Nailbiter by Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson has been a real surprise hit for me. Always leery about Image Matt's recommendations, we have a winner here.
Fifth Place:
Futures End #5
DC's five-years-in-the-future saga continues with... nothing too impressive. This issue focuses on Grifter, Firestorm and Mr. Terrific, the three characters I'm not so interested in. Give me some Tim Drake and Terry McGinnis. We DO get introduced to the future Constantine which makes for the most interesting plot in the book.
The most interesting characters of the issue are two new (I think they're new) females, and one of them gets dusted pretty quick. I don't know who they are, but their strong debut's could make them surprise favorites of the series.
Art is the least of the worries this book presents. We've brought the artist carousel back around to Jesus Merino and each issue has been solid in the art department. Merino, maybe with the help of inker Dan Green, has a little Mark Bagley in him, and not necessarily the good bits. But its definitely not a deal breaker.
Fourth Place:
Green Lantern #32
I really want to like this book. I really do. I approach each issue with the expectation for it to turn a corner and really hook me. As long as the books stay away from the limited light energy business, we have a chance.
This issue builds on momentum previously setup. Its a good story, and its well put together, but I think its the characters that are falling flat. None of the new characters, be it Nol-Anj, or some of the Khund leaders, or even the new Green Lanterns that Robert Venditti introduced are very interesting. The effort is being put in, but they're lacking any dimensionality.
The core of this story is good, but the overall execution, including Billy Tan's artwork, continues to leave me wanting more.
Third Place:
Aquaman and the Others #3
This issue takes a step back from the great work in the first two. While there's plenty of action, and the story moves pretty seamlessly, it was a dialog-heavy book that slowed down the overall pace.
The interesting twist is a Wonder Twin reference. The bad guys are Darya and Anton Solokov of Trezygstan. Each has transmutation powers and could be the DCnU's evil version of the Wonder Twins. They are tied together with Prince Goran of millennia ago who witnessed the sinking of Atlantis before getting revenge on King Atlan.
Lan Medina is a good super hero artist. He understands the medium and knows how a story starring a character like Aquaman should flow. Aside from Allen Martinez's inks which are a little uneven, this is a good looking book. This is what Green Lantern should look like.
Second Place:
The Wake #9
One more issue to go in this one. By the end of issue #9 here, Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy bring everything full circle to the beginning of the story. Seems like forever ago that issue #1 of this series was released.
Leeward, in the future, is still searching for a connection to Lee Archer, in the past. By issue's end, she gets one, but probably not the way any reader would expect. This story has been all over the place in terms of genre. We start with a claustrophobic horror story and end up in a straight up sci-fi adventure.
The ideas and imagination in this book have been its highlights. Between Snyder and Murphy, you just wonder where they pull all these crazy ideas from. No matter how crazy, they all fit like a perfect puzzle piece in this world they created.
First Place:
Nailbiter #2
Making its debut on the Pull-List is Nailbiter, written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Mike Henderson. Nailbiter follows an FBI interrogation specialist uncovering the mystery of his dead friend in Buckaroo, Oragon - home of the most serial killers in American history.
I really hated on this book when I was given a summary that wasn't as succinct as the one above. When I first heard about the book it sounded gimmicky. But after reading issues #1 and 2, I'm hooked. The two main characters, Finch (the FBI guy) and local sheriff Shannon Crane are well developed right from the start leaving lots of ways to dig deeper into who they are.
Henderson's art is perfect for this kind of book. It doesn't have that generic Avatar Press-quality art, and is just as good and moody as the best Vertigo comics has offered. a great start for a book I hope has a nice long run.
Panel(s) of the Week:
I wanted to highlight a bit of the imagination being used in The Wake, by showing an example of Jared K. Fletcher's lettering and how he's been using fish shapes to get across certain points.
-Gint
Green Lantern #32
I really want to like this book. I really do. I approach each issue with the expectation for it to turn a corner and really hook me. As long as the books stay away from the limited light energy business, we have a chance.
This issue builds on momentum previously setup. Its a good story, and its well put together, but I think its the characters that are falling flat. None of the new characters, be it Nol-Anj, or some of the Khund leaders, or even the new Green Lanterns that Robert Venditti introduced are very interesting. The effort is being put in, but they're lacking any dimensionality.
The core of this story is good, but the overall execution, including Billy Tan's artwork, continues to leave me wanting more.
Aquaman and the Others #3
This issue takes a step back from the great work in the first two. While there's plenty of action, and the story moves pretty seamlessly, it was a dialog-heavy book that slowed down the overall pace.
The interesting twist is a Wonder Twin reference. The bad guys are Darya and Anton Solokov of Trezygstan. Each has transmutation powers and could be the DCnU's evil version of the Wonder Twins. They are tied together with Prince Goran of millennia ago who witnessed the sinking of Atlantis before getting revenge on King Atlan.
Lan Medina is a good super hero artist. He understands the medium and knows how a story starring a character like Aquaman should flow. Aside from Allen Martinez's inks which are a little uneven, this is a good looking book. This is what Green Lantern should look like.
The Wake #9
One more issue to go in this one. By the end of issue #9 here, Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy bring everything full circle to the beginning of the story. Seems like forever ago that issue #1 of this series was released.
Leeward, in the future, is still searching for a connection to Lee Archer, in the past. By issue's end, she gets one, but probably not the way any reader would expect. This story has been all over the place in terms of genre. We start with a claustrophobic horror story and end up in a straight up sci-fi adventure.
The ideas and imagination in this book have been its highlights. Between Snyder and Murphy, you just wonder where they pull all these crazy ideas from. No matter how crazy, they all fit like a perfect puzzle piece in this world they created.
Nailbiter #2
Making its debut on the Pull-List is Nailbiter, written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Mike Henderson. Nailbiter follows an FBI interrogation specialist uncovering the mystery of his dead friend in Buckaroo, Oragon - home of the most serial killers in American history.
I really hated on this book when I was given a summary that wasn't as succinct as the one above. When I first heard about the book it sounded gimmicky. But after reading issues #1 and 2, I'm hooked. The two main characters, Finch (the FBI guy) and local sheriff Shannon Crane are well developed right from the start leaving lots of ways to dig deeper into who they are.
Henderson's art is perfect for this kind of book. It doesn't have that generic Avatar Press-quality art, and is just as good and moody as the best Vertigo comics has offered. a great start for a book I hope has a nice long run.
Panel(s) of the Week:
I wanted to highlight a bit of the imagination being used in The Wake, by showing an example of Jared K. Fletcher's lettering and how he's been using fish shapes to get across certain points.
-Gint
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