A new year calls for a whole brand new article which is suspiciously like one of our old ones. Welcome to Best Comics of the Month where the staff of Comic Vine picks three of their favorite books from the past month and lets you know why they rocked their faces off. Let's get right down to business.
Tony's Picks
STAR WARS #1
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by John Cassaday
Colors by Laura Martin
This is the STAR WARS comic I’ve been waiting for. Yes, we have had some good STAR WARS comics before. Some really good ones. This just felt a little different. Part of it could be the fact that both Star Wars and Marvel are owned by Disney. It’s all under one roof now. You know a lot of eyes are looking on this book to make sure it does capture the feel of the characters and does the franchise justice moving forward.
Jason Aaron did do just that. He captured the feel of Luke, Han, Leia, and the others. Some may have expressed concern over this taking place between Episodes IV and V but I feel that gives us some room to flesh out the missing years between the two films. There may be some limits as to what can or can’t happen but it’s also a time when we were all excited for the characters. I want to see the relationships grow between among these characters and to see how and why they became so committed to each other in The Empire Strikes Back.
Capturing character likeness isn’t always easy for licensed books. John Cassaday does bring the feel of them here as well as making all the environments and ships look as they should. Reading this comic has made me feel like a kid again and I can’t wait to read more.
BATMAN #38
Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Greg Capullo
Inks by Danny Miki
Colors by FCO Plascencia
Oh man. You know it’s going to be bad news for Batman when you get Scott Snyder and the Joker together. With the Joker now angry, we’re seeing less of the whimsical clown and more of the deadly and evil character Joker can be. Not only has Joker targeted Batman but Gotham City as well. In this issue we find out the city doesn’t have too much time left.
Snyder also introduces another element to the story. Seen in this issue and the last, could there be more to Joker than we all realized or thought? When it comes to Joker, you never can believe everything you see. Snyder has mentioned this will be the last time he uses Joker. Whether or not that remains the case, you get a feeling that he and Greg Capullo are going all out in this story. It’s not often you can read a Batman/Joker story and actually be a little afraid.
LADY KILLER #1
Written by Jamie S Rich
Art by Joelle Jones
Colors by Laura Allred
This book was such a delight to read. It’s funny to say that considering it’s about a 60s ‘perfect’ housewife who is secretly a killer for hire. Joëlle Jones’s art is simply amazing. The style and detail immediately blew me away. Throw in Laura Allred’s colors and there’s no way I could resist falling in love with this book.
Jamie S. Rich co-wrote the issue with Jones and they’ve set up a great premise. It’s not often a brand new series immediately captures my attention. This is a book that made me hungry for more. It’s a good thing the second issue is about to hit the stands because I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Mat's Picks
PUNKS #4
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
Art by Kody Chamberlain
This was one of the more nutty issues of the series, thus far. It all opened up with the group trying to end the issue but never figuring out how to actually do it. PUNKS is always a really fun book with a very "out there" sense of humor, but issue four gets extremely out there as both creators of this series, Joshua Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain, make their way into this issue and have a whole conversation about how to end the issue.
The book is pretty nuts but it won't leave you scratching your head while reading it. It's more of controlled chaos than anything else. Chamberlain's art is wonderful and there is literally nothing else like it in comic books right now. The DIY Punk-Scene Flyer method of art here is really cool and makes me wonder how many stacks of Abraham Lincoln pictures Chamberlain has ready to go. PUNKS is the funniest comedy book on the shelves, but it's also the only one where the plot doesn't matter. But who needs plot anyway, am I right? Also, do you know what I am saying?
Also, that variant cover by Joe Infurnari is pretty freaking sweet as well.
RASPUTIN #4
Written by Alex Grecian
Art by Riley Rossmo
Colors by Ivan Plascencia
I've said quite a few times about this series that I love historical fiction and that the one thing RASPUTIN accomplishes incredibly well is building on the myth and lore behind the character just as much as putting together a compelling story. The tradition continues here and we get to see a younger Rasputin trying to do a little bit of good here. The issue expands again on the mystical side of Rasputin as he heals a sick dog and child. And, just like when he healed the bear, he has a tendency to become that animal after healing it. We do get a bit of a comical moment of Rasputin eating dinner as a dog.
The style and pacing of this series is wonderful. It feels slow, but in a great way. Grecian and Rossmo are doing a wonderful job at building on these characters and Rossmo and Placencia do a brilliant job on the artistic side of things. Overall, this is not only one of the best looking on-going series, but one of the best executed on-goings as well.
IVAR, TIMEWALKER #1
Written by Fred Van Lente
Art by Clayton Henry
Colors by Brian Reber
Since Valiant relaunched, there's two on-goings I was pretty excited to eventually read: NINJAK and TIMEWALKER. I knew that eventually those books would come out and now, IVAR, TIMEWALKER is here. I can't think of a Valiant debut I've enjoyed more than IVAR, maybe aside fro X-O MANOWAR. I'm a big fan of time travel stories, as long as they're not executed with hole after hole. What IVAR does is delivers a ton of fun but also leaves a bit of mystery, keeping the reader interested.
Clayton Henry, who also did the first arc, and then some, of ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG, has a really great style that suits the book. He has some great work in character's facial expressions, especially Doctor Sethi's face in the opening scene. This first issue shows a ton of promise and I can't wait to keep reading it.
