Last Week's Comics Today - 02/07/2016

Well this is awkward.  Some good books this week, but top honors goes to an ad?!

Pick of the Week

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Honorable Mention

The Wild Storm - This is not a comic (yet), but an extended ad that ran in the back of DC's books.  And one I liked enough to comment on.  I was a fan of WildStorm in the beginning and everything Ellis speaks of here - secret organizations, space programs, human experiments - continue to interest me while hitting all the right nostalgia notes.  Additionally, I'm a fan of probably half of Ellis' output, so this is right up my alley.  I'm really looking forward to this line and whatever he's got cooking.

Everything Else

DC Comics Bombshells #22 - There's a panel early on with Selina, Kate, Renee, and Vixen glowering at Hawkgirl and I think they might be as irritated with her as I was with her seven straight panels of soapboxing.  I'm kinda glad she gets shot outta that sky immediately after.  I made it a few more pages but can't finish this.  The heroes get captured and then it's Cheetah turn to parrot the writer's research.  I'm dropping this.  It's nowhere near as good as it used to be and hasn't been for a while.

Invincible #132 - I read this sitting across from my wife and made several exclamations while reading the events within.  My immediately Facebook post upon completion was "Fucking hell, Kirkman" and in the resulting comments discussed how Ottley would have drawn it both better and more gruesome.  For that, I am both thankful and sad.  Next issue starts the march toward the finale, so there's still roughly a year to get aboard this train before the ride is over.

Justice League #14 - The bulk of this issue takes place in a hole.  Various members of the league discuss things they should have gone over years ago immediately following their founding, and Superman throws Batman under a figurative bus as he deflects like a motherfucker.  Whatever else is in this category, just know that Justice League #14 is the worst of the bunch (Late note: not worse than Bombshells).

Moon Knight #11 - This title continues to be a fantastic read told with incredible art and a story that's difficult to succinctly summarize.  Marc Spector (or is it Jake?  Or Steven?) continues to grapple with his own mental state and the possible machinations of gods.  It is, as always, highly recommended.

Paper Girls #11 - I don't have much to say about the events of this issue, but that last page is a real nice kicker.  I'm glad this is back.  It's good, in case you were wondering.

Planetoid Praxus #1 - It's really nice to revisit Ken Garing's Planetoid.  Note: You don't have to read the first series to understand anything that's happening here.  There's enough of a recap to get you up to speed with the major players and idiosyncrasies of the place.  That said, it's a good read.  I don't know the sales figures of the original series, but can't imagine they were good.  So I'm extremely glad Praxus exists and hope more people check it out.

The Spirit: Corpse Makers #1 - I love Francavilla.  Between his work on Batman, Archie, and Black Beetle, I'll be interested in anything his guy does for life.  Him on The Spirit makes perfect sense.  Unfortunately, this isn't as good as Black Beetle.  I mean, obviously, this isn't complete so there's that, but a couple storylines are started and by the end a few are starting to converge.  Of note, there's a couple pieces of dialogue that threw me.  Contractions that were separate words, slang that's jarring.  Not enough to ruin the book, but it does lose some luster as a result.

Superman #16 - Multiplicity was over faster than I expected.  I just assumed it would be four.  That's what I get for not paying attention.  The Justice Incarnate bits were amazing, the antagonist alluded to things there were more interesting than he was, and everything was resolved with punching and laser eyes.  Kind of a mixed bag, but I'll chalk it up as a Win.  Hopefully we get back to the heart of the book - Clark, Lois and Jon next.

Transformers Lost Light #2 - Next issue promises we'll learn about rung's alt-mode and I have more to say about that than the events of this series.  Because what happens here relates to something this (roughly) same cast did in another series years ago.  Rung, I have long suspected, is a crucial piece of something larger - like a combiner, only not.  I used to think he was a trigger, but a lever works too, or even - gasp - a rung!  I don't know how that last one works out either.  I guess we'll find out!

Walking Dead #163 - This is the first issue I've read since #100.  Not that I found anything specific in #100 to turn me off the series, just the general sense that bad things would continue to happen to everyone and I didn't need that negativity in my life.  It's a good series, but can be pretty heavy.  I grabbed this because it was $0.25 and to see whether I should get back into it. What I found was that this issue is the start of a fairly significant event, and I no longer care about any of these characters.  Thanks, but I'll just stick with Invincible.

Last Week's Comics Today - 12/13/2016

I've been quiet for a few weeks as a busy schedule kept me from reading my comics on a timely basis.  Below are my thoughts on last week's books, plus a couple others from prior weeks.

Pick of the Week

Aliens Defiance #7 - Double dose of Aliens this week (see below).  I was reading on lunch again, got to a particular page early on, stopped, and said, "Wait, what?!"  Because someone suggests something that's ludicrous.  And something I thought and already been proven not to work... but they try it... and it's insanity.

