It’s a light week as everybody prepares for the holidays, but there are still some great comics on the stands. What made the top twenty?
1) Art Ops #3
There’s an old art movie called Can Dialectics Break Bricks?, where a kung-fu movie is dubbed over with philosophical arguments, and increasingly Art Ops feels like that movie in comic book form. Michael Allred’s riotous imagination is perfect while Shaun Simon’s ability to turn intellectual arguments into superhero comics deserves more love. Increasingly one of Vertigo’s best and a must-read.
2) Venus #1
Rick Loverd’s script doesn’t waste any time; the first manned colonization mission to Venus goes to hell within the first page. Huang Danlan’s art helps contribute to the urgency, with a particularly nice eye towards design. It’s a sturdy, thrilling book and one worth picking up.
3) Jupiter’s Circle Vol. 2 #2
One of the fundamental flaws of any comic set in anything resembling the actual 20th century is there’s a lot of horrible things that happened in the world that you’d think superheroes would address. Well…yeah, Mark Millar doesn’t avoid the Watts riots, and Wilfredo Torres is oddly well-suited to depicting a superhero crashing into history. It’s a bold choice, but Millar avoids his trademark shock value in favor of characterization; Skyfox’s turn from self-involved ass to torch-the-system type makes sense. It’s a smart, considered book, and worth reading.
4) Wild’s End: The Enemy Within #4
Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard’s mashup of talking animals and alien invasion takes a massive twist and turn for the worse in this issue. It’s odd that such a weird mix would be so thrilling, but Abnett’s characterization and dry humor combined with Culbard’s thoughtful, grounded art make for a superb thriller.
5) Astro City #30
Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson turn Fantastic Four comics on their head, looking at a typical story of superheroics and superscience through the eyes of a young member of a hostile alien race. Once again, what makes it stand out is the sheer warmth and humanism Busiek writes into the script, and reflected in Brent Anderson’s art, making this book by turns hopeful and heartbreaking.
6) Nameless #6
Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham finish up their trippy horror comic with one of the more visually disturbing comic books you’ll read this year. I don’t want to spoil it, but this will turn your brain inside out with how creepy it is, making it a must-read horror comic.
7) Fight Club 2 #8
Chuck Palahniuk’s sequel almost careens off the rails here, saved somewhat by Cameron Stewart’s playful layout tricks and satire of comic book conventions. Still a solid read, however. This just feels, more and more, like something that should have been done separate from Fight Club.
8) Daredevil #2
Charles Soule and Ron Garney up their game from an already strong first issue with this second one. Particularly good is Blindspot, who gets a nice monologue that reveals a lot about why he chose his powers and why he wants to be a hero, and Soule’s clever twist at the end. It’s a gritty, smart crime book that’s perfect to pick up, justifying the changes it’s made and the plot it has in smart ways.
9) Arcadia #7
Alex Paknadel and Eric Scott Pfeiffer’s brilliant science fiction thriller delivers a hell of a twist this issue. The disease-ravaged real world and the increasingly unstable virtual world where most of humanity lives is about to come apart, and the only way it can be saved is… not pretty. If you’ve missed this book, find it and read it all the way through; it’s one of the best SF comics in a while.
10) Titans Hunt #3
DC has had a thing for mindscrew thrillers in their superhero books recently, and Dan Abnett’s reuniting of the original Titans, contrasted with their sometimes rather dickish current personalities, is one of the best that they’ve got running. Part of why it works so well is that Abnett refuses to cater to nostalgia, even while he’ll happily work in Silver Age nods; these are people with very different lives who can’t figure out what’s happening to them. It’s some entertaining superheroics, and worth reading even if you’re not a Titans fan.
11) The Rocketeer At War #1
The Rocketeer was going to fight in World War II eventually, but Marc Guggenheim smartly opens this book with Cliff Secord G.I., not Cliff as the Rocketeer, fighting Nazis.
Dave Bullock’s sharp, clean art gives the book a snappy feel, and overall this is a fun little adventure yarn in keeping with the spirit of the original comics.
12) Venom: Space Knight #2
When you see “Venom,” you don’t really expect a fluffy dessert of a space opera, but surprisingly, that’s what Robbie Thompson and Ariel Olivetti have been delivering. Part of it is that Olivetti’s art is gorgeous and immaculate, but another part is just how breezy and lighthearted this book is. Flash Thompson is unusually chill about his ridiculous circumstances; nothing seems to ruffle him and it makes his adventures a lot more fun. If you’re tired of the grim and gritty, give this book a shot.
13) Bloodshot Reborn #9
Jeff Lemire and Butch Guice wrap up the return of Bloodshot in this arc’s finale… but his time as Ray Garrison hasn’t left him unchanged. Bloodshot’s always been more than just a soldier, and now, he’s arguably more human than ever. But what happens when a killing machine grows a heart?
