Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Wednesday Pickups 9/29/10

Not a huge amount of books this week, but all were awesome save the one I was expecting not to like. Really hard to narrow it down to a pick of the week but through a number of coin flips, die rolls, and games of rock-paper-scissors (with myself) I was able to do just that. So with out further ado, the usual suspects:

Lets get the bad stuff out of the way first, Teen Titans #87. If you've been reading regularly, you know this title has been a disappointment as of late. The art isn't bad but the story and characters just seem shallow, boring, predictable, and humorless. Basically everything I liked about a Titans book has slowly been stripped away. All that said, I promised to (and still plan on) sticking around for the creative team change coming with the next issue. Hopefully with some fresh blood and some returning/new characters, this book can get back on track.

Heading over to the Marvel Universe, we have Namor: The First Mutant #2. I am enjoying everything about this book! The phenomenal art and cover art (by Ariel Olivetti and Jae Lee with June Chung respectively), the way the story ties into the other Curse of the Mutants branded books but can also be read by itself, and perhaps most of all the character development of Namor. While a lot of creators just write him off as the eternally pissed off king of the sea, Stuart Moore is doing a tremendous job of building personality back into the character. Instead of just letting his fury come out at the drop of a at as is his standard operating procedure, Namor instead restrains himself saving it for the heat of battle. Being the long time Sub-Mariner fan that I am, I am glad he is back in his own book under a great creative team.

Next up is part one in the duo of death both coming to a conclusion today, 1 Month 2 Live #5 of 5. This issue brings a nice and fitting end to this mini, which had me on the fence for a while but am now firmly on the side of liking it. It had its moments that I didn't like, but overall presented a great story which is a feat considering how many different creators were working on the title. I don't want to give away the ending here suffice to say that I really enjoyed it and that people should definitely pick this up when it gets collected.

Part 2 is little well less covered by most, coming from IDW, but is just as good, 5 Days to Die #5 of 5. In this final issue Andy Schmidt and Chee bring their bloody noir tale to its ultimate conclusion. While it was a bit predictable, that didn't effect the emotional or visual payoff when Ray finally caught his man and paid the price for doing his duty. Also, the cover of the final issue was worth the price of admission alone, perfectly summarizing this entire mini-series in one single image. If you get the chance, and this does get collected, I definitely recommend giving it a read.

Continuing with just a little more death, we have Crossed: Family Values #4. Now I am a huge fan of the Crossed books and this issue just builds on what is already a great series with a bit of a curve ball. The big story here is how this issue was very toned down in comparison to every other issue, with less blood and gore and almost no sexual content, shocking the audience this month with what wasn't in the book. Upon a second reading though, I found even more interesting the bulk of violence was normal humans against each other instead of the crossed wreaking havoc on them. While I know a lot of zombie/apocalyptic books broach this subject, I am really interested to see where David Lapham takes it in the crossed universe. All that said, art is still great from Javier Barreno and if you are a guts and gore fan, you need to be picking this book up. Really close to being pick of the week along with our next book, but both just barley fell short.

Venturing into the world of toys and the boogeyman, we have The Stuff of Legend Volume:II The Jungle, Part 2. Its been a while since the last issue, so for those who don't know this book it follows a group of toys loyal to their master who are trying to rescue him from the Boogeyman. Something of a cross between Toy Story and The Never Ending Story, this book continues to wow with spectacular art and design as well as interesting story with compelling characters. A perfect example of what non-superhero comics can be and why more people should be giving them a chance.

Last up and the pick of the week is Icon's Casanova: Luxuria III by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba. Casanova is a humor filled spy story that keeps me wanting more each month. From fantastic locals gorgeous robotic women, this one has it all. I'm a huge fan of Ba's art, whose work is not stranger to the pick of the week coming off of Daytripper, and am becoming a bigger fan of Fraction every issue, with his writing on this book as well his recent X-Men work. In addition to this being another great issue, it also features a little story/interview by Matt that was personal, touching, and inspiring. Even if the concept of the book doesn't sound like your kind of thing, check out this issue for a little insight in to Matt Fraction's life.

That wraps up another week of comics. Next week is looking a little light so I might finally get around to reviewing some of the recent indie comics I have been checking out. Until next time keep flopping those floppys.

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