The Top 30 Comic Books For October 21

Marvel has a bunch of new #1s this week, and there’s plenty of great stuff from indie publishers, as well. But only one book can take the No. 1 spot this week, and that one is…

1) Ivar, Timewalker #10

Fred Van Lente and Pere Perez are back to their time-hopping shenanigans, this time bringing in alternate universes. Which in this case means ancient Rome, except everybody’s a dinosaur, something Van Lente thinks out in detail and Perez gives a bizarrely grounded feel to. And yes, it is every bit as amazing as it sounds. Buy it.

2) Karnak #1

Warren Ellis takes on the second banana to Black Bolt and makes him… well, a complete dick, really. But that’s the clever riff, here: Karnak sees the flaws in all things, not just physical objects, but philosophies, ideals, organizations. Gerardo Zaffino’s art is pretty bleak, accordingly, but that makes for a great reinvention of a minor character.

3) Martian Manhunter #5

Martian Manhunter has, it turns out, divided aspects of his personality across several, maybe even dozens, of Martian infiltrators. The problem with that is, uh, Martian Manhunter wasn’t exactly perfect, as this book cleverly exploits. Turning this book into a conspiracy/alien invasion thriller and a total mindscrew to boot is an undeniable weird turn, but one you have to read.

4) Astro City #28

Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson deliver a ode to the crappy cartoons we all grew up with. Although the plot takes a turn you’ll guess, what makes it work is that we learn so much more about the past of the Wolf Spider, and why exactly he has so much affection for a terrible superhero cartoon. It’s an oddly heartwarming book with a gentle lesson whispered about valuing what really matters.

5) The Spirit #4

Matt Wagner and Dan Schkade took an issue or two to get into the swing of things, but at this point, they’re firing on all cylinders, adhering to the spirit of Will Eisner’s classic while putting their own spin on things, especially with this cleverly structured issue. Highly, highly worth reading, both for noir fans and those who love the classics.

6) Darth Vader #11

The dangerous cat-and-mouse game Vader is playing with his supposed ally, investigating a heist Vader himself pulled off, takes some shocking turns in this issue. As it’s gone on, this book has cleverly shifted into a complicated noir as Vader tries to cover his own actions and his own Empire tries to find him. A superb read, even if you’re not a Star Wars fan.

7) Secret Six #7

Black Alice is destroying the world’s magic, and thus, the DC universe’s magic users send a squad to take her to limbo. Her team, however, is having none of it. Once again, Gail Simone and Dale Eaglesham deliver a hootingly funny dark comedy about broken people trying to fix each other — Catman attempting to teach his fellow supervillains basketball is a particular highlight. As is Felix Faust, which is weird to write, but Simone has a facility for the guy, and Eaglesham seems to like whaling on him. Hey, he deserves it. Screw that guy.

8) Giant Days #7

John Allison and Lissa Treiman continue their hilarious college-set romantic comedy. As Susan, Esther, and Daisy all struggle through college, it’s relatable… especially Esther’s dawning realization that screwing around at school for seven issues may have just bitten her hard. Her attempts to find religion, or at least enough notes to cover her ass on exams, are pretty hilarious, but this book finds time to build up all three as characters. Highly recommended.

9) Clean Room #1

Nobody is quite the same after a near-death experience. Chloe, a journalist who attempts suicide, knows that better than anybody. But the self-help cult she’s up against might have more to it than she realizes in Gail Simone’s story. Jon Davis-Hunt can do gooey monsters like nobody’s business, but it’s really the facial expressions he draws that sell this book.

10) S.H.I.E.L.D. #11

Mark Waid and Howard Chaykin go waaaaaay back, to, in fact, one of Chaykin’s creations, the ’30s adventurer Dominic Fortune, which is a charming touch for old-school Marvel nerds. The story itself, though, is pretty funny even if you’re new to comics, as Phil Coulson and Fortune save a grand old riverboat from HYDRA. A delightful little one shot, well worth a read.

11) Big Trouble in Little China #17

Fred Van Lente is given the perfect artist for this book, Dan McDaid, and promptly uses his fantastic mind to draw all sorts of ghosts and goblins. That they happen to be attending a magic convention is just a happy bit of satire, one that fits surprisingly well with the movie this book is based on.

12) The Astonishing Ant-Man #1

Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas start a new arc with Scott Lang, and not much has changed. It’s still a fun read, albeit the satire of the tech industry, where minor villain the Power Broker has created an app for supervillains to hire mooks to try and kill their foes, is a bit broad. Still, a fun little book and well worth picking up for new readers.

