Wednesday Pickups 11/10/10

Its that time of week once again, where one can enter their local comic shoppe and be treated to the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes(?) of new comics. Here are the books that I checked out from last week that you might be interested in: (Yeah, they are one week old but their still so cute at that age)


First up, we have Marvel's Avengers: The Children's Crusade #3 of 9. Continuing the quest of Scarlet Witch's possibly re-incarnated children (the two Young Avengers Wiccan and Speed) to find her, this issue finds Quicksilver and Magneto jockeying for leadership and trust of the children and reveals where Wanda is. Still really enjoying this limited series. While the presentation of Wolverine seems a bit over the top, everyone else is spot on especially Quicksilver and Magneto. Allan Heinberg (the writer) and Jim Cheung (the penciler) are truly showing they can handle the rest of the Marvel Universe with the same skilled that have handled the Young Avengers.

Jumping over to the Ultimate Marvel U, we have Ultimate Thor #2. Continuing to unveil the history of the Norse god, this issue sees the Asguardians celebrating their victory over the Frost Giants in ancient times with gladiatorial games and the beginning of the Frost Giant's revenge (led by Zemo) years later during WWII. I'm enjoying the triple narrative in this title, even if it gets a bit confusing here and there. Judging by the ending of this one, some epic battles will be taking place next issue that should be a spectacular sight to see.

Heading over to DC, we have one of my favorite comic double features of Justice League: Generation Lost and Booster Gold. In JL:GL #13 Magog and Captain Atom mix it up in a battle that's sure to leave a mark on the city while Max Lord continues to pull the puppet strings. Said it many times before but I'm really digging this book. The art, story, and humor are doing it for me on all levels and I feel like I can never wait for the next issue. Judd Winick and friends are keeping this one of my favorite team books.

Over in Booster Gold #38 (the tie-in for those not in the know is that Booster is a member of JL:GL) Booster is taking care of business and knocking out Nazis! Rani, the young girl Booster saved from the distant future a few issues back) steals a time machine and goes back in time to WWII with a special mission in mind. Another fantastic issue from the team of Griffen, DeMatteis, Batista, and Perrotta. If your looking for a fun super hero book with hi-jinks and hilarity you can't go wrong with either of these two.

Next up is Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #5 of 5, finally the final issue. While the initial issue showed a lot of promise, the mini-series quickly deteriorated into length jokes that didn't pay off and the occasional one-liner that barley got a ha. The issue wraps up this sorted tale of course revealing the not so final fate of our favorite Android's Dungeon shop owner. If you were waiting for a collection of this, I highly recommend you just skip it all together.

Heading into the Vertigo books we have The Unwritten #19. Tommy and crew begin their search for their own personal white whale while Mr. Pullman drafts a new recruit in his quest to end Tommy's story once and for all. Another solid issue of this comic and Mike Carey and Peter Gross show no signs of letting up. If your still not reading this series do your self a favor and pick up the first trade paperback collection.

Taking a trip out to the early days, and also from Vertigo, we have American Vampire #8. Police Chief Cash McCogan finds out exactly who his visiting federal agents while tracking down the dying off investor's in the dam and Pearl Jones, back in California, is visited by similar agents. Scott Snyder (the writer) and Rafael Albuquerque (the artist) consistently present an awesome vampire story that doubles as a great period piece.

Lastly and pick of the week, we head back to DC for Red Robin #17. An epilogue to "The Hit List" arc, this issue follows Red Robin as he touches base with various allies. This issue does a great job of showing who Tim Drake has become since donning the Red Robin persona, in how he deal with the aloof former Batgirl Cassandra, the part temptress/possible enemy Lynx, and his mentor Batman back in action. Hint Hint: With this chapter coming to a close Issue #18 would be a great spot to jump on the title.

That's it for this week. Usual routine, comments of any kind are appreciated below. Now to get to reading this week's books (I actually already started you can look forward to an interesting creation of Holy Water.)

Wednesday Pickups 10/13/10

Ton of books this week, as you can see below, so let's get right into it.


We start off this week with Oni Press' Frenemy of the State #3. While not the greatest title out, its still a pretty fun book. The topic of under cover agents has been done to death but this title breaths some fresh life into it with its clever "pop princess" dialogue and the unique ways our protagonist maintains her cover.