14) The Spirit #6
Matt Wagner and Dan Schkade have fallen into an easy, Eisner-inspired rhythm with this particular book; Schkade’s art in particular stands out for having nice Eisner touches while being his own work. It’s a fun, two-fisted adventure read that you won’t want to miss, particularly if you’re a fan of The Spirit.
15) Invisible Republic #8
Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko continue their story of a rebel leader and just what a nightmare he becomes 42 years later. Probably the best thing about this book is how thoughtful its look at a movement slowly crumbling into a dictatorship is — you genuinely feel bad for Arthur, even as you see what a monster he’s become.
16) Spider-Woman #2
We all knew an intensely pregnant Jessica Drew was gonna get in a fight, but this issue makes it genuinely funny and common-sensical at the same time. Yeah, Jessica is pregnant, but that doesn’t mean she’s defenseless. Quite the opposite, and Javier Rodriguez deserves credit for figuring out how a pregnant fight scene would actually work. In all, a fun little book.
17) The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage: Second Lives #1
Doctor Mirage wants nothing more than to hold her dead husband again. Unfortunately, that’s more complicated, and dangerous, than it sounds. What makes Jan Ven Meter and Roberto De La Torre’s book so great is that it lets you linger on the nature of spirits without spinning them as scary or not; some are bad, some are good, but most are just people. A fun read and highly recommended.
18) The Paybacks #4
Donny Cates, Eliott Rahal, and Geoff Shaw finish off the first arc of their superteam book with both a sad moment and a clever twist. Turns out, repossessing superhero stuff is risky business, and not every hero is happy with the Paybacks. As always, a funny, cynical riff on hero books and worth reading.
19) Last Gang In Town #1
I dislike and am even annoyed by punk nostalgia; reminiscing about how things were better in the bad old days seems about as contrary to punk as you can get. That said, Simon Oliver has more at work here than fetishizing a period of time — everybody in this book has made mistakes, and some of those mistakes have consequences decades later. It’s an intriguing choice.
20) Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat #1
To be honest, Kate Leth and Brittney L. Williams have a problem in that right now, their book feels a bit too much like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl with its cute art, giddy humor, and quirky friends. They’ve also got a tonal problem in that they kind of want to split the difference between Patsy Walker, who was more or less Marvel’s romance comic/humor comic lead back in the ’50s and early ’60s, and Hellcat the superheroine — and they can’t quite strike that balance. That said, though, it’s a smart idea for a minor character, and if nothing else, it’s got more energy and creativity than a fair chunk of Marvel’s line these days, so give it a try and see if it’s for you.
This Week’s Other Books
DC:
DKIII: The Master Race #2: The plot twist that this book practically has in its title is unleashed this week.
Cyborg #6: David F. Walker wraps his first arc with a twist we need to see more of, pronto.
Deathstroke #13: Shouldn’t this book just be called ‘Deathstroke Stabs…”? It’s all that really happens. It’s fun, but it’s not exactly a twisty thrill ride.
Gotham By Midnight #12: We’ll miss DC’s quirky horror book, but at least it goes out in style.
Jacked #2: An idea we’ve seen before keeps insisting on going to places we’ve seen before.
Marvel:
Darth Vader #14: Vader Down continues with… well, a plot twist we know isn’t going to pay off.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #2: A sweet book, but one that could stand to keep the slight edge the first issue had. This is a little too heavy on the generic cartoon antics, and I wanted to know more about Moon Girl.
Captain America Sam Wilson #4: You know, for a book with a political kerfluffle around it, this book got weird and ridiculous awfully fast, not that we’re complaining — at least it’s got a character.
Angela, Queen of Hel #3: Breaking the fourth wall quite a bit really doesn’t make this fantasy book any less generic.
Image:
The Covenant #5: Rob Liefeld’s Bible stories are amusing, albeit stiff.
Pretty Deadly #7: You will have no idea what’s actually going on in this book, but you’ll buy it for the lush art of Emma Rios anyway.
Dark Horse:
King Conan: Wolves Beyond The Border #1: A solid, fun Conan book, but pretty standard stuff for the Cimmerian.
BOOM! Studios:
Escape From New York #13: Basically every self-described libertarian’s fantasy.
Dynamite:
John Carter: Warlord Of Mars #14: A fun little bit of pulp, if insubstantial in the end.
Voltron: From The Ashes #4: Some slipshod art doesn’t help the rote script.
Valiant:
Rai #12: Valiant’s cyberpunk ninja continues to impress.
IDW:
X-Files Holiday Special: Or “We continue the plot on Christmas.”