This issue had a lot of great variant covers, but this one by Jorge Molina really stood out.
Gregg's Picks
BATMAN AND ROBIN #38
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason
Inks by Mick Gray
Colors by John Kalisz
We all have our favorite Robin. Some wrongfully say it's Dick Grayson or Tim Drake, but in a world that has Damian Wayne, he's the only correct answer. Seriously though, Batman's son is an awesome character and had so much more story to tell, so watching Heretic impale him was pretty rough. Thankfully, the mission in Robin Rises was a success and Damian's not only back, but he's also sporting super powers.
Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason dedicate the opening scene to showing just how fun a Robin with powers can be, but then the issue takes a totally unexpected turn. I -- and I'm sure many others -- thought this issue would be Damian beating up goons and Batman struggling to deal with Damian's new upgrades and boosted ego. Instead, the comic takes a character-driven turn and throws us right into Damian's head. It's not all fun and games now that he's immune to bullets and this is a hugely rewarding read if you've been with the series since the beginning.
STAR WARS #1
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by John Cassaday
Colors by Laura Martin
Damian Wayne is back in DC and Star Wars is back at Marvel? Not a shabby month, is it? Sure, Dark Horse told plenty of great stories with the franchise (Ghost Prison is my top one), but seeing what Jason Aaron -- the mind behind THOR: GOD OF THUNDER -- could do with this universe is tempting and full of promise.
Thankfully, it exceeded my expectations and felt like a true return to the original trilogy. Right from very first page, this felt like a warm welcome to the time period and it was full of fan service. Sure, we didn't get a lot of time with some of the characters, but this simply felt like Star Wars and throwing us right into the middle of an operation was an exciting way to bring us back into the universe. The franchise is back at Marvel and it is most definitely in good hands.
THE VALIANT #2
Written by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt
Art by Paolo Rivera and Joe Rivera
How many big events have disappointed you? I'm guessing the answer is probably "more than a couple." While THE VALIANT may not be a big event, it's a limited series that sure feels like one that's being done incredibly well. It's gathering many of the universe's big characters and throwing them against a more than worthy and horrifying adversary.
You can tell Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt and Paolo Rivera are doing everything they can to make sure this one keeps you totally captivated and wanting more. They're offering something that can create new readers, expands the universe, and delivers a whole lot of really, really cool action. Do yourself a favor and give this series a shot.
Corey's Picks
CAPTAIN MARVEL #11
Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Christopher Sebela
Art by Filipe Andrade
Colors by Jordie Bellaire
Christmas specials tend to be the corniest of the corny and, quite often, the lamest of the lame either in terms of content but this one...there's something special going on here. Kelly Sue DeConnick has brought Carol Danvers home to Earth, which is a welcome change from the emotionally distant stories that we've had in the last few issues, and we got a great recurring villain having a loose end or two tied up. The inclusion of an apparent bum dressed as Santa Clause that... I'll just say has an amazing twist ending that still somehow fits within the larger narrative AND the narrative of Captain Marvel's ongoing story.
With visuals by David Lopez, one of the new series architects who has helped to redefine Carol's look and I'm hoping that she stays on Earth for awhile, but this issue is a definite step in the right direction and a GREAT story in its own right. It gives you everything you need to know about Carol Danvers if you're just stepping in and helps to create a new launchpad for some great future storylines if you're a longtime fan/supporter. Now if only we can get some Carol/Rhodey crossover stories going with any momentum...
GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT #3
Written by Ray Fawkes
Art by Ben Templesmith
There is something wrong with the city of Gotham. Not only is the crime there a more extreme version of what seems to happen in the rest of the DCU. And yet people stay. No rent is worth the statistic "death by Clown" being the #3 cause of death in a city. Yet Gotham remains and Gotham flourishes. Why? This book actually aims to address that to some extent. By introducing a Lovecratian element, there's the idea that something dark keeps people in Gotham and also makes it one of the strangest, darkest places to live.
I've said it before, but it's now truly calcified that Ray Fawkes is giving us a combination of GOTHAM CENTRAL and, I want to say FELL, but that's not quite right because the title is more overtly supernatural than either of those, and Ben Templesmith absolutely BRINGS it in terms of the visual style. It's not only a great story, it's a great example of universe building around a horrendously damaged, broken city.
AVENGERS #40
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Stefano Caselli
Colors by Frank Martin Jr
After a bizarre shot forward in time, the characters of NEW AVENGERS felt like they were ringing hollow and the stakes were completely unknown. Leave it to Jonathan Hickman to not give in and give everyone what they want immediately, but rather slow burn up to where this issue left us, doling out details about the state of the world and the characters we've come to care about in it. This issue, specifically, brought a long-running, seemingly forgotten story point full-circle.
Honestly, I had assumed the very justified rivalry between Namor and Black Panther would be relegated to the trope of "I don't like/trust you, but DAMN do I RESPECT you!" and then...well this issue's ending happened. And WOW did it ever happen. An amazing emotional payoff to a very longterm story, and that's more than we can generally hope for with mainstream superhero comics. Stefano Caselli's work is, as always, amazing, giving us beautifully rendered characters with some absolutely incredible emotional impact. This was an issue that didn't have a lot of crazy action or battles, but sure delivered on character moments and long-term dramatic impact.
There you have it! Those were what the Comic Vine staff loved for the month of January! Let us know what comics you loved in the comment section below!
Log in to comment