Yep, we’re scaling it back a bit: It’s a light week! But there’s still plenty of good stuff this week and a few #1s worth reading. For example…
1) Art Ops #1
Art, as in the people it depicts and its subjects, is real, in Shaun Simon and Mike Allred’s new book, and it needs rescuing a lot. Cue the Art Ops… who have all just disappeared. So it’s up to the angry son of an agent and an operative called The Body to protect the Mona Lisa, who’s been working as a shopgirl in New York. Yeah, it’s weird, but this is exactly the kind of goofball stuff comics excel at, and it’s a witty mix of art theory and conspiracy theory. Plus, Allred’s art is gorgeous as always; highly recommended.
2) Arcadia #6
Alex Paknadel and Eric Scott Pfeiffer’s intense thriller, where most of humanity has been uploaded to essentially the Matrix to escape a deadly virus, with only a few thousand humans still in “The Meat”, takes another superb, hard twist here. Arcadia has been a superb book from issue one and just keeps getting better. Highly recommended.
3) Wild’s End: Enemy Within #2
Dan Abnett and I.N.J. Culbard deliver a lot of twists in their sequel to the superb Wild’s End. What stands out most is that this book could work just as a simple alien invasion story, but the talking animal aspect oddly gives it more of an edge. Fun and definitely worth reading.
4) Colder: Toss the Bones #2
Fair warning: Bad things happen to dogs (and dogs do very bad things) in this horror book from Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra, so if that bothers you, don’t read this. Or at least flip past those pages, because this is one of the best horror books on the stands.
5) Rumble #8
John Arcudi and James Harren’s mashup of urban grit and prog-rock-infused high fantasy delivers an awesome Halloween issue that’s both action packed and surprisingly touching as our human heroes just try to get two lost kids home. As always, it’s a unique and fun read, and not to be missed.
6) Gotham By Midnight #10
Hey, speaking of Juan Ferreyra, here’s the other book he’s drawing that will freak you out this week. Ray Fawkes is closing out this series with a bang, as we learn more about the Spectre and learn that Sister Justine, the one genuine innocent in Gotham who died in the previous arc, might not be entirely gone. This horror noir deserves a shot from everybody, so give it a read before its final issue.
7) Captain America: Sam Wilson #2
I wish Nick Spencer had led with this issue instead of the only-okay first issue. This book gives a lot more context to Sam and his conflict with Steve Rogers, and said conflict makes a lot more sense. Also all the right-wing belly-aching over Sam punching out rednecks… well, let’s say it was premature and leave it at that.
8) Grayson #13
Dick Grayson is hunting Agent Zero, a spy within a spy organization that he is also spying on while manipulating it for personal reasons to his own ends. Yeah, Tim Seeley doesn’t hold back when he writes a superspy book. Mikel Janin and Hugo Petrus are up to the challenge, though, and the result is an entertaining superspy drama.
9) The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1
Yup, this book is still adorable. Come for the adorable, stay for Ryan North mocking Marvel’s legal issues with Fox over movie rights and Squirrel Girl’s mom, and Erica Henderson’s cheerful art.
10) The Book of Death: Legends of the Geomancer #4
This barbarian action book comes to a rather abrupt conclusion. But Fred Van Lente enjoys writing the beginnings of the epic Anil-Padda sibling rivalry, and Jose Juan Ryp’s art is gorgeous even when it’s messy.
11) Fight Club 2 #6
Chuck Palahniuk and Cameron Stewart get a little… abstract here, in the ideas, but it’s a book that once again manages to spin out the original and its themes into a new story. Admittedly, perhaps a lesser one than the original, but still a great read.
12) Batgirl #45
Dick once again lives up to his name as he crashes a wedding Barbara is organizing to, well, it’s Dick and Babs, Captain No-Commitment and the woman he jerks around constantly… what do you think happens? Brendan Stewart and Cameron Fletcher do a pretty good job of capturing… whatever it is Babs and Dick have while Babs Tarr does her usually airy job on the art.
13) The Black Hood #6
Greg Hettinger has a problem; painkillers. So he’s getting help in a treatment facility across the country. Unfortunately… well, let’s say Greg may be in rehab, but the Black Hood isn’t. In truth Duane Swierczynski takes a backseat to master artist Howard Chaykin this issue, but Chaykin’s always a pleasure to read, and it’s great just to have the Black Hood back.
