This week's picks

Plenty of books out there this week but the top three rather stand out to me. Guess I can't ask for easier than that? AND, spoilers, THEY'RE ALL FROM ONE REVIEW THIS WEEK.

Amazing Spider-Man 2

I'm particularly impressed in this issue how much Slott is setting up without it ever feeling like "geez, we get it." I got that feeling a few times nearing the end of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN (or perhaps it was the middle, when Spidey 2099 started popping up and Sup Spidey was kicked out of Horizon and so on) and I've seen Slott fall into that trap before. Instead, here, he's rearing to go with a lot of stories (you just know that Dan Slott has been the one most eagerly anticipating Peter's return) but he's, as of now, planning to roll them out only when it's really time to roll them out. With so much happening already in the plot, it's nice to see the book waiting until the time is right to add more stories in. On top of that, this issue was strong in its own right, fast and fun and this volume still has the new car smell so we should all be excited to show it off to all our friends before it starts to get worn in.

Daredevil 3

There are weeks when I try a little harder (or the books try a little harder, I suppose) to make my picks a little less standard, trying to shine a light on other books that have the ability to unseat one of my typical choices. NOT THIS WEEK, friends. I praised DAREDEVIL on its consistency this week and I don't just mean that it's consistently putting out a readable book, which would be a feat in its own right. No, this book is consistently one of the best books on the shelves and 2013 saw it winning its fair share of "best of" lists (or at least placing near the top). Mark Waid has been writing a really engaging Daredevil while telling a really interesting story and Chris Samnee has been doing stellar work all the way through. Even steps that should have felt a little predictable in this issue feel fresh and exciting and the writing and tone alone would make for a completely worthwhile top pick, but Chris Samnee and Javier Rodriguez's art just always shoot this book up to another level. Great work.

Elektra 2

Though we're only two issues in, I'm really enjoying this series. It's a little hard not to draw critical comparisons to BLACK WIDOW as we see two typically colder characters, both professionals and neither afraid to get their hands dirty, start to get their own unique narratives and enter into their own unique stories, but I'm not about to start complaining (about either book). Mike Del Mundo's art is gorgeous, the story is compelling, and the characters, from what we've seen about them so far, seem more than capable of carrying this series. Both Edmondson of BLACK WIDOW and Blackman of ELEKTRA are also doing the smart thing with the dialogue: neither of these protagonists are chatterboxes and neither writer is finding it necessary to turn them into such to advance the plot. They're both excellent at showing, not telling, and at building character through action and, of course, narrative (never hurts to have a direct line into the thoughts of a character, even though these books are still keeping those somewhat close to the vest). Really neat book so far.