This week's picks!

Like I said in my pregame this week, 22 books in a week means there's a good pile of great books, a reasonable amount of mediocre books, and a couple of unfortunate books. However, it's rare that all three books that I choose in my pull list post come from the same review. Where do we find ourselves this week, you may ask? IN THAT VERY POSITION.

Captain America 8

This book, though starring my personal favorite character, was the closest to not making this list. I don't think what happened here was predictable, though I did pick up on the possibility of it about halfway through the issue, nor do I think it was written purely to shock. I think this is a real story that has a real place to go and real consequences for its characters but it's hard to shake the shock of it. In that way, it was almost edged out by Young Avengers, which I found delightful and full of character and story, despite only have twenty pages or so to introduce and establish two brand new (to this series) characters. However, Cap edged it out as a perfect culmination of everything Remender's worked for. The story isn't as palpable and crushing as it ended up being if Remender doesn't put in the proper amount of set-up time throughout the series. We know what Ian means to Steve and what Steve knows about situations like this and Remender forces us to ask if Steve did the right thing, taking Ian away from Zola. That's right; Rick Remender makes an argument worth listening to wherein we ask ourselves if Captain America, the pinnacle of morality, should have taken a child from notorious madman and Nazi Arnim Zola and raised it as his own. No brainer, right? Maybe not.

Daredevil 27

This is another book that makes the list as much for this issue as for the time dedicating to setting it up. Not only is it enough of a wait from Daredevil snapping and killing Bullseye to go back and pull Bullseye as the villain and give him a viable enough story to set him up as the mastermind behind all this, Waid and Samnee perfectly created tension and fear in Daredevil before this issue, making Ikari a real threat and giving the audience the sense of dread that permeates through the scenes that show Murdock's friends and associates with unseen and quite possibly psychopathic agents. Then we get the perfect twist for someone dubbed "the man without fear;" he's overcome his mental blocks in this case and has prepared wonderfully for this moment, enlisting Daredevil's friends to keep watch over Matt's friends and fighting Ikari in smart (if lucky) ways. It's a wonderful book and the perfect finish to this story. Each part feels like it needs the next as much as anything. No space went to waste in this arc and it all comes together in the end. Truly an issue worth reading of a series worth reading.

Hawkeye 11

Ever since this issue was announced I knew it was going to end up here. First and foremost, I'm a sucker for dogs. Most dogs but particularly good sized ones. I've been sold on this series since Arrow/Pizza Dog/Lucky joined the cast. Even putting that aside, though, this book is gorgeous. There's a real story that comes through with a beautiful idea of the way that dogs think. It's not condescending, it's not cutesy, and it's not a waste issue. It respects the subject matter, the narrator, and the audience by not treating this as if it was just an idea they had and it didn't matter beyond that. There was care and purpose put into this issue. When I was in school, many times when I had the chance to pick my own subject matter for an essay or a presentation, I chose something that I could be entertained writing about. It often came down to Sonic the Hedgehog or comics. Despite the first instinct that would say these papers would be garbage, I know that I poured more into them and made them far better papers because I'd need to convince the reader that it was even more legitimate than maybe more serious subject matter. This issue kind of rings of that; they knew from the start this was an uphill battle to prove this issue was going to be worth reading and paying for. So they did it. Great issue.

Best cover

GUYS, I know, I'm picking the same thing as one of these books. I know, I know. But sometimes covers are just amazing and even if I've seen them for weeks before they were released I have to pull myself out and say "BOY this is a really good cover." So this is a great cover and it deserves to be here even if this post SEEMS super lazy because they're all pulled from the same day of posting comics but guys, I can't help it if I wanted to read all three of these books real bad. So you're going to have to deal with it and also be thankful that I'm not also choosing a best panel because, hey guys, it would be from one of these three books.

This week's picks

Short week for comics this week and kind of a weird one. I'd say most of these books were fine and good reads, but I don't know how many totally stand out. PLUS SIDE, at least three of them do and that's all I need!

Captain America 7

I kind of can't get over how good this book is. I love the perspective on Cap and I love the humanity of Cap, which is something I feel like I haven't talked about enough. On top of the fact that we're seeing Steve as a father and dealing with the issues his own father left him with, we're seeing Steve in pain and struggling. Granted, he's in pain a fair amount in comics, as are most superheroes, but he's noting his pain so frequently. Constantly he'll get hit or take a fall or something and he'll instantly diagnose himself (it's been happening since issue one too) with what's wrong and he'll keep pushing through. That's kind of a difference from most other hero books, where you'll see a hero take a big hit, then just get up or struggle to his or her feet or something and keep on fighting. After a few big ones, the drama of "oh he/she must be really hurt" sets in, but here it's amplified by the fact we know EXACTLY how hurt Cap is ninety percent of the time and we see him continue to stand back up. It's absolutely perfect for his character in every aspect; he falls but he never succumbs, he bends but he never breaks, he's not the same level of power as Hulk or Thor or something but he never seems weaker, and, to a less defining but equally understandable extent, he can self-diagnose in a heartbeat. It's a near perfectly written Steve and, as if the story wasn't compelling enough to keep tuning in for (it is), it's worth reading just for that.

