Top Five Fridays 12/14/07
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
- Nova
- Criminal Vol 2 Lawless TP
- Nova Vol 1 Annihilation Conquest TP
- Bat Lash
- X-Factor
Dave Farabee
- The Art of P. Craig Russell
- Nova
- Nova Vol 1 Annihilation Conquest TP
- Walking Dead
- Fables
Dan Grendell
- Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol 5
- Nova
- Wormwood One Shot
- Nova Vol 1 Annihilation Conquest TP
- Spider-Man Family
Randy Lander
- Nova
- Nova Vol 1 Annihilation Conquest TP
- Fables
- Wormwood One Shot
- Criminal Vol 2 Lawless TP
David Martindale (D3)
- Elephantmen: War Toys
- Fables
- Nova
- Nova Vol 1 Annihilation Conquest TP
- Criminal Vol 2 Lawless TP
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Good to see ‘Walking Dead’ making an appearance on the list. It’s one of those that is so consistently good that I think I often forget how much I enjoy it (if that makes any sense). Poor zombies. I’ve taken you for granted. It won’t happen again.
14 Dec 2007 at 2:53 pm
QuoteOnly read two books from Wednesday and yikes! The Walking Dead! Quite a punchy ending.
But more importantly, “Wonder Woman” kicked my ass. The two panels of her emergence? OMG. I had to call a friend just to say that those panels were awesome. Sometimes I get excited. So I am so in love with Simone’s “Wonder Woman”.
Last week I read Uzumaki 1, 2 and 3. It was a fun progression of horror and weirdness.
14 Dec 2007 at 3:33 pm
Quote1. Nexus - The Origin: It may be a reprint from a 1992 but it’s a reprint that won the Eisner for best single issue and this was the first time I have read it. Rude is amazing. I hope they can get Nexus back on schedule.
2. Wonder Woman: Couldn’t agree more with Tim. Those two panels were pretty awesome and Simone is finally giving people a reason to tune into WW.
3. Fallen Angel: Great issue from a young boy’s perspective that is actually very important to the overall storyarc. This title was in a bit of a slump but is getting close to as good as it was when it was at DC.
4. Fables: Amazing how Willingham keeps this title so fresh almost 70 issues in. Where does he go from here? I can’t wait to see.
5. Walking Dead: I love that feeling in my gut when I read this comic that tells me anything can really happen next, and does.
14 Dec 2007 at 3:56 pm
Quote1. Elephantmen: War Toys
2. Fables
3. Nova
4. Nova Vol 1 Annihilation Conquest TP
5. Criminal Vol 2 Lawless TP
6. Wonder Woman
7. DMZ
14 Dec 2007 at 6:09 pm
QuoteSomewhat surprised to see Green Lantern on nobody’s list.
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I can’t think up a full list right now, but it would probably hit my fifth or sixth spot.
14 Dec 2007 at 8:24 pm
QuoteFor me, it’s really only because I wasn’t wild about the first Sinestro Corps issue, and by the time I was interested in following the story, parts were sold out and awaiting reprint. I never was able to get the whole thing at once in the store for a read, and I wasn’t interested enough to buy it all. I am planning on checking it out when it gets collected next year, though.
So, it’s more an omission due to ignorance than a statement of dislike.
14 Dec 2007 at 9:09 pm
QuoteNova is just pure awesome. And soon Paul Pelletier will take over as regular penciller which is even more awesome…
14 Dec 2007 at 9:43 pm
Quote1. Nova - Actually gave this the nudge over the trade, even though it’s one issue versus seven, because this little two-part arc on a haunted space station and guest-starring psychic cosmonaut dog was one of my favorite issues of the whole year. Nova is indeed pure awesome, and I’m also looking forward to Pelletier taking over on art. Just wish somebody besides Alex Maleev were doing the covers. His gritty, real style is a complete mismatch for the book. Even if I’ll admit that his first cover is merely weak, and not actually terrible.
2. Nova Vol 1 Annihilation Conquest TP - See above re: pure awesome. Also has a great takedown of the Civil War/Initiative stuff from Nova’s perspective and his role in the Annihilation stories. Plus one of the best first issues of 2007, full of action and imaginative sci-fi ideas.
3. Fables - Damn, that’s an evil cliffhanger. This story might just be my favorite Fables story yet.
4. Wormwood One Shot - Worth it for Templesmith drunkenly shouting at his own creation in the bar, but also worth it for so much more. Fans of Ellis’s crazy funny stuff (like Fell) should check out Wormwood, which is in many ways superior even to that very good book.
5. Criminal Vol 2 Lawless TP - I think, on balance, I liked the first story arc more, and I also think that reading too much Brubaker (especially Criminal) might inspire one to think life is hopeless and start working out ways to hang oneself, but it’s another solid crime thriller from a spectacular team.
6. Walking Dead - Pretty intense and interesting issue, I do love the ever-changing status quo of this book. Although I also wish that Kirkman was working toward an ending, even if that ending was issue #100 or something else equally distant. The open-ended nature of it means I can only imagine it disappointing me eventually.
7. Suicide Squad Raise The Flag - With the Checkmate stuff over, the book gets back to being more interesting. Still not digging Ostrander having to work around DC’s modern continuity stuff (I hate Captain Boomerang 2, for example) but he does a good job with it, and the art’s terrific. Good, not great, but for a SS fan desperate for a fix, that’ll do.
8. DMZ - I feel like I’m supposed to know these one-off focus characters better (and care about them more) than I actually do, but this was a solid issue with beautiful art by Burchielli. I think I’m mostly looking forward to the book getting back to an arc instead of one-offs, though.
9. Fantastic Four - Reed Richards smart and not dickish. Thing pounding the crap out of Doom. Doom being arrogant. Good Fantastic Four stuff, shame it’s all going to get wiped away by the “Ultimatest” run soon.
