Coffin Hill is another big winner this week. World building is the theme and Caitlin Kittredge is doing it right.
Sixth Place:
Star Wars #19
Looks like I was premature in sending this title off into the twin sunset. According to the last page of this issue, #20 will be this series' finale... before Marvel kicks off their own Star Wars series of course.
What's disappointing is that this was a pretty good issue. Mainly because it focuses on Han, Luke, Leia and Chewbacca. The majority of the story up until this part had the core cast split apart and introduced a little too many characters that no one gives a shit about. You know what makes a Star Wars book work? Han, Luke and Leia. Together. This is a pretty small scale story about the core team going off to find an undercover Rebel agent. Easy peasy. And it allows the story to focus on the characters we care about.
All this might be too little too late for the series, which LOOKS to be wrapping up next issue. The final two may turn out being the best of all twenty.
Fifth Place:
Justice League United #3
If there's been a problem with this title so far is that its been TOO action packed. Since issue #0, its really been a quick-paced book having the impromptu team facing one thing after another through four issues. This first story, Justice League Canada, wraps next issue, so maybe we'll see some down time while our heroes recharge.
Writer Jeff Lemire and artist Mike McKone team-up to tell a couple really touching moments in this issue. Since the New 52 began, Lemire really brings back the old, true Martian Manhunter. He's able to be a leader of the team and also be the sensitive guy we know and love.
Lemire and McKone are tip-toeing around what I want the tone of this book to be. They're almost there but it seems just out of grasp so far. I'm enjoying it and hope it gets a chance to stay around a while.
Fourth Place:
Green Lantern Corps #33
Part Six of Uprising gives us the big twist. If you don't want to hear about it, don't read any further. Just when we think its all over, and the Durlans have been defeated, one more remains who has been undercover the entire time: Fatality.
Yep. John Stewart's love interest who he boinked among the stars has really been a Durlan this whole time, feeding Corps info to the bad guys. A twist that writer Van Jensen handled really well was the way John learns the REAL Fatality is still alive. The disappointment is that I wanted some earlier tip of the hat that Fatality was the real bad guy. Maybe I'm an idiot and just missed it. Her turn just seemed too out of nowhere.
Bernard Chang really hooks up the art in this book. He's perfect for drawing a Green Lantern title. And Jensen does an amazing job this issue utilizing all the tools of the GLs and someone with all the powers of Superman.
Third Place:
Futures End #10
I guess I'm burned by Countdown and Trinity, but every time I open up a Futures End, I expect to hate it. But so far I just keep liking it more and more.
Now not all of it. Lets not be silly. I'm over all the Grifter stuff. Why is he even in the DCU anyway? Oh yeah, he's DC co-publisher Jim Lee's creation. The CADMUS Island/Grifter plot isn't even that bad. Its just not as interesting as the other plot lines featured. So far Batman Beyond teaming up with some F-list villains to break into Terrifi-Tech has me most interested.
Aaron Lopresti on art this week. Shame he can't manage a weekly schedule all on his own.
Second Place:
Detective Comics #33
I wouldn't classify Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato's run on Detective as mind blowing just yet, but it IS awfully good. Its nice to just see a quiet, ground-level story about Batman being a detective and fighting normal crime.
Batman, and even Batman and Robin have been caught up in these massive arcs. Both books have been entertaining, but its nice to see this book keeping Batman at home. Just taking care of some business around Gotham City. A nice little addition to the run has been getting a closer look at Harvey Bullock and some of his history. In a couple issues, Manapul and Buccellato have given Bullock more depth than even The Animated Series did.
This is a really solid book from a really solid creative team.
First Place:
Coffin Hill #9
I'm really enjoying some non DC/Marvel books lately. Between Nailbiter from Image and Coffin Hill from Vertigo, those two books are scratching a particular itch. A horror itch if you will.
What I'm really enjoying about Coffin Hill isn't just the witch/ghost stories that Caitlin Kittredge and Inaki Miranda can tell about Coffin Hill and the creepy goings on there, but they use Eve Coffin as a really different kind of witch. One that has a day job (police officer), and doesn't like calling on her powers, but will if she has to.
