Top Five Fridays 09/07/07
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
- Lobster Johnson
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Incredible Hulk
- New Warriors
- DMZ Vol 3: Public Works
Dave Farabee
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Lobster Johnson
- Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus V.2
- Incredible Hulk
- Annihilation Conquest: Wraith
Dan Grendell
- Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus V.2
- Incredible Hulk
- Lobster Johnson
- Black Canary Wedding Planner
- Lucha Libre
Randy Lander
- Incredible Hulk
- True Story Swear to God
- DMZ Vol 3: Public Works
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- 30 Days of Night: Red Snow
David Martindale (D3)
- Annihilation Conquest: Wraith
- American Virgin
- New Warriors
- The Incredible Hulk
- DMZ Vol 3: Public Works
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Wow, all five listing The Incredible Hulk! Nice.
And maybe Lobster Johnson deserves another look.
07 Sep 2007 at 5:32 pm
QuoteAre those five ranked from favorite to fifth-favorite or just listed in whatever order comes to mind?
I guess it’s not a “ComicPants” type of books but nobody liked Wolverine? It didn’t get any mention of Wed #1s either despite a new creative team. I really loved the issue, probably my favorite of the week.
I’m not the biggest fan of that character, but Guggenheim is the perfect writer for it. He’s not afraid of making it too corny, of making it too over the top. And it IS corny and over-the-top, but I love it when writers are not ashamed of that. Chaykin’s art has the same quality, so it’s a fun combination.
07 Sep 2007 at 5:49 pm
QuoteThe last couple weeks were better, overall (and next week looks pretty promising), but this was still a pretty good week for comics. My Top 8 this week:
1. Incredible Hulk - Whether you think the Hulk doesn’t kill or you’re wrong and you think he does ;), this is a great issue. Pak addresses the notion of whether or not Hulk is a killer in the midst of World War Hulk, and makes it more than just a continuity implant, but instead a great story as well, driven by the character Amadeus Cho, who I’d really like to see more of. Best Hulk issue in quite a long time, in my opinion.
2. True Story Swear to God - Tom and Lily argue about Lily’s sister moving to Florida. Very tense and affecting work, and as always, Tom manages to bring around these difficult life decisions and moments in a way that is both melancholy and fully uplifting. And often very funny as well. So many more people should be reading this book.
3. DMZ Vol 3: Public Works - My favorite story arc, dealing with suicide bombers and a Blackwater-esque military corporation. At least, until the latest story arc, which was somehow even better. But this was a good read, and I’m looking forward to catching it again in trade, where I’m sure I’ll pick up new nuances.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - #5, the standalone, was my favorite of Whedon’s run… and then Vaughan comes along and blows Whedon’s run out of the water, with a great focus on Faith, good use of Giles and a forwarding of the developing big bad of “season eight” in the background.
5. 30 Days of Night: Red Snow - Talked about why I loved this one in Wednesday Number Ones, but in short… great art, good story, very creepy mood, and I can’t wait to see what happens next
6. New Warriors - OK, I’m very interested in the “Who is Night Thrasher?” story and digging this interesting take on a new superteam. Honestly, this makes me want to go back to the Underworld movies and give them a second chance, because Grievoux’s writing is very good, and Paco Medina’s art is terrific.
7. Annihilation Conquest Wraith - After a weaker second issue, the book rebounds with Wraith on the run from the Phalanx. Gorgeous work by Kyle Hotz.
8. Iron Man Enter The Mandarin - Talked about this one in Wednesday Number Ones as well… I’m not entirely sold on Casey’s weird modern yet retro vibe, but I did buy Avengers: EMH in HC largely due to the art and what I liked about the story, and I can see the same being true for the Canete art in this one.
9. Process Recess 2 - Ginormous oversized prints of James Jean’s work, with a little bit of process sketches on the back. Nice format, beautiful work, although not quite as info-packed on process stuff as the first Process Recess or Adhouse’s artbook to end all artbooks, Pulphope.
07 Sep 2007 at 5:55 pm
QuoteWell, I haven’t read everything that I wanted to this week so there’s a very good chance that I could make a top ten. Still, I’d have to say this was another good week for books.
1. Lobster Johnson - I covered it for Wednesday Number Ones already but I can’t pass up the opportunity to say how phenomenal this book was.
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Again, covered this one already but like I said before, Vaughan does Buffy better. Period.
3. Incredible Hulk - Pak has actually become one of my favorite writers right now. He gets the Hulk and his explanation as to why the Hulk has never killed before is fantastic. Honestly, I want him to stick with the book for as long as possible. Years if at all possible.
4. New Warriors - It’s been years since I’ve actually cared about the secret identity of a comic book character. I mean really, was it that interesting that Echo was Ronin? I didn’t think so but Grevioux is doing this one right and I want to know who Night Thrasher is. Oh, and like Randy said, Medina’s art is terrific.
5. DMZ Vol 3 - Honestly, I tried to read this in single issues and the gap between them hurt the story. That said, this is a heck of a story. I’m not sure that it beats out “Body of a Journalist” for me but Wood knows how to spin out one heck of a tale.
