Pick Of My Pile for the week of 6-24.

Hello Chums,

Being sort of a light week in comic buying and reading, I was able to get in some extra reading. I read the Omega The Unknown 10 issue limited series (nicely drawn), The Joker graphic novel (drawn but with nice painted pieces mixed in) and Powers trades vols. 8 & 9 (great as always). Now to my picks.

Marvel:

New Avengers #54. Thankfully the last issue of this story arc. Not my last issue. I guess.

Avengers / Invaders #12 (of 12). Quite a let down of an ending. Did I miss something? Maybe I need to read all 12 issues together for this to be good (or memorable even). Naa. Last issue. Alriiiiiight!

The Immortal Iron Fist #27. The last issue of this series. It was never as good as it was after Brubaker and Fraction left. Last issue! However, I will check out Immortal Weapons by Jason Aaron when that hits.

Astonishing X-Men #30. With the circled X emblem at the bottom of the last page, this may be the last issue. Let's hope! I've said it before and I'll say it again, this title should have been put on hold until Whedon and Cassaday wanted to come back to it. Since they left, this title hasn't been very astonishing.

Uncanny X-Men #512. Even though I haven't cared much for this story line, this 38 page issue wrapped it up nicely. Way to go Fraction. I'm back on board. But wait. Unless I'm wrong this book goes right into Dark X-Men. I'm not sure if I'll be picking that up.

DC/ Vertigo:

The Literals #3. The Great Fables Crossover p. 9 (of 9). I'll read all of this when I get caught up on my Fables (trade) reading.

IDW:

Star Trek: Mission's End #4 (of 5). Continuing one of the weirdest Trek tales I've either read or watched.

Desperado:

The Actress and The Bishop #1. Story and art by Brian Bolland. First of all, a Desperado comic? Bought by me? This has got to be first Desperado comic for The Pick Of My Pile. And what a comic it is. First of all, the art is veery nice. No color but some grey tones. Very nice. But the three stories (worded to rhyme), are great, especially The Thing In The Shed.

The Pick Of My Pile this week came down to two books: Uncanny X-Men and The Actress and The Bishop. Both were good but the nod goes to The Actress and The Bishop. It was an unexpectedly fun book that I highly recommend.

K.R.C.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 6-17.

Hello Chums,

This week along with my regular comic reading I was able to get in one trade. I read the very enjoyable "Our Cancer Year" by Joyce Brabner and Harvey Pekar. As the name clearly states, cancer was the main theme of this book. Harvey had it and beat it. But it took about all he and his wife Joyce could take to survive it. My copy of this book had two complete sections that were printed out of order.

On with my purchases.

Marvel:

Stephen King: The Dark Tower: Fall Of Gilead #2 (of 6). This art by Richard Isanove looks so much like Jae Lee. I didn't even realize Lee is off the book. I guess Isanove doesn't do backgrounds either.

Punisher #6. I know I've been high one this book since the first issue, but this issue was just so so. Very annoyingly this book had multiple pages out of order and printed back to back in some cases.

Incognito (Icon) #4. This story is really taking some odd turns. The art and coloring remain fantastic! Check it out.

Captain America #600. What can I say about this monster sized book? At $4.99 and 104 pages (only 6 pages of adds!), it's a meaty read. It features a very nice Alex Ross cover and multiple creators working on the interior including: Ed Brubaker, Ross, Paul Dini, Roger Stern, Howard Chaykin and Stan Lee to name a few. Just like the Thor 6ooth issue, it features a cover gallery with all the covers including the golden age covers. A true must have issue.

Mighty Avengers #26. I'm still reading this for now. I now have to find out what Pym (The Wasp) is doing with Jocasta. I always liked her.

Ghost Rider #s 33, 34 and 35. I picked all of these up together when I figured out Tony Moore was the artist. Decent story with good Moore art and Suydam covers.

DC (Vertigo):

Jack of Fables #35. The Great Fables Crossover p. 8 (of 9). I'll read the entire crossover in one setting.

Image:

Elephantmen #20. Hip Flask and Vanity Case on a "date".

IDW:

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan #2 (of 3). Continuing the comic adaption of probably the best Star Trek movie. At least until the new one hit.

