Top Five Fridays 3/16/07
Some of you may have noticed on the sidebar, we have our “Top Five of the Moment” listed. These are the five books that are most clicking with each Pants writer. It may or may not represent the best books we’ve read all month, year, or just what we’re digging that week. We generally try to update it with books from that week, but there are no hard and fast rules. Inspired by an email from one of our readers, we’re going to post every Friday with the most recent Top Five from each member of the Panteon, and hope for your comments on our lists, or maybe even your own “Top Five of the Moment.”
Also, just as the Wednesday Number Ones feature is generally our spot for folks to talk about the comics of the week, we hope that Top Five Fridays is where you’ll come to talk about what’s going on in comics in general. News in the comics world, thoughts on comics you’ve recently read, talk about comic-related movies that release this weekend and more are welcome in the comments thread for Top Five Fridays.
This week, the Top Five Books of the Moment are:
Nick Budd
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- The Spirit
- B.P.R.D. Garden of Souls
- Thunderbolts
- The Irredeemable Ant-Man
Dave Farabee
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- B.P.R.D. Garden of Souls
- Warhammer 40,000:Damnation Crusade
- Fables
- Hack/Slash vs. Chucky
Dan Grendell
- Wonder Woman
- Gen 13
- 52
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- The Damned
Randy Lander
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- B.P.R.D. Garden of Souls
- The Damned
- King City Vol 1
- Hack/Slash vs. Chucky
David Martindale (D3)
- Thunderbolts
- New X-Men
- The Irredeemable Ant-Man
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Wonder Woman
Loading ...
Lots of Buffy love from the Panteon this week, including two skeptics (me and Dave) and one guy who doesn’t even like the show (D3, although we’re hoping to change his mind with a good selection of season two episodes.) Looks like Whedon, Jeanty and Dark Horse are doing something right.
As for the rest of my Top Five… B.P.R.D. was great as always, with an interesting focus on Daimio the undead squad leader and Abe the ex-Victorian fishman. The Damned is a bit of a cheat, as I won’t read it until tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure that it’s going to land at least that high on my list. King City is a great, funny, wild OEL manga that will get a full review sometime after the weekend. And Hack/Slash vs. Chucky is a fun take on the buddy movie spliced with the slasher flick spliced with Tim Seeley’s always entertaining original property Hack/Slash.
16 Mar 2007 at 12:33 am
QuoteFor my own part, I can’t believe I put the Warhammer comic above Fables this week. What the fuh is wrong with me? Here’s the thing: the Fables issue just happened to be the wrap to a particularly “meh” storyline with Allred art that was a bad fit anyway. And as for Warhammer 40K…sometimes a story just hits you at the right time. In the wake of my disappointment with the 300 movie, I think I needed some crazy-ass, testosterone infused, nihilistic violence…and Warhammer was there waiting for me. Good timing!
Still, it feels weird. Sorry, Fables. I’m sure we’ll be back in bed next ish.
And, yep, I really had a good time with Buffy. Quite unexpectedly, as the direction didn’t sound my speed at all, but it turns out I had missed the characters more than I expected and really enjoyed spending some time with them again.
16 Mar 2007 at 1:21 am
QuoteUnlike some pansy-asses, I’m not at all apologetic for what I liked this week. I’ve always liked the character of Wonder Woman, and a good story in that title can easily make my top 5. I’ve wavered back and forth on Gail Simone’s Gen 13 relaunch, but this finish to the first arc gets the kids on the same wavelength, has some great moments, and one thing I’ve never had issues with was her character stuff. I’m pretty jazzed for more after this issue. 52 was all Black Adam and Montoya, and those are my favorite characters in the book, so I was all over it. Plus, happy Black Adam is cool, but tormented and mad as hell Black Adam tearing up an entire nation just feels more right.
I didn’t expect to be onboard Buffy, as I certainly enjoyed the show but I’m not what I would call a huge fan, but this issue managed to pack in all of the things I liked about the show and make it look like there’s plenty more to come. So, a very fun read. And the wrapup to The Damned was good, quite satisfying, though I’m hearing tell of a follow-up mini and must admit I’m not sure if I dig the concept enough to follow it on or if it feels like it’s gone where it’s gonna go. Either way, I’ll be checking out the first couple issues of the next series before I make up my mind, but I gotta say I’m a bit skeptical.
16 Mar 2007 at 3:17 am
QuoteI’m surprised to see both ‘Hack/Slash vs. Chucky’ and ‘Gen13′ listed this week. I haven’t read any real positive reviews of ‘Gen13′ since it’s recent launch, so I’m curious why you, Dan, liked it?
