Pick Of My Pile for the week of 11-18.

Hello Chums,



No trades read this week. On to my picks.



Marvel:



Punisher #11. After the events of Punisher-Dark Reign - The List (one-shot), this book has the Punisher being put back together (Frankenstein style) and hanging out with some monsters. Odd idea with great art by Tony Moore.



Spider-Woman #3. From the writing to the artwork to the coloring, this book is bad ass. I highly recommend it. Check it out.



Deadpool - Merc with a mouth #5. Okay, I wasn't going to sign on to pick up multiple issues of this book, but it has been a lot of fun. The Bong Dazo art doesn't hurt either.



Stephen King - The Stand - Soul Survivors #2 (of 5). We all know this story is great, but month after month Aguirre-Sacasa, Perkins and Martin continue to shine.



Powers Encyclopedia (Icon). The thick issue is a who's who of the Powers universe. This issue has a lot of helpful entries on characters I had forgotten and a few spoilers of future story lines.

Del Rey:

Stephen King / Peter Straub - The Talisman #1. As much as I liked the novel, this first issue is just so so. I will give it a chance though.

Dark Horse:

Dr. Horrible #1. A nice little story that sheds some light on how Dr. Horrible took the villains path when he was a kid.

Sugar Shock (one-shot). Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon's futuristic rock band. Funny bit with President Lincoln. Nice art.

Bongo:

The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #15. Bought for one reason only: Jeffrey Brown story - Bad Milhouse. Brown's Incredible Changesbots coloring really makes his story stand out over the other fare in this issue.

IDW:

Star Trek - The Next Generation - Ghosts #1. Although this first issue sets up a good story, the character likeness' by this artist is not the usual IDW fare.

DC:

The Flash - Rebirth #5 (of 6). This limited series has been pretty good so far. My only complaint is: why is it so late?

Avatar:

Supergod #1. This is probably my first Avatar book since Frank Miller's Robo Cop. Avatar's type of books just don't appeal to me. This book is no exception. This will be my first and last issue.

The Pick Of My Pile this week is The Stand - Soul Survivors. I'm liking this series so much I kind of wished I'd held out for the hard backs.

K.R.C.

D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 11-11.

Hello Chums,





I read three trades this week: Ex Machina vol. 1 & 2 (both good) and 100 Bullets vol. 1. Some people may hate the process (and possibly the end result) but I find Tony Harris' art on Ex Machina very appealing. Nice clean lines. The Risso art of 100 Bullets, on the other hand, is anything but a nice clean line. Although it takes some getting used to, the art does work with the story.



On to my pile.



Marvel:



Punisher Max #1. What can I say? If Garth Ennis can't write The Punisher, Jason Aaron is a great choice. Steve Dillon art too! Excellent!



Sky Doll - Doll Factory #1 (of 2). Very nice pencil pages of the Sky Doll mini-series.



Dark Horse:



Hellboy - The Wild Hunt #8 (of 8). The conclusion of the best Hellboy story in years.



B.P.R.D. 1947 #5 (of 5). The conclusion of a nice little story with art by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon.



IDW:



Jon Sable Free Lance - Ash of Eden #2. Not knowing anything about Jon Sable I'm going to hang in there for this arc. Hey it is written and drawn by one of my all time favorites - Mike Grell.



The Ghoul #1. I only picked this book up because it is drawn by another old favorite of mine - Bernie Wrightson. Although Wrightson's artwork is okay, it's definitely not up there with his illustration work. I'll hang in there for a little while.



Star Trek Romulans Schism #3. John Byrne is in over his head on this Star Trek arc. I couldn't tell from the last panel if this was the final issue or not. Probably not since it's issue #3, but who knows?



DDP:



The Zombies That Ate The World #6 (of 8). Okay, the artwork is great, but the stories are getting progressively worse. End this already.



ONI:



Resurrection #5. An okay book but I read too many okay books. It's officially back on my death watch.



DC:

Batman and Robin #6. Okay, Quitely is doing the covers but when is he back on the interiors? DC needs to get this fixed or it will be dropped!



Batman / Doc Savage Special #1 (one-shot). I've loved Doc Savage since Jr. High. So DC bringing him back to start a new world (First Wave) set in the 30's sounds like a can't miss. Throwing in Batman (a non-powered super hero) sounded okay too. But then DC had to go and ruin it by adding some old has-beens (Justice Inc., The Blackhawks) and a character that doesn't fit into current continuity (The Spirit). And why o' why are they placing Black Canary and some jungle girl in the mix? This looks like a disaster to me.



The Pick Of My Pile this week was very easy. With Punisher Max #1, Jason Aaron has set in motion a whole new story line that features The Kingpin! Cool! This is head and shoulders above all other books.



K.R.C.



D.L.

Pick Of My Pile for the week of 11-4.

Hello Chums,

I was able to read one trade this week. My selection was The Golden Age by James Robinson and Paul Smith. Without getting into a full-blown review of this book, I'll tell you that it's a DC Elseworld story set in the 40's. I'll also tell you that the story had some good parts but I felt it was kind of lacking compared to similar "Golden Age" stories.

On to my picks.

Week of 11-4:

Marvel:

Astonishing X-Men #32. The return of The Brood with very nice art by Phil Jimenez.

Immortal Weapons #4 (of 5). The very odd origin of Tiger's Beautiful Daughter.

Black Widow Deadly Origin #1. A nice opening issue, but what really shines is the flashback art by John Paul Leon.

Ultimate Avengers #3. Continuing with The Next Generation p.3. The Red Skull is Cap's son!?!

Captain America Reborn #4 (of 5). Can The Red Skull and Dr. Doom bring Cap back? Wait, why would they want too?

DC:

Red Tornado #3 (of 6). The Red Tornado and his siblings meet their creator.

The Warlord #8. The conclusion of the two part Mike Grell written and illustrated story. One word: Awesome.

Dark Horse:

Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder: In The Service of Angels #5 (of 5). The conclusion to this nice first arc. With this character's stories, Hellboy, B.P.R.D. (current), B.P.R.D. (1940's) and Lobster Johnson, Mike Mignola has created himself quite an empire of characters and potential stories.

Age Of Reptiles: The Journey #1 (of 4). I picked up Ricardo Delgado's first two Age Of Reptiles arcs when they were new probably 15 years ago(?). Where has this guy been? It looks like he has never left. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

ONI:

Stumptown #1. A new crime series by Greg Rucka! This is a nice fat (35 pages) opening issue. Good compelling start - check. Nice art - check (kind of reminds me of Sean Philips with Val Staples on color on Criminal). Nice overall package.

There was more than a few good books this week: Age Of Reptiles, The Warlord, Black Widow to name a few. However, the Pick Of My Pile this week is Stumptown by Greg Rucka. This book has the feeling a nice crime movie. I can't wait for the second issue.

K.R.C.

D.L.