Top Five Fridays 5/18/07
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
- Satan’s $@#%* Baby
- Mouse Guard Vol. 1 (HC)
- B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls
- Plain Janes
- X-Men: First Class Special
Dave Farabee
- Fables
- X-Men: First Class Special
- Mouse Guard Vol. 1 (HC)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Vol. 2 (TPB)
- B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls
Dan Grendell
- Mouse Guard Vol. 1 (HC)
- Satan’s $@#%* Baby
- Plain Janes
- X-Men: First Class Special
- Local
Randy Lander
- Satan’s $@#%* Baby
- B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls
- X-Men: First Class Special
- Fables
- Plain Janes
David Martindale (D3)
- X-Men: First Class Special
- Satan’s $@#%* Baby
- Fables
- Local
- All-Star Batman & Robin (So bad it’s good)
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1.Mouse Guard Vol. 1(HC)-Just a really gorgeous collection with some great extras. It has the entire package and leaves me hungry for Winter 1152.
2.Fables-Another terrific issue of THE best ongoing series right now. Great, great payoff regarding the Forsworn Knight. I want the next issue already.
3.Ex Machina- This book never fails for me. Really looking forward to see where this story goes for Mitch. It just seems this is the beginning of the end in some ways for him or at least it has that feel in this issue.
4.Countdown-Great to see Jimmy Olson getting some major screen time and hope he gets plenty more of it in this series. I can’t say how excitied I am with the writers who are on board for this. They’re not the biggest of names like Bendis or Millar but they’re just as damn good if not better(ok they are) and know how to tell a good fun story.
5.Storm Shadow- This was just a ball of an issue. Lots of fun and it put my fears to rest about it being worth reading. Just some cool ass ninja fighting and really hope Hama stays on for a while and this book last for a long time.
I was also impressed with Left on Mission. A good solid start. Catwoman was also really well done this week. It seems Selina’s world is about to be turned upside down.
18 May 2007 at 12:43 pm
Quote1- X-Men First Class Special: Great writing and art combine to make a funny and touching comic with a lot of heart, something missing in “mainstream” comics nowadays.
2- Thunderbolts: Due to an aforementioned “shipping delay” last week, had two weeks worth of books this week. This was the best of last weeks bunch, Ellis is really cranking things up now and Deodato is providing his best work since his return to Marvel a few years ago.
3- Fallen Son: This was surprisingly good. The series has been getting better as it’s progressed and to be honest the fact that John Romita Jr was on art duties meant it was probably gonnna be in the my top 5 this week regardless of the plot! Some nice interplay between Iron Man and Hawkeye and Hawkeye taking up the shield, however briefly, somehow made sense in a strange way (I’m sure I’ll get annihilated for that!). It was good to see him meeting the new Hawkeye too. One gripe, this should’ve been put out before last week’s New Avengers #30. Hawkeye’s decision in that would’ve made a lot more sense in light of this.
4- Ultimates: Delays be damned, this was a gorgeous piece of work. The character moments after the battle (which proved that Millar should be writing Thor, not JMS) were the best part, especially the Hawkeye part. Can’t get enough of the guy this week!
5- Batman: What happened here? Morrison finally delivers with Batman kicking some serious behind, Robin stepping up, an interesting mystery and the “Black Casebook” is a fantastic idea well worth exploring. Can’t wait now for JH Williams to come on board
Random Thoughts: Ex Machina really felt like Vaughn is beginning to pad out his arcs, to be honest he could’ve gotten to the last page of this issue in two, not three, issues. I know he’s committed to 50 issues and probably has it planned but I’d much prefer a few less issues if it meant a proper and satisfying conclusion. And by satisfying, I mean quicker
X-Factor was solid again but really not liking the art.
Iron Fist would’ve made the top five last week too.
And the new Transformers trailer has made me really excited to see it despite my disappointment with Spider-Man 3
18 May 2007 at 1:44 pm
QuoteHello. Thank you for your best five titles of the week. Are you planning on doing a review of Satan’s $@#%* Baby? Just curious since it was mentioned more than once.