13) Titans Hunt #1

In the current continuity, the Teen Titans from the ’70s and ’80s never existed. Except, well, the rules have been thrown out the window, again, and the Titans may finally remember being together. What Dan Abnett’s great little paranoid thriller leaves open is whether that’s a good thing. Paulo Siqueira and Geraldo Borges don’t quite fit the tone of Abnett’s script; paired with Hi-Fi, it’s a straightforward hero book in the art, but it’s a great read that I want more out of.

14) Rai #11

Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain’s cyberpunk book continues to be a fascinating riff on Valiant’s superhero universe. Rai finds new friends and new enemies on an Earth crushed under the weight of the space station of New Japan. This book feels a bit overlooked among the supeheroics, but give it a shot: It’s genuinely creative.

15) Bizarro #5

Heath Corson and Gustavo Duarte have really delivered on this book, with the last issue being a bittersweet little lingering on the friends you put up with. This issue continues the theme, with Duarte especially being playful even for this book; it’s a Rain Man tribute right down to a hilarious whole-page sequence I won’t ruin here. A delightful read and a solid all-ages book.

16) Shutter #16

Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca continue their weird, but affectionate, parody of Tom Swift novels and cracking adventure yarns, mostly by having reality ensue when, say, you crash into dimension of funny animals. Del Duca’s art helps the weirdness click; this book could seem like a mishmash but she ties it all together and gives it an aesthetic.

17) Gotham Academy #11

What I’m enjoying most about this book is how playful Becky Cloonan and Brendan Fletcher are. It sits at the intersection of three different genres: Gothic, teen romance, and superhero books, and manages to blend them skillfully, something the art team led by Karl Kerschl reinforces. There’s a gorgeous splash panel of Gotham City that opens the book that really sets the tone, as Olive tries to discover her family history. It’s a great all-ages book, sure, but it’s also something unique to comics in general.

18) The Paybacks #2

Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw explain how superheroes get those wonderful toys: They buy them with loans, given out by a shadowy figure. And when they inevitably default, the Paybacks are sent to collect. Shaw packs each panel with comics gags, and Cates and Rahal are often utterly hilarious, even when they’ve got a homicidal superman running around. It’s a comedy book solely for comics nerds, but if you’re a comics nerd, it’s a damn funny one.

19) The Shield #1

Adam Christopher, Chuck Wendig and Drew Johnson revive Archie’s patriotic superhero with an odd twist; our heroine is reincarnated every time America goes into a war… and the war in question is going to be on American shores. It doesn’t have a lot of time to limn its concept, but Johnson’s detailed art and muted color palette do the book a lot of favors. A strong start and I’ll be curious to see where it goes next.

20) Book of Death: X-O Manowar #1

The death of Aric is not the death of X-O Manowar, it turns out, but this one-shot goes to some surprising places with the end of its hero. An interesting side note in a comic currently delivering a smart take on the alien invasion story.

21) Voltron: From The Ashes #2

Voltron hasn’t been needed in 200 years… so guess what happens, in Cullen Bunn and Blacky Shepard’s book? Honestly, while the book is fun, albeit Shepard’s art can be rough around the edges from page to page, it really needs to up the pacing; we know what’s going to happen, so let’s get on with the show. Still, a fun read and a smart idea.

22) Lumberjanes #19

If I’m being honest, Boom!’s massive hit book is a little twee for my tastes; the current arc is about reuniting a merwomyn band, for example. But eh, I’m not the core audience here, and I can still appreciate Shannon Waters and Kat Leyh refusing to talk down to their audience and Carolyn Nowak’s fun, breezy art. Great work, as to be expected from this book.

23) Back to the Future #1

Bob Gale returns to his beloved franchise to fill in some gaps, as it were; this book explains how Doc met Marty and some of Doc Brown’s scientific past. It’s an interesting start, but the anthology nature of the book makes it feel a bit unfocused, and the second story has decidedly superior art, which doesn’t help matters. Still a lot of fun, and worth a read.

24) Wolf #4

Ales Kot’s story of a paranormal detective and the girl who may destroy the world in his charge gets a little too chatty for its own good this go-round; we read way more than we see, even if some of what we read is riveting. Still worth reading, but a lesser issue.

25) The Steam Man #1

This is a comic book about a giant steam-powered robot hunting a vampire in the wake of aliens invading in 1895, so no matter how gory or grim or profane Mark Alan Miller gets, or how detailed and messy Piotr Kowalski’s excellent art is, it’s still going to feel twee. Hey, I’ll take it over yet another generic steampunk book; at least this one has a plot beyond “THERE ARE BLIMPS!”

26) The Midnight Society: The Black Lake #4

I’m not really sure where Drew Edward Johnson’s story of the paranormal fits in with Dark Horse’s overall line, but it’s a fun, solid, and well-drawn adventure story, an updated pulp ideal for fans of the genre.