Good to see everyone liked the first issue of the new ‘Buffy’ series. I’m waiting for the trade myself on this series and hope Darkhorse will release it soon, as fast as DC and Marvel have done the last couple of years.
Speaking of waiting for a Darkhorse trade, I’ve been waiting for one of ‘The Escapists’, but haven’t heard any news about it yet. Does anyone know if one is plannend and when it can be expected?
16 Mar 2007 at 5:39 am
QuoteDid I miss the final issue of the Damned? I kept meaning to put that on my pull list!
16 Mar 2007 at 7:12 am
Quote1. Fables
2. The Spirit
3. B.P.R.D Garden of Souls
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
5. New X-Men
Dave Farabee disappointed in the 300 movie? You may have wandered into the Norbit showing by accident. Check your ticket stub man. Seriously though, I thought it was fantastic. In keeping with the new movie coming up, how ’bout a TMNT podcast. It’s the franchise that got me into comics in the first place. Love the site guys. Thanks!
16 Mar 2007 at 7:13 am
QuoteWas a light week for me, and of the stuff I read nothing blew me away, so I’m including some stuff that might have come out a few weeks ago but I only got around to reading this week.
1. The Confession- Maybe a controversial choice being it got lambasted by Nick, but I thought it did some nice story telling and didn’t really see it as Bendis talking to the audience directly.
2. Criminal #5- I know some here were disappointed in the ending but I thought it was a good noir-ish wrap up to things.
3. Secret History- I’m sucker for this sorta stuff and this didn’t disappoint.
4. Heroes for Hire #7- Been loving the wackiness of this book, I’ll be sorry to see Palmiotti and Gray leave.
5. Irredeemable Antman- A series I’m surprised I like as the premise of yet another jerk hero wasn’t one I was crazy about, but there ya have it.
I wasn’t all that impressed by the Buffy book, I was skeptical and the book really didn’t change that for me, liked the Xander scenes, but other than that I was fairly indifferent about it, though honestly it could be I’m just burnt out on Whedon.
As to 300, Kat and I caught and yesterday and we liked it, though me more than her. I thought was a visual delight, I went in hoping for cinematic skeptical and that’s what I got, this visceral and visually stunning ballet of violence and death. My only real compliant was all the references to freedom that were peppered thought the film, I don’t remember them being in the comic and I know they weren’t in history/legend, the Spartans were more about service to the state than freedom, but while annoying it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the film, least not much.
16 Mar 2007 at 8:17 am
QuoteRandy, glad to see King City is worth the $10, because I definitely have pre-ordered it, and I’m pretty excited about it.
I’m a bit surprised to see Ant-man on a couple of lists - I loved the book at first, especially Hester and Parks on art, but like all books by Kirkman, it started to wear very thin on me.
1. Wormwood Gentleman Corpse (if ya like Templesmith and/or have a dry sense of humor, check it out)
2. Pantheon High (another one I owe to Dan)
3. Chronicles of Wormwood (was waiting for the trade, but I decided to try it out now instead and it’s surprisingly really good)
4. Death Comes to Dillinger (never heard of this, but picked it up on a whim. Great western starring Death)
5. D’airain Adventure (new series from Ashley Wood. All I need to know)
I think I’ll be the only one who won’t like Buffy….but then again, I’ve hardly ever watched the show. I just couldn’t pass up the $.75 special at DCBS.
16 Mar 2007 at 8:43 am
QuoteGood point about Kirkman as I’ve found myself feeling much the same about him at times, so far though I’m still enjoying Antman, though had it been a better week for me, it might not have made the cut.
Nope, yer not the only one, beat ya to it.
And I’ve seen every episode.
16 Mar 2007 at 8:48 am
QuoteAs for my Top 5, Buffy really rocked the house this week. It was fun, goofy, action packed and hit the same chord as the show. I still don’t know if I like Whedon on the X-Men but this first issue was just as good as Fray, and Fray is probably my favorite contribution to comics that Whedon has made. The Spirit still is probably the best new series for me. Love the art and absolutely love the reimagining that Cooke is doing for the character. As for the rest, I’m just in B.P.R.D. mode. I think the series works better in trade format but this issue focusing on Daimio and Abe was a great start to what will undoubtedly be another great mini. And rounding out my 5 are the fun picks. I just can’t get enough of Norman Osborn laughing like a mad man and constantly mumbling Spider-Man. Steel..Spider…Man! Something about the joke just hits my funny bone and I’m really enjoying Deadato’s artwork. And as for Ant-Man, the book is just stupid fun with fantastic Hester and Parks art.
On the 300 movie front…Well, I saw it last night and I have to say that I didn’t hate it. There were a few things that really grated on me (I lost count of how many slow motion shots were used…but 300 or more sounds plausible) but overall, I was entertained and that was all that I was looking to take away from the thing.
