This week's picks

Tough week to pick a top three as there were a handful of top three-worthy releases. While that's good for comic readers, it's considerably worse for readers of this blog. As a result, I'm leaning on some old favorites here and few new entries to the list. By few, I really meant zero. But you could kind of guess that, couldn't you? You're very clever, reader.

Hawkeye 10

I've written an awful lot about Hawkeye lately so I'm not sure anyone needs me to write more. I will though. I liked this issue even if it was largely setting up the villain. Fraction keeps you entertained and the temporary artist switch to Francesco Francavilla totally works, given Francavilla's style mixed with the fire and darkness of the story. Francavilla's color palette also fits the story incredibly well so giving Matt Hollingsworth the day off works for the book too. There are some great lines for Kate and a particularly telling scene between the Hawkeyes (as well as a really nice insight into the way Kate feels about Clint when she's away from Clint). I'm going to tell you right now that the next issue, which has been teased already, is certainly going to make this list next release. It's Pizza Dog centric and billed as "Pizza Dog in 'Pizza is my Business.'" Sorry any other worthy books, that one might take all three spots.

Winter Soldier 18

Not to stop people from reading my pull list entry for the week of June 5th but it's already 2/3 decided and I haven't any idea what books are out for the entire week and CLEARLY I haven't read them yet. However, Hawkeye 11 (wherein Pizza Dog solves a murder) will be out that week and the final issue of Winter Soldier will be out. So yes, those two will almost certainly make the pull list then. So why is Winter Soldier on my pull list now? To be honest, while I was reading it I wasn't sure it would be. However, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. That happens a fair amount, particularly while I'm blogging. I like the idea of Bucky being afraid that he can live with what he's done, not being afraid that he can't. It fits his character extremely well and makes the villain of this arc more interesting. Like with Hawkeye, this issue was largely focused on establishing the villain (though, unlike Hawkeye, it wasn't a little out of place considering the next one will be the last. Story timetables getting rushed are among the saddest sights) and it does a good job of it. She's smart, she's brutal, and she's not particularly predictable. She goes out of her way to establish for Bucky that she doesn't hate him for killing her parents, or hate him at all even. That's a pretty good villain. Interested to see how this series will wrap up.

X-Men Legacy 10

I told you it was going to be all old standbys. Not that any are undeserving. I think these are all great books and there were all solid issues of great books. Right off the bat we get David INSTANTLY agreeing to a deal with the extremely powerful Xavier personality in his brain so that he can try to see the future and the ways around how he destroys the mutant race. So there's plenty to look forward to storywise there. Then David takes active steps to try to stop himself from abusing his power. This issue also establishes a villain, like the other two picks this week. However, this villain isn't villainous in any way. He's extremely unfortunate and sympathetic but he doesn't even hate mutants. He's got a cure for powers but he's not forcing it on people. It's there, if it's needed he has it, if people want it they can have it. He's very straightforward about it, he doesn't seem to be hiding anything, and he's not doing it for personal gain or a vendetta or anything. He just knows well enough that there's a high probability mutants will do serious harm to the world on accident (or on purpose). It's hard to argue against that when we know our main hero is primed to do exactly that. Interesting ideas, well-executed. Solid book just keeps getting better.



Best cover
This was a tricky one. There were two solid Francavilla covers out there, with Hawkeye being solidly in the vein of Aja's simplistic covers but still looking distinctly Francavillan. I liked the baby Iron Man of Iron Man 9 and X-Men Legacy covers are always pretty great. Superior Spider-Man was close, with the plot pretty much set up by the cover and as succinctly explained as anyone could have done. Ultimate X-Men was simultaneously technically good and haunting. I ended up choosing the other Francavilla cover largely for the great colors and the appeal of the cover itself. Even if I didn't read every Marvel book every week, if I saw this cover, I feel confident I'd pick up the book, no matter how interested I had been in it previously. That's exactly what you want a cover to do so mission accomplished. I don't think it's necessarily a cover that blows you away but it more than does it job. Can't ask for anything more than that out of a cover.