DC:
DC PICK OF THE WEEK:
Batman #5
Written by: Scott Snyder
Drawn by: Greg Capullo
-Snyder may have just written THE perfect Batman issue. I bought into all the hype about this one, and the hype was right; this is one of the best Batman issues ever written. Even for a single part of a larger arc this is just phenomenal. We start out with where we left off but 8 days later in the story. Batman is trying to keep himself together after drinking drugged water and trying to keep himself hiding in the dark. And he learns more about the Court than he ever wanted to know. That’s where the spoilers end. Snyder manages to write a script so compelling and dark that it outclasses his previous Bat run. He writes Bruce as a drugged-out, paranoid psychotic teetering on the edges of reality and hallucination. Bruce is truly at his weakest here, being afraid, aggressive, and shattered. Even though they barely appear here, it feels like the Court’s just mocking him throughout this issue, telling him he is worthless and I absolutely love it. I’m a big fan of villains taunting and mocking their enemies and having a completely legit reason to do so. The Court is winning and it rules. Snyder’s script wouldn’t be complete without Capullo’s art, it’s twisted, mangled essence pervading the script and giving it form. He draws gothic-meets-classical architecture, shadowy and silvery backgrounds, twisted, horrific psychedelic hallucinations, and a beaten and broken Bruce Wayne. There’s nothing that Capullo’s touch doesn’t make gold. His pencils still bring an Animated Series-cum-Dark Knight Returns feel but with a more psychedelic and suspenseful edge this time around. If Snyder and Capullo haven’t written the most goddamned perfect issue of Batman ever, than I don’t even want to know what is. 5/5
Minor:
Nightwing #5
Written by: Kyle Higgins
Drawn by: Eddy Barrows and Paulo Siqueria
-Nightwing picks up a little bit after last issue and tensions build between the circus of characters and Grayson. Grayson is using Nightwing as a means of protecting his circus and keeping a watchful eye on it and it works. His time as Batman is seeping into his Nightwing persona making him more suspicious than ever. It works too, as he does some investigation on a member of his circus who gets sucked into a skirmish with a rhyming demon. I honestly thought this was going to be a standalone issue, but it turns out its part of the Saiko arc and it’s pretty great to read that after having low expectations. Also, that last page reveal is sick. I wish the artist from last issue stuck on as I’m not a fan of Barrows but his work is solid if uneven, like his Nightwing is perfect but his demon looks sloppy and pasted on. 4/5
Red Hood and the Outlaws #5
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Drawn by: Kenneth Rocafort
-Red Hood was another awesome book this week to no surprise. I know people bashed this because of the 1st issue which portrayed Starfire in a bad light but Lobdell makes up for it by giving her some actual deep characterization here and why she’d rather not talk about her past. Even better is that Roy Harper A.K.A. Arsenal gets the best characterization here and the best moments as well. Sure Jason Todd puts up a good fight in that department, but this issue was always Roy’s time to shine. And shine he does. He takes down the monster form of Crux with almost no effort and he saves Kori and bonds with her as a teammate. He also pulls some pretty badass stunts showing just how effective his arrows are. This series has pretty much put Harper on a redemption path for me and has made him one of my favorite characters already. Of course the Rocafort art is solid but that was expected and his Crux vs. Arsenal fight is spectacularly drawn and well-detailed, showcasing the strengths both characters have going for them. This is definitely a series to follow as it just keeps getting better and better. 4.5/5
Marvel:
MARVEL PICK OF THE WEEK:
Superior #7
Written by: Mark Millar
Drawn by: Leinil Yu