14) Chewbacca #2
A gorgeous but lackluster first issue is made up for here with a sprightly and funny second issue. Gerry Duggan gets into a groove here that matches Phil Noto’s gorgeous art; there’s one sequence in particular that explains Chewie’s claustrophobia without words that’s some great comics.
15) From Under Mountains #2
Clare Gibson and Marian Churchland’s fantasy comic is already getting a little too wrapped up in itself, and it’s only the second issue. Sloane Leong’s artwork nails the tone perfectly, but hopefully this book has a little more focus going forward.
16) Justice League: The Darkseid War – Batman
The Justice League has been, sometimes forcibly, been turned into New Gods. Batman is now Metron, and, of course, plugging an insanely driven detective into the literal seat of all knowledge will surely end well. Just how poorly it ends really does need to be seen for yourself, but suffice to say… poorly.
17) Angela: Queen of Hell #1
Angela tries to save her consort, Sera and… it doesn’t go well, as Orpheus myths tend not to. Honestly Marguerite Bennett doesn’t bring a lot that’s new to this book, and while the art from a team of Kim Jacinto, Israel Silva, and Stephanie Hans is quite good, Hans especially, it doesn’t really make up for Angela being a flat character.
18) Superman #45
Gene Luen Yang and Howard Porter get a little… well, I don’t want to ruin it too, but let’s just say it involves Superman and a clever twist on professional wrestling you really need to read for yourself. Some smart writing and Porter’s usual excellent art really make this a fun superhero book, and I hope they explore the clever idea they have in this issue in more detail.
19) Black Magick #1
Nicola Scott’s art work is absolutely stunning here, most ly pencil with color accents. Greg Rucka’s script doesn’t really do much, though; we meet Detective Black, a witch who’s also a cop, and we learn somebody wants to kill her. Hopefully Rucka’s got a little more to it than that, but at least Scott’s art makes this a lovely read.
20) Book of Death #4
Amid the fireworks, what stands out the most about this is Gilad and his young charge, terrified of what they’re about to face. Robert Venditti’s brief character moments give some nice texture to this fairly straightforward finale, and make it an engaging read.
21) Prez #5
It took me a while to warm to Mark Russell’s overly broad satire, even if Ben Caldwell and Mark Morales deliver clean, fun, well-rendered art. But it’s finally coming into focus with this issue, and that gives this look at a teen President the bite it really needs.
22) Batman and Robin Eternal #4
Really this series is all about the Robins, which actually helps it stand out. Dick, Jason, Tim and the gang are a lot more witty than Bats, as a rule, so this feels like a fun little Robin arc. Of course… there are 52 issues of this… so we’ll see how it holds up.
23) Deadpool vs. Thanos #4
The philosophizing coming out of Deadpool in the finale seems a bit… forced, but this comic book is pure mid-’90s, courtesy of Tim Seeley’s script and Elmo Bondoc’s script. If you’re nostalgic for the ’90s, or curious to see why Marvel fans seem to love it so much, this is a good tribute.
24) Island #4
As usual, an assortment of indie comics, all of which are worth reading, although the lead story with Farel Dalrymple is a particular standout. Costly, for comics, but you do get 120 pages.
25) The Spire #4
While I’m enjoying this book, I still feel Si Spurrier could push it a bit further to match Jeff Stokely’s art. Spurrier’s fantasy world divided between humans and the genetically engineered does have a lot of depth, but he’s not using it to its full potential. Still, I’m a sucker for a mystery, especially a mystery with royal intrigue, and this has plenty of both.
This Week’s Honorable Mentions
He-Man: The Eternity War #11: Dan Abnett and Pop Mhan deliver gorgeous, bizarre fantasy out of the cartoon.
Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1: BPRD with a monkey, basically. Amusing, but there’s better books of this ilk on the stands.
New Avengers #2: A fun but very conventional team book.
Power Up #4: Kate Leth and Matt Cummings’ story of random people given Sailor Moon powers is still pretty funny, but a little flat.
John Carter: Warlord of Mars #12: A bit of a rushed finale, and not breaking any new ground, but a fun read.