Top Five Fridays 10/19/07
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
- Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition HC Vol. 1
- Umbrella Academy
- Marvel Zombies 2
- Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil HC
- Suburban Glamour
Dave Farabee
- Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition HC Vol. 1
- Fables
- Uzumaki Vol. 1
- Brave and the Bold
- DMZ
Dan Grendell
- Monster V.11
- Bookhunter GN
- Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition HC Vol. 1
- Brave and the Bold
- Umbrella Academy
Randy Lander
- Fables
- Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition HC Vol. 1
- Marvel Zombies 2
- 52 The Covers HC
- Captain America
David Martindale (D3)
- Captain America
- Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition HC Vol. 1
- 52 The Covers HC
- Fables
- The Umbrella Academy
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1. Captain America
2. Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition HC Vol. 1
3. 52 The Covers
4. Fables
5. The Umbrella Academy
6. The Highwaymen
7. Marvel Zombies 2
8. DMZ
9. X-Men: Emperor Vulcan
10. Suburban Glamour
19 Oct 2007 at 11:31 am
QuoteReally good week for me, especially if you count trades/hardcovers in the mix:
1. Fables - The Good Prince story is six parts in now, and I’m not feeling any signs of it dragging or feeling too long, which surprises me. Great twists and developments this issue, and it sure feels like big things are happening in Fables right now.
2. Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition HC Vol. 1 - Great presentation of a great manga. It’s also an unofficial Hot Pants pick, as you can see by it making all of our Top Fives this week.
3. Marvel Zombies 2 - Covered in Wednesday Number Ones, but I’ll just reiterate: I in no way expected this to be so much fun.
4. 52 The Covers HC - Fantastic. Exactly what I wanted from this kind of book, beautiful production, interesting sketches and shows off J.G. Jones’s finished pieces very well.
5. Captain America - More shocking developments, plus the usual great action, characterization and artwork
Hell, if none of those books came out, *this* could have been my Top Five for the week:
6. Highwaymen - Strong finale, not the “blaze of glory” ending I was expecting but that’s a good thing, I like a little bit of upbeat in endings now and again
7. Brave And The Bold - Great standalone with Wonder Woman and Power Girl. Waid really is the guy I trust with the DCU more than anyone right now
8. DMZ - Focusing on Amina, the suicide bomber from the previous arc… it’s a little slow and meditative, but very interesting, and clearly setting up future stories
9. Shazam Monster Society Of Evil Deluxe HC - Gorgeous production values and extras. I wasn’t even that wild about the story by the end, but I bought it because it’s such a beautiful looking hardcover
10. Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite - I need to see how the plot all comes out to tell if it’s going to make sense in the end, but even if it doesn’t, all the bits are a lot of fun, and the art is amazing
And that still would have left out Cory Doctorows Futuristic Tales Here And Now, which is an interesting contemporary fiction think piece, Jamie McKelvie’s beautifully drawn, interesting high school fable Suburban Glamour and The Sword #1, a promising opener from the Luna Brothers. Although honestly, I’d really like to see them revisit the world of Ultra, as I think it was their best stuff.
Have, haven’t read, but very much expect to enjoy Naoki Urasawas Monster Vol 11 and Savage Brothers Vol 1 TP. And I haven’t reread Uzumaki Vol 1, but it’s my absolute favorite horror manga (maybe my favorite manga) ever.
19 Oct 2007 at 12:07 pm
QuoteI’m sad to see ‘Highwaymen’ go, but I dug the ending. It was upbeat and slightly bittersweet.
And God bless Marvel for letting Kirkman do something so insane and depraved as Marvel Zombies 2. I will never think of Thanos as anything other than ‘Prune Chin.’
19 Oct 2007 at 12:39 pm
QuoteI bought the 52:covers as well. I’m pretty happy with the purchase. I already own the entire battle royale collection, but I am still going to buy the oversized edition. I am just wondering whats the problem with Shazam: Monster SOciety of Evil? It seemed everyone was on board with it for the first 2 issues…and then everyone railed against it after.
19 Oct 2007 at 12:47 pm
QuoteI dug it all the way through, and the hardcover looks great. I didn’t think there was a problem with it.
19 Oct 2007 at 3:27 pm
QuoteMonster v.11 was amazing if I do say so.
I hadn’t expected to be honest-to-god surprised by anything, but that twist in the first chapter floored me. I don’t know why I hadn’t seen it coming, but it caught me off guard and loved the book even more for it.
19 Oct 2007 at 4:34 pm
QuoteYeah, me too. I really should have seen it, but I didn’t, and I was off-balance the rest of the volume.
19 Oct 2007 at 5:58 pm
QuoteOh, Dave got around to reading (or re-reading) Uzumaki. That’s a quality Halloween-time book.
