September is here, but we're still not finished talking about August! It's time to look at August and decide what books the staff of Comic Vine loved the best! Each month, we individually pick out our five favorite books of the month and let you know what made them so awesome. Let's get right down to business and check out the amazing books we loved for August 2015.
Tony's Picks
DEADLY CLASS #15
(Image)
Written by Rick Remender
Art by Wes Craig
Colors by Jordan Boyd
Each month, DEADLY CLASS remains one of my favorite reads. The combination of Rick Remender’s story and Wes Craig’s art with Jordan Boyd’s colors is fantastic. The setting in the 80s at a school for assassins has been interesting. As Marcus has been alienating his friends and becoming paranoid, he’s starting to raise some questions about the school.
You never know what’s going to happen in this series. Each month, it feels like each issue has its own tone. You start to expect the unexpected. Are we going to see a big crazy fight? Will there be some huge drug-induced delusion? Will main characters get killed off? This is a book filled with teen angst that doesn’t come across in the typical annoying fashion. I eagerly await the next issue.
HANK JOHNSON, AGENT OF HYDRA
(Marvel)
Written by David Mandel
Art by Michael Walsh
Colors by Matthew Wilson
For me, the immediate draw when this was first announced was Michael Walsh on art. I’ve been a big fan for some time now and was saddened when SECRET AVENGERS came to an end. With David Mandel’s script, this was funnier than I thought it would be. With the premise of a look at the average life of an average agent of HYDRA, you knew there’d be opportunities for humor. This book went beyond those expectations.
We don’t often get books like this. It’s a bummer that it’s only one issue. It might be for the best as the month to month adventures of Hank Johnson could be a bit much or have too many down moments. Either way, I’m overjoyed this book happened. It might be a one shot but I will not forget about Hank Johnson. Let’s hope he pops up again soon.
BATMAN #43
(DC)
Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Greg Capullo
Inks by Danny Miki
Colors by FCO Plascencia
The story between the new Batman and Bruce Wayne deepens. It may be that some are still a little resistant to the idea of a new robo-Batman but seeing the rest of the story unfold has been fun. It’s clear that Bruce Wayne survived his battle against Joker in Endgame. What we’re discovering is he didn’t emerge quite the same. What’s revealed here opens up some interesting doors and I can’t wait to see what Scott Snyder has planned and how he’ll get Bruce out of this current situation.
Of course the rest of the creative team continues its stellar job. Greg Capullo’s pencils with Danny Miki’s inks are top notch. FCO Plascencia’s colors blow you away. Each month I’m surprised at how great the brilliant colors work in a book we typically associate as being dark.
SECRET WARS #5
(Marvel)
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Esad Ribic
Colors by Ive Svorcina
We may be seeing the beginning of the end for God Doom. Doom unleashed some of his power in the previous issue out of rage. After taking out one of his allies, he proceeds to cover it up. What’s interesting is it doesn’t seem he’s doing too great of a job. This could lead to his downfall and some explosive results. There is also the other developments with the other groups creeping around.
You never know what Jonathan Hickman has cooking. That’s the great thing. You don’t try to figure out what’s going to happen next, you just enjoy each moment. Esad Ribic’s art has been great and I look forward to the big confrontations coming up. I often see people comment on having to wait for the next issue. Each one, so far, has been coming each month. It just might not be every four weeks. That just shows how eager readers are for more. The announcement of one more issue being added excites me even more.
CIVIL WAR #2 & 3
(Marvel)
Written by Charles Soule
Art by Leinil Francis Yu
Inks by Gerry Alanguilan
Colors by Sunny Gho
I typically don’t care a great deal for WHAT IF…? stories. I used to love them but they eventually became a little cliché. Charles Soule’s CIVIL WAR might be taking the familiar story and giving it a “what if?” twist allowing the story to continue with drastic results but it’s definitely captured my attention. Soule is able to take all our favorite characters and allow them to go to extremes. We may have seen the death of some but they’re able to cut loose and do what needs to be done. The passing of time to see how these events have continued and affected the characters and the Marvel Universe is a blast. In some ways, I’d love for this timeline to continue.
