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 - 11/01/2016

For the first time, I thought about creating a new category after "Everything Else" as a place to put the truly bad books.  Then, I thought about putting everything into Honorable Mention except those few.  In the end, I didn't do either.  Quality naturally sorted things out on their own and you'll know the bad books when you reach them without any extra emphasis from me.

Pick of the Week

Renato Jones One Percent #5 - What a ride!  If I haven't mentioned it before, this book is nuts.  This issue was cover-to-cover madness and I loved every second of it.  The good news is - we'll be getting more Renato Jones!  Though the bad news is it'll be early next year.  (Like so many other titles!)  Still, I'll take it.  Also, the cover is not a spoiler.  Although... maybe it is, based on that last page...  Highly recommended if you like a little violence with your politics.

Chew #59 - Fucking Hell.

Honorable Mention

Aliens Defiance #6 - This has one of the best opening sequences in recent memory.  Five pages of perfect marine vs alien action.  There's also betrayl here.  There's the obvious one, but I think another as well, that will quietly be forgotten until the series conclusion when everything goes spectacularly to hell.  I'm excited, but also a little sad.  With a cast of only two, now three, I'm not sure anyone is going to make it out of this alive.

Descender #16 - An emotional tale about a couple of robots.  I continually praise this books art and writing and can only hope some of you have decided to pick it up.  This issue starts "seventeen years ago" and for the first time I wondered if a collection would or could ever be made in chronological order.  I can't say it'd be better that way, but I'd take the opportunity to real the whole series again.

Exodus Life After #8 - I don't think there's been an issue of this series that hasn't put a smile on my face.  The artist is a good friend of mine and when each issue comes out, he makes a post on Facebook.  Last night's post was about naked Ernest Hemingway.  But I didn't read this then, I read some other garbage you'll see further down the page.  This would have put me in a better mood then, but I chose not to read it.  Instead, I saved it for the end of my lunch break, just before going back to my soul-sucking cubicle, all while thinking about how great Ernest Hemingway is.  Thanks, gents!  You're the best.

Saga #39 - It's been a while since I had to consider the implications of an "or."  Not too much happens this issue, but where that would tend to be a fault in other books, it's really not here.  Plans are hatched, plans are dashed, there's much to discuss, and all of it looks wonderful.  I'd say no one dies this issue, but that's not true.

Everything Else

American Monster -#5 - This would absolutely read better as a trade.  At the very least it would help just keeping track of what's going on with everyone.  Add to that the vagueness with which the characters speak to one another, and it's hard to follow.  Not impossible, and I happen to like the way the characters speak, but clearly difficult.  It's continues to be good.  Maybe not as good as Moonshine, but I'll take all the Azzarello I can get and I'm a fan of Juan Doe's art.

Birthright #20 - This issue starts with a dragon and it barely even registers with the revelations let loose this issue.  Some seriously major history is told here, but we're going to have to wait a few months to learn what any of it means because they're going on hiatus between arcs, like an increasing number of Image titles seem to be doing.  Each issue reminds me just how long it's been since the men and women of this family have been in the same place at the same time.  It appears that's being set up for next arc, which should be explosive given everything each group knows that the other doesn't.

Frostbite #2 - This book continues to be a solid addition to Vertigo's growing stable of new titles.  That may not seem like high praise when I'm raving about other indy titles, but thinking about past Vertigo titles I've enjoyed, they mostly had a slow burn for a solid 60 issues.  I hope this gets there one day, as the world these characters inhabit is wonderfully interesting.  Really only the main character has any depth yet, but they've gone deep on her and I find her a relateable, believable protagonist.  Recommended.

Teen Titans #1 - I'd wanted the Teen Titans Rebirth issue since, like a bunch of other Rebirth titles, I wanted to try it.  Except I screwed up my pull list and put this down instead of that.  I read the Rebirth issue once I realized I'd missed it, but didn't like it.  Writing just wasn't for me and wasn't a huge fan of the art either.  Then I wind up walking out of the shop with this in my bag without realizing it.  Turns out it's pretty good.  Much better than the Rebirth issue.  Except Jonboy has left the book, and I haven't seen a replacement artist announced yet.  Which makes recommending it a bit difficult.  Note: I now hear the new artist is Khoi Pham, which is pretty bad ass.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #3 - I feel like less happens in this series than the main book.  The main title generally feels dense with word balloons, though not in a bad way, simply that there's so much to cover in so little space.  Here though, we end in almost the same place as the issue started - trapped in a building under siege.  Raph gets some good panels, April takes action, Stockman helps out, and the scorpion character gets a name... but that's about it.  It's good, but not as solid as the main book.

Transformers Revolution #1 - This is bad and you should not read it.  Even if you're reading Revolution, which, I can't imagine why you would be if this is any indication of its quality, just skip this.

Wonder Woman #9 - If it hadn't been pointed out elsewhere, I'm not sure I would have seen it - the arc is called "The Lies" yet there's been very little lying going on thus far.  Expect the lie quotient to increase dramatically in issue 11 when this concludes.  This issue was good; they address Wonder Woman's relationship with both Superman and Steve Trevor and it all goes well.  There's also that ending, which I think bodes less well than it appears.  And whatever's been going on behind Wonder Woman's back all this time.  So, in all, much to look forward to.  Oh, and then there's that cover, a creepy Engineer-looking Matrix-y thing.  No idea what that's about.

Ultimates #12 - The Ultimates was a good series that got massively derailed by at least one major crossover.  I don't know what happened to Rocafort on art, but he only drew half the series?  Maybe a little more?  This series ends by demolishing what was built and seemingly promising to put it back together in the next series.  Except, when it all went so wrong this time, why would anyone give this writer and title another shot?  I'm getting off this train and if anyone else is reading, I recommend you do the same.