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.
This week is a short list as we were at Awesome-Con in Washington, DC this weekend. However, we did not want to leave you with nothing. We took the top six books that we were most eager to read from our pull list and present them to you here. It is a good cross section of publishers and genres, with a a couple of New Number Ones thrown in. I am going to let you know up front that all of this comics are great and earned 4 Stars this week.
We reviewed books from DC, Marvel,Valiant, AfterShock, and Dark Horse 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
And here are the books we read in alphabetical order:
Bad Luck Chuck #2
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Lela Gwenn
Art by Matthew Dow Smith
Colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters by Frank Cvetkovic
The second issue to this series is even better than the first. The initial premise laid out in the first issue was interesting, but the character development done in this issue was steller. We cannot wait for the next issue. Matthew Dow Smith’s lines and Kelly Fitzpatrick’s colors create a mood that gives a weight to this book. The tragically scarred main character is incredibly sympathetic, and the creative team has created a story that draws in the audience to root for her.
Dark Red #2
AfterShock Comics
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Corin Howell
Colors by Mark Englert
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Cover Art by Aaron Campbell
It is tough to keep this one spoiler free. This book is full of amazing twists and cleverly written dialogue that makes you question what you just read before you get smacked in the face with the reality of the plot turn. Corin Howell continues to be a force, and the textured coloring style of Mark Englert adds a interesting quality to the book. Seeley has the readers on a wild ride in this horror comic, and we are looking forward to where he goes next.
Heroes In Crisis #8
DC Comics
Written by Tom King
Art by Mitch Gerads & Travis Moore
Colors by Gerads
Letters by Clayton Cowles
Cover by Gerads
King really gets to the heart of mental struggles of loss in this book. This issue is a critical piece in the mystery of this series, but also a very important one for the goal of the series. The struggles of heroes, be they super or not, is something that is taken for granted in society, and King is certainly shining a light on the need for mental healing. This book has moments of heartbreaking dialogue. The art by Gerads is phenomenal. The colors and the panel layouts are spectacular. This audacious series is closing strong, and we are excited about its conclusion.
Punk Mambo #1
Valiant Entertainment
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Adam Gorham
Colors by Jose Villarrubia
Letters by Dave Sharpe
Cover Art by Dan Bereton
This is the first series starring the Punk Mambo character created in the Valiant Universe by Peter Milligan and Roberto De La Torre. Cullen Bunn and Adam Gorham do a fantastic job of introducing the character’s present state and turning it on its head in this exciting issue. The layouts and camera angles are a series of excellent choices. Villarrubia was given challenging assignments with some of the splash pages and really nailed them. All around. this was a very entertaining first issue.
Thanos #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Tini Howard
Art by Ariel Olivetti
Colors by Antonio Fabela
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Jeff Dekal
Wow! This was a fun issue. Tini Howard is going deep into Thanos and Gamora’s history to tell this tale. It is well paced and intriguing from start to finish. Olivetti’s choices for panel construction and design are wonderful. His execution on the multiple splash pages is amazing. While this series is limited in length we are looking forward to see where Howard goes with it. She has certainly started the journey on the right foot.
The Wild Storm #22
DC Comics
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Jon Davis-Hunt
Colors by Steve Buccellato
Letters by Simon Bowland
Cover Art by Davis-Hunt
It has taken twenty-two issues, but in this issue we finally see Ellis’s Authority reformed, and it is glorious. This series is seriously not getting enough attention. The careful planning and perfect execution that has brought the story to the current situation is nothing short of brilliant. Davis-Hunt is a master at monstrous gore. Buccalletto’s sunset melding into night sky is a thing of beauty. We are so excited for the remaining issues of this series and what revelations they may contain.