Leinil Francis Yu’s art is always great to see. It’s a treat seeing his take on the Marvel characters after all the events have changed them. It was an added bonus we got two issues of CIVIL WAR in the same month.
Honorable Mention: STAR WARS #8
Mat's Picks
HANK JOHNSON, AGENT OF HYDRA #1
(Marvel)
Written by David Mandel
Art by Michael Walsh
Colors by Matthew Wilson
Topping out August, for me, was a book I was going to pass by and not read, up until Tony recommended it to me, and that book is HANK JOHNSON, AGENT OF HYDRA. This was easily the most entertaining book of the month and gave readers an inside look into what life is like for an average Hydra agent, one who has a nice butt. The issue was a ton of fun and something comics don't explore very often: what henchmen life is like.
What blew my socks off was the art of Michael Walsh and Matthew Wilson. It was the perfect tonal fit for this story, and it just looked incredible. While this book was a part of SECRET WARS, it was by the stamp of the cover only, so it was a nice, fun one-shot.
OMEGA MEN #3
(DC)
Written by Tom King
Art by Barnaby Bagenda
Colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr
THE OMEGA MEN continues to take the reader through twists and turns and it's full of a ton of surprises, and all of those surprises are at the expense of Kyle Rayner.
This particular issue introduced readers to a new character and took readers on a rollercoaster ride as we all tried to figure out exactly who she is. Personally, I'm not going to spoil anything here, but the end of the issue is a bit of a trip.
Another thing that keeps me coming back to this book is the art of Barnaby Begenda and the colors of Romula Fajardo Jr. The book has such a cool, cinematic feel to it and there's pages where it just hangs on a moment, and if works exceptionally well. If you haven't checked out OMEGA MEN yet, you are crazy.
BIRTHRIGHT #10
(Image)
Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Adriano Lucas
Colors by Andrei Bressan
This month's issue of BIRTHRIGHT marked the end of innocence for Mikey, as we got to see the first time he had to kill something, in order to survive. Joshua Williamson has put together an engaging piece that delivers a fantastic story month after month, and it looks like within the next few months, Mikey's worlds will begin to collide in this series.
And as always, Adriano Lucas and Andrei Bressan provide some amazing art work and the color palate that is downright beautiful.
BIRTHRIGHT has me by the arm and won't let go. I cannot wait to see what's going to happen next.
LAST DAYS OF ANT-MAN #1
(Marvel)
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Ramon Rosanas
Colors by Jordan Boyd
I keep trying to remind myself that after SECRET WARS, there's a new Ant-Man book coming out called ASTONISHING ANT-MAN. Why do I keep doing that? Well, this issue of LAST DAYS OF ANT-MAN felt like a love letter to the series. It's done exceptionally well, but feels like a farewell from Nick Spencer.
What this issue really had going for it was it was a simple and nice one-shot, in the Last Days line, that didn't drag on forever. We got to follow a day in the life of Scott Lang and he breaks his number one rule: don't sleep with super-villains. It was a lot of fun and a great send off to this run with the character.
NAILBITER #15
(Image)
Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Mike Henderson
Colors by Adam Guzowski
When this series first came out, I had so many questions about the book and the world it took place in. More importantly, I wanted to know more about Buckaroo and why there's so many serial killers there. 15 issues later, not all of my questions have been answered, but that doesn't matter because as much as this book is a thriller or horror, it's more of a mystery that continually builds upon itself.
What keeps this book from being a hopeless and downright depressing nightmare (that's meant in the best way possible), tonally, is the art of Mike Henderson and the colors of Adam Guzowski. The more animated style really takes the ease off the horrific things this team put on the page. I want this book to go on forever.
Honorable Mention: BATMAN #43
That's it for the month of August! We'll see you fine folks next month with a new batch of books. Let us know what you loved in the comment section!