They've set up a pretty cool murder mystery/detective story surrounding the greater horror themes. Kittredge seems to have a full plan for the mythology of this book, not just a one and done tale about Eve Coffin. She's building a world and I'm all in.
Panel of the Week:
Bernard Chang and Mike McKone have taking to using this one color trick in each of their books. This is from Chang's Green Lantern Corps this week.
-Gint
Justice League United #3
If there's been a problem with this title so far is that its been TOO action packed. Since issue #0, its really been a quick-paced book having the impromptu team facing one thing after another through four issues. This first story, Justice League Canada, wraps next issue, so maybe we'll see some down time while our heroes recharge.
Writer Jeff Lemire and artist Mike McKone team-up to tell a couple really touching moments in this issue. Since the New 52 began, Lemire really brings back the old, true Martian Manhunter. He's able to be a leader of the team and also be the sensitive guy we know and love.
Lemire and McKone are tip-toeing around what I want the tone of this book to be. They're almost there but it seems just out of grasp so far. I'm enjoying it and hope it gets a chance to stay around a while.
Green Lantern Corps #33
Part Six of Uprising gives us the big twist. If you don't want to hear about it, don't read any further. Just when we think its all over, and the Durlans have been defeated, one more remains who has been undercover the entire time: Fatality.
Yep. John Stewart's love interest who he boinked among the stars has really been a Durlan this whole time, feeding Corps info to the bad guys. A twist that writer Van Jensen handled really well was the way John learns the REAL Fatality is still alive. The disappointment is that I wanted some earlier tip of the hat that Fatality was the real bad guy. Maybe I'm an idiot and just missed it. Her turn just seemed too out of nowhere.
Bernard Chang really hooks up the art in this book. He's perfect for drawing a Green Lantern title. And Jensen does an amazing job this issue utilizing all the tools of the GLs and someone with all the powers of Superman.
Futures End #10
I guess I'm burned by Countdown and Trinity, but every time I open up a Futures End, I expect to hate it. But so far I just keep liking it more and more.
Now not all of it. Lets not be silly. I'm over all the Grifter stuff. Why is he even in the DCU anyway? Oh yeah, he's DC co-publisher Jim Lee's creation. The CADMUS Island/Grifter plot isn't even that bad. Its just not as interesting as the other plot lines featured. So far Batman Beyond teaming up with some F-list villains to break into Terrifi-Tech has me most interested.
Aaron Lopresti on art this week. Shame he can't manage a weekly schedule all on his own.
Detective Comics #33
I wouldn't classify Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato's run on Detective as mind blowing just yet, but it IS awfully good. Its nice to just see a quiet, ground-level story about Batman being a detective and fighting normal crime.
Batman, and even Batman and Robin have been caught up in these massive arcs. Both books have been entertaining, but its nice to see this book keeping Batman at home. Just taking care of some business around Gotham City. A nice little addition to the run has been getting a closer look at Harvey Bullock and some of his history. In a couple issues, Manapul and Buccellato have given Bullock more depth than even The Animated Series did.
This is a really solid book from a really solid creative team.
Coffin Hill #9
I'm really enjoying some non DC/Marvel books lately. Between Nailbiter from Image and Coffin Hill from Vertigo, those two books are scratching a particular itch. A horror itch if you will.
What I'm really enjoying about Coffin Hill isn't just the witch/ghost stories that Caitlin Kittredge and Inaki Miranda can tell about Coffin Hill and the creepy goings on there, but they use Eve Coffin as a really different kind of witch. One that has a day job (police officer), and doesn't like calling on her powers, but will if she has to.
They've set up a pretty cool murder mystery/detective story surrounding the greater horror themes. Kittredge seems to have a full plan for the mythology of this book, not just a one and done tale about Eve Coffin. She's building a world and I'm all in.
Panel of the Week:
Bernard Chang and Mike McKone have taking to using this one color trick in each of their books. This is from Chang's Green Lantern Corps this week.
-Gint
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