Good, Bad, and Poorly-Drawn: Perfect Endings

Every Wednesday, the good folks over at Marvel and DC release hordes of new comics into the world. So many, in fact, that it's nigh on impossible to keep track of all the stories. That's what I'm for!

Every week, I'll be letting you know the good, the bad, and the poorly-drawn in the comics world so you can make wise purchasing decisions when you head to your LCS!

Obviously these are my personal opinions, so if you disagree feel free to let me know! So let's get started.


The world of DC enters into its sixth month of The New 52, and things are really starting to heat up; more hints of the Green Lantern "3rd Army" event are trickled down to us, the Deamonite War is boiling to a head with the introduction of the Black Curate over in Grifter, and Amy Reeder takes over art duties on Batwoman. It's a valiant effort, but J.H. Williams III has a mighty pair of boots to fill.

Both 'Penguin: Pride and Prejudice' and 'Batman: Brave and the Bold' release their final issues. One is a wonderfully written and drawn, tragic end that brings a new take on an old character; and the other is a lackluster end to a comic that could never live up to its TV version.

Over on the Marvel side, Powers FINALLY returns to print, PunisherMAX and Black Panther both end their respective titles with a bang, with PunisherMAX now dead and Black Panther leaving Hell's Kitchen. Meanwhile, Venom's "Circle of Four" event continues with a merely average fight-centric issue, and the "Season One" initiative starts off with a modern re-telling of the Fantastic Four origin (more on that later).


The Good: My Top 5 Books of the Week

#5 - Demon Knights #6: There is nothing else like this in comics right now. You like super-heroes? Check. You like swords and sorcery? Check. You like great art and a gripping character-driven tale? Check. Plus...this issue has an Amazoness head-butting a Rhino. Sold.

#4 - PunisherMAX #22: This issue (especially when combined with the previous issue) personifies everything you'd ever need to know about Punisher. He slaved through thirty years of hell only to seemingly die for nothing, but left a legacy that echoes not only in the issue itself, but in me as well as I read it. A perfect ending.

#3 - The Unwritten #34: The ending to the "War of Words" arc. The story is original and fantastical and pulls out all the stops in this issue to bring you in and really cheer for the protagonist. With a growing mythology and a new arc starting soon, I urge everyone to pick this book up.









#2 - Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #5: The art is superb and perfectly suited for the tone of the book. It's insightful, it's tragic, and it makes you think about the Penguin in ways I never thought I would. A great ending to a great book. The lack of dialogue through some of the issue can be seen as a pacing problem, but to me it just makes you appreciate the art all the more.







#1 - Secret Avengers #22: The beginning of Rick Remender's run on Secret Avengers was technically an issue ago, but this is all you need to know how the book is going to feel in the months to come. It's epic, it's hilarious, and I love the potential for the team dynamic, especially the inevitable power-play between Hawkeye and Captain Britain. Everything Rick Remender touches seems to turn to gold recently, and this is no exception.







The Bad: Books to Avoid this Week

Fantastic Four: Season One - Not bad, per se...just generic and extremely unnecessary. It's a straight re-telling of the origin story of the Fantastic Four. That's it. Nothing new to see here. I have more to say about it, but I'm planning something special since its the beginning of the "Season One" initiative. Check back soon.

Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega #2 - This comic is pretty much the epitome of disappointment. For Brian Wood's 'triumphant return to the X-Men' it garnered a lot of hype for very little pay-off. The plot is paper-thin, and the art is all over the place due to having over five artists. I realize the "construct" setting is supposed to be reminiscent of video-games, but its the most bland, uninteresting, cliched environment I've seen drawn recently. When put up next to its sister comic 'Wolverine and the X-Men' it pales in comparison.

Mister Terrific #6 - You already know this book has recently been cancelled and will end at issue #8. Reading it will let you know why. The writing is horrid and filled with over-explanations and heavy inner monologue to make the hero seem smart. The art is serviceable, but nothing special. And the villain is the same, generic and badly scripted. At this point I'm only still reading it so I can see the reveal of Power Girl in the final issue.






The Poorly-Drawn: Books That Make You Cringe

X-Men #24:I actually thought this story was pretty good. I like the idea behind it and the potential it has for evolving Jubilee's character. It would be all peachy, if not for the art from Al Barrionuevo, who's new to the book this month. The facial expressions are blown out of proportion and everything seems to be drawn from a weird angle. It doesn't help that most of the stars of the book are MIA as well.

Green Lantern #6: Mike Choi is the guest artist on this issue, and boy is it a noticeable change. The art isn't horrible, it just doesn't fit in with the style of a Green Lantern book, and it definitely doesn't fit in with the normal art from Doug Mahnke. I cringe when thinking about people picking up the trade, they'll think a printing error occurred because the characters are so unrecognizable it might as well be a different book. I've got nothing against Choi's style, but I'm glad it's not sticking around for long.









And there you have it. My thoughts on the new releases for this week. Post a comment if you don't find your favorite book on here, or if you want to flame me with dissenting opinions. I welcome it all.

Tune in next week: same bat-time, same bat-channel!