I've decided to change the format a bit for this blog column as it hasn't been consistent. I only seem to be able to pick up comics once a month at the moment, so by the time I'm all read up this column wasn't helping comic fans with their reading on a weekly basis as I had intended. This column will now concentrate on the best single issues released every month rather than breaking comics I've read into good, middling and bad piles. Let's concentrate on the best of the best every month, as being negative can be too easy and in the grand scheme of things even when I don't like a comic the writer and artist are better than anything I could ever accomplish. So, here's a straight up top 10 list of the best issues for August with comments.
01- BEFORE WATCHMEN MINUTEMEN #3 OF 6
BY DARWYN COOKE - Darwyn Cooke is a master of the comic art form and probably the best writer/artist in the industry today. I'm actually placing him ahead of Alan Moore as they are both similar in writing style, but Cooke can draw unlike any other artist to combine with his writing. The depth Cooke has added to the Watchmen lore after only 3 issues is staggering. Minutemen is definitely the best book out of all the Before Watchmen titles and that is saying a lot, because each series has been such quality so far. As with Alan we don't see a lot of Cooke in mainstream comics anymore and I really would like to see Darwyn contribute to any book of his choosing in the DC new 52. Though my pick would be Justice League or Superman.
02 - BATMAN INCORPORATED #3
BY GRANT MORRISON & CHRIS BURNHAM - When Morrison writes Batman it is always a must read. The level of characterization is just so perfect and paired with the artwork of Chris Burnham, this series is only just about to explode after a few stops and starts because of the DC change over into the new 52. I have many arguments with friends about what is still relevant in the DC new 52 and one of them is, "did Final Crisis still happen and did Batman R.I.P still happen?" This issue confirms that both stories by Morrison still stand tall in the new 52's compressed timeline. There is reference in this issue to Dick having been Batman when Bruce disappeared (end of Final Crisis, Batman & Robin, and Return of Bruce Wayne) and to the Black Glove character from Morrison's "Black Glove" and "R.I.P;" who was a member of the Wayne family possessed by a Darkseid weapon as punishment for Bruce shooting Darkseid at the end of Final Crisis and then resulted in the "Return of Bruce Wayne ltd series." If you have Batman inc #3 check out page 13, bottom panel and look closely to who is connected to Leviathan's web. We just don't know yet how this all fits into what Scott Snyder has done with his equally amazing run on Batman with the "Court of Owls."
03 - WONDER WOMAN #12
BY BRIAN AZZARELLO & CLIFF CHIANG - Being very familiar with Brian Azzarello's crime based books, I was very surprised when it was announced he would be spear-heading the new Wonder Woman book. This book is unlike any of Azzarello's crime books and has shown a differing writing style than one would be accustomed to from Brian. Having stuck with this book since the first issue, DC knew exactly what they were doing with Azzarello and Wonder Woman. This book is one hell of a gem in the DC new 52 crown and soon to be a pivotal book to watch out for. If Jack Kirby had ever written Wonder Woman these would have been the types of stories; gods and science. There is a conflict coming between the pantheon of Greek Gods and the arrival of the New Gods. The last page had it all. BOOOOOOOM tube and Orion (the first appearance of a New God in the new 52 since the opening story arc of JL).
04 - SWAMP THING #12: ROTWORLD PART 2
BY SCOTT SNYDER & MARCOS RUDY - As comic fans we all know about the rants one of my favourite writer's Alan Moore likes to go on about other writers working on his old material like Watchmen, Miracleman and Swamp Thing. What Mr. Moore possibly forgets is two of the characters he helped evolve in Swampy and Miracleman were created by other writers. Alan just took everything to entirely different levels and the comic industry benefited in the '80s with stories unlike anything readers had read and seen before. Scott Snyder has done this with the latest Swamp Thing title by adding upon what Moore had accomplished with the character and turning Abby into one bad-ass female character. No longer does she suffer torment at the hands of demons and wait to be rescued by Alec. She'll pick up a shotgun to torment the demons and rescue the good Dr. Holland. Plus, Snyder has made Anton Arcane more evil than Alan Moore ever attempted. Moore and Snyder's separate runs on Swamp Thing will one day be synonymous as one of the true horror comics to ever hit the stands and one would hope Alan Moore appreciates the level of care and thought Snyder is pouring into this title. Pairing up Snyder and Lemire for a horror epic crossing over into Animal Man is pure genius. Horror at it's best! Oh, and the cover links together with Animal Man #12's cover to be the right side of a beautiful mural by Steve Pugh and Yanick Paquette.
