Welcome back to Everything We Read This Week. This is the place that we make our weekly trip through this week’s pull-list. It features mostly spoiler-free brief analysis and commentary of each book.
The lack of a column last week is not indicative of a lack of good comics. We were at C2E2 and you should have seen and will continue to see the exclusive content that we were capturing there.
This was a great week for comic books. There are a couple great new series that started this week. We focused mainly on books from the smaller publishers this week. This was not by design but we were particular about the books we chose to review this week. We try to read as much as we can to bring you recommendations on what good stuff is being produced. Unfortunately, we can’t read all the comics. So, remember to find what you like, GO OUT AND FIND SOME COMICS TO READ!! They are good for you.
We reviewed books from DC, Marvel, Image, IDW, Dark Horse, Valiant, Titan, and Vault Comics this week. As always, we hope you might find what we say interesting enough to try some of these comics.
Also, Don’t forget to check our hotlist of new books debuting this month over here. You will see books that we were looking forward to with the designation Hot #1 by them. There are a few of them out this week and they are really good.
DISCLAIMER:
There is a 4 star rating system. It is simple and not to be taken too seriously as everyone gets their own impressions of art. These ratings are just to give our readers an idea of what we thought of the book, and they will be on the generous side normally. So don’t expect to see a lot of 1 Stars. After all, it’s not often that you have a bad book on your pull-list.
The rating system is as follows:
Great
Good
OK
Not Good
Also look for the book we deemed Favorite Book of the Week. It is the comic that we like the most this week. The criteria are difficult to pin down, but suffice to say it is a book that moved us.
And here are the books we read in alphabetical order:
The Amazing Spider-Man #18
Marvel Comics
Written by Nick Spencer
Pencils by Humberto Ramos
Inks by Victor Olazaba
Colors by Edgar Delgado & Erick Arciniega
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover art by Ramos & Delgado
The “Hunted” storyline continues in this issue, and it is a solid issue. The story is moving and evolving in interesting ways. The art is bold and the action sequences are dynamic and detailed, especially considering the smallish sized panels. The most notable thing about this comic is the cross-narration storytelling by three different voices to tell a coherent tale. Caramangna’s lettering work is truly outstanding. This was a fun ride that took some interesting turns. Definitely a high quality comic book.
Bad Luck Chuck #1
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Lela Gwenn
Art by Matthew Dow Smith
Colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters by Frank Cvetkovic
Cover art by Smith & Fitzpatrick
Hot #1
The first New Number One on the list for this last week of March is sensational. The entire team produced a very interesting and fresh story. Smith is the absolutely perfect artist for this book. His dark thick lines evoke a shadowy grittiness that suits this mystery story. Kelly Fitzpatrick does a beautiful job in bringing light and color to the book. Lela Gwenn’s story is different and immediately captivating. The character is sympathetic, and we are definitely interested in continuing with this series.
Breakneck #4
Titan Books
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Art by Simone Gugllielmini & Raffaele Semeraro
Colors by Chris Chuckry
Letters by Jimmy Betancourt
Cover art by Will Conrad
The finale to this short mini-series wrapped up the story nicely. For a four issue series, Swierczynski told a complete, complex story and developed the characters in an excellent way. The cinematic feel that has been a hallmark of the art in this series continued in this issue. While we certainly wouldn’t have minded spending more time with this story, the team did a wonderful job of telling an exciting and interesting story. Well Done!
Detective Comics #1000
DC Comics
Written by A Lot of People
Art by A Lot of People
Colors by A Bunch of Folks
Letters by Even More People
Cover art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, & Alex Sinclair + some ridiculously high number of variant covers for your discerning tastes.
DC celebrates the one thousandth issue of its flagship title this week with an anthology spectacular. We are not going to review the individual stories. It was enjoyable to go through the 96-page book. There is a heavy hitters list of comic creators, past and present, involved in making the content in this book. We do recommend the book. It doesn’t fit the normal category of books on this, but check it out anyway. It’s fun.
The Forgotten Queen #2
Valiant Entertainment
Written by Tini Howard
Art by Amilcar Pinna
Colors by Ulises Arreola
Letters by Jeff Powell
Cover art by Kano
We are loving this series. It is fresh and unconventional. The story is unfolding in exciting ways. Howard’s dialogue and expressions of the main character’s emotions are exquisite. Pinna’s art is beautiful and detailed. Arreola’s use of color to define the settings is important to the storytelling which moves through time and place. It is a must-add to the pull list, and we are looking forward to finding out more of the history of the Forgotten Queen.