19 Oct 2007 at 7:12 pm
QuoteI just bought the hardcover Shazam for my 8-year-old nephew. Someone tell me it’s OK for him. His mom is overprotective and a bible-thumper … not that I’m judging her. Ok, maybe a little, but I don’t want her to throw it away or anything.
19 Oct 2007 at 9:25 pm
QuoteThere’s nothing in there that I’d be concerned about an 8-year-old seeing. I make it a practice not to say whether or not a book is safe for someone else’s child, though.
20 Oct 2007 at 1:00 am
QuoteTo All:
I know the first issue just came out so it may be hard to answer this question, but how does “Suburban Glamour” compare to “Phonogram?” The books sound similar.
-Dex
20 Oct 2007 at 6:37 am
QuoteOK, thanks for the reassurance!
20 Oct 2007 at 10:01 am
QuoteAs has been the case for the past couple of weeks, the combination of my buying a ton of books and having less time to read them means i’ve only read about a third of my stack so far, but here it goes:
1. Brave and the Bold
2. Shadowpact
3. Deadshot- just bought the mini from Mile High, really good stuff, makes me wonder why Christos Gage isn’t on a high-profile book yet.
4. Green Lantern- Yeah, its from last week, but I didn’t read it until Tuesday.
5. Mighty Avengers- yeah, I know it’s almost heresy to like this book, but what the hell, it’s fun and i haven’t read anything else from this week.
20 Oct 2007 at 10:02 am
Quote1. Captain America
2. Marvel Zombies 2
3. Umbrella Academy
4. Powers
5. Mighty Avengers
20 Oct 2007 at 11:06 am
QuoteThe book is quite similar in art and in “wierdness factor” but I would say that Suburban Glamour has much more interesting characters with much more depth. I would also say that, though it’s hard to say after only a single issue, the story seems to be a bit less nonsensical than Phonogram.
Oh, and Dex… got a question for you. Are you here doing “research” on one of the Panteon? Does The Code of Harry tell you one of us needs to go? If so, here’s to hoping it’s Randy.
20 Oct 2007 at 12:50 pm
QuoteOh, and Dex… got a question for you. Are you here doing “research” on one of the Panteon? Does The Code of Harry tell you one of us needs to go? If so, here’s to hoping it’s Randy.
As long as Randy continues to defend Hawkeye, he’s safe.
I think I’ll probably give “Suburban Glamour” a look (despite the cover price). I liked “Phonogram” quite a bit — it’s not for everyone — and I dig McKelvie’s art.
I see that “Umbrella Academy” has made quite a few lists; I think it’s really entertaining and I love Gabriel Ba’s art. Is anyone still reading Ba’s previous book (with Matt Fraction) “Casanova”?
-Dex
20 Oct 2007 at 1:08 pm
QuoteCan’t wait for Battle Royale!!! Haven’t got it cross the pond yet by the looks of things….
1. Captain America
2. Fox Bunny Funny
3. Yotsuba v. 5
4. Brave & The Bold
5. ummm….short list today…..behind in reading again…..maybe Umbrella Academy? I’ve only flicked through the 2nd issue so far, but it looks good!
I quite liked Uzumaki too, but in the same way as Tomie….its interesting, with great imagery, but all the chapters seem to just be following a pattern, almost like its an exercise for the writer, rather than a story….
20 Oct 2007 at 4:42 pm
QuoteOh, and sorry for the multiple posts, but Casanova still kicks ass!!! Its not for everyone, but if you want something cool, and fun, and wacky and cool again, and you’re not too worried about everything making sense all the time, its a great choice! And, heck, the new artist is Ba’s twin brother, Fabio Moon, whos art is very similar to his brother’s. So, no jarring change in art from the first story arc to the second.
20 Oct 2007 at 5:01 pm
Quote1. Livewires Digest.
Way behind on reading but I finished this yesterday. Hoping for a sequel!
I’m down for Battle Royale HC at my LCS. Won’t get around to rereading it for a very long while but I expect to be content skimming the extras and appreciating the art presented in this format.
20 Oct 2007 at 6:27 pm
QuoteDan hates Hawkeye.
I’m just saying…
20 Oct 2007 at 7:52 pm
Quotedoesn’t anybody here read G.I. Joe: America’s Elite? That is one good book.
20 Oct 2007 at 9:15 pm
QuoteI don’t hate Hawkeye. I just think he should have stayed a minor villain fighting Iron Man. Is that so wrong?
20 Oct 2007 at 11:13 pm
QuoteHere’s the problem with G. I. Joe, for me. Yes, I dig it, though not so much that I would put it in my top five. My real problem isn’t with the book, it’s with the publisher. When Devil’s Due books disappear, they are basically impossible to reorder, and they tend to sell out fast. Since I missed the first few issues of this latest 12-part story, I can’t get caught up so I can follow along with the current issue, so I don’t bother. I’m waiting until that story is over to try reading it again.
20 Oct 2007 at 11:18 pm
Quote