My Top Comics For October 2017

Book of the Month: The Wild Storm #8 (DC)
A comic I like to read twice in order to catch all the visual and verbal clues. Still, my ignorance of these characters means that I'm probably missing some things (who are those beings looking out the window of the ship for one) and certain relationships might have more significance than I'm aware of. Never-the-less, I'm enjoying the journey and making discoveries. Davis-Hunt draws a trippy astral travel sequence in this ish that's to die for.

Nominees: Wicked + the Divine #32, The Unbelievable Gwenpool #21, Harrow County #26, Regression #5

Team Up of the Month: Spider-Man and Mockingbird, Amazing Spider-Man #789
Bobbi tries to boost Pete's spirits: the duo go out, fight a baddie and seal their win with a kiss. Their scenes together and the Stuart Immonen art made the issue worthwhile.

Nominee: Wonder Woman and Conan, Wonder Woman / Conan #2

Best First Issue: Sherlock Frankenstein & The Legion of Evil #1 (Dark Horse)
Lemire joins with artist David Rubin in a spin-off from his fantastic Black Hammer series. This one flashes back to Lucy's investigation of her father's disappearance, and gives us a peak at the villainous side of this universe.

Nominee: Wild Storms: Michael Cray #1 (DC)

Second Chance of the Month: All-New Wolverine (Marvel)
New artist, new story arc. Thought I'd give it another try. While it's yet another story that revisits Laura's past, I liked it well enough to put it back on my pulls

Fight of the Month: Wicked + the Divine #32
All the fights in this action packed issue were brilliantly staged, nasty and felt like a punch to the gut. 

Writer and Artists of the Month: Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie (pictured) and Matthew Wilson, Wicked + the Divine #32

Covers of the Month:

Dying & The Dead #6 by Ryan Bodenheim - I like the delicate line work

Batwoman #8 by MIchael Cho - minimal color schemes are so cool



To November

Back to October

My Top Comics For September 2017

Book of the Month: Black Monday Murders #7 (Image Comics)
Big issue! We meet Mammon and learn why he needs his Schools, and the limits of his power. A new mystery is revealed and power struggles continue. Smart, dark work from Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker and Michael Garland

Nominees: Dark Ark, Unholy Grail #3, Black Hammer #13, Wild Storm #7, Hawkeye #10, Mr. Miracle #2, Doom Patrol #8, Wicked + the Divine #31 and Red Hood and The Outlaws #14 (a moving riff on Flowers for Algernon)

Team Up of the Month: Carol and Kamala (Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel #1, Marvel Comics)
Nice to see the Marvel’s united. The dialogue was cute, had me chuckling several times.

Nominee: Wonder Woman/Conan #1

Best First Issue: Dark Ark #1 (Aftershock)
What if the devil set out another ark during the flood, and had it filled with unholy creatures? That’s the hook in Cullen Bunn’s new series, that you have some surprisingly sharp character work is what makes it float. Nice art from Aftershock MVP, Juan Doe.

Nominees: Runaways #1, Made Men #1

Second Chance of the Month: The Hellblazer #14 (DC)
Tim Seeley knows horror, so when I found out he was taking over writing chores on the Hellblazer I hopped back on board. While I don't know that you can do anything new with Constantine (he's a dick who pisses people off) Tim's first two issues have been real creepy. I like it.

Fight of the Month: John Colt's escape (The Wild Storm #7)  
Picture is NSFW. Art by John Davis-Hunt. The sequences is violent, bloody but beautifully staged

Artist of the Month: Esad Ribic, Marvel Legacy #1
He shared the issue with other artists, but his work was the stand-out

Writer of the Month: Cullen Bunn, Dark Ark #1, Unholy Grail #3, Harrow County #25
Bunn has been a busy man this year, and his best (IMHO) are the creator owned horror stories he’s scripted for Aftershock, Dark Horse and others.

Cover of the Month:

Hawkeye #10 by Julian Totino Tedesco – Striking image has cool Pulp Novel look to it


To October

Back to August

My Top Comics For August 2017

Apparently the Unstoppable Wasp was very stoppable; her series came to an end at 8. I went back and read the final ish, and it was still too damn twee for me.

Rocket Girl returned after nearly 2 years… m’eh - same old same old. Amy Readers art was grand at the least.

Event-itus: DC was doing some Dark Nights: Metal thingamabob, while Marvel is screwing around with their legacies (seriously that Phoenix/Odin deal is absurd, just thrown in there for the shock value)

Over at Dynamite we got an okay Moneypenny 1 shot and an okay Sheena zero issue.

That was the m'eh, here's the yays...