Friendo #5
Vault Comics
Written by Alex Paknadel
Art by Martin Simmonds
Colors by Dee Cunniffe
Letters by Taylor Esposito
Cover art by Simmonds
We regret not reviewing this series on a regular basis. The finale to this trippy take on modern society and the nature of humanity is a triumph of comic storytelling. Paknadel’s story is absolutely mesmerizing. The concepts of self-perception are challenged in every page of this book. Simmonds’ art is glorious. He and Cunniffe bring a vibrant world to the page, and straddle the lines between the reality of the world in the book and the technological landscape that is also portrayed with a fantastic deftness. If you have not been reading this series, we highly recommend it. It is a must read.
GLOW #1
IDW Publishing
Written by Tini Howard
Art by Hannah Templer
Colors by Rebecca Nalty
Letters by Christy Miesner
Cover art by Templer
Hot #1
The second book by Tini Howard and the final New Number One of the month is a hoot. It is based on the Netflix show of the same name about a troop of female professional wrestlers. The premise to the book works even if you haven’t seen the show, but if you have, it is hilarious. There are a few laugh out loud moments in this issue. It is a very smartly designed story. The characterizations are all excellently crafted. Templer’s style suits the story well and is perfectly executed. We loved this story much more than we expected to, and that is a great thing.
Hardcore #4
Image Comics
Written by Andy Diggle
Art by Alessandro Vitti
Colors by Adriano Lucas
Letters by Thomas Mauer
Cover art by Dan Panosian
Diggle and Vitti continue to bring high stakes action and smart plot development to this series month after month. It is exciting and interesting. We are completely fascinated with where this story is going. Vitti’s grand explosive panel execution is stunningly beautiful. This is a fun, high drama, filled story that continues to impress.
Heroes in Crisis #7
DC Comics
Written by Tom King
Art by Clay Mann, Travis Moore, & Jorge Fornes
Colors by Tomeu Morey
Letters by Clayton Cowles
Cover art by Mitch Gerads
Despite there being three artists in this issue, Tomeu Morey brings everything together to maintain a cohesive visual feel to the book. The double splash page by Mann and Morey at the beginning is brilliant. King’s narrative gets deep at points and still continues to deliver his customary humor. This issue seems to confirm some plot theories and sets up some sort of final conflict. It is undeniably sad, but it is some very good and worthwhile storytelling.
Hex Wives #6
Vertigo Comics
Written by Ben Blacker
Art by Mirka Andolfo
Colors by Marissa Louise
Letters by Josh Reed
Cover art by Jenny Frison
The Architects’ ruse goes up in flames, literally in one case, and the coven’s awakening takes a major leap. This is a critical issue to the series because of the amount of exposition needed to make both the audience and characters aware of what has come before. While that could result in an unwieldy amount of standing and talking, the team pulls it off well. Andolfo’s panel layouts and figure work are expertly crafted. Marissa Louise’s color work is just dazzling. This series continues to deliver good story and art every issue. An extra bonus is Jenny Frison’s fantastic cover to this issue.
Invaders #3
Marvel Comics
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Art by Carlos Magno
Colors by Alex Guimaraes
Letters by Travis Lanham
Cover art by Butch Guice & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Zdarsky continues to tell an interesting story with high stakes and rising tension in this issue. The character interactions are a major high point to the book. There are some impressive large panel layouts that illustrate the grand scale of the events of the story. We are definitely hooked on where this story is going and will eagerly await the next issue.
Man-Eaters #7
Image Comics
Written by Chelsea Cain
Art by Kate Niemczyk
Colors by Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover art, Ads, Supplemental Art by Lia Miternique
Favorite Book of the Week
What a complete work of art this comic book is!!!! Every single bit of surface area in this book is dedicated to telling its story, including the inside and back covers. The narrative allows for plot theories to be revealed and new threads are begun. The art is simply beautiful and bombards the audience with propaganda in not so subtle ways. This is a book that needs to be out there and should be read by anyone who can. The shear effort involved in the production of this book makes it our Favorite Book of the Week.
Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #3
Dynamite Entertainment
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Caspar Wijngaard
Colors by Mary Safro
Letters by Hassan Osmane-Elhaou
Cover art by Christian Ward
This is a fascinating book. There is quite a bit of homage and intriguing call-backs to other works (Watchmen), but the story and characterization of the protagonist are alluring. There is a need to see where this goes, as if Gillen is telling almost retelling a well-known story better than originally told. I state that there is an ephemeral aspect to this story. We are unable to define what it is that enthralls us so, but we know that we enjoy it. The entire art team deserves praise for delivering a wonderful visual story in this issue.
The Viking Queen #1
Source Point Press
Written by Paul Storrie
Art by Kevin Caron
Colors by Sean Seal
Letters by Justin Birch
Cover Art by Rod Reis
Hot #1
Check out our preview review of this book here.