16 Mar 2007 at 9:07 am
QuoteKiel, glad to hear you dug Chronicles of Wormwood. I didn’t get #2, but I did try #1 to judge whether or not to get the eventual trade. It took a little bit of effort not to grab #2 off the shelf. I have it marked down as a wait for trade.
I really liked Buffy. I am highly skeptical of the scheduling, but whatever. I’m gonna buy it in every form they sell.. singles, softcover and hardcover mega awesomeness.
I’m no good at lists, so I’ll just omit that part.
16 Mar 2007 at 9:17 am
QuoteNick: I get what yer saying about the plethora Slo-Mo in 300, but speaking for myself I didn’t mind them, they helped me see what was going on, I hate when combats in films are so fast and chaotic that I can’t tell what’s happening. And much of those scenes reflected the panels in the comic, which appealed to the geek in me. The link below has a few side by side comparisons, pretty impressive stuff. In order to see the pics you may have to reload the page when you go there, at least I had to.
http://www.zyped.com/media.php?file=300.jpg
16 Mar 2007 at 9:39 am
QuoteNo worries, I’ll get you one next week.
16 Mar 2007 at 10:42 am
QuoteActually, all four of the Panteon members who went to the 300 screening were disappointed in it. I think I was the only guy who enjoyed it on some level, although I also thought it was basically a little rote, too much slow-mo and operatic music. It’s a pretty close translation of the graphic novel to the screen, I’ll give it that… but I didn’t think it was a great flick.
16 Mar 2007 at 10:47 am
QuoteIf you’ve been liking the wacky, I’m guessing that new writer Zeb Wells won’t disappoint. He’s one of the funnier writers in comics, and probably a perfect match for Heroes for Hire. I ditched that book after one issue when I was disappointed with all the Civil War references, but now I want to go back and give it another shot with the trade coming out… I generally like Palmiotti/Gray, and I like a bunch of the characters in the series.
Irredeemable Ant-Man had a long, overly slow origin story (six issues?!) but I like the vibe of the book. I haven’t been big on most of Kirkman’s work at Marvel, but this one I like. I’ve been enjoying it, and might pick up the trade… if there is one. The book’s sales are so low, though, I don’t know how long it’ll survive.
16 Mar 2007 at 10:50 am
QuoteThanks good to know. I too like a lot of characters and their inclusion is one of the things I like best about the series, especially some of the villains, there a subplot with the Headman currently coming to head.
Gotta love that! While the Civil War is there there are some pretty good moments from it, especially the thing with Cap and Paladin.
hehe First thing I did when I got home was go to I-tunes and get the soundtrack, listening to it right now in fact. Great gaming music.
16 Mar 2007 at 11:10 am
QuoteI’m digging the character bits, mostly. Characters have always been Gail’s forte and they certainly shine through in Gen 13. There’s also been a few cool new ideas, but its mainly been about character work for me.
16 Mar 2007 at 11:26 am
QuoteHaving just borrowed 300 and seeing it earlier this week, it wasn’t my favorite. It was a great adaptation of the book, but not a great movie. A lot like Sin City, actually. While not nearly as much of a mess as Sin City, the movie was just way overdone. It did have some pretty nice imagery, though.
16 Mar 2007 at 12:23 pm
Quote1. Thunderbolts - This is more like it. #112 was the kind of stuff I was hoping for when Ellis took over. Still have my doubts wheter or not he can keep it interesting for more than 6 issues but then I thought that about Nextwave and Ellis totally proved me wrong there. Note to Marvel: more series with M.O.D.O.K. babies!!!!
2. Fantastic Four - You guys have been singing Dwayne McDuffie’s praises for months now so decided #543 was as good a place as any to check his work out. I must say I’m impressed. Not the best issue ever, the TV show gimmick didn’t really work (isn’t Luke Cage supposed to be in hiding?) but he has a great handle on the characters and their dynamic. I’ll be back for the next issue. Fun back ups too.
3. Buffy - A really light week for me this week so picked this up. Enjoyed it but it wasn’t fantastic. Interested to see where it goes and if it doesn’t hook me I’ll be back when Brian K. Vaughn starts his arc.
4. New Avengers - Will probably be ridiculed for this but another strong issue and I’m a MASSIVE Lenil Yu fan. And thankfully that “Cap’s alive” line from The Initiative was revealed to be a lie because it allows Brubaker to tell his “Death Of The Dream” arc over in Captain America without it being sabotaged by other books.
5. Brit - Picked all three issues up in the back issue bin for less than #1 cost. Bargain any day of the week. Great fun with cracking art on the first two issues from Tony Moore.