Book of the Month: Shade, the Changing Girl #11 (Young Animal)
Shade switches bodies with her hero and learns about life, death and sex on Earth. Plus: an old lover from Meta is looking for vengeance. Beautifully written and drawn material from Castellucci,  Zarcone and Fitzpatrick

Nominees: Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses #26-27, Unbelievable Gwenpool #19, Shipwreck #5 and the next 3 award winners...

Team Up of the Month: Logan and Laura (Generations: Wolverine & All-New Wolverine #1, Marvel)
No, it’s not perfect but I gave it the full 5-star grade because of how much it moved me, and for the way it shows how Laura has honored and improved upon the legacy established by her father. 

Nominees: Jean Grey and Psylocke (Jean Grey #5), Kate and Clint (Generations: Hawkeye & Hawkeye #1)

Best First Issue: Mister Miracle #1 (DC)
Tom King and Mitch Gerads, the masterminds behind Sheriff of Babylon, are whipping up another 12 issue mini (and King’s 12-issue minis have been golden so far). It’s off to an intriguing start with Miracle attempting his most daring escape.

Nominees: Elsewhere, Space Ghost 

Best Last Issue: Letter 44 #35 (Oni Press) 
I think this could have gone on for another 35 issues and shown, rather than told what happened. But overall, well done work from Charles Soul and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, who close their book in a way that is emotional and surprising,

Fight of the Month: Iron Fist vs. Diamondback (Defenders #4, Marvel)
As the Irish say... “Holy Bejesus!” That was one GREAT fight. Danny, you are awesome. After the fisticuffs things got gabby, but other than that, “Holy Bejesus!”

Nominees: Spidey vs Doc Ock, Amazing Spider-Man #31

Writer and Artists of the Month: Castellucci,  Zarcone and Fitzpatrick (Shade The Changing Girl #11)

Covers of the Month:

1.  Spider-Gwen #23 by Kris Anka (I always love a good rock n’ roll cover)

2.  All-Star Batman #13 by Rafael Albuquerque (neon lighting up the night sky)

To September

Back to July

My Top Comics for July 2017

Welp I’ve been busy with other hobbies and didn’t work on a Top 10, so here’s a new version of my month in review.

Book of the Month: Black Hammer #11 (Dark Horse)
The overriding mysteries are addressed, but the primary focus was on two troubled characters. Barbalien (the Martian Manhunter analogue); stung by the rejection from a closeted homosexual he was attracted too, recollects past harassment he received from his brothers in blue. Gail is also feeling lost, lonely, and is so without hope that she resolves to commit suicide. This moving, humanistic tale left a lump in my throat.

Nominees: The Unbelievable Gwenpool #18, The Wild Storm #6, Shade the Changing Girl #10, Hawkeye #8

Team-Up of the Month: Jean Grey and Thor (Jean Grey #4, Marvel)
Clever, clever (oh Thor, you incorrigible scamp),  Jean learns another valuable lesson on the road to facing the Phoenix force.

Nominees:  Green Arrow and Wonder Woman (Green Arrow #27), Batgirl and Catwoman (Batgirl #13), Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1

Many Happy Returns: Lazarus X+66 #1 (Image)
Lazarus returns in the form of a mini that will provide back-story on several supporting characters. This month the spotlight is on Casey Solomon and her fight to make the Daggers squad.

Saddest Goodbye: Tomboy #12 (Action Lab/Danger Zone)
Writer Mia Goodwin and artist Michelle Wong close the book on their supernatural thriller

Best First Issue: James Bond Kill Chain #1 (Dynamite) 
The Hammerhead team (Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida) are back, and they brought with them one of 007s deadliest foes.

Nominees: Unholy Grail #1 (Cullen Bunn), Astonishing X-Men #1 

Most Disappointing First Issue? Bettie Page #1 (Dynamite)
Too safe. Not as sexy or crazy-fun as it should be, art got worse with each page.

Best Artists: Mike and Laura Allred 
Busy month with Doom Patrol #7, Bug #3 and Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 hitting the stands.

Best Writer: Christopher Hastings, Gwenpool #18
Technically your best writer should probably be the person who wrote your ‘Book of the Month’? But let’s spread the wealth and reward the guy who is creating one of the funniest, smartest comics on the stands today. Gwenpool was always a kick, but it’s gone further - by way of character development and back-story, as well as pumping up the mind bending metafictional commentary. I also enjoyed seeing Gwen’s adventures through her brother’s eyes. Fantastic work!

Nominees: Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer #11, Warren Ellis, The Wild Storm #6

Best Cover: Luke Cage #3 by Rahzzah

Best Variant Cover: Green Arrow #27 by Esad Ribic

To August

Back to June

My Top 10 Comics For June 2017

Adam West passed away and Wonder Woman opened in theaters. 