-I’m one of the biggest Millar fans I’d say. I’ll buy any and all of his work, even if it gets poor reviews or has harsh political overtones. He always crafts enjoyable, high-concept stories that don’t need depth and complexity to be good. Superior is exactly this; a huge whiff of Superman, a big bowl of Captain Marvel, and a little sprinkling of Big for good measure. It’s a simple, unconvoluted story that doesn’t need over-the-top violence every page to be exciting; the story itself is enough. A boy with multiple sclerosis gets superpowers and decides to save the world with them. It’s an extremely simple but brilliant idea I wish I’d thought of before. Although there hasn’t been a whole lot of violence throughout the previous six issues, number seven gives us the cinematic thrill-ride fight scene of our lives. It’s enormous, gigantic and whatever other adjective can be used to describe huge. The fight is literally and figuratively huge, as Superior takes on a transforming demon monkey and the alien robot Abraxas. I won’t spoil what Ormon transforms into, but oh my god it’s freaking crazy. I almost squealed in school today in front of the whole class as I turned the page and saw what he became. Now that’s excitement on a whole other level for me. It usually takes something extremely good to get me gushing my heart out over how good something is, so this pretty much fits in with that category. We get a brilliant cinematic fight scene, courtesy of the brilliant Leinil Yu, whose pencils serve as the basis for the most epic fight scene of 2012 already. I think all of the artists deserve credit here. Leinil Yu for his solid foundation, Gerry Alanguilan for his inks breathing hyper-detailed work into the lines, Sunny Gho for providing scenic backdrops and loud splashes with his coloring, Clayton Cowles for placing the lettering in the right section, and Nicole Boose doing a tight editing job. Millar deserves credit as well for a grand yet simplistic script. It’s easy to forget how important the whole creative team really is but this book just reminded me so I went back and looked at every issue again to fully take it all in. Finally, I loved the smirking ending and the wonderful tributes to two oh-so wonderful people. Superior ends on the highest note it can hit. 5/5
Minor:
Avenging Spider-Man #3
Written by: Zeb Wells
Drawn by: Joe Madureira
-Avenging Spider-Man continues to be Marvel team up at its finest with a few flickers and faults in the otherwise solid art of Madureira. Wells writes great Spiderman dialogue and awesome team dialogue as well. Avenging is an action-packed not to be taken too seriously team up book. It rules basically. 3.5/5
Ultimate Spider-Man #6
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Chris Samnee
-We get to see a lot of cool things go down in USM but it was ultimately hard to read because Samnee is a terrible, terrible artist. I would’ve given this book a higher score if they stuck with Sara Pichelli instead of this guy who can’t even draw teenage body anatomy right. Bendis is spot on in his dialogue of course and Miles’ smart-cracks and jokes are quite funny. But damn the art is stupid. 2.5/5
Venom #12
Written by: Rick Remender
Drawn by: Lan Medina
-Still mourning the loss of Tony Moore 2-3 issues ago, I find that Lan Medina is a good, if not as detailed, replacement for Moore. Medina knows how to draw action scenes and detail when he wants to but most of the artwork here is pretty simplistic save for the Venom symbiote itself. Remender continues to build an excellent story with a compelling head-case of a lead character. 3.5/5
Image:
Chew #23
Written by: John Layman
Drawn by: Rob Guillory
-Chew continues to be awesome, hilarious (this time in a vulgar way), and unique. Guillory is an artist whose work is really a sight to behold. Guillory works around Layman’s script and manages to put clever, humorous references in his layouts and backgrounds. Layman of course continues to be a funny and unique writer with an immediately recognizable voice. Overall, it was a great book. 4.5/5
Prophet #21
Written by: Brandon Graham
Drawn by: Simon Roy
-This book is totally EXTRREEEMEMEMEMEME. Like, there’s hardcore action, weird alien sex and gratuitous amounts of blood! IT’S TOTALLY RADICAL DUDE! It even jumps the reader right into a new story from a book that hasn’t been seen in 10 years. The main character is all like, mysterious and badass and stuff. Graham is even a fantastic writer once you get past the fact that this book is a Liefield concept. Oh and EXTREEEEMEMEMEMEEEEMEEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME! 3.5/5