WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week – Saga #5 – So, it wasn’t quite as awesome as the first four issues.  It was still pretty damn good.  I love the story that BKV is giving us and Fiona Staples’ art is just something else.  Thanks to her, I’m finding a half-woman, half-spider sexy as hell.  Is that weird?  Plus, this was the first issue of the series where I felt like the characters had advanced forward from where we found them in issue #1.  Runners up: The Unwritten #39 and Rachel Rising #9

Most anticipated this week: Again, a really crowded week!

1). American Vampire #29 – Last issue brought the whole AV story back – full-circle – the the initial 5-issue storyline that started it all.  Suddenly we’re back in Hollywood, except it’s the 50’s and people are afraid that Hollywood is harboring vampires in addition to communists.  The combo of high-quality storytelling and stellar art is really something.  When was the last series that had it’s first 28 issues all be this awesome?

1a). Everybody Loves Tank-Girl #1 – I’m not much of a Tank Girl fan, but I AM a Jim Mahfood fan.  He has this graffiti-inspired artistic style that is pretty unique in comics.  Almost every page he does has an electric quality to it.  Plus, he draws an incredibly sexy woman without resorting to huge chests and big hips (not that there’s anything wrong with a Sean Phillips-style woman either).

2). The Underwater Welder – Where the hell does Jeff Lemire find time for it all?  He’s writing/drawing Sweet Tooth, writing other stuff for DC, drawing a few pages for this Batman digital-first project and somewhere he still has time to produce a 224-page original graphic novel?  Dude is going to get kicked out of the comics union with a work ethic like that because he’s making folks look LAZY.  Anyway….the story says it’s about a Canadian deep-sea welder who is grappling with the fact that he is about to be a father.  How can this book fail to be awesome in a haunting sort of way?

3). Debris #1 – Riley Rossmo’s art is the draw for me.  I first became a huge fan of his on Cowboy Ninja Viking.  Someone still needs to explain to me why we can’t have more CNV?  Anyway, after CNV….Rossmo went and did Green Wake with Kurtis Wiebe and I really didn’t like Green Wake (and I didn’t like Wiebe’s Intrepids much either).  Still, my love for Rossmo is so strong that I’m going to give Wiebe’s tale of a post-apocalyptic heroine fighting giant monsters a chance.  Don’t screw it up Kurtis or we’ll demand that you stop hogging the Rossmo!  :)

4). The Manhattan Projects #5 – There’s just a magic to seeing Jonathan Hickman being uninhibited.  If you like his Fantastic Four….just know that all of his really cool (and slightly warped) ideas are probably going into The Manhattan Projects, so you’ll like this even more.  This series has been constant quality since it debuted and last issue was particularly fun.

5). The New Deadwardians #5 – It’s sad that this series has so little buzz because it is really, really good.  Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard have created a wonderful series with a fascinating central character and a very fresh look at the zombie apocalypse.  The art is so crisp and clean.  This issue promises our first glimpse of the zombie wasteland around a remarkably tidy 1910’s London.

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Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week: Saga #5

Most Anticipated:  Underwater Welder – It’s a new OGN written and drawn by Jeff Lemire.  Hurray!  I’ve never actually picked a graphic novel before, but this one deserves the nod.  Lemire can do absolutely no wrong these days and the pre-release buzz has been hugely positive for it thus far.  It also seems like a perfect blend between heartfelt slice of life and weirdly fantasticaly/mysterious.  Can’t wait to give it a shot.

American Vampire #29:  Skinner Sweet is back!  And he’s…teaming up with Pearl?  That’s an odd-couple powder keg that I can’t wait to read from one of the most consistent reads in comics.

Spaceman #8:  I’ve said time and again that Spaceman is less about the story than it is about the world that Azzarello and Risso have created.  The characters and plot are decent enough, but really, each issue is just a ticket to an urban dystopia that smacks of those awesome European sci-fi comics that you’re never able to get your hands on.  But hey, last month, even the plot started moving and became fairly exciting, only emphasizing this as a must-read book.

Manhattan Projects #5:  Wild insanity is the name of the game here.  It’s like if Grant Morrison decided to write about science and history for Heavy Metal magazine.  It’s simultaneously ridiculous and ambitious, alternately one of the smartest books on stands and one that’s gleefully over the top.  And that art is really something else.

Uncanny X-Force #28:  Last issue was a real punch to the gut and one that came out of left field.  Rick Remender left us with a major character death and I can’t wait to see where he picks up from that.

I try to limit myself to 5 picks every week, but this week is freakishly huge.  Any other week, and Justice League Dark #11, Winter Soldier #8, and Venom #21 would have easily made the cut.