05 - ANIMAL MAN #12: ROTWORLD PART 1
BY JEFF LEMIRE & STEVE PUGH - I won't gush too much again about this Rotworld crossover with Swamp Thing. As I have already stated above about Moore and Snyder's evolution of Swamp Thing, the same comparison can be laid out for what Lemire is accomplishing with Animal Man and what came before with Grant Morrison's legendary run with Buddy Baker. Lemire has somehow improved upon it and that is what comics should always be about. Good writers and artists build upon the past to create the future, while most writers pointless rehash the past and even forget their own continuity most of the time. Look at Geoff Johns' run of GL as an example or Batman Earth One. Good stories, but lacking a push from being mired in past story lines, instead of using past story lines to push forward into new territory. Pick up everything Snyder and Lemire put out!
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06- FATALE #7
BY ED BRUBAKER, SEAN PHILLIPS & DAVE STEWART - So Ed Brubaker has left Marvel amidst a little controversy and sighting a burn out on super hero comics. I can't blame him as Marvel editorial completely butchered his run on Captain America since Captain American Reborn came out. No wonder he passed up Fear Itself to Matt Fraction. Where we will see Ed shine now is the indie world of Image Comics and his creator owned Fatale series with his long time collaborator and buddy Sean Phillips. Crime fiction and demon cults have never been better. So let's hope Mr. Brubaker has a lot up his sleeve outside of super heroes. With a track record in crime comics like Criminal, Incognito and Sleeper I'm actually glad Brubaker has left Marvel for these more creative pursuits. Plus, anything he does with Phillips is usually gold.
07- HAWKEYE #7
BY MATT FRACTION & DAVID AJA - Pleasantly surprised as to how the first issue turned out. It was fantastic. A lot of elements of this book reminded me of the incredibly under-rated Immortal Iron Fist Aja and Fraction worked on together a few years ago. There's also strong similarities between the Hawkeye character and one of my favourite characters Fraction writes in Casanova. Not quite as crazy and trippy as Casanova, but there is definite crazy to the backbone of this book. Hopefully this book will last longer than Fraction's run on Defenders before Marvel cancelled it. Love this book!
08- AVSX #9 OF 12
BY JASON AARON & ADAM KUBERT - As far as big Marvel events go I am never impressed. Siege, Secret Invasion, Civil War and Fear Itself were all pretty pointless and added nothing in the long run to the Marvel U. Most of the regular titles didn't even reflect events occuring in those series and never seem to. With all the Marvel Architects on board for this event it is so damn fun and hopefully will lead to some changes to Marvel that will stick and push Marvel into more creative story lines. Why this issue is high on my list for August is because it reunited Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert from the Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine ltd series, which was awesome. Jason Aaron wrote the best Spidey in years and is my favourite writing from Aaron. Spidey finally takes center stage in this epic and now I'm disappointed that with the change over Marvel will undergo in the next couple of months the editors didn't think to beg Jason Aaron to write the Amazing Spider-Man with Kubert as illustrator. We would have finally had some good Spidey comics. Maybe it will happen. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed.
09- AVSX #10 OF 12
BY ED BRUBAKER & ADAM KUBERT - Things are really starting to come together with this series. Hope is able to injure Cyclops and I'm thinking this little point will actually lead to much bigger things. We still have no idea who Hope's parents are, but there are clues that lead me to believe she is going to be the daughter of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, who also happen to be the parents of Cable. Cable was also the first person to encounter Hope when he rescued her from the Marauders in Messiah Complex. I'm willing to bet Mr. Sinister has his hands all over this. Why else has he been such a prominent villain again since Uncanny X-Men was relaunched and able to predict exactly what has been happening?
10- FURY MAX - MY WAR GONE BY #5
BY GARTH ENNIS & GORLAN PARLOV - The best historical war comics writer going teamed up with his buddy Parlov from Punisher Max. Without saying Ennis understands better than anyone in comics the politics of war. Ennis thrusts an aging Nick Fury whose war should be over into an assassinaton attempt on Castro during the botched Bay of Pigs invasion. Ennis captures the time period and the beginning of American political scheming towards Cuba perfectly. Just as good as Punisher Max, but with so much to offer to the history buff.
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