Keep up the good work.
18 May 2007 at 4:00 pm
QuoteSatan’s Baby is in the post Wednesday’s Number Ones. I am going to have to get Plain Janes… along with the First Class Special. These seem to be two not to miss.
18 May 2007 at 4:34 pm
Quote“5. All-Star Batman & Robin (So bad it’s good)”
Amen to that!
18 May 2007 at 4:45 pm
QuoteHad to give it a nod. I had more fun reading it than any other book this week. Only because I was laughing so hard at it… but still, the funnest book of the week for me.
Actually, that’s saying a lot with the X-Men First Class Special and Satan’s Baby in the same week. Still only #5 though; couldn’t stomach placing it any higher.
18 May 2007 at 4:53 pm
QuoteAmen to the Ultimates #13, which is, I think, about 6 years too late. Or something like that. It is actually a nice bookend to the series. Like Nova #2, it plays as a nice counter-balance to the whole Initiative/Civil War problem in the mainline books. Where in Nova #2, we get a great bit of dialogue between Richard and Tony that, oddly enough, speaks to what fans are most concerned about with today’s Marvel. With Ultimates, we get a finale that (spoilers, if you are still planning on reading it) takes a militarized, SHIELD-run Superhero Team and gives it back to the original, paid-for-by-Tony group of the old days.
I am sure in a year (I would guess by release of new Iron Man movie, at the latest) we will have the MU return to the old days of vigilantes fighting without permission of the government and Tony will be reformed. Which is too bad, because even with the lateness of the book, Millar already did it with his series, essentially starting with the government run team and taking it to the conclusion that it is a bad idea to do that. Sweet.
But it was a fun book and a great run overall. The center fold out…that kept on folding out…was great, too. What a fun, over-the-top book.
My Five:
1) Ultimates #13 (and NOW I can read the annual that comes after it in story but came out a year before it in release time…grrr…).
2) X-Factor: Agreed, not best looking art but good story.
3) Fables: Wow. Great stuff all around. I was dreading after last issue that we would have a three-peat with yet another excursion to the Homelands after Blue and Bigby did theirs but this one is going in a completely different direction. I still love that Beast, Charming and team aren’t a bunch of losers in their positions (as I thought they would be when they got their jobs).
4) Rest of Ultimates series: Having fun re-reading the series again…mostly for fun but partially to remember what happened back in 2005 when the previous one came out (or was it last year? Can’t remember).
5) Mouse Guard: I have the original run and didn’t pick up the HC but seeing the HC in the store made me want to read through it again. Great series (and I think another book I picked up only after reading about it on here, I think).
18 May 2007 at 7:55 pm
QuoteYup, both were excellent. If you like Plain Janes, you may want to track down Christine Norrie’s recent graphic novel Breaking Up. It is also aimed at teenage girls, but like Plain Janes, has universal appeal, and Norrie’s art is top notch. She’s only getting better with each new project.
18 May 2007 at 7:56 pm
QuoteUltimates #13 is about 8 months late, so #12 was out last year. As far as the Mouse Guard Hardcover goes, it’s beautiful, and includes a brand-new epilogue. Plus, with the issues being such an odd size, they don’t fit in standard bags, so keeping them from getting messed up is a pain. I just gave my issues to a friend’s son and bought the HC, which will hold up much better.
18 May 2007 at 8:00 pm
QuoteHonestly, how great would it be if they put a new team on All-Star Batman, but just let Miller and Lee keep doing their current run, and retitle it “The Goddamn Batman!”? I’d buy that once a year just for how awesomely absurd it is.
18 May 2007 at 8:05 pm
Quoteultimates 2 #13 and batman #665 were my favorites of this week. but all star batman & robin was an entertaining read. i’d love for miller and lee to handle wonder woman. that would be one hell of a comic.
20 May 2007 at 3:35 pm
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