Would’ve picked up The Confession too but Diamond stiffed my local on their order. They did it with Dark Tower too so it’s trade for me with that now
16 Mar 2007 at 2:37 pm
QuoteYou know I forgot all about this issue, I have to agree, while it might not be the best FF issue I’ve read, McDuffie nails the characters and for the first time in a very long time I care about the FF again.
You won’t get mocked by me as I enjoyed some things about the issue, though I found it a little hard to follow with the jumping around in time, granted I was tired when I read it. Two cliff hangers involving the same characters?
16 Mar 2007 at 3:32 pm
QuoteThanks for the support
It was a little hard to follow at times. I felt all the individual scenes were really strong but the structure of issue didn’t work. The two time frames didn’t gel at all really but that didn’t stop me enjoying the issue. Two cliffhangers could lead to some serious problems in issue 29 though. And I don’t mean for the New Avengers…
16 Mar 2007 at 4:18 pm
QuoteI can see that. In fact, though I wasn’t crazy about the music during the movie (it was too in-your-face, and I kept noticing it rather than it being a part of a seamless whole), I did think about downloading it for background gaming music, a purpose it seems perfect for.
16 Mar 2007 at 7:23 pm
QuoteHearing all the praise for Buffy I’m really sad that I missed it. My LCS was sold out when I finally made it in on Friday, so hopefully they got a reorder in before the deadline. Now I’m really looking forward to it.
On Fables, I also though the art was a strange fit in the first issue, but it really clicked with me in the second. This was my first exposure to Allred, and once I got used to his visual style it was a real pleasure to just look at the panels. Anyone have any recommendations for other stuff that a new fan might check out?
And while on the recommendations kick–is there a good jumping on point for B.P.R.D.? I’m really enjoying the non-spandex world lately, and from what I hear this is another fun series without the tights.
18 Mar 2007 at 11:24 am
QuoteSo, is Buffy the unofficial Hot Pants this week? It’s on all 5 of your lists.
And I repeat the sentiment of Mr. Duerr - how accessible is the new BPRD series? I think my only exposure to the Hellboy world was the $.25 issue they offered when the movie came out. I enjoyed it well enough, just kinda slipped out of my mind I guess. I like what little work I’ve seen from Guy Davis (from FF: Unstable Molecules), so there’s a plus. Could I jump on with this new #1, or do I need to hunt down some TPBs?
18 Mar 2007 at 12:00 pm
QuoteMy top 5 that came out last week:
1.) Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Like many others, I was pleasantly surprised by this. Most of the other Buffy comics I’ve sampled have left me unimpressed, even Fray which most people loved. I’m not crazy about the new Slayer Squad status quo, but I suppose it’s a logical outgrowth for how the series ended.
2.) 52 - I’m a little concerned that DC has stuffed too much of the plot for this series into the few remaining issues, but I’ll reserve judgment until the series is over.
3.) Fables - Maybe not the strongest arc ever, but even sub par Fables is still leagues above most other series.
4.) Knights of the Dinner Table - Despite the unsophisticated art, this series has always been high on my list due to its consistently funny writing and great character moments.
5.) Teen Titans - The fight scenes were a bit confusing in parts, but I still remain interested in the book.
18 Mar 2007 at 12:06 pm
QuoteAllred is probably best known for his series Madman which I believe just came out in an omnibus edition last month.
A more wallet friendly option would be his run with Peter Milligan on X-Force (later changed to X-Statix).
18 Mar 2007 at 12:12 pm
QuoteI would probably start a bit further back in the trades. Each mini-series is a stand-alone story of its own, but there are enough subplots carried through that are being dealt with in Garden of Souls that some background would probably be helpful. Hollow Earth and Other Stories is the first trade, though the real ongoing stuff kicks off with Plague of Frogs. I’d start with either of those, if you don’t want to go all the way back to the original Hellboy trades that BPRD spun off of.
18 Mar 2007 at 12:21 pm
QuoteIf nothing else, there’s a Buffy second print on the way, so you should be able to get a copy soon.
As for B.P.R.D., I’d say your best bet is Plague of Frogs, which is the beginning of the Mignola/Davis stuff… if you like that, you should go back and pick up the rest, as all of them are good, but the Mignola/Davis stuff is especially good.
I think you could probably jump on with any given issue of B.P.R.D., since they do a new #1 every few months, if you’re looking for a budget way to jump on… but the best starting point is probably the Plague of Frogs trade.
I highly recommend that series, by the way… I’m not sure, but it might be another unofficial Hot Pants pick… the only possible holdout is D3, because I’m not sure if he’s read it or not.
18 Mar 2007 at 1:27 pm
Quote