This was a huge week for comics; we had to go through 54 comics to find the top thirty. But only one could be the best, and that one is…
1) Sex Criminals #13
This book takes a different tack with Alix, exploring how somebody who is asexual views the world. It’s oddly sweet, in its own way, but make no mistake; this is still Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky going full on bonkers, right down to warping any beloved memories of Carl Sagan you might have. Especially that, actually. Buy this book.
2) Harrow County #6
Emmy meets her twin sister Kammi… and Kammi, it turns out, is only similar when it comes to looks. Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook’s literary horror is a perfect book, full of clever art and smart storytelling. Highly recommended.
3) Jem and The Holograms #8
Kelly Thompson and Emma Vieceli dedicate this issue to the conflicts between the creative process, the need for any group to have leadership, and the day-to-day business of making money while making music. It’s compelling, but kid friendly at the same time: Random, I know, but once again this book is is a must-read.
4) The Twilight Children #1
Gilbert Hernandez and Darwyn Cooke is a hell of a splashy team-up, even for Vertigo, and they’re both strong authors. It also turns out that they play well together; Hernandez’s story focuses as much on the day-to-day drama of a small Mexican town, as you might expect, while simultaneously hinting at an alien invasion. Well, “invasion.” These aren’t goop monsters from outer space but something quite different. Cooke, meanwhile, delivers clean, surprisingly playful art that can be just as surprising in how beautiful it is. A heck of a start.
5) The Goon: Theater Bizarre
After a very, very heavy four-parter, Eric Powell brings the Goon back to its goofy demon-punching, tasteless-joke roots with a one-shot that’s chock-full of gorgeous, eye-popping horror art and hilarious gags. And boy, is it a welcome comeback. A must-read if you love horror, weird comics, or pretty art.
6) Lantern City #6
Matthew Daly and Mairghread Scott continue to deliver a morally complex story of social class, brutal social warfare, and moral grays, all with Carlos Magno’s clean, smartly done art. It’s one of the best comics on the stands right now, and you should follow it from the beginning.
7) Rebels #7
This book focuses on “camp followers,” the women who, during the Revolutionary War, were essentially a second army, keeping things up and running despite not being paid. The bones of this story are pretty cliche, one supposes, but at the same time, it makes a crucial point about how our nation’s history was written… and who got left out.
8) Captain America: Sam Wilson #1
Sam participates in the time-honored Cap tradition of going rogue and pissing everyone off. And yes, we mean everybody. It’s an interesting take and one that makes sense, but you wish Nick Spencer would go just a little further with Sam’s rhetoric. Either way, though, it’s a good tack for Sam, and a promising start.
9) Constantine: The Hellblazer #5
Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV wrap up an arc that’s as much about John Constantine facing his moral and emotional failures as it is about fighting gross demons. But he’s still fighting gross demons, don’t worry. Still, what echoes most here, helped ably by Scott Kowalchuk and Riley Rossmo on art, is the emotional weight of what’s happening. John’s going to be carrying a lot of guilt after this… and worse, deserves to.
10) I Hate Fairyland #1
Gertrude wished to go to fairyland. So she did, going on a magical adventure that was supposed to last for a day… and instead she’s been stuck in an 8-year-old’s body for 27 years. As a result, Gertrude has completely lost it, to the point where she’s a homicidal maniac. Skottie Young’s humor comic feels a bit ’90s, in the best possible way. Besides, he needed a break from his adorable Marvel comics, you can tell, and this is a highly, highly amusing change of pace.
11) Ms. Marvel #19
G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona underline just how annoying reboots can be with a bittersweet “final” issue where Kamala has to struggle with her biggest foes: The fact that all her relationships are a mess. You wish this whole issue weren’t being wiped for the sake of a stunt, but at least new readers will be able to pick up the book when it restarts.
12) Ninjak #8
This book gets a ranking just for the shaggy dog story that takes up half of it, but it’s a clever riff on the world Ninjak inhabits; sure, he’s a superninja, but he’s a superninja who lives in a world of greys. His opponent… less so, let’s say. Funny, action-packed, and tense, a perfect action read.
