WEDNESDAY COMICS - 12/22/10

This is the only Ultimate title that I still read regularly and the one that I haven't missed a single issue of since #7 came out.

Not quite as good as it once was, but Bendis still has a firm grasp on these characters (as he rightfully should, since he created the Ultimate version of all of them) and clearly has more stories to tell.

This is one monthly book I couldn't imagine dropping while he's still on it. And with Bagley coming back next year, I'm hoping it gets even better.

Grant Morrison writing Batman is just one of those things where everyone wins. He gets to do crazy things and the rest of us just get to be along for the ride. What he did with the first 15 issues of Batman and Robin got me reading DC Universe books again, and I was happy to do so. Not entirely sold on this new series of Bruce Wayne 's globetrotting adventures recruiting new Batmen for his new corporation, even if this issue had Catwoman fighting a giant octopus in the middle of a Japanese apartment building.

Probably give it another few issues, but right now I miss Morrison writing Damien and Dick Grayson.

Matt Fraction has been killing on Invincible Iron Man since his run started about three years ago, but I was a little bit let down by this arc. It was a 9-part epic that felt stretched a bit, like he milked a few issues.

Still, I'm interested in seeing what he's got in store for Pepper Potts (who I never thought I'd care about at all) and how he dovetails this book in with Thor and his big Fear Itself event next year.

Bendis has been slowly building another epic Ultimate story and this is the beginning of the final act of his trilogy. I'm still buying it because I want to see where it goes, but I don't find myself caring all that much about the outcome.

It's become one of those things I buy because I feel bad when I go to the comic shop and don't spend at least twenty bucks.

That's Mark Millar's Nemesis Issue 4. I couldn't find a proper cover and didn't want to scan it in.

All I can say about this is that I'm glad it's over. Millar's creator owned stuff has fooled me for the last time. I know they're all just glorified movie pitches (and kudos to him because it seems like it's working quite well), but they all keep leading into sequels that I just don't want to buy.

So yeah. If you want to read a book because you know there's going to be something so shocking (i.e. ridiculous) you won't quite believe it, this is probably the one you want to get.

WEDNESDAY COMICS - 12/15/10

It was a slow one this week, so I grabbed a trade, too. I'm in the middle of the tenth Walking Dead trade so I probably won't get around to the Northlanders book for a week or so. I'll let you know how it is, though. Don't worry.

Green Lantern #60

Northlanders: The Plague Widow

WEDNESDAY COMICS - 12/8/10

I love comics. It's no secret that I'm a giant nerd when it comes to that sort of thing—as my giant Batman leg tattoo showcases freely.

Wednesday is the day that all comics companies send out new books to the local shops. When I tell people that I buy comics every week, they look at me like I'm nuts, probably because they don't understand the way it works. Let me try to explain it to you as best I can.

Comics are essentially serialized storytelling and comparable to TV shows in a lot of ways. Only instead of getting a new episode every week, there is only one a month. New books come out every week, but not every book comes out every week. Each title is generally monthly (bi-monthly on occasions and bi-weekly on rare occasions), but since comic companies publish so many titles, they stagger the release dates. Iron Man may be released the first Wednesday of the month and Captain America on the third. So there you go. That's why I go to the comic shop each week.

My list is getting smaller and smaller as time goes on just because, as I've stated before, I love comics but I hate storing comics. Seriously.

But beyond that, I still buy at least a couple every week. From now on, I'm going to post what I buy and do a quick review of each one. Also, I just finished a "What I Learned About Comics in 2010" article that should be hitting City Weekly soon, so keep an eye out for that. But since those are few and far between, you can get a little bit of a weekly comics fix here too.

And you wanted that, didn't you?

Northlanders #35

I've always loved Brian Wood's work. His writing is great and his art is even better, in my opinion. Back when we were prepping We Are The Revolution, the Cherem record we released a few years ago, we tried to commission him to do the artwork. He agreed, but shortly after, his series DMZ took off and he became far too busy. We were bummed but understood. Still, it would have been awesome to have a Brian Wood designed Cherem record, right?
Anyway, his viking series Northlanders is always great. The only problem I have with it is the same problem I have with most of his ongoing, in that it always reads better in trades as a complete story, so I rarely pick up the single issues. This new story though, is only a two-parter and probably won't be collected for a bit, plus it's got Becky Cloonan on art, and her stuff just keeps getting better and better. The story is about an old man that finds a dead girl "buried" in the lake by his home and tries to discover what happened to her without anyone finding out. It was a great first issue, and I'm equal parts bummed and relieved that it's only two issues. I'm looking forward to next month.

New Avengers #7

I've only been reading Avengers related titles since Brian Michael Bendis took over the line a few years ago, so a lot of the history of the team is lost on me. That said, Bendis still does a pretty good job keeping the uninformed reader like myself up to speed. But I just don't know how much longer I'm going to care about this team.
We just spent six issues readdressing the mystical side of the Marvel Universe, and I don't think there is any aspect of any comic book universe that I care less about than the mystical realm. I struggled through all six issues and the only reason I picked up this one is because I forgot to take it off my hold. This issue was a little better, but I'm still weary of where this is headed. I'll give it a couple of more issues.

Wolverine: The Best There Is #1

I love Charlie Huston's novels and Juan Jose Ryp's art is great in the fact that it's so incredibly detailed that I'm amazed at how much he's able to pack in to a single panel. And even with both of those things going for a new book like this, it just reinforces how little I actually care about any member of the X-Men. I was so incredibly bored reading this issue that by the time I was done, I was sorry that I'd picked it up (I even debated about it at the shop, but went for it on the creative team alone). Huge let down.





Fables #100

There was a point that this would have been at the top of my reading list, but ever since The Great Fables Crossover last year, I've been lukewarm to everything that's happened. Hopefully this issue makes me fall in love with the book all over again. I'll get to it tonight.