6. She-Hulk - Last issue for Dan Slott and he leaves the book with a humdinger of a last issue. Loved the continuity stuff that he fixes and I can honestly say that I’ll miss him on this book, even if I haven’t enjoyed it as much as I did at it’s beginning.
07 Sep 2007 at 8:50 pm
Quote1.Mouse Guard:Winter 1152
2.Y The Last Man
3.Action Comics
4.Fantastic Four
5.Buffy the Vampire Slayer
6.Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin
07 Sep 2007 at 10:14 pm
Quote1. Lobster Johnson- Fun stuff. Reminded me in a less-over-the-top way of my favorite Mignola work, Screw On Head (will HE be in the second Rumble Pants?? He better be. Against…er…Robot from Invincible??)
I did like the references to its “second-rate Hellmouth” that was a minor gag in a couple episodes.
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer- Vaughn kicks it up a notch. First, it was awesome to see him hit his (and my) home town. The statue faith is sitting on is a part of one of our older bridges in town. Neatest thing to see it in comic form. Sadly, he hit all the “mistake on the lake” stuff a bit too hard. Yeah, yeah, I know he couldn’t wait to get out of here but man…that is so 80’s. Detroit, after all, is the new Mistake on the Lake.
3. Y The Last Man: C’mon, where is the love? Only 2 issues to go (as the cover alludes to, nicely). I am enjoying the relaxed speed of the wind down but the stuff still continues to shock and make one smile all in the same issue. That last page was a tough one.
4. Shanna The She Devil- Okay, it is T&A exploitation. I still can’t help but enjoy it, dammit. Sue me. Nazi ape-men! Golden Cities of Terror…built by Hitler! Dinosaurs!
5. Wraith- Still cool, still interesting character and great action. I think we can see where this is clearly going with only one more issue to go before it joins the main series but still cool. Will all the heroes have their own Scooby gang by the time the main series hits? Nova, check. Starlord, check. Wraith, check. Only Quasar seems to have only a side-kick instead of a crew.
07 Sep 2007 at 11:17 pm
QuoteFor me, it’s listed from favorite to fifth-favorite… I’m not sure that’s the case for everybody.
It’s not so much that I didn’t like it as that if they killed off Wolverine at this point, my reaction would range from a smile of joy to a bored “eh.” That’s how little investment I have left in the character.
I did try to give this one a read, as I want to like Guggenheim’s work, but his over-the-top comedic (oh God I hope he’s being comedic) take doesn’t work for me, and I thought Chaykin’s art looked rushed and uneven.
We don’t cover every creative team change, and I’d argue that this was a pretty minor one. Guggenheim was writing the character during Civil War, so this is more of a return by a familiar face than a brand new era, and Chaykin on art isn’t likely to last too long either, so it’s more like an extended guest term than a new creative team.
Of course, that’s what the Jeph Loeb/Simone Bianchi run was, too, they just didn’t make that as clear ahead of time.
08 Sep 2007 at 12:12 am
QuoteI don’t know about the rest of the guys here, but for me, this wasn’t a matter of leaving it off the list, but actively disliking the issue. I didn’t buy the “relationship reveal” in the first place, and I hated the last page. After the long investment in this book, and given the flubbed explanation for how it all happened, I’m really worried that Vaughan is going to leave me with a dissatisfying ending, which will effectively wreck the whole thing for me.
Y had great setup, but so far almost all of the payoffs have been disappointing to me on one level or another. I’m still a huge Vaughan fan, and he’s earned enough credit with me that I’ll give the book a chance for the last two issues to pull out and surprise me, but I’m extremely wary of where Y is going at this point.
08 Sep 2007 at 12:16 am
QuoteOh, and just as an aside, if anyone out there is considering picking up Infinity, Inc #1… don’t. Dave F. suggested I read it (after I’d planned to avoid it) to see if I disagreed with his opinion, as we do occasionally disagree.
I do not disagree with his opinion. If anything, I think he was too nice to the book. Infinity Inc. #1 is a bad, bad book. Boring, angsty, pointless, no interesting characters, slow-paced, weak art with a couple of obnoxiously out-of-place cheesecake bits (seriously, we needed to see the assistant’s bra peeking out?) and did I mention angsty?
Seriously, this isn’t even over-the-top All Star Batman and Robin funny to laugh at bad. It’s just dull, dull comics. I do not say this lightly, but Steel’s boring-ass niece Natasha actually deserves a better comic than this. And I generally don’t think that character deserves anything but permanent limbo.
08 Sep 2007 at 12:21 am
QuoteI’d asked who pissed in your cereal, but I know it was me. Not that you’re wrong.
08 Sep 2007 at 12:27 am
QuoteHas BKV totally checked out on Y or what? Why do all the women look alike? This is the slowest moving bimonthly series in history. And it was obvious the relationship reveal was coming for the last several issues, though I admit the last page was a bit of a surprise. At this point, it’s not a question of good or bad — I just want to see how this shit ends.
