DC:
DC PICK OF THE WEEK:
Animal Man #3
Written by: Jeff Lemire
Drawn by: Travel Foreman
-Sorry boys but my pick of the week definitely has to go to Animal Man. The web of horror, mystery and super heroics Jeff Lemire is weaving into his story is definitely an attraction for me. He can work many separate genres and styles into his writing without it reading in a forced way. He also manages to work that ever so wonderful family into the book that I live his work for. Travel Foreman’s art is unique as well. He creates grotesque figures and weird, looking humans in a book that requires the art to be out of the ordinary. A commendable book. 4.5/5
MINOR:
Action Comics #3
Written by: Grant Morrison
Drawn by: Rags Morales
-Grant Morrison weaves his magic again by providing us with a deeper origin story on Superman with the first half of the book and advancing the plot with the second half. His Clark Kent is as wonderful as his Superman and needs to be shown more often. Morales art isn’t as good this time around but it gets the job done. 4/5
Batwing #3
Written by: Judd Winick
Drawn by: Ben Oliver
-Here we go, my next book dropped from the new DCU. It’s not that the issue was bad on a technical level it’s just that this type of plot has been done before in way better stories than this one. Still, the art and bits of dialogue are nice, and I hope the book sees a long future ahead of it. 3/5
Detective Comics #3
Written by: Tony Daniel
Drawn by: Ryan Winn
-Oh god the dialogue is so cliché in Detective I can’t help but laugh at a lot of it. It’s not as bad as the first two issues, but when it comes down to it, you could do a lot better than this. That being said, I will stick around for the first arc and see if I like what comes from there. 3/5
Justice League International #3
Written by: Dan Jurgens
Drawn by: Aaron Lopresti
-The plot advances on this one beautifully but one thing is missing that made the first two issues great: the characterization. We mostly get an action-packed book with okay artwork complemented by great inking and coloring. 3.5/5
Static Shock #3
Written by: Scoot McDaniel and John Rozum
Drawn by: Andy Owens
-Wooh, the Xombi writers strike again. Static shock is a likeable book with a classic cartoon behind him that makes this book lovable to me. The tech dialogue is toned down quite a bit making it more accessible for readers, and I dig where the plot is going. 4/5
Swamp Thing #3
Written by: Scott Snyder
Drawn by: Yanick Paquette
-Snyder writes a lot of expository dialogue but he does it beautifully and well-paced that it doesn’t seem to affect the book. The info dump is toned down by about 90% and the story gets on with the action. We see Alec using his plants power and we see the villain’s avatar with a connection to one of our heroes. The character building for this new guy is absolutely wonderful and I can’t wait to see his villain play out. 4.5/5
MARVEL:
Fear Itself: The Fearless #2
Written by: Cullen Bunn, Matt Fraction & Christopher Yost
Drawn by: Mark Bagley & Paul Pelletier
-Sorry, there will be no Marvel pick of the week as both of these books were fairly underwhelming. The art is good but I can’t see myself following a book where nothing happens
Villains for Hire #0.1
Written by: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Drawn by: Renato Arlem
-Another unremarkable issue with a largely unknown plot thread. Also, I hate this new numbering trend of Marvel’s with the .1’s and .2’s and such. Marvel, this is getting out of hand. Focus on writing better stories instead please.
VERTIGO:
OTHER PICK OF THE WEEK:
Sweet Tooth #27
Written by: Jeff Lemire
Drawn by: Matt Kindt
-This week is Jeff Lemire week I’m declaring it. If you’re not reading his work, shame on you. He’s one of the best writers out there today and he manages to craft compassionate, human tales full of emotion. He never writes a dull moment that puts you to sleep, and back-story is learned in this book for the main character. Matt Kindt’s guest artwork is chalky and different, but enjoyable. It has a child-like sensibility to it that you don’t get in most comics these days. 4/5
DYNAMITE:
Green Hornet #19
Written by: Phil Hester and Ande Parks
Drawn by: Igor Vitorino
-Green Hornet continues to be a fun indie book with cool stories and such. I do wish the character would get purchased by DC though so we could see some Hornet/Batman team ups. 3.5/5
BOOKS DROPPED THIS WEEK:
Batwing #3
Both of those Marvel books
I will also be dropping Catwoman not because it is bad by any means, but because I don’t see myself sticking to it long term. Now I’m down to 29 DC books.