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.”
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Welcome to Manga Zubon, where I take a look at the manga that have come out each month and pick what I think are the best of the lot. These are the manga that I feel deserve recognition and readership more than the rest, so I’m singling them out. My focus in this column is mostly on first volumes to get you in on the ground floor of new series, but I will include standouts in ongoing series as well. Keep in mind that though I do my best, I can’t read everything that comes out each month, so if you have something you think I missed or just have something to say about the ones I’ve chosen, please chime in in the comments section.
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Wednesday Number Ones is a weekly feature here at Comic Pants. We take the books that are premiering a first issue from that week and give a quick opinion on them. From time to time we may also include more than issue number ones in this feature. If a noteworthy one-shot or the first issue of a new story arc is released, we may talk about it in this feature.

This week, we will cover Criminal 2 #1, Doctor Who #1, Kick Ass #1, Many Adventures Of Miranda Mercury #295, Nearly Infamous Zango #1, RASL #1, Rogue Angel Teller Of Tales #1, Silent Hill Sinners Reward #1, Urban Monsters #1, and X-Men Legacy #208.
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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.”
Continue Reading »

Wednesday Number Ones is a weekly feature here at Comic Pants. We take the books that are premiering a first issue from that week and give a quick opinion on them. From time to time we may also include more than issue number ones in this feature. If a noteworthy one-shot or the first issue of a new story arc is released, we may talk about it in this feature.

This week, we will cover Jenna Jamesons Shadow Hunter #1, Locke & Key #1, Perhapanauts Annual #1, Willow Creek #0, and Zorro #1.
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It’s time to shine the spotlight on recent events for Marvel’s two big franchises: Spider-Man and the X-Men. Spidey we’ll cover next podcast, but this time out Randy Lander, Dave Farabee, Nick Budd, David Martindale (D3) and Dan Grendell gather to discuss the X-Men franchise. More specifically we discuss the just-completed mega-crossover, “Messiah Complex,” and the new status quo for the X-books it leaves in its wake. Has the X-franchise won us back with its new direction? What were the highlights and lowlights? And will Randy ever stop whining about the artwork of Humberto Ramos and Chris Bachalo?
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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.”
Continue Reading »

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artists: Mahmud A. Asrar, Klebs, Wellinton Alves, Juan Vlasco & Nelson Pereira
Company: Marvel Comics

For those who haven’t been reading Nova, the annual provides a perfect jumping-on point. For those who have been reading Nova, but who aren’t familiar with the character beyond his appearances since Annihilation, the annual provides a pretty good look at his origins. And for those who know the character and know his history, the annual provides a damn good story with the usual blend of characterization, action and imaginative superheroic sci-fi that Abnett and Lanning have perfected at Marvel. With a few new faces onboard for art (including Dynamo 5’s artistic secret weapon Mahmud A. Asrar), this annual is an impressive reminder of why Nova remains a favorite of the Comic Pants crew. Continue Reading »

Wednesday Number Ones is a weekly feature here at Comic Pants. We take the books that are premiering a first issue from that week and give a quick opinion on them. From time to time we may also include more than issue number ones in this feature. If a noteworthy one-shot or the first issue of a new story arc is released, we may talk about it in this feature.

This week, we will cover Dead Of Night Featuring Man Thing #1 of 5, Fantastic Four #554, Spooks #1, Tiny Titans #1 of 6, X-Force #1, Wolverine #62 and X-factor #28.
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Writers: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost
Artist: Clayton Crain
Company: Marvel Comics

A few months back in one of our rather lengthy podcasts, amongst a general cacophony of rants, we came to the awesome conclusion that a book starring what would essentially be a Black Ops X-Men team would be something that might be worth reading, if done right. Unbeknownst to us, at pretty much the same time, the guys attending the big Marvel Comics X-Summit were thinking the exact same thing. Was there a little mind-reading involved somewhere? Maybe a bit of telepathy? Who can say for sure, really. What we do know though is that X-Force is back, minus Cable and his ever so lovable band of cronies (Where is Feral, by the way? Shatterstar?), and to call it Continue Reading »