1st issues I read: Cullen Bunn’s The Unsound, Donny Cates Babyteeth and the return of Bulletproof Coffin in the Thousand Yard Stare #1 (One Shot) 

Rucka ended his current run on Wonder Woman. It had its fans, but I was not impressed as I found it flat and uninspired and it really didn’t say anything about truth and lies. Its end meant that he and Scott could get back to Black Magick.

Black Monday Murders was released, but while I liked the spookiness and the art at the end, it failed to make my 10 this time out (I started to doze during the talky bits and the shorter page count did it no favors)

10. Jean Grey #3 (Marvel)
Written by Dennis Hopeless
Art by Victor Ibanez * Colors by Jay David Ramos & Chris Sotomayer
Namor’s too slangy of voice, and Jean has long since proven she’s anything but weak, but the story does make clear a pivotal point -- that to beat the Phoenix, Ms. Grey is going to have to get her hands bloody.

9. Jessica Jones #9 (Marvel) 
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Michael Gaydos * Colors by Matt Hollingsworth
Last month Bendis’s ‘blah, blah, blah’ bored me, this month it was fascinating. Loved seeing the family back together and the case is starting to interest me - nice mysterious ending, but did the next issue cover tease spoil it?

8. Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Bullets #24 (Image)
Written and drawn by David Lapham
In addition to the character re-defining moments (Beth learns that there’s more to a man than a mustache) we get scenes of drunkenness, death and destruction. Oh for fun!

7. Shade, the Changing Girl #9 (Young Animal)
Written by Cecil Castellucci
Art by Marley Zarcone * Colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Everything old is made new again in Gotham, Loma doesn’t just paint the town red, but in all shades of colorful madness. Meanwhile, Meta gears up for war. Love the art.

6. Mother Panic #8 (Young Animal)
Written by Jody Houser
Art by Jean Paul Leon * Colors by Dave Stewart
Love seeing Violet try to play detective without the resources and experience of the Bat, it makes her more real, relatable. I also like that we are seeing her become more altruistic, a hero –one who is hurting right now- is being born right in front of our eyes. (BTW, the Owls are mentioned. Funny, Gotham’s supposed to be Batman’s city, he knows everything. But he didn’t know about the Owls, or the House that gave birth to Mother Panic?)

5. The Wild Storm #5 (DC) 
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by John Davis-Hunt * Colors by Steve Buccellato
When I saw the cover I thought, “Oh no, not those dip shits?” But the Daemonite wasn’t there to spit and fume and fight (that old saw), but to offer some cryptic advice. Plus I like Michael removing the scales his eyes and seeing what a prick his employer really is. And the scenes between Adriana and Angela were nice.

4. Black Hammer #10 (Dark Horse)
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Dean Ormston * Colors by Dave Stewart
Nifty spoof of 90s comics, with melancholic character work and mysteries that get more mysterious (and offer few answers)

3. Harrow County #24 (Dark Horse) 
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art and Colors by Tyler Crook
Cullen Bunn out writes Rucka? I felt Greg forced the ‘Diana is a lover and a negotiator‘ shtick, and bungled the final battle with Phobos & Deimos in his current WW run. Bunn however takes the same angle and makes it work. Because he and his characters are sincere, because everything leading up to this point informed us that yes, this is how Emmy would act. Em has so much power she could wipe Bernice off the face of the Earth with ease. However, she doesn’t do that. She holds back and takes the blows and the pain Bernice rains down on her and keeps her cool, keeps trying to talk to Bernie… because what’s happening is breaking her heart. You feel it, you see it. Emmy truly loves her friend. That’s why this issue works, that’s why this carries such emotional weight. Whereas Rucka’s ‘defeat you with love’ hokum came off phony and contrived by comparison. (Diana is a lover, but that ending was not earned or believable to my mind.)

Fantastic story - with both Girls learning a truth, which led to a fantastic cliff hanger.

2. The Unbelievable Gwenpool #18 (Marvel) 
Written by Christopher Hastings
Art and Colors by Gurihiru
Great fun as Gwen re-gains self awareness and figures out the logistics of this comic book world she’s in. But what’s up with brother, what does he know? Best arc since the first arc and she’s not even in costume!

1. Injection #13 (Image)
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Declan Shalvey * Colors by Jordie Bellaire
Damn this is good. Not only for the machinations and terrifying developments of the main story, but in the subplot that suggests that an old ally might become a new foe.

My Honorable Mentions
Spider-Gwen #21, The Unsound #1, Babyteeth #1, Black Monday Murders #6, Red Hood and the Outlaws #11, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye #9

Writer of the Month: 

Warren Ellis, Injection and The Wild Storm

Warren unseats Hickman this month

Artists of the Month: 

Gurihiru (Chifuyu Sasaki (pencils & inks) and Naoko Kawano (colors), Gwenpool

They do some great work here, breaking through panels, having Gwen thrown out a window by a thought box. This series has always been meta, but never like this, never so physically tangible. 