10. Bat Lash - Gorgeous John Severin artwork, interesting and readable western, shame about that over-used theme on the last page that turned me off the book.
14 Dec 2007 at 10:12 pm
Quote1.Criminal Vol 2 Lawless TP-Reading the final page made me sick just knowing I won’t get to read the next issue of Criminal until the beginning(at the earliest) of February.
2.Fantastic Four-It is a real bloody shame that McDuffie and Pelletier are about off the book now. This issue has been my favorite so far they have put together.
3.Bat Lash-I didn’t care much for the ending as well. Maybe the JLA can break into the story after what Brubaker is about to do. Give me a break please.
4.Fables- I can’t believe I have this so far down(considering where it usually is). I guess this story for me has just gone on and on for too long. I’m sure it’ll read much better in TP soon.
5.The Walking Dead
6.Green Lantern
7.Wonder Woman
8.Suicide Squad
9.Nightwing
10.Green Arrow/Black Canary
11.Salvation Run
14 Dec 2007 at 11:05 pm
QuoteThe only thing I got this week was the Boys. I’m on the verge of dropping the book, but that last page made me laugh out loud in spite of myself.
14 Dec 2007 at 11:36 pm
QuoteReally poor week for me with only Fantastic Four and Nova impressing me. I have the first Nova trade on order so at least that’s something to look forward to!
I agree with Randy that Alex Maleev is a poor choice of cover artist for Nova but at least the covers will now have a bit more variety than Adi Granov’s repetitive “heroic pose” covers.
But the best thing this week is the news that Darwyn Cooke is doing more New Frontier. March can’t come soon enough.
15 Dec 2007 at 10:07 am
QuoteWhen did Maleev ever do cover work for Nova? It’s still Adi Granov!
Edit: Ah, never mind- I hadn’t seen the news.
15 Dec 2007 at 11:31 am
QuoteI am glad Walking Dead is still getting read. Sadly, I am not one of the readers. It really lost me in the mid-20’s and I stopped it without missing it. It was too much the case of the “Talking Dead” where the status quo would take just a few issues too long before changing. I wanted whiplash changes that happened a bit more frequently, especially since we were following the same group of heroes throughout the book. Take the book “World War Z.” It has a ton of different perspectives/stories that allude to the fact that in each one they had “down” time but never showed it. When things seemed smooth in one story, the author took us to another part of the world to show us how bad it was going there. Maybe I will get into the trades at some point because they will read faster but one issue at a time made me fall asleep.
Nova continues to be the best superhero story going. Fables, as noted above, has not lost its luster or ability to inspire or surprise. THIS is how you do status quo changes. I was one of the early adopters of this book who worried that it wouldn’t be able to make it without Bigby and Snow as the law and mayor’s assistant but that was 50 issues ago and it has changed so much it is funny I ever thought that. Great pairing with Jack of Fables, which continues to be the light and fun little brother to the main book. The “Good Prince/Bad Prince” parallel titling (though not in any way story connected) was great, too.
Is it still too late to complain about Ultimates 3 #1? Damn…that was horrible (had it but didn’t read it until this week). I know Loeb has his ups and downs but this was down in a ridiculous sense. Yeesh.
15 Dec 2007 at 2:09 pm
QuoteIt’s never too late to complain about that piece of crap
15 Dec 2007 at 2:37 pm
Quotei don’t know how i’d rate them but wonder woman, booster gold, green lantern, fables, and DMZ were all good. finally got wet moon vol. 3 in the mail. ross seemed to have changed how he drew characters eyes, a little creepy, but still liked it.
15 Dec 2007 at 10:16 pm
QuoteSorry, I’m gonna get slightly off topic as I often do, but is there any word on Marvel possibly reprinting x-men first class#6 with corrected page order? I didn’t buy it because all the copies at my LCS had the pages out of order, and I don’t want that. But I need my fix soooooo bad. Is there any way that I can possibly get a corrected copy? ‘Cuz if not I might actually cry. With tears and ice cream and everything.
16 Dec 2007 at 9:57 am
QuoteYeah, the reprint of the issue *should* hit comic stands next Wednesday, if I’m not mistaken. And just so you know, it’s one that is well worth the wait.
16 Dec 2007 at 12:06 pm
Quotei can’t see the appeal of ‘nova’ AT ALL, you guys should probably do a feature on that a some point…
you should be reading ATOMIC ROBO though, he didn’t found a crazy organisation to NOT nuke things
16 Dec 2007 at 2:15 pm
QuoteIf you haven’t read it, give any of the last few issues a look. If you have read it and you don’t see the appeal, it’s probably just not your thing. That’s really the best I have to offer at the moment, although I’m sure we’ll be discussing the series quite a bit (and what it has to offer) during our Best of 2007 podcast in January.
16 Dec 2007 at 9:04 pm
Quotenice lists. I think i’ll check out nova cuz i’ve heard nothing but good things about it. You guys have mentioned before how you would like for walking dead to have an end at some point. Maybe I’m just a comics newbie or a fool, but I like thinking that my fav series don’t have any end in sight. With craps like x-men and amazing spider-man having crappy issues and runs, it’s still nice to think it’s gonna be there for a long time, like the simpsons which had a great episode today btw. or also like how i can see fables not ending any time soon at all either. and for me the walking dead usually does not disappoint, even in the disappointing parts.
edit: ooh looking forward to that podcast
note: you guys are rolling into a 50th podcast soon, crazy.
17 Dec 2007 at 2:00 am
QuoteMore Simone Wonder Woman love here. DUDE.
Also, more New Frontier? THERE IS A GOD!
18 Dec 2007 at 11:24 am
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