Fury MAX 12

It's sometimes hard to do a "this week's picks" because saying that implies that my subjective way of viewing books is worth listening to and is similar enough to what everyone's view is or what everyone's view SHOULD be. Usually I can get over that because I know, in my heart of hearts, that the books I've chosen are phenomenal and no one should be disappointed by them, in the very least. Of course, people still will be because that's how humanity functions, but I'm over that. However, this is a strange pick because it's probably the one of the more polarizing books I've chosen for this segment throughout the last six months. For action fans, there's not a lot of action. For fans of quick and snappy dialogue driven books, there's almost none of that. For fans of happy endings or beginnings or middles, there's nothing much to choose from here. For people who don't like swears or violence or a touch of nudity, this book won't really land. For people who don't want discussions of America's shady involvement in Nicaragua and similar areas of possible communist aggression or discussions about politics and Congress, this book is not a fun one. However, the weight this book puts on Nick Fury and the hopelessness Fury feels, a feeling he is not used to, is so palpable and so heavy that it would have been hard for me not to pick this book. Fury's very well characterized and his struggle is so hard to look on and to deal with that it adds such a layer to his character and to this world that I wouldn't have been able to look away from it. The art, which I wasn't sure about at the start of this series, has proven so perfect for the subject and the tone that it's a near perfect book, if you're looking for strange things in a book and none of the things I mentioned above. So I recommend this book knowing full well that many people would not like this book. Still, I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend it anyway and I'd sure hate to be remiss.

New Avengers 6

Have I mentioned that I adore this book? It turns out I have, almost non-stop. There's such a weight to this series and to these characters and it all ties back in, in a great way, to Captain America, which is why Hickman so adeptly utilized him for the first few issues. These are characters who are abnormally strong in different ways, whether it's with their powers or their intellects or their convictions, and they're being tested in all of those ways in what is essentially a no-win scenario. The problem that this team had with Cap being there is that Cap bends but doesn't break, the same characteristic that makes his solo book (and almost all of his other appearances) so compelling. In a lot of situations, he won't even really bend. The problem this team is facing (they're never referred to as the New Avengers so I'd almost rather call them the Illuminati still but the BOOK is the New Avengers so it seems like I SHOULD still call them New Avengers but that also seems like a marketing ploy since there's almost no reason for them to be called the New Avengers and they're seemingly more secret than even the Secret Avengers and...you know what, this doesn't matter. Let's just get back to what I was saying) is one that requires them to make horrible and inhuman choices to save their world and there's no way around that, at least not yet. Namor constantly points out that these heroes want a way to have everything, a safe two planets, but that there isn't any way to have that. They have to bend and break. Cap wouldn't have been able to, as they all well knew, so he had to be removed from the team. What a devastating book this is that the first order of business was removing the conscience of the team. By the same token, though, what a phenomenal book to read where they know that's exactly what they've done.

Best Panel:

I don't necessarily love picking the best cover or panel from one of the books that I chose as a "best" book, even though that kind of logic follows to a certain extent. However, this panel from New Avengers took a tone that was already dark and shifted it to be just a bit darker and to really focus on the people under the masks in such a simple and elegant way that I felt like I needed to highlight it. Of course, I'm also a big fan of Epting's art and I love the way that D'Armata colors this book. From issue one this book has felt like, in all departments, it knows what it wants to be and what it needs to be to be successful. This panel is just another example of that, as Hickman manipulates the characters and Epting manipulates the view of the characters and D'Armata manipulates the tone of the scene all aimed at making us see the book they want us to see. Brilliantly done.

This week's picks!

Bit of a hectic week, what with my vacation and all. Still got it in just under the wire though and now, to complete the week (the morning that I start the new week), let's delve into my overall picks. I think I want to add a couple things to the "this week's picks" posts. Not a hundred percent sure what that's going to be yet. I'm thinking at least of highlighting favorite covers or art or something. I don't know. Maybe favorite scene. Maybe a favorite panel. I don't know. Maybe I'll do a few things. Or maybe I'll pick three comics and I'll be done. I guess we'll all have to wait and see, hm?