13) Assassin’s Creed #1
After years of bad, bad Euro comics, the Assassin’s Creed franchise finally gets some good writers in the form of Kill Shakespeare‘s Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery. While they’re stuck doing exposition in this first issue, you can already see them starting to play with the Assassin’s Creed franchise basics, and the fact that they embrace the goofier aspects of this franchise while making them work says a lot. Neil Edwards offers some clean, detailed art and handles action scenes well, and in all, this is a book you can pick up even if you’ve never heard of the game.
14) Spider-Gwen #1
Yes, despite Marvel’s insistence that their Crisis on Infinite Earths (and no, I’m not going to call it anything else) was going to simplify things, this book still takes place in an alternate reality. Fortunately, Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez are allowed to stick to what makes this book great as a result; re-configuring the Spidey-verse is a fun read, but Latour takes pains to make the book easy for new readers to pick up.
15) The Wicked and the Divine #15
Jamie McKelvie and Kieron Gillen take on what it means to be Amaterasu in a world where, well, a red-haired white lady really shouldn’t be calling herself that. It’s a surprisingly affecting issue, not least because it shows just how between worlds she is. Oh, and there’s plenty of action, too, if I’m making it sound introspective.
16) X-O Manowar #41
Robert Venditti’s take on an alien arrival is a clever twist; this isn’t a situation that can be solved with violence, and yet, it may explode into a war unless Aric, that most violent of Valiant’s stable, can find his inner diplomat. You don’t often read a story like this in comics, and this smart take on aliens on Earth deserves a shot.
17) Batman #45
Gordon is on the verge of catching Mr. Bloom, the villain who’s haunted this book for the last few issues… aaaand then he discovers why Batman shouldn’t be run by a corporation. Greg Capullo really stands out here in the last few pages with art that’s simultaneously action-packed and utterly creepy, and once again Scott Snyder and Capullo remind us why they’re a champion Bat-team.
18) Sleepy Hollow: Providence #3
Eric Carrasco and Victor Santos continue their fun riff on the TV show. Santos’ woodcut-esque style is oddly well suited to the story of fairies and Amish squaring off, and evokes the show without being slavishly dedicated to it. If you’re a fan, or just enjoy supernatural action, this will be an ideal read.
19) Superman: Lois and Clark #1
Yes, all the Clois shippers on Twitter finally get their own book. It turns out that the Superman of the ’90s is alive and well in the New 52, and raising a son. But Clark is still, well, Superman. Admittedly, the ins and outs of this book might be a little confusing to new readers, but it’s great DC is allowing more than one take on Superman to be a regular book on the stands, and it’s great to see Dan Jurgens back behind the wheel, especially with Lee Weeks on art.
20) East of West #21
Jonathan Hickman’s epic fantasy continues with an unusual sacrifice made by a great chief and a romance spoken not in words but in taps on a hard surface. Nick Dragotta does an excellent job of keeping things futuristic without toppling into parody, and, once again, this is a compelling, sharply drawn look at a distant future.
21) New Avengers #1
Of the two Avengers books we’ve got this week, this one is the better, if for no other reason than it embraces its wackiness a bit. I still think the roster is a bit rough; Al Ewing struggles to give each Avenger a voice. But it’s a fun team book, and it doesn’t waste time.
22) Americatown #3
Daniel Irizarri could use an inker, here; the art’s a little rough on this third issue. And truthfully, Bradford Winters and Larry Cohen aren’t terribly subtle in their switcheroo, where Americans are illegally emigrating to Buenos Aires in search of a better life. But it’s still a great idea, and a fun read.
23) Vampirella/Army of Darkness #4
Okay, I admit it: Ash riding a giant Vampirella Deadite to fight angels is ridiculously entertaining, although it does raise the question of why this book had to be a four-parter when all the plot happens in this one issue. Still, a little dose of goofy fun.
24) King Tiger #3
Randy Stradley and Doug Wheatley continue their neo-pulp story of a kung-fu master, his Iraq-war vet sidekick, and his obscenely rich girlfriend as they fight a glowing Lovecraftian beastie. Wheatley’s the real star here, giving his more outlandish ideas life and verve with impeccable drafting, and it gives the book a surprisingly frothy vibe. Definitely worth a look for action fans.
25) Switch #1
Remember Marvel’s Ultimate Universe? Yeah, this is the Witchblade version of that. That said, Stjepan Sejic does at least make it amusing, and Witchblade is way more interesting with a sulky teenager than a bikini model cop.