To July

Back to May

My Top 10 Comics For May 2017

First issues I read this month include… Black Bolt (very art-house), Jean Grey, the Allred’s weird Bug (it was ok – fans of Kirby’s Gods, etc will appreciate it) and Cullen Bunn’s terrifying Regression.

Marvel gave us the Secret Empire (didn’t read it)

I also didn’t read ten, 5-star comics, so I had to dip into the 4.5 waters for this month's list...

10. The Unbelievable Gwenpool #16 (Marvel) 
Written by Christopher Hastings
Art and Colors by Gurihiru
I was almost pissed off at the end - Ha, they pulled a fast one on me. Did they fool you too? Weird but interesting, I wanna know more. Thank God Gurihiru is back on art chores, the book is never as good when they are gone.

9. Jean Grey #1-2 (Marvel)
Written by Dennis Hopeless
Art by Victor Ibanez * Colors by Jay David Ramos & Chris Sotomayer
Let’s hope Hopeless does for this series what he did for Spider-Woman, by giving it a lot of heart and well developed characters. The first arc sets up a confrontation with the Phoenix. Can this Jean avoid her fate?

8. Letter 44 #33 (Oni)
Written by Charles Soule
Art by Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque * Colors by Dan Jackson
The first of the final 3 chapters of this sci-fi epic: we now know the “whys”, now comes our protagonist’s last ditch efforts to save what they can of humanity. Endings have never been Soule’s strong suit, so while this was a good first step in the final step, all I can do is cross my fingers that he can finally stick a landing clean. 

7. The Wild Storm #4 (DC) 
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by John Davis-Hunt * Colors by Steve Buccellato
Hmm, Engineer’s tech smells a lot like Stark’s Extremis upgrade from another book Ellis wrote. Did the armor always bleed through her pores or is that a recent addition? Very little progress on the plot but the dialogue is scintillating and scathing.

6. Shade, the Changing Girl #8 (Young Animal)
Written by Cecil Castellucci
Art by Marley Zarcone * Colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick
The situation on Meta is spinning out of control, while on Earth Loma takes a psychedelic tour of Gotham.  This groovy stream of consciousness is like 60s new wave cinema, a little “Daisies” if you will. And it took a 2nd read-through before I could get into it, but once I did... well, here it is among the 10. Oh, Love Becky Cloonan's cover.

5. Mother Panic #7 (Young Animal)
Written by Jody Houser
Art by John Paul Leon * Colors by Dave Stewart
Now this is more like it. We get dense, moody art that’s grittier (as it should be, it suits the tone of series) and a story that gets back to the lost girls (one girl in particular) seen at the end of the first arc. More of Violet’s past is shown, we learn how her powers work (or don’t, in this case) as our anti-hero reluctantly takes on the mantle of hero. Also, mom is a puzzle, how does she know what she knows?

4. Spider-Gwen #19-20 (Marvel)
Written by Jason Latour
Art by Robbi Rodriguez * Colors by Rico Renzi
With crossover done the book gets back to business. Even though it’s using the Spider-Man mythos for its stories (here it’s a new spin on venom), I’m still engaged and looking forward to seeing how Gwen handles the situation. There’s humor (the text message bit) but mostly it’s a dark set-up, and Latour sure knows how to make you hate his villains (first Castle, now Murdock). In issue 20 we are introduced to a couple of X-people.

3. Harrow County #23 (Dark Horse) 
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art and Colors by Tyler Crook
Not a lot of scares, it’s a strong character based issue with plenty of intrigue on the fringes.

2. Shipwreck #4 (Aftershock) 
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Phil Hester * Colors by Mark Englert
I love a story that surprises me, that hints that not all is what we think it is. Is our hero really the hero? What made the baddie (?) do what he did… and what of those cryptic comments he makes, the underlying hatred/resentment he has for Shipwright. Can’t wait to see what is revealed in future issues of this weird miniseries.

1. East of West #33 (Image)
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Dragotta * Colors by Frank Martin
Ah, the things you do for love. Plus, fate deals a nasty hand for one of the chosen. Hickman once again writes the book of the month (though in April it was with Black Monday)

My Honorable Mentions:
Red Hood and The Outlaws #10, Wicked + The Divine 455 AD #1, American Monster #6, James Bond: Service Special #1, James Bond Felix Leiter #5, Judge Dredd: The Blessed Earth #2

Writer of the Month: Johnathan Hickman

Artist of the Month: John Paul Leon (Mother Panic)

To June

Back to April