Captain America 6

This was a tricky pick for me. Obviously I'm biased where ever Cap is concerned but even with that, it's hard for me to point to this issue and say it was the best issue I've read of this series. I don't know that it is (not that that would mean it's undeserving of this list) and I'm not sure it beats out some of the other strong books this week. However, it stuck with me more than any other book this week and it was the one that I most constantly looked back on. Actually, all three books I've chosen this week are ones that, after I finished reading (and I read each of them twice), I found myself thinking back to at any given moment. For this book, it was the angry Cap characterization I talked about at length in my review. I've talked about how much I like this book and how I appreciate the desire to look at Cap from different angles. He's been around for seventy years, it's not easy to come up with no approaches to the character. However, it's strange that simply "being angry" counts as a new approach. Make no mistake though, it definitely does. And it comes off strongly but appropriately in this issue. I think the next issue will be more on that lines with Cap angrier than ever and possibly crossing a few lines here. It's exciting territory for Remender to enter with Steve. And this book might stick with me more than it sticks with others simply because I like Cap over most other heroes but the fact is it still stuck.

Daredevil 25

Like with Captain America, this book stuck with me because it featured the lead character feeling something new. Not necessarily entirely new for his long history (as with Captain America) but new enough and one that's not typically seen out of the main character. Cap got angry. Daredevil gets scared. This is the issue we've been building up to for a long time now. In fact, we're not all the way there even yet, but we've gotten right to the breaking point. Now Matt has to deal with a mysterious figure in the shadows who knows everything about him and knows everything about his powers. On top of that, he's created Ikari, a near-clone of Daredevil but with sight on top of all his other enhanced senses. It begs the question of whether or not Ikari's sight is also enhanced. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it just begged me that question. I don't know. Anyway, it's interesting to see Matt paired up against someone who matches him so completely. It's not like Bullseye, who is as obsessive as Daredevil and maybe just a hair more unhinged. Ikari's powers are exactly like Matt's because they are Matt's, only Matt didn't anticipate how good he'd be with them. On top of that, the art continues to be fantastic and the colors match the book perfectly. It's particularly impressive because I didn't feel, reading it, that Matt was conveniently toned down in his abilities or anything of that nature, or that Ikari was getting impossibly lucky. It felt like Matt came in strong and was just outmanuevered. Maybe he would have been more successful if he didn't start off as confident, but that's how Matt would have entered the fight. It's another great issue and it's another great demonstration of how Waid understands the character.

X-Men Legacy 9

Another great entry for X-Men Legacy that proves what Spurrier and this book are capable of. It starts with a reference to Watchmen, a fitting reference that connects David to Dr. Manhattan and asks a well-informed comic audience what it would take for David and his power to disconnect from humanity in the same sorts of way that Jon Osterman did. The book then promptly goes on to ask if killing a once-hero to possibly save hundreds of mutants IF David's visions are accurate. We tend to believe David, as he's our focal point for this book and we know he's capable of powers that would allow him to accurately see the future, but it's worth questioning. Even if it IS true, is Ruth wrong in saying that they can't stop Aarkus before he comes to Earth? Is there no other way? You could start trying to get into it a little deeper, asking if maybe David couldn't have tried a little harder. Yes, he needs to stop Aarkus from destroying mutants. Yes, if all else fails, maybe it's worth incapacitating him to do it. And yes, it does seem Aarkus has gone a bit mad without any sort of filter, anyone to bounce his ideas off of and talk to. But he's not so far removed that David couldn't have maybe brought this to Wolverine and Wolverine couldn't have simply checked in with Cap and said "hey, your old bud the first Vision? We're not totally sure on this, but we think he might hate mutants. Could you maybe check with him and see? Maybe stop him from genocide, if you could? Thanks." But, at the same time as I say that, there's a voice in me screaming that David wouldn't think like that, that he wouldn't bring the X-Men or Captain America into it. It's entirely possible that he wouldn't dig into Aarkus' history beyond the basics. So now he's the judge and it's definitely worth Ruth asking how he could think himself worthy of that weight. Another great issue.

Best cover:

This was actually a really tough one. I went in thinking it was going to be one book, then remembered a handful of other worthy covers (including both X-Men Legacy, which always deserves mention for its cover, and Daredevil) and then ULTIMATELY decided to go against even my first thought (Venom), only to settle on this one. I've really liked the Thunderbolts covers so far and I've loved the color scheme of the team. This matchup of the brutality and tension between Deadpool and Punisher while also perfectly fitting in with this line of covers and the colors the book has centered on. Making the background the standard T-bolts red too was an interesting choice but it worked really well. Deadpool is still defined well enough and both his belt-buckle logo and Punisher's bloody shirt stand apart enough to draw attention to the images. On top of that, it definitely draws the eye to the cover and gives people an idea of what's to come. For those not reading the book, there's still not really a way for this cover to attract attention. Exciting cover.