The Pick of My Pile this week was very easy. Captain America #600 hit on all cylinders and was easily the best comic of the week.

K.R.C.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 6-10.

Hello Chums,


I'm starting to get caught up on my reading. Check out my pile from last week.



Marvel:


Uncanny X-Men #511. This was not the return of Phoenix that I wanted, but we did get the return of Betsy Braddock - Psylocke.



Wolverine #74. The conclusion to the two Wolverine stories which are fill-ins until Dark Wolverine starts. It's officially time to drop Wolverine.



Fantastic Four #567. This has been a really nice run for Millar and Hitch. This issue features Doctor Doom as a hero until he wake up to "reality". A great dream sequence which ended waaaayyyy too quick. Too Bad!



Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #1 (of 3). At $3.99 and 48 pages (with no adds!) this book is a good deal. The first half of the book is a new story with Beta Ray Bill going after Galactus. The second half of the book is a reprint of Thor #337 the origin of Beta Ray Bill by Walter Simonson.



Thor: Tales of Asgard #2 (of 6). A very nice second issue written by Stan (The Man) Lee and drawn by Jack (The King) Kirby. What makes these Thor back up stories shine is the nice re-coloring by Matt Milla.



DC:



The Flash Rebirth #3. I don't know a lot about The Flash's back story, but this limited series has been good so far.



Fables #85. The Great Fables crossover p.7 (of 9). I'm going wait to read all this in one setting.



IDW:


Angel: Blood & Trenches #4 (of 4). This last issue of this limited series kind of finished a bit weakly, but the last panel with a certain young dictator was cool. Great penciled art. We should see more of this.



Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan #1. A very nicely drawn first issue that follows the movie very closely. Good stuff. I've noticed that none of these IDW Star Trek books are ever on my death watch. Yeah they're limited series', but the quality is always good.


ONI:


Resurrection #1. The first issue of vol.2 is off and running.... I'm not sure I like the new art that much or the fact that it is now in color. I really liked the first volumes art and gray tones.


Dark Horse:


B.P.R.D.: The War on Frogs #3. A stand alone Liz story from July 2006.



Archaia:



Mouse Guard: Winter: 1152 #6 (of 6). The conclusion of this nice limited series.





The Pick Of My Pile this week is Fantastic Four #567. This Doctor Doom story line has been very good. It doesn't hurt that the art is okay either.





K.R.C.





D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 6-3.

Hello Chums,

I'm continuing to get caught up on my reading since I'm back from vacation. Check out this week's purchases.

Marvel:

Agents of Atlas #6. Issue #5 just came out two weeks ago. Should I be happy it's on time or mad I bought another issue of this - this month? Great art though.

The Mighty Avengers #25. Now officially on my death watch. I should do a post featuring the books I drop.

New Avengers - The Reunion #4 (of 4). Not quite the ending I expected with the Hawkeye/Ronin and Mockingbird story, but I can live with it.

Punisher - Naked Kill (one-shot). Nicely drawn story of the Punisher bringing down a porn/snuff flick ring.

Ultimatum #4 (of 5). End this already. Nuff said.

Universal War One - The Patriarch #3 (of 3) (Soliel). Quite possibly my favorite limited series (in some time anyway). I can't say enough about this series. Story-awesome. Art-awesome. Coloring-awesome. I wish they would collect the whole thing into one massive hardcover with a lot of extras.

New Mutants #2. Nice second issue. This story is starting to move along well now. Off my death watch for now.

DC:

The Warlord #3. This book continues to be strong. I hope it continues to move along with Grell writing and doing covers for quite a long time.

Batman and Robin (Batman Reborn) #1. Morrison story-good. Quitely art-great. Another big winner from this team.

What The? Two (great) DC books in the same week? Unheard of.

Image:

Jersey Gods #5. Death of the Jersey Gods. I gave it an arc, but I'm done.

IDW:

Star Trek - Crew #4. John Byrne continues his early years Trek tales-good stuff!

