Backed Up Comics

I finally had a chance to read some books today. I trimmed a few books from my pull list, so each week is maybe 2 or 3 now. I didn't pick up last week's books so it's been a good 2 week gap in reading. Add to that company overtaking my house for the last week......I've had to change my routine.

I was happy to get a little quiet time though and check out a few that I had picked up. This week was:

Batman #7

Wonder Woman #7

Aquaman #7

Daredevil #10

I dropped All-Star Western for the time being because they were not making the Gotham/Batman connection I was hoping for.

As you can see from above, this week's Daredevil cover is probably one of the coolest covers ever. Seriously. It looks like an old engraving; monotone except for the dulled red of Daredevil's suit. If you look close you can see how the linework was done with a marker. EXTREMELY time consuming. I would love a huge print of it. DD#10 was another good issue. This series has been really good. The story is solid and the art has been retro good. Sometimes it comes off a little weak, for example in this issue, Matt's suit is more neon magenta than red. I love the Mole Man. He has to be one of my favorite villains in comics. Disgruntled, bullied, geek gone evil, followed by his underground minions the Moloids. This issue was good, but there were some quirks. The bright,

neon colors really didn't fit the gritty underground setting. Also, DD brings back a sack full of diamonds to compensate for the theft of a graveyard of bodies. The stones are set in each headstone as a tribute. Ummmm does anyone see a problem with that?

I was pretty sure Batman would be my pick this week. The Court of Owl story arc has been great, adding another dimension to Gotham that never existed before. This issue was a quick cool down though compared to the action filled story to this point. Bruce unveils some nifty detective work and sets some heads spinning by revealing that Dick Grayson, Nightwing, formerly Robin, was intended to become the Owls' next Talon. Best scene is when Dick throws a little tantrum and Bruce pimp slaps him, knocking his tooth out and revealing a hidden electrum implant. Good story, really a link to the new Night of the Owls event coming up.

Wonder Wom

an I've liked and disliked up to now. I love Cliff Chang's art. Its chunky, the colors are a little muted, and it's been a big attraction. The story though, has been a little hard to follow. The flow is sort of broken. Things happen that are hard to keep track of. In this issue, they visit Hephaeston, the weapon maker of the Amazons. He is telling a story about the fate of male Amazon babies, they cut to another scene, and then POOF, all of the sudden Hephaeston is tied up with Wonder Woman's lasso, no struggle. What happened? If this doesn't smooth out pretty soon, WW will be on the chopping block.

Finally, book of my week. Another return of a classic villain, great art, and a good start to a new story arc. The opening pages follow a chase through the jungle, a mysterious beautiful woman, and her dark pursuer. After a dramatic explosion, we learn that the bad guy is actually BLACK MANTA!!!! Back lit by roaring flames. Excellent. He steals an artifact from Atlantis and the stage is set for Aquaman and his shady new group of pals "The Others" to get it back. High paced action and the quality art. Aquaman has been good. It's slowly built up to this story about Atlantis and waited to introduce its supervillain. I'm excited for more.

So thats it. The Merman wins. If I get more quiet time this weekend, I'm gonna eat some tofu, drink a lot of water, sleep in a bed, watch a Kurosawa movie and maybe go to the pool.

Comic Pick of the Week

I'm a little slow on this, but better late than never, right? One reason that I'm late posting this is because it's taken me this long to actually pick my favorite. I don't buy TONS of books, but the ones I have on my list seem to all be really good.

So, this last week was:

1. Aquaman #5

2. American Vampire #23

3. All Star Western #5

4. * Batman & Robin #1

The rundown. All good books and great art. I love Scott Snyder and the new 50's story arc. I couldn't stand the Beast Cave story, only because of the art. I wasn't a fan of Jordi Benet's cartoony style. I know, probably sacrilege, but it just took away from the story. Now that Rafael Albuquerque is back, it's good again. I really like this book because it uses the idea that vampires are immortal. The story arcs jump from the old west, to WW2, to the 50's James Dean style. Lots of potential.

All Star Western is a book that I am really rooting for. Great art, kind of wood-blocky. Fits perfect with the old west theme. The setting of Gotham is what sold me on it, hoping for some ties to the Batman world. This story arc is called "Inside the Bat Cave". All right!! Finally some bat connections. Maybe this issue was just a tease though. Jonah and Amadeus Arkham are on the trail of the child kidnappers. They bumble the take-down though, and get tossed into the cavern whirlpool under Gotham. Down here they run into treacherous falls, cowardly partners, a lost Indian tribe, and finally BATS. I just hope there ends up being some kind of lead in to the future of Batman.

*Batman & Robin #1 are on here because I finally decided to pick it up. I've been hesitant because I've never been a fan of Robin, and the books seemed to be less serious than the stand alone batman books. BUT, this series has gotten great reviews, it looks great, and the story has tons of tension in it. I'm going to pick up the back issues and add it to my monthly list.

The winner? AQUAMAN #5. Why? I guess the deciding factor was on the way home Friday I picked up my daughter Molly. During our conversation I showed her the books and joked around with her about them. The book that created the most stir was Aquaman because, what is Aquaman going to do in a DESERT!? I was that interested myself to bring it up with her, and she actually had to think about it and showed a little interest. The art is beautiful and well thought out. The first four panels make you wonder. If you don't cheat, the first two look like Aquaman is swimming. Then by panel 3, you realize he is bracing for an impact because that blue surrounding him is not water, it's SKY! Classic THOOOM! as he hits the deck. The spread page above has kind of a "Stargate" feel to it too. There are a couple of other nods to sci-fi movies in the book too, particularly Star Wars. This book has been awesome so far. Just the right combination of superhero heroics and comedy. Every book still contains a little dig at the watery prince, which keeps the balance. So far, the story has moved fluidly (haha). Plenty of action and enough cliffhanger-ness every week to keep you excited for the next one.