Next up is Bongo Comics' Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #4 of 5. Not much to say about the book really. The art the same as the television show, neither better nor worse, and the story/humor have been in a steady decline since the first issue. It still has some funny moments but overall not worth the price of admission. Due to my collecting illness I will probably pick up the last issue when it comes out but I really recommend passing on it if your not already invested.

Kicking off a swarm of DC books we have Justice Society of America 80-page giant 2010. Overall an awesome one-shot of short stories. Didn't care to much for the tale of two Wildcats or Liberty Belle's story but the rest were great, with Christian Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis' Cyclone story being my favorite. Art from everyone was fantastic but I especially enjoyed Mateus Santolouco's Dr. Fate work (except for his velociraptor-like Power Girl.) A must check out for any JSA fan (especially of these characters) even if you have gotten away from the regular books recently like I have.

Up next is another DC one shot, Untold Tales of Blackest Night and I for one wasn't nearly as impressed with this one. While the art was good just like it was consistently through Blackest Night, but most of the stories just felt like scrapped ideas from it. Really enjoyed Ethan Van Sciver's Karu-Sil's story and the actual deleted scenes from Blackest Night, but the rest just left me unimpressed. If you want more of Blackest Night I can recommend it as your only current source but if you felt satisfied with the story there is nothing absolutely necessary here.

Rounding out these DC one-shots we have Bruce Wayne: The Road Home, Red Robin. I was pretty hesitant about picking this up, mainly because I thought this series of The Road Home one-shots would leave you feel like you were missing something if you only picked up one. I am really glad to say, that is no the case. While it ties in elements from both the other Road Home books and the Red Robin monthly title, it also tells an accessible stand alone story of Tim and Bruce testing each other. If you have ever been a fan of this particular duo, definitely recommend picking it up as it gives a nice perspective on where each of them is now.

Getting into the regular DC titles we have Green Lantern # 58. Solid issue, Doug Mahnke's art kills it as usual while Geoff Johns' story continually growing. Really enjoying Atrocitus getting to flex his vocal cords and his quoting of "The Dark Knight" film.

Heading over to another Brightest Day tie-in we have Justice League: Generation Lost #11. Another series that continues to pump out great issues. Featuring the Metal Men, this one turns into a hero vs. hero slobber knocker, which may seem a like a tired plot but is both fun and funny here. Quickly becoming one of my favorite super hero books that I hope continues for quite a while.

The perfect compliment to the last book in both characters and style is up next, Booster Gold #37. Giffen, DeMatteis, and company continuing tales of the greatest hero you've never heard off never cease to entertain an amuse me. Featuring a sexy prison break, Blue Beetle being eaten, and Booster solving the problem he got into from time traveling by traveling forward in time; this issue delivers another helping of awesome.

Moving over to the my only Marvel book this week, unless you count the Icon imprint, X-Men #4. Have to start off by talking about the gorgeous cover by Adi Granov. His portrait of vampire Wolverine is affective and bone chilling. On the matter of the actual comic, it is good but nothing spectacular. I enjoyed Paco Medina's art but find the story to be predictable while aiming for just the opposite, never been a big fan of that. I could end up eating my words if the story drastically changes but I doubt it.

Getting back into one-shots, this time from Image, we have Hack/Slash: Murder Messiah Annual. Per the norm for Hack/Slash, the cover and art are fantastically gory and sexy. The story was also really good but might probably isn't the best for any one to join in on or new comers to the universe such as myself. While I enjoyed it and just wanted to known more about these characters, I could see someone having the reverse reaction and totally losing interest in the book. Hopefully going to track down some early volumes of this book soon.

The almost but not quite pick of the week is The Unwritten #18. Just when we have figured out most of what is going on in The Unwritten, Mike Carey and Peter Gross open up a whole new and delightful can of worms. Spectacular art and story as always with yet another engrossing cover. Can't recommend this book enough, so if your still not checking it out rectify that immediately.

Lastly, just barely beating out The Unwritten, is Casanova #4 from Icon. What more can I say about this book that haven't in previous posts? Amazing art from Gabriel Ba, a Silly/Sci-Fi/Spy story by Matt Fraction, and even special features via an interview at the end of every issue. While I know not everyone will like this book, I am enjoying the hell out of it!

Well that is it for this week, and since this is going up late I can already tell you there are some great comics for next week. See you back here in six days (going to try to get this on a normal schedule of every Wednesday.)