This week's picks!

New Avengers 4

I get the sense already that it's going to be impossible for this book not to land in my top three every time it comes out. I love the story, I love the characters, I love the questions it's asking, I love the understanding of superheroes in this world, I love the art, I love the colors, I love the interactions. This is pretty much a perfect book in my eyes. It occurs to me that this book ended with the first real fight scene this team will have, after fighting against something far more intangible the rest of the series. Somehow I'm even MORE interested in this book as we get to the point where we'll see the team work together. None of this even begins to talk about the underlying dynamics of the team, particularly Black Panther and Namor (though, really, anyone and Namor) and the way Beast feels about everything that's happening. Just an all around phenomenal title right now and issue four was no less fantastic than the other three issues.

Captain Marvel 11

Every time I read a new issue of this series I come away feeling floored by the amount of detail each book manages to cram in. I've appreciated from the very first how many non-super powered characters have made their way into this book and how well each one has been crafted just with a line or two every now and then. For DeConnick to then take those people (who, because of the work she's done, are truly people and not just set pieces) and make them integral to the plot and, more importantly, to Carol's life and Carol's sense of her own life is beautiful. In mainstream comics, you don't get a lot of examination of a character's life outside of superheroing and maybe one or two dramas here and there that are almost exclusively related to family or to dating. Captain Marvel has quietly built a life for Carol Danvers, from when she wakes up to when she goes to bed so now, when that life is in jeopardy, the stakes are much higher and it's a far greater payoff for the reader. Terrifically done and rewarding in every sense.

Captain America 5

This beating out Avengers or Hulk is almost entirely based on my own bias. I think it absolutely merits being up in the top three, but the reason that I picked it over the other deserving titles without much of a second thought is totally because of my own love for the character (fun fact: it's also why Avengers would have been my fourth pick; the characterization of Cap in that book, alongside everything else in the book, puts it a little ahead). I should stop being excited, probably, by how well I think Remender's characterizing Captain America. I've said plenty of times that there are easy ways to screw up writing Captain America (in fact, I think there are Marvel writers working today who don't write him very well) and, though I trusted and loved Remender hot off of Uncanny X-Force, I was admittedly nervous when I heard he was writing Cap. Not because of him, because I would have been nervous for anyone to write Cap. Nothing is worse than a poorly written Captain America heading up his own book. But Remender has blown me away with the look he's given this new series. On top of just going back into Steve's childhood, we're getting so much added to Steve without going against everything that's come before. It's really delightful, as a big Captain America fan, to not only watch the character done right, but to see him expanded on so much. Someone nervous about writing Cap could easily have just taken the Brubaker Cap and put him into more plots, focusing on story rather than on expanding character. Remender's doing both and it's working out extremely well.

This week's picks

I really need to stop prefacing these posts with a "gee whiz, but this was awful hard!" intro because it's a little worn by now. Is it hard to pick the three best comics Marvel put out this week in a totally subjective method? Yes. Most of the time. Well like, one third of the time. In that I usually have two picks or so right up at the top and need to whittle down the third. So let's start off with those two this week and see if I come up with the third one along the way.

Captain America 4

I don't think I can stress enough how much I'm enjoying this book. It has a leg-up on this kind of subjective "pick of the week" post because Cap is my favorite character, yes. I won't deny that, I'm biased. But after a huge switch from the Captain America veteran Ed Brubaker to Rick Remender there was the possibility that I wouldn't like this book as much and would write it off more easily than if Brubaker's run had just kept going. I am thrilled to report that is not the case. The look backwards into Steve's childhood tied with the present of his raising a child of (sort of) his own is a pretty delightful change. On top of that, the series is tense and rife with action and adventure and what not. I don't think Remender sacrificed any one aspect of the book to build on another; they're all there in seemingly equal parts. The art and colors are matching the tone perfectly. It's just a lovely book.