Wildstorm:

Astro City - The Dark Age - Book 3 #2. Okay, I know. The last issue I wasn't really on board with, but with this issue I'm back on board with Charles and Royal Williams. I just hope the next six issues (of their story) come out in a timely fashion. And then how about some more super hero stories? That is what made this book so great in the first place.

The Pick Of My Pile this week is: What? A DC book? Unbelievable that it's not The Warlord. But it is Batman and Robin (Batman Reborn) #1. From the awesome cover image on - this book is great! Check out the art - great. But check out the story also. New Batman and new Robin also. Very cool.

K.R.C.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 5-28.

Hello Chums,



I've been reading a crap load of comics since my return from my vacation. Let's get right to it.



Marvel:



Avengers / Invaders #11. Soon this series will wrap up with issue #12. I'm not going to miss it, but it has been an alright read. The Alex Ross covers didn't hurt either.



Uncanny X-Men #510. I have not been on board with this title since Brubaker left, but this issue was very good in an old school X-Men sort of way. PS: It looks like Phoenix is coming back next issue. We'll see. This is another book that will be dropped when Fraction leaves.



The Immortal Iron Fist #26. The book is on my death watch.



The New Avengers #54. I absolutely hate the comic book sorcery/occult stories set in the main stream world. They just turn me off. This story line involving Dr. Strange is just about enough to make me drop this book.



The Stand - American Nightmares #3 (of 5). Another winner of an issue with Larry Underwood and Rita Blakemoor leaving the Big Apple through the Lincoln Tunnel. A very scary 1.5 miles in the dark.



Ultimate Wolverine VS. Hulk #6 (of 6). What happened to this Limited series? Lost boss Damon Lindelof started out with a bang with the first two issues. He then took 3+ years off before giving us this very weak story. Did someone else ghost write these last four issues? Total Suckatude!



Wolverine #72. The continuation of Old Man Logan. Okay, so I'm (of course) not real happy with the waits on this story arc (the fact that issue #73 arrived before #72 is ridiculous), however this issue is by far the best yet. This story is to be concluded in Wolverine Old Man Logan Giant-Sized. I can't wait.



Spider-Man and The Human Torch in Bahia de los Muertos! (oneshot). Okay, so this story has been out for a while now - March? However my copy was in Spanish. When I was in Syracuse, New York I went to Cloud City Comics. There I found an English language copy. Why the hoopla to own this book in Spanish or even English? Because it's written by one of my favorite creators Tom Beland. This is another very nice story which takes place in Puerto Rico much like his previous story featuring Ben Grimm and his creator owned title True Story Swear To God. Check them out.



Image:



Back To Brooklyn #5 (of 5). The final twisted ending!



Dark Horse:



The Amazon 1-3. This limited series, drawn by one of my favorites Tim Sale, is about one man's fight to save the Amazon rain forest. Originally published in '89 by Comico. Now it's back from Dark Horse comics re-colored by Matt Hollingsworth.



Vertigo:



Fables - The Literals #2. Continuing The Great Fables crossover.

The Pick Of My Pile this week was a very challenging pick. With strong contenders from The Stand, Spider-man and The Human Torch and The Amazon, the pick wasn't easy. But my pick is Wolverine #72. This Old Man Logan issue was fantastic. Check out the art- it's great. And finally something happened. Check out the Red Skull's trophy room. Yes this idea was already used in The Hulk Future Imperfect but it is still cool anyway.

K.R.C.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 5-20.

Hey Chums,



I'm now back from vacation (New York and Niagara Falls Canada) and I'm really behind on my comic reading. So here is a pick from a few weeks ago.



Marvel:



Captain America #50. The many Birthday's of Bucky Barnes.



Fantastic Four #566. This nice run from Millar and Hitch continues.



Agents of Atlas #5. I'm really planning on dropping this book. So why haven't I did it yet?



Punisher #5. I'm really liking this new Punisher title. It will not be dropped.



IDW:



Star Trek - Alien Spotlight: Romulans. A slow moving story with a nice (Romulan) ending.






Vertigo:



Jack Of Fables #34. Part 5 of The Great Fables Crossover.



The Pick Of My Pile this week is Punisher #5. This is a good title, however Frank backed his way into the #1 spot because of all the weak competition.



K.R.C.



D.L.