26) Justice League United #14
Jeff Parker dumps just about every war comic DC has into a temporal blender for this team-up book, and you can hear Paul Pelletier and Rob Hunter leafing through all those old war books before putting their own spin on them. Granted, this is more for DC nerds than anyone else, but it’s a fun read and Parker’s somewhat playful take on what amounts to a Star Trek plot really helps make this book a fun read.
27) Red Sonja/Conan #3
Victor Gischler and Roberto Castro hand in a highly amusing tribute to the old-school Conan comics of the ’70s. Castro’s inking is a bit spotty with some scenes getting more love than others, but overall it’s a great little tribute to Conan and Red Sonja’s past.
28) Faster Than Light #2
Okay, so Brian Haberlin’s story is an Event Horizon knockoff. But hey, it’s a fun Event Horizon knock-off.
29) Chewbacca #1
The problem with a Chewie book is pretty obvious: He doesn’t talk. I’d like to say Gerry Duggan gets around this… but he doesn’t, unfortunately, writing a book that feels less like Star Wars and more like Stanley and His Monster. It’s a shame, too, because Phil Noto draws his heart out. There’s one splash panel in particular that I suspect will become an Internet favorite. Fun, but definitely a missed opportunity.
30) Cursed Pirate Girl Annual #1
Jeremy Bastian’s book is absolutely gorgeous, looking like page after page of elaborate scrimshaw. Which is enough, just barely, to forgive it the tragic fault that Bastian shouldn’t have lettered his own book, and needs a better grasp of layout if he’s going to tell a story. It’s hard to track the story through the book, and Bastian’s cramped, stylized lettering and word-heavy writing makes it nearly incomprehensible. Utterly stunning as an art book, but in need of work as a comic.
Elsewhere This Week:
Day Men #8: An interesting comic plagued by schedule slips comes to a bittersweet close.
Swords of Sorrow #6: A solid and fun, but not terribly unique, finish to this overlong crossover event.
Deadpool Vs. Thanos #3: A ’90s Marvel throwback that, for once, manages to use that to its advantage.
Catwoman #45: Genevieve Valentine wraps up her slow-burn mob drama in style.
Insufferable #6: Mark Waid and Peter Krause continue to milk their bratty Nightwing and broken Batman for laughs and drama.
Batman/Superman #25: Greg Pak and Cliff Richards expand on the title of this book in some fun ways we won’t ruin here.
Batman & Robin Eternal #2: Solid Bat theatrics, but not enough to carry a weekly series.
Earth 2: Society #5: The Flash struggles with fame and responsibility in a nice turn to the human in this book.
Strange Fruit #2: This story of a Black Superman in ’30s Mississippi takes some obvious turns, and it really needed to avoid that.
Guardians Of The Galaxy #1: Brian Michael Bendis doesn’t bring anything new to yet another “shaken-up” team book.
Red Hood/Arsenal #5: Scott Lobdell’s usually goofy buddy comedy takes a dark swerve in the last page that doesn’t entirely work.
Star Wars: Shattered Empire #3: Greg Rucka’s script has a scene that nods to the prequels, both in terms of plot and in how painfully contrived it is.
Unity #23: This team book takes yet another twist in a new arc. Fun, but a bit of a letdown after the previous, thoughtful story.
Bat-Mite #5: This book didn’t need a team of obscure losers and yet… that’s what it got.
Spider-Man 2099 #5: A painfully conventional relaunch, lacking the humor that made this book. What happened?
Starfire #5: Wait, Starfire can talk to dolphins now? Really?
Eve: Valkyrie #1: Unsurprisingly, the fiction of a corporate sim MMO doesn’t lend itself to a compelling read.
Uncanny Avengers #1: Metacomedy about Deadpool’s popularity aside, there’s just not enough different here for this book to stand out.
Welcome Back #2: Somebody needs to tell Christopher Sebela that long monologues don’t suit comic books very well, especially action books like this one.
Captain America: White #3: Come for the Tim Sale art and ignore the captions.
Mirror’s Edge: Exordium #2: A sharp art team doing great work can’t salvage the dull script on this book.
JLA #4: Bryan Hitch’s story finally comes into focus, but four issues in is a little too long to drag out a plot.
Harley Quinn #21: You know what this book needed? A Very Special Episode-esque monologue. Good thing they threw that in, huh?
Frankenstein: Storm Surge #1: Good luck figuring out anything of what’s going on in this book.