Captain Marvel 10

No surprises that this is on my list, as it keeps landing here and on my pre-game lists. The last two issues have received a boost with Filipe Andrade's art but they'd be landing here regardless. This is just a great series with a great main character and the fearlessness to add new characters to its pages. A lot of writers starting a new book would hesitate to build up a supporting cast and throw the book so deep into the Marvel Universe, but DeConnick has pushed Carol's fellow Avengers into this book in nice and easy increments while also giving Carol a few non-hero contacts to strengthen her personality. From the people she crosses every day to the people who live around her to the people she bumps into, Carol has a unique relationship with every single character she meets. That's a rare trait, especially in a comic. One of the reasons I've liked Fraction's Hawkeye so much is that he has an easy-going kind of personality with all the people outside of his world. It's similar to Captain Marvel's, except that Hawkeye doesn't have to ever switch from that personality into huge ultra-powered hero. Sure he still is a hero and does heroic things, but he can't talk to someone then fly off mid-conversation to energy blast some bad guys. I'm not saying Hawkeye's easier to write or anything like that because it has its own challenges, but for Captain Marvel to so believably transfer from that friendly conversational mode into hard-hitting action is no easy feat. Great book.

Daredevil 23

I had to go back and read this issue before choosing it. My plan was to read the few that were up for this spot (Thor, Superior Spider-Man, Avengers, Nova) but I got to Daredevil first and, by the end, there was no question. The emotional punch that this issue packed teamed with the fact that there's a real long-running story going on here made for a pretty easy choice after all (though it's always hard not to pick Thor). On top of the fact that this issue ends in a gorgeous and heart-breaking, near-wordless page about where Foggy's going from here (pictured at left), not to mention that the rest of this issue beautifully showed Matt and Foggy's friendship, the individual behind a recent string of direct attacks on Daredevil is taking new and extreme steps to challenge the man without fear. This issue shows an attempt to replicate the accident that made Matt into Daredevil, using prison inmates as subjects. There are lots of places for this series to go right now and I think pretty much any of them are going to be exciting. Also, Samnee and Rodriguez are killing it on art and colors.

This week's picks

This week is maybe a little tiny bit boring for picks simply because they're all coming from my pre-game picks Tuesday. I would say it's a shame because there weren't necessarily surprises this week, but that's not true. It's just that, with the slate of books that came out this week, the strongest three were stronger than even I anticipated.

New Avengers 2

I'm going to keep talking about how excited I am about this book, okay? I'm really excited about this book. I think the personalities here are just brimming. I can keep feeling Panther's rage and Namor's arrogance. The art is beautiful and the faces are expressive. The coloring is perfect. It's good all the way around, guys. My girlfriend thought that Cap overreacted a little in this book, a little uncharacteristically. Even that, though, seemed rational to me. The guy's been against the Illuminati from the start and is only really willing to partake because he wants to represent the people and the people shouldn't be forced into "necessary evil." Still, this book asks questions like that and it doesn't have any signs of stopping. Off-topic, you can check out my girlfriend's representation of Cap and Wolverine over at her blog.

Captain America 3

So my bias might still be coming out here, picking Cap over other positive entries this week such as (but not exclusive to) Dark Avengers, Punisher: Nightmare, and Venom. I really do like what's happening in this book though. There's probably not another hero on Earth that's so associated with a place as Captain America is to, well, America. As I've said, he hasn't been written as an over-the-top patriot in a long while but the guy still wears a flag on his chest. He still recognizes that he's the symbol of America and Remender has taken him and put him in a place that isn't America and that has no knowledge of America. Remender's also stuck him with a kid and put him up against enemies he doesn't understand. A lot of things to love about all of this. Add to it that we're seeing lil Steve Rogers' background and this book is going places no other Cap run has. You should read it even if you're not a Cap fan (it legitimately might make you one, especially if you've passed him over as just an America nut) and you should definitely be reading it if you are a Cap fan.

Captain Marvel 9

On top of being another great issue of a very good book, I recommend this one over others this week because it is a perfect place to jump in. You get a good sense of who Carol is and who she hangs out with without needing to understand a big story around her. I think there were great character moments in issues prior to this but, aside from the first of either of the previous arcs, they require some knowledge of the ongoing plot. With this, knowledge of that plot doesn't hurt but it certainly isn't necessary. Also, Andrade's art is different than you'll see in almost all other comics and the pacing of the book keeps you wanting to read it but never wanting it to end. It's a pretty near perfect standalone issue and this book is definitely worth getting into. Like I said, this issue is the time to get onboard.



Well, that's interesting. All three of these chosen books were reviewed on the same day, along with Daredevil which I'd put somewhere in a recommendation pile, slightly below these ones. Look, I hope you're reading (and enjoying) all of my reviews but BOY they are long sometimes. Just, I guess, read Wednesday's if you're short on time. That's where all my picks came from ANYWAY.

Wait, just kidding, read all of them. They're all good?

Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow. Or you'll see me, I suppose. I don't see any of you, you're all just numbers. But I do love you. That is one hundred percent true.