Top Five Fridays 6/27/08
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’s Top Five Books of the Moment
- Ex Machina Vol 1 HC
- Immortal Iron Fist
- Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite TP
- Superman
- Madame Xanadu
Dave Farabee’s Top Five Books of the Moment
- Indiana Jones Adventures Vol. 1
- Thunderbolts
- Conan the Cimmerian
- The Man With No Name
- X-Men First Class
Dan Grendell’s Top Five Books of the Moment
- Good-Bye HC
- Madame Xanadu
- Immortal Iron Fist
- Gantz V.1
- Proof
Randy Lander’s Top Five Books of the Moment
- Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite TP
- Immortal Iron Fist
- Conan The Cimmerian
- BPRD Ectoplasmic Man One Shot
- X-Men First Class
Loading ...
Pretty decent week. Last week was *awesome* for me, but I never got around to posting my mega-post Top 15 or so. But here were my thoughts for this week:
1. Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite TP - Liked this in single issues, *loved* it as a trade, and now I can’t wait for more. Gorgeously produced trade, too
2. Immortal Iron Fist #16 - Fantastic finale for Fraction and Aja… frustrating that they’re setting up a really intriguing status quo, and then somebody else is going to follow up on it. I’m crossing my fingers that Swiercynzski and Foreman can deliver, but I’m not optimistic based on Cable thus far
3. Conan The Cimmerian #0 - A terrific opener for the new Conan series, as good as the #0 from 2003
4. BPRD Ectoplasmic Man One Shot - Gorgeous artwork from Ben Stenbeck, an intriguing look at the “secret origin” of psychic Johann Kraus
5. X-Men First Class Vol 2 #13 - After a couple lackluster issues, an issue guest-starring Machine Man and starting a two-parter reinvigorates my love for the series
6. Gemini #2 - Late reading this, but it’s got a few more twists and turns and more of that terrific art. Looking forward to seeing where this one takes us.
7. Hulk #4 - This really is stupid, over-the-top fun… and McGuinness’s art is gorgeous
8. Indiana Jones Adventures Vol 1 TP - A fun adventure starring Indy Jones with terrific artwork, I look forward to more of these
9. Pigeons From Hell #3 - Beautiful art, creepy story, I’m really digging this
10. Demo TP - Nice trade from Vertigo… back matter text not there, though, glad I have the single issues
11. Thunderbolts #121 - Nice finale to Ellis’s Thunderbolts… can’t help but feel that there was so much more story if only Ellis’s attention span wasn’t so damn short
12. Captain America #39 - As always, this is compelling, noir espionage stuff with a great use of Cap’s supporting cast
13. X-Men Legacy #213 - I should hate this book, given that it stars the worst of the ’90s X-Men detritus, but nice artwork and Carey’s ability to weave a compelling conspiracy/thriller narrative is working for me
14. Final Crisis #2 - Surprisingly, I kinda dug this second issue. It’s got the death/mutilation fetish of Didio’s DC, the occasional incomprehensibility of Morrison’s in-continuity DC stuff and lame villains, but it’s also got some really great moments and a nice epic sense of scale. I have to say, if it’s an either/or, at this point I’m more interested in reading Final Crisis than Secret Invasion. Even though I expect that the post-Secret Invasion Marvel Universe will have much stronger and more interesting follow-through than the post-Final Crisis DC.
27 Jun 2008 at 9:36 am
QuoteHaving just two nights ago reread final Crissis one I see no reason why two would not be at least interesting. I think 1 did a bang up job making us see why HUGE villians would follow a one shot loser like Libra.
27 Jun 2008 at 9:53 am
Quoteall i really remmeber reading this week was Final Crisis and Trinity. liked both. i got Madame Xanadu and Gantz coming in the mail so i expect those will be cool.
27 Jun 2008 at 11:36 am
QuoteMy list pretty-much echoes a lot of what’s been said above, with a few exceptions.
1. Immortal Iron Fist - It’s good to see someone really define Danny as someone other than rich guy/superhero. And the moments built between he and Luke, showcasing their friendship, are always very well done.
This issue is one more reason to be sad it’s ending. I really dig the new artist coming up, but I’m not optimistic about the writer either, Randy.