Gave Infinity #1 a chance due to my love of Peter Milligan and the classic Infinity Inc from my early comic reading days in the 80s. Thank god for low expectations because this start probably doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway sending the young heroes of Earth-2 up against the Ultra-Humanite and a mind-controlled JSA!! The cover feels like it was swiped directly from 52. Local Comic Shop Guy taunts me for reading a large number of Vertigo titles but there’s a reason I stay away from a lot of the mainstream “spin-off” kinda stuff. Are those extra arms coming out of the body of the new Fury??
Always behind on my reading but just to prove I’ve got positive thoughts too:
1. Immortal Iron Fist
I’m a sucker for non-A-list characters. Really enjoying the exploration of the Iron Fist mythology. The covers and interior art have been terrific.
2. Crossing Midnight
Making me not miss Lucifer as much. Mike Carey is spinning another dark fantasy epic here. First trade $9.99, buy it.
3. Wasteland
Okay, the B&W format makes it hard to tell apart the characters at times, but the first two arcs are building nicely to what looks to be an exciting (and bloody) climax. KILLIIIIIIT. Much funnage.
4. Fables/Jack of Fables
The franchise has been great lately, esp the current Frog Prince arc in Fables. I’d buy it for the James Jean covers alone. Jack doesn’t take itself quite as seriously but provides some nice dark comedy (and new Brian Bolland covers).
5. DMZ
Yeah, 3 Vertigo titles. Brian Wood has been on a roll. This series seems to be getting better with each arc. Local is horribly depressing (and late) but very poignant (and late) at times. I’m looking forward to the upcoming Northlanders series, as I’m curious to see what he can with characters who aren’t angsty oh-so-hip 20-somethings. Yeah yeah, family and society can be alienating for kids who take themselves too seriously, got it.
08 Sep 2007 at 8:26 am
QuoteYeah, I’m not a big Wolverine fan either but I’ve been entertained by Guggenheim’s writing. I was kind of assuming he was being comedic. I mean, he opened every issue of his Civil War run with some variation of the “Best I am…” line!
The only other book I bought this week was the Boys. I’ll give the next arc a shot but this series is getting stale way too early. But then I’m not a huge Ennis fan to begin with.
Too bad about Infinity. I don’t think there is any writer out there whose peaks are as high and valleys are as low as Milligan. Hard to believe it’s the same guy writing all that stuff actually.
Thanks for the explanation on Wed. #1s. I was just curious why sometimes a change in creative team warrants a mention (as with BKV on Buffy) and other times it doesn’t, I just assumed you only wrote about a creative change if you were inspired to.
08 Sep 2007 at 9:17 am
QuoteWell, my number 1 this week is probably starting culinary school (at Johnson & Wales) which is pretty exciting. Unfortunately it was a pretty slow week for me comics-wise.
In no particular order:
-Incredible Hulk
-New Warriors
-Doktor Sleepless
-DMZ vol 3: I read the single issues here, but they kicked ass, so i’m assuming they kick even more ass in trade format.
Everything else (Uncanny, Wolverine, Detective, Scalped) I enjoyed to varying degrees but wouldn’t put on the list.
08 Sep 2007 at 8:11 pm
QuoteI don’t think he’s checked out, I just think he’s going in a direction that isn’t where I wanted the book to go. As for the women looking alike, that’d be more of a criticism of Pia Guerra, wouldn’t it? Not one I agree with, incidentally.
Let’s all remember that in addition to Shade the Changing Man, Human Target and X-Statix, Peter Milligan wrote a godawful Elektra series and plenty of similar weak work at ’90s Marvel. Easy flowchart is Milligan on Vertigo = Excellent, Milligan on Superheroes = 95% likely to suck.
Wait, your comic shop guy taunts you for reading the best line of comics in the mainstream? Slap him in his head, tell him it’s from me.
Then tell him that we make huge sacks of money on DMZ, Fables and Y trades, and he’s leaving money on the table if he doesn’t support Vertigo.
Then slap him in his head again. He won’t be expecting it.
I’ve read a black and white copy of Northlanders #1… it’s really damn good. Wish DC would go ahead and solicit the damn thing.
Well, that’s pretty close. Our guidelines for Wednesday Number Ones are more like fuzzy guidelines than hard and fast rules.
Hey, congrats man! And good luck… I just finished reading Kitchen Confidential and realized that as much as I love food, there’s no way in hell I could be a professional chef. Too much pressure.
You should celebrate by going out and picking up a couple volumes of the cooking manga Iron Wok Jan!
08 Sep 2007 at 11:44 pm
QuoteMy problem with Infinity inc.? I can’t really imagine a Steel and Natasha series not written by Priest.
09 Sep 2007 at 6:31 pm
QuoteI heard a rumor that Priest has more or less retired from comics, citing too many disappointments with the industry, or something to that effect. Be a shame if it’s true, he’s one of my favorite writers out there.
09 Sep 2007 at 10:12 pm
QuoteBKV “out-Whedons” Whedon. The story was *much* better paced than the previous issues without sacrificing the references to the series. Great dialogue with an excellent set-up for this arc. Honestly, this issue was so good that it put a spotlight on how messy and muddled Whedon’s issues were. Don’t get me wrong - I enjoyed Whedon’s issues, but BKV’s was that much better.
10 Sep 2007 at 7:18 am
Quote