July is one crazy month for comics. There's summer events from either Marvel or DC and it's the month that hosts San Diego Comic Con, so there's tons of stuff going on. On top of that, we live in an awesome time for comic books, so picking out our favorites is actually incredibly tough. After hours of debate, we did end up getting our picks for the best comics of the month narrowed down. Here they are.
Tony's Picks
SECRET WARS #4
(Marvel)
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Esad Ribic
Colors by Ive Svorcina
The pieces are starting to fall into place. At the end of the first issue, we saw some heroes (and villains) set out to save themselves from the Incursion Wave. Here is where they pop up and find out how insane things have become. We even see Doom get off his throne to investigate their arrival. Needless to say, not all the heroes are willing to sit back and listen to how he is the god of Battleworld. The intensity is cranked up and we’re left on the edge of our seats for the next issue.
When it comes to big comic book events, it’s usually around the halfway point where we see things start to fall apart. That isn’t the case with Jonathan Hickman’s story that he’s been setting up for some time. Esad Ribic’s art and Ive Svorcina’s colors continue to amaze. You just have to love when you have a big exciting story with some really nice art.
DEADLY CLASS #14
(Image)
Written by Rick Remender
Art by Wes Craig
Colors by Lee Loughridge
Things keep getting messier and messier for Marcus Lopez. After barely managing to survive not one insane and bloody fight but two, it looked like things could return to normal in the safety of the Kings Dominion School of the Deadly Arts. It turned out that wasn’t quite the case. Marcus is trying to recoup and recover from his wounds. His person life also has taken a bit of a hit as a result of these other deadly activities. You thought high school was tough? You haven’t seen anything compared to what Marcus is going through.
Rick Remender and Wes Craig keep me hooked month after month. This issue’s action and violence were a little toned down but that’s a good thing considering how high octane things got the last few issues. We need a chance to catch our breath. And things aren’t looking too great for Marcus as the issue closes.
BATMAN #42
(DC)
Written by Scott Snyder
Pencils by Greg Capullo
Inks by Danny Miki
Colors by FCO Plascencia
Yes, this isn’t the Batman we’re used to. It should be clear to everyone that this is not a permanent change in the book. The idea of Batman being replaced by Jim Gordon in a robo-batsuit sounds pretty crazy. That’s a huge part of the fun. I a totally on board with seeing this explored and finding out how it’ll play out. We do get to see some other aspects of this new operation. We’re also seeing different villains for “Batman” and if you weren’t saying “What the heck?” to yourself at the end of the issue, I’m not sure what else to say.
Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, and FCO Plascencia have been killing in not the series lately. It may not be the same thing we’ve been reading but that’s a good thing. They’re getting a chance to tell a different kind of Batman story and it lets us read a different type of story as well. There is a bigger mystery weaving its way throughout the pages and this team knows how to keep the readers engaged.
Honorable Mention: HAWKEYE #22, JUSTICE LEAGUE #42, BLACK WIDOW #20
Mat's Picks
ANT-MAN ANNUAL #1
(Marvel)
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Brent Schoonover & Ramon Rosanas
Colors by Jordan Boyd
Nick Spencer's run on ANT-MAN has been sensational. While is was quite the bummer to see SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN go, this new series has really filled the void the book left. It's fun and reinvents a character that many people saw as a joke.
This particular issue goes back in time to where Hank Pym and Scott Lang teamed up with each other. It's an incredibly fun adventure, and a great stand-alone issue, which is something I love when it comes to Annual issues.
There's two different artist on here, but it works so well considering the book is split between the past and present. Nothing made me laugh harder than the A.I. Wonder Man telling he's a terrible actor. It was simply perfect.
STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN #1
(IDW)
Written by Mike Johnson
Art by Angel Hernandez
Colors by Alejandro Sanchez
Last month, I rambled on about how GHOSTBUSTERS: GET REAL was the best idea for a comic ever. Then, STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN came along. It's like a light bulb went off above my head, followed by a giant neon sign that said "duh."
The comic itself smashed these two properties together insanely well. We see the rebooted cinematic members of the Star Trek fleet and they're doing what they normally do: exploring the universe. Eventually, the came along some lantern rings and all heck broke loose.
It was more than just that though. There's a great cliffhanger and the final pages had me on the edge of my seat. Sure, putting two properties together in the same title does just seem like a way to pull in new readers, but the content within this issue was so awesome.
GRAYSON #10
(DC)
Written by Tim Seeley, with Tom King on Plot
Art by Mikel Janin
Colors by Jeromy Cox
Here comes the part of the feature where I tell you about the foot in my mouth. I was/am a Nightwing fan and while I said I gave GRAYSON a fair shot when it started up, I don't think I truly did because this series is outstanding. Once my Nightwing-fanboy-rage subsided and I read this series, I knew I was 100% wrong.
This past issue was fantastic and I love how it all ties back to the events that happened to Dick Grayson during Forever Evil. Lex Luthor works so well in this series, even though he seems like he is in way too many places at once. I cannot wait to see the next few issues of this book to see how it all pans out.
Also, Mikel Janin and Jeromy Cox are two of the best artists working together in comics currently. Their page layouts and composition are top notch and such a pleasure to look at. I am usually not the biggest fan of espionage comics, but this one is too good to ignore.
Honorable Mention: BOOK OF DEATH #1, PREZ #2, ARCHIE #1
That's it for the month of July! We'll see you fine folks next month with a new batch of books. Let us know what you loved in the comment section!
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