2. Proof - After the gruesome adventure in the Congo, this one was all quiet character development, but by no means a misfire. I haven’t disliked an issue of this yet.
3. Uncanny X-Men - I’m still waiting to see how this whole San Francisco relocation will play out. When the ‘Goddess’ element was resolved, I was unimpressed, but I got a real kick out of the brawl with Omega Red.
4. Ultimate Spider-Man - The return of Eddie Brock was both sad and creepy. In a way, it reminded me of the final coda at the end of “Psycho”, with Norman Bates staring at the camera. Eddie’s just pathetic and insane, without lapsing into complete maniacal supervillainy.
5. Pigeons From Hell - Dirty, weird, spooky. The only complaint about this one is that the lead characters don’t do much for me. They seem to be standard horror ‘meat for the machine’, with the exception of the Lousiana swamp cowboy, of course.
27 Jun 2008 at 11:47 am
QuoteTrinty,eh? It sounds worth a read. Are they exploring a posable Batman wonder woman romance? I liked that idea no one else seemed to though
27 Jun 2008 at 11:50 am
QuoteDid Trinity start making sense or at least get to the punching soon after #1?
Indiana Jones Adv. is cool for a 11 year old, right? No decapitations or heart removals?
27 Jun 2008 at 1:39 pm
QuoteWhat a great week of comics. Its nice to have a good comics week after reading all the much deserved negativity about DC and Dan Didio. Good books remind me why I read comics in the first place, because they’re fun.
1. Captain America- Good issue, but I’m ready for this arc to end, and I want Perkins back on this book.
2. Thunderbolts- Great issue. I just love the tone that the Ellis and Deodato bring to T’bolts, and I’m sad that both are leaving. I have almost every issue of T’bolts, but it was never better and more high profile than now. Too bad Ellis just refuses to stay on a book for any length of time. He writes an incredible Norman Osborn though.
3. Iron Fist- Fraction & Brubaker gone too. This is a week of endings I guess. I’ll try out the new team, but it has to be good right away.
4. Fear Agent- I love the black and white cover variant, btw.
5. Daredevil- Rucka, Brubaker & Lark. Still great. It’s a book that I dont always love, but its really well done. And I do love Lark’s pencils.
I also just read Gemini #2, and I liked it. Its the first Jay Faerber book that I’ve read, and I’m glad I’ve picked up the first two issues. I hope that it sticks around.
27 Jun 2008 at 1:50 pm
QuoteNobody like the Mike Weiringo tribute issue?….I loved it. It was fun and whimsical. The only other comic I bought this week was final crisis 2 which I enjoyed quite a bit also. I don’t really know who libra is but to my understanding he was a lame ass villain from way back. In any case Morrison has made him interesting.
27 Jun 2008 at 1:56 pm
QuoteWe sold out of this one before I got a chance to read it. It wasn’t available for advance reorder, hopefully it’ll be in stock when we do reorders this weekend. I’m very much enjoying this book.
Yep… I’d go so far as to say it’s the most kid-safe Indiana Jones thing ever, since even the first movie had its fair amount of bloodshed (that final scene with melting Nazis is gonna cause some nightmares
This one is as all-ages as the Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures stuff Dark Horse has been doing.
I liked it, but there were so many great books this week, and that one, despite it’s worthy cause, was essentially just kind of a fun, fluffy book. It’d probably land at 15 on my list.
I agree that he was a lame ass villain from way back.
I guess I’m just not feeling any interest in a lot of the new stuff Morrison is doing. Libra putting together a Society of Supervillains seems to me like a combination of plot elements from Villains United and Underworld Unleashed… we’ve seen it before, usually with more interesting characters than The Human Flame and Libra.
What I liked in this issue was the use of Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Batman figuring out what was going on through a little visual cue and Morrisonian touches like “Black Alert!” and other nonsensical but enthusiastic superhero gibberish in the dialogue.
27 Jun 2008 at 2:08 pm
Quotelibra fought the jla once took half Batman’s skills, half SUPERMAN’S POWER half gl’s power and half elongated man which blew him up
27 Jun 2008 at 2:13 pm
Quoteanyone following the “outrage” about Morrisons Japanese characters. i don’t take it as racist or offensive as some people seem to be. maybe a little misinformed with t he names and the trends but i loved that scene.