27) Doomed #5

This book turns into a superheroic comedy of errors this go-round, something you wouldn’t expect from Scott Lobdell’s other work for DC. Overall this goofy book has been a pleasure, and it’s a shame Lobdell and Javier Fernandez, with his angular yet breezy style, have to wrap it up. Maybe not a classic but I suspect a book that will have a warm spot in many DC fans’ hearts for a while.

28) Weirdworld #5

Every cheesy ’70s barbarian/mystical/horror book Marvel owns slams into each other in a book that might as well be called “Mike Del Mundo Is A National Treasure.” But Jason Aaron does work a lot of character into these pages, and that’s all to the good.

29) The Beauty #3

What a disappointment this book has turned out to be. Starting from a clever place, with an STD that makes you young and beautiful, it’s devolved into a bog-standard conspiracy thriller. It may still salvage itself, but it needs more confidence in its ideas and to follow them to less conventional places.

30) Cognetic #1

Much like Memetic before it, James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan have style to spare, but not much use to put it to. Donovan really unloads some neat layouts, including one splash in particular that’s breathtaking, but nobody’s interesting in telling us exactly what’s going on, beyond a malevolent hive mind overtaking humanity. Which, again, is an interesting idea, but the hints that there’s more to it come off less as engaging and more like they’re not sure what that something actually is. Still, a clever read and worth picking up.

This Week’s Other Comics

1872 #4: Cowboys and superheroes go well together.
Justice League #45: Or, “S*** Gets Real” as the entire Justice League gets turned into New Gods. Really only for DC nerds, though.
Batman & Robin Eternal #3: This weekly book is really Robins Eternal, but that’s OK, especially since the plot is actually pretty good.
Godzilla In Hell #4: All monster fights, all the time in this largely silent book. Excellent for G-fans.
The Amazing Spider-Man #2: Parker as Tony Stark is somehow less engaging than it should be, but still fun.
The Invincible Iron Man #2: Tony has terrible taste in women, yes, but did that need to be a theme of this book?
Teen Titans #12: A pretty good dramatic turn can’t keep this book from feeling a bit dull and talky.
Green Lantern: Lost Army #5: A prison breakout is always fun but this book really needed more.
Uncanny Inhumans #1: A strong argument that the only compelling Inhumans are either not in the royal family or are Lockjaw. Lockjaw needs a book.
Doctor Fate #5: The ideas are there, but the execution doesn’t quite stick the landing in this oddball book.
Star Wars: Shattered Empire #4: Or “Hey, non-nerds, buy this so we can make even more money off this movie.” It’s a decent book, but hardly remarkable in light of other Star Wars books Marvel puts out.
The Fade Out #10: Not that I’m complaining about Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips writing and drawing a noir, but they’ve done so many twists on the idea already a straight take seems redundant at best. A great read, but they’ve done better stuff.
Black Canary #5: Five issues and the ultimate setup is a villain just like Black Canary? Really? Honestly, the battle of the bands setup was more interesting than what this book pays it off with.
Tales Of Honor #3: You probably won’t have any idea what’s going on unless you’ve read the Honor Harrington books, but hey, if you like space opera, this is a fun read.
Reyn #9: This fantasy/space opera mashup took a while to deliver its core concept, but it’s a hoot now that it’s gotten there.
Wonder Woman #45: Meredith and David Finch do nothing with Wondy, which is a shame.
The Rook #1: This story of time travel, and paradoxes, is a little too willing to explain when it should show.
Power Cubed #2: Aaron LoPresti’s book is a ’90s throwback, with all the upsides and baggage that brings to the table.
Superman/Wonder Woman #22: Boy, they’re rushing through THIS breakup, huh?
Tokyo Ghost #2: I’m still not sure if this book is trying to be a deliberate throwback to early ’90s British comics, or if it’s, well, that cheesy and unsubtle.
Empty Zone #5: Pretty, as usual, but not much original to it, as usual.
Escape From New York #11: Snake’s motivations and desire change from panel to panel in a book that’s increasingly a shadow of the movie it pays tribute to.
The Tithe #6: Tom Clancy and Twitter arguments about religion don’t make for an engaging comic book.
Looking For Group #7: This webcomic really needs to be packaged better; out of its Internet context, it feels disjointed.
Dawn/Vampirella #5: Joseph Michael Linsner’s art is quite good, as to be expected, but the story is a bit… well, let’s say it’s in service to the art, and leave it at that.
Fistful Of Blood #1: Have you ever wonder what A Fistful of Dollars would be like if it starred Chesty Morgan, zombies, and was full of bad jokes slobbering all over its giant-boobed silent lead? THEN DO I EVER HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU.

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