My Top 11 Comics For May 2013

11. Journey Into Mystery #652 (Marvel)

Writer: Kathryn Immonen * Artist: Valerio Schiti

Lots of good humor, the return of Beta Ray Bill, Jane Foster and Sif dish on Thor. Gaea is ill, and I like how the Gods don’t really know how to deal with this. I also like how the Gods are portrayed as much larger than humans; they barely fit in Jane’s walk-in clinic.

10. Sword of Sorcery #8 (DC)

Writer: Christy Marx * Artist: Aaron Lopresti

So bummed to see this series end. But it at least it ends on a high. The interesting and nicely fleshed out collection of characters from various houses are allied against a great evil. At the heart stands its tough and resourceful heroine. Amy has been a joy and I hope to see her again soon.

9. Demon Knights #20 (DC)

Writer: Robert Venditti * Artist: Chad Hardin

After last months stumble, the Knights rocket back to wonderfulness with some nicely detailed character work. Savage is a hoot. The art isn’t bad, it’s clear and clean, does well conveying Shining Knights suffering – though a few facial features were weak (as when Ex yells at Hippolyta).

8. The Movement #1 (DC)

Writer: Gail Simone * Artist: Freddie E. Williams II

Simone isn’t reinventing the wheel, and she’s no Alan Moore (who is), but I’m glad we have a mainstream DC book that’s exploring something a little less black and white and isn’t another in a long line of Batman/JL/Superman spin-offs. This is the kind of material the Edge family of books should have been offering from the start. And Gail should be applauded for whipping up a thought-provoking story that’s sparking heady debate across the net. I like the concept and I like the execution. The art by Freddie Williams II supports the gritty tone of the piece nicely.

7. Constantine #3 (DC)

Writer: Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes * Artist: Renato Guedes

John doing that thing John does: Living by guile and obfuscation to get by some major magical hurdles. Art was stunning and really shines when illustrating a particularly horrifying trap.

6. Catwoman Annual #1 (DC)

Writer: Ann Nocenti * Artist: Ardian Syaf, Christian Duce, Aaron Lopresti

While I’ve disliked this run, I actually enjoyed this issue. Penguin can’t lose face and Catwoman is too independent to give in to his demands… so a gang war is on the horizon. There are 3 artists but it mostly works; I especially like Lopresti’s detailed pages. This was heck of a fine showcase for Selina and Harvey Bullock, who show’s off some keen detective reasoning.

5. Aquaman #20 (DC)

Writer: John Ostrander * Artist: Manuel Garcia

In any other writers hands this might have simply been throwaway filler -- While I’ve liked Geoff’s work, if John Ostrander took over this title as its primary scribe I wouldn’t complain. Heck I’d be tickled to death. I thought the new character he introduced was sharply defined, nicely fleshed out and fascinating.

4. New Avengers #6 (Marvel)

Writer: Jonathan Hickman * Artist: Steve Epting

While the exposition in the middle bogs things down a hair, New Avengers remains one of the best and brainiest books on the stands. It’s also an incisive character piece (Namor gets in some witty, biting lines). The art is a win; I really like the Black Swan for her appearance/costume as well as her cryptic personality. (Reed seems to have a ‘thing’; for her… will that come back to bite him on the backside?) And now Doom enters the picture.

3. Revival #10 (Image)

Writer: Tim Seeley * Artist: Mike Norton

Tim Seely’s creepy convoluted yarn gets back on track and regains its focus. Primarily because it centers its story on the Check brothers (though the rest of the ensemble have their moments as well). And I absolutely adore Em – those last few panels… phew, what a stone cold badass she is.

2. Thor: God of Thunder #8 (Marvel)

Writer: Jason Aaron * Artist: Esad Ribic

Epic plotting and funny as hel too (the 3 Thor’s are quite amusing, and that thing with the spaceshark was classic). There’s some heady reflection on the nature of Gods… it even has Thor wondering if Gor doesn’t have a point. I loved the 3 Goddesses (relatives of Thor), the fist pumping moment when Thor brings down lightning and the cool final splash page as our 3 heroes pose, as they ready for battle.

1. Wonder Woman #20 (DC)

Writer: Brian Azzarello * Artist: Cliff Chiang, Goran Sudzuka

Wow, what else can I say than just… wow. Action packed tale sees WW’s motley crew on the run, while Diana engages in a thrilling knock down drag out with Artemis. This reminds me why I love comics so much. And that cover was way cool.

To June 2013

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