I almost didn't even write about this.  I missed it while making the list of all the books I got and had been struggling to select a pick of the week.  Some books were good, but nothing stood out.  Then I saw this in the pile while looking for Superman.  It's the winner by a mile.

Honorable Mention

Lake Of Fire #4 - This is what I've been waiting for - crusaders vs aliens.  It was fantastic.

Moon Knight #9 - Answers!  Anyone frustrated by this arc gets answers about what's been going on.  It's good.  I mean, it's been good this entire time.  Are you reading this?  Because you should be.

Predator Vs Judge Dredd Vs Aliens #3 - The book was living up to its title in the first two issues, but takes it to a whole new level here.  Full-on, Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens.  In every combination.  I was beginning to think the series would end by setting up a sequel, but they covered a surprising amount of ground here and my sequel idea is apparently going to happen next issue.  So, even more vs action next issue!  (If there is a sequel, I'll read it.)

Unworthy Thor #2 - Thor has Owen Wilson's nose, now?  Sorry, "Odinson."  Odinson doesn't hold back.  Seriously, if you'd like to see a goat blow up a spaceship, this is the book for you.  Oh, and if you'd like to see him get a hammer again, 'cause that's going to happen.  Less Beta Ray Bill than I expected, but excellent read nonetheless.

Everything Else

Motor Crush #1 - I read this today on lunch and have been trying to figure out my feelings on it ever since.  The art's good, the story's good... but I didn't love it.  So I'm trying to figure out if I want to add it to my pull list or not.  Might grab a few more issues and see what that does for me.  The book is basically if you took Vin Diesel's Fast and Furious character, made him a woman, and set him in a near-future dominated by motorcycle racing.  30 pages, $3.99.

DC Comics Bombshells #20 - The most difficult part about reading this series is keeping all the characters straight.  The cast is entirely women, there's about two dozen of them that rotate in and out and they're all about the same shape, it basically comes down to hairstyle to tell them apart.  So when there's a flashback with a redhead, I stopped for an inordinate amount of time to wonder, "Is that supposed to be Kate?  How many other redheads could that be?"  I've honestly lost track.  Still a fun book, but I could really use some clarity.

Ghost Rider #1 - Why is surfer Hulk in half of this?  The art is fine, but the writing isn't as good as the previous two series.  Minorest of spoilers: X-23 shows up at the end, so we're only one member away from another New Fantastic Four "reunion."  Will it be Miles this time?  I won't be there to see it.

Justice League #10 - This issue forced me to re-evaluate the previous issues in this arc.  I've mentioned a few times how the opening arc of the series action-heavy and would even describe it as "wide screen."  It was very Warren Ellis-era Authority, which made sense.  This arc, especially this issue, is very street level.  Seeing the Justice League filling a suburban kitchen brings a level of reality to the book I don't often see.  It was refreshing.  Then, exposition exposed a staggering number of coincidences and the punching started again.

Transformers More Than Meets The Eye Revolution #1 - What a nutty book.  This is in no way necessary to the Revolution crossover and the only relevance to future Transformers stories may be that events here eventually lead to Grimlock doing something (really, anything) again.  On the other hand, it's a really fun, highly ridiculous store that pokes fun and peaks behind the scenes at Transformers, Dire Wraiths, and GI Joe.  While this could be easily skipped, it really shouldn't be.  The complainers that More Than Meets the Eye being too "quippy" will not be pleased.

Transformers Till All Are One #5 - I really thought the story of Windblade on Earth would last longer than it did.  I also thought it would take longer for the necro-titans to reach Cybertron.  I was wrong on both counts.  Ironhide was great, Starscream was entertaining as always, and Metroplex kicked ass.

Superman #12 - Lois once again shows how hardcore she is.  It's been a while, I don't recall if S.H.A.D.E. is supposed to be a secret organization or not, but if so, Frankenstein is pretty terrible at keeping a low profile.  Superman is here too, doing the whole flying and punching thing.  The art is good, the writing is good, but it's not as strong an issue as other recent issues.

Unfollow #14 - I was ready to tell you not to buy this issue.  If, somehow, you actually buy this series and haven't yet purchased this particular issue.  It's a flashback, with a different artist, and starring a character unrelated to the 140.  ...then I hit the final few pages and changed my mind.  It features Larry Ferrell and until shows his reasoning behind The 140.  At least you're informed now.

Wicked & Divine #24 - This was a good read, but I'm struggling to come up with something to say.  There was implied sex, a confrontation, and... no, I guess that's it.  That elipsis in the previous sentence was me flipping through the book again just to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.  I hadn't.

Wonder Woman #11 - Not the surprise I thought we were in for.  Interesting, sure, as it opens up all sorts of "What does it mean?!" questions, but at the end of the day, I'm still trying to like to Wonder Woman book instead of simply enjoying it.  Reading on inertia more than anything else.