27 Jun 2008 at 2:14 pm
QuoteI’m not Japanese, but I’ve lived in Japan and think Morrison did go a little overboard with the names. It’s forgivable, sure, but I am surprised that he was much more restrained and practical with the Great Ten (I did live in China for a while, too).
Finale to Ellis’s Thunderbolts?? Seriously?? Man, I was waiting for the trade on this and had no idea he was leaving. Damn. Well, at least I’m looking forward to his X-Men, though who knows how long that’ll last.
27 Jun 2008 at 5:49 pm
Quotei do agree if the names are the problem. well, the super young team really. i thought the other team was a bit better.
27 Jun 2008 at 7:19 pm
QuoteI’m reading the second Annihilation trade right now, based on praise for the series on this site. A brief description of myself as a comics/pop-culture fan:
1. Hates crossovers? Check.
2. Not wild about space operas? Check.
3. Largely indifferent to cosmic Marvel? Check.
Verdict? In spite of this, I love this book! I even loved the Surfer mini that people aren’t crazy about. I plan to finish the series, move to the Nova trades, then the second series, and then Guardians trades, as long as the quality holds up.
Hell, I even plan to buy the Infinity Gauntlet trade at some point, to see if I like it better now than I did as a kid. And maybe soon I’ll even crack open that Essential Silver Surfer book I bought ages ago and have been saving for the proverbial rainy day.
27 Jun 2008 at 9:21 pm
Quote@Bob. If you dig Nova and GotG go and read it in monthly format. The two books need all the support they can get.
Slightly off-topic; it’s great news that DnA are now Marvel exclusive. Seems that Marvel really appreciate DnA’s outstanding work on the cosmic stuff and are planning to continue developing this niche of the Marvel Universe.
28 Jun 2008 at 5:24 am
QuoteIf DnA are Marvel exclusives, are D and/or A able to play outside the box on their own? I ask because I am loving A’s work on BOOM!’s Warhammer books. It would be sad to see that go by the wayside. It is up there with Busiek’s Conan for getting the tone of the source material just right.
28 Jun 2008 at 11:38 am
QuoteI’m going to throw in my farewell to Michael Turner, who I’m sure y’all have heard has passed away from cancer. I’m not going to lie, I was not a fan of his work and never in my life as a comic reader looked forward to it in any way…but I still have to respect the body of work he put out. Perhaps more notable, though, is that I’ve heard from countless people that he was one of the nicest guys they’d ever met - and that’s becoming harder and harder to find among the superstar creators nowadays.
28 Jun 2008 at 6:27 pm
QuoteRight with you. I was not a fan of his work, either, but he was, by all accounts, a genuinely nice guy who was very dedicated to his work. It’s sad to see him go at such a young age. The guy had legions of fans and I’m sorry they won’t be able to enjoy his work any longer.
28 Jun 2008 at 8:45 pm
QuoteMy Top 5 in what seemed like a very busy week:
1. Thor: Reign Of Blood - no love for this? I thought it was fantastic! Fraction’s surprised me with how well he handles the Asgardians of yore.
2. Immortal Iron Fist - i’d like to see where this goes next, but only if Fraction was writing it!
3. Daredevil - totally back on form.
4. Proof - a “breather” issue, but still great.
5. Thunderbolts - kind of wish the team had fully imploded because I can’t see anyone picking up where Ellis left off and doing anything other than a pale imitation.
29 Jun 2008 at 6:24 am
Quotehave’nt bought my comics yet but LOVED the first ages of Thunder!
I would NEVER try to outguess Warren ellis but I REALLY have to think a book with Norman Osborne, Venom and Bullseyse had WAY more editors screwing with it than he liked. Face it they have to fight SPIDER-MAN one day and would you want to figure out how that’s going to work?
29 Jun 2008 at 12:41 pm
QuoteI Really really did not like final Crisis Although by golly Nobody can say it does’nt do it’s job. You want dark BABY this is DARK! One dark twist I saw coming light years away and one made me go “holy crap they really don’t mean that DO THEY?
29 Jun 2008 at 10:48 pm
QuoteJust read the final “Y” trade and feel like bawling. Man, that’s a tough ending. Probably the right one, but I think I need some time to digest it.
01 Jul 2008 at 7:14 pm
Quote