This week's picks!

Another pretty solid week on the books and all that's left to do is break down the most highly recommended books we had this week. EASY PEASY.

Black Widow 5
I wrote a review later on this list about five times talking about how it had barely beat out BLACK WIDOW because, unfair as it is to BLACK WIDOW, it's held to a higher standard because of four amazing issues to start it off. Then, as I kept trying to explain why it had barely beaten it out, I found myself disagreeing with my own arguments. So here we are, replacing PUNISHER with BLACK WIDOW on this list. I thought that PUNISHER had the upper hand this week in the narrative, which Edmondson uses in both books, but I liked the action, the characters, and the art more on BLACK WIDOW, enough to push it just past the great action, characters, and art on PUNISHER. In truth, it was also partly because Natasha made Molot Boga get sucked into a jet turbine and because of the panel right before it happened (seen at left). Great, great book.

Moon Knight 2

This one definitely stuck with me through the week. The layout, the narration, the chilling midway point as your comfort in the narration takes a turn; it's all perfectly handled and it makes the book a really quick and tense, though gorgeous, read. The initial narration, simple black print on a white background, reminds you of Moon Knight and therefore quickly reads like Moon Knight's narration, not to mention that it sounds just like his origin. Then you realize that it's not just a character saying it while all the action goes on, it's the character behind the action saying it and it forces you to wonder if Moon Knight is killing these people. Then, when all of the eight targets on the page have been killed, the first person you see in the aftermath is Moon Knight himself. It's a wonderful turn and just about the best way for Ellis and Shalvey to show us how crazy we even think Moon Knight is, that we believed it could have been him. Amazing, thought-provoking, mind-blowing, great stuff.

New Warriors 3
Also just beating out PUNISHER this week, I think that NEW WARRIORS had a real turnaround issue this week. I don't think the book was bad in any way before this issue or anything like that, it just felt like it was going to take longer to set up with all of the moving parts and the big storyline that Yost was creating. However, this third issue really did a great job explaining our plot and further establishing our characters, all in a pretty quick reading twenty pages or so. Really well done by Yost and artist Marcus To as they continue to build the world of these young superheroes and start to get the audience a little more situated. Bonus points go to NEW WARRIORS this week for giving just about the simplest but most accurate breakdown of so many of the off-shoot races on Earth, like mutants, Atlanteans, Lemurians, Inhumans, Eternals, Deviants, GOD SO MANY.


BONUS PICK OF THE WEEK
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Seriously, just everyone go see it. Though I imagine if you're on this blog, I probably don't need to tell you.