolded and wrapped up here cements this among my shortlist of favorites.  Seriously looking forward to more.

Everything else

Aliens Defiance #5 - Tristan Jones is back on art, but if it hadn't been pointed out to me, I wouldn't have even noticed.  Burchielli was a good match for Jones, but there was something missing from those issues that's definitely back here.  Mostly it's the sense of creeping dread.  Horror can be hard to do in comics, but Wood and Jones pull it off.  This book is an Aliens movie on taking place on paper.

Atomic Robo vol. 9 - Atomic Robo in the Old West!  Which is a spoiler for the end of the previous arc, but the kind of spoiler that entices non-readers to learn more.  Plus this volume's been out for over a year, and the previous one for even longer.  My point is: Atomic Robo in the Old West!  All the usual action and humor, completely new setting.  It's great, and I'm suffering a minor panic attack because I want more but vol. 10 isn't out yet.

Lake Of Fire #2 - This is like Aliens, only set during the crusades.  And with far more emphasis put on the religious crusade angle than the aliens.  At least so far.  The preview pages in Image+ with a giant spaceship crashing into the countryside is what sold me on this book.  I'm still waiting for that book to emerge.  It's not bad, it's just not the book I thought I'd be getting based on those pages. 

Descender #15 - A very nice flashback issue going over Effie and Andy's history.  There's a lot of good material here about why they were together and why that's no longer the case.  As always, the book is well written and beautifully drawn, and you should be reading it if you're not already.

Lady Mechanika: La Dama De La Muerte #1 - Lady Mechanika tries to take a vacation, and things naturally go awry.  What's interesting is this issue is more a cultural lesson than the usual steampunk mystery.  As the title suggests, this has to do with a grieving Lady Mechanika taking a trip down south and inadvertently running into a small town celebration for Dia de los Muertos.  A conflict gets setup, but hasn't begun by the end of the issue, so things will have to move quickly in the remainder of this shorter-than-usual series.

Ultimates #11 - I'm just waiting for this to end.  The art is a clash of styles, likely stemming from Rocafort getting tapped for the IVX 0 issue.  He draws a seemingly random assortment of pages while Morissette draws the remainder.  The clash reflects the story as well, as Anti-Man, Thanos, and the Ultimates fight amongst themselves.  This title is no longer the tight, well done book it once was, and I won't be continuing once it renumbers.

Wonder Woman #7 - This ended better than I expected.  Which isn't to say expectations were low, but that this pulled out some good surprises.  I'm pumped to see where this goes next.  Also: Doomsday Swamp Thing.  Not really, but that's totally what it looked like.

In Which I Praise Atomic Robo

Recently, I've been staying up much too late to read Atomic Robo.

I first read Atomic Robo years ago.  One of the Free Comic Book Day issues -- I can't remember which.  It was fun, but didn't ignite a need in me to read more.*

Years go by and I'm looking for something new to read.  I've had the first Atomic Robo trade sitting on my Amazon wish list for quite a while and I finally pull the trigger on it.  Again, it's good - Nazis!  Robots! - but I don't immediately run out and buy the second trade.  The second takes the place of the first on my wish list and sits there for a few more months.

I buy volume 2 with some other books and it goes to the bottom of my reading pile.  When it get around to it, again, I find it good enough to buy the third collection, but not immediately nor immediately read it once it arrives.  (My mistake!)

Volume 3 is where I really started to take notice.  Without going into too much detail, there's a monster Atomic Robo is battling in different time periods.  Each issue takes place at a different point in time and it's all brilliantly tied together in the end.

I quickly bought volume 4, but was delayed in reading it.  This is a collection of mostly stand-alone issues as Robo deals with an invading dimension of vampires, hiring a new employee, a giant rampaging monster, a ghost... and Dr. Dinosaur.  Dr. Dinosaur is hilariously brilliant.  I love the hell out of him, but what really grabbed me was the last page.  No spoilers, but we learn a tiny bit more about Tesla and Edison here.  I needed more, and I needed it now! **

As if reading my mind, volume 5 gave me exactly what I wanted - the early days of Atomic Robo and much more on his relationship with Tesla, as well as Tesla's relationship with Edison.  (There's also the amazing Jack Tarot and his daughter Helen, but I'll let you discover that for yourselves.)  It's fantastic and I can't recommend it enough.

Volume 6 gets crazy.  Non-stop action as Robo realizes he's two steps behind in a race he didn't even know he was running.  It's phenomenal and you should read it.  I've also reading the introductions in each trade and in this one artist Scott Wegener talks about how he went back to Akira as part of his preparation for this series.  It's evident.  I believe writer Brian Clevinger and Wegener have both improved their craft with each series, making each book better than the last.

I finished volume 6 last night and immediately started volume 7 (reading the introductions first, which are full of praise from well known creators and insights from the Atomic Robo team themselves).  It begins with an insane aerial combat... and that's as far as I got before realizing how late it had gotten.

Last week I emailed my comic shop to grab volumes 8 and 9 (hopefully they're waiting for me right now) and I'll be placing an order for volume 10 so it will already be on my nightstand when I get there.

In short: Read Atomic Robo.  It's good.

* Some people say Atomic Robo is like Hellboy.  Sure, the early issues both have Nazis and a main character that cracks wise, but that's about it.  It actually reminded of Gun Fu, which is a comic I still have fond memories of, but I don't think anyone else even knows it existed.

** This is where I began staying up later than intended because I couldn't put the book down.