So there.

but Pantheon City looks fantastic.

But it’s a Ron Marz comic! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

1.) Invincible - I don’t know why Kirkman’s Image work is so much better than his Marvel stuff, but this issue was amazing. There were several moments that could’ve served as issue ending cliffhangers.

5.) Dark Horse Comics Free Comic Book Day 2007 - My FLCS guy gave me an early peak at this and all three books previewed in it piqued my interest. The most interesting one IMO is The Umbrella Academy which should appeal to fans of offbeat superheroes.

I just got a chance to read the DH FCBD offering, and it’s really good, possibly my second favorite of the batch aside from the Toronto Comics Fest issue which is just packed with impressive artists and writers. My particular favorite in the DH sampler is the second story, a sci-fi offering called Pantheon City with art by Clement Sauve… it’s jaw-dropping level gorgeous. Zero Killer (the post-apocalyptic story at the back) is good, Umbrella Academy reads like Madman meets Hellboy meets Casanova (and that’s good too), but Pantheon City looks fantastic.

Relating to Kirkman and FCBD… I read the first free issue of Astounding Wolf-Man, and it looks like another in a line of “Kirkman’s Image work being stronger than Marvel.” It’s a really good first issue, with nice art by Jason Howard, and a pretty substantial offering for free. Definitely pick this one up when you guys hit the FCBD bonanzas in a couple weeks.

I`ll echo the surprise at seeing WWIII books in some of your guys` list. I didn`t think it was that interesting, some parts of it were pretty stretched out to fit the explanations of OYL, the world`s superheroes couldn`t take out one guy? I suppose it`s because the big three were gone, right? Ridiculous. I dunno, seemed more of a dud to me.

1.) Invincible - I don’t know why Kirkman’s Image work is so much better than his Marvel stuff, but this issue was amazing. There were several moments that could’ve served as issue ending cliffhangers.

2.) Shadowpact - Read this book if you want to see a DC super team done right.

3.) Birds of Prey - I’m still not sure how well the new member of the Secret Six will fit in, but this is the strongest arc this book has had in some time.

4.) Ex Machina - Strange but good.

5.) Dark Horse Comics Free Comic Book Day 2007 - My FLCS guy gave me an early peak at this and all three books previewed in it piqued my interest. The most interesting one IMO is The Umbrella Academy which should appeal to fans of offbeat superheroes.

1. Fell - Another fantastic issue. Feels like there’s 32 pages not 16 it’s put together so well. Always worth the wait.

2. All Star Superman - Another book, like Fell, that’s worth the wait between issues. Completely off the wall, yet totally nails the essence of Superman and expands on it. Helps that Frank Quitely is drawing it too.

3. Thunderbolts - Ellis has really hit his stride now. I’m much more interested in the behind the scenes stuff and I really like how Ellis is adding a human side to the likes of Steel Spider & co. I know he’s only setting them up to knock them down but I’m still enjoying it.

4. Iron Man - A bit of a hit & miss issue but when it hit it was excellent especially the Mandarin’s “awakening”.

5. Dark Tower - Picked up issues 1 to 3 while in holiday in Paris. A great read, annoyed with myself that I didn’t seek them out sooner.

Ex Machina & The Spirit would normally be on the list but this month’s issues weren’t up to their usual high standards for some reason.

X-Factor would’ve made it too if it wasn’t for the poor art.

I’m surprised to see World War III titles among some of the lists. I thought it was a mess, an exercise in maintaining continuity. And why four issues released in the same week? Is there anyone who was interested in the event who wasn’t planning on picking up all four?

I had a similar reaction. It seemed mostly like a disjointed fight seen with a bunch of quick OYL explanations thrown in to appease fans. I also don’t buy that Black Adam is powerful enough to take on virtually every super-hero in the world no matter how pissed off he is. And if he was fighting to kill in the final battle, the death toll should’ve been much higher.

DC was pretty much forced into releasing all the issues together by the weekly 52 format. If they had waited to release WWIII, 52 would’ve already been over by the time WWIII finished.

Definitely agree with all the Spirit and B&TB love here. Those two books and ASS should be the standard-bearers for superhero books, and everyone should try to emulate the spirit of those books (which is odd, since everything else DC is doing is very uninspired IMO).

Yeah, ASS is a really good comic book. Not as good as CROTCH, but still damned good

To make a top-5 I’d include Fell…I HATE the trend toward cynicism in comics the last 5-7 years, but Fell takes that cynicism almost to the point of parody.

And I’ll round out the list with Local and Optic Nerve. I dropped DMZ early in its run (just didn’t speak to me in any way), but Local has been one of the consistently quality books of the last year. And Optic Nerve has been so for the last decade.

I’d probably include the DD TPB but I haven’t bought it yet.

Hold on a sec, there is a collection of Too Much Coffee Man. I remember reading that years ago, I don’t even remember where I read it. I just remember finally relating to a comic as I was (am) a coffee addict. Tell me more about this collection.

There are actually three collections, with a fourth on the way in June. They’re all published by Dark Horse, and are all a lot of fun.

4. Too Much Coffee Man: Parade of Tirade - tried this out based on a comment Randy made in the last Down the Line, and I’m not disappointed.

Hold on a sec, there is a collection of Too Much Coffee Man. I remember reading that years ago, I don’t even remember where I read it. I just remember finally relating to a comic as I was (am) a coffee addict. Tell me more about this collection.

1. Cross Bronx - man, I wish Oeming would draw more. I haven’t been impressed by much of his writing, but damn I love his artwork.

2. Loveless - screw the Lone Ranger. This is a raw, brutal Western.

3. Exterminators - what a fun little book, with perfectly suited art by Tony Moore.

4. Too Much Coffee Man: Parade of Tirade - tried this out based on a comment Randy made in the last Down the Line, and I’m not disappointed.

5. Fell - what can be said that hasn’t been said before? Ellis at his best and Templesmith’s art is delightful. Maybe the trade will come out on time after all.